Merging blogs

A while back, I started a blog for my horse, Kezi. Since then I have picked up this blog and my Anatomy of a Creation blog. Posts from Kezi's blog will now be published on here, along with the rest of my posts.

~Katie

Pointe Shoes!

I know what you're thinking. There is no logical progression at all to this person's blog posts! Well...that's just me. My mind bounces from one thing to another without stopping to consider if it has anything to do with the last thing. =P

On Monday the 28th I got...*drumroll*...pointe shoes!!! Below are pictures of my shoes, the padding I wear and information on the shoes.

Ouch Pouch on my foot

Ouch pouches...pretty weird shape right? =P

Information on my shoes. 

Prettyful

Me standing in coupe (sp?) holding onto my sister's bunk bed. =P

1860's Dress (Post 1)

I was bored this afternoon and decided to start on a project over Christmas break.

(I'm making the red dress)

The fabric I chose for the project is olive green and I'm assuming it's 100% cotton. We got the fabric a while ago, so I couldn't find the information on it. The lace is going to be white and I decided not to make the bonnet for it. 

I'll be posting updates as I make it! The fabric is in the washer right now, so hopefully there will be another post tomorrow!

Moonbeam now available in eBook format!

Moonbeam is now available on Lulu in eBook format! Click here to go to the Lulu page. This is the same book that I self-published a few weeks ago. Please pass the information on to anyone you think might be interested.

I could have danced all night!

I just got home from the Christmas Celtic Ball. So much fun!! I went with my Dad and to quote My Fair Lady, "I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night and still have begged for more!!". It was absolutely exhausting because of all the bouncy Scottish type dancing, but I enjoyed it. =) (Oh and in case you're not sure who I am, I'm the girl with curly hair wearing the black dress/tiara. My hair is usually straight but my friend managed to curl it!! =D)

Fireplace + Friend + Christmas tree = picture moment!!

Playing volleyball.

Picture by the Christmas Tree.

Group picture. 

Moonbeam - Self Published and for sale!!

*drumroll* I published my first book today!!  It's the novel that I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year and submitted to the novel contest. Moonbeam is now for sale on Lulu.com for $10.99.http://www.lulu.com/...onbeam/18715556 If you've read the book, I would appreciate it if you could leave a review/rating on the page. The cover art was done by my awesome friend/adopted big sister. I'm just so excited that I don't even know what to do except give you the link and ask you to check it out!!  *bounces*

Synopsis:

Moonbeam lives in the magical land of Glaucio. She is the daughter of the Fiona, lead mare of the main herd in the land. When Fiona is brutally killed by Abaddon, the villain, Moonbeam is thrust into command of the herd. She must battle against Abaddon and his evil forces using her innocence and the gift from an older horse, Daryn. Abaddon wishes to kill Stardust, the stallion in charge of all the land. If he succeeds, Glaucio will be cast into 300 years of darkness, evilness and despair

Excerpt:

I never finished my sentence. A malicious laugh followed by a pathetic whinny reached my ears. My heart skipped a beat. I looked at Ellipse and her eyes were wide with fear, as I’m sure mine were.

Looking around the corner, I saw something that I wish I had never seen. My mother, Fiona, lead mare of the herd, lay in the middle of the clearing. Her coat was bruised and blood dirtied her pure white coat. She was breathing heavily.

I looked around for the one who had committed this treacherous deed and saw him. My legs almost collapsed beneath me. Out of the trees came the most dreaded horse in all the land. Abbadon.

“Come in here Moonbeam and see what I have done,” He invited, his lips curled up in an evil smile.

Lowering my head, I jogged towards my mother. Stopping beside her, I inspected her wounds more carefully. Her eyes were laced with pain and I could sense her silently pleading me to leave. I again looked at her wounds. Pain gripped my heart as I discovered she wouldn’t make it.

“Oh the poor dear,” sneered Abbadon, “You’ll just have to learn to live with disappointment now, won’t you?”

“Why? Why did you do this? What right have you to come and kill…” a lump caught in my throat, “kill innocent horses?” I finished, still keeping my head low.

He snorted maliciously. “I see you have learned from our last encounter, Moonbeam. You now keep your eyes down.”

Everything inside me told me to strike out and injure him, but somehow I restrained myself. After a deep breath, I responded, “You didn’t answer my question, but yes. I have learned. I have learned how evil you really are!”

Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to pass the link on to anyone you think might be interested. If you'd like to also pass on the excerpt/cover art/synopsis, please email me at princess00kacia @ gmail dot com.

~Katie

Freedom's Bonds - Jedrec's Tale

My first novel is called Freedom's Bonds. It's about a hidden princess named Kacia who has to take back the throne of her country. Yes, it's pretty cliche, but fun to write. I started a branch off of that story from the Love Characters perspective. Here is part of Chapter 1:

Chapter 1:

     The house erupted into one big ball of flame. I jumped back, pulling my sister along with me. She clung to my side, sobbing hysterically. The house crashed in on itself and continued to burn. Looking around, I saw that the other houses in our village had met the same fate.

     People stood outside their doors, sobbing for the loved ones lost inside. The Lipatovian soldiers surrounded the village, many of them laughing at the doom that had befallen the villagers. Anger boiled inside me and I struggled not to lash out at the nearest soldier. Images of me beating him to a pulp raced through my brain as I took a deep breath to calm my anger.

     “Jedrec…what is going to happen to us?” my sister, Daria, asked me.

     I looked down at her and shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know.” I answered truthfully.

     This wasn’t the answer either of us wanted to hear, but we both accepted it, knowing it was true. The soldiers around the village started to come closer and closer to the center of town, where everyone had gathered after their houses caught on fire.

     Grabbing Daria’s hand, I put her behind me. As the soldiers got closer, one marched ahead of the others and started to speak.

     “You have been shown the power of the king of Lipatov,” he intoned.

     Some king, I thought, What sort of king kills his own subjects?

     “Since you have nowhere to go, the king will let you reside in the labor fields. You will have food and a shelter, but you will be required to work for it. If you refuse to go, you will be killed instantly,” he finished.

     A new wave of angry feelings swept through me. They were forcing us to work there! Knowing that there wasn’t any place for us to go, since they had burned it down, the king no doubt felt that he was doing us a favor. I let go of Daria’s hand and stepped forward.

     “What are you doing, boy?” snarled the soldier.

     “You can’t force us to work in the fields. We have nowhere to go because you burnt it down. You’re not doing us any favors. That horrible king of yours just needs a good excuse to get us there.”

     The soldier bristled and walked towards me. Eyes glinting, he stood directly in front of me. He seemed like a giant when compared to my slim and rather short twelve year old frame. I could smell the alcohol on his breath as he hovered over me, glaring with more hatred than I thought possible.

     “You speak well for one so young,” he said. “But there will be no arguing. All of you will work in the labor fields, or it is instant death. Is that clear?”

     My only response was a glare. I felt a tug on my arm and looked back to see Daria. She frantically tried to get me to back down from the soldier. I yanked my arm away and got as close to the soldier as I dared.

     “I will go, but only because I could not leave my sister alone. Otherwise, I would rather die than work for your king,” I spat.

OYAN Novel Contest

Last night was the annual novel contest for One Year Adventure Novel students. I had three other OYANers over to my house to celebrate the occasion and watch the contest webinar. We were all excited to sit down and watch it, although only two of us (me and Madcow) had entered our novels. With all the excitement of such a momentous occasion, Mr and Mrs. S opened up the webinar, with Mrs. S stalling it sometimes, as is typical. Finally they got to announcing the finalists. They went in alphabetical order so I was thinking Oh, well at least I'll be near the beginning if I get anything. Then I won't have to wait for it. They announced the first finalist and for each finalist, they decided to read an excerpt of their first chapter. As they started to read, a strange feeling filled me. I knew that my first chapter, compared to that of the other's, couldn't have possibly made it into the finalist round. Still, I held on to the hope that I would get something. The S' started to announce the next winner...and went from 'B' to 'D'. My last name starts with a C.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't disappointed. For a few moments, I actually thought I might start crying. But then I realized something important. There are more things that are important than winning the OYAN novel contest. As I thought about it the rest of the night, I thought about all the things that OYAN had given me. I have wonderful friends and the opportunity to post my work for critiques whenever needed. There is always someone to talk to if that's needed and I try to be there in return. God definitely gave me a wonderful gift when my mom bought the curriculum

So I'm just writing this post to the rest of the people who weren't finalists. Don't stop writing. The more you write, the better you get. And if you start to get down about not being in the contest, just think of all the wonderful, lasting things you have. Eventually, trophies will be forgotten, left on shelves with dust. The iPod touch (although I admit it would be cool to have one) will someday break. I liked the quote that Mrs. S said last night, "If you want to be a writer, then write!" Don't stop writing just because of one contest. Whatever happens, whether you win the contest or not, you will always be able to write.