Work or relaxation?

Since I started working full time (yeah, they're not lying when they say first year teachers are definitely busy every waking minute) I've been trying to get back to writing. It's only been this week that I've been able to look over my paranormal story DARK SIGHT and get some good work done on it.

I was speaking to another teacher who said she had to give up writing because it felt too much like work added on top of work, so I considered this. At the moment I love to find time to write. For some reason, when I'm in the mnindset of my characters, fighting evil monsters and solving mysteries it's the only time I get to relax and forget about all the stresses that I may encounter throughout my day.

I hope I never see writing as work or a chore because it's the only form of escape I have and I definitely need something like that in my hectic life.

What about you? What do you do to relax or forget about the stresses of everyday life? If you write, do you see it as work or a source of fun?

Review: The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Synopsis (From Goodreads): The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London, it's the start of a new life at a boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

London is gripped with fear. Someone has started copying the brutal murders that were committed by Jack the Ripper more than a century ago. For Rory, it is the start of her new life as an American teenager at a London boarding school. After a near death experience, Rory starts seeing things, people that don't exist. One she does see happens the same night a murder is committed on the school premises, and now she might be the only key to unravelling the mystery surrounding this new Jack the Ripper.

I love the mystery surrounding Jack the Ripper, and Maureen Johnson recreates that fantastically in this creepy mystery. I felt myself being swept up in the whole gruesome scene and I loved it. Rory is a fun and intriguing character who is definitely out of place since she is the only American in this English boarding school.

The Name of the Star is full of page-turning thrills and a mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. I look forward to seeing what's next in Rory's adventures.

Source: audible
2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge: #3 of 11

2012 YA Reading Challenge: #11 of 50

Silence or Sound?

After all the work I've been doing, I've finally been able to get back to writing DARK SIGHT. For some reason, I can't work in silence. I need something in the background to help my mind keep flowing with the creative juices.

Since I do most of my writing at home and there's no one around I usually have the TV on low in the background. Last night I found myself writing and thinking one word but writing one that someone on the TV said.

I had to check my MS to make sure no other unexpected words had sneaked their way in amongst the story. This doesn't mean I won't have the TV on while writing, I'll just have to focus more on WHAT I'm writing rather than zoning out and ending up copying what people are saying (especially on advertisements... that's just the worst dialogue you can have).

So, do you write best with silence or sound?

Review: Half-blood

Half-blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout


Synopsis (From Goodreads): The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Alex is a half-blood and her mother removed her from the Covenant without telling her why, in order to live a semi-normal life. Now, forced to return to the Covenant after the death of her mother, she has to prove that she still belongs there, training to take down the ones who killed her mother: Daimons. Together with pure-blood Aiden, she has to train even harder or she will be forced into servitude (a life no half-blood would choose). Unfortunately training isn't the only thing on her mind. She is also crushing hard on Aiden, which is bad. If anyone found out she would be in even more trouble than she already is due to the #1 rule: Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.

I had been hearing lots of good things about Armentrout's half-blood, but it took me a long time to get around to reading it and I'm not sorry. Packed full of action and temptation, it definitely is a page turner. Alex has created a vivid and unique world around the Greek mythology of the gods, and Alex was the perfect heroine. Her voice was strong and full of emotion. Even though she has guilt plaguing her, she never lets that stop her from doing what she needs to. I especially loved her rebellious edge and her need to challenge authority at every turn.

I really look forward to reading Pure.

Source: e-book
2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge: #2 of 11

2012 YA Reading Challenge: #10 of 50

YAY! I'm back

Sorry for such a long absence, I promise I have a really good excuse. It has been a super busy month. I've actually started teaching this year (which is a lot more work than I've had to do for a long time). This has involved moving to a new town, to a new state.

Apart from moving and preparing my lessons for all my classes, I've also had a lot of technical difficulties. When I first moved, I had no hot water, no television, no telephone, no internet... okay, now I've got the hot water and television. What I don't have is a telephone or internet (yeah, the bright telephone company switched my phone off when they connected my internet, now I have neither)... I'm just using a mobile stick until then.

Now that I'm actually organised (well, nearly organised), I'm going to return to blogging and writing and using social networks...

So, how has everyone been?

Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Synopsis (From Goodreads):In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Mary has always been taught one thing: Stay away from the fence that surrounds the village. The Sisterhood has always known what's best for the village while the Guardians protect. When she watches her mother turn into one of the unconsecrated she is turned over to the Sisterhood. But with an inquisitive nature, Mary is learning that the Sisterhood have secrets. Secrets they don't want the village to know, including that life exists outside the forest of hands and teeth.

When the gates fail and the unconsecrated attack the village, Mary is forced to run, venture through the gates she was warned to stay away from. With a small group, she aims to find the last haven away from the unconsecrated, to find out whether the stories from her mother are true. She heads out to find the ocean. As they venture deeper down a path that is surrounded by the unconsecrated, will they manage to escape from the forest of hands and teeth?

It's taken me a while to read this book and I wasn't disappointed. For a zombie novel, it had the right amount of psychological tension and drama as Mary learns that the truths she thought were real about the world around her anything but real. I liked how the horror elements were described without overly abusing the gore factor that are present with most zombie novels.

Mary is a strong character, but at times can be annoying as her mind is always focused on finding the ocean no matter what other obstacle she may encounter or whoever else may be affected. The relationship drama between Mary, Travis and Harry was built on and could see the real emotions she felt towards the two boys. I felt sorry for both boys for different reasons, but due to not wanting to spoil anything I'm not going to say a word about what those reasons were.

As a post-apocalyptic, zombie novel, The Forest of Hands and Teeth was an interesting take on the zombie genre and with a lot of character development. I'm looking forward to picking up the other novels in this series.

Source: audio book
2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge: #1 of 11

2012 YA Reading Challenge: #1 of 50

Everything in a neat little package

I've been doing a lot of travelling in the past month (mainly back and forth between the lovely Gold Coast and cold country NSW). There is a positive about spending 12+ hours driving each way, though. It gives me a lot of time to think and reflect on my characters, story or loose ends I need to cover.

When I think up my plots, I have so many different elements and events all happening at the same time that it can sometimes get confusing to try and make sure everything is tied in a neat little package at the end. One secret weapon I use to keep everything together and to track is a mind map. I find that by visualising all the paths that are taking place within a plot will help me track what needs to happen with all those little loose ends.

Tying up loose ends in novels is probably in the same league as the debate over standalone vs series. If there are still questions to be answered and I know that the next in the series isn't going to come out for another year, I might be content to wait or I might also feel let down over how the first one ended. When I read and I know it's a series I do like a little bit of tantalising info to keep me wanting more, but I don't want a twist right at the end that leaves it open on a cliff hanger that doesn't answer anything for me (but there have been cliff hangers that I have been satisfied with).

What about you? Do you prefer all loose ends to be neatly tied up or questions that leaves you wanting more? What about writing endings? Do you find it easy to write the ending and tie up the loose ends?