The Books I Enjoyed in 2019

Hello readers!

I feel a little strange sitting down to put together a blog post that is not a review post – I have definitely drifted away from blogging consistantly this past year, and I apologize. Life is like that though; it changes and flows and you kind of just have to go along with it.

The end of 2019 didn’t go exactly as I had planned. I always look forward to putting together a nice, organized list of favorite books, taking pictures of them, with the hope of sharing on my blog here as well as my instagram (@vikinglady10). But I’ve had some more health struggles, and my pain has kept me from doing much of anything. Except reading. I have been reading still. ;) Thankful for that.

So while I don’t have a nive and pretty organized Top Ten Reads or pictures or anything like that, I did make a list of the books I definitely enjoyed in 2019. It’s long, and I’m okay with that. I mean, can one ever get tired of good reads? I don’t think so.

I’ll probably copy and paste the cover pictures in, since that’s easier than taking a photo myself.

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According to Goodreads, I read 23,809 pages across 80 books. My goal was 75, so I was very excited to top that goal. Someday I’d like to reach 100, but I’m making my 2020 goal 80. We’ll rise slowly. ^.^

 

 

 

I also vastly enjoyed:

The Songbird and the Spy by J’nell Ciesielski

Weddings, Willows, and Revised Expectations

Dance With Me by A.M. Heath

Midnight on the River Grey by Abigail Wilson

Cross My Heart by Robin Lee Hatcher

Cameo Courtships by a collection of authors including Debra Marvin

A Glitter of Gold by Liz Johnson

Underestimating Miss Cecilia by Carolyn Miller

Deadly Intentions by Lisa Harris

The Yellow Lantern by Angie Dicken

The Gray Chamber by Grace Hitchcock

Bella At Midnight by Diane Stanley

The Heir of Ariad by Niki Florica

The Perfect Christmas by Bell Renshaw

Like a Winter Snow by Lindsay Harrell

 

and SO many others that would take too long to name. Bravo to you if you’ve actually read this whole list. I realize I am more so putting this together for my own personal reflection XD

I’d love to hear what books you enjoyed in 2019! I’m looking forward to many more books to come in 2020.

(you can find my reviews for these titles on goodreads – my username there is also vikinglady10)

It’s that time of the year //2018//

 

Another year has somehow sped behind us! As I’m quite sure everyone with agree with and say themselves, it feels like we just welcomed 2018, but here we are at the close of it, 2019 on its heals.

As every year, 2018 has been full, with highs and lows, adventures and troubles, blessings and trials. And it has all grown us.  I praise God for all He’s taught me this year, even though it meant a lot of rough patches.

Life preceded over blogging this year…I had some good several months there where I did author interviews and character spotlights each month which was really loads of fun and I enjoyed it so much. But as the rest of the year continued, time slipped away and I wasn’t able to organize blog posts as well. Computer problems never help with blogging either, and we had our fair share of that this past year too.

 

Of the author interviews, there were 7 total:

 

 

 

 

And 8 character introduction posts:

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books! What would a yearly wrap-up be without books? At least coming from me ;) At the beginning of 2018 I had hoped I’d be able to read 80 books, but knew that was probably a bit unrealistic, so I lowered it to 75. Then half the year went by and I realized I might not be able to make that goal either, so down to 70 it went. I didn’t want the goal to become a stresser, because reading is a very pleasurable thing, not a drag. I made that goal, and ended up making my previous goal too. I read a total of 77 books in 2018, equaling 20,293 pages, approximately. Goodreads kept track of it all for me, in addition to my book-notebook that I keep. If you wanted a more in-depth look at the books I read, you can check my goodreads wrap up here. :)

And as I always attempt to do, I have selected some of my favorite reads of 2018! That was a mighty hard task though, let me tell you. I love all de books. <3

And as last year, I have chosen my Top Twelve instead of ten or less, because that is just not realistic for me. ;) So without further ado…. My Top Twelve.

 

 

Twelve beautiful books – And yes, I realize that there are only eleven in the picture. That would be because the 12th is an ebook :)  You can click on the titles below and they will lead you to my reviews of each one.

 

“The Masterpiece” by Francine Rivers

“Thief of Corinth” by Tessa Afshar

“An Hour Unspent” by Roseanna M. White

“A Light on the Hill” by Connilyn Cossette

“The Sea Before Us” by Sarah Sundin

“A Rumored Fortune” by Joanna Davidson Politano

“Storm Front” by Susan May Warren

“The Heart Between Us” by Lindsay Harrel

“Isaiah’s Daughter” by Mesu Andrews

“The Hunter and the Valley of Death” by Brennan McPhearson

“If Only It Were Yesterday” by A.M. Heath

“Through a Glass Darkly” by Jack Lewis Baillot

 

 

Annnnd because I am who I am, I have made an Honorable Mentions List. AND a very short list for my favorite short stories of the year :)

 

Honorable Mentions:

 

“A Sparkle of Silver” by Liz Johnson

“A Song Unheard” by Roseanna M. White

“A Promise to Break” by Kathlyn Spurgeon

“Picking Daisy” by Valerie Howard

“Escape and Endurance” by Sarah Holman

“Shelter of the Most High” by Connilyn Cossette

“The Writing Desk” by Rachel Hauck

“The Reckoning of Gossamer Pond” by Jaime Jo Wright

 

 

Novella’s:

 

“Finding The Magic” by Jack Lewis Baillot

“Shot at Love” by Sarah Loudin Thomas

“A Heart So Tender” by Debra E. Marvin

 

 

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And that wraps up the year! Well, it wraps up this blog post. ;)  Happy New Year, readers!! And THANK YOU for being a follower of my blog. It really does bless my heart, and even though I’m rather bad at posting frequently, I do appreciate each and every one of you! <3

Get To Know Me Tag//Writers Edition

Top o’ the morning to ye! I shall preface this post by saying that technically today I should be posting a devotional-type post. But I’m not. And the reason behind this is, shocker, I didn’t get one written this past week. It was a bit too busy, and this last weekend here (as in yesterday, and Saturday) was our local rendezvous-reenactment thing which my family and I volunteer at. It’s such great fun. :) But yes, anywho! Instead of a devo post, today I have a Tag! And those are always fun, are they not? Marrok MacIntyre tagged me for this one, and so now I shall proceed with the answering! Thanks, M!

 

 

 

Rules:

– Link back to the person who created the tag (Created by Savannah from Inspiring Writes)
– Thank the person who tagged you (Danke, thankee, merci, and all those thank you’s to Marrok MacIntyre)
– Share the tag graphic (optional)

– Tag eleven bloggers

Vital Stats and Appearance:

Name:

Raechel. It’s like Rachel only with an extra ‘e’ because that’s cool, and my parents wanted to call be ‘Rae’. :)

Nicknames:

Rae, of course, is one. Then there’s…Ren, Doda (means aunt in Hebrew ^.^),  and then some nicknames only my family uses…XD One of which is Pony. Yes, you read that right, but only a select few get to call me that (namely, my mom ^.^). :D

Birthday:

It’s coming up actually…in October. Which is one of my favourite months so that’s lovely. :)

Hair color and length:

Brunette. I don’t know what else to say about that. XD I was born a bald baby, finally got some blonde hair, which darkened when I was about 7 or so and it was a light golden brown for quite some time, but in later years, it has grown darker, so now it’s a medium brown. :D As for length…it’s actually almost to my hips finally! I had cut it a year or two ago and I was afraid it wasn’t going to grow back like it used to, but it has. :)

Eye color:

Hmm…a mix between green and hazel. More green than hazel, but they’re not bright or vibrant green.

Braces/Piercings:

I’m thankful to say I never had braces. As for piercings…I did have my ears pierced when I was around 12 but promptly let them close up because they got infected and I didn’t like them. XD

Righty or Lefty?

Right handed for sure. I can do things with my left (including throwing knives/tomahawks – “There is something you do not know – I am not left handed!”), but my right hand is my predominate hand.

Ethnicity:

A mix of things, really. I’m American, but from heritage I’m a great deal of Polish, some Scottish and Irish, and really, who knows what else. ^.^

Firsts:

First novel ever written:

Eeek…I think that would be a story about a girl and a cat who lived in a tree together. Yeah, I was probably 10, and I loved cats. ;) A serious story I worked a lot on…well it never got a title, sadly, but the main character was named Bella and I even drew a sketch of her. She was pretty cute. ^.^

First Novel Completed:

My Beauty and the Beast retelling! Followed shortly after the novel of my heart which took 4 years to complete. My B&tB story has been through one round of edits but I have left it languishing because I hate editing.

Award for Writing:

Um…nothing? I wrote a paragraph to a story prompt contest and won that, but that wasn’t really an award. Maybe someday!

First Publication:

Nada, Nothing, Zip. ;) I posted some short stories on my blog here a year or two ago, so maybe that could count.

Conference:

Pretty much “see above” for answer. I have not been to any writing conferences sadly.

Query/Pitch:

Again, haven’t done this yet. I’m nervous about if/when I do though because I’m not that good at talking. At all.

Favourites:

 

Novel (that you wrote):

Hard question. Probably my story-of-my-heart because while I haven’t returned to that one yet (I hope to though!!), I poured so much of myself and what I was going through at the time into that novel. It’s very dear to me. <3

Genre:

To write or read? I’m guessing writing since that’s the theme of this tag. I love writing fantasy and contemporary pretty equally. And when I say fantasy, I mean Kingdom-Fantasy, without magic, and a sort of medieval feel to it. Two of my novels are that way. Two are contemporary. So, equally. :)

Author:

I don’t like this question XD I’ll have to list a few because I can’t narrow it down to just one!! Tessa Afshar, Chuck Black, MacKenzie Morganthal, and J.A. Marx.

Writing Music:

I don’t listen to music while I write. It distracts me too much. There was ONE song I could listen to while writing the beginning stages of my current WIP and that was, weirdly, “Mr. Webster” by The Monkees. It’s a weird song, and has absolutely NOTHING to do with my story, so I’m not even sure how that worked.

Time to Write:

Once upon a time I would’ve said right away in the morning, but now it’s more later morning or later afternoon. Not late night though because no. Just no.

Movie:

Okay, what’s with these hard questions? I’m not a huge tv watcher as it is, but I have several favourite movies. Wives and Daughters, North and South, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Greatest Showman. There, I narrowed it down.

Writing Memory:

Completing my 4-year story. That was a huge accomplishment for me and I actually wept a little because it was such a big thing.

Childhood Book:

It was a sweet little book called “If You Were My Bunny” by Kate McMullan. Mum read this one to be so many times. ^.^  “If you were my bunny and I were your mama, I’d pick you out from all the other bunnies and nestle you beside me…” So cute. XD

Currently:

Reading:

Well, I’m actually writing this post ahead of time so I can schedule it due to a busy weekend before this posts, so what I am reading right now is probably not what I’ll be reading when this posts. On this day, I am just about to finish “A Rumored Fortune” by Joanna Davidson Politano (it’s really good!), but next up I will be reading “If Only It Were Yesterday” by A.M. Heath.

Writing:

Two things…my contemporary story with my main character who is socially awkward and so much like me. And then another contemporary story that I am co-writing with MacKenzie Morganthal. It is a lovely story involving books, coffee, German accents, and more. ^.^

Listening to:

Nothing at the moment. The cd currently in my Crossley record-player/cd player  upstairs that I listen to when in my room is “Rubber Soul” by The Beatles. Mmhm, I do in fact listen to the Beatles, but only some of their music. I’m picky about which ones.

Learning:

Contentment! I’m actually hoping to write a post about it but we’ll see how that turns out. :)

Future:

Want to publish:

Absolutely I do! That has been a goal for sooooo long. But it’s completely in the Lord’s hands and He keeps having me wait. But I certainly hope to be published at some point. <3

Wildest Goal:

Being published. ;) What else? It’s still very much in my heart to be a missionary, and also adopt.

Another wild goal that I haven’t really voiced much of yet…I’d like to be a personal assistant. Not sure if or how that will ever happen, but it’s been on my mind a lot. :) Leaving it all in God’s capable hands!

And now, the tagging time. Dun, dun, DUN!

To be honest, I’m not even sure my humble little blog here has eleven followers that would want to be tagged. Sure, I can think of a couple, but eleven is a rather large number when it comes to tagging. So! If you are reading this tag, if you follow this blog, you are hereby tagged, and you must let me know in the comments if you do this tag because I want to read your answers. :)

 

The First Book You’ve Ever Read Challenge

Hello readers! Marrok McIntyre created a tag-like challenge about the first book you’ve ever read that also inspired you to become a writer. In his words, “I thought it would be a pretty cool idea if we writers would share what originally inspired us to pursue this path of artist expression.”

 

Quite a fun idea, so lets get started!

 

 

 

The rules are simple

• Challenge at least 1 person
• Share what was the first book you’ve ever read
• Why you read it in the first place
• How did it inspire you to become a writer

 

 

 

Okay, so the first book I ever read.

Well, this may be hard to believe, but I actually hated reading at first. I know. But I did. I resisted it for quite a while. I didn’t want to learn, I didn’t like it, and I didn’t want to. I’ve always been a little envious of others who could say they loved reading from the get-go. Especially since reading is now one of my biggest hobbies. But, alas, it was not so for me. I remember how hard my Mum tried to get me to read. My older sister was one who loved reading right away. But not me. I liked The Bob Books that helped teach us to read, but only a little. I liked them in the way that they were entertaining, but the struggle to learn the words was aggravating.

So what switched me on reading? Well, again, I wish I could say that it was some amazing book. But it was…

Yep. SpongeBob. I now realize it wasn’t even the first book in the series. I just remember sitting down at my sister’s bookshelf, wondering why she liked reading so much. I picked this one out (wish I could remember my motivation for this choice particularly!) and realized, “Hm, this is actually…enjoyable. The story isn’t boring,” and that was it, so to speak. Now, I don’t think I took off reading like a mad-man at that point, but it was my start. I realized that books took you on great adventures. Even silly ones. ^.^

However, I don’t think I really began wanting to write until I read this book:

I don’t remember much about the book, other than the thought of “I want to write a story too”. So I did, and it was basically a carbon copy of this book, with different characters. XD I don’t believe I finished it either.

But once I started writing, I found that I liked. For a while most of my writing energy was poured into journals (I had discovered “Amelia’s Notebook” series, and the Dear America series coincidentally) as I processed life. Then I eventually came upon another book that boosted my desire to write, and since then I haven’t looked back. Well, I mean, I’m looking back right now, but I think you know what I mean. ;)

The book that made me want to write more was:

That was at about 12/13, and I reread it several times. It’s been several years since I read it, but I hold it in fond remembrance for being the book that I loved to read the most and what made me want to write more. And as for the motivation of why it made me want to write in ernest…well, it was creative, and captivating, and I loved how it transported me to a new world, to new things. I wanted to be able to do that too.

So, there you have it! A too-long posts about books from a now-book-lover who was once a book-hater! Sometimes I forget that I didn’t always love to read and I wonder how anyone couldn’t like it, but all I have to do is remember. And know that everyone is different. My younger sister has never been a fan, and that’s okay. She’s started to enjoy it a bit more now, but as more of a side-hobby.

So I’m more understanding now that I might’ve been before.

And I do really love books now. Really, really love books. ;)

Now, I hearby challenge, should they accept:

Faith P. at Stories by Firefly!

Soleil at Thoughts from a Daughter of God

And I’d love to also challenge my bestie, author MacKenzie Morganthal, but she does not have a blog. However, I would like to know your answer, Ken… :D ;)

And that is that. Hope you all enjoyed reading, and if you were not challenged and would like to be, consider yourself challenged and please let me know when you post, because I’d love to read it!

Bucket List

 

 

On this fine Monday, I thought I would take a page from “The Heart Between Us” by Lindsay Harrel, and share my own sort of Bucket List. I’ve never actually really made one before, but I thought it might make a rather fun blog post. ^.^ So, enjoy reading some things I would like to do one day! In no particular order. :) And if you feel so inspired, please do share your own bucket list either in the comments or in your own blog post and share the link with me – I’d love to read it!

 

 

 

Raechel’s Bucket List

 

 

Publish a Book

Meet my best friend for the first time

Get married/raise children

Visit India and experience life there (and buy a sari :) )

Have my own personal library

Visit Russia, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Scotland, just because these are all amazing places

Attend an old-fashioned ball

Ride on a train

Explore a castle in Ireland

 

Own and ride a dragon ;)

 

 

 

 

So, obviously that is only a small list, but given more time I’m certain I could name a few more things I want to do.  In on odd way, I’m not a huge future-planner. I like day-to-day plans, but for the future…it’s not something I think of much. I figure that what will happen, will happen. It’s in God’s hands. :) But it is fun to dream isn’t it?

 

 

 

 

(In case you missed it, I interviewed Lindsay Harrel at the beginning of this month, and shared a character introduction for one of her characters, as well as reviewed the book. You can check those out here: Interview   Character Introduction   Review  )

 

 

 

Thanks for reading! Are any of my items on your own bucket list? :)

A Belated Holiday Tag

Hello! How has everyone’s New Year been so far? Still dancing in the excitement of a fresh year, or has that worn off a little for you? Regardless of the sparkle and pop of the new year, this time of year is a favourite time for me – I love Winter. After the holidays are over, I know a lot of people feel that Winter can move on, but I love finding the quiet and peace that so often accompanies this time of year. Life (usually) slows down even just a little bit, and the bitter temperatures force one to stay inside their (hopefully) cozy homes. This year, for us, has still been a bit busy, but I am hoping for some quietness to commence before Spring arrives with all its gardening needs… ^.^

So, the reason for this post: Ry over at Life on a Farm With God tagged me for this Holiday ‘Tag’. So, thank you Ry! I am a bit late in finally getting around to it, but hey, better late than never, right? Onward and forward… :)

 

What was your favorite gift you received this year?

That would probably have to be either a pillow I got that says “Save the Texas Prairie Chickens” with a TPC on it (it’s a reference to one of my favourite shows…), or my FABULOUS Michael Nesmith Tshirt that looks like this:

It’s the cover of one of his album’s made out of the lyrics from one of his songs. I, personally, love it. XD

What was your favorite gift you gave this year?

Hmmm, maybe the sequin-pillow I gave my sister…

What was the craziest or weirdest gift you gave this year?

Hehe, well, probably a container shaped like a lightbulb filled with quotes from the tv show “MacGyver” for my kindred spirit. :)

What is your favorite Christmas scent?

Maybe Pine…though I like that all year round.

What is the one sacred tradition you did to celebrate New Years Eve and how does it make it special?

Umm…well, I don’t really have one of these. I’m not a night owl at all, and with having animal chores to do morning and night, I don’t stay up late, like, ever. I think I’ve stayed up till midnight for New Years Eve once or twice….but it’s not a habit I keep. Sorry. :P

Do you like New Years or Christmas better?  Why?

I’m going to ‘break the mold’ again here I guess…we don’t actually celebrate Christmas (we celebrate Jesus’ birth, but we do that in the Fall, during the Feast of Tabernacles, which is when He came to ‘tabernacle’ with us – live in us. And we celebrate the Winter Feast, The Feast of Dedication.) So, I’m going to alter this question a little, and answer it by saying: The Feast of Dedication is my favourite, but I do like the ‘fresh-ness’ that comes with the New Year. :)

What is one movie you like to watch during Christmastime/ New Years??

“While You Were Sleeping” is a favourite movie of mine, and we almost always watch “Elf” this time of year too. :)

Did you watch the new star wars movie? If so what was your favorite part?

No, I didn’t. I haven’t seen any of the star wars movies….

Lastly, what was your favorite joke you read between Christmas and New Years??

Oh golly….while I might’ve heard a good joke during this time, I can’t call to mind any….so I’ll just share a funny thing from Pinterest:

:D

Sooooo, I guess that’s it! As for who I tag: You. :)

Indie Christian Book Blog Tour! Sale & Giveaway!

 

It’s that time of year. The time for buying presents, making wish lists, and planning New Year’s Resolutions. If any of those activities involve books for you (which, come one, I hope they do!), Indie Christian Books has a perfect event for you.

 

Like most other bookdragons, great books easily make their way onto my “things I’m thankful for” list every year. It’s hard to choose favorites (in other words: rather impossible), but  I painstakingly  picked five books I read in 2017 that I am thankful for. But know that I will have a bigger list of favourite reads coming towards the end of 2017/beginning of 2018, as usual! Because I can’t keep it to just five favourites. :D For now, though, here are five that I am thankful for:

 

• “Everything’s Coming Up, Josey!” by Susan May Warren: I’m thankful for this book because it was the first book that introduced me to SMW’s writing and got me hooked. And it was adorable, funny, annnd set in MN/Russia. :)
• “Destiny Defended” by J.A. Marx: Thankful for this one because it was the last book in the series, and I was so excited to see how it ended! I love J.A. Marx’s books! They’re deep, enjoyable, and God-centered.
• “Bread of Angels” by Tessa Afshar: I’m always thankful for a new Tessa Afshar book! Her Biblical Fiction is some of the VERY best there is, and I’m always deeply touched by her novels. This was no exception!
• “Out of the Dark” by MacKenzie Morganthal: I’m thankful for this book because it was the long-awaited sequel to “Not Abandoned”, and the author happens to be my kindred spirit. :) This is an amazing, beautiful book!
• “Lady Jayne Disappears” by Joanna Davidson Politano: Thankful for this book because it was a spectacular debut novel, one that keeps you enraptured, and it was so… bookish! Absolutely delightful.

 

 

And because I may be a rule breaker when it comes to books, one of my favourite NON-Fiction reads was:

“Daring to Hope” by Katie Davis Majors, and I’m thankful for it because it is so encouraging and inspiring. Very touching. 

So, there’s my list! I had to leave out a couple, but as I mentioned, I will be creating a more extensive list come December/January!

 

And I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to another great year of reading! Speaking of more reading, here’s one more thing to be grateful for. Books on sale! In honor of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a group of independent Christian authors has banded together to offer a huge selection of discounted books between Nov 24th and 30th. There’s literally something for everyone.

 

On November 24th, the Indie Christian Books website (http://www.indiechristianbooks.com) will go live. Every single book listed will be on sale in one or more ways. Find discounted paperbacks, dozens of books offered with free shipping, $0.99 ebooks,package deals and more. Even if you have a budget of $0, new reading material awaits you. When you purchase a paperback book through indiechristianbooks.com you’ll be eligible to enter an exclusive giveaway including free books and an Amazon gift card!

And speaking of giveaways, there’s another fun giveaway connected to this blog tour, so please be sure to enter that!!

ENTER HERE!

There are quite a few bloggers participating in this blog tour, so be sure to visit them (links in the giveaway widget) too! This event promises to be lots of fun. :)

(Here’s a link to the list of supporters for ICB – it should be live on the 24th: http://www.indiechristianbooks.com/supporters/)

 

 

You can meet our authors by visiting the Author Database on the website. Want to get to know the authors better AND have the chance to win some fun prizes? We’d love to have you join our week long Facebook party which will feature 39 authors over 7 days.

 

What awesome reads of 2016 are you grateful for? What books are you looking forward to reading in 2017?

 

A note on the Ebooks Only page. Many of the books are listed as “Sold Out.” This is because we aren’t selling those directly through our site. Please click onto the product pages to find descriptions and links to discounted or free ebooks.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Leah E. Good and Kendra E. Ardnek for their work organizing this sale, and Hannah Mills for her fantastic design work on the website graphics. Hannah can be contacted at hmills(at)omorecollege(dot)edu for more information about her design services.

 

A couple Blog Tags

Hello, and happy Sunday Morning!

I thought, since I have a few moments for once, I would do a couple blog tags – because those are always fun, aren’t they? The first one I saw on facebook, but I didn’t want to post it there, so I thought why not bring it here. And the second tag is from Marrock’s blog, where he tagged whomever wished to do it. Granted that was a couple weeks ago, but I’m assuming the open-invitation is still valid. ;) So, here we go…

 

 

1. Who are you named after? Both my first and middle name are family names. :)
2. Last time you cried? Last night.
3. Do you like your handwriting? It’s okay.
4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Turkey.
5. Longest relationship? My parents and siblings. :D
6. Do you still have your tonsils? I do not.
7. Would you bungee jump? Goodness, no.
8. Favorite kind of cereal? Organic Honey-nut-O’s.
9. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Nope.
10. Favorite Ice cream? Vanilla. I do love vanilla mint chip though, too.
11. What is the first thing you notice about a person? Um…Their face maybe?
12. Football or baseball? Baseball I guess, though I don’t watch either.
13. What color pants are you wearing? Varous coloured-striped pj pants. XD
14. Last thing you ate? A bowl of cereal last night.
15. What are you listening to right now? Birds singing outside the window.
16. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Hot pink.
17. What is your Favorite smell? Books!
18. Last Person you talked to on the phone? …..I have to think about this one…My brother-in-law, I believe (though I didn’t really talk to him, just answered the phone..)
19. Married? Nope.
20. Hair color? Brown
21. Eye color? A mix between green and hazel, with copper specks.
22. Favorite foods to eat? Chocolate. Cheeseburgers. Pizza. Chocolate. ;)
23. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy Endings most definitely.
24. Last movie you watched? As in a movie-movie, or would a tv show count? Last tv show would be The Monkees, and last movie would be… “The Minions” I think.
25. Favorite color? Hot pink. Army green.
26. Favorite Holiday? Hanukkah.
27. Beer or Wine? Um, neither? I’ve never had beer, and I don’t like wine.
28. Night owl or morning person? Morning person
29. Favorite day of the week? Saturdays because they’re our rest days, and Sunday’s because I like watching a couple shows that are on as a family. I also like Mondays because the mail comes. ;)
30. Favorite season? WINTER! I even sang a song about it last night. Not that I’ll share that, but yes, I love Winter. Fall is a close second though!

 

 
1.Why did you start blogging? Well, I was 11, and it sounded like fun. Thankfully, my blog has changed, grown, and matured since then (and I actually don’t have the same blog as I did when I was 11, just to note that. This one is from when I was 14. ^.^).
2. How did you come up with the title of your blog? De Bible. Love that verse about being God’s Peculiar Treasures!
3. What’s your favorite thing about blogging? The community, the friendships.
4. Are your novels usually plot driven, or character driven? Character driven, I think. I can be both, but characters are probably my main focus.
5. Have you ever thought that the movie was better than the book? Hmm… good question. I haven’t actually read a ton of books that get turned into movies, so I guess I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll say “How to Train Your Dragon” – because, while I do *adore* the books, the movie is quite different, but one of my most favourites.
6. Of the four Pevensie children from the Chronicles of Narnia, which do you relate to the most? Lucy. I’m also the same age as the actress in the movie, and growing up, I was always told I looked just like her, which was fun. ^.^
7. What is your favorite fandom(s)? “Are you ready for this?!” (quote from a tv series screentest…*cough*).

 

Okay, so you probably get the gist, though I could go on. Their show is the greatest, and their music is fantastic too. No, they are not a “boy band”. Yes, they are better than “The Beatles”.

Another “fandom” favourite of mine:

I mean, ahh! So cute!
8. What is your favorite genre to read? A lot? Probably Biblical Fiction at the top. But I enjoy so many others too. :)
9. What do you do more than the other, writing or reading? Reading. While I adore writing, I don’t do it near as much as reading.
10. How do you rate a book? 5 Star system. 5 = I absolutely adored it, 4= it was a very good read, 3= it was good, not super, but good, 2= I didn’t like it, 1= I hated it.
11. Who is your favorite author, and what is the first question you would ask them if you could? Tessa Afshar, Chuck Black, Stephanie Landsem…I could go on. And I don’t know if I could come up with actual questions if I met them. I’d probably just rave about how much I love their books! I might ask about their writing-process…

 

 

And that’s all! If any of you would like to do either of these tags, please feel free to! I won’t tag anyone because I know Summer is a busy time of year, so if you can fit it in and want to do it, go for it! If not, no biggie. Let me know if you do though, so I can read your answers. :)

 

 

 

Questions:

1. Who are you named after?  
2. Last time you cried? 
3. Do you like your handwriting? 
4. What is your favorite lunch meat?
5. Longest relationship?
6. Do you still have your tonsils?
7. Would you bungee jump?
8. Favorite kind of cereal?
9. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
10. Favorite Ice cream?
11. What is the first thing you notice about a person?
12. Football or baseball?
13. What color pants are you wearing?
14. Last thing you ate?
15. What are you listening to right now?
16. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
17. What is your Favorite smell?
18. Last Person you talked to on the phone?
19. Married?
20. Hair color?
21. Eye color?
22. Favorite foods to eat?
23. Scary movies or happy endings?
24. Last movie you watched?
25. Favorite color? .
26. Favorite Holiday?
27. Beer or Wine?
28. Night owl or morning person?
29. Favorite day of the week?
30. Favorite season?

 

 
1.Why did you start blogging? 
2. How did you come up with the title of your blog?
3. What’s your favorite thing about blogging?
4. Are your novels usually plot driven, or character driven?
5. Have you ever thought that the movie was better than the book? If so, what movie/book was it?
6. Of the four Pevensie children from the Chronicles of Narnia, which do you relate to the most?
7. What is your favorite fandom(s)?
8. What is your favorite genre to read?
9. What do you do more than the other, writing or reading?
10. How do you rate a book?
11. Who is your favorite author, and what is the first question you would ask them if you could?

It’s Show Time

Hello :)

Faith P. at Stories by Firefly! tagged me for the It’s Show Time tag! So, I shall do that. :) Thanks Faith!

 

1.Who’s your favorite actors? 

Hmm…I’m not sure I have super favourite actors/actresses…there are some I like, but otherwise…I can at least say Richard Armitage with confidence. In “North and South”. Haven’t actually watched him in much else. But him as Mr. Thornton is amazing.

 

2.Who’s your favorite actress?

Umm, again not sure…I love Justine Waddell in the beloved “Wives and Daughters”!

 

and Ruby Bentall in both “Poldark” and “Larkrise to Candleford”

3.What’s your favorite animated movie?

Oh you just had to ask. Well, one the obvious ones of course, is How To Train Your Dragon!

And I also enjoy other ones…The Lego Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Tarzan, etc. :)

4. Do you like to have a snack while you watch a movie? If so, what’s your favorite?

Oh definitely. :) Umm…favourite…maybe a homemade icecream malt. Otherwise, I love just about anything chocolate!

5.What’s your favorite genre?

I’m gonna echo Faith’s: Genre? Ermm…I don’t know. Clean, no magic, no fear of having to forward…I like some of the English/BBC movies because those are usually clean, and enjoyable!

 

6.What’s you’re favorite TV shows?

I really only watch TV shows on dvd…not straight from TV, but some favourites are Psych (first few seasons), Call the Midwife (the first couple seasons), Downton Abbey, AFV (that I do watch on tv), and…Larkrise to Candleford. Also, in some of these, we forward/skip, so I don’t wholly recommend them. :)

 

7.What’s your top favorite movie?

Not quite the fairest question there…I love “Wives and Daughters”. “North and South”. “Persuasion”. The HTTYD movies. So…those. XD

 

8.Are there any movies coming out soon you can’t wait to see?

I’m looking forward to “Finding Dory”, but with caution…have heard several reports of tears and emotions….

9.What’s your favorite sport based movie?

 Don’t know that I have one. I’m not a huge “sports” person. I guess “Facing the Giants”. (That sounded bad… “I guess…” as if it’s not good. That’s not true! It’s a very good movie. :))

10.What was the last movie you watched in the theaters?

I believe it was “Despicable Me 2” – we don’t go to theatres often…prefer to watch at home. :)

As for tagging people…I’m not going to. I know, I can be such a boring person. XP But if you would like to do this one consider yourself tag, and be sure to let me know so that I can read yours too! :)

A Tag of Various Questions

Good day!

I made up the name for this tag, as I am unsure if it has one…I was nominated for it by the lovely Shantelle on Google+ and decided to do the tag here on my blog instead. :) So, here it is:

 

Name: Raechel

Age: 20

Role model: My Mum – so thankful for her godly example!

Hobbies: Reading, writing, being on the computer (yep, it’s a hobbie. ;)), knife/tomahawk throwing, and letter-writing.

Crush: If I have one, why would I tell?! ;) I guess I could say Mr. Thornton (North and South), or Noah (“Family Lies, Deadly Ties”), or Jace (!! “Ilyon Chronicles”), or Walter (“A Distant Melody”), or any number of my other fictional crushes. ;) Haha.

Best friend: This is information I am not at liberty to disclose. Ahahaha. XD

Favorite band: TobyMac. Mmmhhmmm. And Tenth Avenue North is great too. And some other ones. But mainly, TobyMac.

Favorite Song: Right now? Hmmm…I don’t know. ?? How’s that for an answer.

Favorite Movie: “Wives and Daughters”, “North and South”, “Persuasion”, the How to Train Your Dragon movies (of course!), and I know I’m forgetting some….

Favorite animal: Cats! Yep, definitely cats. I love them. :) I also love elephants, and mules, and guinea-pigs, and other cute creatures. Oh and Dragons. ;)

Favorite subject: I am out of school, but favourite always was history I suppose. =)

Pens or pencils? Probably pens, as I  use them more, but I do love a sharp pencil!

Summer or winter: This is so easy – Winter. I love it, and I never get sick of it. :)

Tea or coffee: Definitely tea. I don’t drink coffee.

Good day or bad day: It’s only just begun…I’m gonna say good day though since that’s what I want. :)
Birthday: That’s for me to know, and you to never find out. Muahaha. XD Okay, not really. But I’m still not tellin’. It’s sometime in the Fall. ;)

Tag the follower you’ve known the longest: Oh golly…I don’t know. I think I’m gonna just go ahead and say Kenzie because I’ve known her for many, many moons (ah, years…).

Tag five of your best internet friends: I’m going to break the rules and not do this, only because I don’t want to unintentionally forget to list someone and then hurt their feelings due to my forgetfulness. So friends, you know who you are and I deeply appreciate each one of you!! Truly, I do. My internet friends are amazing and I am very thankful for ye all. :)

Something that makes you happy: Receiving letters in the mail – and any kind of mail, really. I loooove getting mail. That’s gonna be a mandatory for my future beau – he has to write me letters. ;) Haha, don’t know how he’ll like that one, but we’ll see. XD Other things that make me happy are pretty rolls of washi-tape, my cats, getting online messages from me friendsys, and knives/swords/tomahawks. Those make me happy too.

Something you’re looking forward to: Receiving the books I recently purchased by one of my favourite authors (J.A. Marx), and getting caught up on my old review-books so I can properly enjoy my Sabbatical. I’m sure there’s other things more exciting to look forward to, I’m just drawing a blank. XD

Tell a story in one sentence: “Once upon a time, there was a maiden writing a blog post about a tag, and she was asked to tell a story in one sentence, which perhaps seemed a bit daunting to her at the moment because her mind was not wanting to produce something of that creative order, so instead the maiden settled on this rambling sentence and left it at: The End.”

Nominate any number of people: I tag you, and I tag you, and I tag you! Okay for real…Faith P. at Stories by FireFly!, Daelynn at Just Dilly, and Soleil at Reviews by Soleil.

 

Have a good day!