The Writings of A.P. Roberts

So, I've decided to go back to school... As a mature student. Which is rather scary when you think about it. I mean, pretty much everyone else who is applying is younger than I am and I also have to take a few courses from high school that I didn't take then for various reasons. It is scary. It is daunting but, I think I'm ready for the challenge. The only thing that has really been holding me back is myself and my fear of failure. Which, when you consider it, is something that everyone has but if you let it hold you back, it will haunt you for the rest of your life. I don't want to live with this hanging over me so I have (finally) decided to do something about it.

Now it is just fingers crossed, waiting by the mailbox for the letter to come to say whether or not I have been accepted. The absolute hardest part. I hate waiting. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I just had to get that out there. So, now it is out, I'm not going to let it back in and I am going to relax and get on with my life. They won't start looking at the applications for about a month anyway, so I shouldn't drive myself up the wall over this. I have better things to worry about.

I know that I said I would get some writing done, and I have, but not anything that I am ready to share. Maybe I'll get some stuff polished up this week. Polish up that little poem and write a short story to go along with it. No promises on it but I will try.

Take care,
AP

Hey all! =) I have officially been moved home for one week today. It has been an interesting week what with work, grocery shopping and saying hi to everyone. Even with everything that has been going on, I find that there is not much to write about.

I suppose that the main thing that I can write about is how everyone seems to wonder about my love life. I have had several people ask me about my boyfriend. The only problem with that is that I don't have a boyfriend. I have also had several people offer to set me up with a "good guy" who has "never been married" or is "very good looking" or is "young". Unfortunately for them, I want to finish my novel and so I have given up on dating until it is finished. Therefor I would very much appreciate it if people would leave my love life to me and kindly stop asking about it. I just wish that I lived somewhere where that was possible.

Anyway, I know that this is just a short little post, but it is still a post. Hopefully I will be able to get to write a bit more this week and can get that posted for everyone.

Cheers,
AP

New year means new goals right? Well, not exactly. Some of my goals remain the same and the goal is to complete as many of these goals as possible.

- Finish, Edit and Revise Bringing the Dawn
- Edit and Revise Healing Magic
- ML and Win NaNoWriMo 2010
- Go back to school
- Write, Edit and Revise at least 12 smaller works (poems, short stories, essays, etc.)
- Visit Moncton at least once every two months (or once a month if funds and work allow (= )
- Work out at least three times a week and take up a new sport/exercise
- Update my Livejournal at least once a week

So, these are my goals, hopefully I will manage to complete them.

www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3478714  (My Thread on the NaNo Forums)

Good-bye to all from little me.
It's time that I must leave N.B.
But though I am moving away,
Know that I'll be back someday.
For a visit or maybe two,
Because I will miss all of you.
So worry not my Moncton friends,
Of me you have not seen the end.



**Just a little poem that I wrote for everyone of my friends in Moncton to say good-bye. =)

xo
AP

So it's been two weeks. Oops. In my defense, everything has been kind of crazy. Especially since I am, once more, planning to move to another province.

Work has been kind of hectic because there is this girl who just didn't show up for two shifts in a row. And as I work at a gas station/convenience store that didn't close over the holidays, it was crazy busy. Hopefully now that the holidays are over, it will slow down a bit.

Anyway, I'm not really sure what to say now. So... I'm going to go watch the storm outside.

Take Care
AP

Wow, okay so today was a really interesting one at work. For instance, a little girl wanted two different pez dispensers but she only had enough money for one. So she had both of them up at the cash and was counting out her money and trying to decide which one she wanted. She picked one and then after she had paid, the guy behind her told me to add the second one onto his bill and, if her mother would allow it, he would give her the candy as a Christmas present. I thought that was so nice and so I decided to share that little story with everyone.

Anyway, I hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday season so far, and if I don't post again until after the 25th, Merry Christmas. =)

So I won NaNoWriMo with a word count of 50416 words on the 29th of November!

I know that I had planned to post the novel online, however, I didn't really have time or the internet connection to post it all. That and I really don't like the way it has been turning out. So I am going to delete most of the entries that I had posted and after I finish the rewrites on Healing Magic, I may post them all again. However, I am not sure when that will be as I have another novel that takes precedent over it.

Anyway, I thought that I would update as I hadn't done so in a while due to me giving almost all of my free time to the insanity of NaNoWriMo. =)

AP

( Part 3: Alex )

( Part 1: Laura )

Ooh, looky. A shiny new icon. Or maybe it's just one that I don't really use all that often.

Anyway, I've decided to post my Big Fun Scary Goals from the NaNoWriMo forums and where I am at on achieving them or discarding them.


-Try something new every month.
~ I've done pretty good so far. I've tried new exercises, dances, writing genres, teas, games, places to live, etc. So far I've actually been able to try something new every month which is kind of surprising for me as I thought this goal would be one of the first ones forgotten. But it turns out that it is the easiest one for me to accomplish.

-Get a second job.
~ Well, I've moved provinces so I still only have one job. However, I have my resumes printed up and I am starting to look for a second, part-time job. Wish me luck. =)

-Save up for a car or a trip to Australia.
~ I have my car. It's not completely paid for as I got it on financing but it is mine unless I stop paying which I don't intend to do. I don't have enough money for Australia just yet and I doubt I will for at least another year or so.

-Finish my non-NaNo novel.
~ I am almost done. =) I'm not sure how much longer it will be as it keeps growing but I am past the half-way mark. My toes are crossed that I'll finish it before the year is out. I would cross my fingers too but I need those to write.

-Win NaNoWriMo 2009
~ It's not yet November so I'm not sure about this goal. I have my full plot line and story arch. I have a nice little sub-plot and may possibly add more. I have characters and settings. I am good to go.

-Finish my Ultimate Roadmap (Canada or Australia edition only.)
~ I did finish my Canada edition, however Google Maps messed up and didn't save it properly and I hadn't had time to print it out. So I have it partially finished now but not completely finished.

-Work out 3+ times a week.
~ I try to do this one. Even when I'm sick. I try to do at least a few exercises. I don't really go hard core because I feel kinda silly working out at my apartment. I especially feel silly because my roommate doesn't work out that much and when she does she doesn't really get into it like I do. I really need to get over this. Either that or get myself a gym membership.

-Start a workout/food diary to help with my blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
~ I did start one, but I haven't kept up with it. I really should keep up with this one as I put it on here so that I wouldn't have to constantly worry about my blood pressure or sugar dropping too low.

-Get some smaller works published.
~ I've kind of given up on this one for now. If I still have some time after or even during NaNo to send some stuff out, then I will work on it. Otherwise, it is dead.

Anyway, those are my Big, Fun, Scary Goals of 2009. I have two months left to finish them. Wish me luck. =)

AP

“It will soon be time to prepare for All Hallows Eve,” Mamie said as she set the table for supper.

“All Hallows Eve? What's that?” Barbara asked. She looked over at Mamie as she chopped vegetables for a salad.

“All Hallows Eve is a celebration of the spirits that rule the shadow glade. It is a day when we remember those who have passed on. However it is also a day when the shadow glade is closer to the world of the living. On this day, spirits can cross over to our world and walk among us.”

“That sounds kinda scary. I mean, what if a spirit tries to kill us?”

Mamie smiled kindly at her. “There are ways that we have of protecting ourselves from venegeful spirits, however, we must also keep in mind that not all spirits are venegeful. Some spirits are quite helpful.”

Barbara raised her eyebrows. “Helpful spirits? I'd be more likely to run away from any spirits rather than ask them for help.”

“But that is the main thing about spirits. How do you tell the living from the dead when the dead are in the form of the living?” Mamie smiled at her confused look. “On All Hallows Eve, the spirits that choose to walk among us take the form they had in life. They look just as we do.”

“That is really scary. Is there any way to tell them apart?”

“Not unless you get close enough to look in their eyes. Their eyes are dead, they have no inner light because their souls are no longer inside their bodies, their souls are their bodies.”

“There's no other way to tell but their eyes?”

“No, dear. The other ways that people have come up with have been very unreliable. You are more likely to mistake a person for a spirit or a spirit for a person.”

Barbara bit her lip and her eyes glazed over in thought. “How would I protect myself from vengeful spirits?”

“There are many different ways to protect yourself. Some work wonderously well and others don't work very well. One of the more favourite way to protect yourself is make a lantern out of a squash or a pumpkin. If you carve a face into the lantern and place a lighted candle in it, it confuses the spirits. Another favourite is to dress up as another person. This confuses the spirits as it makes them unsure as to who is who.”

Barbara started to laugh. “That kind of sounds like the Halloween traditions at home only it is just the children who get dressed up. Then the children go door to door to get treats and candies. We call it trick or treating.”

“We do have something similar. One of the traditions is to leave food outside of your door for the spirits. This way they are appeased and will leave your household alone.”

“Mamie, how do you and Talbot prepare for All Hallows Eve?”

“Do you know the few squashes that we left in the garden? We will make lanterns out of those for the windows and the door. If we can afford it, we will also leave out some food for the wandering spirits.”

“Can I help? What kind of food will we leave them?”

“Of course you can help my dear. We will leave them the same food that we are eating on that day. The very first plate of food served up on All Hallows Eve will go to the spirits, then we will eat.”

“When are we going to make the lanterns?”

“All Hallows Eve is less than a fortnight away. We will carve the lanterns a few nights beforehand. Don't worry, we have plenty of time.”

Barbara placed the salad on the table while Mamie called Talbot inside for dinner. As they ate, Barbara thought of all the similarities to their All Hallows Eve and her own Halloween.

My plan for NaNoWriMo is to write a novel that is set in the same world as the novel that I am currently working on. The NaNo novel is titled "Healing Magic" and it takes place in the country of Innis Seun.

The main plot of the novel is that Laura comes down with the shadow sickness which is a deadly disease. There is a cure, however the ingredients are very difficult to find and the cure is very delicate to make. Luckily Laura's aunt is a healer and she has a new apprentice, Alex. Unfortunately, Laura's aunt has gone away for a few weeks and is unreachable. Alex must find the ingredients and make the cure to save Laura's life, but time is precious and running out quickly.

The secondary plot sort of acts like a prelude to the novel I'm currently writing. Laura's aunt, Eleanora has gone to the city to visit her long time friend and guild master, Romulus. While she is away, Eleanor is asked to help build a magical town and school. The only catch is that Diabhol Dubh has made war on the magical community. As his numbers grow and the magical numbers dwindle, they must somehow build a town for magic that is kept safe from Diabhol Dubh and his followers.

Now I just have to come up with a few more characters and a few sub-plots that I can add in if I need the word count. =) Other than that I am good to go for NaNo 2009!

So, I've decided to plug another author because I love her work. She is not currently published but she is working on it and I wish her all the best. The following link is to her portfolio on writing.com. I would highly advise checking her out because her characters are amazing and I absolutely love her writing style. =)

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/chantelly

At the beginning of Diabhol Dubh's reign, there were some who defied him. Of these, there were three sisters, Aslin, Saoirse and Ena. The sisters openly defied Diabhol's new laws against magic.

They went into the town center with determined looks on their faces. No one knew exactly what the girls were about to do although some people had a small idea. The sisters were terrified but knew what they had to do. Someone had to stand up to Diabhol Dubh.

In the middle of the square with everyone watching, the sisters performed magic. It was just small magic, creating a ball of light, but it was magic just the same.

The sisters were heavily punished. The penalty for doing magic was death by hanging.

While they were being hung, each sister quoted the prophecy and said, "People of Innis Seun have no fear. Darkness cannot last forever without light."

( Put under LJcut due to a larger word count. )