Book Review: Our Intrepid Heroine by Ness Kingsley

I believe this is the first fantasy book I’ve read since Ashlee Willis’s The Word Changers… which, yes, I will be reviewing soon. I need to reread it first, though, since it’s been so long, and I might as well review this book while it’s fresh in my memory. 🙂

 This book was awesome. The prologue was wonderful… I’m not the type who skips over prologues, and I certainly would not skip over this one. I really liked Ness’s writing style.

When I began to read the first chapter, I was a little annoyed because the narrator kept interrupting the story, which made it take a while for the story to get started. But I really got to like the narrator and didn’t mind so much. She – I assume it’s a she – added some awesome irony and just helped add some extra zing to the story. Zing. What a fun word. Just like the story. 😀

Back on track. Our Intrepid Heroine (which is how I must refer to her) was a really good character. All of the characters were nice. “The Female” was appropriately annoying, I must say. 😉 But somehow I still liked her a little.

This plot… *sigh* Just the idea behind it was enough to pull me in. A girl going to kill a dragon… which she’s never done before. I could tell the story was going to be funny just by reading the summary. “And a frog” is now going to be my go-to funny line when listing things off. 😉 I was definitely not disappointed. Ness Kingsley has a wonderful sense of humor. The situations, the characters, the narrator, and Our Intrepid Heroine’s dragon-killing instruction book… all just wonderfully crafted. (And I’ve found myself referring to her book as the How To Kill Your Dragon book since I can’t remember the title. 😛 )

I can’t wait for the sequel to this book to come out! Go check out Ness’s blog, and go get Our Intrepid Heroine! You’ll love it, and it’s totally worth it! 🙂

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The Liebster Award (Again)

Helloooo, everyone! Sarahtps nominated me for the Liebster Award. And since I apparently have too much time on my hands (that was sarcasm…) I thought it would be fun to do this, before I forget.

The Rules:

1. Post the award on your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog.
3. Write 11 facts about yourself
4. Nominate 11 bloggers who you feel deserve this award and have less than 200 followers.
5. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter and ask your nominees 11 questions.

The Facts:

1. I have a thing about languages.
2. I am learning Russian on my own. (Thank you, Natasha Romanoff, for inspiring that…)
3. My physics lab partner knows Swahili, one of the guys in my class knows Latin, and one of the girls is learning German. So basically, including me, half of the class knows unusual languages.
4. I exercise mentally more than physically.
5. I actually kinda like math… *gasp* (Have I used this before? Oh well…)
6. I started reading Jane Eyre several months ago, got seven-ish chapters in, and haven’t touched it since then… Have any motivation for me to read it?
7. I actually liked Frankenstein.
8. I’m taking the SAT next weekend… *gulp*
9. I’m trying to get organized. (*laughs uncontrollably* Like that’ll work out…)
10. I have an extraordinary love for rewatching funny movie scenes and rereading funny quotes.
11. I have actually come up with eleven *hopefully* interesting facts.

Glad that’s over with! 😀 Now in answer to Sarah’s questions…

1. Is there a song you’re obsessed with right now? If so, what is it? In a way, if you count Colton Dixon’s Anchor CD as a song…

2. What would your dream house look like? It would either be a lonely cabin in the woods/mountains/mystical forest, or just a small, normal person house with a good view. As in, not NYC skyscrapers. Whatever it is, it would have a lot of bookshelves.

3. Where would it be located? Like I said, woods/mountains/mystical forest… Also Narnia/ASGARD!!!!!/picturesque countryside. Or England or Russia would work, too.

4. Have you ever read Howl’s Moving Castle? No, in fact.

5. What are you reading right now? (Or, if you’re not reading anything right now, what’s the next thing you plan on reading?) Technically, I’m reading several books, but some I’ve just kind of stopped. So… Raptor 6 by Ronie Kendig (My first of her books… it was free…), a book on plotting and writing, and then a kajillion school books.

6. What’s one book that you think EVERYONE should read? (Other than the Bible, of course.) The Chronicles of Narnia, as the seven book collection in one… 😛 But for just a single book, I think I’d have to say Antarctica: Journey to the Pole by Peter Lerangis, because, honestly, if you read this book, you just have to read the second one. 😛

7. Do you prefer headphones or earbuds? Earbuds. Because headphones make my ears sweaty, and I can’t just put one in.

8. What kind of headphones/earbuds do you have? As in, what design, or what style? Style-wise, I have the normal kind, and then the ones for exercising, which are awfully uncomfortable. But design wise… *smiles gleefully* I have ones that have crosses on them… and then red white and blue Captain America ones, of course…

9. What’s one quote you really want to find an excuse to use in conversation? Just one??? Grr… Either the Avengers’ “We’re a time bomb” quote or “So that’s what it does.” *blows up lab in physics* “So that’s what it does.”

10. How do you express excitement? If we’re talking about fandoms, then by possibly squealing or just overwhelming the people around me with chatter about said fandom. Other than that, I just get a big goofy grin on my face, I guess.

11. Are you glad to be done with these questions? Not really, I enjoy answering questions and being goofy. 😛

And now questions for my nominees:

1. Do you wanna build a snowman?
2. What is the craziest thing you’ve done during a game of hide-and-seek?
3. How many books do you have?
4. Writers, what’s the most useful piece of writing advice you’ve ever gotten?
5. Favorite type of fanfiction?
6. Which Avenger are you most like? (From the movie, not comic books)
7. Favorite Stan Lee cameo?
8. Favorite writing resource?
9. Do you have trouble staying organized?
10. Favorite school subject?
11. Favorite food/food combination others don’t like?

For this I nominate (less than 11, sorry)…

Victoria NightSky

Icedmocha34

Awkwardlyartistic

Deborah O’Carroll

Irisbloom5

Aspiringwriter22

Congratulations to all of you for being nominated and having awesome-r blog names than me. 😀

The Avengers: We Have A Tiger – Part Two

At the request of the amazing erinkenobi2893, I’ve decided to post this Avengers fan fiction I wrote a while back. It’s quite long (twenty-eight pages) so it’s going to be split into quite a few parts. I hope that you will all enjoy it!

*DISCLAIMER: This story is based off of the end of The Avengers. There are illusions to spoilers for said movie, so read with caution, but most are not major. Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, are not taken into account, and have not been watched by the author. That said, enjoy.

Part One

Tony Stark leaned back in his chair. “So you’re telling me that not only was there a tiger loose in the capitol, but Loki’s escaped from prison?” he asked. He looked around at the others, who nodded. “So Loki has a pet tiger.”

“This is not a joking matter,” Thor said, rubbing his hand absently along the edge of the desk. “Loki was sulking furiously when he was put in his cell. I believe that he means to exact revenge.”

“Let’s start there,” Banner broke in. “How did Loki even get out of prison?” Fury nodded in agreement.

Thor huffed. “We do not know. He was put in his cell, locked in. The only possible option for him to have escaped is for someone to have unlocked the cell and let him out.”

Clint frowned. “I thought you said that—”

“It is inconceivable,” Thor said quickly. “It is impossible for anyone to reach the cells without proper authority. And anyone who would set Loki free would not have the proper authority.”

Fury sighed. “The how is not important at the moment. Right now we should be more worried about the why. And, of course, the where. Where he is now, at least.”

“And again we must turn to the one wearing armor,” Stark muttered.

“Loki did not go out of his way to discuss his plans with me,” Thor said. “But I believe the most plausible reason for him to escape from prison would be to get revenge on us. That is all I can think of at the moment.”

Fury nodded. “We’ll continue to work on this. Any ideas—” Alarms sounded in the building, and everyone leaped to their feet.

“Unauthorized civilian on Level Six,” a mechanical voice repeated.

“We’re on Level Six,” Fury said. Stark ran out of the room, followed by the others, who watched him hurry toward the stairs.

“I’m going to get suited up,” Tony called back to them as he raced up the stairs.

Steve turned to the others. “Natasha, Clint, Banner, you guys stay in the room. We’ll let you know if we need you. Thor and I will try to find the intruder. Got it?”

The others nodded as the alarms continued to blare, and they ducked back into the office. Thor and Steve hurried down the hall, Thor clutching his hammer and Steve holding his shield ready. They turned down the hall and saw a very scared looking girl standing in the middle of the hallway. She was clearly not authorized personnel.

“What are you doing here?” Steve called, holding out his arm and stopping Thor. She started backing away, her blue eyes wide. Steve took one leap forward and grabbed her arm. The girl tried to pull away from him, but she couldn’t escape his grip. She stopped struggling suddenly and Steve turned to Thor. “Can you – oof!” he grunted as the girl slammed her knee into his stomach, causing him to double over. She took off for the stairs.

Thor flung his hammer after her, and she turned around just in time for it to slam into her stomach, sending her flying into the wall with a crash. Thor hurried over and picked up the hammer, and the girl’s fist soared around and connected with his cheekbone, making him stagger sideways. Cap’s shield flew towards her, slamming into her stomach and pushing her farther away from the stairs, but she quickly recovered and rushed to the stairs. She opened the door. Steve was about to yell for help when Tony stepped out of the stairway in his suit. His truly iron grip was secured around her wrists immediately. She didn’t even bother to struggle.

“Good timing, Stark,” Steve said, wiping his forehead.

“Is this seriously the intruder?” Stark asked, studying the girl. “I was expecting Loki.”

“As was I,” Thor agreed.

Steve shrugged. “She’s the only one we saw. She’s certainly not part of SHIELD.” He looked at the girl’s long blond hair and blue eyes.

“Who are you?” Stark asked. The girl’s mouth stayed clamped closed. “I’m surprised she managed to evade you two so well,” he added.

“Let’s take her to Fury,” Steve said. They led the girl down the hall, making sure she didn’t have the opportunity to escape, and took her into the meeting room. The others stood up.

Fury raised an eyebrow. “So, this is our intruder?” he asked. He turned to the girl. “What’s your name?” Her mouth stayed shut, although she seemed to be contemplating something.

“Maybe she’s mute,” Stark grumbled. “She hasn’t said a thing.”

“How’d you get past the guards? Why are you here?” Fury asked her. She still wouldn’t reply. “Are you working for Loki?” She snorted, but she didn’t say anything. Fury sighed. “Put her in a cell. We can—”

“Fury!” Maria Hill called, rushing into the room. “Stark Tower just blew up.”

“What?” Tony asked, the faceplate on his armor sliding back to reveal his shocked face. “How – what…” He turned to Fury. “I’ll go over and check it out.”

Fury nodded. “Cap, Banner, you two get an agent to take you over in one of the jets. Thor, take her to one of the cells.” Everyone hurried off to their tasks. Natasha and Clint stayed in their seats.

“What about us?” Natasha asked when the rest were gone.

“You two and Thor are going to work on interviewing that girl,” Fury replied. “I figured that the two of you would be better at interviewing her than any of the others. There’s also a possibility that Thor could get something out of her, although that’s highly unlikely.”

Hawkeye nodded. “Natasha, you can start. Maybe a girl-to-girl conversation will make her open up.”

Natasha made a face. “I don’t know about that, but I’ll definitely try.”

The Avengers: We Have A Tiger – Part One

At the request of the amazing erinkenobi2893, I’ve decided to post this Avengers fanfiction I wrote a while back. It’s quite long (twenty-eight pages) so it’s going to be split into quite a few parts. I hope that you will all enjoy it!

*DISCLAIMER: This story is based off of the end of The Avengers. There are illusions to spoilers for said movie, so read with caution, but most are not major. Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, are not taken into account, and have not been watched by the author. That said, enjoy. 😉

“You guys worked together very well,” Nick Fury stated. “I know some of your fellow Avengers are hard to get along with—” A snort came from Steve Roger’s direction, and Fury glared at him. “—but overall you worked great as a team.” A knock sounded at the door and Fury took his gaze off of the three people in his office. “Yes?” he asked, irritated.

A SHIELD agent poked his head into the room. “Director Fury, we’ve had some reports from some citizens—”

“Is the world about to be attacked?” Fury interrupted. A muffled laugh was heard, most likely from Natasha Romanoff. Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye, elbowed her.

“No, sir,” the agent replied. “Unless you count a loose tiger an attack on the world.”

Fury gave a half-grin. “SHIELD doesn’t do animals. Just psychopath people who want to rule the world.”

“We know someone like that,” the Black Widow muttered.

“Who, Stark?” Captain America asked, smirking.

“Very odd animal, though, sir,” the agent said. “It apparently ran through a butcher shop and didn’t give a second thought to the meat. It was too busy terrorizing the people. And the zoo says it’s not one of their tigers.”

Fury raised an eyebrow. “Really? That sounds… interesting.”

“Do you want us to check it out?” Hawkeye asked.

Fury shook his head and turned to the agent. “Have some agents do some checking around. Figure out what’s going on.” The agent nodded and left.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to investigate?” Steve asked.

“I don’t think it’s that important. You know how some people keep wild animals for pets and then release them when they become too much to handle. I’m sure it’s nothing,” Fury told him.

Natasha nodded. “Right.”

“Why didn’t the rest come to this meeting?” Steve asked Fury.

“It wasn’t mandatory. In fact, I didn’t even bother to talk to them. Dr. Banner decided to ‘remove himself from this environment’ again, back to India, I believe. Tony went back to his tower, and you know that Thor went back to Asgard.”

“So it’s just the three of us left,” Steve said.

“For now,” Fury replied. Another knock sounded on the door. “What is it this time?” he snapped.

A female SHIELD agent entered, her face red from running. “We tracked down that tiger, chased it down an alley, and then it just… disappeared.”

Fury raised an eyebrow. “Well. Have some agents looking out for it. For now, if it’s gone, I don’t think we need to worry.”

“We do need to worry,” a familiar voice said as the door opened.

“Thor?” Clint asked, surprised. “I thought you went back to Asgard.”

“As I did,” Thor replied, stepping into the room, his hammer in hand. “I bring unfortunate news. Loki has escaped from prison.”

Silence filled the room. Four pairs of eyes were fixed on Thor.

“Please tell me you just picked up some of Stark’s humor,” Steve said.

“I am afraid not,” Thor replied. He turned to Fury. “I believe we should gather the others.”

Fury nodded. “Right.” He pressed his finger to his earpiece. “Agent Hill, please contact Stark and Banner and have them come here immediately. No excuses.” He paused, listening. “If they protest, tell them Loki has gotten loose. That may get their attention.”

The Scribbler Award

Thanks so much to erinkenobi2893 for nominating me for the Scribbler Award! The rules are as follows…

1. Link to your favorite writing blog, share your favorite writing tip, or do both.
2. Pass the award along to up to five more people.

I follow so many amazing writers, that it’s hard to pick one as my favorite, but I guess I must. Or I can just share my favorite writing tip(s). Of course there is “write what you love” and “write what you know best” and “write something that you yourself would love to read”. And “use your story to change your readers”. Which I just made up. I’ll work on making that more eloquent. But I think as an absolute favorite writing tip, I’ll use this edited quote from Dori:

“Just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing, writing, writing…”

It’s okay, you can laugh. It’s also okay not to laugh. I know, I’m cheesy. And come to think of it, I just gave

And now for my five nominees…

Irisbloom5 – Her stories are awesome. And I can’t help it; here’s one of my favorites: Never Alone

Aul – He has a great perspective, and his character descriptions are really nice to read.

Icedmocha34 – She’s awesome, people. Just plain awesome. Check out her other blog, too: Quotes From The Coffee Shop.

The Ink Stain – This site has some great stories on it. Just be careful. Three chapters of one story are posted, and it leaves you hungry for more. 😉

Red Lettering – These posts are written pretty much for writers, by a writer. And they’re great. With everything from character/plot details to writing prompts to advice on writing itself, this is a great blog for writers. Check it out!

So here’s to all of my fellow writers. May your scribblings be exciting for both you and your readers.