October Update : Counting Down To Halloween, Part 3

 Hi readers,

I've got a mixture of things to share with you today in the third and finally count down to Halloween post. Kicking off this time are these Halloween lanterns ; http://adventure-in-a-box.com/enchanting-halloween-lanterns. I fell in love with them and really wanted to give them ago. As soon as I started buying and gathering everything I needed, I had all these ideas to make different ones. The one above is my practice one as art/drawing/painting is a weak spot for me. I'm so glad I decided to have a practice first because I learnt a lot from it. 

I'm pleased with how it turned out, though I wish I couldn't have got the orange background paint a little bit better. There are lots of different ways to make these lanterns and I guess depending on things you might find one way easier then the others. So, how did I make my practice one? Firstly, I printed out some designs that I found free to use online then I cut them out and arranged them on my clean dry jar. I stuck them to the outside with some tape then got a Sharpie permanent marker and drew around them all. I also drew a bumpy line to connect them all and represent a hilly landscape. Next, I painted in the outlines and the bottom of the jar. I used glitter black paint because I love how the candlelight catches of glitter and it just enchants it a bit more. I put on three coats because the paint was thin and I wanted there to be no leakage of the candlelight. 

I then mixed orange glitter paint with water and placed it inside the jar. I swirled it around and tried to get a good coverage. I was happy with it when it was done and left it to try. An hour later, I noticed that the orange paint and water mix hadn't stuck and had pooled at the bottom of the jar. I swirled it around again and spent time rolling the paint around to try and get it to stick. When I went to bed, I left the jar on it's side and whilst most of the paint had settled, it still hadn't dried. I added more paint, because I think I might have used too much water. I left it to dry and though it turned out a little bit patchy in places, it still looks good enough. 

My other one I made today was this The Nightmare Before Christmas image. The photo is a bit bad and I'm sorry about that, but my other problem was I didn't actually get the spray paint right!   

I sprayed too close and too much and thus really didn't get the right effect I needed. The other jar did spray alongside this one, was to make a lantern using the witch/ moon cat village scene from the above link. However, I used too much was was unable to trace the images through. I don't know what I'm going to do with that jar now, maybe just do like I did with my first one and trace them on the outside? 

However, I please to say that I learned from my mistake and I got another jar, which I'll be using for the scene correct, if not a little under colored, but to be honest after all the troubles I've had with stuff today, I don't mind. I did my two others jars which are actually cookie /kitchen food jars that I brought for £1 in ASDA Homewares, at the same time and got a nice effect on them and their lids. I've this awesome idea all set to do with them. I just ran out of time and I don't want to rush them. 

That's the biggest thing I found out about doing this project; not to rush. I'm really bad at drawing and I think my worries about these turning out how I really wanted them has been playing a big part in my mistakes. Now, I'm going to try and stop thinking about that and just get them finished. I want the two cookie jars to go outside on my front porch area - somewhere! I wish I could but the others in the front window, but that's going to be hard to do as it's a jungle of plants and ornaments. Plus we have colored glass so they won't be easily seen. Hopefully, by Halloween I'll have made them and be able to post them up.   

The other project I completed last week was this one. I made a bat and a ghost out of toilet roll tubes. I thought they'd be a good idea for the kids at the youth center as I went back to work since being off ill last Tuesday. I didn't get a chance to do the activity though as I wanted to take it easy and someone else had already set up a dot-to-dot drawing art for the kids to do. I shall be doing them tomorrow though with my felt pumpkins - see part 1 for them- and I know the kids will love them! 

There's lots of different ways to make these. I didn't follow anyone else's pattern and I just free handed it. I got a cardboard tube and flatted the top part. I then shaped the corners into points for the ears. I covered the whole thing in black tissue paper then drew bat wings and cut them out from the same tissue paper. I stuck them on the sides before adding white and black circles of the eyes. I decided to complete the bat with a strip of red and two white fangs. 

For the ghost, I balled up some white tissue paper and stuck it on the top, before measuring out enough white tissue paper to drape across the tube. I stuck it down at the top with some tape then made some black eyes and mouth, which I taped on too. 

I'm happy with how they turned out and just wish I had enough time to make a witch - I've seen one on Pinterest or maybe a vampire or a pumpkin too. I've seen some spider ones which look pretty good too. They are so easy and simple to make, yet look effective. I also thought about getting some white string or thread and hanging them up. A collection of bats would look nice in the hallway.
    

Today in the kitchen I made Headstone Biscuits. The recipe for these came with a chocolate moose tray bake graveyard in the third cooking book I own. I made the tray bake three or four years back and it turned out really well. However, I like making the gravestones more! These turned out so good and am way pleased with them. They are a vanilla butter biscuit with a hint of ginger and cinnamon, which I added myself. I spent awhile decorating them too and thinking about what to put on them. I don't think they are going to last very long around here though! My parents have been sneaky eating them since I told them they were like my test run and not for any purpose. 

I've got two other recipes for gingerbread Halloween shapes to try later on now. I'll be writing about them in my Halloween post. Hopefully, I'll get time to make at least one of them, because I've signed up to be a stand in member of staff at work over the half-term holidays, so I might get called in. I so need the money for Christmas and to put towards a car. Anyway, moving on.   

Of course, my candles this week have to be Yankee Halloween ones! I'm still annoyed that there's only the choice of two this year; Witches Brew or Candy Corn. I do like the smell of the Witches Brew as it's just patchouli, which is dark and spicy but not overpowering. The Candy Corn on the other hand isn't sweet enough for me, nor does it fill the room and linger like the Witches Brew and other scents do. I really hope next year Yankee brings out some new candles and/or works on improving the smell. I'm loving my new pumpkin wax tart melter though! The whole range can be found here; http://www.yankeecandle.co.uk/en/uk/halloween/icat/halloween

Comparing these candles to the set I brought off Amazon, I do have to admit that I was more impressed with them. I like the mixture of smells and the different choice I can pick through. I'm burning the purple Witching Hour again, mainly because it was already in my white wax melter. It smells like patchouli, cinnamon and jasmine, though I know there's a few other things too. I've still not tried Witches Brew, Tricks or Treats and Mulled Cider. I'm sure I'll have time before Halloween though. Here's the link if you are interested and please read count down part one for more information. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Halloween-Scented-Wax-Tart-Melts/dp/B00FBM8680/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1445613462&sr=8-21&keywords=Halloween+candles

This week I'm writing my novella Trust. The six parts will cover everyday (starting yesterday and ending Friday) expect Halloween, on which there'll be a Halloween night themed story. Trust is the story of newly made vampire Fern and her maker/lover Brook. It's about Fern's changing and growth as a vampire. It's also about the conflict between other vampires and the challenges they have to face in 2015. 

These next parts -19 to 24- are about the arrival of another vampire, who Fern and Brook have already had a brush with. Fern seems to be falling in love with this other vampire, but has Brook become too distracted trying to defend his home/territory to notice Fern's wondering attention? 

If that's got you as interested as it has me, you can find the full listings here; https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/wp-admin/edit.php?category_name=trust-novella

I finished reading The Little Paris Bookshop last Wednesday and I've written a small review to be published sometime in November. I also re-broke my not buying any books promise. It's a bit too late anyway as I've brought about 12 books, which for me is actually good because it should be double or triple that really. I brought The Welcome To Night Vale novel and I'm so into reading it right now. I've posted about Night Vale before, but here's the link to them on YouTube anyway. It really is worth checking out; https://www.youtube.com/user/WelcometoNightVale. I'm sure I'll be reviewing it as soon as I'm done! 

Lastly, I brought two pumpkins at the weekend, sorry there's no photo of them, there was meant to be one but they are currently being stored in my mum's car and I forgot to take a photo and now it's too late. But I'll do one before I get carving them. I've still not decided what to carve actually. I wanted to do a wolf but then saw I'd done that last year. I also wanted to do something that children would recognize, like with my 2013 Minecraft pumpkin. I was thinking of a Disney character, but I'm not that big a fan of anything Disney or animation to motivate me enough. I did think about doing a vampire because I've never done one of them, but I've yet to find a design I like. It'd be interesting to do a matching or connecting pair of something though. I'm sure more research would give me more inspiration and now I've got the pumpkins I can really start doing that. 

Thanks for reading, feel free to leave comments and check out my other blog. I'll be posting next on Halloween night and putting up lots of more photos, so be sure to come back then.    

Links To Me; 

https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thestoryfiles

https://www.pinterest.com/hails9/

https://twitter.com/ironmaidenfan9

Photos; My own. 
(The Frankenstein lantern stared in last week's post, but I got a better a photo of it to share today; )

October Update : Counting Down To Halloween, Part 2

Hi readers,

So, Halloween is nearly here (12 days) what have I spent the last week doing? Well, shopping, baking, writing and sleeping! Also, planning where to put decorations and doing a practice Jack 'O Lantern! (It's the above photo, btw) And this next week it's looking like more of the same things, though I'm returning back to work and I need to sort my last driving lesson out, but more on that next time. 

Okay, so firstly and because I need to get this out of the way, let's talk about my baking 'disasters'. My mum really wanted to make a dinner meal out of a pumpkin and though we had found a few different recipes, I decided to make a lasagna. Normally, it's a dish I can make from scratch or tins/jars etc and it turns out fine. This one; http://foxeslovelemons.com/giving-back-with-pumpkin-kale-lasagna-chewforchange-pmedia/ turned out okay, but it so needed more flavor and it took twice as long as I thought it was going to. 

I'm not sure what happened, but I do know that having to sort out the pumpkin took up sometime and the fact that my oven is broken. That never helps anything, but we get by. My parents expecting it to be done when they came home and not having to wait two hours, got me a bit stressed out too. I wasn't that big a fan of the texture of it either and there wasn't enough sauce. (I'm a big fan of sauce) I think this will be a recipe I might not be returning to. To be honest the lasagna wasn't a disaster, these however were; 

So, these didn't turn out, but I should be grateful that they taste okay. I've made pumpkin muffins before, but when I saw this recipe I really liked it. Here;

http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/spiced-pumpkin-muffins-with-cream-cheese-frosting/

Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the recipe, it's just that I didn't get it right. I've a number of reasons; 

1. I don't think my oven was hot enough nor did it stay at the right heat. 

2. I really should have tried to get more water out of the fresh pumpkin because the muffins were soggy and sank. 

3. I didn't adjust for the use of my silicone mold and I probably put too much muffin mixture in.

4. I accidentally tipped too much cinnamon into the frosting. (I love cinnamon, so that doesn't bother me, but I don't know how that effected the overall taste of the topping.)

5. Piping icing and me just don't see eye to eye, but knifes to the rescue! 

6. I ran out of time baking and decorating them, due to other things I had to get done.  

Really, it's a good job that my boyfriend isn't big on sweets nor baking, because I was kinda making them with him in mind -since he stayed the weekend- but I knew he might not like the cream cheese or the pumpkin. My parents, well my mum, grabbed two (without frosting and just out of the oven) as they were leaving to go to Scotland for the weekend. Their verdict; they were okay but weren't right. My verdict is that if the above list hadn't happened or was less then they'd have turned out better. They are still edible though, but in future I'll be sticking with my normal recipe.

Moving on to something I did get right, though it's not baking -thank goodness- are these pretty cool tissue paper jar lanterns.  

 

You can find how to make them here; http://mycraftyspot.com/mason-jar-jack-o-lanterns/ but all you need really is some tissue paper, empty washed jars and some fake or real tealight candles. Then you just cut the tissue paper into strips, glue on to jar and put the candle in. Remember not to put the lid back on if you use a real candle though! I made Frankenstein and a vampire. There was also a ghost and pumpkin, but I have enough decorations of those already and liked the idea of bring more different colors - greens and purples in.

I'm not sure where I'm going to put these yet. I was hoping outside on my front wall, but I'd need to get more fake candles for them as the ones I used to take the photo have already been claimed by another project. Still, they look good just on my bookcase and though the photo doesn't give the lit effect well, they did turn out good and were super fast to make.

At the same time as preparing these jars, I did the others for my next lantern project. This one is more difficult and needs more time, but hopefully I'll try and start them next week ready for maybe next Monday's post? Though I shall be doing one on Halloween night anyway. I'm not sure about timings of things right now, but I do know that due to what I want to do with this next project it's going to take a good few days. Also, I'm still waiting for one item to arrive from Amazon.

I've got two more projects on my list at the minute too. Either are related to Halloween though, so have the moment been put on hold. The first is to finish off making small items for my mum's Christmas advent calendar bag. (I know Christmas stuff once again!) but I need it ready by December first and it does seem to be coming fast. I've got like three or four things on the list to make. Got the patterns and stuff ready, just need to find the time and mood to sew. I'll be posting more about that come November/December. Though I'll have to let my mum know not to read my blog! -she sometimes does and there's nothing wrong with that.

My second project is that I've loved the canvas painted button trees for ages and finally I found a YouTube video of someone making one and saw how easy they were to do. For all my creativity and skills, drawing/painting really isn't one. But now I've seen how to physically make it, it's not that hard and I can make to easier if I need to. So, I brought my first ever canvas -granted it was on sale at a discount art/book shop, but it was the right size and price. I got purple and pink paints for the background at the same time. I have a ton of buttons brought for sewing, but they'll now come in use to make the autumn leaves for my tree. I'm so excited and I'm going to do a post all about it next month.  

If you're looking for some Halloween inspiration for your own D.Y.I projects, check out my Pinterest board as there's lots of stuff currently on there; https://www.pinterest.com/hails9/halloween/ It'd be awesome to hear about your projects too, so please take the time to leave comments and links below. I love chatting and reply to everyone.

Oh and please check out my other blog 'The Story Files' linked below, I've got a longer short story up at the moment which concludes tomorrow, but you can still read it all. The stories are all Halloween themed and there is something for everyone on there.

That's all for this week, thanks for reading!

You can also follow on me on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thestoryfiles

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ironmaidenfan9Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/user?u=327832Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=208056472&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profilePinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/hails9/Readwave :http://www.readwave.com/hayley.hardman.7/Blogger: http://hailscrazyblog.blogspot.co.uk/Wordpress: https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/

All photos; my own. 

October Update : Counting Down To Halloween

               

Hi readers,

My favorite time of year has rolled back around and now its' 19 days till Halloween! I'm so excited and have already done nearly all of my shopping. I've got some new decorations - black fabric, lights and a banner for my front door/garden. I've been making things and I got them to show you today! Also, planning out my baking, deciding my costume (I'm staying at home again this year, hopefully with my boyfriend coming to stay the weekend) and researching what design to carve on my pumpkins. The only thing left on the list is to get stuff for the trick-or-treaters. I'm torn between making goodie bags and just putting a random mix of sweets/candy into a bowl. 

There's a few other things I've got to do too; one of them is craft project, which I'll be including in my actually Halloween post. The other is to hunt down the Happy Halloween candle by Yankee candles. I've got two at the minute, but I found out a few weeks back that its' now been officially retried and getting hold of one is like panning for gold. I'm hoping the shop I got my last two from have got one in, but if not I won't be getting one this year. Tidying my house and decorating are of course on that list too. 

So, whilst I seem in a bit of a writing block today, I thought I'd do this post and get myself in the mode of writing. I've got the story and the ideas in my head, but for whatever reason I can't seem to put it down in physical form. That sounds kinda weird, because you'd think you'd just type or write the words and that'd be that. But it's the art of conveying what it's in my head which is the issue. For some reason the right words and the structure don't seem to want to come. There's not much that can be done other then to write through and just try to edit things later. I'll be doing that tonight after eating homemade stew and dumplings! 

That's the other thing I love about autumn, I get to eat all my favorite foods like stews, pies and soups. There's just something so wonderful about getting home from walking my dog in the woods or else having been wrapped up in writing for a few hours and tucking into a hot, filling meal. Speaking of which here's a photo of the chicken, leek and mushroom pie I made last week: 

It took me about two hours all together, but I'm way pleased with how it turned out and it tasted so nice. Everyone enjoyed it and I had the leftovers for lunch which tasted twice as good! I've added this recipe - it was actually a free leaflet in a supermarket that I picked up - to the recipe folder to be used again. I'll be putting up some more baking stuff on my Halloween post as I've got a list of savory and sweet things to make. And I digressed from what I set out to write..... 

Okay, so I'm huge on making things for Halloween, just in case you didn't already know that and Pinterest is my awesome place for discovering things and putting them all in one place. A few weeks back I was looking at some craft ideas for the Youth Centre children to have a go at and I found the pattern for a soft toy/plushie bat. Well, my mum has been helping my dad make his Halloween costume and has had the large sewing machine out, so I thought I'd ask her to help me make the bat. I'm good at sewing and using the machine, but her expert skills are just so useful and the fact that her sewing machine never seems to want to work for me. So here he is:

   

He is just so cute and looks cool sat on my desk, though I'm tempted to snug him in bed. He's big and fluffy, just what I wanted and he turned out so great. I did think about making some smaller friends, but I'm running low on fabric right now. I've included the link to the website were the pattern and instructions are below. He just makes the perfect Halloween companion and I'm sure kids will just love him, though he's a bit complicated and time consuming for the kids at the youth club to make. 

Instead, I'm going to get them to make these cute felt pumpkins! 

Once again I've included the link below, these are just so easy and quick to make. I added the faces and leaves on and put them in basket as a center piece. I also put some dried mix spices/pumpkin spices in the orange pumpkin on the right and some dried lavender into the purple one at the back -which I just noticed you can't really see.- They do smell nice and I think they'd also make nice little gifts. As decorations they look awesome and I'm half tempted to make some more, but I'd have to buy some more orange felt because I'm almost all out. I'm sure the young people at the youth club will enjoy making them!  

That's currently were I'm up to with Halloween stuff. Like I said before I'll be posting some more stuff next week (depending on things) and then on or just before 31st. Watch this space for all of that! So, now it's time for this month's updates! 

The novel I'm reading at the minute is:

My mum give this book after she had read it and it was actually a gift given to her by a friend to read on her canal boat holiday with my dad last month. She enjoyed reading it and suggested I give it a try, even though she knew it wasn't my normal subject/theme. I've read 50 pages and though I'm getting into it and do find it interesting, I'm not sure there's enough for me to want to actual finish reading it. Which does say a lot about me, because I hardly ever finish reading a book. My mum does say it gets better, so I'm hoping to stick with it. I'll probably do a review when I'm done, so I won't write any more about that now. 

Currently writing: short stories. I'm busy battling my way through writing horror/supernatural/Halloween themed stories for my blog. I had put up a request for submissions throughout last month, but had no luck, beside from an old uni friend helping me out when I was mega ill two weeks ago. So, yeah, luckily I got a few ideas and lots of inspiration, but I keep hoping that I'll open my emails and see that someone has submitted a story to me. I just think I'd be nice to hear other peoples' voices etc on my blog for a change and it'll help bring more people in. (Link is below if you're interested) 

Currently Listening to: I'm still getting through all the new album releases of September and the ones I missed. So, I've still got 5FDP, BFMV, Disturbed and Kamelot high on my music list. I've also been listening to Halloween themed music and my natural sounds still. I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos too, including episodes of The Addams Family and The Munsters. I'm also going to watch some of The Dinosaurs TV episodes too, does anyone remember that show? I was addicted as a kid! 

Candle scent of the month: This is also my favorite time for candles too! Normally, I'm burning Yankee wax tarts and picking Autumn smelling ones. But this year I decided to have a look online and I found these on Amazon and thought I'd give them ago. It was worth taking the risk, because they are really great scents and I love the Pumpkin Crunch Cake one. Right now I'm burning the Witching Hour and I'm looking forward to the Tricks or Treats soon.    

Lastly, though I know this is boarding on Christmas, I just wanted to share with you the knitting my mum has done recently. She got the patterns and the wool in her knitting magazine and after some begging so made them for me. They are so cute and set on my computer desk. I pick them up and give them a hug when I start to feel stressed and/or worried. The next thing on her needles is a werewolf! I can't wait to meet him. 

Thanks for reading and good luck in whatever Halloween activities you're up to. Here's my bat and pumpkins once more! 

Links to me: 

https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/

https://www.pinterest.com/hails9/

https://twitter.com/ironmaidenfan9

https://www.facebook.com/thestoryfiles

Other links; 

https://americanfeltandcraft.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/diy-mini-felt-pumpkins/

http://www.tipjunkie.com/post/halloween-bat/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FBM8680?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

Photos from: 

http://libertyridgefarmny.com/2012/09/19/pumpkin-picking-adventures-in-albany-clifton-park-saratoga/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Paris-Bookshop-Nina-George/dp/0349140359

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FBM8680?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

My own personal ones.

Book Review: For Want of a Shoe

Hi readers, 

It's weird to think that in my last post I said I won't really be doing book reviews any more and here I am starting September off with one! This one is a little bit different through because it's a self-published novel based on The Red Shoes by Hans Christian Andersen -though it also feels like the writer set out to re-write Fifty Shades Of Grey-. Now, I don't really read normal romance and erotic genre stories because they just don't grip me enough. I enjoy supernatural romance novels through because there's always more interesting things going on in the background or with other characters that keeps my attention. Of course, when FSOG took off I jumped on the bandwagon to see what all the fuss was about and well, I'll just keep my thoughts on that till I get around to reviewing it and the other books. With that in mind how did For Want of a Shoe add up?

The plot feels pretty basic; a pretty young woman, Abi, who has relationship and financial troubles gets a new job and falls for her boss. Her boss, Lester, though is only interested in 'a no strings attached' / 'friends with benefits' relationship within a BDSM lifestyle. She of course agrees to this in exchange for room and board in his huge fancy farmhouse. Only, she wants more and to be loved in a real relationship which isn't what he wants, so she leaves him. Only, she is still struggling financial and ends up making a deal with Lester's business accountant, who turns out to have a fetish for inflecting pain using canes. Abi can't cope with this and just in time Lester decides he can't live without her and saves her. 

I get that this plot is different from FSOG, but I can't help to make connections between the two of them. I think part of my problem with this genre is that I like my stories to feel realistic - even the supernatural and fantasy ones- and the main theme (BDSM, relationships ects)- don't feel real enough to me. It also makes me question what the writer's experience/ research has been like. I know for a fact that having experience of something can dramatically improve your writing and the realism of your characters. Setting that aside, I do have to admit that the plot was okay and it did draw me in, but not as much as FSOG (I wanted to know what Grey was up to and why. But when I finally got there is it was very anticlimactic and I regretted being so eager to know). There didn't feel much of a twist in the plot and nothing unexpected happens. 

What about the characters? Well, there's not much development for Abi and Lester and none for the background characters. Abi learns that she does sort of like the BDSM lifestyle and that she needed it to escape her boring reletionship with her ex. Lester learns to love again. That's basically it. I'd have liked to have seen more and the background characters are just there to push Abi and Lester along without their goals/wants really looked at. For me, the background character should be as important as the main characters and that's a sign of good writing. The characters do feel realistic, though Abi's ex really bugged me and not enough time was spent looking at his actions/wants. They didn't make me think about the characters of FSOG/Twilight though.            

The 'bedroom'/adult content stuff? Without going into too much detail of course! It worked and felt real for the most part. The BDSM stuff seemed more natural, though in some parts it does feel slightly abusive, especially the moments Abi has with the accountant. (though they are kinda meant to be like that. Also, I really disliked Mr Solomon and his addiction to all things Victorian. It just didn't feel right to me). I had to remind myself a few times that was a 'fantasy' story and thus it was okay. Strangely, what stood out for me was the 'piercing down there', I'm not sure why, I guess because I just felt it was an interesting thing.   

The worse parts for me were that nothing about the lifestyle is really explained to Abi and she is just sort of dragged into it. She can't really say no or suggested things, though I guess if that happened then the plot would've been different, but I'd so like to read a book where the Sub was fully on board and really into the lifestyle and the Dom felt the same way and it didn't feel abusive or victimized. (I also want to read a story about a Dominatrix and her male slave. I guess I could always write one myself!) Secondly, I cringed over the word usage of  'personal joystick', which only appeared two or three times, as I would have preferred a different terminology and it didn't feel in line with the narrative structure.  

The narrative and dialogue are all right. It seems better then FSOG and there some higher vocabulary words thrown in, (which might send some people Google-ing). There is a bit too much 'telling and not showing' for my liking though as the narrative finds it easier to just tell the reader what they need to know rather then trying to show it in the actions and dialogues of the characters. For me, also there needed to be more description of settings etc in places, but there's enough overall to carry the imagination through. Plus, the over use of the exclamation mark and question mark irritated me and devalued the usage of them. The bulk of the dialogue is realistic and fine, though some parts feel a bit clunky/clumsy.  

Overall, I have to admit that I liked this more then FSOG. The writing is a lot better and most of the bedroom stuff feels more realist. The characters, though lacking serious development, are less annoying and more easier to connect too. There's not a lot new with the plot/story nor any twists, but its good enough to get into and understand. I think if you are into this genre then this book is worth a read.  


Ps. Don't forget to check out my other blog, where I publish a new short story every day! I'm also requesting submissions for October. I'm looking for short stories from 5 words to 2,000 words with a horror, supernatural, Halloween theme. Please email them to me at hrhardman66@mail.com and help spread the word by re-posting this or my requests on my other blog. Thanks.    

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August Update : What is going on with this blog and me?

     

Yeah, so it's been another while, though only like one book later, since I wrote this. I've been debating if to do a review on 'Salem's Lot or not. I think though, as I found out on Goodreads that writing book reviews feels pretty pointless for bloggers. I mean if you've got a lot of followers who like you writing about books and everything, then that's okay. But for smaller, not well known bloggers, posting books reviews is like sticking up the same colored flag in a field of other flags. It doesn't really get you anywhere and it's not got me anywhere recently. 

I think what brought readers to this blog in the first place was my uni stuff and interesting things that I been doing. Then I decided to write about books and writing in an already over saturated internet world. Then of course I went off and set up another blog for my actual stories and that seemed to be doing a hell of a lot better then this blog ever did. The idea of packing this blog in though doesn't appeal to me and I do like my little corner of the internet even if anyone hardly comes to visit. So, long talk short - I'm not really going to write book reviews on here any more. Of course, there might be the odd one depending on it's level of goodness or badness. But I'll deal with that when I'm in the mood. 

So, what else is going to be on this blog now? Well, I thought about writing more about my life. That does seem to work for other bloggers and I do have a lot to talk about in certain areas - like long term health conditions, learning disabilities, mental illness and life event things. I don't know how interested readers will be in any of that and I know it's nothing new because their are whole blogs dedicated to such things. Still though, blogs to me have always been like personal diaries which are open to the public instead of being private. There's nothing wrong with that if you're okay with it. 

Anyway, so that's the news about this blog and I bet it's another good few months before I come back here to write! But my other blog takes up so much time! I keep trying not to spend the day writing a short story to put up and some days I write up to five different stories, which is actually pretty good. I've not had much time to sort out my novel nor write my new one, or sort out my new book for Amazon Kindle- though in the light of payment changes, I'm still deciding if I do want to self-publish on there anymore. 

Coming into this is my current health problems. I've two long term conditions which I take pills for everyday and go into hospital every eight weeks for IV treatment. My days and nights can be heavily effect by either one or both my conditions on a varied scale. Sometimes, I'm pretty good and other days I can't leave the house and feel so ill that I can't do nothing but stay on the sofa or in bed or in the bathroom. I bring this up because I've been bad for the last three days and not able to do much. I'm feeling better now, but it'll come back soon enough. On top of this my iron level is half what it should be. Being anemic comes along with both conditions and I've to have tablets and lots of high in iron food stuffs. But when it gets as low as it has been, I'm mega tried and have cold/flu like symptoms, thus I don't want to do much and I sleep for like 12-14 hours without really realising because waking up is just too hard for me to do. Still I battle on though, what else are you suppose to do? 

Hopefully, I'll get under control soon. I'll be able to do more writing and stuff too, really it's the only thing holding me back right now, though I keep trying not to let it! Anyway, tomorrow, I'm going to take my driving exam for the second time. I'm nervous because my instructor got a new car and this will be only the second time I've driven it and it feels a lot different to his last one! So, if anything does happen it'll be my lack of confidence in the car then me! I'll get through it at some point and then maybe I'll get a car of my own. 

I'm also doing two extra days at work this week - Wednesday and Thursday because an event is on for young people with additional needs and they need support staff. It'll be a great experience for me, especially as my review of my trail period didn't go so well. I don't want to get into all of that but let's say I've got a lot to improve on and I'm worried I'm not going to be able to do it. I guess everyone gets like that at some point though.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hopefully it won't be long till I'm back!  

Book Review: The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

Hi readers, 

Please note there's going to be some possible spoilers! Sorry, it was difficult to void it.  

If you're looking for a quick and easy novel without a complicated plot or characters whilst your sat on the beach and/or traveling then this book would fit nicely. I was drawn in by the tagline and the inside blurb when I picked up this book whilst in Waterstones waiting for my boyfriend. In my head I had this idea of a woman being like a spy and knowing details about the lives of a married couple from which she could see from the train. (Which maybe might make a good story or else just wouldn't work). I added the book to my list and asked for it when my birthday came around. 

The opening chapter drew me in and I know it's bad, but it remind me of Fifty Shades Of Grey (Which I'm actually planning to go back and look at again next month). I think it was the style of writing, that boarding on older teen to twenty-some adult language, which means a simple vocabulary is used and thus making the novel easier and faster to read. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with this, but it does make for repetition and a 'dumbing down' within the story.   

I really liked the opening idea of abandoned clothes on the train track because its' something that happens and people question in real life. I thought this would be a key point in the story - you know like someone getting rid of evidence- instead though it's used very briefly to aid the main character -Rachel into remembering something about someone towards the end of the novel. Actually, before the first chapter -narrated by Rachel- the book opens with two excerpts from the novel itself, which of course you don't realise nor put into place until you're read them in their context. These two paragraphs do help to draw you in. How couldn't they? When a woman has been 'buried beneath a sliver birch tree' and magpies mock another person with they 'raucous cackling' as the person recites the nursery rhyme One for Sorrow. 

Rachel's life and background story seem interesting enough; she's an alcoholic who has blackouts. That has led her to the state she is in now; divorced, jobless, depressed, boarding on homeless and bankrupted. Every day she takes the train to work to trick her friend, who she's currently stays with, into believing that she still has a job. Really she spends the days hanging around in London. Also, it allows her into the lives of 'Jess and Jason'. With the train having to almost always stop right behind their house, Rachel gets this window shot of the couple and seems to have become very knowledgeable and interested in them. 

Now, here's where it all fell a part for me - Rachel has daydreamed this whole thing up. The couple who live there are really called Megan and Scott and Rachel doesn't know anything about them. Okay, I know that everyone -especially writers-do this all the time and it does work to flag up Rachel as a unreliable narrator, but I just didn't like how it was done and I do think I would have preferred if Rachel had been stalking them or something like that. The other thing that caused me to have issues was the time and dates. I get that most people won't have been effect by this, but for someone who's not very good at keeping such a vast change of time and dates in their mind it starts to grate on you. Plus, it doesn't help the flow of the story. I've big issues with how stories flow and I so don't like narrative structures that stop/start. 

This story also flicks between two other narrative voices Megan's and Anna's- who is Rachel's husband's new wife and daughter to his child. After awhile, I struggled to tell all three voices a part, there didn't seem much difference between them and at one point I wondered why the writer had decided to give us the same point of view told by two people in the same way. I think that if it had been Rachel's voice throughout everything would possibly have worked better. I think it was at this point that repetition started to get to me, I noticed how many times the characters made and drink cups of tea and coffee and alcohol drinks. Every other page they seem to do this and it's just lazy writing to give the characters an action to do.  

To be honest the only reason why I carried on reading was because I wanted to find out what had happened to Megan and then who had killed her. There was nothing else after that first chapter that made me want to read on. I didn't really care what happened to Rachel or any other the other characters because I just didn't connect with them. The characters weren't that interesting over all nor did they do much development, except at the end where everything felt rushed anyway. The ending plot twist did kinda work, because I didn't get it till close to the reveal. I guess if you're into crime/thriller stories then you'd have got it sooner. Even on reflection though, it does seem weak and I wanted the killer to be more anger and have more motive. The police characters are just terrible, they never felt realistic and they are too far in the background to physical do anything. Maybe a flip on this story with them telling it could be another option? 

Overall, I didn't much like this book. There were problems with the plot, characters and the narrative structure. I just can't be wonder if it had been told in a better way that maybe it could have been a better book? Still, I stand by what I said before at the start, so it's up to you decided to like it or hate it. For me though, I'll be passing this book on to my mum to see what she makes of it.     

Till next time. 

May's Update

Hi, it feels like awhile since I was last on this blog, even though its been a little over a month. I've not been as busy as I should have been this passed month. I've been writing a story a day for my other blog and working on my novella as well as another short story I've been kinda thinking about making longer. I've been doing what feels like a lot of reading, but isn't really! I've also been following Britain's Got Talent -thank God for the fast forward button though!- and going to work.

My main contraction has been on my driving lessons. I had my driving examine today and though I only got 5 small faults, I got a serious one and thus failed. I'm really frustrated by it and I think the examiner was being a bit unfair. I was carrying out the reversing around a corner move and just as I was about to straighten up and reverse just a bit more back, a Land Rover came behind me. I stopped, believing the driver was going to overtake me and I did give him/she the chance too. However, the road was narrow and I think they believed/knew there wasn't enough room. I then decided to carry on reversing backwards and as my car came straight, the Land Rover rushed passed me. I did stop again, but it seems that I wasn't being observant enough -though I genuine thought I was being!- for me to pass.

I've known for a little while that I need to be a bit more observant and not concentrating too long on looking in one direction. But I just didn't feel the need to do a double shoulder check when I knew there was a car beside me and all I would have been able to see is the side and back of the Land Rover. I was careful not to be moving when they overtook me and I did check again -or at least I think I did- before finishing the move.

Knowing I was so close, does make me feel bad. Perhaps, there's a reason why things turned out this way. It's one I'll probably never know and yet continue to wonder about. The driving exam is so tough. I get why it has to be and I think sometimes if some of the people I see driving unsuitably on the roads were to take the examine they'd fail. It kinda reminds me of a maths test. You spend an age learning a ton of stuff then only some of that appears on the test and afterwards, you use hardly any of it and then forget the bulk of it. Of course, you really shouldn't forget anything whilst driving. But what I'm trying to say is that somethings are just done for the test and then there's no need afterwards.

Right now, I could easily give up. I could easily say that I don't want to drive any more, that it feels pointless and that I just don't want it. But I know I only feel like that because I'm upset and frustrated by one mistake. Everyone says I should be happy that I only got 5 faults and I did really well, better than expected etc. But giving me all the praise in the world doesn't make the failure feel any less. Truthfully, I don't want to give up. Yeah, I know I'm going to end up in a bit of a situation when I do pass my test (I can't really offered the up keep of a car, nor at this moment have any real reason why I do need a car, plus a few other things. But they are for future me to figure out), present me wants it though. Just to say I can do this and here's the prove. It's sort of like another stage of being an adult and more freedom.

I'm not looking forward to paying out more money. I've just had to though as I've now re-booked my test. My driving instructor made me. He said if I didn't then it'd be harder to come back from this and I'd feel less like trying again. I feel oddly determined though, but he is probably right and I would have maybe talked myself out of re-booking it. I got to pay him for more lessons too. Though I don't really need them, I got to keep practicing and improving. At least I know what I've really got to do now and that does help. I'll just keep going and next time give it an even better shot!