Book 1 of 2015 - Finished

Last night I finished the first book of my 2015 challenge.

>.>  yes, it took me almost a month to do, but I don't tend to sit down and read like I used too.

What was it?

Yep, The Hobbit.  ^^

Sure, I read it years ago, and I loved it. But rereading it, after the movies, was enjoyable. I saw every deviation, every change and every scene not in one, but in the other.

And ya know what? I still love the movies and I still love the book.  They're not the same, and I'm ok with that.

I cried at the end, laughed at scenes and once again wished I had my own Hobbit hole to have tea in.

'You are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all.'

Kristy C

Battling the Providers

For the last several days, my internet keeps cutting out and driving me batty.

Which is why I should be working more on my writing, which was my plan tonight.. Until I had my wonderful migraine=anxiety attack.

So, I'm currently working on 4 stories right now.

Editing my Charming Line stories...
Working on a short piece for an anthology, Meri's Story
Building my Mythological Creatures story
And part 2 of the Beginning, either The Fall or The End [once I figure out which one I wanna do.]

I've got a list of things to so this week, on six days. It won't be easy, and I'm kinda already behind already... But, I'm also home bound most of the week.

Hope you have a good week!

Kristy C

When things mix weird..

So, I sometimes have migraines. Not a surprise, I'm sure... They're kinda common now days.

Anywho, I take a prescription when I have one, and they do in fact help. The downside is that they have caffeine in them. Why is this bad?  Because I seem to become aware of my heart racing when I take them, which causes my shoulders to tense up and I start to become dead tired.

Which means, I get to take a pill for my anxiety... This means, I get really tired and need to pass out.

It can mean that I lose sight of a whole day, which sucks big time.  Still, I do the best I can.

Kristy C

PHOTOS!!!

:D  here's a few of the images I got back today.

Photographer GmrGrl Photography
Model Alix Trinket Shackelford, Ariana Melekian-Davies, Julia Fox, Alaska Mauve, and Netsanet Beshahe.

Kristy C

Busy Week of Work

My boss is gonna work me hard this week.

Jerk.

^^

Anywho, today I'm picking up the new photos on models from my last two shoots. Then I'll be cleaning up at home, and updating listings.

Then Tuesday and Wednesday, I'm gonna be taking photos of all the pieces I need to get photos of. I plan on including my latests pieces, rings... And belts.

Thursday is an early day... I'll be taking my dad to work, then picking my brother up from the air port. :P have to be up way to early that day.

Friday has a hair appt and gaming.  No clue what we're doing this Saturday, but I'm hoping we can visit my BFF and Nephew, since I'm the only family member to have seen Theo.

All in all, it should be a nice week, if busy. I need to finish editing Gwen Edur's story, which I'm gonna try and do this week... Along with everything else.

See, my boss is a jerk.

Kristy C

Saying goodbye...

No, not to blogging.

Yes, I've been more sporadic lately, but I'm here and I'm trying...

As I've said, I'm running a sale in my etsy shop.

Well, I've had my first sale from this.  ^^ Its one of my favorite pieces [kinda feel bad saying that. I do love all my jewels, but... I play favorites.  Some, I love more than others.]

Harvest Fae, a necklace I wasn't planning to make, but when I saw the gilded leaf at the store, it I had to make it mine. And the poor necklace sat on my dress form for more than a few days, as I waited to buy the perfect chain to complete it.

A lovely friend has picked it up, and I hope she'll let me show off some pictures of it with its new owners.

Kristy C

Modeled Photo:
Photographer GmrGrl Photography
Model Carly Nicole Larsan

What I Want...

I think I've figured out part of what I'm looking for in a guy, and why its so hard for me.

We all hear about how romance novels and fairy tales have ruined our expectations on men. And, I enjoy a good romance novel or fairy tale... But, those aren't the kinda guys I look for.  They're too perfect, to 'Oh, I caught me the uncatchable guy'.

No, I want a guy like... Philip Marlow, Mal Reynolds, Harry Dresden... The good hearted, hard boiled, teddy bear fighter.

The man whose flaws are obvious, who makes mistakes, but learns from them. He's not against being caught, and he'll be yours for life...

In some ways, what I want may be even harder to find in reality.  Which explains my singleness [if you don't count my three BFF's, who are almost like having three wives... Without the good stuff.]

Oh well, if it's meant to happen, it'll happen. Some day.

Kristy C

The Walls In My Path

I was working on some editing today, and came to a conclusion...

My path to being what I think of as a successful author has some big freaking walls between me and the goal.

The first ones were kicked down a few years ago.  Getting me to actually WRITE!

After that, it took a few years and a time pulled away from writing, to finally give me the kick in the ass I needed to take the next step...

Editing.

Yep, that was a big step. I could get a first draft out, but editing... Not so much. And beyond that, I needed to publish.

So, 2014 was the year I edited and got published.

And since then, I've done plenty of writing, and even some editing.  But you know what?

NOTHING is finished. Ok, a few shorts had a swift 'edit' over them, and have been in magazines and anthologies.  But ACTUAL start to finish stories? Stories with Endings? 1... my Nano, books 1, 2 and 3.. And good lord, they need work.

So, I've set myself a goal, but after 90k in November, I didn't want to do anything in December. I HATED it. Ugh.. No.

Still, I have a goal. I want to have The Charming Line ready to start rolling out by June/July. Not to mention, keep up the stories in Far Horizons AND perhaps work on 1-2 anthologies.

Can I do that?

So far, I've BARELY been able to get through a first edit on Snow's Retelling. Barely... I reached a place, about the time the 'witch' attacks her, and its so freaking bad.. That I'm not just 'changing a few things' I'm full on rewriting.  And at #17 [I bracket and number each edit, so I know where I'm working on and where it is on the paper I write things out] I couldn't do it. Until today. Over two weeks [yes, there was my work week from hell in there, but still.] and I couldn't face it.

Tuesday fellow author M.L. John asked me to sprint with her. I was in the middle of a TV show, and said no.. But, that I would the next day.  My goal?

2-3 thirty minute sprints.

I got mostly 2 done yesterday. M. wasn't able to, due to health issues, but she encouraged me. And I got past that one story.

I realized, this is another wall I have to kick down. Wandering Wizard was newer, more who I am now. Charming Line is 5 years old, and I've grown a lot since then. So, its gonna take some big work... A few rounds of edits, for sure.

My hope is that by realizing this, it'll help me push forward. No promises, but that's my hope.

Kristy C

Jewelry Sale!

I'm going to be running a sale through Valentine's Day...

20-30% off select Pink and Red pieces.  :D

I made a picture up, but photoshop crapped out on me. No idea why it crashed, but it did.

Anywho, expect me to show off more soon.

Kristy C

January is about...

Balance!!!

Yeah... I know, August was about balance, but I sense this is gonna be needed every few months.  November and December tossed me for a loop.

So, this month is about getting some kinda temp/part time work to bring in money, continuing to make jewelry, list them and all that, AND push through on edits.

Not to mention, posting daily for blogs.

I hope you'll take part in this adventure with me.

Kristy C

No, new job...

So, I worked 28 hours between Mon-Wed, in two parts only, and 'showed up' for 3 other jobs that i wasn't able to preform, but showed up. They weren't my fault, but were in fact scheduling errors on other sides, so I get paid for 4 hours time.

For my first week of time, which was only 4 days, I should get a paycheck for just under 39 hours [minus breaks]

Of course, the second longest set [12 hours on one job] had a sign in screw-up, leaving me unsure of it being accepted, despite my working it!!!

Anywho, after all that... I got an email today saying that when they did my background check, they saw something they didn't like and thanks, but no thanks and good bye.


Its not illegal, but its BS... You let someone work 4 jobs, without having ANY of their paperwork filled out and filed, only to learn after that... You can't hire them?  What if my I-9 proved to be a lie, and I wasn't legal to work? What if you hired someone and they turned out to have a serious crime against them, and not only don't they meet your companies requirements, but you put others at risk?

So yeah, I'll still get paid for them.. Which I deserve hazard pay on top off, since I had to deal with some pretty lousy people.

Now, I don't want to go into too much detail, but I left my second job a tired, emotional and physical wreck.

In some ways, I'm going to miss what could have been. I love that kinda job. Its got some randomness that's nice, and I really want something that lets me have some freedom, but also brings in some money.  On the flip side, it can be grueling work and leave me drained in all ways. Now, I'll go back to looking for another job of some sort.

Kristy C

A Job!

Ok, sure I'm self employed, but you should know by now that it often equals, broke.

My dad wanted me to start looking for something, knowing that my aim was part time work where I wouldn't be too distracted from my other work. So, I received one of the many 'Job Notifications' from the Mystery Shopping/Merchandising companies I'd signed up with several [as in about 10] years ago.

This one was one I liked working for, even if it was weird hours and lots of pain on my back and knees... But, pay is what I'm after.

Signed up, applied for work, got an interview phone call and last night I sent in the I-9 papers, proving I can work in the US.

It will mean I'll be busier at times, but I think having something to go to and a reason to get up and get out is good for me.

Kristy C

Inspiring Music

Having finished Reckless Magic, I've started reading The Hobbit again.

Already, the differences are massive and while I still love the movies [they are, what they are] the book is winning me over.

Oddly, one of the bigger disappointments was that the longer version of Mist Mountains by Peter Hollens, still isn't the song from the book. I thought 'Oh, I'll listen to it, while I read it.' and then it all went whacky.

On the plus side, I found this gem in the song and I swear.. I read it over and over again, feeling it draw me into those four lines, until I was sharing it anyplace I could.

"On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun."

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, Misty Mountain, 5th verse

When I read on a bit more, I knew that a dream of mine would now be to design jewelry that could some how make a Dwarf proud, and a Hobbit's Took side come out in a desire to seek the treasure.

Kristy C

Review: Reckless Magic by Rachel Higginson

Reckless Magic by Rachel Higginson

This was another of my free books that I picked up from iBooks.  A ‘book 1’ in a series.  I hadn’t been sure which to read, so a friend told me to assign a number to each of the books, and she’d pick one.

In some ways, the book was hard to follow at first.  It pulled me in, but there were spots where I was left confused. But, since the main characters is telling the story, it makes sense… She’s just as confused as we are.

More than once, I guessed at things pointed out later, or in once case the author tells you something that seems to be forgotten by the character.  Sure, excitement happens a moment later [and lasts for hours non stop], but it was sorta an important tidbit.  In some ways, I wish it had been said differently, so we the reader weren’t fully away of how special a snowflake our MC is.

All in all, there was only one moment where I did in fact groan.  During a sappy, teenager, confession of love.  It was so ’Twilight, I can’t live without you, spending a day away from you hurts, don’t ever leave my side again’ declaration, that I skipped it. All two paragraphs of it.

No regrets on this book however, and its sitting in my ‘To be continued’ folder to buy book two at a later date.

Rating? 3.5 outta 5 stars. You only get higher, if I adore it and lower if I almost couldn't finish it.

My next read is The Hobbit, which will start off my 2015 Reading Challenge.

Kristy C

Things I Like... Hobbits, Dwarfs and Middle Earth

Sure, I could have just said LOTR, but that would be boring.

With the last of the movies out, and the tear jerker of a song [which I'll share below] released, its a sad moment to look back on the joyous ride that Peter Jackson has taken us on...

It also pales in comparison to the roller coaster that Tolkien took us on in the books. To be sure, those are the foundation to an entire genre.

Some years ago, my parents bought me the Hobbit and LOTR Trilogy. I was a teen, I know that much.  Now, I'd watched The Hobbit cartoon [I loved that cartoon.] and the kiss ass, more accurate than the movie, LOTR's one, that didn't reach the Return of the King.  [They did a cute, but bad, cartoon for that. Same style as the Hobbit].

I read the Hobbit, The Fellowship and the first half of The Two Towers.  Then I reached the second half, and damn if I didn't slog my way through that. I HATE that section of the book, and if anything says to me 'Tolkien was a master at world building, race creation, languages and map making. But he wasn't a great writer' its that book.  Yeah, its not the worst thing you could read. [I've seen worse, let me tell you.] However, its over done at times.  It can be summed up like this...

And they walked... More walking... Whining by one of the Hobbits, encouragement from the other... They meet Smeagol... More walking... Whining... Arguing between all three, on various points... Cowering in fear... They did a bit more walking, and whined while they walked... They did sneaky things [mostly Smeagol] and they perhaps walked a bit more.

Congrats, you've just read most of the second half of The Two Towers... A book that could have been cut into smaller pieces, and not perhaps taken me over 6 months to read.  And I read fast. Once read 15 books in 31 days...

Once I'd finished slogging my way through it, I read The Return of the King.  And, my parents congratulated me by picking up one of the millions of companions out there to help you understand what the hell you'd just read. They're moderately helpful.

Now, life comes full circle and like so many out there, I'm drawn back to where it all started.  The Hobbit.

I shared pictures last week of a Vinyl bound pocket edition [I said leather] of the Hobbit.  The book was 19.99 in store, 15.99 online [plus S&H] and 5.98 [S&H included] at the Amazon marketplace, for a new copy.  Its sitting next to me, and the desire to read it almost overwhelms my need to finish the book I'm already reading.  But, it will be first on my list.

And I think, I shall use my new journal to keep notes on things when I read them this year.  Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea.  :D

Kristy C

2015 Resolutions

So, I figured I'd post my 2015 Resolutions here.

They say that making it loud and vocal helps you out.  So, here's mine.

• Clean up my office/living room enough to make better use of it.
• Clear out the junk
• Organize the remaining junk
• Place for a chair to sit on when relaxing
• Clear a place for a table, chair, and cat condo
• Editing stories for publication.
• By June/July have 'The Charming Line's first 3-5 stories ready for publication, so I can roll them out monthly.
• Work on short stories for Far Horizons magazine
• Start work on the Women's Archetype anthology
• Have a solid $100 in the business account
• Have a solid $100 in the personal account
• Have over 600 pieces of jewelry in my inventory.
• Have as many of them listed in Etsy as I can
• Close the 'other' stores
• Do 2-4 shows
• Lose 25-50 lbs

And there ya have it.  Nothing's too over the top, everything is doable by the end of the year.  So.... Its out in the world, and I'll be placing it in more than one spot too.

Kristy C