When a librarian finds a murdered historian in the undocumented vaults of the library, she discovers that magic, unusable for centuries, is returning to the world, and those who once wielded it are returning to take back their homeland.

file under: celebration , fantasy , reallife , writings Posted by Jen at 11:39 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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I got three hours of sleep last night thanks to this wonderful book. Carol Berg stays at the top of my favorite authors list with this one, because it kept me reading from 8 pm until 5 am. Yes, 5 am. Oh, there were interruptions of dinner and a chat with the roommate and Pirates 3 (it was quiet in the apartment, what can I say? I have to stare at Orlando), so I could have finished sooner, I suppose.

Not quite the less-than-six-hours marathon of finishing HP 7, but close. I never wanted to sleep. I begrudged the time it took to shower and get ready for bed. Valen is as real to me as anyone, and I could see him in my mind as he leapt and danced, which is not at all usual (a phrase often applied to Valen in the book). I have a hard time visualizing characters, but my hands are itching to take a shot at drawing what I see for him.

I felt like a bad fan. I knew this book was coming out and I was looking for it, but I didn't know the exact release date, so I was actually a little late getting it. It wasn't until Carol sent out her sweet little email yesterday that I knew it was even available, and you can be sure that the hours I had to wait until I could leave work and head off to Borders were pretty darn long. But I have it now, and I'll be riding the high from reading it for a while.

I had to finish. It was too wonderful to stop, and I honestly didn't want to. Well done, Carol. Words can't express how happy I was to be reading it. It makes me want to write that well, and I hope I come close. I love Valen so much right now. For once, my speculations were right, but the story never made it too obvious.

So nice to read the rest of the story I got a glimpse of during those private readings with Carol at Archon in August. What a fitting conclusion to Flesh & Spirit.

Sleep deprivation will hit me a little later, but it was worth it.

  John Mayer, "Say"
  on to "Iron Kissed," Patricia Briggs, after last night's B&B marathon
file under: books , celebration , fantasy , reviews Posted by Jen at 10:25 AM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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(doo da, doo da)

...but I can't tell you or Carol Berg will kill me, haha. This weekend at Archon I had the privilege of hearing some of the beginning of Carol's next book, Breath and Bone at a private reading. According to her, I'm one of about 7 people who know. Sweet! The book comes out in January, and I'm even more keen to read it now than I was after the end of the first book in the Lighthouse Duet, Flesh and Spirit when it came out in May. Excuse me while I squee.

Archon (the St. Louis sci-fi/fantasy/comics/pop-culture convention that's really in Collinsville IL) was very good. I debated about going for quite a while, because it was so expensive this year. Archon 31 was also NASFiC, since Worldcon was awarded to a non-North American site (Yokohama, Japan). It was, therefore, a national con and not a regional one, and theoretically worth more, I guess. I have very limited con experience, so I can't tell you if it really was bigger than normal (though some of my new con friends say it wasn't). I knew Carol Berg would be there, and I really wanted to see what she had to say. I took at look at the programming and decided that it would be worth it to pay that much, and indeed, it was. Thank goodness I have a car that could make the forty-mile round trip now.

There were quite a few writing panels, and I've got many notes which are going to live in my manuscript folder. It was pretty cool to interact with authors and agents, some of whom I've only encountered on blogs. And it's doubly cool to actually talk with the authors, most of whom are really nice and surprisingly approachable, especially for a shy girl like me (unless I'm talking about myself, sigh. then I seem to run on forever). It was wonderful to actually have a discussion with one of my favorite authors about writing (Carol sat down with me for an entire hour) and get some great advice. I was really intending to sit down this evening and write some on my novel, but the computer thwarted me with its one-two punch of slowness and browser-crashing in the middle of my entry, sigh.

It wasn't just writing. I went to panels on Harry Potter and Firefly, attended a workshop on Irish Ceili dancing and belly dancing, and saw the SFWA Musketeers demonstrate fencing techniques.Saw my cousin Brian, but didn't get to attend any of his panels. The writing panels really made it worth it, even if the days were looong.

I had a couple of mini-epiphanies about the novel while at panels, so that's good. I've just got to get the damn thing going. I can't believe how far I haven't gotten in the story, sigh. The workshops are going to be helpful, though, especially ones like Writing Realistic Violence and Plots that Work. And of course Carol's very good advice. I still can't believe I got to monopolize an author like that. She was very nice about it. I felt awfully stalkerish. Some people want to meet movie stars or sports celebs; I geek out over authors. She had some helpful hints for the anthology which I need to follow up on, and she had a dedicated cadre of fans that followed her around the whole weekend, so I made some new friends. Thank you, Carol, this weekend meant alot to me.

Maybe I'll fit in a little writing before it's time for bed...

(incidentally, this is entry 700 for this blog. Sheesh. I know not all of them are pithy and meaningful, but it seems a large number to me...)

file under: books , celebration , fantasy , writings Posted by Jen at 10:25 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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Daniel Radcliffe turns 18 today. Yahoo. How would you like to be the richest kid in England? And know how the character you originated is going to die/live? Sort of surreal, if you ask me.

And I only post this because the post I made three years ago about him turning 15 broke my site for a little bit, because I was silly when I started out here...

It was fun talking about HP when I got to work this morning. Nice to know I'm not alone in my like of the boy wizard.

So after speed-reading HP 7, I slept for two and a half hours then dragged my butt to the emissions station so I could get the new car tested, then it was off to the DMV (glad I had a backup DMV to visit, because the first one, which used to be a huge office, has been downgraded to a contract station and only open the 1st and last Saturdays of the month...) to pay the title fee and sales tax. Which was not fun for my wallet, let me tell you. And the annoying thing? I could have slept in an hour more and not gotten the emissions test, because the lady didn't even look at it until I mentioned that my (transferred) plates expire in October, and she said I would have to come back in for that. I bet she still could have renewed them then (you can renew three months in advance) but she said she couldn't. As long as I go back before the tests expire, I'll be okay, but there's no way I'm paying for them again. Silly DMV.

Then I spent the rest of the day on my parents' couch, not quite sleeping, but certainly being very sedentary.

I read the end of HP 7 again yesterday

file under: fantasy Posted by Jen at 2:43 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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Whew! Another fandom midnight movie premiere. Saw HP and the OotP last night (with friends! finally!) and enjoyed it. The Post-Dispatch reviewer gave it a B+, and that's probably what I'd give it too...there was an awful lot missing (when you have to distill 820 pages into a 2:18 movie, of course there will be) but I think they did a good job at editing.

Daniel Radcliffe is still too cute for his age. His acting is better in this film than the others, though he was pretty good in Goblet of Fire. However, his acting is almost all we get to see. The other characters have been pretty much cut to secondary roles. Usually the most is made of any role, however small.

There are some tough scenes in the movie (as they were in the book, and if you haven't read it, I won't spoil you) but they're done well. One of my friends remarked that this one was the first she'd seen where she'd read the book first, and it is a little odd to see it, knowing what happens. I think this one did a good job at keeping the suspense up even if you knew how it would end. Of course, I don't think I've read OotP since the last book came out, so it's been a while, and things had sort of faded into the fogginess of my mind.

I liked the ending (in the sense that it was well done, not the it's-a-happy-ending way), though I wish it could have explored the book storyline a little more. There were some slow parts, and I wonder that they chose not to expand on the conclusion. People would watch it no matter how long it was. It's the shortest movie of the five that are made, yet the longest book. It could be longer.

The music wasn't wonderful. Nicholas Hooper composed it, and while there were a few times of hearing Hedwig's theme reworked, most of it was new. It was very unobtrusive except when there were establishing shots, which I've never understood. Yes, let's have sweeping orchestrals while showing you castle turrets. I'll probably buy it anyway. I miss John William's score, though.

This one won't make me rush out and see it again immediately, unlike Pirates 3, but I'll be happy to go with my parents or other friends.

PS about the car...cross your fingers that a) I can get it in for painting and alignment today (things that they would do anyway, but I bought it from them too fast) b) I can get a hold of my salesman so i) I can get a rental car for the few days it will take to paint and ii) they'll agree to fix the cupholder that they *should* fix, but we didn't notice at the beginning and c) that I really can afford this car...

file under: fantasy , movies , reviews Posted by Jen at 9:44 AM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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So... the renaissance festival.

I had a blast. Well, not a blast. A good time. I would love to work there, be paid to dress up in medieval costume and be in character all day. I'd hate the sweat though, sigh.

So we almost got killed on the way there. After I was late to meet Jess and she of course was early. Way early. I of course had a DNA isolation that didn't get done till late. Erm. My fault, again. I suck. So we hit major rush hour traffic. Then Josh her ex brought us pizza cause he works at Domino's but he had to stay and cover for someone, so we were late(r). Both Jess and I spent most of the ride sewing. I spent half, anyway. I just had to sew some snaps on my cloak, which wasn't really worth it as it was too damn hot to wear a cloak anyway. But I did it. Jess only had pieces of her bodice cut out, but not sewn together. She ended up not finishing it. She just wore what she had last year.

There was almost a dead body in the Conoco station next to the hotel. I'm kidding. The convenience store next to the pumps was empty, and the alarm went off. We didn't take anything. We were honest. So we got free sodas We were just worried that maybe someone was hurt and couldn't get up.

help, I've fallen and I can't get up!

Jess also had to do homework. She had to film two hours of video at one location, to pick up ambient noise, one hour at one time of day, the other hour at another time. So we spent a lot of time walking around with a video camera.

I didn't take nearly enough pictures. Although I can say that I was squeezed into a corset. And looked damn good too. I even got a rose.

Our hotel room had an ant problem.

They have the best shaved ice I've ever had there. Too expensive, but it actually tastes fruity.

Hammered dulcimers make some of the most beautiful music in the world.

Jess definitely gets into moods. So do I, I guess.

the guy wearing the fop makeup was probably really cute. Wish I could get a cute guy. Of course all the men on the trip were taken. Sort of.

I danced the maypole. Too bad there weren't enough guys to kiss.

There's more. Like the Human Chess match with a cameo by Harry Potter and how I didn't get to shoot any arrows. Where is my bow and arrow set anyway? Erm.

Why don't you im me or send me an email and ask me more? Hell, leave a comment.

file under: fantasy Posted by Jen at 6:29 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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Yes, I realize he's just a piece of fiction, but he's a damn well written piece of fiction. And the fourth book came out yesterday, so I had to get it. And The Bourne Identity. I love bookstores. I should just work for a bookstore and get loads of books. Of course, I'd never make any money cause it would all go to books. Sigh. I almost wish you could read more than one book at a time. I don't mean read one book for a while and then read another then go back to the first, I mean two streams of novels would go into your head at the same time. But notice I said almost. Then you wouldn't get to enjoy them so much, and you'd have less to read later. Books will never go out of style. They're the original portable

today was a load of work for nothing. The bacteria still haven't taken up the DNA in the right way or something like that. All that work so we can take a picture to see that nothing's like the way it should be. Arrgh. Which means I have to pick more colonies. Another day of fun for Jenn.

Lammster and Kitt... thanks for your commenting sprees

I really really want: Carol Berg's Transformation and Revelation, Dave Matthews Band's Busted Stuff (which is a studio version of The Lilywhite Sessions, go fig), Goo Goo Dolls' Gutterflower. And I really really really x1000 want the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring DVD (theatrical and collector's editions), the dvd player to play it, and the Art of the Lord of the Rings coffee table book. Donations cheerfully accepted.

file under: books , fantasy Posted by Jen at 9:49 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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