Jessica Targaryen, Horse Master

As you may or may not know, last year for Christmas I got the incredible gift of a voucher for a two night stay at Southern Cross Guest Ranch. This voucher was good for two people and included four horseback riding sessions per person. During my little writing sabbatical last month I finally packed my bags and redeemed my gift along with my best friend, Adina.

I cannot even begin to describe how amazing this Bed and Breakfast/Ranch was. It was all-inclusive and the food was amazing! Good old-fashioned, country cookin’. The rooms were big and cozy, there was a pool and hot tub, several different lounge rooms and game rooms, and, most importantly, free Wi-Fi. But, of course, the best part about this place were the horses.

Every morning and afternoon Adina and I would hop on two of the bicycles available for our use and ride down to the stables. We were assigned horses based on our previous riding experience and, as I’m sure you can imagine, I was thrilled when I was told my horse’s name was Luna – I just hoped there weren’t any wrackspurts around.

One of the really cool things about this place was that you got a real hands on experience of handling your horse. You were responsible for getting a lead rope and fetching your horse as well as taking it back once finished. We had to brush our horse before and after the ride, fetch and return the saddle and bridle, and squeegee off the water at the end of the afternoon when they were hosed off. It was really nice getting to do all of that and helped foster a relationship, no matter how brief, with the animal you were spending time with. 

When I went to get Luna for the first time my heart skipped a beat. I had already been fantasizing about all of my favorite heroines who rode horses, which naturally includes Daenerys Targaryen, so when I saw that Luna was a silver color just like Dany’s horse I sort of floated off into nerd ecstasy. So it was that every time I rode Luna I pretended that I was the Khaleesi and she was my Silver. I tried explaining all of this to Adina and she just shook her head and smiled endearingly at her nerdy little friend. 

As much as I wanted to ride a horse, I was still a little nervous. There was no need, the experience was even more enjoyable than I had imagined. Sure I had bruises on my bony bum from bouncing in the saddle, but it was so worth it. Getting to sit astride one of these magnificent animals and wander through the woods was one of the most peaceful and, simultaneously, exhilarating experiences of my life. 

The other thing that was really cool about this place was the huge pasture area just behind the B&B. Each night after dinner, Adina and I would go out onto the pasture and walk in the midst of 60+ free ranging horses. There are no words to describe the awe that we felt while on that pasture. Absolutely remarkable.

We dubbed this gorgeous creature Black Beauty.

Needless to say, this was a perfect weekend getaway and I would love to go back. Maybe one day I will even get to shoot my bow from the back of a horse.

Have you ever been horseback riding or even around horses? What kind of experience did you have? Let me know in the comments.

A Game of Tag and Turtles

This has been one of those weeks where I have been so busy that I have barely had time to think. Between my regular job, a deadline for a new writing gig I have landed (I will share details on that later), and the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games, I never had time to prepare a mash-up for today. I was going to find time to put one together and just post it much later when I received a message that I had been tagged by Lisa Hall-Wilson over at the blog she shares with Marcy Kennedy, Girls with Pens. Curious, I went to check it out and found that Lisa had tagged me in something called Lucky 7 Meme. Here are the rules:

- Go to page 77 of your current MS or WIP

- Go to line 7

- Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them as they are written

- Tag 7 new authors

This sounded like fun, so I pulled out my WIP. Here is the excerpt I found on page 77 of my  fantasy novel, A Pristine Heart.

Rhoswen smiled back at her. “Now that you are assured your friend is unharmed,” she said turning to Reeve, “would you mind dressing the wound you gave me?”

Reeve immediately set to work. While he was working Kaelyn tried to sort through the foggy events of Rhoswen’s attack. There was something she felt sure had caught her attention during the time she was waking up, but it remained elusive. Suddenly she remembered.

“Do you two know each other?” 

Reeve’s back stiffened at her words and his head snapped to look at her. 

“Yes,” Rhoswen answered first. “We Galdors know all the –”

“Hunters,” Reeve finished, interrupting her; Rhoswen looked at him in surprise, but did not say anything else. “What made you ask that?”

“Just something I remembered from when I was waking up.”

There you go. I hope that you enjoyed that small excerpt. It is now my turn to tag 7 others, so here goes.

Karen Rought

Ginger Calem

Myndi Shafer

Jessica Salyer

Natalie Hartford

Fabio Bueno

Emma Burcart

Finally, I have a new vlog to share with you guys in which I discuss some very disturbing changes being made to a favorite childhood cartoon.

http://www.hypable.com/2012/03/18/michael-bay-drops-huge-bombshell-about-latest-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-film/

http://www.hypable.com/2012/03/20/michael-bay-comments-on-ninja-turtle-upset-fans-need-to-take-a-breath-and-chill/

Roughing it in Luxury

Last week was Valentine’s Day, but sadly I didn’t get to go out on a nice romantic date with my husband because he was working out of town. Instead, he and I made plans for the weekend. A nice, romantic getaway, just the two of us…in the woods. That’s right, we went camping.

Prior to this I had only been camping once before when I was a little girl (I think I was eleven) with my dad. That was a very long time ago and, to be honest, I don’t remember all that much about it other than I had fun. So when my husband suggested we go camping this past weekend, something we have been contemplating for a while, I enthusiastically agreed. When I got home from work Friday evening we loaded up the car to near overflowing and headed out for the campgrounds of Ginnie Springs.

It was well past dark when we got there, which meant that we got to set everything up with nothing but the headlights of the car, a lantern, and two flashlights to help us see what we were doing. Thankfully, my husband is a smart man and made us do a trial run of setting the tent up earlier in the week, so we at least knew how to do it. In much less time than I would have suspected, we had everything set up and hamburgers grilling over the fire. Once our bellies were full, we crawled into our sleeping bags (which were situated on top on some lovely camping cots) and fell into an exhausted sleep.

Saturday was our day of exploration and fun. After a HUGE breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs, and grits, we hiked all around the woods (a dangerous endeavor for the clumsy, which is why my husband fashioned me a sturdy walking stick with his axe and machete), then went to look at the springs where we discovered we could rent kayaks. We were all over that. We got to spend two of the most peaceful hours paddling along the river taking in the beauty surrounding us. It was absolutely gorgeous. I could barely lift my arms the next day, but that was a small price to pay.

For dinner that evening we skewered chicken on palmetto sticks and grilled it over the fire. It felt very primitive, so naturally I loved it. I had pretty much spent the entire day pretending I was a number of different characters from my favorite fantasy books – Katniss, Hermione, Kahlan, Pippin (yeah, I would have been the mischievous hobbit always causing trouble). I thought that I was some grand adventurer on a noble quest of bravery, surviving on the land. Until my husband went to go take a shower. And I was alone. In the dark. In the woods.

Before I get into my story I should explain that I wasn’t actually alone in the woods. The campsites at Ginnie Springs are all right off the road, so you are surrounded by other campsites and campers, and the sites are more on the outskirts of the woods, not deep within. There were several other groups of campers near us and the property fence line was not very far behind our camp. I was perfectly and completely safe.

Now back to my noble quest of bravery.

There I was, sitting cozily by the fire texting (they had cell phones in The Lord of the Rings, right?) two of my friends, one of whom I was discussing the latest episode Glee with, when I heard a rustling noise behind me. I picked up the flashlight and slowly moved its beam across the treeline.

Nothing.

I sat back down and continued my conversations when I heard it again. This time I was more meticulous in my examination, but I still didn’t see anything. Wait…I think…yes, a pair of eyes reflecting in the light. I trained the light on those reflected eyes and waited for the creature to move so I could see what it was. Finally, it emerged and I saw that it was a fox. The creature stared at me before running into the trees again.

I sat back down and told my two friends of the close call. One laughed at me and the other started quoting taglines from horror movies (I know! Insensitive boys, right?!). By that point my adrenaline was pumping and I started to see things in the shadows being put off by the fire. I was very tense and kept scanning the area. Then several things happened at once: I heard another rustling sound, but this time in front of me, and I saw something bounding for me out of the corner of my eye.

I screamed.

Flashlight in hand, I hopped to my feet and shone the light to my left and the approaching shadow.

Nothing.

I had quite literally screamed at a shadow. The fire had created a patch of light and when I shifted in my chair it created a shadow that I turned into an unknown creature coming to attack me. Yeah, I felt dumb. But I really had heard a rustling noise. My good friend Fox had circled around and was trying to gain access to our camp from the front. He stared at me for several seconds before finally giving up and scampering off for good.

I, of course, filled my friends in on what had happened and they continued in their cruel laughter and taunting. I spent the remainder of the time it took for my husband to return on my feet, revolving in a slow circle, shining the flashlight into every corner of the woods it would reach. I think it is now safe to say that I wouldn’t last five minutes in the Hunger Games.

In spite of my close call with death by shadow, I had a ton of fun on our camping trip. We are already making plans to go camping again in the near future. Maybe next time I will bring my bow so that it’s more likely the odds will be ever in my favor.

Have you ever been camping? What are your favorite things to do on a camping trip? Least favorite? Any funny stories? Let me know in the comments.

The Grimm Side of Fairy Tales

Two weeks ago I wrote about ABCs fantastic new fairy tale show, Once Upon a Time. Interestingly, NBC has also come out with a fairy tale show, but one that is much darker, grittier. Grimm follows the story of Nick Burkhardt, a homicide detective in Portland, Oregon. When his dying aunt comes to visit she tells him that he is descended from a line of Grimms – a group of people who hunt down and kill the supernatural creatures from fairy tales. As he learns more about who he is, he begins to recognize these creatures when they temporarily lose control and allow their true form to become visible. He also learns that they are frequently behind the very homicides he is trying to solve.

It is a very interesting concept. It takes the much used, serialized cop show and gives it a unique twist. So far each new episode has introduced us to a new creature that ends up being behind whatever murder Nick and his partner, Hank, are working on. While some of it has been a little hokie (cough – the bee people – cough) most of it has been intense, and in some instances, frightening. I am glad that they made Nick ignorant of the show universe, so that we are learning about everything with him. It helps us connect with his frustrations as he is struggling to figure out what on earth is going on around him.

Thankfully – or conveniently, depending on how you look at it – Nick’s aunt left him a trailer full of books, weapons, and other various things he needs to understand and kill the creatures he is up against. One of the things that I have been impressed with is that each creature has a well thought out heritage, a culture. They are not just mindless animals seeking out what they can kill; they have motives based on centuries of traditions and history. This helps make the world much more believable.

Another thing that Nick learns early on is that not all of these creatures are bad. Some of them have renounced their murderous heritage and consider themselves reformed. This is the case for my favorite character on the show. Eddie Monroe is a blutbad, or big bad wolf, who Nick somehow gets to help him out each episode. The fact that Eddie turns up every time Nick calls and puts himself in dangerous situations to help out is a plothole that, for now, I am willing to overlook because I love his character so much.

I don’t really know if I can describe what it is about Eddie that makes me like him as much as I do. He just has this quality about him. He is a somewhat goofy guy with this great, sarcastic sense of humor. He wants to stay out of trouble, but he is very capable of handling himself. His personality just seems so incongruous with the supernatural element in him that I can’t wait to see what he will do next.

There was this great scene in the second episode where Nick asks him to protect his aunt. Eddie does as asked, but in the process accidentally rips the arm off of one of the attackers. When he shifts back to his human form he just looks at the arm in his hand and says, “Okay, that went a little bit too far,” in this dry, matter-of-fact voice. I lost it. There was just something about the completely nonplussed expression on his face and the way he delivered the line that was hysterical. Strange thing to find funny, yet it was.

Between the two fairy tale shows I must admit that I prefer Once Upon a Time, but I do really enjoy Grimm. I am very curious to see where this show goes and how the plots it is busily setting up play out. I am interested to learn more about the creatures who inhabit this world and how they are connected to each other and the Grimms. I feel like the dark nature of the show suits it well and through characters such as Eddie they are able to infuse enough levity to keep it from becoming oppressive. My hope is that because of it’s dark tone it will attract an audience that perhaps would not normally be drawn to a show about fairy tales. If this happens, then I believe it can find the legs that have alluded so many other shows based in fantasy on NBC.

What about you? Have you been watching Grimm? What do you like or dislike about it? Which do you prefer – Grimm or Once Upon a Time? Let me know in the comments!

The Characters of Harry Potter: Ron

If you have been following me on any of my social media accounts, then you are well aware that I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan. When I combined that with the fact that one of my most popular blog posts is the one on Severus Snape it was easy to decide on a topic for my first blogging series: The Characters of Harry Potter. There are way too many characters for me to write about them all, so I have decided to limit it to four. Now on with today’s post.

RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY

I love Ron. I’m just going to state that from the get go. I entered the Potter fandom relatively late (after Order of the Phoenix the book had just come out), but for the past 8 years I have been heavily immersed in that online world. I am very frequently left speechless by the reactions I see towards Ron. There is an enormous camp of people who idolize him, but there is also a not so small group of people who genuinely – to put it mildly – don’t like him.

Why?

There are several complaints that I see pop up most frequently: One, that Ron serves no real purpose to the story other than comic relief. Two, that Ron is the most immature member of the trio and it gets annoying. Three, that Ron is frequently touted as representing loyalty among the trio, yet he is the one who abandons Harry on two separate occasions.

What’s interesting, is that reasons two and three are part of why I love Ron so much. Those same two things also speak to what I believe a large part of his purpose in the books actually is.

Ron is just an ordinary guy.

JK Rowling is better than most authors at creating multi-layered, flawed characters. I challenge anyone to find a character from Harry Potter who is a too perfect “Mary Sue” or whatever the male equivalent is. I really don’t think one exists. BUT, where the main characters are concerned, almost all of them also have a part that is better than, extraordinary. This is why Ron is such a relatable character to so many. He is just an average, ordinary guy who is trying to be the best friend he knows how to be to someone who is anything but ordinary.

I still remember the first time I read through each book. When Ron unfairly blamed Harry in Goblet of Fire I was just as upset and frustrated as Harry was. In Deathly Hallows when Ron left Harry and Hermione on the hunt for Horcruxes I felt the hurt and betrayal just as acutely as they did. Those two actions were incredibly selfish. They were also incredibly normal.

I don’t know about you, but when I was in high school friends got in fights with each other all the time. We would stop talking to each other over the most trivial of things. Jealousy born of insecurity causes people to do all kinds of crazy things they normally wouldn’t, especially during the volatile teenage years. And that’s just in our normal, ordinary world and friendships. Now imagine being best friends with someone who lives under the constant threat and attention inherent when the most evil person to live in hundreds of years is after him. I’m impressed Ron and Harry didn’t get into fights more often.

The thing that I admire so much about Ron is that, yes he makes mistakes, but he also learns from those mistakes and will admit he was wrong. He did that in both Goblet of Fire and Deathly Hallows. One of the hardest things in the world to do is let go of stubborn anger, admit you were wrong, and ask for forgiveness. The bigger the mistake, the harder this is to do. That Ron is able to do this with such big mess ups shows tremendous growth, even maturity, in his character as well as the depth of his love for his best friend. In fact, I believe that Ron’s character shows more growth over the course of the series than almost any other.

Throughout the books Ron reacts to things in ways that I could imagine any number of guys I knew in high school – or even myself – reacting. He has very little filter present between his brain and his mouth, which causes him to say things that are often rude or insensitive. I think that most of the time he is oblivious to the fact that this is how he comes across and that in his heart he truly does care about those around him.

With the exception of the two times mentioned previously, he ALWAYS stood up for Harry. In Prisoner of Azkaban he could hardly move from his broken leg, yet he still boldly declared “If you want to kill Harry, you’ll have to kill us, too” to Sirius Black (249*). In Order of the Phoenix when the whole school thought Harry was an attention seeking liar, Ron stood up for him even when it was a friend making the accusations (197-198). There are many more examples sprinkled throughout, but these are just two that have always stood out to me.

I can not imagine the Harry Potter books without Ron. He adds so much more than much needed comic relief. He adds heart and an element of relatability to a story that lives in the realm of the fantastical. He is flawed, ordinary, fallible. As my friend Maria Gonzalez said, “We can’t all be ‘the brightest witch of our age’ or ‘the boy who lived’. Ron represents the normal people.”

What do you think? Do you like Ron or think that he is an immature git (to use one of his favorite words)? What are some of your favorite Ron moments? Let me know in the comments!

Be sure to check back for the next installment in my series; I will be discussing Hermione.

*Page numbers are from the UK editions.

The Inheritence Cycle: The End is Almost Here (Finally)

After a three year wait the final book in Christopher Paolini’s The Inheritance Cycle is just one  month away from being released. The first three books – Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr – follow the story of 15 year old Eragon who stumbles upon a dragon egg while hunting. Soon after his discovery a blue dragon whom he names Saphira hatches from the egg and he becomes the first Dragon Rider since the tyrant Galbatorix and his followers killed all the other dragons and their Riders. Thanks to this chance discovery Eragon finds himself thrust into the forefront of a rebellion that wants to end the reign of Galbatorix.

When I first read these books I devoured them. The world that Paolini created, called Alagaesia, is a vibrant world full of races both familiar and new. There are elves, dwarves, and dragons as well as creations called Urgals and Ra’zac. Most of these different races have their own unique language that Paolini created and uses throughout the series. All of this would be impressive on its own, but what is truly remarkable is Paolini was only 15 years old when he began writing Eragon. At such a young age he created and put to paper an intricate and detailed story that is better than some of the drivel put out by “more seasoned” authors.

Like any book or series these books are by no means perfect. They have been criticized a great deal for being derivative with comparisons to Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings most common. If you go through the story and list out the similarities they are quite numerous, but the same can be said for a number of books. The Lord of the Rings pretty much revolutionized the fantasy genre and I think you would be hard pressed to find a contemporary book of fantasy that was not somehow influenced by it. In the case of Star Wars, that series utilized many common storytelling conventions, such as the hero’s journey, but because it reached such huge levels of popularity many seem to credit it with creating those conventions. Yes, Paolini used a lot of the same plot devices, but so do many other stories in a variety of genres. To me it just isn’t that big of a deal as long as the story is interesting, which The Inheritance Cycle is.

From the start of the first book I fell in love with the characters and story. The relationship between Eragon and Saphira is fascinating and I love watching as they grow with one another. In the second book, Eldest, Paolini introduces the parallel story taking place in the home Eragon was forced to abandon through the eyes of his cousin, Roran. At times the story of Roran is even more interesting than that of Eragon. Roran is just an ordinary human with no magic or any other supernatural aid, but when his home is attacked by the Ra’zac he faces the challenge head on and does whatever needs to be done to protect those he loves. He goes through his own hero’s journey and it is a nice juxtaposition to that of Eragon’s.

The past three years have been a long wait and I am so glad it is almost over. There are so many unanswered questions and mysteries I am ready to have answered. So it is with eager anticipation that I wait the final month for Inheritance and the answers to all my questions.

What about you? Have you read any of the books in The Inheratence Cycle? Do you enjoy them or agree with some of the criticisms? Will you be purchasing the final book of the series? Let me know in the comments!

Not An Ordinary Vampire Book

Some of my favorite books are ones that I just stumble upon and decide to take a chance on. One of those instances happened a few years back with Robin McKinley’s Sunshine. I wanted something to read, but didn’t have anything in my queue so I just started searching on Amazon. I don’t really remember how exactly I came to be viewing the listing for Sunshine, but I thought it sounded really interesting. The next time I went to the bookstore I bought it and quickly became glad that I did.

Sunshine takes place in an alternate universe in which vampires, weres, and demons exist and their existence is known to the general population. Rae, who is nicknamed Sunshine, decides to go to her family’s cabin and while she is there she is abducted by a group of vampires. She is taken and chained in a room as a temptation for another vampire being held prisoner named Constantine. The only way to survive is if she and Constantine work together, but can she trust a vampire? More importantly, does she have a choice?

Ever since the remarkable success of The Twilight Saga the market has been flooded with vampire books, many of which are mediocre at best. Sunshine came out back in 2003 before the vampire craze struck and is a true gem that does not fit into the increasingly derivative genre. For example, while there is a certain sexual tension that creeps in between Sunshine and Constantine on occasion it is in no way a focal point of the plot. In fact, Sunshine has a perfectly human boyfriend from the onset of the book. Robin McKinley also excels in creating strong female characters who are flawed, yet likeable and that is certainly the case with Sunshine. As we read her story not only do we want her to succeed, but we believe that she can in spite of all the obstacles she faces because that is the type of character she is. She is a feisty, no-nonsense woman who also happens to make the best cinnamon rolls around. (As an aside, if you even remotely like cinnamon rolls this novel will make you crave them. She describes them in mouth-watering detail on several occasions. I recommend having some at hand before beginning to read.)

The world that Robin McKinley has created in Sunshine is incredibly detailed and has all the complexities inherent in real life. There is so much about the world and characters that is only hinted at and leaves you desperate for more even as it satisfies. As recent as last month it was listed in the Top 100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy poll conducted by NPR. It is a book that I have already visited more than once and know that I will visit again.

Have you read Sunshine or any other books by Robin McKinley? If so, what did you think? Does this sound like something you would be interested in reading? Let me know in the comments!

An Introduction

I suppose I should begin this blog by explaining its tagline. Several of my friends have made comments to me about being the sexiest nerd they know and since the vast majority of what I am going to be writing about will speak to my nerdiness I figured “The Sexy Little Nerd” was an appropriate tagline.

So…what is it about me that elicits the label of nerd from those who know me? That would have to be my proclivity for all things fantasy.

I am an avid reader. To me there is nothing better in the world than settling down with a good book. Nearly everything I read can fall into two categories: historical fiction and fantasy. It is my – sometimes obsessive – forays into fantasy that have earned me the label of nerd. While my love for fantasy extends across many titles and authors I am especially teased for my rather vocal love of Harry Potter. There is just something about the boy wizard that resonates within me and compels me to seek out everything to do with his world.

In this blog I will not just be writing about the books that I read, but also movies, television, and any other topic that catches my fancy. Hope you like it!