Today I have the lovely K.B. Hoyle on the blog who will share her playlist for her series, The Gateway Chronicles.
GUEST POST:
I’ve had a blast creating a playlist of songs for my YA fantasy series, The Gateway Chronicles! Hopefully this eclectic selection of songs will give you a good picture of what my books are all about. Enjoy!
The Gateway Chronicles Playlist: A little epic, a little angst, a lot of fight!
1. “Numb” by Lincoln Park
This song was inspirational for creating the main character, Darcy Pennington. I think this song does a good job of expressing the desire that is in many young girls’ hearts to just be understood as who they are. The frustration in this song is something that Darcy feels quite keenly in the first book.
I've become so numb, I can't feel you there
Become so tired, so much more aware
I'm becoming this, all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
2. “Learn to Breathe” by Thousand Foot Krutch
This song is also reminiscent of Darcy and her burgeoning experiences in Alitheia. In some ways, it’s kind of the answer to “Numb,” because it’s not as self-focused. While it’s one thing to want to be understood, it’s another thing to acknowledge that you, also, have to be willing to understand, change, and grow.
Take the time, to learn to breathe, 'cause some day we're going under, when did we, all fall
asleep? won't someone wake us? take the time, to learn to breathe, 'cause some day we're going
under, help us see, what's underneath
i'm not here to place the blame, 'cause although we're not, we're all the same, you lit a fire
when you called my name
3. “Dream Chasers” by Future World Music (Future World Music Volume 10 – Immortal Empire, Disc 1)
An instrumental piece, I stumbled upon this while listening to movie soundtracks when I was writing The Scroll. I think every good fantasy story needs a good epic song associated with it, and this song is EPIC. It just makes me smile, and it embodies the journey home from the archipelago in The White Thread. The joy of having Yahto Veli returned to them, the flight of the Zephyra, combined with phoenix song . . . this is simply a perfect match.
4. “Awake and Alive” by Skillet
4. “Awake and Alive” by Skillet
This is a Darcy song. It’s a song of resolution to do what’s right, even when everything is against you, and that’s a decision Darcy has to make time and again in The Gateway Chronicles.
I'm awake I'm alive
Now I know what I believe inside
Now it's my time
I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life
here (right here), right now (right now)
I'll stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake and I'm alive
5. “Hanging by a Moment” by Lifehouse
This is one of the quintessential love songs for me and my particular generation, so of course I think of Darcy and Tellius in book 4, The Enchanted, when they are falling in love.
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you
6. “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele
This song just has a feel and energy to it that makes me think of certain moments of The Gateway Chronicles. I don’t know that I can necessarily pick out a specific moment, but I listened to this song a lot when I was writing book 5!
7. “Arwen’s Vigil” by The Piano Guys
This is another instrumental one, but I frequently tell people this is my new favorite song ever. I listened to this over and over as I was writing The Scroll, so it’s really the theme song for the book. The progression of the song from mournful to poignant and swelling is perfect and follows the progression of the story in The Scroll to a T.
8. “Everything” by Lifehouse
This is another one of those “throwback” songs for me. I think I must have listened to this a thousand times in college, and I even sang it for a friend’s wedding one time (and yes, I CAN hit those high notes!). J Anyhow, the whole feel of this song is perfect for The Gateway Chronicles, but I particularly think of Darcy and Tellius’s engagement-through-wedding segment in The Scroll.
9. “Hero” by Skillet
This song reflects how, although Darcy is the ultimate hero of the story, she also recognizes that she can’t save herself. Not only does she need Tellius and her supporting cast of friends, but she also needs something “other” to get the task done.
I'm gonna fight for what's right
Today I'm speaking my mind
And if it kills me tonight
(I will be ready to die)
A hero's not afraid to give his life
A hero's gonna save me just in time
10. “Fight Inside” by Red
I’ve always thought about this song when writing about Darcy’s curse in the stories. So this is one of those songs that encompasses the whole series.
[VERSE 1]
Enemy, familiar friend
My beginning and my end.
Knowing truth, whispering lies
And it hurts again.
What I fear and what I've tried,
Words I say and what I hide.
All the pain, I want it to end
But I want it again.
[CHORUS 1]
And it finds me
The fight inside is coursing through my veins.
And it's raging
The fight inside is breaking me again.
[VERSE 2]
I'm still the same, pursuing pain.
Is it worth all that I've gained?
We both know how this will end,
But I'd do it again.
11. “War of Change” by Thousand Foot Krutch
This song is kind of like Darcy’s battle cry at the end of book 5/moving into book 6. Actually, this song pretty well encompasses many of the themes of the entire series, so I included ALL the lyrics:
"War Of Change"
It's a truth that in love and war,
World's collide and hearts get broken,
I want to live like I know I'm dying,
Take up my cross, not be afraid
[Chorus]
Is it true what they say, that words are weapons?
And if it is, then everybody best stop steppin',
Cause I got ten in my pocket that'll bend ya locket,
I'm tired of all these rockers sayin' come with me,
Wait, it's just about to break, it’s more than I can take,
Everything's about to change,
I feel it in my veins, its not going away,
Everything's about to change.
It creeps in like a thief in the night,
Without a sign, without a warning,
But we are ready and prepared to fight,
Raise up your swords, don't be afraid,
[Chorus]
This is a warning, like it or not,
I break down, like a record spinning,
Gotta get up,
So back off,
This is a warning, like it or not,
I'm tired of listenin', I'm warning you, don't try to get up,
There's a war going on inside of me tonight (don't be afraid) [x2]
Wait, it's just about to break, it’s more than I can take,
Everything's about to change,
I feel it in my veins, its not going away,
Everything's about to change,
It's just about to break, it’s more than I can take,
Everything's about to change,
I feel it in my veins, its not going away,
Everything's about to change.
12. “What Does the Fox Say?” by Ylvis
Last but not least, for giggles, because Darcy can talk to animals and could probably answer this question!
MORE ABOUT THE BOOK:
Summary for The Gateway Chronicles:
At the age of thirteen, Darcy Pennington found out the world in which she lived was only one of many, and that the existence of other worlds meant she was far from ordinary. Her destiny, along with the destinies of her five best friends, is entangled with a realm called Alitheia. She journeyed to Alitheia for the first time, armed only with the knowledge that she was destined to help expel an evil Shadow from the land and she would someday be queen. Darcy never could have guessed how deep the rabbit hole would take her. Now, at the age of seventeen, Darcy finds herself thrust into a position of uncertainty after four extraordinary trips to Alitheia, each fraught with drama and adventure. Gifted with elemental magic and with an uncanny ability to get herself into trouble, Darcy has always managed to make it through, but when her heart is on the line, the stakes are higher than ever. Great hope, great joy, and great love have always been tempered by great sorrow and great loss in Alitheia, and Darcy wonders if the trials she is about to face in her latest trip will break her, and the land of Alitheia, beyond repair.
Summary for The Scroll:
Darcy Pennington may once have been an average teenager, but not anymore. Living each year twice, once in her world and once in Alitheia, has made her into someone who cares little for normal teenage activities. She’s got more important things to do, like save the mythical, magical world of Alitheia. But this time, Darcy can’t save Alitheia until she saves Tellius, the love of her life.
A window between the worlds allows Darcy to see Tellius from her home in Chicago. But, far from being reassured, she plunges into despair when she sees Tellius captured, imprisoned, and tortured. All her plans for her future life in Alitheia are put on hold as Darcy faces a singular goal: save Tellius, even if it means giving Tselloch something in return.
Intrigue is high upon her return to the castle, where old friends tell new lies, best friends hide crucial secrets, deceptive apparitions roam the halls, and betrayal lingers around every corner. The only way to unravel the mysteries and protect Alitheia is to bring Tellius home, but Darcy lacks the necessary magic for that.
As time runs low, Rubidius keeps to himself, and even Sam has her own secret this year. Darcy wonders if anyone else cares the way she does, and why it’s always a fight to get anything done. Still, she’ll do anything to rescue her future husband, including surrender herself to the fate she knows is coming anyway. Now, if only The Six could unveil the scroll, they might learn the greatest secret of all, before everything burns to ashes around them.
K. B. Hoyle has been a classical educator for several years. She is a wife to a wonderful husband and mother to three rambunctious little boys. Her favorite literary genres have always been Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction, so that is where her journey began. At a young age, she knew she wanted to write stories that would inspire people, and she wrote her first fantasy novel at the age of eleven. Her goal as a writer is to take a look at existing truths in the world around her and repackage them in new, exciting, and fantastic ways.
Connect with her on:
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Today I have the lovely Stephanie Carroll on the blog who will share her a guest post for her book, A White Room.
GUEST POST:
Halloween History: Victorian Halloween Party Decorations, Games, and Spells
By Stephanie Carroll
The following turn of the century Halloween festivities were taken from two articles in the October 25, 1903 edition of The Sunday Herald of Syracuse, New York. The first article is titled “Halloween: Unique and Ghost-Like Decorations” and is an account of a Halloween party for adults, focusing specifically on the decorations.
The second article was titled “Halloween: What to do on this Witching Eve,” and is an instruction for a witch themed party for young unmarried girls. It includes detailed descriptions of Halloween “charms” or what we would call spells, most of which were designed to determine the girls’ future husbands.
Victorian Halloween Decorations for a Turn of the Century Party
The writer of the article explained that this was a party he actually attended, and it is given from his perspective. When he asked the hostess where she got the ideas for the decorations, she said she had thought them up on the spur of the moment.
Outside of the house, yellow jack-o-lanterns and squash hung from plazas. They included a lamp and had eyes, noses, and grins carved into them. The author of this article writes about the jack-o-lantern faces in a way that suggests it may have been a novelty, at least to him.
Just at the door stood a tall wooden figure draped in black sheets. It had red eyes, a nose, and a grinning mouth. The author commented that the figure “suspiciously looked like a photographer’s lantern on a jag.” Chains bound the hands of the figure and also hung from the door, making it rattle as guests entered the house.
Inside, the only light came from green flames burning in tin plates. The flame came from alcohol sitting on a bed of salts. The writer commented that the flames made the guests’ faces glow green, a color that was “subconsciously associated with ghosts.” Inside the library there were more of these plates with green flames, which the author then commented created a mood that “was enough to conjure up his Satanic Majesty to the ‘flow of soul’ about to begin.” The author’s remark about the devil being conjured suggests lighthearted references to the satan were common during Halloween even at this time period. This may disprove a common conception that the Victorians were too religious for the darker side of Halloween.
Cushions were strewn about the floor for the guests in the library. When the green flames flickered out, someone lit the fireplace, and attendees began telling ghost stories. Each guest had been instructed to bring a ghost story or be “threatened with violent ejection.” The author commented that the stories were so frightening more than one person screamed when an alarm clock went off in the middle of it. He also commented that it was surprising how many guests had brought alarm clocks for this purpose. After the stories had ended, electric lights flickered on to reveal popping corn, games, and refreshments.
The author then goes into a long list of party favors suitable for a Halloween party. It was difficult to discern whether or not all of these favors were at the party he attended or if these were examples of what could be done at a party.
Some of the objects described as party favors were more games as opposed to gifts. Dainty salt cellars with tiny spoons could be provided, so guests could stand in a place they have never stood before, eat a bit of salt, and make a wish. Little mugs or cups could be filled with water and accompanied by paper cutouts of the alphabet as “Every properly educated girl knows that the initial of her future husband will be the only letter that can be depended upon to float.”
Several Halloween souvenirs were described and they all seemed to include messages. There were small bits of silver beaten into favors, like miniature frames in odd shapes from abroad and accompanied with a note saying, “May it be your fate to travel double.” The writer described desk scales with the motto “Don’t weigh your friends in the balance,” and collapsible lanterns with the message “The light fails when you are absent,” along with boxes for holding cord with the message “Always have a string to your kite.” Other gifts included devil paperweights, gnome and toadstool inkstands, and rabbit designs for keeping away ghosts.
Halloween Witchcraft Spells for Unmarried Girls
In addition to the spells below, this article also suggests some decorations and refreshments as this was an instruction for a witch themed party. It describes how to set a dinner table with a jack-o-lantern centerpiece and carved carrots and turnips as candlesticks. Red and green cabbages could be used as baskets for nuts, fruit, and marshmallows for toasting. The article explains refreshments should also include apples, cider, fried cakes, and tea grounds, which are good for prophesizing one’s future. On the dinner cards could be placed witch dolls. The doll could be made with a nut for a head, with a witch hat on top and toothpicks for the body.
The article also recommends using “Burn’s Poem” to determine other fun things to try or to use lines from the poem for dinner cards. The fact that the article only ever refers to this poem as “Burn’s Poem” suggests that it was a common reference around Halloween time, and that anyone would recognize it. Robert Burn’s 1785 Halloween Poem is almost guaranteed the poem to which the article is referring to because it includes the same and additional instructions on Halloween charms. All the charms below appear to have come from this poem.
Although the “charms” or spells below are reminiscent of something 12 or 13-year-old girls would partake in today, this article does not specify an age but is clearly directed toward unmarried girls. It was expected that most girls would be married before or during their early twenties.
I cannot help but point out the fact that unmarried girls at this time were expected to be virgins, and virgins are common components in spells popularized through modern-day pop culture. However, there was no mention of a virgin in this article.
Charms and Games for a Bewitching Halloween Party:
1. Girls can throw two nuts into a fire, each representing a person. Most pop out but the two that burn quietly to ashes show a good omen for those two people.
2. Melt lead taken from tea boxes in a cheap iron spoon (as the lead will ruin the spoon) and then drop it into cold water. It will turn into a shape representative of the occupation of the girl’s future husband. Almost any shape can be formed, but the common shapes and meanings are: shears for a tailor or newspaperman, sword for a soldier, book for an author, or a desk for a preacher.
3. Seven girls can mix a dumb cake consisting of water and flour mixed into stiff dough. The girls cannot speak a word during this. Each girl stirs the dough once or twice and before baking uses a “new pin” to carve her and her beloved’s initials. The initials that are still visible after baking belong to the couples who will be married within the year.
4. Another cake of the usual ingredients can be made with silver objects mixed into the dough. The girls can speak while making this cake, and each must stir it once or twice. After it’s baked, each girl has a slice. Whichever object is in her slice of cake prophesizes her future. A ring means a happy wife; a dime means riches; a raisin means happy motherhood; a thimble means she will never cease to wear it; a key unlocks the hearts of all men but means many lovers and never a husband; and a wheel means travel over land and sea.
5. Everyone knows about bobbing for apples, according to the article, but few are aware that if you hang an apple by a string and then catch it with your mouth without using your hands, it foretells the successes of the coming year.
6. A girl can name an apple the name of her most desired person then pierce the core with a needle. If the needle goes through a seed, the desired one is hers.
7. The girls can name several apple seeds and place them on their lips. The one that stays the longest is the one with the name of the man who loves her most.
8. If a person peels an apple, then turns the peel around her head three times and drops it on the ground, the peel will form the initial that she wishes her future name to have.
9. In complete silence, a girl can walk down the stairs backwards, while eating an apple and holding a mirror up to look for the face of her true love who will appear in it. (The article mentioned that this one is trying on the nerves even if a friend is holding a lamp at the bottom of the stairs.)
10. Girls can run two new needles, one representative of her and the other of “he,” into a candle at right angles so that they cross. The article isn’t clear, but I’m pretty sure you are supposed to stick the needles into the hard wax of a standing candle or candlestick, and not into the flame. If the candle burns passed the spot where the needles cross, all will go well but if it does not, who knows.
11. The cabbage charm originates from Scotland. Girls walk blindfolded into a cabbage field and pick a head. If a lot of dirt clings to the roots, wealth is coming by marriage. If the stem is good and straight, the future husband will be comely. A taste of the cabbage heart indicates the disposition of the man of a woman’s future. The article recommends people who cannot go into an actual field, bring cabbages in and store them in a cellar. It does not explain how guests are supposed to read the cabbage accurately when the freshly pulled roots are what are to be read.
12. To produce a prophetic dream: Seven girls each make a string of acorns and wind it around the same log or stick of wood and place it into a fire. They must all sit at the opposite side of the room in complete silence until all is burned. Then they take out the ashes without any help and repeat:
May my marriage be my theme
To visit me in this night’s dream
The image of my lover send
Let me see his name and face
And his occupation trace
13. A charm that is not well known, according to the article, is the card charm. At a quarter to 12 a.m., all sit at a table and say nothing. One word will break the spell. Promptly at midnight, cards are dealt using only face cards. A king means a speedy marriage; a jack means a broken engagement; a queen means an old maid; a diamond means riches; a spade means thrift; a club means poverty; and a heart means love in a cottage.
14. When the guests leave, one last charm can be done by a girl alone in her room. This charm will determine the faithfulness of a lover. She must pick two long stem roses and return to her room without saying a word. She names one rose for herself and the other for her current beloved. She then binds the stems together with twine while gazing intently at her sweetheart’s rose and recites:
Twine, twine and intertwine
Let my love be wholly mine
If his heart be kind and true
Deeper grow his rose’s hue
If he is faithful, the color of his rose will darken and become more intense. The article says there are recorded accounts of roses actually changing hue, but the only witnesses were the girls who produced the charm.
I hope you enjoyed reading these historical accounts of Victorian Halloween decorations, parties, and party games as much as I enjoyed researching and writing about them. I hope they make a unique and fun addition to your Halloween party this year.
Stephanie Carroll is the author of Gothic Victorian novel A White Room, on sale for $0.99 cents until Oct. 31! As a reporter and community editor, Stephanie Carroll earned first place awards from the National Newspaper Association and from the Nevada Press Association. She holds degrees in history and social science and graduated summa cum laude. Her Gothic and magical writing style is inspired by the classic authors Charlotte Perkins Gilman (The Yellow Wallpaper), Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden), and Emily Bronte (Wuthering Heights).
Connect with her on:
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About A White Room
At the close of the Victorian Era, society still expected middle-class women to be “the angels of the house,” even as a select few strived to become something more. In this time of change, Emeline Evans dreamed of becoming a nurse. But when her father dies unexpectedly, Emeline sacrifices her ambitions and rescues her family from destitution by marrying John Dorr, a reserved lawyer who can provide for her family.
John moves Emeline to the remote Missouri town of Labellum and into an unusual house where her sorrow and uneasiness edge toward madness. Furniture twists and turns before her eyes, people stare out at her from empty rooms, and the house itself conspires against her. The doctor diagnoses hysteria, but the treatment merely reinforces the house’s grip on her mind.
Emeline only finds solace after pursuing an opportunity to serve the poor as an unlicensed nurse. Yet in order to bring comfort to the needy she must secretly defy her husband, whose employer viciously hunts down and prosecutes unlicensed practitioners. Although women are no longer burned at the stake in 1900, disobedience is a symptom of psychological defect, and hysterical women must be controlled.
A novel of madness and secrets, A White Room presents a fantastical glimpse into the forgotten cult of domesticity, where one’s own home could become a prison and a woman has to be willing to risk everything to be free.
It's been a while since I've written an article that is not about books or fashion (which I also seldom do nowadays--but soon!). I remember before that I would always ramble about anything, especially about Harry Potter, and even about my dreams, which I have some taken down since it's too blackmail-worthy. I haven't posted anything lately as well since the blessing I have been waiting for almost two years finally came. The long wait and frustration to do something worthwhile is finally over.
Yes, I have been dormant for that long and it was something I was not proud of. I did try to do something about it but it felt like something is always hindering me from pushing through. I felt lonely and frustrated to the point where I was already asking myself what I really want to do with my life; asking what is my real purpose. People my age were moving forward and I feel stuck in a hole where no matter what I do, I could never get out. It was such a dark place. I felt worthless.
But I knew I had to fight. I know myself and I know that I don't give up easily. So I did. The third quarter of this year was full of trial and errors. It was either I will not receive an answer or it is not just meant for me. My mom will always tell me that I was meant for something else and it will come in time. She will always encourage me and tell me that they (my parents) are not pressuring me and I should take my time. But my pride won't let me accept the fact that I should wait for something tangible. Time is such a valuable thing that I was panicking already when I saw that it was already October in my calendar. I cannot afford to be idle for another year. But my family and friends never fail to make me remember that I should not lose hope, always believe and just keep trying.
Like I said before, I was claiming this to be my year, maybe it didn't start as quick as I have expected but at least it still did. This time, I did not pass up on every opportunity that came. I might have not got them all, but at least I tried. I even pursued some that I felt indifferent with, some that was related to my chosen career path but I never imagined myself doing. I have wanted something ever since and I was finally able to do.
Writing. It was something I was so passionate about. It's a start and I am so happy that I could... Now... For work. I am also grateful for this blog because it became a medium to help me do it. It was what helped me to became relevant and in a way, credible. I thank God for finally answering my prayers. I guess I will have to scratch this off my list then. The idea is slowly sinking in and I feel so happily overwhelmed.
So cheers to a new beginning, goals that will be achieved and dreams that will come true.
To spread more positivity and motivation, here are some quotes to share to you guys and words that I will and always be applying to myself.
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Skulk by Rosie Best
(Started: September 10, 2013; Finished: September 19, 2013)
Summary/Description:
When Meg witnesses the dying moments of a shapeshifting fox and is given a beautiful and powerful stone, her life changes forever. She is plunged into the dark world of the Skulk, a group of shapeshifting foxes.
Review: 5 starsAs she learns about the other groups of shapeshifters that lurk around London – the Rabble, the Horde, the Cluster and the Conspiracy – she becomes aware of a deadly threat against all the shapeshifters. They must put aside all their enmity and hostility and fight together to defeat it. (From Goodreads)
Publication Date: October 01, 2013
Source: Strange Chemistry
Shelf: Goodreads, Shelfari
Available on: Amazon
Strange Chemistry has been really good to me. Thank God for them. They've released some of the great YA books this year (in my opinion), including Skulk. It is one of the most interesting and engaging story I've read this year so far. Skulk is not your paranormal shapeshifting novel. The idea of using animals that are not often used for shapeshifting is refreshing. It was also impeccably written that it didn't take long to draw me in to the story. The events in the book was so vivid that again, I felt like I was watching a film in my head or reliving a memory in my own pensieve. I cringed and closed the book when there was blood and violence. I was teary-eyed and sad when there was death. I blushed when something sweet occurred. The writing was so transparent and so humane. The author was not selfish to hold back some emotions or events that I was completely satisfied from start to finish. It was so raw and so intense most of the time like it was always in the climactic part that I thought it wouldn't end. With this said, I like how this book made me feel human, how I was in touch with my emotions and I thank Rosie Best for that. I can't even stop myself from telling my sister and some friends how good it was and narrated some of its most unforgettable parts to them.
With the plot, Skulk discussed some socio-political issues that were undercurrent but present in the story, and basically revolve on the idea of hope and cooperation. It's not about the usual YA stories that focuses on teen angst and rebellion or even instant love (or insta-love, as they call it nowadays). I think it was inspiring because it tells the readers that we can always compromise and work together if we set aside our pride and our differences. I also like to point out the keys to achieve this, which are listening and understanding that the characters were able to realize towards the end of the story.
Moving on to the characters, their description was so distinct that made them so remarkable and alive in my imagination. I also like the fact that the characters were so diverse that the author included people from all walks of life, ethnicity and religion. This made it even more relatable and realistic because we interact with various kinds of people everyday. The character development was also so evident that you can see their changes and progress. Putting the spotlight on the protagonist (which she deserves by the way), Meg is such a likeable character. She's not stubborn or impulsive as some of the other female leads in other novels. She's persistent, brave and never gives up easily no matter how tough the situation gets. She's inspiring and empowering to those who have the same familial issues. I think I never read that she whined about something throughout the book. She would just cry but after that she'll face her problems with new found courage and determination. She would take charge whenever necessary. In short, Meg's no damsel-in-distress or no show-off warrior either.
Overall, Skulk is a great balance of action, scary and violent situations, unity and a hint of love. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel. This is a highly recommended young adult read with great twists, depth, and interesting world and characters that not only teens would enjoy but also adults.
For the quotes I got this from the book, please visit my Tumblr:
Happy Reading Everyone!
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