Final Fantasy Friday: A Month at the Carnival

It's the last Friday in February, and so that means it is time for:










This is the day I have set aside to shoot the breeze about blog memes, when available, and my Final Fantasy obsession. As you know, this year I have started playing Final Fantasy XV. This game is an experience. I'm almost sure I'm not even halfway done, and part of that is because of the ability to do side quests immediately, a first in the whole franchise, and also partly because at the end of January, a DLC (additional downloadable content) was added known as the Moogle Chocobo Carnival!


Think of it as a state fair. One of the cities in the game received a huge festival makeover, and you could do everything from fishing, to playing games, to helping little kids retrieve their balloons. Each night at about 8pm fireworks started going off for hours (probably about 20 minutes IRL), and if you racked up enough coins, you could buy a voucher to spend a night in the hotel and get a front row seat to the fireworks show. I took a lot of pictures but forgot to share them, so I can't access them right now.


Here are a few of pictures I shared on Twitter of Noctis and his dream guide Carbuncle riding the gondola through town.


You could change Noctis's clothes, so here he is being casual.


Look at the detail!



You could skip the scenic route, but sometimes, I just liked to look around.
Items you acquired through the carnival rolled over to your regular game, so I tried to get as many items as I could. I had a lot of fun, and now that the carnival is gone, I need to dive back into the real game. People are dropping spoilers on Instagram! *sigh* The price of not having the luxury of playing all day anymore.


It's a beautiful day in Delaware, so I hope the same goes for wherever you are! Get outside and have a good weekend!

It's my Blogoversary!

Happy Blogday to Me!




I know it's Monday, but I just checked my Timehop, and today marks 4 years since I started blogging!

First off, I'm surprised I'm still doing it. I struggled quite a few times, but changing my posting schedule to suit what fits my time has helped me to keep going. Thanks to everyone who has read over the years!

To commemorate my 4th Blogoversary, I thought I would highlight 4 posts from my original blog, The (old) Write Mage, where I wrote 400 posts about movies, music, books, life, awards, etc. I did the MOST on that blog. No wonder I burned out.


My very first post, in which I was sending out my first 45 pages of Fractured Princess, then Save the Queen, and synopsis to Tom Doherty & Associates:
http://thewritemage.blogspot.com/2012/04/about-to-query-tom-doherty-assoc.html


The post where I decided to change my MC Ghuli* from white to black:
http://thewritemage.blogspot.com/2012/06/color-line.html


The post where I admitted I started writing not because of books, but because of TV:
http://thewritemage.blogspot.com/2014/09/friday-freeday-writer-because-of-tv.html


The post where my short story was PUBLISHED!:
http://thewritemage.blogspot.com/2015/01/look-for-me-in-cactus-heart-press-wgifs.html


I wish I were famous enough to give something away lol. If you want not-so-expert advice on queries or your first five pages or whatever you want...I guess you can ask? lol Ooh, or anyone who leaves a comment, I'll just use Random.org like I always do. That makes more sense.





*This post occurred before I changed Ghuli's name to Jonnie*

Saturday Sketch: Brodie's Tattoo

Happy Saturday!

So for my last Tuesday Tales, I had Brodie talk about her and Cyan's tattoos, but I also realized I never drew hers. So Thursday, I sketched it up. I posted it on Twitter, but here it is anyway! I learned I could draw an eagle. :)


Have a good weekend!

Tuesday Tales: The Sprite Child's Epic



It's been an interesting and long few days for me, so I thought I would let myself not think so much for this post.

One of the goals I had for Fractured Princess was to make other pieces of it available in some story form or another, short stories, prequels (hadn't thought of sequels, but then my darn mind betrayed me). I want to flesh out a children's book from the story: The Sprite Child's Epic. It's been a while since I opened this document, but I loved writing this one scene, so here it is for your enjoyment, hopefully. It's mainly dialogue.

----------------
Talking to the Trees

Lenne trembled as she rubbed her eyes with her fists. Surely, she was not seeing what she was seeing. Sir Willa was looking at her and speaking to her, without her imagination. She lowered her hands and looked at the holes in the tree staring back at her.

“S-s-sir Willa?” she gasped.

“’Tis what you call me, my lady,” he answered. “I must say, ’tis a simple name and a lot shorter than my real one.”

“W-what is your real one?”

“Teospriesellopatna.”

“Tee…teeos…”

“You see? I was nearly two decades old before I could say it myself. Sir Willa is much easier. My real name means Spirit of the Green Willows of Teorre. I am the father of all the green willow trees.”

“All the green ones? Are there other colors?”

“Oh, my yes, Little Lady Lenne. Come sit.”

And right before Lenne’s eyes, Sir Willa tied a bundle of his switches together and made a hammock for her. Wide-eyed and slack-jawed, Lenne approached her friend who just this afternoon had not been able to do any of these things himself. The fly perched itself between Sir Willa’s eyes as he spoke.

“Now, there are two other kinds of willow trees, but they are across the northern waters, and also far south on another land. Their parents are Teospriesellocalla and Teosprieselloabbi, the Spirits of the Blue and White Willows of Teorre.”

“Blue and white trees?” Lenne raised her brow high in astonishment.

“Teorre is very interesting outside of your little home, my lady.”

“You keep saying Teorre. What is that?”

“’Tis the world on which we live. Quite simply, it means, the earth. Only those of us sensitive to this side of it know its name, and now you are here, so now you know it, too.”

“This side. What is this side? I saw myself asleep, yet I was not asleep, but standing away from my body.”

Sir Willa’s long mouth curved upward. He was frowning. “You were bitten by the faeriefly then.”

“The what?”

“The faeriefly.” One of Sir Willa’s switches bent upwards and pointed to the glowing fly still sitting between his eyes. “Her magic is a fickle thing. She bit you and accidentally split your living body from your dream body. We must find a way to get you back into your living body before your Papa notices.”

“Oh dear, he will think me dead!”

“No, no. You are still breathing, Little Lady Lenne. You are just sleeping very deeply. You must see Teosprilacca. She can help you get to where you need to go first.”

“First? I cannot just wake up?”

“’Tis not that simple, my lady. You need a magic more controlled to help you. For that, you need to go to the Crystal Bearers. They are the most powerful people on Teorre.”

“Crystal Bearers? You mean there are others on this land?”

“Not this land, but the land across the northern waters. Teosprilacca will take you.”

“Teo…Do you mean Lady Kwakwa?”

“Yes, and you may want to call her Lady Lacca when you see her. She does not like your name for her. She says ducks make that noise.”

“Oh dear…And the Beauterfleas? Do they not like their name either?”

“Butterflies are vain little things. They love that you call them beauties.”

“Oh, good.”

Wednesday Words: Final Look Into The Fifth Season







Happy Hump Day!

I have about 80 pages left in N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season, and what a ride it has been! For a second, I thought to myself, "I can't wait to buy this," somehow thinking it was a library book. I definitely bought this book. Anyway, it's dark and twisty, and I love it. I can't wait to read more of her books. She's awesome!

So, now that I've nearly finished the book, let me use Random.org to share a few lines from page 354. Hey, I was just there. A very poignant and currently relevant conversation happened, so here is a little of it.


She comes into the house and leans against the wall next to the door, crossing her arms and her ankles. "We aren't human."

 "Yes. We. Are." His voice turns fierce. "I don't give a shit what the something-somethingth council of big important farts decreed, or how the geomests classify things, or any of that. That we're not human is just the lie they tell themselves so they don't have to feel bad about how they treat us--"



I am so close to the end and have yet to figure out how it ends...for the last time. I'll most likely tweet about it, and a Goodreads review is coming soon!

What have you read these past few weeks?

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Brought to us by Alex J. Cavanaugh-sensei
and the Insecure Writer's Support Group.


Happy February!

Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group, created to provide a safe place for us writers in our darkest hours. That was a flair for the dramatic, but why not. ;)

I'm going through a small bout of writer worry, having my manuscript out there in the world with agents and editors. I'm still hoping for the best, but I will always feel (and know at this point) that more work needs to be done on Fractured Princess. Either way, I am claiming positive vibes on this. Wish me luck.

This month's question is an interesting one, so let's dive right into it!

How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

I'm doing a lot more analyzing than I used to. I still get great enjoyment out of a good story, but I never seem to take off my editing glasses. Back when I was teenager just writing stories, it didn't faze me, but such is the life of someone always critiquing others' work and having their own critiqued.

How about you all? See you soon!