Odd Thomas by Dead Koontz, Narrated by David Aaron Baker

Jun 292007
 

Odd Thomas by Dead Koontz, Narrated by David Aaron BakerIt’s been a long, long time since I’ve listened to an audiobook. Years ago, I used to raid the bargain bins of books stores for them. But that was back when I had a tape player in my car and I had a long commute. Listening to a story can help soothe the ride.

Audiobooks tend to be expensive though, which is why I don’t really listen to them any more. But months ago I bought an iSkin eVo3 for my iPod and wouldn’t you know it? Inside the package was an offer for two free audiobooks from Audible.com, so I thought hey, why not?

Odd Thomas was one that I downloaded. Cell by Stephen King was the other. I haven’t listened to the latter yet though.

This is a quirky tale. The character is named Odd after all. His talent isn’t all that out of the ordinary in terms of stories. He can see dead people. But Koontz crafts a wonderful journey for this character and I enjoyed listening to his tale very much. I liked that Odd is a short order cook, yet he strives to work at Tire World. He comes across as simple, humble, and very likeable. He is an ordinary guy who just happens to have an extraordinary gift. Yeah, it can sound like an ordinary tale when I put it like that, but the quirkiness of Odd within his simplicity is what makes him a great character.

Plus, the narrator did an excellent job making me believe him to be Odd. He also did a great job with giving the other characters individual, yet fitting voices when they spoke as well. It made the story all the more enjoyable to listen to.

However, I am a sucker. Yep. I knew from the get go that something horrible happens. Odd tells you as much since he is the storyteller. Even when it happened I thought I must be hearing it wrong, especially since I was at work at the time and people were coming into my office interrupting the tale. Sadly, no, the misery did come to be and left me sad. I don’t know why, but I really hoped for the happy ending even though I knew it wouldn’t be there. Go figure.

Arrow’s Flight by Mercedes Lackey

Jun 242007
 

Arrow's Flight by Mercedes LackeyAs a full-fledged Herald, Talia must now enter into her internship, patrolling with another Herald who will server as her counselor. I’m not going to go into the nuts and bolts of the story. Instead I will speak on the part that fascinated me most.

What happens when something gets missed in training to be a Herald? When everyone assumes it was taken care of, yet it wasn’t? When you skip steps 2 and 3 and plow on through to step 10, something gets a wee bit jumbled. And that is the crux of Talia’s problem here. She has no foundation in using her gifts. With no base to hold on to, she can get knocked easily, becoming a weapon against herself and all those around her.

I was intrigued by this. Very much so. And it had me analyzing the idea behind it and the effect such a mistake had on the characters. And I found it captivating to watch Talia rise up through such chaos, with the help of her counselor, Kris, and their Companions. The bonds formed between all of them were equaling enticing to read about. All in all, excellent read. And the story still has my mind spinning over it days after having finished reading it. That’s just plain cool if you ask me. :)

Rolling Up a New Character: Taêra Channi

Jun 242007
 

This weekend I rolled up a new D&D character. Yay! Well, she has no background and I haven’t fleshed out much of anything about her. Mostly I am putting this post here so I can have access to her stat info when I need it. And well that’s that. :)

Name: Taêra Channi
Race: Human
Class & Level: Fighter 2
Alignment: Neutral Good
Age: ? (haven’t figured that out yet :P)
Size: Medium
Height: 5’ 9”
Weight: ? (hmm…don’t know yet)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Light Brown

Strength: 17 (+3)
Dexterity: 15 (+2)
Constitution: 16 (+3)
Intelligence: 16 (+3)
Wisdom: 15 (+2)
Charisma: 14 (+2)
Hit Points: ? (have to roll level 2 still, for level one it’s 13))

Armor Class: 12 (Dex +2)
(Flat-Footed): 12 (with armor = 15)
(Touch): 10
(w/ Masterwork Breastplate): 17

Base Attack: +2
Melee Attack: +5 (base +2) (with masterwork great sword, attack modifier is +7)
Ranged Attack: +4 (base +2, Dex +2)
Speed: 30 ft (20 with armor)

Fortitude Save: +6 (fighter +3, Con +3)
Reflex Save: +2 (Dex +2)
Will Save: +2 (Wis +2)
Feats
1st level: Improved Unarmed Strike
Weapon Focus: Great Sword
Power Attack
2nd level: Cleave

Weapon Proficiencies
T/C

Known Languages
Common, Elven, Orc, Goblin

Skills
(class skills are bolded)

  • Appraise: +3 (mod +3)
  • Balance: +2 (mod +2)
  • Bluff: +2 (mod +2))
  • Climb: +8 (ranks +5, mod +3)
  • Concentration: +3 (mod +3)
  • Craft (_____): +3 (ranks +0, mod +3)
  • Diplomacy: +2 (mod +2)
  • Disguise: +2 (mod +2)
  • Escape Artist: +2 (mod +2)
  • Forgery: +3 (mod +3)
  • Gather Information: +2 (mod +2)
  • Handle Animal: +7 (ranks +5, mod +2)
  • Heal: +2 (mod +2)
  • Hide: +2 (mod +2)
  • Intimidate: +7 (ranks +5, mod + 2)
  • Jump: +8 (ranks +5, mod + 3)
  • Listen: +2 (mod +2)
  • Move Silently: +2 (mod +2)
  • Perform (_____): +2 (mod +2)
  • Ride: +7 (ranks +3, mod +2, Handle Animal synergy +2)
  • Search: +3 (mod +3)
  • Sense Motive: +2 (mod +2)
  • Spot: +2 (mod +2)
  • Survival: +2 (mod +2)
  • Swim: +5 (ranks +2, mod +3)
  • Use Rope: +2 (mod +2)

Writing Prompt: Drifting Away in a Bottle

Jun 182007
 

Drifting in a BottleWhen I saw this image, I instantly thought of the word “buoyancy.” I could almost feel what it would be like to float in that water. I imagine that bottle would spin with the waves, causing the occupant to roll a bit. Just how hot would it get in there? Would the sun char the woman? How quickly would she run out of air? And just how did she get in that bottle? Where is she going?

You see how my mind wanders? Why don’t you give yours a moment to do that as well. See her story forming? Go to it then, there’s your writing prompt. Give this woman her very own tale.

Enjoy!

Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey

Jun 132007
 

Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes LackeyI read this book after I read the Last Herald-Mage trilogy. Yet this book is the first of the books focusing on Valdemar and its Heralds. I actually like having a fuller understanding of Vanyel before reading this book. Knowing the legend first somehow made the story richer for me.

I adored this story. Talia is the main character and she starts the book off at age 13. Calling where she was raised oppressive is somewhat an understatement, but you get the idea. Luckily, before she can be married off, she is chosen by a Companion, Rolan. She will become a Herald. Thus begins her adventure as she travels to the Collegium for an entirely new and challenging, yet rich life.

I found it fascinating to see Talia waking up to life in a different way…a miraculous change too. She was sheltered…shy…did her best to hide her own emotions. She trusted nobody, asked for no help and feared all men. It’s the journey I find intriguing…watching how she handled things and eventually came into her own. Plus I loved all the wonderful characters she met along the way. Particularly I liked the old Herald musician, Jadus and the roguish Herald in training, Skif.

This was a wonderful tale and yes, it will be added to my shelf of books to read again. :) I look forward to diving into Arrow’s Flight next! Yay!

Writing Prompt: Amplified Sound

Jun 112007
 

LoudWhen I was a kid, I went to some exhibit where I got to hear what things sounded like for a rabbit. Everything was amplified and it made me a bit dizzy. I thought of that today as I woke to my neighbor playing his news too loud. More sounds spoke to me like that as well. A woman on the bus went into a tizzy rusting her newspaper about. The sound echoed around me. Then I got to Port Authority where this animated doll spawned from hell sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” with her machine-like, sadistic voice. (Heh, if you haven’t guessed, that damn doll haunts me. It’s in one of the booths there and they always have it turned on. It even has glowing red earrings. Yep, I hate it.) This morning I also noticed the clack of heels on the sidewalk pounding like steel to rock.

Your writing prompt: write a simple scene from your day, but exaggerate any descriptions related to sound. You may wish to center what you write around the sound itself.

Enjoy!

Ramblings about BEA and Then Some

Jun 062007
 

I’m having one of those pudding brain moments lately. I’m not sure how it happened. The onset of psycho pollen this year, with the pressing heat. Or…perhaps it’s simply that my brain got sleepy. Been known to happen sometimes. :P

I went to Book Expo on Friday. I’d never been before and it was interesting to say the least. Javits was hot and gross. For a while I sat outside in the sun and felt cooler. Go figure. Let’s see…the best tote bag I picked up was from Simon and Shuster. It’s pretty sturdy and has lots of pockets. These are the kinds of things you watch for at conventions…where the best totes are! Hah!

My best freebie was Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume One. Sweet…that made my day. Marvel also had a bunch of comics out that I picked up, naturally. And Darkhorse had a Buffy one…so…YAY!.

Mostly, I found it interesting to walk around with an exhibitor badge on and see how people from different booths treated me, as opposed to how they treated librarians. It’s almost like a study in human behavior. Hah! Anyway, Llewellyn’s booth was funny. They kept just wanting to talk about how I work for Tor, which is cute, but I was actually looking for their catalog. Other booths really only wanted to talk to librarians. Note to self…if I ever go to one of these again…flip my badge over. :P

The most disappointing booth for me has to be Wizards of the Coast. Boo hiss! I wanted to talk to them about their Mirrorstone line and really, the chicks there only wanted to push the author signings on me. I’m not big on author signings. I just like to read. I wanted to learn about the books. Yes, that’s all fine and dandy that you have authors coming tomorrow…that’s not telling me about the books today. Just saying…And sheesh, they were the only booth to not even suggest I take a catalog. :-/

My only real book convention experience of this magnitude is from years ago at the International Reading Association Convention. There, I had to work it. Had to give a speech a few times too. This was nicer in that respect. I got to walk around and just observe. :)

If anything, it has put me in the mood to just sit back and read for a while. Although, I’m jotting down notes to write too, so there is always that. Hah!

Anway, there is my ramble for today. That kinda day.

I’ll leave you with these. Songs I’m listening to today on repeat. My recordings are better, but you get the idea:

Luna:
“California (All the Way)”

Yo La
Tengo: “You Can Have It All”

Writing Prompt: Ocean Colliding with the Sun

Jun 042007
 

Das Auge der Zeit by Ulrike Freystedta This image is from a fractal calendar I have hanging over my desk. I flipped it over today and my eyes danced. It made me think of an ocean colliding with the sun. Wispy blue currents swirling about…all being pulled toward the center, hypnotically weaving inward. I don’t know why that’s what I saw…just did.

I like the texture of blues in this one. It’s very playful for the eyes to roam over it.

Anyway, here’s your prompt, describe what it would be like for an ocean to collide with the sun. Pay special attention to sound in this one. You want to be able to feel the sound right off the page!

Enjoy!

Writing Prompt: Tasting Cherries

May 312007
 

Cups and Cherries by M CollierLooking for inspiration for a writing prompt, I visited Daily Painters Art Gallery. The first image that caught my eye was the one with the bright red cherries. I love the shadows cast over this image and how that only makes the red stand out more. I want to reach into that painting and pluck one up by it’s stem to taste. How can you resist, eh?

Your writing prompt is this…write a description of what these cherries would taste like. But here’s the tricky part, write it as if you are describing it to an alien who never needs to eat.

Enjoy!

Have a happy day! :)

From Wizards of the Coast: Announcing New 2008 Ravenloft Novels

May 272007
 

Sweet! They have Ravenloft novels coming out in ’08!

Not sure if these will actually be any good, but I always have hope. However, if they end up being like Wizard’s standard 320 page template crap that’s typically churned out by them, then all hope is lost. Here’s hoping the novels are decent stories. Real viable stories! I’m crossing my fingers!

 Older Entries  Newer Entries