Story&Design Contest--the results!!

I suppose you all know what today is..... yep. It's February 20th!! (Already??) And, of course, the end of the story&design contest.

I loved all of your entries, they were wonderful!! And I had so many!! I'm afraid that some of you won't get awarded. *sadness* So, right off the bat, everybody should get an honorable mention. Great job, you guys. :)

But *sigh* I had to pick. As all of you remember, whoever wins this will get their very own personalized book just about them. If they have a picture of themselves or use their real name, I'll construct the character to look like that. Otherwise, the winner gets to say what they want to look like, etc. (You can, anyway =P)

And so..... who is our lovely winner?

I'm serious. It was hard.

But it finally came down to the story that touched me the most.

And that lovely story was by.....

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.................Brittney Ann! :)

I loved Britt's story so much, it really touched me. Click here to read it for yourself and be changed forever and click here to see the cover she made for her story. :) That's why she's getting her personalized book. :)

I didn't say anything for the people who get second and third, but if you'd like a quote, button, header, blog design, etc. just talk to me. :) (Or a spot in The Unusuals if you already aren't!!! :))

Second place goes to........ Jessica Anne!! :)

I really loved the cover that she made for my book, Letters to Jo. Click her name to check it out!! :)

I had a really hard time picking third place........ really hard........ but I think I've finally settled on Poem Girl's awesome story and cover for it. :) Congrats!! :)

(Honorable mention--Piano Bookworm and Layla and Josiah. Please check out their blogs!! They're awesome. :))

Congrats, everybody!! And don't forget to talk to me about prizes!! :)

A writer's brain is strange

Today's another lovely day that God's gone and blessed us with. The sun's shining, it's not TOO cold (I mean, it's like 17 degrees, but at least it's not -17, right? ;)), and we have a whole day ahead of us.

There's a week ahead of me that I'm really excited about. During this week is a play, and during the week of the play I get to... go skiing again!! :) (Didn't hear the whole Storyteller-almost-dies-by-skiing? Click here.) I'm sooo excited about this week. Please pray that I'll bless God with whatever part I do/don't get in the play and that I won't kill myself or anybody else while skiing. (SKIING. IS. AWESOME. by the way......)

You know, I see all of these pictures, and my brain's just like "WRITE A STORY. WRITE A STORY." and then I might try something, and then it doesn't even work out. I'll get a character, but if she doesn't has a story, what's the point? Sometimes it's hard for me. And I keep on trying to get a story for my character. Sometimes they're stuck, but sometimes they get a breakthrough. That's my favorite time--when I actually get to give that character a story. Other times, though, I come up with the story--and have to struggle to figure out the character in it. Or I find a name. Like I LOVE this name--The Calm Before the Storm--but I'm still struggling to get a story. Fairy Eyes was one of those names, and yet it has a story. I hope that that's what happens to The Calm Before the Storm.

There's this one story I've been wanting to write for forever. It's kind of like Spiderwick, but not at all like it. It's about a girl named Rowan (totally different from the girl on here) who goes and lives with her family in a mansion. There's a lot of emotional conflict, though. Hopefully it'll turn out really good. :) (I think I left her in an argument with a boy who jumps off the top of her mansion and lives... anyway... =P)

I'm just kind of curious... what's your favorite story of mine that I've ever written? I mean, I don't even know. (Well, actually.... I really like Rubberboot Girl..... anyway..... =P) So what's YOUR favorite character? ;)

Lator gator.

Over and out.

P.S. What style do you like better? Do you like it when I capitalize everything? or do you like it better when i only do that on names, like when i reference one of you guys or God? I'm not even sure... Please tell me..... ;)

Twilight's Last Night--Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Hey, my name's Katrina," I smiled, holding out my hand for a handshake.

The African American girl stared at me for a few moments like I was crazy.

"Katrina Bale," I continued, taking my hand back and using it to hold my books better. "What's your name?"

She glared at me. "It's Erin--Erin Hall."

"Nice to meet you," I smiled. "Are you new here?"

"Yeah," she said. "Moved here a week ago. And what? Let me guess--you've lived here all your life." She put her hands on her hips. "And guess what, girl. I don't need your pity. I don't need your help. And I definitely don't need your friendship."

"Hey, hey, I just want to be friends to be friends, that's all," I assured her.

Her brown eyes narrowed. "You know, at my last school, there was a girl like you. Really nice, really pretty. I thought, hey, maybe here's a friend. And you know what? I got to be friends with her, and then she made me look like an idiot--ON PURPOSE--in front of the whole entire school." She continued to glare. "I'm done with friends."

Then she walked off.

How could somebody do that to a girl? To anybody?

I bit my lip and walked off.

Colds, plays, and everything else

Thanks for all of the comments. Sorry I haven't answered them, but I don't really have that much time.... (I might have time. We'll see...)

My cold's hanging on for dear life, but I'm hoping that it'll go away pretty soon. (Especially before the play. And skiing. Did I tell all of ya'll about that?? I think I did on Rubberboot Girl.... Well, I'm not sure about the play... wait, I think I wrote about the skiing on Dragonmaster.... oh, wow... =P)

Anyway, so, yes, I'm hoping to be in a play. I'm super excited!! I've done two other plays with this company, and they've been a blast. It's always lots of fun, and most of my friends get to do it with me. I love acting, too, so that week is something that always get checked in my brain as something I'm really looking forward to. (I really don't get to do that many plays anymore... not that I ever did. =P)

Hopefully, I'll be able to comment on all of your lovely blogs soon. :)

Later gator.

Over and out. ;)

P.S. Poem Girl? I couldn't make sense of your last Pernisia/Rowan chapter. (Sorry :/) Can you please explain what happened?? Thanks!! :)

Happy Valentine's Day! :)

Designed by me.

Have a great day!! Comment and tell me what you're thankful for today. :)

Pernisia and Rowan--the Hopeful Door

Pernisia

“Honestly Caleb!” I muttered to myself as I tugged “Screech” over towards Caleb and Rowan. Really it seemed that there were two different Caleb’s here, the Caleb who knew well enough to leave Rowan alone and the Caleb who was a total annoying pain! I heard one of Caleb’s friends commenting about how gorgeous Rowan was; I gagged out loud, I mean I knew she was pretty but only a weirdo like Caleb would have friends as creepy as…this boy. Rowan was as red as a roaring volcano and just as she looked like she was bout to sock the creep I grabbed her away and took her to a more remote area where Caleb wouldn’t find us.

“Thanks, but I could’ve handled that myself.” She grumbled.

“Yeah I know.” 

“Could we… perhaps…maybe not go with your brother tonight?” 

I shook my head sadly. “not a chance, but I don’t know maybe world jumping will get him a brain.” I glimpsed Caleb coming towards us I glared at him, he shrugged. 

“I bought us some time with the boys.” He glanced as Rowan. “Sorry for using you as a pawn without permission.”

I rolled my eyes. “Cut it out Caleb, lets just go already.”

.He frowned. “Sure.” He looked around us. “Hey where’s that kid Screech?”

I followed Caleb’s lead and looked around as well but surprisingly he wasn’t anywhere; come to think of it I’d never seen him at school before either? “I… I don’t know he was with me when I went to get Rowan from you but he definitely wasn’t when I pulled her away?” 

“Strange.” Rowan sat down. “Could he possibly be from another world as well?” 

I gaped at her. “Really, you really think that?” 

“Sure.” She replied casually. “We world travelers often have to make quick exits. We leave whenever we can because it’s almost impossible to control when you can go home. Each world has a different rule mine say’s you have to make the door for you to be able to pass through it; yours who knows?” 

Caleb looked a little nervous. “I do.” 

Rowan scanned him critically much like she had when they first met. “Really now. How is that?” 

“I don’t know how I know but I do okay, I just get this feeling; which reminds me we got to get going.” 



We got to the park and Rowan and I hurried off to the girls bathroom so we could change. Rowan changed into her normal clothes and put on what I considered to be my best pair of traveling apparel. 

We met up with Caleb who had likewise changed and he lead us to…the park gate? It began to glow….what! How did Caleb know this would happen!?

Rowan

In between the arches of the gate swirled a webbing of color. I knew what this was. I had seen it, not that many times. But I knew what happened after you stepped through it.

"Hurry!" I urged. "It's a Door!"

"Of course it is," glared Caleb.

Pernisia stared at us. "What?"

I glanced over at Caleb. "Wait a sec. How on earth did you know about this Emotion Door?" I narrowed my eyes. "Unless this is where you came through?"

"You're going to make it close!" he cried. "Anger makes the Door close. It's hopefulness that opens it."

"A Hopeful Door." I glared at it. "That's lovely."

"Wait, what?" Pernisia looked way confused.

"You have to be hopeful, Rowan," Caleb pointed out. "Get rid of your anger."

"You sound like Yoda," Pernisia snorted.

"Who's Yoda?" I demanded.

"Nevermind," she sighed.

"OK," started Caleb, "now stop being mad."

I glared. "Then you'd better leave."

"Rowan!" he cried.

"Fine," I sighed. I closed my eyes and made myself relax. I felt the anger dripping out of me like water. My eyes flipped open.

"We've got to hurry," Caleb pointed out. "It's going to close soon, and then it won't open for another year."

"Another year?!" Pernisia looked horrified. "Wait, where on earth does this take us!?"

"Let's go." I grabbed Pernisia's hand and Caleb's arm and plunged through the Door--the Emotion Door.

The ban of the photos has lifted!!

(I about look like that<-- girl haha =D)

Yes, my photo ban as ended!! (Before I got freaked out about filling picture space. And my posts got ugly. =P So... END OF THE PICTURE BAN!!!!! =D)

I realized that if photo blogs can survive, certainly a story blog (OK, OK, and random =P) can survive that much longer. Right???

Anyway, so... I was kind of wondering. I mean, if I do polls, they don't always get voted on. So we're going to do a post poll. :) What's your favorite story--Katrina Bale, Arawyn Summersprite, or Wyn the sarcastic and awesome (JK =D)?

The snow has died done (there was a big storm =P) but we still have lots on the ground!! (And really big drifts... fun for falling in, of course... ;))

Oh yeah!

(*random mind, remember =P*)

I almost forgot.

Do you guys think that I should continue doing like "featured blogger" of the week or something. If you guys think this is a good idea, please tell me!! Also, tell me if you'd like to be a featured blogger. (To be featured, you'd have to be a follower of this blog, by the way....) If you were featured, I would talk about you and give links to your blogs and all of that good stuff. :)

Also... any quiz ideas? I know you love them. :)

Later gator.

Over and out. ;)

For Jenny, of Artsy Peacock

Sometimes it just feels like you're locked in a tower...

You want to get out in the world, do things, meet people, but there's never an opportunity. You're always stuck at home. You might as well have been stuck in a tower.

Sometimes life feels like that. Like you ARE stuck in a tower or something. You're stuck. You want to move on. You want to get over the hurt. But you can't. You're stuck in a tower. Just stuck.

I'm stuck in a tower.

Stuck.

I want to get away.

But I can't.

I'm stuck in a tower.

Stuck.

But this isn't going to last forever. God can help you come unstuck. He can pull you out of those feelings of hurt and betrayal. He can pull you out of that feeling that your life's never going to be right, never going to be the same again. I've felt those feelings. You just feel stuck, and you want to get away, but you can't. You might as well have been stuck in a tower. 

But then Jesus sets you free, and you can soar on wings like eagles right out of that tower.

I'm free.

Jesus guides me.

I'm free.

Flying over the sea.

I'm free.

God's with me.

I'm free.

God's the key.

A chapter in which Wyn starts to look like a page

I hope you don't mind being attacked by stories... =P Oh yeah, and I dreamed I had 93 followers last night... awesome dream.... =D Anyway, onward, stories!! =D

* * *

I smiled. "Thankfully, I've thought it all out. There's an old family friend of ours who has a young son--William, by name--that's just starting out for the crusades tomorrow. We'll detain his page, I'll take the page's place, and viola! I'm in the Middle East! It shouldn't be that hard to find Lochinvar."

Walt gave me a look like "hello, it's the Middle East! You're going to get lost. Or killed." Then he finally cried, "Hello, it's the Middle East! You're going to get lost. Or killed."

I sighed. "I'll be fine. Now, are you going to help me, or not?"

Walt sighed, too. "Fine. Let's go."

* * *

"Ready?" I whispered to Walt.

He groaned. "Are you sure we really want to do this? Look at the size of him!"

I rolled my eyes. "Just lock the outhouse door. It's not going to be that hard. And he's never even going to see you."

"I don't see how locking the page inside of the outhouse is going to detain him," Walt muttered under his breath.

I glared at him. "You got any better ideas?"

He sighed. "OK. Fine."

I stayed behind the tents of finery set up in the castle's courtyard. We'd been here since sunrise, having hidden away inside of a peasant's wagon without his knowledge. When the peasant had stopped the wagon, we'd jumped out and hidden behind the tent here and hadn't moved. (Well, that wasn't entirely true. Walt had "borrowed" some cheese and bread. And then I'd gotten bored so I'd gone and looked at the horses. But no one saw me. Honest.)

I glanced around the side of the tent. Walt was moving towards the wooden building that both of us knew was the outhouse. Good. Everything was going according to plan. I fingered my long brown hair. Now I needed to finish the plan.

I'd already commandeered one of my father's old swords and an old page's outfit from the armory back at my own castle. Now I looked like a page all except for my long hair. I'd delayed cutting it as long as I could. But now it was time.

I pulled the dagger out of the sheath on my boot and held it up to my hair.

"No turning back," I whispered.

It fell like a long brown waterfall.

Walt hurried around the side of the tent, breathless with excitement. His eyes gleamed as he whispered, "I did it! He won't be coming out of there for a really long time." He paused. "So it's done."

I fingered my chopped hair. "Yeah." I managed a wan smile. "Thanks for all you've done, friend."

He nodded.

And, at that moment, I realized that I might never see Walt again. There were a million things that could go wrong--SIr William could realize that I was a girl, and Lady Wyn no less; I could be killed; and a million other things. I shook my head. I couldn't think about them.

Right now I had to remember that the hardest part of my plan was still to come...