My Baffling Brain

It's time for Sarah Snider 's Halloween Blog Hop, and the last one I've entered into for Halloween. The idea is to write a short story or a poem about Halloween. Into The Woods I’ve always loved the woods on the outskirts of our town. You can tell they’re ancient; the trees are all twisted and gnarled and everything is overgrown, so much so that you can hardly make out the old trails snaking their way through the trees, and you have to fight your way through thickets of nettles and brambles. That’s why I loved the idea of meeting Kyle there when he suggested it; it seemed so romantic, two star-crossed lovers meeting in the woods in secret at the dead of night. I’m starting to regret it now, though. It’s so dark; the moon is full, but none of its light can get through the thick canopy of leaves above me, and my torch barely penetrates the darkness. I can barely see anything in front of me, and I keep tripping over things on the ground. The wind is whistling through th...

If you're looking for my What's Up Wednesday post, you can find it here . This is my take on the prompt for this month's Write...Edit...Publish post: Haunting. It isn't a traditional haunting, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway! The idea came to me when I was researching the origins of Halloween. It's 828 words long, and I'm open to critique. The Final Haunting The veil lifts at nightfall. We swarm through the gateway together, thousands upon thousands of us, eager to return; most of us to see loved ones, though some with a more malevolent purpose. The demons, sprites, and mischievous fairies push past the rest of us, their favourite night of the year upon them; the night they could torment and terrify with no repercussions. We soar between the worlds behind them, wondrous sights passing us by, but we only have eyes for what is straight ahead; the world we used to know, where our loved ones live. It will only be a brief visit, a few hours before we...

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by  Erin L Funk  and  Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I just finished Underworld by Meg Cabot - I said last week that I hoped it would be better than the last in the series, but unfortunately I was disappointed again. It just didn't seem as though anything really happened in the book. I'll still read the next one, but only because I want to finish the series. I'm now reading Allegiant by Veronica Roth - finally! I've been waiting for what feels like forever to read this book. Part of me doesn't want to get to the end, because it's the last in the series. I'm sure I won't let that stop me, though! 2. What I'm writing I'm still deep in preparations for NaNo on Friday - I can't believe it's only a couple of days away! I only ha...

Spooktoberfest is a blog hop hosted by Jackie and Dani , and it involves writing a piece of flash fiction. You have to include three words, and you have to choose a picture as a setting. For more details go here - you have until the 28th to sign up! I've included two of the pictures, since mine takes place in both a woods and a cave, and my chosen words are in bold. The moon hung full and bright in the dark sky, stars twinkling through the misty clouds. The black cat sat on the corner, watching, waiting, her yellow eyes glinting in the light from the street lamp above her. A young boy came out of the house nearest to the cat; her ears pricked up, and she watched as the boy hopped down the front steps and put something in the bin in the garden. He noticed her then, and a smile spread slowly across his face. He approached her carefully, stooping down to stroke her gently. She twitched her tail once before setting off down the street, the boy following her as though co...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - Just a week left 'til NaNo - I'm so excited to finally start writing my story. I've got a lot of prep done this week, too, so that's something to celebrate. - There's a new The Sims 3 expansion pack out today, so I'm taking a little break from NaNo prep before the real thing starts.  - Halloween! I love Halloween, so I can't wait for Thursday. I'm not doing anything special for it, but I love the atmosphere. I'll probably just be watching The Simpsons Halloween episodes all night!

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last Friday - it only took me four days to read, but it never takes me long to read Deathly Hallows because I can never put it down once I've picked it up. It's my favourite of the entire series. After I'd read it I didn't pick up another book for a while, because I was in that post-Harry Potter depression I always have once I've finished the series, when I realise that there isn't any more to read!  I'm over that now, though, so I've started reading Underworld by Meg Cabot. It's the second book in a series - I read the first one earlier in the year, and I've had this one waiting on my kindle for a while. The first book was a little disappointing, so I'm hoping th...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - Spending the afternoon at my dad's on Tuesday; my sister and I don't see him too much, so it was nice to spend some time with him. We ate steak pie and played silly games, a lot of which I won - definitely a surprise!  - I got an idea for my NaNo novel on Sunday that's made me really excited to get working on it - great motivation!  - I wrote my first draft for Spooktoberfest on Wednesday, and so far I love what I've written. I also started on a different Halloween themed story for another blogfest, so I feel like I've got a lot done.  - I injured my back earlier in the week, and it's much better now. It's nice being able to move freely again! - I'm going to Hull fair this afternoon, which should be a lot of fun! ...

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on Monday, and I'm already two thirds through Deathly Hallows. Hopefully I'll have it finished by the end of the week. I've no idea what I'm going to read after that! 2. What I'm writing The plan was to have all of the first drafts for my Halloween stories done by now, but unfortunately I've had a couple of setbacks. I'm hoping to spend today catching up on them, and then I can do some NaNo prep. 3. What else I've been up to One of the things that has set my writing back a little is the obsession my mum, sister and I have with Breaking Bad. We bought the second season the other day and have finished it already, having spent the weekend watchin...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - Breaking Bad - My mum, sister and I started watching it last week (I know, a little behind the times) and we love it! We're midway through season two already - it shouldn't be too long before we finish it. The only bad thing is it's cutting into my NaNo prep!  - My contract at work has gone from 20 hours to 34, yay! I've been working 34 hours a week for the last few months, but the extra was as overtime. This meant that whenever I took a holiday, I would only get paid the 20 hours, which was a little inconvenient. Now I don't have to worry when I want a week off from work. It also means I can have bank holidays off like everyone else, since I'll still get paid them now I'm contracted for a Monday.  - The weather has been much coole...

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by  Erin L Funk  and  Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I just finished reading Cassastar by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, purely because it's a genre that I don't usually read. It was excellent - it pulled me in and kept me reading until the end. Any book that manages to make me cry has done it's job well, as it means I cared about the characters.  I'm still reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, but I haven't chosen another kindle book yet. There's so many on there waiting for me to read that I haven't got a clue which one to start with! I'll focus on Harry Potter for now, and choose my kindle book later. 2. What I'm writing I'm mostly working on my Halloween stories at the moment, which are going quite...

Today I'm helping Crystal Collier with the cover reveal for her debut novel, Moonless. Alexia must choose safety and an arranged marriage, or true love and being hunted by the Soulless every moonless night. MOONLESS is Jane Eyre meets Supernatural. In the English society of 1768 where women are bred to marry, unattractive Alexia, just sixteen, believes she will end up alone. But on the county doorstep of a neighbor’s estate, she meets a man straight out of her nightmares, one whose blue eyes threaten to consume her whole world—especially later when she discovers him standing over her murdered host in the middle of the night. Among the many things to change for her that evening are: her physical appearance—from ghastly to breathtaking, an epidemic of night terrors predicting the future, and the blue-eyed man’s unexpected infusion into her life. Not only do his appearances precede tragedies, but they’re echoed by the arrival of ravenous, black-robed wraiths on mo...

It's time to celebrate once again, with this weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - Feeling refreshed after my break from work and writing. I went back to work yesterday, and I'm getting back into my writing this afternoon by beginning to plan my Halloween stories - that should be fun! - The beginning of my favourite seasons, autumn and winter, and my favourite holidays. I'm enjoying going for walks at the minute, either at the park near my house or the woods near my boyfriend's house. It's lovely walking through the trees with their brilliantly coloured leaves, relishing the cool air. Lovely :) - All the motivation and inspiration I'm feeling right now. I feel like I can do anything as long as I try hard enough; I hope this feeling lasts! Now for my monthly goals. Last month my goals were: - Hand in my diss...

Today I'm helping Nick Wilford out with the launch of his new editing service. With the unstoppable rise of self-publishing, it’s easier than ever to put your words and stories out there in the world. This is a great thing, and I’m all for it. However, it’s not just about the story - although of course, that is the most important part - but the way it’s presented. After spending months or years on a novel, building an incredible world and honing your characters and storylines to perfection, the last thing you want is to be let down by a lack of editing. It’s just as important as an arresting cover image. Nick Wilford, Freelance Editor is a one-stop shop for affordable editing, proofreading and formatting services. With professional training and ten years of experience as a journalist and editor, the time has come to transfer these skills in order to help out the fellow authors I have come to love. But it doesn’t stop there. I’m ready to edit anything; from a crucial term...

If you're looking for my IWSG post, you can find it here . What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by  Erin L Funk  and  Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I got a lot of reading done while I was away last week. I finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which was amazing, as usual. One of the saddest endings of all the books, for obvious reasons. I also read The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater, which I'd been looking forward to ever since reading The Raven Boys earlier on in the year. It was just as good as I expected it to be, and I can't wait for the next one!  I also read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I watched the film the other week, and I loved it so I wanted to read the book, which was even better. I'm currently reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and Cassastar by o...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. I'm still on a high from getting my dissertation finished last month, so my insecurities aren't too bad at the moment. I'm trying not to worry about what mark I'll get for it, since I don't find out until November, and there's no point in worrying anyway; it's not like I can do anything about it.  My insecurities now mostly lie within the prospect of starting new projects, although I would say my excitement to start them far outweighs any insecurities I might be feeling. I'm hoping to do NaNoWriMo in November - I've only ever done the Camp ones during the summer before, so it should be fun doing the original one.  I know which of my ideas I'll be using for this, all I need to do is actually start planning. There's a lot of wor...

It's time for the cover reveal for Julie Flanders' upcoming novel, The Ghosts of Aquinnah! A brilliant flash of light transcends through time. Another freezes a cloaked figure within a frame of salty mist as waves crash against a rocky shore. Her harrowing expression shadows the beacon to a pinprick. By the next blaze, she is gone. Only the lighthouse remains. Hannah’s eyes blink in step with each heartbeat. Images of her deceased parents and Martha’s Vineyard explode like firecrackers inside her mind. She shakes her head. For weeks this eerie woman dressed in nineteenth century garb has been haunting my webcam, but tonight she stared into my soul. Why? ... Who is she? ... Casting aside months of research on historic lighthouses, Hannah drives to the coast and boards a ferry. What is the strange connection she has to this mysterious woman suspended in time? Hannah finds out. But, it’s not at ...