Blogging Hiatus

After giving this a lot of thought, I've decided to go on a blogging hiatus, until around the New Year. I'm sure you've noticed my posts dwindling lately... I'm afraid I've never been very good at blogging, and recently I haven't had the time to give it my fullest attention. So, until I do have the time to make that happen, I'm afraid I will have to say goodbye. You all have been wonderful readers, and I'm thankful for every one of you. I know when I start posting again in a few months, you'll be there to back me up. Thanks for all the support!

Until we meet again, 

~The Scribbler in the Attic

Fall Releases I'm Looking Forward To

I thought today I'd share the four new releases coming up I'm most looking foreword to. These next few months are going to be very exciting. :D

The Sword of Summer: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . . (Taken from Goodreads.)

While Riordan's last batch of books, the spin-off series of Percy Jackson, were less than cool, this looks like it's going to be really awesome.

The Forever Man: W.A.R.P. #3

Riley, an orphan boy living in Victorian London, has achieved his dream of becoming a renowned magician, the Great Savano. He owes much of his success to Chevie, a seventeen-year-old FBI agent who traveled from the future in a time pod and helped him defeat his murderous master, Albert Garrick. But it is difficult for Riley to enjoy his new life, for he has always believed in his heart of hearts that Garrick will someday, somehow, return to seek vengeance.

Chevie has assured Riley on numerous occasions that Garrick was sucked into a temporal wormhole, never to emerge. The full nature of the wormhole has never been understood, however, and just as a human body will reject an unsuitable transplant, the wormhole eventually spat him out. By the time Garrick makes it back to Victorian London, he has been planning his revenge on Riley for half a century. But even the best-laid plans can go awry, and when the assassin decides to include Chevie in his retaliation, the three are tossed once more into the wormhole with no idea where-or when-they will end up. (Taken from Goodreads.)

I have absolutely loved Colfer's books, especially his WARP series, and cannot wait to crack open the pages of book 3. Especially since it looks like he's bringing back one of the best villains ever.

The Speed of Darkness: Chronoptika #4

I haven't actually read the 2nd and 3rd book in this series (because my library doesn't have them), so I haven't even read the description of this one. The first book turned out to be breathtaking, and so I, in planning to read the next two, found out that the fourth was due to be released early 2016.

Mission Hurricane: The 39 Clues: Doublecrossed

Last book of the 39 Clues. Possibly the very last that will ever come out. I have really enjoyed these books and will be very sad to see them end. But I suppose you can only stretch a series so far...

What new releases are you looking forward to? Any suggestions for me?

Have a lovely afternoon,

~The Scribbler in the Attic

The Writing Lifestyle

I've found myself realizing more and more lately that I don't think like a normal person anymore.

Writing has started shaping my entire life. It's been heading that direction since I was as young as ten, but I guess I didn't know it until now. Everything I do in my day-to-day lifestyle revolves around my writing.

I'm not thinking ahead to college because all I picture myself doing in a few years is writing. How I get through doing schoolwork is thinking about how I can use this knowledge for my writing. Every morning I wake up, I wonder how much writing I'm going to get done. When my mom asks me what I'm going to do today, I have to stop and think of something besides writing I had been planning to do. It's actually a little scary to think about how unconsciously writing controls my life. I don't even really have the normal "teenage girl" thoughts of something like who I'm going to marry or what kind of house I want to live in when I get older. All I can think is, Oh, look, it's a new day. Guess I'm gonna write.

Is this unhealthy? It's either passion or a mental disorder. Probably both. Do you guys ever feel this way?

Everything around me is fuel for the writing fire. Literally almost every thought that crosses my mind about something usually turns into "how can I use this in a story?" Recently, I was playing soccer with some friends, and accidentally got a black eye from someone's elbow in the wrong place at the wrong time. And, seriously, I was kind of happy, because now I knew how to describe the pain of being hit extremely hard in the face. Great, right?

But something I have to remind myself every single day so I don't get sidetracked is to follow up the question of "How can I use this in my story?" with "And how will this glorify God?" 

I want that question to fuel me with as much passion as my writing. And it's hard. Because I've become so ingrained with the writing mindset, it's hard to fit anything else into my head with it. But it's a very necessary thought. It's an important thought. It is THE most important thought, actually. 

As I've realized how much my life revolves around my writing, I've realized how much more I need it to revolve around that question. How can I glorify God? Because that has to come before everything else. And more than anything it has to come before my writing.

I'm not sure where this post was heading. Hopefully my ramblings made at least a little sense.

How has writing shaped your life? Do you ever have to take a step back and reevaluate?

Colossians 3:23 "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men."

Have a lovely day!
~The Scribbler in the Attic

A Momentousness of Books

Something momentous has happened. Something amazing. Something so cool I just had to share it with you guys.

*drum roll please......* 

I own over 100 books!!!

Me, myself and I, personally own over 100 titles--obviously my favorites, plus a few random ones I happened to pick up on the way. :)

I never set a goal or anything like that for myself. I've tried to buy as many as I can, rather than get them from library, since I may end up wanting re-read or flip through them again. (And it's especially hard to do that with library books if the library you happen to go to is an hour and a half away. Heh.) Confession time, though... I haven't actually read all of them. Out of 100, I've maybe read 87. Which isn't bad, and I am working on it. :)

But anyways, I was just so excited I thought I'd write up a post about it. I'm completely out of shelf space, which is quite an awesome feeling... While I've got you, though, I apologize for my rather sudden hiatus there for a few months. It's been a really crazy time around here. A lot of traveling and a lot of bruises from a lot of soccer games. Also watermelon. A lot of watermelon. (But that's always a good thing. :D )

Do you guys have a book collection? How big has it gotten? Any suggestions for me? Which books are your favorites? Which do you wish you had bought instead of getting them from the library?

Ecstatically,
~The Scribbler in the Attic 

Death For A Single Soul || Passion Week

So, with this being Passion Week and Easter Sunday coming up, I've been thinking a lot about Christ's death, and along with that, all of the allegories in literature that have depicted this. Almost all stories have this element, and in fact, I can't think of many books I've read that don't.

But Aslan's death from the Chronicles of Narnia has been on my mind the most. I had an interesting train of thought about it this evening, and thought I would share, as I am currently plum out of blog post ideas.

We read in the Bible how Jesus came to earth, lived a painful and sorrowful life as a man, that one day he would be given up to be sacrificed for our sins. We hear all the time how Christ died to save "all sinners". But something I observed about Aslan's death in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: He didn't die to save all the creatures of Narnia. At the time they didn't need saving. The only one who had sinned, the only one who had betrayed Aslan, was Edmund. And yet, Aslan died. We all know how the story ends: Aslan comes back to life. But when he traded his life for Edmund's, it gave the appearance of defeat, of surrender, of basically handing the victory over to the White Witch, all for the sake of one boy. One traitor.

And it reminded me all over again, that it would have been exactly like that with Jesus had I been the only one He needed to save. Jesus would have lived, suffered, been crucified and gone through hell even if it was only for single soul. And I think that fact, that knowledge, is one of the most beautiful things about the saving grace of God and His sacrifice for us. He loves us so much, he was willing not to just die for all of us, but for each and every one of us individually.

So, yes. Those are just some thoughts that have been floating around my head lately. Thanks for reading. :)

How has your Passion Week been? 

Sincerely,

~The Scribbler in the Attic

5 Ways I Get Over Writer's Block

Hey y'all! Sorry my super long absence. This month has been crazy, between ice storms, 70 degree weather, last-minute road trips, free archery lessons, visits to the doctor for allergy shots and home school conferences. :D 

Well, as I've been having trouble with this lately, I thought I would share with you all five ways that I get over Writer's Block, and ask about your methods. I actually haven't heard mush advice on the matter, except for the two obvious ones: Take a Break and KEEP WORKING NO MATTER WHAT I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE A BLOCK.


Anyways, here's my five-cents:

1). Sit down and write out all your favorite words.
             I was at a really desperate stage of writers block when I decided to do this. It was really late at night, everyone else was asleep, and my light was the only one on in the room I share with my three other sisters. On the edge of sleep, but unwilling to go to bed without scratching the itch I'd had all day to write, but hadn't been able to because of my Block, I rolled over, grabbed a notebook, and started scribbling down all of the words I loved most: shiver, mirror, winter, obsidian, shatter. The next morning I woke up and it was gone. 


2).  Reread a draft of a different book you haven't worked on for a while and try to identify mistakes in it that you could still be making now.
           I've done this several times, and it always helps. It reminds me where I've been and how far I still have to go, but it also helps point me in the right direction for fixing my old mistakes. And it keeps me humble. :)

3). Change the font, spacing, or coloring of your document.

          Seriously. I got this advice from Pinterest, and it actually works. When I get fed up with something, or get a headache, or even start out a story knowing it's going to give me a tough time, I change at least the color. Gray is usually my go-to.

4). Make a list of all of your characters, every single one. Then mark if they are good or bad. Then mark whether they live or die.

          *maniacal laugh* I have this old money ledger I got from my great grandmother. It has columns for expenses, income, taxes, etc. But they are unlabeled, so I made it into a "Death Book" and used the columns for Last Name, First Name, Good/Bad, Die/Stay Alive. Then I filled it out. (In case you were curious, out of all of the characters from the series I wrote down, only about half lived. :P) I know this sounds slightly psychotic, but it really can help--plus, it's kind of fun. :D

5). If you're having trouble describing a certain thing (an emotion, reaction, scenery) go to one of your favorite authors and read how they describe it. Figure out why it works for them, and then make it work for you.

           I usually go to Riordan or Rowling, as their writing style fits mine the best, and this has never failed me. I'm sure you all know the feeling, when sometimes, after writing for hours or even days on end, your patience gets so frayed that the smallest things will start to trip you up. This helps me quickly get back up without losing momentum. (I once got stuck for hours just trying to write the part of a scene where five people enter a room. Talk about stuck. :-/ )


So, what do you guys do? Any suggestions, hints or advice? I could really use it!

Hope you all have an awesome day, 
~The Scribbler in the Attic

Valentine Pictures From Me To You

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody! Hope you had a wonderful holiday. :) I had chocolate and raspberry covered homemade donuts and heart-shaped bacon for breakfast, ice cream for lunch, and chocolate covered strawberries for desert after dinner. So, yeah, my Valentine's Day was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. :D

I'd been meaning to take some holiday-themed pictures to post today, but couldn't really decide what to do, until the inspiration hit me this afternoon. Forgoing the (extremely inconvenient) self-timer on my Nikon, I got my little brother, Seth, to take these pictures. 

#teenagetroubles

Scorching sophistication.

NERD ALERT!

Can you smell the sarcasm?

I was in a super goofy mood today, if you couldn't tell. ;)

Our family has this crazy tradition of sending Valentine cards to all our neighbors, so, after our incredible breakfast this morning, we sat around and made Pooh and Captain America Valentine's for our friends. We always have a great time deciding who should get the "Ishy Squishy Hugs and Stuff" or the "I Want YOU To Have a Happy Valentine's Day" cards.

How did you celebrate? Do you have any Valentine traditions?

Love,

~The Scribbler in the Attic

Thoughts in Caramel

     Having you ever felt so crammed full of things you need to do, of schedules and projects to work on, that your thoughts literally feel like they're racing a hundred-miles-per-hour at the same time it feels like they're stuck in glue, pinging in slow-motion, so sluggish you can barely even put two words together in your head?

     Huuuge run on sentence, I know. I'm sorry... 

     But, that's what tonight is like for me. And last night. And the night before. And every moment in between.

     My brain feels like it could explode at any second. Like all of my thoughts are stuck together with caramel. I have too many things I should be doing, too many things I need to be doing, but they can't all happen at once.

     This week has been a season of letting go for me. Between juggling school, friends, writing, video work, blogging, research, and a (sort of) job, there's just too much to handle with only two hands and one brain. I've had to prioritize. I've had to organize (weird, right? I didn't think I had it in me...). And I've had to let go of things I know are less important. Things that will get in the way of my real dreams and my real goals. Goals that I know I can accomplish and not just daydream about. 

     Maybe, one day, I can come back to them. Maybe, one day, they'll be my important goals. Maybe, one day, those dreams will come true. 

     I never thought I'd have to prioritize my dreams... It just sounds kind of wrong, doesn't it?

     But, some of these goals, some of them I've had to tell myself will never happen. That it really was just a dream, and there are better dreams for me to spend my time on. That's just part of growing, I suppose.

     I've never been a "deep" blogger. Though I spend a lot of time writing and am rather a sensitive soul, I usually stink at conveying my emotions and thoughts. I guess I deal better with describing the flashing of rapiers during a pirate duel that I do describing real thoughts and feelings.

     So, I don't know why I decided to post this today. I just felt like sharing. :)

     Have any of you all ever experienced this?

Thanks for reading,
~The Scribbler in the Attic

Snow Fall || It Almost Feels Like Winter

I woke up Saturday to find our hollow covered in snow. It may look like just a dusting to those of you who get snow all the time, but for us, anything more than an 1/8 an inch is the closest thing we get to a blizzard. So, naturally, I jumped out of bed and ran outside to take pictures. :)

I once met the woman known as Winter

With eyes of frost and turquoise splinter.

And once I asked how it could be

That she was never sad.

She looked at me, with eyes of sleet

As though I were the one half-mad.

She said, "How could I ever, though,

When I'm lord of winds and one with snow?"

~W.N.H.

Have you guys gotten any good snow falls? Anyone ready for Spring yet?

~The Scribbler in the Attic

In Sunset Red || Selfie Series

I picked a good night to take some pictures. The sunset was simply breathtaking in our little neck of the woods, and I was blessed enough to capture a small portion of it on camera. Dusk had begun falling when I started taking these... after I accidentally forgot to take them earlier in the day. :-/

(No, I am not enthralled with that tree branch, whatever it may look like. :P)

Yeah, so, just as I got started setting up to take these, our neighbor, who waters our cows for us, drove up this back road on our property and passed me... Yeah. Taking selfies by yourself, with a tripod, out in the middle of the woods is more awkward than most people would think...

Y'all ready for spring yet? 
~The Scribbler in the Attic

First Hellos and Final Goals

Here is my first hello to all of you in 2015!

It's a new year, and like every new year it comes with changes and decisions. I've made some choices I hope you all will like for this blog. There are some things I wish I had done better with my life in 2014, and there are some things that I know I will fail at in 2015. But, thankfully, the beauty of failure is you learn from it.

Starting now, I've decided to do away with "Monday Musings" and "Writer's Wednesday" and "Photography Friday". The rigid schedule and cheesy alliterations just weren't working for me.

I would love for you all to give me suggestions for ways I could improve my blog and my posts! Please comment with any ideas you may have.

Last year, about this time, I told you all that my new year's resolution was to not use any emoticons on this blog.

As you probably can all see, I failed miserably. :P

I have nothing at all against emoticons. In fact, I think they are super cute and funny. But my reason for trying to not use them was because I wanted my writing to be such that I didn't need to use smiley-faces to maybe bring some serious subject I was talking about back into a happy mood, or a sad-face to convey disappointment, when I could very easily just take a few more minutes to be more thoughtful with my words and how they are put together. 

This year, I have no such restrictions. Hah, I'm probably going to use a hundred emoticons a sentence now that I have free range.  But I will also be trying just as hard, if not more, to be more thoughtful in my rhetoric.

Anyways, here's a sketchy outline for the way I'm hoping to do things on Scribblings this next year:

In terms of photography…

In case you were worried, I'm not giving up photography. Just because Photography Friday is defenestrated, doesn't mean my camera has been chucked out with it. There will definitely be photo shoots and more "selfie series" pictures. I love photography and am not planning on quitting any time soon.

Speaking of scribblings…

I have not yet made a plan for what I'm doing with This Name and Moment. What I had planned on being just a short, short book spliced into small chapters to give to you guys, has turned into an explosion of new plots and characters in my head. I would really love to take it to a new height, but at the same time I need to be focusing on several of my other writing goals. So, in other words, I've haven't got a concrete plan. If you're still interested in reading This Name and Moment please comment and tell me! I would really appreciate it. :-)

But, now that I'm not concentrating all of my fuel on This Name and Moment, I can be posting more poems and short stories and stuff. Which I'm super excited about. :D :D :D

Did somebody mention books??

Instead of doing an individual review for one or two books, I got the idea to just post a list of all of the  books I read that month, with short descriptions and my ratings. Also, if you guys can think of any books you would highly recommend, I would love to hear about them! One of my unofficial goals this year is to read a lot more, and for that, I need lots of suggestions! :-)

Well, there you have it. All my incredibly sloppy plans for this incredibly sloppy blog who does not deserve all of you amazing people. :-)

Haaaaaappppyyy 200000000001555555555!!!!!!!!!

~The Scribbler in the Attic

Photography Friday // 2014 Favorites

As a final ado to this incredible year, 2014, I've put together my favorite pictures. Hope you guys enjoy! And Happy New Year!

"Hope smiles form the threshold of the year to come, whispering, 'It will be happier.'" 

~Alfred Lord Tennyson

This is the last time I'll be posting in 2014. A very fond goodbye to all of you until the New Year. :)
~The Scribbler in the Attic

Monday Musings \\ Conclusions&Christmas&Coming Agains

Hello, everyone!

Well, my "treasure hunting" month is officially over for this blog. I had a lot of fun doing the various posts. Even though I didn't have the time to do all the ones I wanted, I still had a great time sharing my NaNoWriMo aspirations with you all.

Thank you for all your support! Stay tuned this next month for Christmas photography shoots. :) I don't believe I'll be able to get together This Name and Moment's next segment until the new year. (Anyone else get a shiver when they say 'new year'? ;D)

Hope you all have a great Monday!

~The Scribbler in the Attic

(P.s. I think I'll keep my map header up for a while. I like it a lot. :D :D :D )

Verbal Victory Dance!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Nun-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuuuuuuuuuuuuh!!!!!!!!!

Just thought I'd tell y'all that I FINISHED MY NANOWRIMO BOOK AND I'M NOT EXCITED AT ALL.

(I suffer from an extreme case of being sarcastic when I am really excited. Just fyi.)

Thank you all so much for your support! To those of you doing National Novel Writing Month, how is it going? I really hope you've enjoyed this month as much as I have!

Love,
~The Scribbler in the Attic

Photography Friday // Selfie Series - Tree-Hugger! (And Other Autumness)

I'm not sure myself...

Just as I was taking the last shots for this post, the clouds started scattering rain. I hurried to try and finish, but I realized the skies were going to burst any moment and decided to quit just before the nick of time. I packed up my camera and lenses, hopped on the ATV, and started for home just as the flash-downpour began. Driving home, I could barely see because of the rain, or breathe, because I was laughing so hard. 

So, obviously, once I got the ATV safely in the carport, I took more selfies. This time soaked and laughing way too hard. I think my crazy may have been showing.

I am so happy Autumn is here! 

~The Scribbler in the Attic

Monday Musings \\ Awkward & Awesome

I don't usually (never, actually) post Awkward&Awesomes, but apparently I had a very awkward week (okay, it was awesome too), and thought it might make a good post.

Yeah... I'm going to regret this. :P

Awkward:

• Running all the way down to your guest house in the your beat up truck to use the bathroom there, because at your own house your little brother is throwing up in the one and your sister is doing a health cleanse in the other.

• Going to a new gyro restaurant and not understanding the menu, so you just order soda. Then you see what your family got to eat and decide that's what you want, so you have to go and order again, and the employees there are literally hiding their smiles of amusement because you were stressing out so bad over it, and then you're mortified the rest of the meal.

• An entire lunch conversation centered around your dad guessing what obscure decoration your sister bought at Michaels, and him actually getting it right. (It was a giant Kelly-green clothespin.)

• Taking outfit pictures of your sister outside a cigar shop.

• Having to write an introductory speech for your speech class and realizing 70% of your life is spent reading books and watching movies and then geeking out about them.

• Writing an email chain back-and-forth in all caps and it feels like someone's been screaming in your ears for hours, so you walk around deaf the rest of the day for no good reason whatsoever.

• When your hair is so long that when you try to flip it over your shoulder at the dinner table, it falls in your food.

• Your family thinking you're goth when you wear a black T-shirts two days in a row.

• Your family buying a sauna and transporting it to your house via mattresses, quilts and a pig trailer behind your big white passenger van.

Awesome:

• This exchange at breakfast:

Emma: "Daniel (our neighbor) didn't get my pun yesterday about him spraying me with the bottle so often putting a damper on our friendship."
Daddy: "He totally mist that pun."
Emma: "Haha, yeah. And then I told him it was okay, it cooled things off.  And he said, 'Well, that's awkward.' And I'm like, 'Dude, I'm trying to make a pun here.'"
Me: "He should have just gone with the flow."
Daddy: "Stream of consciousness."
Me: "You were in too deep."
Emma (laughing hard): "This is why I love you guys."

• Getting a booth at a local fair to sell my jewelry.

• The first of the leaves turning red.

• Finishing writing the first half of your book... (!)

• Spotify. I did not know the extent of music streaming awesomeness until I got it.

• Starting school and not falling behind within in the first week. And not hating it. If it weren't for all the other stuff I have to get done in a very short amount of time, I would actually be enjoying it. My mom let me make my own schedule this year, and so now I get an hour of reading and an hour writing a day. :D :D :D

• Leather jackets. ATV's. Wide open fields. Good friends. And chicken-pot-pie.

What was awesome/awkward about your week? Seriously share, I love hearing from you guys! :)

Word,
~The Scribbler in the Attic

Writers' Wednesday || Part 15 - The Message (and new characters!)

Wow. Sorry this took so long to get up. I tried to take a really epic picture for it, but they were all pretty bad. 

Hope you guys like it! 

- Part 15 -

The Message

Above the raging ocean, Blood Castle clung to the mountain precipice, old seaweed and damp gorse oozing from the cracks like puss from a wound. The lightning storm was whipping the sea into a foamy torment, the skies black with clouds. Waves lapped at the salt-encrusted stone stairway in the mountainside that led up from the beach to the fortress. Lorena Blood took a deep breath of the salty air, metallic with the electricity from the storm.

She stood at the open window, the silky curtains she had drawn away rippling in the wind. This castle had been a rotting corpse of driftwood before she arrived. But she had fixed that. She had made it a great fortress once again. Now, the village people intoned its name like a curse. Lorena Blood had made a good life for herself here, despite that this place had been intended to be her punishment. But she would gain the Master's trust and respect back.

And if not that, at least her life.

The sound of footsteps made her turn around. She moved slowly, unconcerned. An agent stood with hands in his pockets, maddenly arrogant like every idiot Stallings turned into a soldier for the Master. He was younger than the others, which only added to his smug attitude. She took in his crew-cut black hair, impeccable suit and trenchcoat, his bright but slow eyes.

She waited for him to speak first. When their eyes met, the man seemed momentarily surprised. His gaze swept her face and body, nervousness flooding his expression. Lorena smiled. This poor sap must be new.

"Freyja," he finally managed. Lorena crossed her arms elegantly and waited. "I've brought you a message from Stallings."

Lorena held out a pale hand for the slip of paper, blood red nails like claws clicking as they brushed each other. The agent placed it in her fingers delicately. His hand was gloved. Lorena wondered sometimes how they didn't get hot under all that clothing.

Turning her back to the young man, she unfolded the paper and read the three words printed on it.

Ragnorak is here.

Lorena crushed the paper in her fist. Stretching her hand out the window, she watched the message flutter in the wind as it dropped towards the ocean.

"That's it?" she asked, in a half-whisper.

"Yes."

Striding to her desk, Lorena quickly scribbled a reply. "Give this to Stallings."

The man seemed to shrink away from her even while he came closer to receive the note she held. She smiled again, and the agent flinched. He practically grabbed the paper from her. Then he was gone.

Lorena Blood found herself laughing as the room was suddenly empty. She glanced at the giant mirror over the mantle of the crackling fireplace. Emerald eyes flashed back at her. Her white skin looked whiter in the stark dimness cast by the storm, her red lips like blood in the half-light. How incredible it was what beauty could do to a man when he was confronted face-to-face with it.

A sour feeling trickled into her stomach as her thoughts once again retured to Stalling's message.

Ragnarok is here.

"I suppose we shall meet soon," Lorena said, leaning against the windowsill, reveling in the seaspray on her face. "I'll be looking forward to it, Ragnarok. Whoever you are."

I always love feedback, so feed me back! :)

~The Scribbler in the Attic