2016

Heather tromped down the steps, finally finished with her last task of folding linens. The weather was a little warmer to her disliking, and she could hear a bustle of activity from the shop. Her arms were weary, glad to finally take a small break.

“Chores, chores, chores. I wish I’d get something else to do,” she muttered.

It had been over a month since the attempted kidnapping had taken place. The abductor was quickly caught, and a hastily gathered group of men had managed to hunt down the large creature that they had squared off against. A search had also taken place for the man who had sold her Pipp, being cited as the one responsible for the other creature as well.

Read more

Hi guys, Janeil here. I’m still struggling to keep up with the Heather installments. However in lieu of that while I catch up, do enjoy this guest story by JP Hack, who’s graciously allowed me to post his shennanigans in the Elite: Dangerous universe. Enjoy!

Ah, the Evarate system. So nice. So peaceful. A great day for a little mayhem! My plan was simple. Interdict players and fight them. But not newbs. Nope, I have a moral code. I went for the big dawgs like Pythons, FDL’s, Cobras, vipers, etc. What’s more insane than a pilot with the balls and skills to try to take on a bigger ship? A pilot with a Slightly bigger ship trying to take on bigger ships! Good bye Eagle!

Sit down boys and girls, commanders of all ages, as I retell you what happened last night. Lets just say that some people take role playing too seriously.

Okay, I did my homework. So I strolled through the ship yard and bought a slightly used, fully loaded, with extended warranty, Viper MK3. I had the sweet matte black paint job with skull markings. “Surely, they will take me seriously now!” Not even close.

Read more

Despite a week passing, Heather still couldn’t forget the words said to her at Elizabeth’s doorstep. She kept a wide berth away from McCally at all times just to be on the safe side. This was mostly in public; Heather never knew what the woman could do to her, so it was better to stay safe than sorry.

Pipp was still being lively as ever. He hadn’t grown a whole lot and would probably be in trouble if he got into a scuffle with a cat. However a small change start to set in. Pipp seemed more calculating and reactive to those around him. It was like he was thinking a lot, able to mirror off the moods of the people around him. He could tell if they were happy, sad or frustrated and react accordingly.

Read more

**NOTE: This review does contain spoilers. While I certainly believe its up to you to discover what’s inside a book, there are people who just want to know if their book is worth the money, or make sure its good enough for their kid/partner. Or there are even those people who just need to know the plot of the book for some other reason beyond the synopsis. I try to to fill that gap with a bit more detailed information with my book reviews. If you don’t want the book spoiled, move on or just scroll down to the bottom part.

The last of my “time travel” reviews that was backlogged, the final book to take this spot is The Time-Traveling Fashionista: At the Palace of Marie Antoinette. I actually had made an error when purchasing this book; apparently there’s another book in the series that I kept trying to put in the cart, but this is what arrived when I ordered. And while reading I discovered that this wasn’t the first book in the series. Oh well. I’ll continue to look.

Read more

This one is a bit of a short Storytime, but this came back to memory when I started putting together some special content for my own site.

When I had gotten interested in Steampunk in 2009, it didn’t really stick with the people around at the time. However, I had tried to pursue my interest in it, namely in writing. When a cosplay group and that flopped, I decided to bring to light some of other people’s creation. If I couldn’t be a contributor, I could at least be an information hub! I was heavily inspired by a Steampunk-only blog with actual articles, information and promotion for the genre. Sort of like an online newspaper.

Read more

Little did Heather know what good food and a night’s sleep could do to someone. Or something.

The next morning had barely passed when shrilling but quiet screeches woke up everyone in the house. Pipp was up and about, head sticking above the top of his box trying to get out.

More food and water were given, and Pipp “began” his day. Despite his small size, he pattered behind most everyone like a duck, not letting anyone out of sight. He was a bundle of energy, rapid thumping audible as he ran across the floor. Janus discovered that he would “chase” a ball if given, playing tag with the toy becoming a regular activity.

Read more

When I started to collect books in 2013, I had bought a batch of “books” loosely related to my interests at the time. When I was looking for time travel books for kids, this somewhat prominent book from the 90’s appeared in my search results from Amazon. It’s name? The Switching Well.

The story follows two girls, Ada and Amber. Ada is from 1891, while Amber is from 1991. Each girl is fed up with their current time; Ada wants to live in a future where women have more freedom and are appreciated, while Amber wants to live in a past where kids aren’t shuffled around with their parents, where moms were only allowed to be moms living in big houses. Both girls find a magical well in a patch of woods, throwing down a coin and making their wish. Amber gets whisked to the past, Ada to to the future.

Read more

West Hills. Why did it have to be West Hills?

Heather trudged down the dirt and gravel path that led out of the main section of Ellowwood. A twenty-pound bag of wheat was in her arms, having been tasked to deliver it to an elderly couple out on the west side of town.

And not just west town, West Hills. Outside the town charter, maybe half a mile towards the heavy forest and where the island ended. Where more weird stuff lived, causing her imagination to freak out about what she could randomly encounter. It didn’t matter if it was late afternoon and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky; the area still carried the same kind of connotations to it.

Read more

Getting back on track with these, thankfully.

This was an “interesting” book that I had read back in the day, before I had even started using the Internet and visiting bookstores. Back when I would make frequent trips to the Greeneville Library, it got to the point that I would just pick out books by shelf, going through each one till I found one I liked. Running out of Time was one of those books.

I had randomly happened upon it, the older version with the traditional art cover with half of Jessie wearing her 1800s dress and the other half wearing modern clothing. This intrigued me immediately, borrowing it and taking it home.

The original cover of the book that I had read back in 2002.

The original cover of the book that I had read back in 2002. I love these soft-toned oil-painting covers!

The modern, paperback copy I got in 2015, for comparison.

Read more