Texas Renaissance Festival

Alright, here we go!  Pictures from this past weekend at Texas Renaissance Festival.  The theme for the weekend was All Hallow’s Eve, so my friend and fellow author, James William Peercy, invited me down to sell a few ghost stories.  I am so grateful to him and his beautiful wife, Claudette for taking me under their wings.  They are just the most amazing, wonderful, selfless people you could ever hope to meet and James’ books, The Wall Outside series, are just so beautiful and magical.  If you enjoy fantasy, I highly recommend you check out his work.

http://jameswilliampeercy.com

Although I can do things all by myself, I always prefer not to.  Besides, weekend excursions to Renaissance festivals are always so much more fun with friends.  So I took my trusty house elves, Kat and Rachel (Rat) to help me out.

Before we reached the festival, we made a quick stop at this cool, old, haunted town called Anderson.

After we arrived at the Festival (OMG it was so muddy), we unloaded all the books from the car and then set out to explore the grounds.  Naturally, we first found ourselves in the Enchanted Forest.

The rest of the grounds were equally beautiful.

And the arts and crafts were absolutely breathtaking.

Oh, and there were books too.

I also had to get my picture taken with my Great-Great-Great-Great several times over Grandfather, Robert the Bruce.

But I think my favorite new friends that I made were Pip and Owlbus Dumbledore.

 

How did you spend your Halloween?

Inside Out

Last week, my sister and I went to see the latest Disney/Pixar production, Inside Out.  If, by some chance, you haven’t heard of it, it’s a delightful and colorful animated feature about five of our basic emotions: Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Anger, and Fear.  At first, I wasn’t sure what I would think of it, but as I heard more and more people talk about the great discussions and lines of communication, particularly about mental illness, that it opened up, I found myself eager to see it.

I wasn’t disappointed.  Inside Out teaches the valuable lesson that while you always want your loved ones, and yourself, to be happy, it’s okay, and even healthy, to feel sadness.  You should never keep your emotions pent up inside you.  You need all of them.

My favorite element of Inside Out, however, were the Islands of Personality.  For example, Riley, the girl in whose head the whole movie is centered, has a Hockey Island, a Friendship Island, a Family Island, etc…  As my sister and I drove home from the theater that night, we got to thinking about what our own Islands of Personality might be.

Of course, there are the obvious ones like Family and Friends.  And Pets!  I know I have a Pet Island in there somewhere.  My life revolves far too much around loving my cat and hoping for parakeets not to have a Pet Island.  Family is obviously the most important of the Islands.  I’d do anything for my parents and my sister and I know they’d do anything for me.  That goes for my friends as well.

I definitely have a Book Island.  This Island includes books that I’ve read, books that I’ve written, and books that I have yet to write.  Let’s face it, a good deal of my life is dedicated to reading and writing books.  And I love it.  I love it so, so, so much.

There’s also most certainly a Photography Island.  Besides writing, photography is my other great love.  As any of my friends will tell you, I am addicted to all forms of photography, from professional to Instagram.  I love capturing moments and I love sharing the world as seen through the lens.

Right next door to Photography Island is Exploration, Nature, and Adventure Island.  These Islands, like the others, are fairly self-explanatory.  I love being outside and exploring and traveling and experiencing new things and seeing new places.  I live for moments spent hiking beneath the trees, stargazing, and swimming in the ocean.  I would love to be known as a NYT Bestselling Author, but I would also love to be known as an explorer and adventurer.

Finally, there’s Fantasy Island.  I’m a daydreamer.  I think about the future far more than I dwell on the past (which is saying something, because I have been known to be a dweller).  Fantasy Island is also home to Mystery City, which includes a fascination with things that can’t be explained.  I love the idea that we don’t have everything figured out yet.  I love that we, as a human race, still have things that we have yet to learn and discover.  I love the idea of being curious and being thrilled and being absolutely blown away by things that we can’t even begin to fathom.

I’m sure there are others too, but I think those are my most dominant personality Islands.  What are yours?

Snapdragons

Hello, friends.

Today, I am taking a break from blogging about all of MY stuff (let’s face it, it can get old) and instead will be talking about Snapdragons!

Yes, Snapdragons!

For those who have never heard of these adorable little critters, allow me to enlighten you.  One of my best friends in the entire world, Hannah K. Alvarez also happens to be one of the most brilliant and creative peopl I know.  She came up with an idea that inspires creativity and imagination in kids (and kids at heart) of all ages.  Snapdragons are mix-and-matchable stuffed animals.  Kids can create any kind of fantasy creature that they like.

For example:

In a world that is becoming increasingly logic-centric, kids desperately need a bit of fantasy, a little imagination, and Snapdragons are wonderful toys to achieve just that.  Creativity needs to be encouraged.  It’s how we develop new ideas, how we dare to imagine the unfathomable.  Encourage your kids (or even just the kids in your life) to think outside the box (and yes, I know that expression is so IN the box, it’s a total cliche, but that’s not the point).

This wonderful and delightful project has just made its Kickstarter debut, so if you feel so inclined, hop on over and check it out!  Even if you can’t donate, simply sharing and spreading the word is immensely helpful!

Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hannahkalvarez/snapdragons-mix-and-matchable-stuffed-animals?utm_content=bufferf1edd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snapdragontoys?fref=ts

Thank you all so much!

Back to Narnia

I had an in-depth conversation this weekend with a good friend of mine and fellow author, James Peercy.  He’s an author of fantasy (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7540755-james-peercy), and although I have not ventured into the realm of fantasy writing (yet), it’s one of my favorite genres.  I, of course, love Harry Potter (as expressed in previous blog posts such as https://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/i-believe-in-dragons/).  I’m also a fan of Tolkien’s world and although I haven’t read the books, I’m really enjoying my journey into Westernos in Game of Thrones.  My favorite fictional land, however, to this day remains CS Lewis’ magical Narnia, Aslan’s Country.

I think there comes a time in all of our lives that we need a Narnia: a land of magic, a land of redemption, a land of beauty.  In it’s golden age, Narnia is a land untouched by greed or a thirst for power.  Its inhabitants live and coexist peacefully with love and respect for one another.  Narnia is, I believe, as close to my idea of Heaven as anything I’ll ever see on this Earth.  Except, perhaps, the Isle of Iona, but that’s another blog post.

This weekend, I decided to revisit Narnia in the form of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie.  As I was watching, not only was my love and adoration for Ben Barnes renewed, but I found myself thinking back to the conversation I’d had with James.  We’d spoken of all the things in life that cannot be explained, all the mysteries that remain unsolved, and all the wonders that have yet to be made known.  I thought, “How fortunate the Pevensie children were to discover a place like Narnia!  What I wouldn’t give!”

But then I remembered something else.  The Pevensie children didn’t really discover Narnia.  CS Lewis created it and gave it as a gift to the world so that we all might discover.  This amazing, wonderful, magical land is a product of one man’s creative mind, and in that moment, I realized how extraordinary that really is.  So many wonders of the world are God-given, it’s true, but just think of all the amazing things man has done in his short time here.  We’ve walked on the moon.  We’ve crossed oceans.  We’ve discovered the gift of flight.  The truth is there are very few, if any, things that we are not capable of.  That’s a terrifying thought, but it’s also, I think, a very profound thought. If we put even a little bit of thought into it, we could do amazing things, not only for ourselves, but for our planet and for all who inhabit it.  Instead of wasting energy fighting or obsessing over petty things that really won’t matter in the end, why not focus on the good?  On making the world a better place for future generations?

The human mind and the human spirit are incredible.  We were, after all, created in the image of God.  I think that means a whole lot more than we were created to look like Him.  We are capable of so much more than we’ve resigned ourselves to believe.  We were designed to do good, to make differences, to create worlds.  Maybe 2015 will be the year that we begin to acknowledge it.

My Fantasy Self

As you may or may not know, last week, I finally read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and yesterday, I read Eleanor and Park.  Without sounding too creepy, I’ve pretty much decided that Rainbow Rowell is one of my new literary heroes, so naturally, I decided to follow her on Twitter.

Following people you admire on Twitter is always a risk, because you might find out they’re not exactly the people you thought (or at least hoped) they were, but Rainbow Rowell is just as awesome as her writing style.  Just the other day, she posted something about how we all like to read fantasy versions of ourselves, and that her fantasy version of herself is Han Solo.

My initial reaction to that was, “My fantasy version of myself is a cross between Katniss Everdeen, Hermione Granger, and Ariel.”  But that’s not really the case.  I mean, yeah, I wish I was as brave as Katniss and as smart as Hermione and as adventurous as Ariel.  But there are still elements of me that I really really like.  I like my sense of humor.  I like that I enjoy writing and editing and nerdy things.  I like that I am a compulsive truth-teller (though other people might not appreciate that one as much).

My fantasy version of myself is a mixture of all those things, plus a few more traits that I envy about other people.  For example, my fantasy self has a lot more self-confidence than I do.  I’m extremely confident in my books and work, but in myself?  Not so much.  In grad school, my self-esteen was nil and it was really hard to concentrate on my goals and what I wanted out of life.  It’s gotten better, but it’s something I still struggle with.  Maybe I always will.  My fantasy self, however, dresses the way she wants, is cool and confident, and never worries about what other people think.

My fantasy self isn’t a dweller.  She doesn’t worry about the worst-case scenarios the way I do.  Granted, that might come with the whole writer thing.  Life always plays out in my head like a movie or a book.  Probably not the best coping mechanism for when life really gets rough because I always, always imagine the worst.  To be honest, I actually imagine every scenario and then dwell on the worst.  It’s awful.

Finally, my fantasy self knows what she wants out of life and she goes for it.  I hope I’m at least a little like that, but I still have fears and self-doubts that get in my way.  Maybe we all do.  Right now, I’m even debating whether or not this entry is worth posting, because I really don’t like to talk so much about myself.  I’ll probably post it anyway, because I’m hoping it will help put y’all in touch with your fantasy selves.  I don’t know if it’s ever a good idea to wish that you were someone else.  You should always be happy with who you are.  But as my dear friend Hannah pointed out to me, it’s always good to try to improve yourself.  No one wants to stay stagnant for the rest of their lives.  I know I don’t.  I want to be the best I can be, and I know, as a human, I don’t always put forth the effort into becoming that.  Maybe that will be one of my new years resolutions (that gives me a little time to still be a slacker).

Oh, I almost forgot.  My fantasy self has totally paid off all her student loans and owns a beach house in the Gulf Shores.  She eats a whole lot healthier than I do, and she really hopes to have not one, but two new books out next year.  I guess time will tell.

Snapdragons

Big, huge, exciting news, people! 

One of my best friends in the world is starting her own business, a line of mix-and-match stuffed animals called Snapdragons. 

She’s been working on the idea and designs for months now and this week, she sent them off to a manufacturer!  The prototypes are being developed as we speak! 

What exactly are Snapdragons? To quote the description on the Facebook page:

Snapdragons are stuffed animals with interchangeable heads, bodies, legs, tails, wings, and horns. You can mix and match them in any way you want. All of the pieces attach with magnets that are safely and permanently secured inside the stuffed animal. 

You could put a lion’s head on a dragon’s body with a wolf’s tail. Or a unicorn’s head on a wolf’s body with dragon wings. And so on!

There are four creatures to mix and match: a unicorn, a dragon, a wolf, and a lion. All of the pieces attach with magnets that are safely and permanently secured inside the stuffed animal.

Why mix-and-matchable?

Mixing and matching stimulates creative play and allows kids to create a creature from their imagination. The result is a lovable, huggable animal that can be disassembled and reassembled at any time.

When will they be available?

They are currently in development, final prototypes will be complete at the end of September 2014. We’ll start our Kickstarter campaign in October, and we expect to open our online store in December.

Hannah Alvarez, the woman who designed and founded Snapdragons, is absolutely brilliant and an incredible artist.  She’s not a bad writer either.  I still have a short story that she wrote when we were in high school.  It was absolutely chilling.  I’m trying to convince her to write a book of short stories, with this particular one included, and I’m hoping she’s considering expanding her writing career.  For now, however, please stop by and help support her newest creative endeavor, Snapdragons! 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snapdragontoys

Twitter: https://twitter.com/snapdragontoys

Website: http://www.snapdragontoys.com