April

            Our third meeting was different, in so many ways. The snow was gone completely now. In its place came spring rain, nights disrupted by thunder storms, and cool breezes that stirred the warm air. Her winter coat was gone as well. This time she wore a blue plaid shirt, sleeves rolled up to expose her pale arms to the sun.

            The biggest difference was how we met. The first time I had seen her from a distance, and she was gone almost before I knew what had happened. The second time we simply crossed paths. Everything had happened so fast before. Now she was sitting on a bench at the nearby playground, reading a novel. There was no need to rush; she wasn't going anywhere.

            I sat down at the other end of her bench, avoiding conversation at first. What did you say to a perfect stranger that you were madly in love with? Everything that popped in to my mind seemed strange or overbearing. In the end I decided on the simplest approach.

            "Hello."

            She looked up from her book, a bit startled at first. She must have been completely engrossed in the story and not realized I was there. After a moment she smiled though, the same bright smile she had given me when I helped her up last month.

            "Hello." she replied. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

            "Yeah." I replied lamely. "Hopefully the good weather will stick around."

            She nodded. Then her eyes scrunched up a bit as if she were trying to remember something.

            "If you don't mind me asking, have we met before? Your face seems familiar."

            It was better than I could have hoped for. She had actually recognized me somewhat, if not completely. I had been worried she wouldn't remember at all. In my mind I had imagined stumbling over words, trying to make her recall what I remembered so clearly.

            "I helped you up when you fell a few weeks ago." I told her, pointing to the spot. "Right over there, I think."

            "Of course." she laughed, and there was that smile again. "How embarrassing. You must think I'm a total klutz."

            "It could have happened to anyone." I reassured her.

            "Thanks. To be honest though, I am a bit of a klutz."

            We both laughed. The more I heard her laugh, the more I loved it. Some girls had pretty, fake laughs, but not her. Her laugh was heartfelt and unafraid of judgment, and as wild as her hair. Some people would think it was too loud or too strong, but I was not one of those people. I wanted to make her laugh again, but there was something I wanted more just then.

            "I'm Jared." I said once we had calmed down.

            "Nice to meet you Jared." she replied. "My name's Claire."

            Ever since I had seen her last I had been trying to dream up her name. I had never thought of Claire, but as soon as she said it I knew it was the one I had been looking for. It was like the name had been made just to describe her. It started out strong, but ended lightly. Similarly, she was strong and vibrant, but she was at the same time soft and light.

            Just as I was about to speak again a little girl who had been playing on the playground ran up to us. She tugged on Claire's shirt to get her attention, then whispered something in her ear. Claire smiled at her and patted her head gently.

            "No, he's a friend." she told the girl. Then to me, "She wanted to make sure you weren't bothering me. This is my little sister Madison, by the way."

            I gave Madison a smile to put her mind at ease. She shared Claire's bright, emerald eyes and wide smile, although her hair was brown and not nearly as wild. Her face still held a bit of baby fat, but instead of making her look pudgy it just made her smile seem even bigger. She was adorable, and very sweet for worrying about her older sister.

            "Hello Madison." I said, holding out my hand to her. "I'm Jared."

            "Hi." she answered softly, shaking my hand once before quickly releasing it.

            "Well Maddy," Claire announced. "How about we head home and make you some lunch, how does that sound?"

            Madison cheered happily. I however, was not quite as happy. This may be my last chance to talk to Claire. I had no idea if or when we would run into one another again. I did not want to wait another who-knows-how-many months to see her. I could not let this opportunity slip through my fingers like I had last time. I just had to come out and say it.

            "Claire." I blurted. "Before you go, I was wondering... well... would you like to go out with me?"

            For a long moment I thought she was going to say no. I could tell she had not been expecting the question, and I could almost see everything crashing down around me. I should have waited longer. She probably thought I was crazy, or that I asked out every girl I met. We had just met, and we knew hardly anything about each other. There was absolutely no reason in the world for her to say yes. But she did.

            "Alright." she said. "When?"

            "Are you free next Friday?" I asked. It seemed like an eternity to wait, but any time before that would definitely be too soon.

            "Yes. Seven o'clock?"

            "Sounds good."

            She entered her number and address on my phone so I knew how to get in touch with her and where to pick her up. Then, after a smile and a goodbye, we parted ways once again. Like the last time we met I watched her leave. I couldn't remember ever being happier in my life.

March

A continuation of December....

     It was three months before I saw her again. It was that time of year when the weather couldn’t make up its mind; it was warm and sunny one day, freezing cold the next, and sometimes in between. That day was one of the in between days. The sun shone through the clouds, and although it was below freezing, it still felt warm.

     The slight breeze rustled her hair and set her scarf fluttering. Again I was struck by her vibrant beauty. Her soft sparkling eyes were even more amazing than I had imagined. She was like the spring we were all waiting for.

     This time I got my chance to talk to her. As we were about to pass each other she lost her footing and slipped on the ice. I saw her going down, but I wasn’t quite close enough yet to steady her. She hit the ground hard.

     “Are you alright?” I asked, hurrying to her side.

     Then I realized she was laughing. Hidden beneath the mess of hair that had fallen over her face was a smile. She swept the hair back with a grey gloved hand, still laughing, and started to push herself back up. I offered her my hand, and together we got her back on her feet.

     “Thank you.” She said in a bright voice. “I’m fine. You’d be surprised how often that happens.”

     “No problem.” I replied.

     She smiled at me before walking off, seemingly unaffected by our interaction. I watched her go. All I could think of was her voice, the warmth of her hand in mine, and her bubbling laughter, like a brook over stones. It wasn’t until later that I realized I’d forgotten to ask her name.

December

This is just a short little scene I wrote a while ago. It's not for any of my books, just for fun. Hopefully I'll have something more for you soon. Enjoy.

            The first time I saw her, I thought she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. It was late December, less than a week before Christmas. The snow had come late that year. When it did appear, it was almost over night. The world was blanketed with a sheet of white. The trees glistened with icicles. Snowflakes continued to drift down softly, distorting the horizon and turning the world into a wonderland.

            I saw her from a distance at first. Her scarf was a trail of colour in a monotone world, as red as a blooming rose. She had a small smile on her face, as if she had just thought of a joke she'd heard once. Everything about her spoke of warmth, and life, and passion. She radiated light. Suddenly my dull little world was set ablaze, and all I wanted was to touch the flames. I had to know her.

My Books: Shift

So, I'm writing another new book! I know, you're all thinking I'm crazy for writing so many books at once. Well I've cancelled quite a few of them so that I can focus on the ones I really like. I'll make sure to put a list of my current books in the sidebar.

First I'd like to say that Shift is a really bad name for this book (you'll see why in a minute), but it was the best I could come up with. I'll think of a better one later.

Shift is currently lacking a continuous plot line, but I have a few good plot points. The book is basically about a group of teenage werewolves and their guardian. Now, they're not the kind of werewolves you're used to. That is, they don't actually turn into wolves. The wolves were already in the forest when they got there. Instead, the teens bond with a wolf, and on the full moon their mind and soul merges with the wolf's, allowing them to take over its body. The rest of the month they can sort of telepathically communicate with their bonded wolf. The wolves can't understand human speech, but they can trade images and impressions. Now you understand the issue with the title.

Shift is about not only the group's struggles as werewolves, but their struggles as teenagers too. They all have somewhat dark pasts, which are revealed piece by piece throughout the book. The story is narrated by Kyra, and mostly focuses on her life. She's sort of the mother hen of the group though, so you get to see a lot of everyone else's life too.

I've been waiting for ages to write something with werewolves, so I'm really excited for this. Keep an eye out for the Characters post too, where I'll introduce you to everyone from Shift. Click the OhMyDollz button the see a design for Kyra.

Cornell and the Band

Wow. It's been a while since I've posted. Sorry about that. I've been busy with school and everything. Anyway, since I've got some free time, I thought I'd update you all on what I'm doing writing-wise lately.

Right now I'm working on getting together a full copy of Cornell. When I write I write each scene individually. Because of this I've got scenes scattered all throughout my computer, Ipod, and multiple notebooks. I decided it's time to try and get a bit more organized, at least where Cornell is concerned. I'm putting everything into a Word document, and I'm typing up scenes from my notebook. My hope is to have this all together and somewhat edited by early December. A hefty goal, I know, but I love to be able to give a couple people rough copies for Christmas. I'm not naming any names though, because I don't know if any of them read this blog.

Over the summer I was working on some things for the band in Somewhere in the Middle. I'm not sure if I've mentioned them before. Somewhere between Just Another Ending and Somewhere in the Middle, Kara decides to form a band. It's one of her crazy ideas that normally wouldn't work out, but this time she gets a few other people on board. The band is called Second Revolution, and it includes Kara (from Soulmate Guide), Heron (from Jackie), Serina (from Cornell), and Zachary (new to SWM). They all play multiple instruments, and most of them are song writers, so they switch up positions a lot. Usually though Kara sings, Serina plays guitar, Zach plays base, and Heron is on the drums. Over the summer I was working on coming up with songs and albums, because a couple are mentioned in the book. Here's what I've got so far.

Album 1: Mysterious Things
Invisible
Mysterious Things
Beautiful Madness
Next Chapter
Another Lifetime
Today or Tomorrow
My Life (In Black and White)

Album 2: Rewind
Unstoppable
Somewhere Close to Home
Again
6 Ways to Nowhere
Overwhelming
Never Forget
Unshed Tears
One More Time

Album 3: (untitled)
If You Were Mine
Girl in Black
Still Alive
Forever Yours
Wonderland

Album 4: Ashley (This is actually Heron's solo album)
That Summer
Because I Love You
The Last Time
Give Me Love
The Rain
After All
Letters to No One
If You Were Mine (Acoustic)

So there you have it. I actually have this all written out on sticky notes and displayed on my closet door:

The Spanish Iguana was a name Heron suggested for the band. It's been an ongoing joke between him and Kara ever since. Since Ashley and Brett are soulmates with members of the band they get dragged on tours and photo shoots a lot. They pass the time by playing card games. This is only one of many tally sheets, and as you can see, Ashley is much better than Brett. I wrote out Zach's Quirks because he's a relatively new character, and I didn't want to forget anything.

Well, I think that's enough from me. I have scenes to type up. Hopefully I'll post again soon. Until then...

Survivors

So Skyres and I are huge fans of the Night World series by L.J. Smith, and have been eagerly awaiting the release of Strange Fate, the last book in the series. Well recently we were on vacation togehter, and we were discussing the last time we had been on vacation together. More specifically, we were discussing Strange Fate and a rumor I'd heard that only five characters would survive the apocalypse. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but while trying to guess which five characters lived we had a crazy idea. What if we had to pick five of or characters to survive an apocalypse? After much discussion, here are my choices.

A New Beginning
1.Cameron
2.Brett
3.Kara
4.Heron
5.Serina

Just Another Ending
1.Dorian
2.Serafin
3.Crystal
4.Kara
5.James

Somewhere in the Middle
1.Kara
2.Zach
3.Zoey
4.Mika
5.Julien

The Last Chapter
1.Heron
2.Rob
3.Alexei
4.Zoey
5.Willow

Overall
1.Heron
2.Alexei
3.Rob
4.Serafin
5.Zach
6.Zoey
7.Kara

Check out Skyres's blog, Writer's Den, for her lists.

Heron

Do you ever wish your characters were real? Just so that you could see them, touch them, hear the sound of their voice. Just so that you could really know them.

I'm struggling with Heron right now. He's so complex. There are so many little things that make him Heron, and I'm having trouble piecing them all together. There's his past, with his brother and Serifina, back when being a psychic vampire was new to him. There's the witches, and him losing everything he'd ever cared about. That was what ruined him the first time. Then there's Jackie, slowly becoming part of his family, trying to fix things. That helped, but not enough. All those things are small really. They're so far in the past that they don't bother me as much.

It's the start of A New Beginning where things stop fitting. He falls in love with someone who hates him. He has all these awful habits that he uses to try and dull his pain. She can't stand that. He tries to change. It's hard at first, but for her he'd do anything. In Just Another Ending he finally starts to win her over. They fall in love, despite her reluctance.

Somewhere in the Middle is where things really fall apart for me. When he's with the band, and with the girl, he's bright and finally happy. He laughs, he loves, and he lives life to the fullest. He is so in love with this girl that it makes my head spin just thinking about it. But when they go to the Otherworld he almost completely ignores her, instead spending all his time with his first love, Serifina. Their relationship falls apart, and he again is the way he was in the beginning, as if he'd never met the girl. In the end he realizes his mistake and does everything he can to win her back.

In the beginning of The Last Chapter they are happy once again. They're married and living together, and they have a perfect life. The Heron just leaves, supposedly to go after Serifina once again. It just doesn't fit. Every time he's happy, he goes off and ruins it. Maybe he doesn't realize at first, but you would think after all this time he would've learned.

I think the hardest part for me is the band. I just can't fit that happy, joking guy with the rest of Heron. I just can't imagine him ever being that happy. It sounds horrible, but it's true. With everything that's happened to him, how could he ever feel that happy. Maybe that's my problem. I'm looking at his whole life. Maybe I should just look at his life up to that point. It's just hard not to get distracted by what I know is going to happen.

Sorry about this pointless post. I just needed to work things out. I'll try to find something proper to post soon. I tend to be really unproductive during the summer, which is why I have moments like this. I need to work on that.

My Books: Limbo and Silence

I've been really inspired lately, and I have two new books to tell you about. I'm doing both in the same post because neither of them have a full plot yet.

First up is Limbo. I decided that I needed to  write a book with characters based on my friends and I, and this was the result.

Nicole's parents died when she was young, and she has spent her whole life in foster care, moving from house to house. Every time she gets comfortable with her new family something terrible happens, and she is forced to move on. She's never had a family, or a place to call home. Ashley's parents also died when she was young, but she was lucky enough to be taken in by her rich uncle. Her life is one of luxury, with a big house, private tutors, and fancy clothes. Since her uncle is too busy to raise her, Ashley was raised by an endless stream of nannies. They never seem to stay long though. There is always some reason that they have to leave; family tragedy, a better job, etc. No matter who is looking after her, she always has to follow the rules and keep up the illusion of perfection. She's never had her freedom. Neither girl has met the other, and there seems to be no way their paths could cross.

Then one day both girls receive shocking news; they are sisters, separated at birth. Nicole is sent to live with Ashley at their uncle's house. When they meet it seems like there's no way they could ever get along, but they quickly become friends. Nicole is more reckless and wild than Ashley, but Ashley is more graceful and responsible than Nicole. Which is why Ashley is hesitant when Nicole suggests they sneak out and go to a nightclub. Eventually Ashley agrees, and that is when everything starts changing. The nightclub holds more secrets than the girls could imagine, and by the end of the night they are in a strange new world full of monsters and talking cats. Now all the girls want is to get back home before they get killed.

Pretty crazy right? P.S. The talking cat is my favourite character!

Next is Silence. Right now this book is more about the characters than the story. I've been playing around with the main character for a long time, trying to find a story that fit her. Instead of a story I found more characters and an idea.

Three years ago Maya survived the accident that killed her parents. Since that day she hasn't spoken a  word to anyone, not even her older brother Simon. The doctors say there's nothing wrong with her, and that she'll speak when she's ready. At school she is considered a freak, and people tend to avoid her, if not outright hate her. She's used to it by now. Then one day a new boy, Niko,  arrives in class. He doesn't know about Maya's "abnormality" yet, and ends up sitting next to her. Even when he learns that Maya doesn't speak, he still treats her like a normal person. Slowly Maya starts coming out of her shell. She smiles and laughs more. The paintings she uses to express herself are brighter. Simon is hopeful that maybe, just maybe, she's getting better. And it's all because of Niko.

Sorry that there's basically no plot, but I just love Maya and Niko so much! It's fascinating to write a character that doesn't speak, but still has to communicate with others.

Nikki's Notes: Celeste's Death

This note is a bit of what I like to call "Nicole Logic". At first it looks confusing and doesn't make sense, but once you understand it, it makes perfect sense. Let me explain it for you.

The first thing you need to know is what is happening at this point in the story. This is the first chapter, and Celeste's parents are taking her to a concert for her sixteenth birthday, which was a few months before. As they're driving over a bridge on the way to the concert a large truck hits the driver side of the car and pushes it towards the edge of the bridge. There is a long moment where the car is balanced precariously on the edge of the bridge before plummeting into the water below. Cameron Cornell happened to be in the car directly behind them, and was unharmed. Realizing that Celeste and her mother are still alive in the car, he dives off the bridge to rescue them before anyone notices. He manages to get Celeste to safety, but doesn't have time to go back for her mother.

Now, onto the notes!

In the top right corner it says everything shattered, but nothing mattered. I just realized that I put and extra t in shattered and mattered, but oh well. This is basically what Celeste is thinking after her car crashes, in the moments before it goes off the bridge. She realizes that her father is dead, and her life is shattering around her. Then the car falls, and nothing matters anymore, because she knows she's going to die.

Starting from the top of the page, there are several paths. The first goes down the middle. It says My death was a car crash, falling, water, but I'm still alive. This one's pretty self explanatory. It's just the order of events.

This is the second path. My death was fire, silence, ice, then him, Cameron. He saved me. Fire, silence, and ice each corresponds to one of the events. Fire is the car crash: hot, loud, frightening. Silence is the fall; all sound is drowned out by the wind, and in her numbness Celeste finds it almost peaceful. Ice is the water as it consumes the car: cold, and inescapable. Then Cameron is there, rescuing her, dragging her onto the shore, forcing the water out of her lungs, and saving her life.

And lastly is the third path, which branches off of the second path. My death was fire, silence, ice, then him, Cameron. But I didn't know that yet. How can you know something without actually knowing it? When Celeste sees Cameron she somehow knows his name, even though they've never met before. She realizes that this is something she couldn't possibly know, and in her half-conscious state asks herself "How can you know something without actually knowing it?" You don't actually find out how she knows his name until A New Beginning.

My Books and Characters: Falling

Falling is my new non-book, as I like to call it. Since around July I've had this group of characters stuck in my head. None of them had much of a story, but they wouldn't leave me alone. They were driving me crazy, so to shut them up I decided to put them in a series of short stories. All the stories are connected in the sense that they all have the same characters, but they don't follow a main plot line.

There is a war going on, but it's not a war among humans. It's a war among angels. Since the beginning of time the Angels and and the Fallen have fought for control, but now everything has changed. The Angels have become corrupt; bringing their war into the human world, killing innocents, and breaking their own laws. They've become no better than the Fallen. There is still hope for Earth though. A small group of rebel angels has banded together to defend the humans, and stop the wicked deeds of the Angels and the Fallen.

The Rebels

Valkyrie, known by her friends as Val, is the leader of the Rebels. She was formerly one of the Fallen, and Lucifer's lover.

Aurora was, until recently, an Angel. After being framed for an unforgivable crime she is banished from Heaven and joins the Rebels. She is the younger sister of archangel Micheal.

Pendragon, also known as Pen, is Val's best friend and second in command. Like Aurora, he used to be an Angel.

Roswell is one of the Fallen, but he works as a spy for the Rebels. He is madly in love with Skyla, and Daren is his twin brother.

Daren, a former Fallen Angel, is Roswell's twin brother. He is very fun-loving, and he always knows how to make people smile.

Skyla is an Angel working as a spy for the Rebels. She is madly in love with Roswell, and would do anything to keep him safe.

Crim, although a loyal member of the rebellion, is still very much in touch with her Fallen tendancies. She is often violent and angry, and she never hesitates to pick a fight.

Ashwinder was also a Fallen Angel. He enjoys coming up with new ways to annoy Crim, and he constantly challenges her. Despite this, he is her closest friend.

Elyra is the most mysterious of the group. Although she was one of the Fallen, she does not act like it. The other tend to favour one side or the other, but Elyra is completely nuetral.

Others

Lucifer is the leader of the Fallen. His evil is second only to that of Satan himself.

Micheal is an archangel, and the leader of the Angels. Although he was once pure and good, he is now just as corrupt as the other Angels.