Musings of an Elf Has Moved to ChristineSmithAuthor.com

It has happened! I’ve officially switched over to Wordpress. *TRUMPETS AND FANFARE*

You can now find me over at…

ChristineSmithAuthor.com

And I may be A LITTLE EXCITED. Can’t wait to see you over there!

Call for Fairy Tale Central Blog Tour Sign-ups

Oh, hi there! It’s been a while. Last time you guys heard from me I announced I was taking a hiatus to do a huge move of my blog over to Wordpress, and next time I posted everything would be different. You may have noticed things are…not different.

Did I fail? NOPE. My big blog move is in fact underway! *confetti* It’s taking longer than I thought though. But, at the same time, it’s going waaay better than I feared. Like, way better. Turns out importing a Blogspot blog to Wordpress isn’t too big of a deal. But since I’m redesigning things AND learning a completely new platform, it’s taking time. But NEVER FEAR. I am aaaalmost ready to launch it. And I CANNOT WAIT. I think you guys are going to like the change. *grins*

But ANYWAYS. That’s not why I’m appearing out of the woodwork today. No, no. Today I’m here to discuss that other huge project I’ve been working on that I also announced in my last post. Remember the big fairy tale website Arielle, Faith, and I have been teasing about all over social media? Yeah. IT’S COMING.

NEXT. WEEK.

*shrieks in excitement forever* (And no, this is not an April Fool’s joke. I promise. The start of April was just a convenient time for us to launch. Lol.)

We are so excited, guys. SO EXCITED. This is going to be such a fun place to engage with fellow fairy tale lovers. With that said, we want to make sure all the epic fairy tale enthusiast out there know about this new space. Which is where we need YOUR help.

For the FIRST WEEK OF APRIL, we’re going to be holding a blog tour in order to get the word out. Soooo if you’re as excited as we are, we’d be thrilled for you to join us.

I know this is pretty last minute, so we’re making it simple and easy for everyone involved. If you’d like to join the blog tour, all you have to do is fill in the Google form below, then, either next Thursday or Friday (March 28th and 29th), I’m going to send out a prewritten post to you about the site, which means all you have to do is copy, paste, and post it on whichever day of the week you choose in the form. EASY PEASY. Although, IF you want to write your own post and not use my prewritten one, that’s awesome! But we know life is CRAZY and sometimes time doesn’t permit, so we wanted to make it quick and simple for all you awesome peeps.

Also, if you don’t have a blog and/or time to do a spotlight post, we’d be THRILLED if you want to spread the word via social media. Word of mouth is the best! Or if you want to join the blog tour AND share on your social media sites, we will love you all forever and ever. (JK. I already love you guys to eternity, but I can at least offer virtual cookies??)

We’ve already started launching social media sites for Fairy Tale Central (FTC), so if you want to give them a follow and share the news about the launch now (or during the first week of April once the site is for reals live) you can find us on TWITTER and PINTEREST, and we should have some more places up and going soon. I’ll share more details in the email I send to everyone who signs up for the tour!

And if you have any questions whatsoever (about the blog tour, the FTC, social media, ANYTHING), don’t hesitate to toss me an email (you can find an email icon under my profile pic at the top of the sidebar) or ask in the comments.

ALL RIGHT. Enough of my babbling. Here’s the Google form for the blog tour sign-ups. WOOT, WOOT!

 

BLOG TOUR SIGN-UP FORM

If the form isn’t showing up for whatever reason, try THIS LINK.

Our eternal thanks for joining in the enthusiasm! We are going to have sooo much fun!

Alsooo stay tuned. Because I will very, very soon be announcing here the launch of my new personal blog, with a link to the new place so you can all find me. I’M EXCITED.

 

TALK WITH ME!

Who’s pumped about the FTC? BECAUSE I AM. SO SO PUMPED. (I know I’m so subtle about it though.) Also, how’s everyone doing? It feels like it’s been aaages since I’ve talked to you guys. I’VE MISSED YOU ALL. (Never fear, I’ll be back to blogging regularly very soon!)

Hiatus Notice + Fairy Tale Site Announcement

Happy March! Am I the only one in complete and utter denial that it’s actually March? How? What? Why? I’m pretty sure February was 3 days long. Buuut March is one of my favorite months! The weather is beautiful, there tends to be a bunch of good movies releasing in theaters during March (am I the only one who’s noticed this trend?), and there’s just something exciting about the beautiful Spring-like month. I just can’t believe it’s HERE.

Because, see, back when I was making my New Year’s Goals at the beginning of January, I had decided to try to accomplish a certain one or two of those goals in March. It seemed feasible. After all, back then March seemed faraway. I had pleeenty of time to prepare myself, right?

Ahahahahaha!!! How delusional Past Christine was. You’d think I’d learn, but we all know that will never happen.

 

Basically me every time the month changes.
(No, I am not dramatic, what are you talking about?)

So here we are in March, the month I had set high and mighty goals for myself. And…I am not ready. At all.

The main goal I had for March? Moving my entire blog over to a professional Wordpress hosting site with a completely new and improved design. Lolololol. That’s not scary at all. (#LIES) My 8th (EIGHT???) blogiversary is this month, and I thought what better way to celebrate than risk exploding my blog and completely derailing everything over to a whole new hosting site and stressing myself out over it? (I really know how to party, amiright?)

Okay, but really, I’ve been wanting to leave blogspot for yeeeeears now. I’ve just never had the nerve to. But the word I chose for this year is BRAVE. So I’m going to be brave and start getting more professional around her. It’s way, way past time.

SO. So. I’m gonna try to do it. o.o Or at least research it more closely and see what happens. Even if I don’t switch to Wordpress (which I probably will) I’d still like to at least redesign this place so it doesn’t look so…cheap. I don’t know. My design’s been bugging me lately. It’s high time for something more professional!

Buuut this means I probably need to use that time to actually do the thing instead of continuing to post content. Thus, I’ve spur of the moment decided to go on hiatus for the month of March. I may still post a thing or two, depending on how things go and if I get inspired. But I may disappear for the whole month only to come back with a brand new blog… Or come back a failure and still be using my old blog. Eheheheh. Let’s hope not! But that’s why I’m announcing this here, the pressure of telling you guys AND going on hiatus is kind of forcing me to FINALLY take the plunge, be brave, and DO THE THING. The thing I’ve been wanting to do for like…5 years now. (Procrastination much?)

SO LET’S DO IT.

Changing up my blog is not the only news I have!

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram (#shamelessplug), you may have already seen this announcement. But if not, I have some VERY exciting news that I’ve been waiting on pins and needles to share with you guys.

I’m pretty sure you all know my complete and utter love for all things fairy tales. I mean, I’m working endlessly on a Beauty and the Beast retelling and have like 298384 other retelling ideas I hope to write one day. Fairy tales have been a central part of my life since…like…birth. I just love them!

WELL.

A few months ago, my fabulous friend Arielle contacted me saying she was working on something with another fabulous person, Faith, and asked if I wanted to be a part of it. When she told me what “it” was, my answer was something along the lines of “AJKLDKJFLSKJLJSLDKJFLJSD YESSSS!!!” Super professional as always.

Ever since, the three of us have been tirelessly working on putting this thing together, and will continue to be through the month of March.

Introducing…

A Fairy Tale Site for all our fellow fairy tale fans!

This site will include:

• Lists of retellings
• Lots of reviews (from fairy tale related books to media and perhaps even of different fairy tale collections themselves!)
• Essays and posts analyzing fairy tales and their themes (remember my Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella posts? Yeah, things like that and a whole lot more!)
• Writing prompts inspired by specific fairy tales
• Mini galleries of fairy tale art
• Plus mooooore! We have SO many ideas!

GUYS. I. Am. So. EXCITED!!! I know so many of you love fairy tales just as much as I do, and I think you’re gonna love this place!

We will be launching in the not-too-distance future, which means March will be slam-packed with putting things together, writing posts for it, and getting ready. Thus another reason I think it’d be wise to take a hiatus.

But don’t you worry, soon you’ll be getting even more content from me, from my own personal blog and the fairy tale site. IT’S GOING TO BE A BLAST!

So do keep your eyes peeled for more details and the actual launch date coming SOON. To keep up with the news, you should totally go follow Arielle and Faith on Instagram as well, as we’ll probably be sharing lots of news over there.

I’M JUST SO EXCITED!!!

I have one more piece of news…

I’M OFFICIALLY REGISTERED FOR REALM MAKERS 2019!

I’m all signed up as of last week and I CAN’T STOP SQUEALING. I was so hoping to go again this year after my utterly magical experience last year and IT’S HAPPENING. *SQUEE*

What does this have to do with my hiatus? Well, it’s just another push to get my blog moved over. I’d love to have my new space all set up before I go to Realm Makers and hand people my business cards with my site’s URL on them, ya know? It will be so nice to have a more professional, clean looking domain to send people over to.

So between my blogiversary being this month, the fairy tale site coming soon, and Realm Makers approaching, March just seems like the logical time to get this done. Plus like 2983 other things. *nervous laughter* Icandothis Icandothis Icandothis.

Thus a hiatus it is!

If it starts looking funky around here, just know it’s probably because I’m trying to switch and change things over. But never fear, when I come back I should (hopefully) have a nice new space. Plus the fairy tale site is coming soon so ALL the new spaces!

IT’S GONNA BE AWESOME!!!

 

TALK WITH ME!

Is anyone opposed to me switching my blog over to a new place (I hope not…)? What do you think of this new fairy tale site coming? (I’M A LITTLE EXCITED IF YOU CAN’T TELL.) And who’s making it to Realm Makers this year???

Brief Hiatus Notice + Some Thoughts

I know what you’re thinking. “Didn’t she just return from a hiatus???” Erm. Yes. Yes I did. I had no intentions of going on another one, buuuuut prep for Realm Makers (the writing conference I’m going to, if you’re not sure what I’m talking about) has sucked up all my time. Like all of it. Even time I don’t have. Which means I’ve had to make time and, unfortunately, that means not making blog posts. Because I’m pathetic and it takes me almost an entire day to write most of my posts. (No joke…) And since I still haven’t found a machine to stop and/or slow down time (believe me, I’ve searched everywhere. Ebay doesn’t even have such a device. So disappointed.), I’m gonna have to let my blog rest for a smidge.

BUT DON’T WORRY.

This is just a quicky hiatus. No month-long one like my last one. I should return by the end of this month or beginning of the next. Hopefully with a post alllll about my time at Realm Makers! Which I’m leaving for DAY AFTER TOMORROW. *hyperventilates*

And on that note, I wanted to get real with you guys for a sec.

I know I’ve talked about Realm Makers a lot. Like…a lot. Like, it’s been pretty much my one and only topic all year. And I feel bad about that, because I know a lot of you aren’t able to attend this year. It’s hard seeing all your favorite social media outlets explode with excitement over something you’re not able to participate in. I absolutely get that. I was ecstatic for so many of my friends that attended last year, but I couldn’t seem to stifle that twinge of jealousy from cropping up every now and again. It’s hard.

But I want to tell you: NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM. Ever ever ever ever.

Just because you’re unable to go to a writer’s conference this year, doesn’t mean you’ll never attend one. I don’t get to travel much due to health and many other factors. And I have a low wages, part-time job. I honestly thought finding a way to go to a writer’s conference ever was pretty much out of the question for me. I couldn’t even begin to manage how I’d swing it.

When I first heard about Realm Makers a few years ago, my desire to go to a writer’s conference exploded tenfold. RM sounded like the perfect conference for me. A laidback, fun, Christian speculative fiction writer’s conference??? I NEEDED IT. But, again, I had no idea how it’d ever happen.

But I began to feel this nudging, that maybe…maybe it could. Why not? Just because I don’t make much money doesn’t mean I couldn’t start tucking away some here and there. And the fun thing about Realm Makers is it’s in a different town every year. So maybe one year it’d be in a place feasible to drive to. And the more I thought about it, and worked toward it, the more I realized I could make this dream a reality.

So if your dream is to go to a writer’s conference one day, DON’T GIVE UP. Don’t have in your head that it can never happen. That’s the quickest way to bring those dreams to a screeching halt. I understand when life circumstances stop us from things. Boy do I ever! But we have a big God Who cares deeply for your passions and dreams. He put them there, after all! He’s got amazing plans for you. And not only that, He has perfect timing. Just because this isn’t your year, doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen. Maybe God has an agent or publisher or just someone you need that will attend one year and make it happen for you then. God is awesome that way.

I just want to let you all know I care about you so deeply, and I have no desire to ever, ever, ever hurt you or flaunt the fact that I’m going to Realm Makers. NEVER. I want this blog to be an encouragement and help for you all, and to remind you to forever chase your dreams. But most importantly, pursue God. Because He is the dream-provider.

He’s got amazing, amazing plans for each and every one of you. And if he’s put a dream within you, you chase that thing with every breath in your lungs and energy in your being. It’s going to be beautiful.

Love you all! I’ll see you in a couple of weeks! <3

 

TALK WITH ME!

Let’s spread some encouragement! Share one of your biggest dreams and then maybe encourage another commenter on theirs. I’d love to hear all the amazing things you each want to pursue! Also, if you are attending Realm Makers, make sure to let me know. I’ve started compiling a list of everyone I know who is attending because I hope to meet each and every one of you. I don’t want to miss anyone!

Lifely Recap - Finishing Edits, Lots of Painting, Even More Fangirling, and I’m Back!

WELL HELLO THERE.

Guess who’s back from her hiatus???? Did you miss me? Did you even notice I was gone? Do you even remember who I am? Do *I* remember who I am? *has mini existential crisis*

Ahem.

Anyways! Apparently May is no longer with us (wow, that sounds like May got murdered or something. Then again…that would explain why it just vanished suddenly, hmmmm), and since I did say I would be returning in June, well, HERE I AM. And my goodness, have I missed you guys! I feel like so much has happened since I was last here on the ol’ bloggy producing content and chatting with you guys. And because of that, I decided for my return I’d do a bit of a lifely recap. You know, recaps, those things every blogger and their mother’s dog does and I…never get around to? Yeah, that! I can be a cool kid, too! *whips out sunglasses* *accidentally pokes eye with them*

Erm, anyway…

Life has been a chaotic jumble of amazing and stressful and awful and wonderful for the past two months. So I’m going to talk about April also because a TON happened then as well. Really now, April and May needed a serious chill pill.

 

 

. . . LIFE . . .

APRIL

April swooped in with big plans of finishing my edits on Burning Thorns and having a fun, eventful, awesome month. Then Life was like HAHA.

- The month actually started off with a lovely note, as Easter landed on April 1st. And it was happy day of food and family and remembering Jesus and His beautiful Sacrifice. I’ve always loved Easter—the transition of winter to spring, the bright colors and Easter egg dye, families gathering, good food being eaten, the celebration of the Resurrection. It’s always a joyful day.

- Our library had its annual sale which is my faaaave. Though this year it was smaller than it has been for the past couple of years. I didn’t come home with much. But still. LIBRARY SALE. My life’s blood basically.

 

The finds from that day.

- I had to go out of town for a cardiologist appointment and some tests. (I have a severely deformed mitral valve and have to get it checked yearly. Don’t worry, I’m not dying or anything!) Which was a day-long thing and kind of felt like 3 days…or years… Doctor appointments are always fun. Yaaaay. >.>

- I was so relieved to have all that done and thought things could settle and be good. Well, right after I got home, my beloved poodle Navi was having lots of health problems. She had been having them for a few months, but things were getting worse, and we ended up having to put her down. And I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I felt like my best friend died. I’ve had her for 11 years and she’s never been just my pet. Navi was my world. I didn’t actually know it was possibly to love an animal that much before I had Navi. I still can’t seem to accept that she’s gone. But I am so grateful for those 11 years God blessed me with my Navi girl. I wouldn’t have changed it for anything.

 

I so miss this spoiled ball of fluff. <3

- Thankfully,  I had plans for a week-long trip to go stay with my bestie that landed literally the day after we put Navi down. It couldn’t have been more perfect timing. Because I am not one who needs time to herself to mourn. If I’m heartbroken, I need PEOPLE and distractions. Just being in my room by myself thinking about how sad I am makes things worse for me personally. So I was beyond relieved to have this trip planned. It helped ebb the sorrow so, so, so much. And ooooh my goodness, I had such a lovely time with my friend. Life turned around at this point and my hopes for a good month finally started coming true.

- The week included eating pizza every single day but one that whole week. What? you think I’m kidding. I do not kid when it comes to pizza! (Okay but my friend’s aunt, uncle, and cousins owns a pizza restaurant and it’s literally my favorite pizza in the world and I only get it when I’m there (boo on living in different cities from your bestie! *sniff, sniff*) so I always try to get as much of it in my system as possible during my visits. #NOREGRETS). Book shopping. #necessarypartoflife Drinking probably more coffee than is healthy. #stereotypicalwriter Makeup tutorials. (My friend is the master at makeup!) Many movie nights. Hanging out with so many of my favorite peoples. And just in general loving every second of being with my best friend. It filled me up.

- By the time I got home, April was coming near an end and I had a lot to catch up on and ponder over. As far as editing? AHAHAHAHA! Nooot much got done in April. It was one of those terrible/amazing months and by the end of it my mind was whirling from it all. But as life settled back into a new normal, I was ready to tackle the next month with new vigor.

MAY

My productive April plans transitioned well into May. The month wasn’t quiiiite as eventful as April, leaving me enough time to get things done. (But I’ll talk more about the writerly things in a minute.)

- With May came painting my brother’s room, something we’ve been meaning to get to for a while. I hate painting with every fiber in my being buuuut it is so very satisfying seeing a room freshly painted.

- Mother’s Day of course came. And I’m totally bias and think my mother is the bestest one on this earth (becausesheabsolutelyis), so celebrating and giving her some extra love was a joy.

- For a week I got to go over and feed our neighbor’s cat while they were out of town. Which I didn’t complain about one little bit because KITTEH! He’s such a snuggly, precious kitty and I loved going every evening to feed and pet him. <3

- Then the last week of May was the busiest, being as how my sister and I decided to switch rooms for various reasons. And I wanted to repaint hers before I moved in. (Another paint job. Hurraaay. >.>) I didn’t think it’d take too terribly long. Ahahaha! Why do I disillusion myself?? It turned into a week-long event of painting and moving and cleaning and rearranging and yeah. It was hard work, but actually turned out to be pretty fun in the end. And the best part is her room has way more wall space from my previous room which means I can have an entire BOOKSHELF WALL. Something I’ve aaaalways wanted, but never had the space for. Once I get everything arranged just right I maaay have to do a room tour. (As of right now I don’t even have pictures hung on the wall yet and I may buy another bookshelf and tweak things.) Buuuut I will give you a peek at my book wall…

 

It’s definitely subject to change, but I’m pretty happy with it for now.

And I have another shelf on the other side of the room, but it needs more work. It’s a bit messy looking as is.

 

Don’t mind my typewriter on the floor. Like I said, I’m still arranging things.

I’m being so indecisive about my shelves. I’d LOVE to arrange them by color because #aesthetics. It’s the thing now and I think it’s beautimous. Buuuut, at the same time, my perfectionist self can’t bear the thought of breaking up series. DECISIONS. #HALP I’d also absolutely love to get some fake flowers and fairy lights to decorate around the shelves with. If you guys know of any great places to acquire fairy lights (and what type I should get) SUGGEST AWAY!

- The month ended with us wrapping up our room switch, and now I’m comfortably settling into my new room and ready for yet another (hopefully) productive month to come. But May proved to be quite the month of writerly things, which I was counting on. As hard of a decision as it was to take a full month off of blogging, it was the right one. It gave me just enough time to wrap up some big projects of mine.

. . . WRITING . . .

- As of May 25th, I FINISHED EDITS FOR BURNING THORNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GUYS. I’ve been working on this 2nd round of major revisions since January. AND NOW IT IS DONNNEEEE. I couldn’t be happier! I may have to make another post about my editing journey (because I have quite a few thoughts and this post is becoming a monster as is), but for now I’ll just say this revision was tons of hard work and one of the biggest ones I’ve ever done. And…I kind of loved every minute of it. I’m thinking I’d like to go over the story one more time and check for any inconsistencies and do a typo sweep, but that shouldn’t take long. What matters is the big rewriting phase is done (for this draft anyway ehehehe). AND I JUST WANT TO DANCE IN ALL THE CONFETTI.

Alsoooo I will probably be doing a beta call sometime after Realm Makers (perhaps early August?) soooo yeah. Keep your eyes peeled for that. *wriggles eyebrows* Speaking of Realm Makers…

- I made some good headway as far as my giant DO BEFORE REALM MAKERS LIST goes. Editing BT was the biggy. But with that major task done, I’m now looking to getting other things done. I’ve scratched a few things off the list though.

- I made business cards! Super excited about that. I used Vistaprint because it was cheap and easy and I was quite happy with my design. Although the pictures I uploaded came out rather dark on the physical cards, as if they printed them wrong or something. It’s not too bad, I’m gonna live with it, just thought I’d warn you guys. I got matte cards, so it could be something to do with that? *shrugs*

- I sent in the first 10 pages of BT for a scheduled critique for Realm Makers. (SCARY STUFF.)

- I also scheduled appointments with 2 agents for RM. (MORE SCARY STUFF. Butalsoexciting.)

- I’ve been making planssss for a cosplay costume, since one night at RM we’ll all get to dress up. I’ve got the dress ordered, and have most of the rest of the costume figured out. It’s still a work-in-progress, but it’s coming together. I’M EXCITED. I think I’ll leave it to be a surprise though. *grins*

- Overall the Realm Makers prep is coming along nicely. Next up is perfecting my blurb for Burning Thorns, making a one-sheet (any tips, links, suggestions, etc. are always appreciated! I’m not even sure what kind of paper to make them out of and what size???), and work on a pitch for BT. Once I get those things done and my costume fully together I’ll be mostly prepared I think. I hope because WE’RE LOOKING AT LESS THAN TWO MONTHS NOW, PEOPLE. *SHRIEKS*

. . . BLOGGING . . .

Wait. Wasn’t I on a blogging hiatus for May? Well, yes. BUT…

- I did a guest blog post! The ever brilliant Savannah @ Inspiring Writes asked me to do a guest blog post for her Fairytale Retelling Month she did in May. Being as how I’m a huge fairytale retelling nerd (I mean, duh) I jumped at the chance. I wrote a post alllll about why YOU should write a retelling and why they’re cool. *puts on sunglasses successfully this time* So if you want  me to forcefully push convince you to join the fairytale bandwagon, you can read my post: 5 Reasons to Write a Fairytale Retelling

Also GO GIVE SAVANNAH A FOLLOW. Her blog, Inspiring Writes, is so well named. I come away from her posts inspired every single time. She makes the most motivating posts, will fill your plot bunny stash up by the millions, and she also interviews other amazing creatives. It’s seriously the best place to go fill up that creativity tank. Plus Savannah is the sweetest, most enthusiastic bean ever. <3

- I fiiinally got a more professional looking photo of myself for the blog (and other social media places). You probably noticed the new photo up there. *points at the top right sidebar* I’ve only been meaning to do that foreverrr, but I realized I needed it for my business cards, so that pushed me to get it done. Kudos to my amazing mom for capturing the photo. ^_^

. . . READING . . .

I probably don’t even deserve to have this section. Reading has been so slow these days. Like EMBARRASSINGLY SLOW.

- I did read the whole Storm Siren trilogy by Mary Weber though. Something I’ve been meaning to do for aaaages. But being as how she’s the keynote speaking at Realm Makers, I wanted to make sure I had read her books before then.

The stories were quite good. I got extremely fond of Nym and her cute impulsive behavior and deep desire to not harm anyone, as well as the rest of the cast (Eogan though <3). I also ADORED the world. It was like medieval fantasy slowly transitioning into steampunk times. Um. YES PLEASE. Such a unique and fun setting. Plus you can’t go wrong with a protagonist who literally creates storms. It was hilarious whenever Nym got angry and thunder would rumble in the sky.

The plot itself was pretty exciting buuuut…I don’t know. It almost felt like something was missing. Throughout all three of the books I was waiting for…more. It just kept feeling like the setup of a story and would get more exciting eventually, but it never really did. And yet at the same time it was chock full of war and emotion (THE FEELS) and life-threatening battles and the world threatening to end and airship fights (YES) and all that good stuff. So…maybe it’s just me? I think I’m becoming a picky reader and it’s a problem.

Overall, I enjoyed the trilogy quite a lot, but it didn’t quite blow me away. I’d probably get the trilogy 3 and a half stars all together.

That was all mostly May reading. I read barely anything in the whirlwind that was April. SAD I KNOW.

 

. . . WATCHING . . .

- INFINITY WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!! Naturally I saw it the weekend it came out and and and AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! No spoilers here, don’t worry. But yeah. o.o I can’t decide if I utterly loved it or hated it. SO MANY FEELS, GUYS. I’ve been screaming about it with my sister and friends for a month now. I WILL NEVER RECOVER FROM THIS MOVIE. EVER.

- THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. Confession: I’m not a huge musical fan. *ducks from the flying tomatoes* I probably just lost a few followers for saying that. I KNOW IT’S SHAMEFUL. I don’t dislike musicals, I’d just rather my entertainment not be interrupted by one song after the next. It takes away from the realism for me when everyone breaks out into song. So when I saw all this hype for The Greatest Showman I was more than skeptical. (I also can’t stand Zac Efron so…yeah.) WELL. My friends convinced me to watch it with them and… *shifty eyes* I loved it. I LOVED IT. Absolutely, completely LOVED. Every. Single. Minute. The whimsical feel, the amazing chorography, the beautiful setting, the emotion, the sweet characters, the absolutely breathtaking songs. It utterly enraptured me and had me lost in the story from that first goosebump-inducing opening scene to the credits.  NOW I AM HOOKED. So I shall swallow my words of not liking musical for this once and proceed to rewatch this amazing movie over and over again. Sometimes hypes are there for a reason. WHO KNEW?

- MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. I’ve been intrigued with this movie for a while, so was excited when some friends all decided we should watch it together. First I will say, this movie is NOT for the weak of stomach. It’s brutal. And gory. Good gracious. o.o If you’re looking for a fun, family-friendly flick THIS IS NOT IT. Two scenes in particular I really wish had not been there. BUT. I kind of loved the movie. It’s one of those movies that sticks with you long after the credits have rolled. I saw it over a month ago and am still pondering it. The strength and determination of the characters was awe-inspiring, the post-apocalyptic setting was fascinating (I’m a sucker for post-apocalyptic/survival storylines), and the plot delivered an extremely powerful message about hope and sacrifice and never giving up and doing the right thing and treating all of humanity with respect, without ever once shoving it in your face. I seriously loved it. But again, viewer discretion EXTREMELY advised.

- PETER PAN (2003). Only my FAVORITEST MOVIE EVER (next to Lord of the Rings). This is a movie I saw in theaters twice, bought on DVD the very day it released, and proceeded to watch it until my disc nearly got worn. The movie that still gives me chills when it comes on despite the fact that I can quote it word-for-word. This movie means the world to my best friend and me. Watching and liking this movie is basically our rite of passage to being our friend. XD (Juuuust kidding…sorta.) So naturally while I was staying with her, we had to show it to friends who had never seen it. We hadn’t watched it together in the longest and AAAHHH NOSTALGIA. It brought back every bit of our preteen and teen years. And, shockingly, this movie holds up. There’s really nothing about it that feels old and cheesy. It’s a beautiful, whimsical, magical movie and if you have not seen it YOU ARE MISSING OUT. Like…I can’t even put into words how enchanting this movie is. It’s one of the very, VERY few movie adaptations I like just as much as the book. Yes, I like this movie equal to my beloved Peter Pan book. I TOLD YOU IT’S GOOD.

I probably watched a gradrillion other things that I’m not thinking of, but this post is already a million years long and those were the highlights. (Plus I have the memory of a goldfish and don’t keep up with what I watch month to month so…)

I feel like there’s a million and twelve more lifely bits and pieces I could tell you about these past couple of months. Like I said, they’ve been a doozy! Buuut being as how this post is already long enough to circle the world, I think I should end it eventually.

Overall, life has been hectic and stressful and heartbreaking. But at the same time? Between seeing my bestie, finishing edits, getting some Realm Makers planning finished, celebrating Easter and Mother’s Day, and switching rooms with my sis, it’s been an utterly thrilling ride. I’m ecstatic to be back to blogging (I’VE MISSED YOU GUYS!!!) and can’t wait to produce some new and (hopefully) exciting content for you all. And I’m muchly looking forward to seeing what all June has in store. I think we should make it an epic one, don’t you?

 

TALK WITH ME!

WELL THEN. Now that I’ve blabbered on to nearly the end of time, I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! What have you been doing while I’ve been away? Do you have any fun summer plans? Have you seen any of the movies I’ve listed??? (I NEED TO FANGIRL WITH PEOPLE.) I have missed you all and want to discuss ALL the things!

May Hiatus Notice

Hello, my dears! Happy May to you all! (*pretends I’m not freaking out over the fact that it’s already May when it should still be February or something*)

If the post title and big picture above isn’t clear enough…

I’m going on hiatus
for the course of May.

I hate to do it. I always hate going a while without blogging. Buuuut Realm Makers is looming. (Like seriously, we’re less than 3 months away, people!!!) Annnnd I have much RM prep that still needs doing. Including finishing up edits for Burning Thorns. My original plan was to really focus on edits in April and get it mostly finished. But Life happened, as it does, and April turned out to be one of the busiest, most stressful and awesome months I’ve had in a long time. It was a roller coaster, guys. *collapses* Needless to say, very little editing happened.

Thankfully, I’m a good bit past halfway through the manuscript and think I can get it finished in a month or two. I just gotta actually have time. And that’s only one thing I need to get done before Realm Makers is here. *nervous laughter*

Soooo I realize I need to make time, which, sadly, means not blogging for a bit.

BUT DO NOT FEAR. I shall be back in June with lots more content for you guys. Blogging is one of my greatest joys and it’s so hard for me to take hiatuses. But, as we’ve said, Life happens. And, unfortunately, I’ve yet to find a machine that stops and/or makes more time. Until I can get my hands on one, blogging hiatuses will have to happen now and again. *pouts*

I hope your May is an absolutely magical month. IT’S ALMOST SUMMER, GUYS! :O If you’re in school right now, remember: You’re almost done. The lazy, carefree days of summer are just around the corner. YOU’VE GOT THIS!

LOVE YOU ALL!

 

TALK WITH ME!

Do you have any summer plans? Are you excited about May? Tell me everything!

7th Blogoversary Celebration Day 2: A Thank You Letter and Part Two of the Q&A Vlog

HELLO AGAIN!!! It is day two of Musings of an Elf’s two-day 7th Blogoversary Celebration (say that 5 times fast) and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

(If you  missed it, don’t forget to check out yesterday’s post where I showed you guys my first ever blog post (and hid in a hole from embarrassment afterwards) and shared part 1 of the Q&A vlog.)

Today, March 14th, is Musings of an Elf’s official birthday. On this day 7 years ago, I hit publish on that first post and entered the great, wide, crazy, AMAZING world of blogging. And I’ve never looked back!

Yesterday I talked about how creating this blog really shaped me as a writer and brought out my passion for writing even more. But it’s not just the writing aspect of the blog that has helped me grow. It is also the community.

It is…YOU!

There aren’t enough words in the world to fully express my gratitude for each and every one of you. But you better believe I’m gonna try anyway!

For Musings of an Elf’s official birthday, I want to share a letter. A letter to you, my dear, treasured blog followers. My friends.

 

A THANK YOU LETTER

Dear Friends,

When I first started this little blog simply for a way to stretch my writing muscles and start growing an author’s platform, I had no idea…no clue of the joys that were to follow.

It started with the blog comments that put a smile on my face every time one appeared. It took some time, but as I wrote more posts, more began to pop up. Then I ventured out to those blogs, I discovered linkups, more blogs, writers and like-minded people. It amazed me how many people out there shared my interests. How many people loved the same books I did, how many wrote the same types of stories I wrote, how many understood the ups and downs of being an aspiring writer or merely just loving stories.

I soon discovered the blogging world was full of kind, passionate, beautiful people. And over time, these people became my people, my friends.

For years, I struggled with confidence, with thinking I was alone. I rarely showed my true self because I feared no one would understand, or just think I was plain weird.

But then, one by one, you each entered my life. Slowly but surely, I grew less fearful of sharing my passions. I learned that if I turned on my “fangirl mode”, you wouldn’t raise an eyebrow and judge, instead, you fangirl/boy-ed right along with me! I could talk excitedly about my beloved books, movies, and TV shows—embrace my full geekiness—and be welcomed for it.

Then, as I met more and more people like me, I decided to attempt sharing things about my writing—something that had before made me want to go hide under my bed forever. I started out talking about writing-related things, then I…*gulp* began to post snippets. I opened up about what my stories were about, introduced my characters to you, wrote more writing posts.

And do you know what you did for me? You encouraged me.

Every single one of you rained encouragement over this self-conscious writer. You took away my fear and shame, and instead motivated me, inspired me.

As time went on, I formed closer bonds, joined a beta group, actually had people read my entire stories and I got to read theirs. Before I knew it, I was a full-fledged writer. It wasn’t a hobby, it was a lifestyle, and one that brought me joy every single day.

My little blog morphed into a writing blog with the greatest support group I have ever had: YOU.

Because of you, I went from a self-conscious teenager who had dreams of being a writer but never did much about it and always felt alone in that aspect of my life, to someone with solid plans of pursuing my greatest passion and the most amazing writer friends cheering me on all the way.

And all I can say is…THANK YOU! Thank you for the endless encouragement, the accountability, the interest in my stories and drive to continue pursuing publishing them. Thank you for all the enthusiastic comments and sweet emails. Thank you for your posts and stories that bless me and make me smile and inspire me every single day.

The impact each and every one of you makes on my life has been phenomenal. It puts me in awe to think that, out of the billions of people in the world, God brought me to each of you. He truly is a loving God!

Thank you for being the beautiful human beings that you are. I love you all!

Sincerely,
Christine

NOW THEN. We aren’t quite done with the celebrations yet. It is time for part 2 of the Q&A vlog! (And, don’t worry, this one’s a bit shorter than yesterday’s. Heh.)

 

THE Q&A VLOG
(Part 2)

This starts right where I cut off the first part, but I apologize for the weird lighting. Filming took muuuch longer than I thought it would and I started losing sunlight. So things get a bit yellow as the video progresses. Sorry ‘bout that! Maybe one of these days I’ll learn how to actually make a professional video. (But I wouldn’t count on it…)

(Also, at the end I call my blog Musings of the Elf instead of Musings of an Elf because I’m a potato and apparently don’t know the name of my own blog???)

This video features what my favorite season is, the great mystery of why I’m nicknamed Lauriloth/Lauri, my favorite mythical creature (betcha can’t gueeeess *grins*), my thoughts on standalones vs. series, which five books I would save in a disaster, what my favorite The Legend of Zelda game is, and moooore! Lots of fun stuff! (Seriously, I love everyone’s questions!)

You can view the video on YouTube HERE if the embedded version isn’t working.

Before I go, I have one more exciting thing to share with you…

I AM OFFICIALLY REGISTERED FOR
REALM MAKERS 2018!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Yesterday I registered and…just. I can’t believe this is happening. Excitement doesn’t even cover what I’m feeling. If you’re going, TELL ME, because I want to meet you all!

 

Alrighty! That wraps it up. This has been so much fun!

Once more I have to mention what a blessing you all are to me. I do this blog because of YOU! You are all the best! *GROUP HUG*

Can’t wait for all the more blogging years to come!

 

TALK WITH ME!

Let’s chat blogging. What is your favorite thing about blogging? Do you have a special blogging memory? And, since this is a party, the question must be asked: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE CAKE???

Thank you all for celebrating with me!