She found herself
In a weird place
Where the idea of falling
Was scarier
Than that of losing someone
Had ever been
☼
©Christina de Vries
Month: February 2018
The Year of Adventures
I thought that 2017 was my year of traveling, but it seems like 2018 might be the year instead!
My traveling itch is growing and growing, and now I’ve already booked myself two trips within the next two months! And now that I know that there’s only three weeks left before I’m on a plane again, I get even more impatient! My passport is ready, my backpack is ready to be packed and now I just have to wait…
First trip goes to Amsterdam in March. I’m going to VidCon Europe and I’m also going to spend some quality time in the city I so frequently visited as a kid, but haven’t set foot in for about 17 years.
After that I’m headed to Bucharest! It’s always exciting to go to a place I’ve never been before. I’ve traveled to Romania before, but never Bucharest, so I’m excited to see what it has to offer.
I will be taking my camera along with me, as well as my mac, so there will be daily blogs while I’m traveling!
I’ve been doing daily posts since the beginning of January now, and I really like the flow of it. I hope you guys have enjoyed it so far as well! Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to explore while on these two holidays, or if there are any subjects you’d like to see me write about in general.
If things go the way I hope, then there will be even more traveling throughout the year of 2018, and I can’t wait to share the journey here with you all 💛
The Ending ● POEM
This is not
Where she left
This is where
She offered her hand
And he
Did not take it
☼
©Christina de Vries
Kickstart Your Writing
Sometimes when I sit down to write, I need a little bit help to get those creative juices flowing. Journaling helps, but what I often use to kickstart my writing are writing prompts. I have quite a few books with prompts that’ve helped me when I’ve felt uninspired to write.
Here are some of my favorties!
The Write-Brain by Bonnie Neubauer
This is one of my absolute favorites. It has so many different prompts and a very creative setup for you to write in the book. That way you can choose to fill it out as a sort of notebook, or you can take the ideas of the prompts and start writing digitally.
But this one has helped me out so many times when I’ve been feeling a bit stuck.
You can find The Write-Brain here 😊
A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words by Philip Sexton
This is also one that I frequently use. In this one you’ll find 110 image-driven story prompts.
I like to just flip the book open on a random page and use whatever picture that comes up and start writing what comes to mind when I look at it. Very effective and easy!
You can find A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words here 😊
The Five-Minute Writer by Margret Geraghty
This one has been a big help for me several times. Really quick and easy writing exercises.
I even borrowed this to one of my best friends who’s studying Norwegian at the moment and needed some help to get into writing again, so that writing assignments wouldn’t feel so overwhelming and hard to get started on.
From what I’ve heard, she’s really enjoying it so far!
You can find The Five-Minute Writer here😊
Let me know if you have any favorites of your own when it comes to books with writing exercises and prompts!
💛
❈❈ If you buy via my affiliate links, I get a small commission ❈❈
Starting Grateful
Lately I’ve been slowly working my way back into the good daily routines I used to have a few months back. It’s taking some time, but I’m definitely on the right track now. Getting up earlier, getting back into yoga, writing daily, dancing every morning and I have to say that this Saturday morning was almost a perfect one!
I got to bed before midnight yesterday (shocking, I know!), and because I didn’t have to set an alarm for today, I slept until 9 am and got myself a solid night of sleep before starting the day.
Got up and danced my way around in the living room to get the blood running. This is the song I morning danced to today:
Then I sat down in my tiny office and answered some YouTube comments, worked on a writing assignment and made som plans for next weeks posts.
After that I made some vegan pancakes, and coffee. Spoiled myself a little bit! It’s Saturday after all 😉 I posted the recipe for the vegan pancakes a while back. You can find it here 😊
And then I got back to a routine that I’ve really been missing lately; Gratitude journaling.
I used to do it every morning, but haven’t for what seems like forever. It’s such a wonderful way to start the day! It can change the whole outlook on a day, just starting it with gratitude! If you haven’t tried it before, then I highly recommend that you do so!
Now it’s time for some yoga! What are you up to this Saturday?
Wish you all a wonderful weekend!
Familiar Taste ● POEM
Sometimes I look for clues
At the bottom of my whisky glass
But all I find is the familiar taste of
The beginning of the end
☼
©Christina de Vries
The Mist by Stephen King ● NOVEL, TV SERIES and MOVIE
A Classic Problem
“You’re gonna love it!! It’s a classic!”
Sounds familiar?
I have an issue when it comes to classic literature. What is it? Well, I just rarely find myself loving them as much as other people do!
I’ve talked about a few of the classic pieces of literature I’ve read over the years, and how much I didn’t enjoy them. Saying this out loud can get a bit uncomfortable. Fellow bookworms are very passionate about the books that they love, and I totally get it! I get completely and utterly shocked when people don’t like Stephen King’s writing too! The difference is that I don’t give people crap about it!
We all like different things, and I have come to terms with the fact that I will never love Jane Eyre for instance. I’m not made for big grandiose classic love stories. I just don’t like them. I get bored, and crave other stories.
I’ve so many times when it comes to some of the classics, and I do find some that I like now and then. Often those are in the horror or science fiction genre, and for some odd reason, there are a lot of readers out there that does not look at the classic novels in those genres as equals to the romantic classics of Brontë, Shakespeare and Austen.
I fully respect the love other people have for books that I don’t like, and all I’m asking for is the same respect in return. I don’t want to be told the reason why I should give it another go, after trying the same novel three times. I’m happy to hear anyone’s thoughts and ideas around books though. I can talk about them for hours, both the loved and the disliked ones.
But to those of you who get’s angry or rude towards me, because I give an honest opinion;
Just don’t! You’re wasting your energy, and mine!
Feel free to love the books that you love, and I will do the same ❤️
That being said (or ranted about) I still like to give them a chance now and then, and one author that’s been recommended to me several times is Virginia Woolf. So I am going to give Mrs Dalloway a shot in the near future.
Wish me luck 😁
Still Waiting ● POEM
Heart in hand
She is still waiting
For the day his name
Will feel misplaced
On her lips
When other kisses
Will not be compared
To his
When the city presents
New beginnings
Not just reminders
Of the lost
For the time to come
When she can finally
Move on
☼
©Christina de Vries
The Child Thief by Brom 📚 BOOK REVIEW
I listened to an audiobook version of The Child Thief.
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperCollins
Originally published: August 25th, 2009
Pages: 496 (paperback)
Audiobook length: 19 Hrs and 40 Mins
Blurb by the publisher:
The acclaimed artist Brom brilliantly displays his multiple extraordinary talents in The Child Thief-a spellbinding re-imagining of the beloved Peter Pan story that carries readers through the perilous mist separating our world from the realm of Faerie. As Gregory Maguire did with his New York Times bestselling Wicked novels, Brom takes a classic children’s tale and turns it inside-out, painting a Neverland that, like Maguire’s Oz, is darker, richer, more complex than innocent world J.M. Barrie originally conceived. An ingeniously executed literary feat, illustrated with Brom’s sumptuous artwork, The Child Thief is contemporary fantasy at its finest-casting Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, even Captain Hook and his crew in a breathtaking new light.
☼
It's such a dark and sinister take on a story we all know so well!
My thoughts:
I remember watching the Disney adaptation of Peter Pan as a kid, and loving the magical idea of a world without adults. Somewhere where you could do whatever you wanted, to stay a playful kid forever, and go on adventures. And let’s not even get into the idea of being able to fly!!
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realise that pretty much every Disney adaptation of a story has roots from a much darker and more sinister story. That is the case with Peter Pan as well.
I fell in love with Brom’s writing when I read Krampus the Yule Lord. And when I heard of The Child Thief, I was immediately intrigued. I got it with one of my Audible credits and there has been no regrets!
The story follows Nick who is a kid that has fallen out a bit after his mom let a group of drug dealers move into their house. Nick steals a bag of drugs and decide that he’s running away from home. When the drug dealers come after him, he meets Peter who has a solution to all of his problems.
We then follow Nick as he ventures to Avalon together with Peter, and we immediately discover that the magical land we remember from the Disney movie is nothing like the Avalon that Brom presents to us.
They arrive at a magic place that’s been hidden by a cruel and sinister mist. The children that Peter has taken with him to Avalon are trained soldiers that has to fight dark magic and evil creatures. Nick feels betrayed and he’s questioning his thoughts about Peter and his gang.
Throughout the novel we also get to know the story of how Peter came to be the person that he is, and how he ended up in Avalon.
Brom paints a fantastic picture of a dark and scary world where kids are fighting for their lives. Evil creatures and magic are lurking around every corner, and when shit goes down, you’re not really sure who you can trust or who to root for.
The Child Thief was almost perfect! It had pretty much everything I desire in a dark fantasy story, the only thing that took away from its perfection was the fact that I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I was genuinely curious about what would happen to a lot of them, but I got no real emotional connection to them.
This could be just the timing of when I was reading it. I’m not really sure. And it could very well be that you would have a totally different experience with this novel.
But if you like fairytales and you like horror/fantasy, then I would highly recommend The Child Thief! It’s such a dark and sinister take on a story we all know so well!
Do you want to make up your own opinion about the book?
Click on the Book Depository or Amazon logo below to go and get your own copy!
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Christina de Vries 