#CoverLove Tag!!! (Also Merry Christmas!)

Hello there, everyone! I was tagged a while back by Ruth from Amongst Spring Blossoms for this, and I figured it was about time I got it done! So, without further ado....

(Apologies in advance for the awful quality photos...my phone's camera isn't great, but I wanted pictures of the actual books that I have at home.) 

1. A book cover featuring a gorgeous dress:

I know what you're thinking. That's an American Girl picture book. What kind of "gorgeous dress" is that? Now, the thing is, I really don't own any other books with dresses on them, and there aren't really any in my house for some reason. And let's face it, we ALL wanted Felicity's outfits when we were ten years old. At least, I know I did. 

2. A book cover with no people, just a pretty scenery:

This book is so underrated! Tolkien wrote it for his son, Michael, after Michael lost a little toy dog. So, Tolkien wrote about the adventures that the little dog had after being lost. It is such a sweet, funny, lighthearted story, and a quick read! 

3. A book cover that's ''well-loved'':

No explanation needed. This book has been taped sooooo many times I have lost count (actually I just taped it again like a week ago), and has gone through many hands. It's actually my dad's, but it has been read countless times by me and my siblings. It really smells good though...:D 

4. A book cover that just makes you smile:

This is just such a fun book, and Helen Oxenbury's illustrations are so whimsical! It's definitely a good one. (As you can tell, my Luke Skywalker ornament on our Christmas tree decided to photo-bomb...) 

5. A book cover that is your favorite color:

Well, favorite color is hard for me...I love so many colors! But Dandelion Fire (at least the old original cover) is such a nice shade (or shades) of blue--I have a soft spot for royal blues and purples. 

6. A cover of a book with fond memories attached to it:

I remember when I was maybe 7 or 8, I used to check this book out from the library (before I owned it, of course) just because I loved the cover, and there was a certain, particular copy that I always wanted. It was the one that was the most worn, the one with yellowed pages and an old, sweet, bookish smell. I read this one over and over when I was younger, even when I was too little to fully understand all the words. 

7. A book you wanted solely for the cover:

So the library I work at had a book sale a while ago, and I happened to see a copy of David Copperfield on the table. I picked it up, pulled it out of an old, red protective case, and there was this lovely hardcover book! You can't tell from the picture, but it is a very nicely textured surface and the lettering/decorations are all in gold, very fancy. AND it was in great condition, so of course, I had to buy it...it was only a dollar anyway! I have no idea how the pattern on the cover got shadowed over top of my background, but it looks kinda cool...maybe something to do with the flash on my camera...hmmm....

Anyway, there it is! Thanks again, Ruth, that was very fun! :) 

Now I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! 

"For to us a child is born, 

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful, 

Counselor, 

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, 

Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government

and of peace there will be no end, 

on the throne of David 

and over his kingdom, 

to establish it and to uphold it 

with justice and with righteousness 

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." 

Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)

In Which Anna Discovers a Scammer and Completely Destroys Them

So the other day, I got a Messenger text from an old family friend who I am friends with on Facebook. I thought it was a little weird, no preliminary pleasantries or reminiscing, just a blunt "How are you doing?" I also thought it was weird that her messenger account (*I am leaving all real names and info out, for privacy's sake*) said it was linked with a phone number, not with a FB account, which...well, she's a friend of mine on there so it wouldn't make sense for her account to not be linked to FB. Anyway. I responded with a wary, "I'm doing well, how are you all?" Then this happened: 

Already I was pretty sure this was fake. For one, it doesn't sound like her "voice" at all, and for another...well, anyone knows that people randomly offering money are usually scammers. So I decided to play along for a while.

Now, at this point I decided to mess with the scammer by asking the same of the supposed person's son--whose name and nickname me and my family all know. So: 

There was no response for this for a day, which made me sad. But then the person replied!!!! So I referenced a fake person named "Josh" (which was obviously completely made up, but of course only I knew that).

NOW I started laughing. Angie????? Really???? You need question marks after telling me your own son's name????? Is that the BEST you can do?  Honestly, even *I* would be a better scammer than you! But I kept playing along. (And his name isn't Angie, by the way.) 

(Just so y'all know, I did NOT try the number, I was just playing along.)

By this point I knew that if I didn't say I texted the number then they would really suspect, so I typed out a lecture for them and ended the conversation with an appropriately devastating gif (which doesn't work in screenshots of course, so I added it for your benefit). 

Sorry for this random post, but I thought it was an interesting event, and it's also a PSA. If someone ever offers you money or something like that over the phone/online...well, do your research. If anything, ANYTHING seems the slightest bit fishy about it, then it's probably just fake. And if you want to use my spiel and tell them that they have been "Loki'd"--by all means do it! ;D 

Introducing...the Characters that Fill My Brain, Part 5: King Colderan

Well, that's what I've been doing, folks. Although I suppose I DO have an excuse! The semester was wrapping up for me over these past couple weeks, and today I officially finished my last final of the fall 2018 semester! Phew! Anyway, it's nice to have that done. I haven't been as "in-tune" with the blogging world because of that, but over the break there are a couple tag posts that I need to get done, and I hope to have more time for reading and commenting too! 

But, back to the subject. Today is the last day of my character post series, wrapping up with the last (and chronologically oldest) of the main characters. I really like this guy--he's so nice...but anyway, here it is! I would like to introduce you to King Colderan! 

Age: 

Depends on which book you're reading. In his "solo" book, (wherein he is the main character), he is mainly in his mid/late twenties. In later books, he is older, and by the time of my main trilogy, he has been long dead. (It's not really a spoiler...I mean, even for an elf, that would be really old.) 

Appearance/"Casting": 

His dark hair (now streaked with the smallest tinge of gray) contrasted with his son’s fair locks, and he had soft, gentle brown eyes that sparkled gold in the light.  His back was always straight, his head always high, though not in an arrogant way.  Because of an injury from a year ago, he now walked with a heavy limp, but he didn't complain or seem to pity himself.

As far as "casting" goes, I sort of imagine Colderan (as an older person) to look a little bit like Ben Miles, the actor who portrays Sir Timothy Midwinter in Lark Rise to Candleford. (*Naturally I don't approve of all the stuff that he or any other actor I have mentioned is in, but, setting that aside, I think he looks somewhat like Colderan*)

Family:

A wife and two children (one of which is Lehye'ahl), many siblings who he was never very close to, and parents he was never close to. 

Friends:  

His closest friend, named Amris, is a very intelligent and skilled elf, who is a genius at math and pretty much everything else. Colderan and his wife were also good friends with several people of different races, including a dwarf-girl and a member of the first royal family of Bdellith (this was centuries before Rhondin's time, however). 

Skills (or Un-Skills): 

Colderan is very good with words and is a skilled public speaker, as well as a good writer. He often gets lost in thought, and could be described as a "dreamer." With that personality, he can sometimes drift away and forget what other people are saying, but he never intends to be rude. He can be stubborn and argumentative when he wants, but only about things that are extremely important to him. He is trained to use a sword but he hates it, and he is skilled at horseback riding. Colderan is a problem solver, but unfortunately many problems that he faces are not ones he can solve. He can be overzealous at times in his efforts to comfort people, and, when he was younger, was a bit naive about how to think before speaking. 

"Well, all of those stars are up there—I’m not sure how to say this—but isn’t it amazing that we’re a part of the same world, the same…same universe, I suppose—that every single star is a part of?  No matter how big or important we think we are, there’s always something out there that reminds us that we really aren’t that big after all.” 

Fears:

Losing the ones that he loves. He is terrified of storms at sea (after several awful experiences which I'm not going to tell you about) and hates watching people climb around in the rigging, just in case they happened to fall. 

Loves (or Likes, I suppose): 

Being with his loved ones. Being at peace with all the races in the land and seeing his own people willing to form friendships with others. He loves sweet, warm drinks (especially hot cocoa), and is a huge fan of his friend's mother's chicken dumpling soup. He likes comfortable clothes and being able to slip his shoes off while working in his office, and overall loves it when his people show honest, true care for each other.

Five words/phrases that describe this character's personality 

(to prevent me from rambling any more):

Kind. Gentle. Courageous. Forgiving. Strong-hearted.

“Why must we distrust them?  Why can we not become allies and friends?”  Colderan stood in a small tent, a little spot of shade for working elves that had been appropriated for him and his father to speak in private.

          “They are of different races, Colderan—not just of a different land, they are completely different than us.  I would hesitate even to call them ‘people;’ ‘creatures’ is a more accurate word.”  

          Colderan began to pace heatedly about the tent.  “Father, they are just exactly like us.  They are people as well, every bit as intelligent as we are, though perhaps in different ways.  They simply look a little different—even though they do things rather differently than we do, they're really, on the inside, the same.  I would bet that the dwarves are just the same as us.” 

Songs that remind me of this character 

(for any reason, this does not mean that I necessarily support or agree with the musical group, and nor does it mean that the song is EXACTLY like my character, it may have several lines that are "right" or could just have the right "feel."): 

Burlap to Cashmere: "Closer to the Edge", "Other Country"

The Neal Morse Band: "Breath of Angels"

And Lastly...a collage!