Tawnni's Bookshelf 2

Howdy folks! I'm back with more of my favorites to share with you. Let's start things off with an old classic that's very dear to my heart.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas- D'Artagnan came to Paris to be a Musketeer. While in Paris, he falls in the "three inseparables" Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Together, they attempt to stop the villainous cardinal from advancing his own power.

To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker- After the gold on her father's ship is stolen by the ruthless pirate Crimson Kelly, Annalisa Towsend will stop at nothing to get it back and clear her father's name. When she comes across James Sterling, a castoff pirate from Crimson Kelly's ship, she decides to use him to get the gold back, but can she really trust a pirate?

Pillage by Obert Skye- Beck Philips has just moved his with his crazy uncle. Soon after, he finds a hidden conservatory behind his uncle's mansion and a hidden basement containing a record of a family line that learned to raise dragons to pillage towns. Maybe his uncle's not so crazy after all.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George- Creel's aunt decided to give her to the local dragon in hopes a handsome prince would rescue her. However, Creel talked her way out of the clutches of one dragon, even getting pair of slippers in the deal. Unfortunately, she finds her way into the lair of another dragon. And what's the deal with everyone being worked up about those slippers? (by the way, if you read this one, you're going to have to read the sequels.)

Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge- Mosca had to get out of her little town and Mr. Eponymous Clent is the perfect ticket to do so. It's not long before she realizes that Mr. Clent is not what he says. Now the two of them take off on an adventure to learn the mystery behind a floating school and an illegal printing press.

The Secret of Castle Cant by K. P. Bath- Lucy was maidservant to the Baron of Cant's daughter. Outside the castle, the chewing gum rebellion was at hand. Things only seem to worsen after the Baron dies of sickness and some claim that his daughter isn't the actual heir to the barony.

Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians by Mark Twain and Lee Nelson- In the novel that Twain never finished and Nelson did, Tom and Huck travel west to rescue two girls that were kidnapped by Indians. During their travels, they encounter the army, a Mormon wagon train, friendly Ute Indians, and trappers in a journey that takes Huck from Missouri all the way to California.

The Moor by Laurie R. King- In this more recent addition to my collection, we return to the scene set in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles." There have been recent reports of a ghastly carriage riding along the moor at night with a spectral hound running ahead of it. Now a local is missing. Sherlock Holmes thinks there's something going on. With his trusted partner and wife, Mary Russell, at his side they return to the moor to solve the mystery once and for all.

There you are. I've made my recommendations for summer reading. I hope you find one you love. I'm usually the one giving the suggestions, but do you have any suggestions for me? What are some of your favorite books?

Big Days Ahead

A couple of big days are coming up for me. Pegasus 2010, my school's literary magazine, comes out this Thursday, featuring two of my poems (The Jester King's Court and Open Eyes). There will be a reading after school that day and I'm super excited. June 5th is the annual Teen Writer's Conference in Ogden. Once again they're doing their writing contest and I'm entered in it. I came in 2nd last year and I'm eager to see how I do this year.

As for the editing of my novel, I've moved on to doing little nit picky edits, change a word here, reword a sentence there, add a paragraph over there. Unfortunately, the end of the tunnel is far away, but progress is progress no matter what speed.

And one more thing before I forget, Jessica Day George's new book "Princess of Glass" comes out on the 25th, that's only 8 short days away. She's amazing and you will absolutely adore her books. If you haven't read any of them before, there's still time before the 25th. You'll love 'em, I guarantee it.

Okay, that's all. Happy Writing!

Poetry for Non-poets

I don't know how many of you out there are like me and enjoy writing poetry in your spare time, but it's always a fun thing to try.
You don't want to make poetry writing too over complicated because then it would be work, not poetry. Which brings us to tip #1- keep it simple. Poetry doesn't have to be long and complex; sometimes short and simple gets the job done better. Don't over think things, just let it flow.

Tip #2- Style
The style is completely up to you. If you want it to rhyme, it can rhyme, but if you don't want it to, it doesn't have to. Just choose the length of stanzas you want to let the ideas come. It doesn't matter is the poem is serious or not. Silly poems are always fun to read. Your poetry should reflect your own personal style.

Tip#3- Inspiration
If you don't know what to right about, think about what inspires you in other parts of life. Whether it's nature, your family, those defining moments in life, or whatever it may be, odds are it will inspire your poetry too.

Tip#4-Rhythm
Rhythm is always a great thing to add to poetry. It makes it more fun to read aloud and it can contribute greatly to the poem. Take Edgar Allan Poe's "The Bells." This poem has a certain rhythm that almost sounds like bells. Rhythm, it's a fun little thing, go wild with it.

Tip#5- Word Choice
One small caution: be careful not to use the same word(s) over and over again. It makes a poem sound too repetitive. The only exception to this rule is when you are using parallelism, a method of using a similar, repeating style or phrase in a poem, but only during this.

To be honest, there really is no right or wrong way to right a poem. I probably should have said that at the beginning. It would you saved you a lot of reading and me a lot of writing. Oh well. Maybe next time.