Your villain

Who loves a great villain? I almost love them more than the MCs. Almost.

I don't know what it is about them, maybe it's the shivers they send up our spines, or the hurt you can sometimes see inside, or maybe just the way they are sometimes funny.

Who knows.

But I know that if you want a great book, you need a great villain. Now you don't always have to have some master mind trying to take over the world, but you should have some kind of antagonist.

Such as:
A school bully
A mean sibling
A country
A decease
Or something that doesn't 'like' or isn't 'helping' your MC.

There are some really great antagonists out there. Here are some different types:

The Joker is a very rare villain. He hurts people with no 'rhyme' nor 'reason'.

Evil Queen or Stepmom, they're the jealous type. They don't like that the MC is prettier than them, so they're going to get rid of 'em. Tough love, I know.

This picture was taken from Wiki

The White Witch wants to rule Narnia. Lots of power hungry villains out there.

And many more. There is a great place to read up (and laugh at) on villains. Of Battles, Dragons, and Swords Adamant. Gillian (Or the villain spy dude) writes great posts on villains, heroes, and quests. :)

Brookie

Best Friends

Does your MC have a best friend? Do they agree on everything? Do they never argue? Do they do everything together? Do they like the exact same things?

If you said yes to more than one of those then you have a big problem. Nobody gets along that well. Owyn and I disagree sometimes, we argue and fight, we don't like all the same things so we don't do everything together. Then you ask, so what makes a best friend?

These GIFs and pictures will help describe a best friend better than I ever could. Besides, they're more fun. ;)

Hope you liked this post!! :)

Brookie

I'm back and here to stay!

    Hola everyone!!!

          Ok so I've been gone for a while.... my most utter and sincere apologies! We have had some problems but they have subsided and we have been extremely busy but that's is subsiding too!!
   so this post is just to say "hi I'm back for good!"

        ~Owyn
     
  

Book review/Captives

5stars *****

I have never cared much for Dystopian, but when I picked up this book, I could not set it down.

Mrs. Williamson brings you into 2088 after the world's water source has been poisoned. The only clean water left is in Colorado, where the Safelands and a few small villages are, including Glenrock, the home of brothers Levi, Mason, and Omar, our MCs.
But the Safelands water has contracted a decease, thin skin, where the skin thins and starts to flake, that is passed down through the blood. So the Safelands captures our MCs and their tribe because they are clean from the decease and can produce more children for the Safelanders.

What I liked:

The characters where very easy to see, and care for. The scenes where clear. And the story didn't seem rushed.

What I didn't like:
I couldn't help thinking every once in a while that in the story I was old enough to be the MCs, who are at the moment older than me, great grandmother. Especially when they are described as handsome, that just really felt weird. But that was my own fault for thinking that way, and I did not find anything else that I didn't like.

:)

Backcover
One choice could destroy them all.

When eighteen-year-old Levi returned from Denver City with his latest scavenged finds, he never imagined he’d find his village of Glenrock decimated, loved ones killed, and many—including his fiancée, Jem—taken captive. Now alone, Levi is determined to rescue what remains of his people, even if it means entering the Safe Lands, a walled city that seems anything but safe.

Omar knows he betrayed his brother by sending him away, but helping the enforcers was necessary. Living off the land and clinging to an outdated religion holds his village back. The Safe Lands has protected people since the plague decimated the world generations ago … and its rulers have promised power and wealth beyond Omar’s dreams.

Meanwhile, their brother Mason has been granted a position inside the Safe Lands, and may be able to use his captivity to save not only the people of his village, but also possibly find a cure for the virus that threatens everyone within the Safe Lands’ walls. Will Mason uncover the truth hidden behind the Safe Lands’ façade before it’s too late?

Brookie

My horse is a teacher/ guest post with Alyssa

 Hello all! I am back, guest blogging for my second time!  

Okay, so I happen to love horses. I own two miniature horses named Rosie and Half Pint, and am going to “upgrade” to a bigger horse this year. 

Alyssa and Rosie

 

When I got the two miniature horses last year, I noticed that one (Rosie) would spook and shy frequently. She is/was at the age of ten, and only knew some basic ground work. The other mini, Half Pint aka “Haffy” was/is 20 years old but drove a cart and had shown very frequently  when she was younger.  Because Half Pint knew so much, I bonded to her quickly, and Rosie was usually by herself. Rosie got to looking very sad, and so I started to teach her ground driving. I had some help from her former owner. But she would get very insecure and bolt at any noise while in the harness, and was also very worried about a human controlling her from behind her. When she would shy, I would get frustrated, and because I didn’t want her to reflect my attitude, I would put her away into her stall and try to teach her the thing I wanted her to know the next day. But I knew that something had to be done so that we could have a bond.                                                                                                                               So, Mrs. June (My trainer who owns a stunning Haflinger and has bred and trained horses for over 50 years), called Mrs. Tia Jones, a 3^rd (working on 4^th) level Pat Parelli trainer. She came out to my house and told me (after watching me and Rosie work together for a while) that Rosie wanted for me to be her leader, but she was scared of me because I was/am very extroverted and Rosie was/is introverted, therefore she didn’t know whether to trust me or not, because my movements were “loud” and “scary.” (Taking longer steps, quickly rubbing her, talking loudly etc).                                                                                                                                                               She didn’t have her human leader because she didn’t know if I was or wasn’t going to hurt her, and that was why she was always spooky. To help fix this issue, Mrs. Tia told me to stroke her softly, walking slowly, and when Rosie looked at me, to back away.                                                                                                                                       When Rosie realized that she could “control” me, her confidence got back up. I was so happy to have Rosie actually “accepting” me!

But I was a long way away from that actual bond. So I decided to do trick training. Trick training (with treat rewards) makes introverted horses more extroverted.  So I started with something very basic: stepping up on a wooden platform. Rosie learned quickly, and soon she was bowing, rearing, stepping on picnic tables, and smiling. She also became much more comfortable with ground driving, and is now ready for the cart to be placed on her. During this, we have formed an incredible bond and I hope that it will last forever.

Bowing

Working with Rosie has taught me patience, diligence, and most of all, I no longer get upset when a horse doesn’t learn the first time I ask them to do something.

Two weeks ago Rosie chomped on my fingers. Hard. I was trick training her then, and she thought I had treats in my hand so she bit down. I was in a lot of pain, but I walked around the round pen so that I wouldn’t get upset. Rosie followed me and then when I stopped she came up and nudged me on my leg. I was so happy!! 

Rearing

 

Another good thing is that before the bond I couldn’t get Rosie to do the Monty Roberts “Join up.”  Well last month I decided to try again. It worked! She came over to me and sniffed the back of my neck (I was sitting down). Then she stayed right next to me! I was so happy!

 

I love Rosie, and I hope that we both have a bond that will last forever. J

 
~Alyssa

Thanks Alyssa! I'm glad you and Rosie are finally getting along. :)

 

 

100 Hard Things Challenge

Today I decided to do the 100 Hard Things Challenge. I'm hoping that you guys will hold me accountable. So each day I have to do one thing out of my comfort zone. If anyone would also like to do it, feel free, it is for everyone.

#1. Accept 100 hard things challenge,

Yes, they said you can write that down as your first one.

Tomorrow is youth group, so we'll see how I do. ;)

Brookie

My horse is a teacher #2/Trust

My horse has taught me something new this week, just in time for Alyssa's request. :)

The first time someone tried to hop on Dusty bareback he bucked them off and broke a few ribs. Yeah, ouch and oops. That person was my horse lover aunt. Yeah, double oops. Luckily she's horse knowledgeable, so she didn't get angry with him. That was last June. (She is better now)



Just took this! Isn't my boy adorable?

So this past week I've been working with him on that. Needless to say the first time I started to get up I about had a heart-attack. I slowly and painfully inched my foot over his back, then even more slowly sat up. Every time I moved slightly his head would come up, which for those of you who don't know horses, that means he was freaking out. So I would bend his head. Which lessens the tension in his poll. Which is right behind his ears. It would be the point you rub on the back of your neck when you have a head-ache. (Like mine at the moment)

Okay to make clear what I've just told you:

If you are freaking out, you will tense up. Which means you are ready to either make a break for it or fight. If you want your horse to calm down when he is scared, you make it so he is not tense. With a horse to do this you either 1) bend his neck or 2) disengage. It makes them stretch, and we all know that stretching is a tension reliever. 

So I was finally able to sit straight up on him, in the right position. After two days of work. 

Let me tell you it was like sitting at the top of Pike's Peak after only taking a few short hours of climbing. Pike's Peak is 14,115 ft. above sea level. I live within sight of it and can tell you it is no small mountain.

After coming inside thrilled, I thought some about what I had just witnessed. I realized that we had just shown each other complete trust. He trusted me not to eat him while I was on his back. And I trusted him not to take off on me like he already has five other times.
That was a lot of trust. Humans are predators and horses are prey. Their eyes are on the sides of their heads, ours in the front. They know it, we know it.

Then I thought, what if we trusted God like that? Let him sit up on top, in the control zone, and let him lead us? What if we trusted him not to take advantage of his powerful position? What if we didn't try to take flight or fight? We would have such a greater relationship with him if we would. Dusty trusts me more than he does any other human on this planet.

God doesn't want to hurt us anymore than I want to hurt Dusty. He just wants to teach how to be the best that we can be. We just need to let him take control without bucking him off first.

Writing this out has really helped me understand this even more fully. And I hope that you guys got something out of it. :)

Brookie