Summer 2007

Ok, wow, I never update this anymore... Oops. Well, it's been a crazy few months, that's for sure. Now summer's come to an end, wah!

Let's see... As most of you know my grandfather passed on at the beginning of July. I haven't gotten into a place yet where I can really write about that, its just... It still hasn't really sunken in yet, to be honest.

My birthday has come and gone. It was a pretty good one. There was a keg, lots of beer was drunk, fun was had by all and that's really all I can ask. It was especially nice to get to spend five days with Taela and to visit with Tim and Kelly, I've missed you guys so much! As for being another year older, 24's not bad, so far I like it. Next year, we're going whitewater rafting, I've already decided! 25 is going to come in with a bang!

I did a summer semester, which was meh... Three straight semesters of school is not my idea of fun, especially when it looks like I have another 5 ahead of me before I get any significant break. Eww! Also, I got screwed a bit, joy, so I really have to evaluate my options and figure out what I'm doing next--do I take the easier, longer road or do I take a harder path that should get me where I need to be in the same amount of time as I originally wanted? I haven't really made up my mind yet, I just... I have time, I'll figure it out, too much else to focus on.

Though, I hated having school in the summer, I did really enjoy my language credit, which was Italian! And I managed a 80%! Yay me! This is really impressive, keeping in mind that I barely passed French when I was forced to take it years ago. So, despite everything else, I am really proud of myself for that!

Let's see... Summer 2007... There was Beerfest which was a lot of fun, as well as a few short visits home and various activities with friends, Tyler's birthday and a trip to the Ex (though it really was just a shopping excursion), all of it a lot of fun, though I still say the summer really did go by to quickly!

The piece to resistance of the summer, was the Kelley Armstrong message board meet. It was a really emotional weekend, getting to see my board friends again, and meeting new ones for the first time. I had a wonderful time and I was definitely sad to see the weekend--next summer can't come soon enough!

The only other thing of note, is the fact that I moved this weekend. Mark and I officially moved in together, or rather we moved stuff into the apartment that I will move into this week and that we will occupy together as of October 1st. It's a big step, kinda scary, but really nice all the same and we have a nice little home, I'm really happy with it!

So, that's it... It's been an eventful summer, which is mostly why I haven't really been updating! Though I'll try to update more often. Really, I will.

Brief Update

I'm on break between semesters right now. I go back to school on May 8th. Not much of a vacation, really, but what can you do?

I went home to Castleton for a few days, went to the fishing party, and then went back to Toronto for a couple of days, and then headed to Brantford on Monday where I am now, to spend sometime with Erica and the kids. A busy couple weeks all and all.

I'll be back in Castleton for May 2-4, having a party at Mom's. Surprisingly she's okay with it, I think it's a sign of how much she misses me--of course, she was always cool about me having random parties (as long as they didn't get too large, loud or destructive), but I would have thought that privellage was revoked when I left home, but apparently not.

I'm trying to get all my OSAP stuff sorted out, so that there'll be a next semester and so far, so good. It's just complicated. Stupid government, never make anything easy. I'll sleep better when I know it's all taken care of, that's for sure. I can get nightmares of having to drop out of school and work in a call centre for the rest of my life out of my head.

An Interview With Shanna Swendson

So, as everyone knows I'm a huge book fan. Books are my life and some of my favourite books are Shanna Swendson's Katie Chandler books. So, I decided to participate in her great blog campaign, to get word out about the books and especially the upcoming Damsel Under Stress (which I am so psyched to read)! So, here is an e-mail interview with Shanna Swendson! This will be posted in my Opinion blog as well, where I recently talked about the first two books in the series, but I wanted it here too.

So, without, further ado, here we go:

When did you start writing? Have you always known you wanted to be a writer?

I've always entertained myself by making up stories in my head. When I was about twelve, I realized that if I wrote them down, I'd have a book, and that was when I started thinking that I wanted to be a writer. I just didn't really know how to go about doing it. It seemed like such a big dream, like becoming a movie star. I came up with a lot of story ideas and wrote a lot of first chapters but didn't really get anywhere with it. Soon after I graduated from college, I started to pursue writing more seriously, got involved with writing organizations, went to conferences and generally learned what it took from a business standpoint as well as a craft standpoint.

When you started "Enchanted, Inc.", did you always envision it as a series? If so, did you write it planning for future books, setting up things that would come up later or saving details for further down the road?

I always saw it as a series, but I didn't have a good sense of how the series would really shape up until I actually started writing the book and really "met" the characters. I remember thinking it would be fun if there would be Internet debates on which guy Katie should end up with. At one point I thought the next book would be "Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Ltd." and be set in the London office. When I wrote chapter four of Enchanted, Inc., I got the idea for what would happen in what I thought would be book three, and midway through the book I came up with the idea of what I thought would be book two, plus who the bad guy in that book would be, so I started laying the clues and groundwork. I ended up combining the ideas for books two and three into the second book. I've also been laying clues for a big part of what I hope will be in book five.

You're working on the proposal for book 5, do you see that as the last book in the series? Do you have a clear ending for Katie's story in mind, or could it go on indefinitely?

Book 5 is the last for this "chapter" of Katie's life. There's a possibility of picking it up again for another story arc, but I'm not entirely sure yet where that will go. I have a few vague ideas already. I'd like to write some other things first, though.

Are there ever times when you just don't feel like writing, but you have to? When it stops being fun and becomes a chore? Do you still like writing? Do you still do it for fun and not just for work?

It really depends on the day. On the days when I've had a great idea and I'm all excited, it's fun. But there are also days when I'd rather do anything but write, even though I have to. Once I make myself get started, though, I have fun and remember why I like this. I don't have time these days to write much just for fun--something that's not contracted and that I'm not being paid for--other than lots of character analysis posts on Television Without Pity.

Which character is your favorite?

Owen is probably my favorite character I've ever created.

Who do you like the least?

I don't know that I have a least favorite. I seem to even have a bit of fondness for my villains because they're fun to write.

Who do you find speaks the loudest to you?

Owen's quiet in the books, but very loud in my brain. He's managed to promote himself from what I thought would be a minor supporting character into a main character.

Have any of your characters surprised you by developing in ways you didn't see coming?

Idris keeps surprising me, to the point I almost feel sorry for him at times because he has these big ambitions without the real skills to carry them out.

If you could have magical powers, would you want them and what would you do with them?

I'd love to be able to clean house by waving my hand. Teleportation or time travel would be cool, too.

Which character in your book would you most like to be?

I'd probably want to be Katie because she gets to spend so much time with Owen. :-)

Which character do you relate to the most?

I think, though, that I relate most to Owen. I didn't realize this until I'd written three books with him in them, but he's probably more like me internally than any other character.

Are we going to learn more about the backgrounds of specific characters, such as why Phillip was turned into a frog or why Rod spends all his time hiding behind that illusion? Is more of Owen's background going to be revealed in time?

You learn what happened to Philip in Damsel Under Stress, and it turns out to be related to our main story. Book five (if it gets published!) is largely about Owen's background, and Rod's issues play into that.

What's your favorite fan story?

One of my favorite stories is a lady who wrote to me to tell me that she got Enchanted, Inc. accidentally when she ordered some books online and it was in the box instead of one of the books she'd ordered -- and after looking at it, she decided to keep it, and then she became a fan of the series.

What's the best compliment on your books you've ever gotten?

The best compliment is when someone says one of my books kept her up all night reading or helped her get through a difficult time.

How does it feel when people come up to you and tell you how much they love your books?

It's still a bit of a jolt to hear from someone who loves my books. I guess I'm still getting used to the idea that these people who've been living in my head are now living in other people's heads. I'm also still a bit "Who? Me?" when someone goes fangirl on me because I'm more used to being the one doing that to other authors.

Three Years

Three years ago today, I lost my father.

My life is so different than it was before that tragic night. I'm so different.

I try to move on my life, move past it, but on days like today, I can't help dwelling on the past. On the life I had before that fateful day, the life that included my father. It's been three years since I saw him, since I hugged or kissed him, told him that I loved him. Three long, often painful years.

Grief is a very difficult thing. In some ways, it defines you, at least for a time. It takes over your life, slowly controlling you, and it takes time to move past. Even three years later, I'm not yet completely free of it's web.

I still miss my father every day and I sometimes find myself caught up in that dark, agonizing feeling of loss, though not as much as I once did. Today, it's just ever-present. I can't get away from teh memories or the feelings. Three years ago today, my father was alive and then he wasn't.

I still wonder why he had to die, why at only 20 I had to lose my father, why he had to die at 48. It still seems so cruel, so unfair. But I know, it's not for me to know, but just to accept. The world works in weird ways, but to everything there is a purpose. I believe that, have always believed that.

Of course, that belief is cold comfort today when all I can think about is the life I had three years ago and the man I miss more than words can say. After all, three years ago today I lost my daddy.

Here We Go Again

It's beginning again. It's almost February and like the last two years, I feel the same old symptoms coming back. I'm more irritable, my thoughts are darker and I'm having a harder time sleeping. Joy.

It's been almost three years. 22 days from now it'll be three years and yet here I am, going through the same dark cycle for the third year in a row. You'd think I'd have made progress my now, moved on at least slightly, but apparently not.

At least there's an improvement in the fact that I've made it to at least semi-funtional 11 months of the year. It's just when we get close to February, that it all hits me and I forget all the progress I've made and go back to being broken and damaged.

I don't think I'm as damaged any more, but I'm certainly still damaged. I broke that day almost three years ago. I really, compleletly broke and though I'm back together better now, there are still cracks. It's like breaking a bone, it never quite works the same again and there's always a bit of pain there.

I'm going home this weekend for Grandpa's birthday. I'll probably make a trip to the cemetary, since I won't be around on the 21st (since it's mid-week). I know he's not really there, but it makes me feel closer to him. It's odd, I feel more comfort from the stone, than from his actual ashes which are on our bookshelf... Maybe, it's the symbolism. Whatever it is, it's comforting and well, I need all the comfort I can get.

Feeling Better

Well, I'm more or less well again, thankfully. I'm back in the city and tomorrow I return to class. Which is a good thing, since missing a week of class this early in the semester is bad. Very bad.

Other than that, there's not a lot going on with me. I was sick, now I'm not. Going to class and all that jazz. Yeah, my life's really, really dull, what can I say?

Well, that's all. Just thought I'd update you all health-wise, in case anyone was worried about me.

Sick

As most of you know, I've been sick for a while. Turns out I have tonsillitis. Interesting thing is that my throat's been the thing that's been bugging me the least, since it's been at least semi-sore for about a month and I've almost stopped noticing it.

Of course, that could be because I've had infected tonsils for at least that long. Apparently my tonsils are pretty damned affected. Going on antibiotics and have to see a doctor again in 2 days. Joy. Best part is, I saw a doctor two weeks ago and she apparently totally missed it. Fun. This is why I hate doctors.

At least now I know what the Hell is wrong with me.

2006: A Year in Review

So, there are only a few more days in 2006, which means it's time to start looking ahead on the new year to come and to start reflecting on the one that passed.

2006 was a year of change for me. In a lot of ways, this was the year where I emerged from the limbo caused by my father's death and started getting my life back on track. I have plans and goals and some sort of crazy thing resembling a real life.

I got out of Castleton. Not that I don't love my hometown, it's always going to be home, but I needed to experience life beyond that tiny little town, see what else life has to offer. I always want Castleton to be there, a place I can go back to, but I also want more than that.

I went back to school. Studying had never been my strong suit in the past, but this past semester I did ok. I pulled down good grades and developed the kind of study habits it would have been nice to have at 13, instead of 23, but better late than never, right?

I've made a lot of headway personally, becoming the person I want to be and dealing with a lot of my issues. Not all of them, but a lot. I'm calmer and more stable, I think. I've begun to deal with things and to put them behind me, at least a little bit. I'm becoming who I need to be.

Then, there's Mark, of course. Definitely the best part of 2006. Being in a relationship took a little bit of adjustment for me, but it's definitely worth it. Mark is wonderful and amazing and I'm so glad I have him in my life.

So, all in all, 2006 was a pretty great year and there were a lot of changes, all for the better. Now the question is what will 2007 bring?

Final Grades

So, my semester is finished and I received my final grades back. I not only passed everything, I managed to do fairly well in most of my courses.

My low grades were Psych and Soc. which I predicted months ago. I finished with a 63% in Psych and a 67% in Soc. Not terribly high, but pretty good given how much I struggled in those two classes all semester long.

I got 74% in both Compostion (which would have been higher had I not failed an assignment early in the year) and Critical Aware Thinking and a 75% in Philosophy. All in all pretty good.

My best mark was an 80% in Lit! I'll admit that I would have been disapointed with anything less. I wanted that mark pretty badly since Lit was my favourite class and the one I found the easiest. Maybe that's a good sign about the future...

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my final marks with everyone. After years of poor grades, it's kinda nice to be able to talk about high grades for once!

Christmas Holidays

I have one more exam in a few hours, then I'm done and it's on to the Chrismtas holidays. Yay!

I'm still not sure exactly what holiday plans I have, but... Well, spontanity is fun, right? Right now, the plan goes: I'm heading home tonight and decoring the tree with Mom. Tomorrow I head to Toronto for the weekend. On Monda night, I go to Brantford until sometime near the end of the week, then I head back landing me in Castleton in time for Christmas, since that's a must.

Then, of course, it'll be the family stuff--yay! Get to see aunts, uncles and cousins and all that fun stuff. Plus lots of food. Christmas time has the best food or rather, at Christmas one gets the best food. I like food.

So, if I don't post before then (though I probably will), I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!