I know, I know... I've devoted probably more than one post already to shameless self-promotion.
But-- Arri and Keish have a new blog with a new look!
We're starting over, so only the first letter and a couple of pictures are up so far, but pop over and check it out!
If you haven't read any of it yet, it really is a fun story (if I do say so myself) and it gets better and better as it goes along.
Showing posts with label letter game. Show all posts
Showing posts with label letter game. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
A Little Shameless Self-Promotion....
I've talked about the Letter Game before, but I thought I'd post a snippet of letter.
March 20, 2003- Arri's first letter
Dear Keish,
I think that I will never survive the dancing class. Yesterday, I borrowed an old recital book from Treany. I borrowed it because some of the verses are actually parts of very ancient spells. We’re not allowed to recite from spellbooks anymore, but Treany’s mother collects old books and this is part of her collection. Anyway, there’s a verse in their about shoes that can make a person graceful. So I borrowed the book and some sugar from Cook, and decided to make a spell. Mother used to make spells all the time, and they worked so well for her. Anyway, I sprinkled the sugar and recited the spell. Then I put the shoes on, but nothing happened, so I thought the spell didn’t work.
And I was right—sort of. That afternoon, I wore the shoes to dance class. As soon as the music started my shoes began pulsing. The high leather tops throbbed against my calves, mimicking the rhythm of the song. It was terribly uncomfortable. I only felt relief when I was moving, so I wandered around the room while Mrs. Dinette explained the dance. She thought I wasn’t paying attention and told me to stand still. Standing still was painful, but I didn’t want to say so out loud, so I endured it.
Then came the time to try out the dance. Here I thought the spell would pay off, but it didn’t. Instead the shoes jabbed at me every time I made a wrong move, which only made me stumble, which only caused more pain. By the end of the hour I could hardly stand. I followed the girls to the changing room where we all sat down to put on our street shoes. I started to untie the laces on my shoes, but when I saw the skin of my ankle, I gasped. It was bright purple with bruises! So I couldn’t change my shoes with all the other girls watching, so I had to walk home in them.
That's from the first letter, you can click the link to read the rest. And I hope you will, 'cause I want to know what y'all think!
(Again, I'll let you guess which character I write!)
March 20, 2003- Arri's first letter
Dear Keish,
I think that I will never survive the dancing class. Yesterday, I borrowed an old recital book from Treany. I borrowed it because some of the verses are actually parts of very ancient spells. We’re not allowed to recite from spellbooks anymore, but Treany’s mother collects old books and this is part of her collection. Anyway, there’s a verse in their about shoes that can make a person graceful. So I borrowed the book and some sugar from Cook, and decided to make a spell. Mother used to make spells all the time, and they worked so well for her. Anyway, I sprinkled the sugar and recited the spell. Then I put the shoes on, but nothing happened, so I thought the spell didn’t work.
And I was right—sort of. That afternoon, I wore the shoes to dance class. As soon as the music started my shoes began pulsing. The high leather tops throbbed against my calves, mimicking the rhythm of the song. It was terribly uncomfortable. I only felt relief when I was moving, so I wandered around the room while Mrs. Dinette explained the dance. She thought I wasn’t paying attention and told me to stand still. Standing still was painful, but I didn’t want to say so out loud, so I endured it.
Then came the time to try out the dance. Here I thought the spell would pay off, but it didn’t. Instead the shoes jabbed at me every time I made a wrong move, which only made me stumble, which only caused more pain. By the end of the hour I could hardly stand. I followed the girls to the changing room where we all sat down to put on our street shoes. I started to untie the laces on my shoes, but when I saw the skin of my ankle, I gasped. It was bright purple with bruises! So I couldn’t change my shoes with all the other girls watching, so I had to walk home in them.
That's from the first letter, you can click the link to read the rest. And I hope you will, 'cause I want to know what y'all think!
(Again, I'll let you guess which character I write!)
Friday, January 16, 2009
Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming...
As in books, as opposed to tv shows. You loved it, though. You know you did.
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
5 stars
R-1
This is, of course, another reread for me-- the third Sorcery and Cecilia book. (The second is fabulous also. As Kate and Cecy are together for the duration of the book, it's written in terms of a commonplace book and a deposition.) This one sees a return to actual letter-writing-- with the fabulous addition of the letters of Thomas and James! Kate and Cecy still carry the book, but the extra letters round things out. (Not to mention, they're hysterical. Those must have been so much fun to write!)
James to Thomas-- " I shall present myself as [a potential investor], and if that will not serve to pry loose some useful information, I warn you that I will sacrifice you as well.... I shall not, of course, mention your utter refusal to take your seat in Parliament... What has it been, twice in the last fifteen years?
So, if you should receive any inquiries about your interest in investing in railways, kindly do me the favor of responding with circumspection. That is to say, I'd appreciate it if you'd tell them you'r like more information, instead of telling them to go to the devil."
From Thomas to James-- "Dear James, In London are you? Bored rigid yet?...
I can promise you that if I had a truly reliable gazing ball, I would never again return to my home weary from the hardships of the road to find my sister-at-law still visiting. Certainly not when the visitor seems to labor under the impression that she is hiding froma mysterious organization that plots her demise. (Not that I don't occasionally sympathize with the urge to plot her demise.)....
I may come to London myself. There are some fates worse than boredom. Put in a word for me with Old Hookey if you think I can be of the slightest use..."
James' reply-- "No, I won't invite you up to London. Find you own excuse to avoid your domestic disasters. Not that I blame you for wanting to avoid Her Grace, the Duchess of Waltham-- or have you suddenly acquired some other sister-at-law whom you wish to avoid?"
As if that weren't entertainment enough-- when all 6 children are together (2 of Kate's and 4 of Cecy's) and start casting spells of their own.... well, you can well imagine the chaos that follows.
And if you can't, it just means you haven't read either of the other books. And you really should.
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
5 stars
R-1
This is, of course, another reread for me-- the third Sorcery and Cecilia book. (The second is fabulous also. As Kate and Cecy are together for the duration of the book, it's written in terms of a commonplace book and a deposition.) This one sees a return to actual letter-writing-- with the fabulous addition of the letters of Thomas and James! Kate and Cecy still carry the book, but the extra letters round things out. (Not to mention, they're hysterical. Those must have been so much fun to write!)
James to Thomas-- " I shall present myself as [a potential investor], and if that will not serve to pry loose some useful information, I warn you that I will sacrifice you as well.... I shall not, of course, mention your utter refusal to take your seat in Parliament... What has it been, twice in the last fifteen years?
So, if you should receive any inquiries about your interest in investing in railways, kindly do me the favor of responding with circumspection. That is to say, I'd appreciate it if you'd tell them you'r like more information, instead of telling them to go to the devil."
From Thomas to James-- "Dear James, In London are you? Bored rigid yet?...
I can promise you that if I had a truly reliable gazing ball, I would never again return to my home weary from the hardships of the road to find my sister-at-law still visiting. Certainly not when the visitor seems to labor under the impression that she is hiding froma mysterious organization that plots her demise. (Not that I don't occasionally sympathize with the urge to plot her demise.)....
I may come to London myself. There are some fates worse than boredom. Put in a word for me with Old Hookey if you think I can be of the slightest use..."
James' reply-- "No, I won't invite you up to London. Find you own excuse to avoid your domestic disasters. Not that I blame you for wanting to avoid Her Grace, the Duchess of Waltham-- or have you suddenly acquired some other sister-at-law whom you wish to avoid?"
As if that weren't entertainment enough-- when all 6 children are together (2 of Kate's and 4 of Cecy's) and start casting spells of their own.... well, you can well imagine the chaos that follows.
And if you can't, it just means you haven't read either of the other books. And you really should.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Have I Mentioned How Much I HATE...
Not having internet!!! ACK!! Drives me nuts!!!
Happy New Year!
So... 2008. Total books read-- 107. Not too shabby. I'll give a better year in review tomorrow.... assuming I have internet.... since I'm not actually home, so I don't have my book of books.
Sorcery and Cecilia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
5 stars
R-1
YF
LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. And it's sequel... and the third one.
Cecilia and Kate are cousins writing letters in 19th century London. It may not be the 19th century London you're familiar with, though. (Unless of course you come from another dimension where magic use is entirely normal.) As the cousins discuss magic, the Season, and life in general, all sorts of crazy things end up happening!
I actually got to hear Patricia Wrede read part of the sequel manuscript at BYU's Life, the Universe, and Everything Sci-Fi convention about 6 years ago. (Yikes, was it really that long ago? Dang.) My fabulous cousin and I went, basically because I LOVE Patricia Wrede! (Seriously, if you haven't read her Dragon books, you totally should! Dealing With Dragons is the first. They're for kids and they're hysterical!)
Anyway.
We were inspired. So inspired, in fact, that we said, hey, we can do that.
Because the Cecilia books started with a letter game. Here's how it works-- 2 writers (you could do more, I guess, but that seems too complicated) create characters and exchange some basic setting information. VERY basic. The characters then exchange letters. FOREVER. Okay, not really, forever. But some of us take years to get the characters through one story year.
The main rule is- no discussion of plot.
NONE.
Because the fun of the game is not knowing what's going to happen next.
Since I'm sure you're dying to know-- yes, we're still playing. And naturally, we've started a blog. If you're interested (and I know you are LOL) you can find our antics at http://arriandkeish.spaces.live.com/ Keep in mind that it's going to make WAY more sense if you start at the beginning, so check the archives. March 20 is the first letter. (No, it wasn't posted in March, the letter is dated March).
I'll let you guess which one is me.
:D:D
Happy New Year!
So... 2008. Total books read-- 107. Not too shabby. I'll give a better year in review tomorrow.... assuming I have internet.... since I'm not actually home, so I don't have my book of books.
Sorcery and Cecilia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
5 stars
R-1
YF
LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. And it's sequel... and the third one.
Cecilia and Kate are cousins writing letters in 19th century London. It may not be the 19th century London you're familiar with, though. (Unless of course you come from another dimension where magic use is entirely normal.) As the cousins discuss magic, the Season, and life in general, all sorts of crazy things end up happening!
I actually got to hear Patricia Wrede read part of the sequel manuscript at BYU's Life, the Universe, and Everything Sci-Fi convention about 6 years ago. (Yikes, was it really that long ago? Dang.) My fabulous cousin and I went, basically because I LOVE Patricia Wrede! (Seriously, if you haven't read her Dragon books, you totally should! Dealing With Dragons is the first. They're for kids and they're hysterical!)
Anyway.
We were inspired. So inspired, in fact, that we said, hey, we can do that.
Because the Cecilia books started with a letter game. Here's how it works-- 2 writers (you could do more, I guess, but that seems too complicated) create characters and exchange some basic setting information. VERY basic. The characters then exchange letters. FOREVER. Okay, not really, forever. But some of us take years to get the characters through one story year.
The main rule is- no discussion of plot.
NONE.
Because the fun of the game is not knowing what's going to happen next.
Since I'm sure you're dying to know-- yes, we're still playing. And naturally, we've started a blog. If you're interested (and I know you are LOL) you can find our antics at http://arriandkeish.spaces.live.com/ Keep in mind that it's going to make WAY more sense if you start at the beginning, so check the archives. March 20 is the first letter. (No, it wasn't posted in March, the letter is dated March).
I'll let you guess which one is me.
:D:D
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