Journal Entry 5 - End of Another NaNo Challenge

Today marks the last day of July Camp NaNo as it is the 31st of the month. July is the luckier camp month since you get that extra day compared to 30 in April and November for the real deal.

My goal for this camp was 25k, and while it looks like I'm going to fall short, I got pretty close. When it comes to NaNo, whatever you write is words and therefore counts. So the word count I did achieve this month is about 60% novel and 40% blog posts (since some of them were longer than what I might have written in my novel for that day).

After the first day this month that I didn't do any writing, I reminded myself it wasn't the real NaNo, and that camps are just a warm up, nothing to stress over too much. And so, I ended up skipping a day here and there, that would be why I'm not reaching the goal.

Also, I've had other things going on and other hobbies to steal my time. My hyperfixation problem meant I spent one week being a little unproductive because I was too focused on one thing to do much else. Welcome to my life.

Camp NaNo is over, so I'm no longer going to be keeping track of my word count, but I think that will take a little pressure off. My friend, the one also writing a novel, and I are trying to get to the library regularly to do writing. It helps to be outside with my laptop and having no choice but to get some work done. When I'm at home, there are too many other things that might pull me away.

These next few weeks are going to be a bit busy, I've got a number of gatherings with family and friends to do, my three zero birthday is next week and my family is all over the country, meaning I've got things going on at different times. I don't feel a week from 30, I barely feel late 20s, I think it's because mentally, I'm a kid. Not literally, just that feeling as an adult where you act like a kid because you miss being one sometimes. Adulting is hard.

Since I have now just started whining about life, I think it's time to end this entry.

Book Review - The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

Seeing as India Holton's new book, The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love, is coming out soon, I figured I'd do a review on her first series.

As you can guess from the title, we have a society of lady scoundrels, and scoundrels in this case being pirates. Yes, we have a book about lady pirates. Not to say there aren't any male pirates in this series, as there most definitely is (this is a romance series), but the main character of this book is one of these lady scoundrels. And these pirates are still proper ladies.

Honestly, the premise alone was funny, but reading the actual book is even better. I don't read many historical books, even less ones set in Victorian England, but this one pulled me in.

One thing you all should know is that these are not the kind of pirates that sail on ships with Jolly Rogers blowing about in the ocean breeze. No, these pirates drive houses. With Jolly Rogers blowing about in the high altitude breeze. This book is a fantasy with magic, so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that the houses fly, but they have an actual ship's wheel for steering and everything. Even canons if you can believe it.

As you get through the other two books in the series, you even have witches and super spies that work for the Queen. Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, is even in these books. Though you can imagine, given the nature of these books, that she is not historically accurate and very out of character. But in a fun way.

Another magic fantasy book with a unique take on how magic operates and I could never get over the fact that we have pirates whose ships are their houses. A wide plethora of interesting characters and you've got one amazing book. There's also a bit of mystery to add some flavour.

At the end of the day, we have a humous book with romance, magic, mystery and a reminder that women are not to be underestimated. Our heroines, Pirate Cecilia Bassingwaite (Book 1), Witch Charlotte Pettifer (Book 2) and Spy Alice Dearlove (Book 3), are dangerous damsels indeed.

Click image for Goodreads page.

Next Round Part 2

"Week one over and I am proud to say that I only had three absences," Vera boasts.

This Friday afternoon found the two year five teachers in the room between their two classrooms. It was time for a weekly check in. Most other year levels used this time to catch up in a positive light, like a normal teacher should do. Of course, these two were ready for their first competition, number of student absences for the first week of the year.

"Oh, three you say? Well Vera, I am proud to say that I only had one this week," Damien replies, casually taking a sip of his tea after the words had left his mouth.

Vera felt her eyebrow twitch, she thought she had this in the bag, three was a pretty decent number for five days. No matter, the real test of absenteeism will come at the end of the year with percentage. She could live with this outcome as they had more important matters to discuss.

"So NAPLAN practice, we haven't had a chance to discuss how we're going to go about it," she says, opening her laptop to check the dates for this year.

"Last year's plan seemed to work well enough," the man replies.

"It did, and we can use it, but we'll have to make adjustments, we have a welcoming assembly for the new teachers in week three that might go a little longer than usual, and week five is jam-packed with events as well."

"If we can make time for the lessons we have, then they should not interfere too much."

She frowns as her eyes take in the information on her screen, "I wonder what the writing stimulus will be this year."

"Your guess is as good as mine," he shrugs. "I think we'll have time for some narrative and persuasive recap like we did last year, and maybe get started on information reports depending on how they go."

"Looking at my students' writing from last year, it should go relatively smoothly, though I have a few that still struggle with persuasive language," she replies.

"This cohort are good with Maths for the most part, so we can cover the usual term one topics and maybe a few recapping lessons to benefit the ones who still have trouble with certain areas."

They spent the next hour talking NAPLAN, planning English and Maths lessons to prepare the students for the test.

-

Jasmine had only managed to converse with the two year five teachers a handful of times over the last week, but her mind would always go back to that first time she saw them. It was just her luck that she would leave school on Friday at the same time as the both of them. She was halfway into her car when she spotted the two of them leaving through the gate.

Damien was gentlemanly enough to hold the gate open for his teaching partner as the woman talked his ear off. His face was blank, but he did appear to be listening. As they drew closer, she could make out what they were saying.

"You know Damien, I think my class is going to blow yours away this year," Vera was saying. "I have a good feeling about getting some high bands in my class."

"We shall see," the man replies, a small smirk crossing his face. "If last year is any indication, you're doomed to fail."

"What are you implying?"

The two passed her car, only stopping their argument for a moment to wave Jasmine good as they did. She watched as Damien helped Vera unload her bags into the back seat of her car before waiting for her to get in. Vera gave the man a wave before driving off, and it was after she had pulled from her park that the man himself headed for his own car.

Jasmine realised she would never understand these two, and figured it had been best she had not bothered to participate in the staff bet.

Finally, part 2 is here. And in only two parts, I already have the poor victim of my two competing teachers, one of the year 3 teachers.

Today's part mentioned the NAPLAN test, this is for years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It's a literacy and numeracy test that has a few purposes. It helps teachers to see which students might benefit from extensions and which areas some students are weak in. It also helps parents to see where their children are fairing for their age group.

Vera mentioned bands at the end there, those are how student results are shown. The bands go from 1 to 10, but each of the four year levels have different expectations for band placement. For year 5, band 4 is the national standard, this is where year 5 students are expected to be. Anything lower is below national standard and is a concern. Bands 5 to 8 are the above bands for year 5. These are children that excel at literacy and numeracy as far as their year level goes.

Truthfully, teachers have mixed feelings about NAPLAN. It used to happen closer to the end of the year, so teachers for the four year levels involved spent a lot of time preparing the students for the tests. There are four tests, one each for reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy. It's a lot to prepare for. Now the test happens in term 1, it's nice to get it out of the way early, let me tell you. Though the pressure does get shared with the year levels below each, so the 2, 4, 6, and 8 teachers who start the preparations.

NAPLAN is important, though I think some schools take it too seriously at the detriment of the children. When I was kid and had to sit the tests, I hated them. Now as a teacher, my feelings haven't changed much.

<Part One

Journal Entry 4 - Update

I have been very unproductive this past week, mostly because I've been occupied with other hobbies. I've done some novel writing, but haven't really done any blog writing since I posted part 1 of Next Round. I promise I'll still write it, just not today though. 

The last draft of my novel was 75k words and the current re-write is at 15k so I have a ways to go before this draft is done. I have no idea how long this draft is going to take to write, but I'm going to be working on it a little more after this post. My friend, the one who is also writing a novel, and I are trying to go to local libraries more frequently to work on our novels. We'll see how that goes.

I've been working on a large-ish paint by number that is taking awhile because it has lots of small parts and it's slow going when you have shaky hands and want to stay in between the lines. It'll be done one day though.

The weather here has been crazy, we had several weeks that were pretty warm but the weather finally remembered it is supposed to be Winter and the cold front has arrived.

I don't have the brain power right now to work on Next Round, hence the journal entry instead, but my draft re-write takes a little less power at the moment, because I'm up to a section that doesn't need much changing.

Hopefully tomorrow will see some more writing posts.

Next Round

A loud thunk reverberated through the room, a pile of folders now sat neatly on the only table in the room. A second, similar sound was heard not moments later as another pile of folders sat on the other side of the table. The two owners of the piles were staring each other down, waiting for the first one to open their mouth. The woman of the duo gives in first. "Damien," she greets stiffly.

"Vera," he returns, equally stiff.

"So glad you could be here for our first meeting."

"It would be a bit hard for us to plan for this term if one of the two year five teachers was not here," he reminds her.

"Indeed, shall we get this meeting on the way?" she asks as the two sink into their opposing seats.

"First order of business, the students."

"I took the time to review my students report cards from the end of year four," she says, pulling out a particular folder. "I compared their marks from first semester to second semester and saw some amazing improvements."

"I as well saw great improvement for my new class," he nods, looking over his own folder. "PM levels rose exponentially for many of the lower readers, which is nice to see."

"I see, how many at 30?" she asks, pretending as if this information had no real impact for her.

"Sixteen. You?"

She twitched, "Fifteen, but I'm sure I can raise that by the end of the year. Most of them are between twenty-five and twenty-nine, with only a couple between twenty and twenty-four."

"I see, my class sounds about the same."

She nods along, trying to find something else to mention. "It seems I have a few that are well above in both Maths and English," she says, hoping to have a leg up on this one. "Four to be exact."

"Ah yes, I have three students well above in both," he answers, barely hiding his own twitch. "I seem to have a lot of sporty students in my class, that will be nice come Districts."

"I'm also looking forward to a few of my students possibly going."

Equal ground so far, but the year had just begun.

"Shall we start our planning with English?" he asks, they could save the rest for later.

"Great idea," she replies. "I'm looking forward to this year, it looks to be a good one. I'm sure we'll defeat you in all areas."

"Oh Vera, perhaps your memory is failing you," the man sighs mockingly. "But I believe my class was victorious last year."

"That was last year," she gripes. "This year will be different Damien, you'll see."

He smirks, "I'm sure I will. Bring it on Miss Jones."

"You're going down, Mister Marsden."

-

Outside the room, two people were watching the two year five teachers through the window in the door, one with his hand on the door. He had been planning to introduce the new year three teacher to them, but had paused before opening the door.

"Parden me, Tom, but are they glaring at each other?" Jasmine asks, her eyes fixed on the two teachers in the small room between the two classrooms.

The pair were indeed now glaring at each other. Tom sighs, "We might have to introduce you to them when they're not together. I had hoped this year would be different, but alas, it remains the same."

"That being?"

"That the two year five teachers compete for the best class and it's been going on for three years now. If they weren't such good teachers, I'd be much more concerned about their motivations."

Jasmine turned her gaze back to the two teachers who were now rapidly typing on their laptops, showing each other different pages on their screens and yet still at least frowning. Maybe she would come back later.

"There's a bet going on about how long it will take before they'll finally realise this is just a way for them to pretend they don't have feelings for each other, want to weigh in?" 

Jasmine nearly causes herself whiplash turning her head to look at Tom as he so nonchalantly asks that question. She was beginning to realise, this school was strange.

Prompt: Reverse trope - Academic rivals except they're two teachers who compete for the best class.

When I first saw this prompt, I laughed so hard. Maybe some of you have heard this advice for authors before, but it's 'write what you know.' Well, my only degree is in Primary Education, and so, that's what I know. Unfortunately, not very useful for the me who likes to write fantasy and sci-fi, but very helpful for this prompt.

It's also not really a prompt that I can allow to be over in only one post. So, I have planned a multi-chapter story you could say, based on this prompt. It will span over an entire school year (which, in Australia, is late January to late November/early December depending on the Easter Holidays). It's not going to be some massive story, but I just had to put a little more effort into a prompt like this.

The next few paragraphs is a spiel about how some things work in education here in Queensland, Australia, so feel free to skip if you don't care, it's just to help make some things make more sense.

Primary school goes from Prep to Year 6. Preps are either 5 turning 6 or 6 turning 7 depending on if their birthday is in Jan-Jun or Jul-Dec. It's complicated and trips me up sometimes too.

We do marks with at least a five-point system and in most of the schools I've worked in, it goes Well Below, Below, Expected, Above and Well Above. This is the basis, but some schools might use something different. It's all centred around where they are expected to be based on the Achievement Standard for their year level in the Australian Curriculum.

I mentioned PM Benchmarking in this chapter too, this is reading levels. A Year 5 student is expected to be reading between levels 25 and 30, 30 being the highest level for most Primary aged students, though 30+ does exist. It's not uncommon to have students below or even above the expected levels. Some children just learn differently. 

We plan our subjects in unit cycles, we generally can't plan an entire term in one day, so we do short cycles and have more planning days mid term and again at the end of term for the next one. Planning also happens at home as well as before and after school because there are too many subjects to be able to plan in one day anyway.

While this story is mostly supposed to be a humourous romance about two teachers that are competing, and secretly like each other, you'll find a little bit of my thoughts in there because teaching is not an easy gig.

Part Two>

Book Review - Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

I know, I know, another book review so close after the last one, but the next prompt I'm using is going to be a multi post story that I'm planning out first. However, I still wanted to post something and decided another book review might be nice.

I recently read the first book in the Emily Wilde trilogy and I instantly fell in love with the world that Heather Fawcett has created. I had been eyeing the series since the first one came out, but it wasn't until the second one was released that I figured I really wanted to read it. I tend to buy a whole series before starting to read it.

You might think 'what if you hate the first one?' and you would be like everyone else who I've told my habits to. See the thing is, when I get started on a series, and I finish that first book with 'I need the next one immediately,' I seriously need that second one immediately and get frustrated when it isn't there waiting for me.

Which was why I hesitated on starting this series until it was all published, but another thing, when it comes to books, I hate buying in trade. Which is kind of ridiculous when you take into account that I want to be a published author and it's likely that any book I write will be published in trade first. Well, when it comes to books, I like all my books to be one size for easy shelf tetris. I also hate the prices of trade, so there's that.

Which was why I figured, I'll only buy the first one and wait for the second one to be released into small paper back, save money by stretching it out.

Then I finished the first book and immediately needed the next one. Which I then proceeded to buy as an ebook on Kindle because I really didn't want to buy it in trade. That's how good this book was for me.

Yeah that was long winded, but here's the actual review.

The title sounds cute, but these aren't the rainbows and butterflies faeries you might be used to. These are the type of fantasy creatures you find in old, scary stories. If you've ever read The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and its sequels, it's not completely dissimilar to those types of faeries.

I love that our main character is a scholar who studies faeries, it's a different take on fantasy romance. It's set in 1909, so it's got that slight historical edge to it. You really appreciate the main character when she proves how much of a badass she can be (no seriously, you'll see what I mean when you reach closer to the end).

So you've got your non-cliche faeries and the like, you've got your romance, you've got some giggles and you've got your mystery. You can find these things in most fantasy romance books, but this series is genuinely unique. I love the main character, and her handsome male lead. The plot is to die for and the world that has been created is amazing.

As usual, I mostly just advocated the book, but it's a serious recommendation. A reminder that I am not a reliable critic, but just love to talk about books (while trying very hard not to give out spoilers).

Click image for Goodreads page

The Hunt

Hunting in the forest was a silent affair, one wrong step or stopping for a chat could chase away the game. Her companion had sighted a deer up ahead, big game that would feed them for a while. Losing it now could cost them dinner. 

She had already taken her bow from her back, but had yet to pull out an arrow, she would do that when she had the deer in her own sight and a perfect vantage point. Her need for quiet meant her trek through the forest was slow-going, but she wanted to catch the deer and reined in her impatience.

She paused at the familiar rustling beside her and waited as her companion rejoined her. With a quick signal to convey his message, she changed her course, she did not want the deer to smell her coming.

After another quarter hour, she finally spotted the doe, grazing in a small clearing ahead of her. She crept forward as slowly and as carefully as possible, not wanting now to be the moment she ruins the hunt.

Carefully, she pulled out an arrow from her quiver, notched it on her bow and drew the arrow back to her ear. She waited for the perfect moment to loose it.

She took a deep breath and as the sound of a wolf howl ripped through the air, she released her arrow. The doe, frozen in fear at hearing the wolf, barely registered the arrow that pierced her skin. She was dead before she hit the ground.

Thankfully, her arrow had been true, this doe was already doing enough for her as her meal, the least she could do is make her end painless. 

She stood and stretched out her stiffening muscles, sore from the crouching she had been doing. Her bow back across her back, she moved over her catch to tie it in preparation to drag it home.

As she pulled the rope off her belt, the shuffling in the bushes could be heard and a moment later, her companion was by her side. 

"Good job," she tells the wolf, giving his head a pet. "As always, it makes it easier when you howl, they always freeze with their necks stretched out."

The wolf wagged his tail, happy to have helped her catch their dinner without ruining the animal. He knew the human needed the pelt of the deer intact. He understood little of why she needed it, only that she did.

Soon enough, they were ready to bring their catch back home to their little cabin in the woods.

Prompt: Write a story that takes place in a forest

I actually got a tickle seeing this prompt, the novel I'm working starts in a forest and the forest itself has significance to the story. This was fun.

Book Review - Humans: A Brief History of How We F**ked It All Up by Tom Phillips

For my first non-fiction book to review, I had to choose one of my favourites and one of the first non-fiction books I ever read. This book is exactly how it sounds, it's a history book about humans and, well, how we f**k everything up.

History interests me, but I find that plain old history books bore me. It could be about my favourite ancient civilisation, but if the book isn't written entertainingly enough, I can't finish it. Then I discovered this book, saw the title and had a giggle, but the blurb really drew me in.

Humanity has a penchant for ruining things, there have been colossal screw-ups throughout history and this book gives you a look at some of the most famous ones and some of the least known ones. At the end of each chapter is a list of some of the funniest versions of what that chapter was about. From really ancient times up to modern history, and it's covered.

After reading this book, I decided that humour was my favourite way to learn about history, I don't think I've ever laughed this much at a non-fiction book that wasn't a joke book.

Some of the screwups in this book make you want to face palm, you think 'how is someone that dumb or even that unlucky?' Like the one guy who was drunk driving in a desert and managed to hit the only tree for kilometres in any direction. Or inventors who get killed by their own inventions.

I very rarely see it anymore in any bookstores around where I am, but it's definitely a recommendation for anyone who likes history or even anyone who just likes to read about dumb things humans have done over the millennia.

Click image for Goodreads page

Journal Entry 3 - Oh Dear

Just wanted to share something that happened today. Nothing exciting really, a common place thing, but one of the neighbours dogs got out today.

I was just reading in bed when I heard my dogs barking, which isn't unusual, but it started getting really growly. Our older one is a really good girl, but she really doesn't like other dogs in our yard and this thing was so small that I was a little bit anxious because around my place are a lot of big dogs including my two.

I looked out the window and saw it, but it moved on quickly, so I had hoped it went home. Yet just as I went back to my book, the dogs were acting up again and sure enough, he was back in our yard.

If any of the other dogs, that were all barking quite viciously, were to get loose, this little thing wouldn't stand a chance. So I went outside to see if his tag would have any information. Thankfully, there was a mobile number on his tag. 

I called it up and as I had actually expected, it was the house at the end of the street and their dogs always get loose. In the 28 years we've lived in this house, they've gone through about five little black and white fluffy dogs. They have all gotten out somehow. One of them was even mauled and killed by another dog that had gotten loose, I was the one that found it only a few moments too late while out for a walk. Hence why I was really worried today, I didn't want it to happen again.

She said she was on the other side of town, but that her son was nearby and should be able to pick up the dog. Just so that he wouldn't wonder off from me, I grabbed one of our dogs' leads and held onto him for the fifteen or so minutes it took for him to get picked up.

Two things you should take away from this. Firstly, if you get a dog, it's not just enough to get them chipped, get them a dog tag with your number on it. Not everyone wants to take your dog to the pound to check for a chip and then wait for the chip to be scanned. Secondly, if you get a little dog, make sure it can't get out, even holes that you think aren't big enough, cover them anyway, you'd be surprised by a dog's innovation when it wants out. Likewise, if you get a big dog, make sure your fences are high (they can jump) and that the gate is sturdy enough (they have pushing power, one of ours from when I was a kid was able to push open the garage door).

Ended well this time, but it doesn't always.

I spent extra time working on my novel today, so no prompt post. I'm thinking my prompts will happen less on days when I'm in the zone for my novel. Wow, barely a month into this prompt a day thing and I'm already failing.

I never expected it to be sustainable, but I don't plan to never post on here. Hopefully I'll have something on here tomorrow.

Wrong Point

"You know how I was telling you about Joe?" Veronica asks Susan as the two sat around the table, nursing their glasses of wine.

"The one in accounting? Isn't he the one who asked you out a few weeks ago?" her friend and colleague replies.

"That's right, I did end up meeting up with him for coffee a few days after that," Veronica nods, taking another sip of her wine, she had yet to touch the entrees in front of her.

"How'd that go?"

"It went pretty well actually," she thinks back on the great time she had had. 

Joe was a good guy, he made her laugh and was able to string along a conversation without once bringing up work. She had left that outing thinking she might agree to a second one if he asked. Things just had to get complicated instead.

"So then why are you on your second glass of wine in less than twenty minutes?" her friend asks, having noticed.

"About a week after that date, Hugo from R and D asked me out," she admits, slumping into her spot in the booth. 

"Aren't you Miss Popular," her friend scoffs, rolling her eyes. "So what? You like them both and can't decide who you like more? Are you in some TV drama?"

"Truthfully, it was like that at first, but in the end, it didn't matter," she takes a large sip of her wine as she recalls what happened only two days ago.

"And why is that? They couldn't wait for you to make up your mind and gave up? It'd serve you right."

"Well, I'm not so sure it's that they gave up because I was taking too long to decide, and while my delay may have played a hand in what happened, I don't think that's the most important reason."

Susan frowns, "You're making no sense right now. Just tell me what happened."

"Turns out both of them are bisexual," she tells her.

This causes her friend to sit there blinking as she soaks in that answer. "So," she says slowly. "You have something against that?"

"I couldn't have cared less," Veronica waves off the accusation. "No matter which one I had chosen, that wouldn't have been a problem. No, the problem is that they both like men as well as women, so spending so much time near each other...well, I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

Susan stares for a moment before she finally bursts into laughter. "No," she wheezes out. "You took so long to decide which guy you wanted to date, that they ended up dating each other instead?"

Veronica sighs before chugging the remainder of the wine in her glass. "You don't have to laugh about it," she mumbles under her breath. 

"It really serves you right," Susan says, wiping a tear from under her eye. "You lost both of them to each other, that's classic."

Veronica huffs, reaching for the wine bottle and pouring herself another drink. She wanted to forget all of it by the time this night was over.

Prompt: Reverse trope - Love triangle where the two love interests get together instead.

If someone were to turn this prompt into a novel length story, I would probably read it. I mean, I usually hate love triangles, but this would be too funny to pass up. No matter which two points of the triangle got together, it would be a blast. 

I probably could have expanded on this little story, made it more exciting, but I like to keep these short and sweet. No one comes to a blog to read a novella. I'm loving these reverse tropes though, I'm having so much fun.

Book Review - The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

The title of this book definitely gives you a pretty good idea about what to expect, but let me tell you, it only paints a small image of this incredible book.

You have your witches, and you have the fact that normal people don't know witches are real. Pretty standard, and expected given the title. So our protagonist, Mika, is a witch and has to keep that hidden. She is part of a secret society of witches, obviously, and they don't meet up very often because it's a rule among witches that you don't interact with other witches during your day to day for protection.

In classic main character fashion, Mika hates it. So she bites the bullet and agrees to teach magic to a few young witches. I am an avid fan of the 'protagonist is going to be looking after unrelated children' trope. Found family is my jam. Add in magic, romance and some drama, and you've got me hooked.

When you put it that way, it does sound like every other witch book where witches are secret and the main character hates having to hide. Then you read the story and you go 'wow.'

Sangu Mandanna has taken witches to a different level, I'm telling you. I won't give anything away, but the way witches are portrayed in this book is different to the norm. Magic, and witches in general, is so cool, but also a little tragic. I'm not elaborating on that, so if you want to know, go read the book. Seriously, these book reviews are mostly just me advocating the books.

On top of that, there is an insane plot twist near the end that made me unable to put the book down, though that could be said for the whole book. One of those moments where you pause and go "Oh my god, I did not see that coming." I love when a book like this gives me a surprise.

The book also has its laugh our loud funny moments and you absolutely fall in love with the girls, they make this story what it is. Our couple have their ups and downs, as expected, but you ship them from start to finish.

If you love witches and romance, then I recommend this book to you 100%.

Click image for Goodreads page

Distant World

When your shuttle had landed on the surface of this new planet, you had of course, checked the oxygen levels. Every newly discovered planet required you to know if taking your helmet off on the surface was going to kill you before you could even take a look around.

This new planet would seem mostly okay, the oxygen levels were about the sort of levels you would find on high mountain peaks on Earth. Not lethal, but enough so that taking a single step has you short of breath. Given that you planned to take more than one step on this planet, an oxygen tank would be useful. 

Thankfully, there were no toxic gases that would seep through your skin and the sun was not close enough to burn you to a crisp, so a basic jumpsuit and the oxygen mask is all you will need.

It had been hard to tell from orbit what the surface would be like. The sun really was pretty far away, enough for a twilight glow on the planet side facing it, but this planet appeared to be have two types of night. Dark and very dark. Though one plus side was the amazing night sky, you had never seen so many stars, not even in deserts on Earth with no light pollution.

However, it meant that it was pretty cold outside, not quite freeing, but it sure made you thankful your jumpsuit was properly insulated, your face was just feeling a little stiff. You bend to take a closer look at the ground, as you had suspected, dirt. The closer you had gotten to the planet revealed it was likely to not have trees or much else resembling Earth-like plants. Considering most Earth-like plants needed better sunlight, this did not surprise you.

Turning on your torch, you use it sweep your immediate area, finding more dirt, an interesting shade of reddish-brown, and a vague silhouette of something resembling a bush. You walk towards it to get a better look, and you find the first sign that this planet held life. Plants that could survive on low oxygen and very low sunlight. You take a picture with your camera, snip a sample and put the little container in one of your many pockets. 

Another sweep of your torch shows similar plants scattered around, each one a dark shade of purple. Other than a few mountains in the distance, there was not much else to look at. You finish in the area with a few samples of the dirt from patches close to and further away from the plants. With nothing else to gather samples from, you shuffle back to your shuttle to move to a new location.

Hopefully, you will find something more interesting. Like an alien civilisation? That would be nice.

Prompt: You discovered a new planet, describe what you see.

This is actually similar to a planet I used in one of my earlier attempts to write a novel. That one was the last attempt before my current one. I was really invested in it for a few years, but put it on the back burner when I got stuck. I love sci-fi, so I'm hoping I'll one day get back to it if my current project ever gets done. 

Just Why?

This weekend, they had a plan. It was Summer time and what was better than a trip to the beach during the warm season?

Mary and her friends had very few opportunities to get together for some fun. Adult life meant you needed to work in order to earn money to have that fun. Which meant schedules clashed or everyone was too tired to go out just for drinks.

This weekend, the stars were aligning and all three of them had the time off. While it was true that they were not huge fans of the sun, the weather called for clear skies and that meant the beach was the place to be. 

Mary had spend the previous night packing her beach bag, making sure not to forget sunscreen and her hat. She would wear her swimmers under her sundress and her towel would also be in the bag. The bag had small pockets for her wallet and keys, as well as any other small personal items she would be taking. A change of underwear and a drink bottle all packed meant she was ready for the Saturday ahead.

She woke up refreshed and excited for a chance to get out of the house with her friends and have some fun.

It was as she was brushing her teeth that she realised how dark it appeared to be for eight o'clock in the morning. She spat out her toothpaste and rinsed her mouth before heading back into her bedroom to look out the window.

She wanted to cry. The weather had been true for the last few days with clear skies and warm temperatures. However, today found her thinking, not for the first time, how wrong the weather forecast had been.

Sure enough, it appeared darker in her room this morning because the sun was hidden behind dark clouds as the rain poured down from the sky. Why did the unpredictable weather have to choose today to be so wrong?

Beach day no more.

Prompt: You look out the window and, not for the first time, thought about how wrong the weather forecast had been (Prompt curtesy of ReedsyPrompts)

As someone who lives in South-East Queensland, unpredictable weather is our chalk and cheese. In my 30 years of living, I've lost count of the amount of times the weather has ruined plans. 

I also saw this prompt about writing an opinion piece on the latest news, so I decided to look up what was going on. As usual, I realised why I hate reading or watching the news. Because it's either rumours about celebrities who can't get any privacy and I couldn't care less about, dirty politics or people dying tragically. Seriously two consecutive headlines were about an athletic teenager who died on the court and a man who got shot to death on his wedding day. This is why I escape into the world of fiction.

Book Review - Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

As it turns out, trying to write a prompt a day is actually quite challenging, hence why I had that one day that was just a journal entry. So that I am in fact still writing, I'm going to add book reviews on top of the journal entries and the prompt writing.

I'm by no means a reliable critic of books, I have a habit of not finishing books if I can't get into them. Which means that these reviews will mostly be me raving about books I loved and why I loved them.

The first book I'm choosing is Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. As the second book, Apprentice to the Villain, is coming out soon, I figured I'd start with it. I've been waiting so patiently for the second one, so the first one is on my mind.

Set in a medieval fantasy world, we have our main character who, in desperate need for a job to support her family, decides to work for the notorious Villain. Don't be deceived by the romance, the man is indeed the 'villain' but you can't help but love him anyway.

Through all the gross and horrifying things Evie encounters, she also can't help herself from falling in love with him. You have the romance, the magic (and magical creatures), and enough humour to keep you laughing out loud. As soon as I finished it, the first thing I did was look up when the sequel was coming out and then I cried because I had to wait months for it.

It's definitely a different take on the medieval fantasy romance you might be used to and I think that is one of the things that I loved the most about it. It's one of my favourite types of fantasy sub-genres, so seeing such a unique spin had me hooked.

I also have a thing for the heroine falling for the bad guy trope, despite the fact that a some point, you aren't going to see him as the bad guy, just the 'villain.' Yes, there is a difference in this case.

On top of all of that, you have those cliché, but still fun, office dramas and those coworkers you just can't get along with. If you look it up on Goodreads, it has the 'Once Upon a Time meets The Office' hook and that's actually quite accurate. It has made it even more entertaining by the fact that it's an office set in medieval times.

Romance, magic, laughs, office drama, a bit of suspense, and a wide range of characters. Add those together and you have one incredibly entertaining read that will have you unable to put the book down.

Click image for Goodreads Page

The Well

When she had first moved into this house with her family as a small child, she had been curious about the well in the garden. The garden itself was a sight to behold, flowers of all sizes and colours surrounded the house. This was the reason her family had moved into the house in the first place, her mother loved magnificent gardens.

In the centre of the backyard, almost as if being the point of the garden, was an old brick well. It was maintained beautifully, barely any decay despite being, apparently, over a hundred years old. A small wooden awning hung over it with soft sounding windchimes hanging from either end.

She had been seven when they moved in and she had been quickly drawn to the well. As an adult, she could understand how it had been so mesmerising to a little girl, but some of that wonder had subsided over the years.

After all, little children do not really understand the nuances behind legends, and this well had one. The sort of legend that piqued a child's interest, but makes an adult scoff. She had wanted to see if the legend was true when she was little, but her parents had told her it was unsafe.

Now as an adult, that want to explore had waned. Even still, as she sits in the backyard, visiting her aging mother for tea, her eyes are drawn back to the well. Was there really a gateway to another world down there?

Seven year old her would have said there was. Twenty-seven year old her was skeptical. Only children believed in such things.

Even so, there was something about the well that seemed otherworldly. Something that just made you want to go down there and check. "I see you're still interested in the well," she hears her mother's voice from beside her.

She pulls her eyes from the well to look at the older woman, "I guess part of me is still curious," she replies, giving her mother a tight smile.

"You always insisted the legend from the realtor had to be true," her mother laughs. "But at least you were a good child and never did anything we told you not to. You're probably still interested because you never got the chance to go down there."

"Maybe."

"You're an adult now, if you want to go down and have a look, relieve the curiosity, I'm not going to stop you."

She rolls her eyes at the teasing tone in her mother's voice. "I'm no longer a child, I don't believe in fantasies created to build interest in a child's mind."

"Suit yourself," her mother shrugs. "No skin off my bones if you don't want to sate the curiosity you can't shake."

She has no response to that, only sighing. Her eyes trail back to the well, even now being unable to stop thinking about it. What was it about it that made her incapable of looking away for long?

Prompt: There was a legend about the well in the garden

This here will be my first words for July CampNaNo, so that's nice. Maybe I'll eventually do a continuation for this, but we'll see.