Harry Potter Movies Fuel Illegal Owl Trade

Of all the possible Harry Potter-related headlines out there, this has got to be one of the least expected! But I suppose it makes sense... Harry Potter had a pet owl and Harry Potter was cool, so now all the kids in India want a pet owl too.

Sunday Times, Nov 7 2010

Versatile Blogger Award

When I first started blogging, this award was the very first one I saw on the side of someone's blog. And I thought, Wow! People get awards for blogs?! And now I've got this one! So thank you, Quinn :-)

If you haven't yet, you should check out his blog, seeing, dreaming... writing.

So after thanking Quinn I now have to list 7 things about myself...



1. I would have finished my novel by now if I hadn't started blogging!

2. My recurring nightmare is about being late for something (work, the airport, anything... So then I'm already stressed by the time I wake up!).

3. I don't drink coffee and I hardly drink tea. Hot chocolate, on the other hand...

4. If I have the option I prefer to be driven around rather than driving myself. ("Home, James...")

5. I can't write with other people in the room. It just freaks me out...

6. People who stand in the middle of an escalator so that I can't get past them REALLY tick me off.

7. Sometimes I eat cereal in the evening (oooh, daring, I know...).

Now that the randomness is over, we come to passing the award on:

Hart @ Confessions of a Watery Tart
Brenda @ Brenda Drake Writes...
Tessa @ Tessa's Blurb
Ellie @ ELLIE GARRAT
L'Aussie @ L'Aussie Writing

Go see the versatile bloggers!

 

Ambitious

This gives new meaning to the words, "Biting off more than you can chew"!

I love it!

Picture credit.

The Poor Abused Apostrophe

Doesn't it drive you NUTS?!

Is it really that hard to remember how to use an apostrophe correctly?*

I recently went shopping and decided on the way home to read the message on the bag:

Well. As great as the message is (and it really is great - saving the world one bag at a time) I just couldn't get past the its with no apostrophe! And I had to wonder if they did it on purpose so that people like me will have a reason to remember the message on their bag, or if they just don't know how to write English!

In case you're in any doubt as to how the poor, much-abused apostrophe should actually be used, do check out the Apostrophe Protection Society. (Yes, this poor, innocent little piece of punctuation has been so abused that a society now exists to protect it!)

Does this bother you as much as it bothers me?
Or do you really not care that much?

*If I have offended anyone, I do apologise. I know how easy it is when typing in haste for the little apostrophe to find itself hanging in odd places! And if you ever see me misusing one, feel free to beat me over the head with something. Hard.

Logline Blogfest

Instructions from Steena (whose blog name alone, Chocolate Reality,
is enough to send you over there to see what this blogfest is all about!)

On your blog site, post your logline for your novel.
One or two sentences.

I wasn't going to take part in this blogfest, but after reading several of the other entries I couldn't resist giving it a go! It will be a good challenge, I told myself. Good practise.
Well.
A challenge it most certainly was! Jeepers, I didn't know it was going to be so difficult!

Update: I have been through SOOO many potential versions of this now!
And, yes, the spelling of deemon with two e's is intentional.

Genre: YA Fantasy

*Most recently revised version*

After an unfortunate run-in with a deemon in a forest, sixteen-year-old Serra makes a shocking discovery: Her every memory is a lie. Her search for the truth soon becomes a battle for her life, as she realises she possesses knowledge that could save humans from the Darkness--or destroy them all.

Photo credit

I'm pretty sure that could do with a whole lot of tweaking, so if you have any ideas on how to make it better, PLEASE feel free to leave suggestions in the comments below! And thank you so much, Steena, for giving me a reason to make my first attempt at a logline.

Click here to see the other entries.
(That's the best part about this blogfest - the entries are so short you can read them in no time at all!)


Earlier Versions:

Version 1:

When Serra discovers that every memory in her mind is false, and that the life she remembers living never existed, she sets out to learn the truth about who she really is. Unfortunately, she isn’t the only one interested in discovering what lies hidden in her mind, and she must hurry to unlock her secrets before the servants of the Dark Prince can unlock them for her.

Version 2:

When sixteen-year-old Serra discovers that every memory in her mind is false, she sets out to learn the truth about who she really is. Unfortunately, she isn’t the only one interested in discovering what lies hidden in her mind, and she must hurry to unlock her secrets before the servants of the Dark Prince unlock them for her.

Version 3:

Sixteen-year-old Serra is shocked to discover that all her memories are false, and that she isn’t the only one desperate to know what secrets lie hidden in her mind. Her journey of self-discovery soon becomes a battle for her life, as she realises she possesses knowledge that could save the human Resistance from the Darkness—or, in the wrong hands, destroy it.