Looking Ahead + 2017 Goals

   *peers suspiciously into the distance* Is that a new year I see on the horizon?

   It's New Year's Eve = exactly six days after Christmas (hard as that is to believe). Does anyone other than me find the week-or-so right after Christmas to be kinda sad?

   People are taking down their Christmas lights, evergreen trees, and festive decorations. All the special things that make up the holiday season seem to disappear almost overnight. We watch our own house be de-Christmassed and put on a brave face - the cozy holiday season is over, and now we have to cope as life goes back to how it was. 

   But, as we approach the first day of 2017, I started to realize something. Life never goes back - life goes on. And there will be all kinds of new surprises in 2017, both good and bad. And I'll be facing them head on, not looking back over my shoulder at the past. Looking ahead seems like a far better idea to me.

   Anyways, enough of my ramblings. 2017 is nearly upon us what even! And I came up with five goals that I'd like to accomplish in 2017 - we'll see how many of them I can actually achieve ;).

1. Read 100 books + read/review one new release each month

   I think I read over 100 books in 2016 (but I didn't really keep track, so who knows xD), but 2017 promises to be a whirlwind, so we'll see if I can get this done. And I'd also like to read + review one book each month that came out in that particular month. Wayfarer is my book for January - I'm excited to start it! (and then come on here and rant about it, that's always a plus *shrugs*)

2. Create a tag and/or linkup + be diligent in my upcoming blog series

   I've always kind of wanted to create a tag/linkup - however, my brain tends to be blank when it comes to ideas, more often than not. But I feel like a bookish or writerly tag/linkup would be a blast *nodnod*. I almost feel like a linkup that has to do with reviewing a new release each month would be kinda neat ... but anyways, onto the second part of that goal. I'm also going to try my best to keep up with the series of posts I'm starting on my blog in Janurary - I having a feeling that it's going to be lots of fun (or I hope so, anyways xD)!   

3. Be more diligent in journaling

   Journaling takes a lot of time - and I'm a fairly lazy goldfish xD (plus, if I'm going to write, why not write a story, instead of writing about my day? *shrugs*) But I'm going to try harder this year because a) it's super helpful to be able to look in my journal and see a month's high points when it comes to writing a Monthly Highlights post and b) it will be fun to look through my journal in a year and see all the epic-ness that happened *nodnod*.

4. Start (and keep up with!) a 2017 memories jar

   I don't even remember where I saw this idea, but I love it -  it's basically where you make a note of anything good that happens during the year and put the notes in the jar. That way you can have a whole jar-ful of memories to look through on New Year's Eve, 2017. I'm awfully excited to try this (and of course I'm dragging my sisters into doing it with me :D)! Plus, if my journaling goal can't be kept, then I'll still have a jar-ful of all the best things that happened is 2017.

5. Write a _____ draft of a novel or novella

   Whether it's a first draft of something new, or a ninth draft of something old, I want to get some form of writing done in 2017. I'm guessing it will either be the fourth draft of Killing Snow (that would be me turning it into a novel), the first draft of The Dreamer's Game, or a zero draft/ first draft of something entirely different. Or all of those things at once. I've got 365 days - there will be plenty of time xD.    

   *blinks at the goals* So ... they look just a tad daunting all lined up like that. But I'm going to try my hardest to keep up with all of them.

   I hope 2016 was amazing for you, and here's praying that 2017 will be even better! Have a blessed year, my friends!

~ Savannah Grace

What's a goal you have for 2017?

Monthly Highlights - December 2016

   2017 is coming up at breakneck speeds and where on this good earth did time go?! *dies* I'm still telling y'all, something ate 2016.   

   December was a pretty quiet month, as far as months go (or maybe I just think it's quite because I'm comparing it to November - which was an insane month xD), but it was still amazingly fun!

   - We got our first good snow on December 3rd, which I was super excited about because I adore snow (sadly, there was no more good snows for the rest of the month *sniff* but oh well xD).

   - We made dozens of Christmas cards for friends and family + bakes trays of cookies for the neighbors. Those two things are some of my favorite parts of Christmas *nodnod*.

   - And of course, Christmas happened. We opened our presents in the morning, then all skipped off to church before coming home and preparing for the relatives to arrive. All in all, it was an epic-ly fun day that I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

   - Started the outline to turn Killing Snow into a novel. Which hopefully will be done by April because Camp NaNoWriMo (I'm writing the novel Killing Snow for Camp).
   It is very strange for me to have not only decided that I'm doing Camp, but also what I'm doing for Camp. Hopefully I'm not the only crazy one xD.
   I had a few big breakthroughs with that outline - and I guess those breakthroughs made up for a bunch of the writer's block I've been having as well *shrugs*. 

   - Okay, one thing you guys should know about me. When I get sick (normally it's when I have a cold) I want to edit. I literally want to edit more when I'm sick. No, I don't know what's wrong with me xD.
   But anyways, I was sick a couple times this month, so some editing happened. 

   *gives you a few sentences from my dragon's hoard of words* (no, these aren't some of the edited words, but they're words none the less)

+ The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman

   *squints* Well, I certainly missed the mark this month. I was hoping to read 20-something books xD. But I have a lot more books waiting to be read in January, so I guess that makes up for it.

   - The Skin Map (by Stephen R. Lawhead) Another book that Deborah O' Carroll convinced me to read (y'all might as well jump over to her book reviews blog so she can convince you to read lovely books as well xD) and I'm super glad she did! The plot was awesome, the characters were wonderful, and I'm really excited to read the second book in the series. A full 4 stars for this one.

   - Eldest (by Christopher Paolini) Okay, so I feel like I should re-read a series in order, but I play by my own rules and randomly read the second book in the Inheritance cycle the other day. It was just as epic as it was the first time I read it (no, I am totally not biased by the dragons in the book, why do you ask?). The characters are epic, it was a page-turner even though I knew what was coming, and I don't care what people may say about how the Inheritance Cycle and Stars Wars are alike - I love this series *nodnod*. 4 1/2 stars for Eldest.     

   - (books 1-4) Byways (C.J. Milbrandt) The lovely Mrs. Kinde sent us these for Christmas (thank you, friend!) and, being the bookworm I am, I devoured them in an hour xD. They're technically for kids around the age of ten (I think) but hey, who doesn't love a kids book? Especially if it's a Milbrandt book - I love all Milbrandt books *nodnod*. I really enjoyed these, and would give them an all-around 3 1/2 stars. 

   And I've got two reading goals for 2017 that I hope to accomplish - one that's abnormal and one that's perfectly normal.

   Normal: Read 100 books (because why not?)

   Abnormal: Read a book each month that released that month and review it (because ... why not? xD It sounded like fun, and I like to be different *nodnod*)

   So we'll see how those go - I've already got a January book and a February book planned.

  
   *pets the pretty books* *goes off to find one for March*

 

 

   - Mary did a NaNoWriMo recap and shared some of her beautiful snippets from Moonlit Mirror

   - Olivia wrote a lovely poem about December that I really enjoyed (I read it twice and still adored it)

   - Christine finished the series she had been writing every NaNoWriMo for seven years (seven years, you guys. SEVEN) and posted about it

   - Cait posted about how she makes her Origami lucky stars (or Sauron stars, as she says they should be called) which I was happy about because now I can decorate my bookshelves with stars xD

   - Sarah posted about how to print your book with lulu and Canva, which will be super helpful whenever I print one of my books

   - Alea Harper did an epic post about writing Christan books

   - Julia printed her book and it is absolutely, epic-ly gorgeous

   - Ashlyn wrote a post for Burning Youth that might be the most powerful thing I read this month

   - I'm planning to start a series of posts on character building during January - so at least one or two posts from that will be going up next month.

   - And I'll probably be doing the second part of my vlog, too ;).(probably in very late January, because I have a cold right now and my voice isn't working xD)

   So. November was a whirlwind, December calmed things down with gentle snow and Christmas time, and January is now going to come roaring in. I'm excited to see what the new year brings!

~ Savannah Grace

   So how was your Christmas? Do you have any reading goals for 2017?

Joy To The World

joy to the world
the Lord has come
let earth receive her King

and yet

despite the well-wishes
and cheeriness
and joy that comes with December

Christmas is one of the most
hectic
times of the year

for me it's wonderful because
i love the crazy 
the bright lights and Christmas carols

but I have seen how
wild
the holidays can be

yet still

even amidst the
insanity
that comes with the Christmas season

there seems to be a
special hush
that lies over the world

on the night of Christmas Eve

like the world is holding
its breath
remembering what happened

so many nights ago

the night that the angels danced
in the starry night sky
unable to contain their joy

the night our Savior King was born

the earth itself
seems to want to sing
on the night of Christmas Eve

and tell us

angels we did hear that night
sweetly singing o'er the plains
gloria, gloria

because of the night our Savior King was born

the household buzzes on the night before Christmas
some of us can't sleep
because the excitement is too palpable

but maybe

maybe

if we are still and just
listen
for a moment

maybe we'll hear the angels singing

joy to the world
the Lord has come
let earth receive her King

~ Savannah Grace

Have a wonderful Christmas, my friends!

The Q&A Vlog

   Finally (after almost half a month *cringes*), here is the Q&A vlog I promised you all! Thanks a bunch to all of you who submitted questions, this was super fun to record.

   Yes, I was slightly awkward. Yes, two minutes into the video, Ariel tells me to tuck my misbehaving hair. Yes, the video is eighteen minutes long (my apologies!), and yes it was tons of fun and I'd love to do another xD. I was only able to answer about half of your questions - so if you want me to do a part 2 and answer the rest, leave a comment and tell me so!

   Okay, okay, I'll quite rambling. Onto the video. (sorry that the quality isn't the best - it was fine until I uploaded it to Google Drive *shrugs*) 

   So there was that. Hopefully it wasn't too bad for my first shot at this - and hopefully I'll be back with a better one sometime xD.

~ Savannah Grace

    What is your favorite point of view to write in, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd? What is one of your goals for next year? Should I do a Q&A part 2?

How I Outline - From Novella To Novel

   My novella, Killing Snow, suddenly decided that it wanted to be a novel. I smacked it and told it no.    

   But apparently this didn't work, because Killing Snow has finally convinced me that it has a longer story to tell. So lately I've been pretty busy trying to re-vamp the novella's outline to turn it into a novel's outline.

   Which is hard, let me tell you.

   I started with piles and piles of info from beta readers, a vague idea of some things I wanted to try with Killing Snow, and massive amounts of confusion. So I made a plan of action. Do a very quick edit of Killing Snow (because it needed another edit before I forced myself to look at it again *cringe*) and then type out the entire outline of the novella that I have right now.

   Of course, being me, I forgot to add the prologue into that outline. Go figure.

    ANYWAYS. So I did that. (*cough* and then kind of stared at said outline in utter confusion and wondered what on earth I was to do with it *cough*) The hardest part came after that.

   Figuring out how to write out the novel's outline. I started by running through the ideas I had for the novel and writing them all down (because I have the memory of a goldfish and I would have forgotten them otherwise).

   Then I went back to the outline of the novella I had typed out earlier, and printed it. The novella outline on the left side of the paper, and blank space on the right to write out the new novel outline. Then (with the ideas that I had written down earlier and drawing most of my inspiration from the novella's outline), I started to build something new.

   The going's rough (because I feel like I've run out of new ideas for the novel Killing Snow xD) - but I've given myself until mid-March/beginning of April to fully finish this outline. Because then in April's Camp NaNoWriMo, I can start re-writing Killing Snow *is still a little in shock about this decision*. Which is kinda neat, in a roundabout way - because last April I wrote novella Killing Snow for Camp xD.         

   So for me, outlining is a very go-with-the-flow kind of thing (strange for this partial perfectionist, but there it is *shrugs*). We'll see how this ends up.    
 
   It started out with me writing insane words during Camp, thinking that these words were the sand with which I'd build a castle. Turns out I was wrong. The words were the sand, the novella is the stones, and now it's time for the real castle-building to commence. I just have to draw out the plans first xD.

~ Savannah Grace

   How do you outline? Have you ever realized your story has more to say?  

The Snippets Tag

   I hath been tagged to willingly share some snippets - which will be most amusing for you and probably very good for me xD. Thank you for the tag, Madeline! (she created it, so that's pretty cool *nodnod*) Let's see if I can find anything not super-embarrassing to show you guys ...

- Ze Rules -

1. Include the graphic Madeline created or link to Madeline in the post 

2. Answer all the questions, however you want to. Creative interpretation is the key here! You can use the book you're currently working on to answer the questions, or other books you've started or have written. 

3. Tag 2-5 other bloggers 

(disclaimer: (I have three of these this time around xD) Most of the snippets are only lightly edited, if they are edited at all, and I will be skipping a few questions because of spoilers. But here's Madeline's original post, so those I tag can see what all the questions were *nodnod*. And I'll be using snippets from multiple different stories - but the picture should tell you which story it's from)

   Alright, I'm done rambling. Onto the questions! *goes scrounging around for suitable snippets*  

1. Share your most gripping, fascinating, and hooking first line of a story. 

   *has already shared this one with you* But hey, I'll do it again - seeing as it's the best I've got xD.

2. Share a snippet that made you want to shout to the world that you're SO. HAPPY. 

   Hmm ... *thinks* Well, this definitely isn't one of my best snippets (I wrote it quite awhile ago *cringe*) but it placed in Tessa Hall's Monday Minute Challenge, and it was the first time my writing had actually received recognition of any sort. So I was happy, to say the least xD. Here's part of it - 
 

3. Share a snippet that gives you a bit of insight into one of your most favorite characters ever.  

    Ooh, this one is pretty easy. *throws the snippet at you, even if you may have already read it* 

4. Share a snippet that gets you beaming with pride and you're just like 'yep, I wrote that beauty'.  

   *tries to think of a snippet like this* *draws a blank* Well, I'll just throw something random at you then. Works every time I'm at a loss xD. 

5. Share a snippet of genius, deliciously witty dialogue between your characters. 

   Do you guys know how hard it was to find a snippet that fits this description? It was hard. I still don't know if it fits this description - but here ya go. (also, this is the first time I've shared something from Killing Snow's sequel, so it is momentous xD) *winces because snippet isn't edited whatsoever and desperately needs it* *shares anways*

6. Share a snippet that leaves you breathless, in a cold sweat with action-induced intensity. 

   Okay, news flash - I am horrible at writing action scenes. So we'll see what I can do here ...  (this is more of a right-before-the-action-starts scene, but hush, I'm totally not cheating xD)

7. Share a snippet of a most interesting first meeting between your characters. 

   Oh wow. My characters have had many interesting meetings with each other. *tries to pick just one snippet to share* 

I tag ...

Soleil @ Reviews By Soleil 

 Jonathan Trout @ Fishing For Ideas

Brianna Henderson @ Ramblings of a Pilgrim on The Way

Sarah Margaret @ The Introverted Extrovert 

Mary @ Sunshine And Scribblings
Julia Ryan @ The Barefoot Gal
and you! *gives the tag to everyone*

   *ignores the fact that I tagged one more person than I should*

   This was a super fun tag, Madeline! (despite the fact that it was terribly hard to find snippets to let you all see *cough*) Thank you for tagging me - and if any of you do this tag, make sure to throw me the link to it so I can see your writing! *wishes to read all the snippets*

~ Savannah Grace

So, what did you think? Which one was your favorite? *is curious*

Questions For My Q&A

   *randomly takes the plunge*

   I've had multiple people tell me to do a Q&A vlog - and then when I brought up the idea in a former post, multiple people jumped on the idea and insisted that I do it xD.

   SO. I don't know if I'll be able to get my finicky blog to upload a video (*cough* not tech savvy *cough*), but I though I'd ask for the questions you guys want to me to answer anyways. I can still answer your questions in a post if the video decides not to work *nodnod* And I promise that if the video doesn't work, I'll try for it again sometime. Because apparently people really want to watch me be awkward *shrugs*.

   Okay, I'm getting off topic. This was supposed to be short, but apparently I'm long-winded? Anyways. I can't promise that I'll answer all the questions. I'd be trying to keep the video/post kinda short. If I can xD. But I'll answer most of them - so give me all the questions you've got! And you've got until the 13th to do that, so don't waste any time xD. *nodnod*

*whispers* also, this is off topic, (shush, no one expected me to stay on topic) but I shared the first chapter of my novella, Killing Snow, on my Writings page, so if you've ever wanted to read that, there it is *shrugs*

~ Savannah Grace 

*shoos you away to the comment section to give me your flood of questions* 

  

Book Review - Once (an anthology)

(since this is an anthology, I'll be rating it story by story, then giving you my over-all rating)

3 STARS

Title: The Mountain of the Wolf
Author: Elisabeth Grace Foley

   I mus say, for a book set in the old west, I rather enjoyed it. As a reader of mostly fantasy/sci-fi and the like, I normally will steer clear of anything with a country flavor. But I decided that I might as well give The Mountain of the Wolf a try, seeing as I'd been waiting to read this anthology (plus, it was a Red Riding Hood retelling, which sounded pretty cool).

   It was a bit hard to get into right off the bat - but after a couple chapters I started to enjoy it more. The climax was good, and Elisabeth did pretty good at keeping me reading (though the beginning felt a bit slow). I would probably recommend this for 13+ and anyone who likes stories in a country setting. While The Mountain of the Wolf wasn't my favorite in this collection (but I'm a biased little fantasy-reader), I can still say that it earned those stars.

4 STARS

Title: She But Sleepeth  
Author: Rachel Heffington

   First things first. The main character's name was Maria.
   For those of you who've been reading my blog for awhile, you'll know that I'm writing a book called The Dreamer's Game, and the main character's name is Maria. So it was a little strange for me, just saying xD.

   Anyways. That aside, I loved this story - Rachel Heffigton did so well. I was hooked from the beginning, and I couldn't stop reading once I had started. Rachel's writing style is easy to read, and I though that She But Sleepeth was an amazing re-telling of Sleeping Beauty (I'm a bit partial to that fairytale, seeing as I wrote a retelling of it once). I thought the plot was great, and I loved the characters. And the ending, you guys.
   I'd recommend this for 13+. I almost want to go re-read it right now - it definitely deserved each of those four stars *nodnod*.

3 STARS

      
Title: Rumpled
Author: J. Grace Pennington

   I've never read a re-telling of Rumpelstiltskin (no, I didn't need to look up how to spell that word, why do you ask? *cough*), so I was curious as to how it would work out. Some parts of the plot were confusing, but Rumpled was still an enjoyable novella.

   The Rumpelstiltskin character was interesting - I'd never have thought of such a creative take on him! I would definitely give the author thumbs-up for that. The plot wasn't my favorite, but it was fun to read none the less. The way J. Grace Pennington mixed just a bit of sci-fi, a bit of steampunk, and some historical together was wonderful, I enjoyed that. I would recommend Rumpled for 13+.

4 1/2 STARS

Title: Sweet Remembrance
Author: Emily Ann Putzke

   I never thought I would enjoy a book set in this time period as much as I did - but Sweet Remembrance was wonderful. I have no idea whatsoever which fairy tale it was a retelling of, but I honestly don't care.  
  
   Emily's words and her beautiful, unique way of storytelling drew me in from the start. I absolutely loved the way she told this story, switching between memory and reality. It was beautiful. The characters were so realistic, and I couldn't stop reading the story after I had started it - and the end was satisfying and sad at the same time. I would recommend this book for 13+. It may have been my favorite in this anthology, though it would be hard to pick between Sweet Remembrance and She But Sleepeth.

2 1/2 STARS

Title: Death Be Not Proud
Author: Suzannah Rowntree

   It was a Snow White retelling, and basically the most confusing retelling I have read in my entire life.  Don't know how I even managed to recognize that it was Snow White at all.
 
   The first half was alright, thought it didn't really catch my attention all that much. But it started to get confusing in the middle, and by the end I honestly had no idea what had happened. I would recommend it for 14+, though I really wouldn't recommend it at all, unless you want to read a confusing story. Or maybe you'd just be better at figuring it out than I would be xD.

3 STARS

Title: With Blossoms Gold
Author: Hayden Wand

   I've read some of Hayden's work before, so I knew that this Rapunzel retelling would be good. And it definitely didn't disappoint! I love the idea of a Rapunzel who doesn't want to leave her tower, instead of one who is trapped.

   Hayden's writing style is lovely and easy to read, and the plot she thought of was intriguing and very original. And I just have to mention that she does a great job naming her wonderful characters ;). The overall feel of this story was beautiful, and I enjoyed it very much. I'd recommend it for 12+.   

OVERALL: 3 1/2 STARS

   Some of the stories were amazing (Sweet Remembrance and She But Sleepeth <3) ... some of them weren't quite as good (Death Be Not Proud), but overall I still very much enjoyed this book. The different takes on the fairytales were so much fun.I've almost been inspired to start on another retelling myself :D.

(I was given this ebook in by the author in return for my honest review)

Summary (taken from Amazon)

   Six fairytales you thought you knew, set against a tapestry of historical backgrounds.

A lonely girl plots revenge in the shadow of a mountain. A stolen princess fumbles a century backward. A dwarfish man crafts brilliant automatons. A Polish Jew strikes matches against the Nazis. A dead girl haunts a crystal lake. A terrified princess searches a labyrinth. A rich collection of six historically inspired retellings, Once is a new generation of fairytales for those who thought they'd heard the tales in all their forms.

Featuring the novellas of Elisabeth Grace Foley, Rachel Heffington, J Grace Pennington, Emily Ann Putzke, Suzannah Rowntree, and Hayden Wand.

Purchase Once here

~ Savannah Grace

   What's one of your favorite books that is a fairytale retelling? What fairytale would you like to see retold someday?