The Rebelling Muse: Blogging Buddies

Adventures at the Ohio Renaissance Festival!

Greetings from the cave!

Today's tale is one of adventure, fun, and camaraderie.

For today, I shall relate the adventures of Lia, Megan Chappie, and myself as we experienced the Ohio Rennaisance Festival.

(Granted, this post is quite late, as we went on our adventures quite close to Hobbit Day. Oh well, such is the life of a grad student.)

Now, like all good adventures, it required some planning. We had set this idea into motion about two months before it actually happened. Because...how else were two people in the food industry going to get days off?!

For my costume, I chose the blue medieval dress that I had made for my Collegium Musicum days. But as we were going during Highland Weekend, I decided to ramp it up a notch. I made a narrow cloth belt and a lined cloak. I even bought a set of Celtic rose clasps and my Scottish clan badge (Mackinnon) on Etsy to complete the look. This was quite an undertaking with months of preparations.

My Etsy Purchases

My dress, with matching belt (and detail of the clan crest on left)

But this is not a post about the preparations! This is a post is about adventure!

Lia and I took gate portraits as we waited for Megan to come :)

And like any good adventure, it started at the front gates...and the map station. Because maps are absolutely important on an adventure (their usefulness is a debate for another time).

And thus, our wanderings began. We caught the joust first because we arrived just a few minutes before the first one. And I totally was going to go to all three.

Until we made the horrible discovery that the group of knights jousting were a bunch of old guys. And I mean stodgy old and SLOW gray-haired guys.

RUDE. The whole reason we women watch jousts is FOR THE HANDSOME KNIGHTS. It's like football guys. We women want strength and vigor in our men!

The joust (we were way in the back, oh well)

(sorry. Rant over now, I promise)

Anyway, we next went in search of a pub, for it was after noon and...well, the body was quite adamant that food was needed ASAP.

And we betook ourselves to the Rose and Crown, for it had the most authentic Ren Faire food. I had a very nice Steak on a Stake with fries, and Lia had some sort of tater tot with crab dish.

While there, we were gloriously entertained by Robert the Bard, who sang everything from sea shanties to the theme to Muppet Treasure Island. Does he not look like an epic Pirate captain?

While in between songs, the three of us caught each other up on our various life dealings and our literary children's shenanigans.

Here poor Megan is reacting to my news that my editor had cut out half of Karsten's lines and rewrote them! My thoughts exactly, my dear. Never fear, my betas, Karsten's lines will NOT be touched!

Once we finished there, we browsed about the shops. We were stopped by one trader with a lotion that smelled quite sweet, even he hinted it might be poisonous, LOL. And then we found a vendor selling...swords!!

Now, if any of you recall the really long Q&A vlog that Lia and I did, you may remember that the two of us commented that we should get swords. Well, I figured right then was as good of a time as any! I did have birthday money to spend, you see. And a shieldmaiden needs a good sword.

I ended buying one with a really nice hilt that came with its own scabbard. And it was only $89, which is pretty good for a sword. It had literally everything in my aesthetic - cross, crown, Celtic knots, a rearing lion, eeep!!

Now, I just attached the sword to my fabric belt for easier carrying. Ahem. Or so I thought. What I discovered that was while the sword was not that *heavy*, it was too heavy for the belt. So I had to hold it to take some of the weight off so that it wouldn't pop off my Clan Crest. Which didn't do my shoulder any good.

Anyway, we continued on, visiting a Scottish shop among other things. We even caught the tail end of a performance with an escape artist. But the sword was getting *heavy*. So we were soon on the hunt for a shop with leather belts.

We found one...by accident. You see, we found a shop with a bunch of daggers in them. We were all over those daggers, let me tell you. All of us purchased one. And that's when we discovered that the merchant also had belts and frogs for swords and daggers. So Lia and I purchased a belt and frog to carry our respective weapons (you can see it in the last picture of the sword). The belt ring was like a saddle ring, which allowed the clan crest to peek through, it was like I planned it!

And so, we went along and shopped some more. Megan got a large horn, much like Boromir's. And then Lia wanted alcohol. So we made our way back towards the Rose and Crown and found a gazebo to rest our weary limbs as she went to procure herself a draft.

At this gazebo, there was a dulcimer player named The Lady Victoria! She had a wonderful performance, quite fun!

There was one last adventure before we bade the Ren Faire farewell. But, that is too long of a tale for this post. Therefore, you shall have to tune in to Femininity from Scratch on Wednesday the 13th to hear that story!

All in all, the Ohio Ren Faire was very fun, very enjoyable, and lots of good memories with friends :)

And now, it is your turn! Have you been to a Ren Faire? If so, where was it and what was it like? Tell me in the comments below!

Scribbingly yours,

Catherine

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Blog Tour: Review of Ships, Secrets and Survivors by Sarah Rodecker and Helena George!

Blog Tour 8:00 AM

Greetings from the cave!!

I come to you today with a bookish post...seems like forever that I did one of those, hasn't it?

I am reviewing the debut novel of my dear friends Sarah Rodecker and Helena George (known in the blogosphere as Julian Daventry)! Some of you may recall that I also participated in the cover reveal for this book about a month or so ago. I was so excited to sign up as an ARC reader for this book, since I missed my chance to be a beta due a certain literary child of my own *sends a Look to the screaming TWR in her editor's cell* (trust me, it's for her own good).

In case you all have forgotten about what this book is about, here is the blurb:

An assassin trainee fleeing his profession.

A princess risking her reputation.

A talking ship with a mad captain.

Ravin should be dead. No one forsakes the assassin profession and lives. Attempting to evade capture and certain death, Ravin hides on a ship as part of the crew. Then his name is announced on Selection Day for the annual Scaera Dumeda, despite him never taking the entry test, declaring to the entire world—and the assassins hunting him for revenge—that he is alive.

Princess Adima Radi Kashinda dreams of more than someday ruling Antovan. She desires to make a true difference for her people. When her name is called on Selection Day, she throws away her title, despite the uncertain future ahead. This may be the opportunity she hoped for.

When some of the other selectees are murdered, Ravin and Adi are among the suspects. With the help of Ravin’s captain and crew, they sail away to hunt down the killer and clear their names. Can they catch the murderer when he always seems to be at least one step ahead?

Exciting, no??

Sooooo, what did I think of it? Let's find out!

Standard disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

What I Liked:

- THE CHARACTERS. Just....gahhh. Well written, relatable, personable. They will be friends :)

- the pacing was wonderful - just enough action to keep me riveted, but not enough to exhaust me, nor was it too slow either.

- the little paragraphs before each chapter. They gave a perspective on the story that just couldn't be woven in anywhere else! Really clever!

- The fact that Theo wanted to be king in place of his older sister. Call me an old-fashioned fuddy duddy, but I'm so relieved to see a young man wish to accept leadership.

- There is a strong theme of using unideal circumstances to make a difference to yourself and the world, and that's one I can get well behind.

- how well written the injuries were. Actual effects of injuires! No falling of roofs unscathed! What a novelty!

- Ravin's constant struggle with his upbringing. It literally stays with him, which is a mark of a well-written character.

- The world-building was excellent, down to the minute details about each of the countries.

- Pirates are not romanticized in this book, which is an important thing to distinguish.

What I Disliked:

- how abruptly Shade's character arc changed. I felt like I missed a crucial moment when he changed and so had to back and re-read that chapter a few times.

- the whole saga with Ravin's papers confused me at first reading, but now it makes sense. Pays to read books multiple times before reviewing.

- there was a long while that Red Wind wasn't speaking and I was waiting and waiting for her to talk again. I get that she's picky about who she talks to but I wanted more sassy ship talk, LOL.

- BONNIE. Oh that poor mess of a girl.

- The use of (omitted) as a way to get around using swear words. I completely understand why it was done, but it seemed really jarring. I wonder if symbols would have been a better choice?

What else I noticed:

- When I first saw Hawthorn's name, I took a huge double take. In my defense, it's really weird seeing your non de plume surname as a first name. Just saying.

- There were two typos, one was Hawthorn's name (had an e on the end, page 75), and the other was "canon" rather than "cannon" on page 262.

RW Ratings:

(yes, I still plan to use these, hush).

Language: 5 stars. The bas**** word is used a couple of times in it's literal sense, but everything else was either implied or (omitted).

Abuse: 4 1/2 stars. Implied physical abuse and lots of emotional and physical abuse done by antagonists.

Lust: 5 stars. Perfectly squeaky clean.

Overall Rating: 5 stars!!!

I heartily recommend this book for anyone who loves fantasy, pirates, awesome characters, sassy talking ships, and a motley crew of renegade heroes!

You can find the book on Goodreads HERE, on Amazon HERE, or preorder from the website HERE. And for an extra bonus, click HERE for pre-order goodies!

Oh speaking of goodies, and don't forget about the giveaway that's happening until the 31st!

US Giveaway (Enter HERE):

International Giveaway (Enter HERE):

An ebook copy of Ships, Secrets, and Survivors
A PDF of Fearless, a Pirate Hunter Chronicles short story
And a phone wall paper

Until next time, my friends!

Scribbingly yours,

Catherine

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COVER REVEAL: Ships, Secrets and Survivors by Sarah Rodecker and Helena George!

Blogging Buddies 6:16 PM

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Shaxpir Review (Collab with Sarah Rodecker)

Blogging Buddies 1:44 PM

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End of NaNoWriMo 2019

Blogging Buddies 9:00 AM

November 30th has passed, and so it's time to emerge from the writing cave once more.

I've heard through the grapevine that many writers had a lot of success with their writerly creations, and I congratulate them heartily. And I give hugs to all the writers that were in "the 50k race", no matter where they finished.

As for me.... it's been an adventure.

Best part of NaNo:

- Collaborating with The Pen Dragons for a second year. This group kept me going, it really did. We had lots of word sprints, encouragement, and funny stories to relate to each other. The typos were the best.

- Collaborating heavily with my two main alphas. This was the first drafting session that I really picked their brains for stuff, and it was super duper useful.

- Plot holes are being filled. The first quarter of the story is now a cohesive narrative rather than a bunch of choppy scenes. I can't wait for the next part of the story to be filled in!

What I learned:

- Consistency is key.

- Not every scene bunny lives. And even scenes that have been written may suffer the axe.

- A laptop is still needed. Half of my dead days could have been avoided, had I had the portable thing to sit on my lap as I laid in bed.

- Never write without a community. They are lifesavers.

- Focus on one thing at a time when you're editing. Don't try to fix the plot and the character arcs at the same time. It doesn't work.

- Even if your goal is laid before you on a silver platter, Life will throw a curveball and wreck everything.

- Always always stock up on dark chocolate before NaNo. Another lifesaver.

With that said, how did "writing" go?:

For the first three weeks, writing was actually ON TRACK. If you've followed me on previous writing excursions, you will know that I usually fall behind in the first week or so and then never catch up.

It was difficult to maintain a streak because most of my writing was at night, and often crossed the midnight hour. If I was in a groove, I wasn't stopping to update my count.

I admit that I tried to do too much at first, trying to fix both my character arcs and my plot - the two were related after all. In the middle of the second week, I decided to fully invest into fixing the plot and left the character stuff for Draft 3. It may prove to be an advantage because then I have betas to help too.

Things went pretty swimmingly until the last week. Then things started to implode.
And it wasn't writing-related like it normally is.

No, my health decided to take a nosedive. I caught a bad head cold first. And then, because of work-related stress and a severe PMS episode, I had a relapse of some of the anxiety issues I had over a year ago. I'm a lot better now, but it took a toll on me and I'm still in the "recovery" phase.

All in all, my final word count was 38,622 words.

This, however, is not a complete draft. I was working through the old draft scene by scene, and I only managed to get to Scene 18 of 53 before I stopped. The word count of the old draft at that point was 19,189.

Which means that I doubled the word count of the first quarter of the book, adding in a total of 19,433 words. I knew I had written a lot more, but I didn't realize the scale until I actually crunched the numbers.

Now, the first draft of The White Rose finished out at 48,305 words, according to my Goodreads records. Which means, that if I continue this trend of doubling the word count, the projected word count for this novel will be close to....96K!!!

Oh my 'lanta....excuse me while I faint.

So....what's next?

I'm giving myself a short break to get centered, and then I'll probably continue to draft the second draft through December and January.

Once this second draft is finished, the beta call WILL be going out. A year later than originally intended, probably, but it WILL go out.

It's official - this IS my debut novel. And it's being finished FIRST.

The goal is to complete this second draft before Camp NaNo in April, so that I may work on a different project then. Can't let myself burn out, ya know. There are other literary children that need to grow up.

I've rambled on far enough - tell me how your NaNo (or November) went! What plans do you have for this December?

Scribbingly yours,

Catherine

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