Anya Violetta

This evening, I sat down at my computer and started writing a bit more of the next WbaP chapter. I already had a blister on my middle finger from the stirring spoon because I made dinner.
But, I'll admit, my mind wasn't quite on writing at the time. I felt a bit too energetic to merely sit down at the kitchen table and write. I was also watching Top Gear at the time, and find that I can never write with the television on.

So I decided to put WbaP on hold, and go do something, because merely sitting down and watching the show felt too lazy. I was suddenly gripped with the desire to do a bit more cooking. I wanted to make a dessert pie of some sort.

Initially, I wanted to try making a mince pie, but then realised we had no sultanas/dried fruits etc.
So I settled for making a lemon meringue pie.

Now, I'm eating one of the mini lemon meringue pies I made, and waiting for my pavlova base to finish cooking.

And now I'm FINALLY going to get on to finishing the next WbaP chapter :)

♥

... on writing.

Before I get started on this post, I want to state very clearly that I don't feel as though I deserve to be giving advice on writing. I'm certainly no Austen, Archer or JK, for that matter. Until SG is out, I'm still an unpublished author and, even once it does comes out, there's no guarantee that it'll sell.
All I have to my pen name is a decent amount of reviews on my fanfiction stories. Whether this is enough to warrant me a worthy source, I'll leave for you to decide.

I'm only writing this post because I am constantly being sent messages asking for writing advice.
I have never taken any writing courses, read any books on writing fiction (or writing in general). I was extremely lazy in school when it came to creative writing pieces (every year I would submit the same poems which I had written when I was 12) and, as I've stated many times, had absolutely no interest in ever becoming a writer.

Writing, for me, is a completely accidental and natural exercise. I write things as I think, see and hear them in my mind. For this post, I'll use TGM as my main example, as none of you have read the current version of Stained Glass.

So here are a few pointers:

( Read more... )

I love the rain.

Well, not when it ruins my brand new patent leather flats; my perfectly styled hair; makes my legs go all icky when I'm not wearing stockings; and I've forgotten my umbrella....
But, when I'm inside the house, with a cup of tea, am snug in my grandma-esque quilted dressing gown, and have something good to read (Wuthering Heights is a lovely example) or a good movie, there is nothing better.
My favourite way to wake up is to the sound of rain.

It's been raining cats and dogs ever since yesterday evening. We need the water, what with water restrictions and all, so it's good environment-wise as well.

The rain can also be quite fun as well. Once I have a much more disposable income, I plan on acquiring the following to make me rain-ready:

Burberry trench coat: http://www.pinkhues.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/burberry-emma-watson.jpg

Gucci boots: http://cdn.is.bluefly.com/mgen/Bluefly/prodImage.ms?productCode=301995701&width=340&height=408

Oroton umbrella (which I already have. It's so much fun... but mine's way better cos it's red):
http://blogs.lasoo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/oroton-umbrella.jpg

On a different note, there is no Stained Glass news to report of yet. It's still getting edited. I'm still thinking of book cover designs and should really get onto contacting a professional designer and all, but I think first thing is first- getting it finished editing-wise is the biggest thing. After that, the rest will be relatively easy, I hope!

And now I'll actually read my VicRoads handbook. I keep putting it off, and it's 10.30pm already! Aghh. I had better not sleep through my test tomorrow morning.

<3

I have a present for you. I'm giving you the link to this awesome up and coming artist. She doesn't have full tracks available just yet, but she is certainly very talented and is someone to watch on the music scene.

The group is 'Magico the Wolf'. Here is the myspace link: http://www.myspace.com/magicothewolf

So, after you've checked out the wonderfulness that is Magico, get onto Twitter and add me, if you haven't already. I am, yes, once again trying to do the Twitter thing. Hopefully it will last...

My twitter page:

http://twitter.com/anyavioletta

Much love to you all!

<3

I think I may be onto something. I just made scones and, during the process of making them, I managed to:

a) Update WbaP
b) Clean my room (it was messy on some other level, mind you)
c) Wash all the dishes in the sink
d) Tidy the kitchen
e) Make cucumber sandwiches
f) Make scones
g) End up feeling accomplished and at peace with the world (scones + cucumber sandwiches do this to me)
h) Update this LJ

Now, before I give you my recipes for productiveness, allow me to point out that I have been putting off tidying my room for TWO whole weeks, it had pretty much my entire wardrobe on the floor, and that the kitchen sink was full of dishes unrelated to the scone/cucumber sandwich making process.

Anya's recipe for productiveness (+ a wonderful afternoon tea):

1/Preheat oven to a v. hot temperature (we have a gas oven and I put it to 200oC)
2/ Update WbaP whilst waiting for oven to heat up a bit
3/ Get a bowl and put in it:

2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1 tblsp sugar
15g butter -I always melt the butter and it works out just fine, but cookbooks traditionally tell you to chop it coarsely and rub it into the flour. Personally, I don't like dirtying my hands that much)

Combine all these and make a well in the centre of the flour

NOW for Anya's secret ingredients-
Cookbooks usually tell you to put 1 cup milk. I, however, have a better suggestion for you (though milk does work well if you don't have the following available)-

1/2 cup thickened cream (not whipped!)
1/2 cup soda water (trust me on this one. Makes your scones so light and fluffy!)

Pour the above 2 ingredients into the centre of the flour well. Now, I'm lazy so I just get a wooden spoon and sort of mix it all together. It works out just fine.
Next, you can roll out the scones a la traditional way, or- if you're lazy like me- you can take a handful of dough at a time and roll it into a spherical shape. I've found this way works out best.

This makes around 7 big scones, or probably 10 smaller scones. Once you've made all your scones into balls, put them on a greased tray and brush them with a bit of whole milk. This gives them a nice golden colour.

Put them in the hot oven and LOOK AT THE CLOCK! They'll take about 15 mins.

4/ Run to room and fold all clothes neatly and put away. Some needed a wash so they were sent to the laundry ;)

5/ Come downstairs and find the scones need about 5 mins still. Wash all dishes in the sink in the meantime.

6/ Take scones out and tap to hear for hollow sound. They should be lightly golden on the top. Get them off the tray and put them on a cooling rack.

7/ Wash tray used for making scones and put kettle on. Then, make cucumber sandwiches:

Anya's recipe for awesome cucumber sandwiches:

Bread (I like wholemeal, but you can use white as well- it's a bit more traditional):

Lay out two slices of bread on chopping board and chop at least half a cucmber into thin slices (circularly, not longitudinally)
Spread cottage cheese thinly on one side (though butter can be used if you don't have cottage cheese/aren't worried about your heart. If using butter, put it on both sides)
Lay out a few slices of cucumber on top of the cheese
Put the other slice of bread on top and press on top to flatten the sandwich.
Cut off crusts of bread, and then cut into triangles.

Voila! Repeat as many times for however many sandwiches you want. I love these, so I usually make two per person... also, if my mum or sister's around, half the sandwich ends up disappearing mysteriously...

8/ Lay out cucumber sandwiches on a nice plate, and wash two-tiered stand, dry, and then put scones on it.

9/ Clean kitchen table of laptops, papers etc and put a nice tablecloth on it

10/ Put scones, cucmber sandwiches, cream and jam on table.

11/ Pick out my tea cup set and pour boiling tea on tea leaves. Pour milk in tea cup, then tea afterwards once tea is dark enough. I like my tea strong, so I put about 3 teaspoons of tea leaves.

12/ Sit down at table, play Lily, and enjoy afternoon tea. Hmn, maybe next time I'll invite someone over so it's not so lonely... ;)

13/ Update this blog, because there's no conversation to be had.

14/ Wash plates used etc, put away cream etc.

And there you go. You now have Anya's recipe for productiveness. I think I shall try this recipe again tomorrow on study or something of a similar vein.
Knowing my family, the scones won't last the night, so I'll have to make something again tomorrow anyway. Plus, I like my scones fresh. They're never as good the next day.

I think I might make my famous lemon meringue pie next. It's amazing, if I do say so myself, and takes AGES to make because it's in three steps- base, lemon filling, and then meringue. Which, of course, means that I can get a lot of things done in the meantime!

Happy Cooking!

<3

So I just went and saw ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’. I have to say, my friend and I were sitting there for half the movie trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Once I got over the ‘time travel’ aspect of it, though, I think I really enjoyed it. I liked the tragic element of their relationship and how they loved each other so much, but could never really be. It really reminded me of H/S at some points and I think that made me like it even more.
You all know how much I love tragic love stories.
Well, I won’t ruin it for you, but overall I didn’t mind it. I’d give it a 3/5, mainly because it took so long for it to actually make any sense to me and pick up its pace. But, around halfway through the movie, it was good. So, if you don’t mind sitting through a bit of confusion and boring-ness for part of the movie, then you’ll enjoy the rest of it. I think. Well, if you liked TGM (which I assume you did, to be reading this), then I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.

And if you haven’t checked TGM, I’ve written an ‘afterlife’ scene. It’s under chapter ‘107’ and is a oneshot which is a semi-happy ending for H/S. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

Much love,
Anya

So I've just survived 2 weeks from hell. I'm pretty sure I failed my exams- learning 2 entire years of medicine in such a short time frame is just not possible. I've become anorexic in the true definition of the term because, when I have exams, I find it physically impossible to eat. Now that exams are over, I'm no longer anorexic and have been surprised at just how big my appetite is. Yes, I had spicy prawn sushi last night after my exam. It was lovely (the sushi, not the exam).

I've also had the mother of all breakouts and I'm SO annoyed because the one time in my life when I REALLY need my concealer, it runs out! I have this awesome YSL correction pen which covers just about anything. It ran out yesterday, and as I didn't have time to go to Myer/DJ's to get another one, I opted for a (much) cheaper Maybelline concealer. It sucks. YSL is definitely worth the extra $$

So life has been crazy. I haven't even had time to just 'think' about anything non-med related. I think a lot of you must be upset with me as well, because I haven't updated anything for two weeks, but trust me- I literally have had NO time. My study breaks would be having a shower.

And now that I've emerged from these hellish two weeks, I feel really lost. I know I should get back to writing things, practising my music- organising the publishing of SG- but everything now seems so unproductive compared to the study I was doing.
Also, the fact that I'll probably have to resit the exam anyway in a few weeks has put a major damper on what should be a 'post-exam' high.

On a positive note (because I don't think this post is really going anywhere), I have finally got an editor, and (using MJ's words)- this is it. Final edit of the book, then I'll have to look over her corrections and reject/accept them and.... that's it!
It's such a relief. I just want the damn thing to be in book form already so I can stop having it hanging there in the back of my mind. Of course, once it's in book form, there will be the issue of getting it SOLD to contend with. Hm...

Anyway. I just thought I'd post here... because. Truth be told, I'm actually procrastinating writing the last part of the next WbaP chapter!

Much love,
Anya

 I'm so excited for Halloween! I've made a jack o'lantern which looks wonderful (yes, from a REAL pumpkin!), have a bowl of lollies which I'm steadily finishing... and am going trick or treating with my friend later. 
Yes, yes, I know I'm 19 and should act my age, but I don't care! I'm really excited for this. I'm not sure whether as I should go as a witch (not very hard seeing as I have black hair and really would only need to throw on my Morticia Addams dress), Corpse Bride... or.... Morticia Addams.
I'll let you know what won out. My friend thinks i should go as a corpse bride, but I don't own enough white... or perhaps I do....

Anyway. So I don't have anything else to say about Halloween today. No historical 'Samhein' posts for you all today. 
I do have a few things I want to clear up, though:

My parents:
I think, because of TGM, a lot of you believe that I have a very bad relationship with my parents. This really isn't the case. They were ridiculously strict, I got hit many a time as a child (sometimes for playing wrong notes on the violin or not working hard enough), I did get emotionally blackmailed quite a lot as well but.... they love me and none of it was done without the intention of making me the best I could possibly be.
No, they weren't perfect. No, they failed to see that at 13 I was on the verge of suicide and this year again failed to notice it.... but so many other parents are oblivious to these things as well and let me say that I am very private about my emotions and most people never notice a difference in me when I'm severely depressed.
And yes, as a child there was pressure  on me to be the best at everything. But, I'll admit that they stopped pressuring me when I was around 15.... but that was when I put the pressure on myself to be the best at everything. I would be the one who was vomiting every morning for a week before an exam not because THEY were forcing me to get a perfect score in that exam, but because I was forcing myself and pushing myself harder and harder.
You might say that this is a result of their own pressure, and I'll admit it's true....
But I also want to say that I wouldn't have it any other way and that I'm grateful for what they did to me when I was younger.
Because, without (namely my dad) them, I wouldn't be in medicine, I wouldn't be able to earn three times as much as my friends do in an hour of teaching violin, I would never have won all those violin competitions, never would be as good at music as I am, and probably wouldn't have started writing because I wouldn't have been that good at English.
So I don't regret it. I don't regret spending my weekends as a five year old in a room practising violin whilst all the other kids were playing outside, because- mistake me if I'm wrong- but playing on swings never got anyone anywhere.
My violin has taken me to many places.

Sorry if this is ranty- but I just really want to clarify this matter. Also, whilst a lot of the things that happened in TGM are based on things that have happened to me, they're exaggerated a LOT. My parents would never throw me out of home (for something as unreasonable as that, anyway), and even though there have been times when I've been very depressed, I don't cut myself and never have.

Also, I want to clarify another little matter- I'm not a druggie and never have been. There have been a few times this year when I've taken far too many codeine pills for a week or two at a time, but I don't think codeine quite constitutes a hard drug... Oh dear, I shouldn't say that. It's bad- it was a problem and I shouldn't have done it- but it wasn't the MAIN problem. It was the result of my depression and, because codeine makes you depressed, only served to worsen and prolong my depression.

But I want to stress that I'm fine now. This year, I've had issues with a friend (as mentioned in previous posts) and a student which really shook me. Also, I suppose, this year I went through a period where I realised that I used to be amazing at all these things and now am not so amazing at a lot of them.
And, for someone who has spent her life trying to be the best at everything, this was a bit of a bitter pill to swallow and let to a mini 'mid-life-identity-crisis' ... at 19.

So, apart from the fact that I'm probably going to fail my exams from lack of study, I'm quite happy at the moment. I've also realised the signs and symptoms I go through when I'm spiralling into depression again, and know how to deal with them quickly so that I don't crash again.

So many thanks for your concerns and support. It really means a lot to me to know that you all care so much- but I also think there's been a bit of misinterpretation... (which I'll admit is mostly my fault).
But, please don't let all this make you feel that you can't relate to me. Just because I'm not going through anything too terrible at the moment, it doesn't mean that I can't empathise with you if you are (though, of course, I hope you aren't!)

A Happy Halloween to all!

Much love,
Anya

(Yes, I'm posting again. I've always said that I am excellent at procrastinating.)

I have decided that I wish to become more ladylike. I have made many such resolutions in the past, but the problem is that I have always tried to do everything at once, and hence inevitably revert back to my old habits when it becomes too much.
So I have decided to change one bad habit a week.

To be fair, I am much better than most girls. I think my attire, grooming, general speech, decorum and behaviour are generally very good. Also, I would say that I am (generally) fairly intelligent and knowledgable on a wide variety of topics.
But I don't wish to compare with other girls (Australian girls aren't exactly a good standard to set myself against anyway), so in my OCD way, I have decided to begin what will be perpetual self-improvement.

Things I need to improve:

Swearing:
Generally kept quite well in check, but if something really annoys me or scares/disgusts me I always slip up. I think I should eradicate a certain few words from my vocab... except for writing when it's my characters and not me who are speaking.

Speech:
My writing and speaking standards really do not correlate at all. When I want to, I can write very well and express myself perfectly. Somehow, I never seem to sound so articulate when speaking. I would like to improve my diction and flow of speech (and try eradicating any nasty edge of my Australian accent which, granted, is not too strong)

Deportment:
I have been told that I generally have good posture, but it can always be improved. This means no more crossing legs, and always sitting with a straight back... which is impossible in lecture theatres and when studying... Hm.
In that case, I suppose I shall keep perfect posture in every other situation.

Volume:
I am a passionate person, and sometimes I get a bit carried away and speak too loudly. It's funny, because I used to be the opposite. What I need to understand is that quiet people are heard just as easily as those who are shouting. I think this is especially the case when it comes to men. I get the feeling that a loudmouth puts them off...

Drinking:
No, I'm not an alcoholic, but when I go out I do tend to overindulge on the drinks front. And not with anything remotely classy- like a glass of wine or champagne- but with shots. 
From now on, I am restricting myself to one (two at most) glasses of wine a night. Cocktails are also acceptable.

Sex:
No more talking about sex unless its with a most intimate friend (I only have one who is acceptable for sex talk). This will be hard, because sex is my favourite topic of conversation.

Snogging:
No more one-night hook ups. I've been good  for the past year, though, so I suppose this matter is already taken care of.

Current affairs:
I seriously have no idea what is going on with the world/politics etc. I blame writing- I'm stuck in a fantasy world.

Temper:
I am generally okay to peoples' faces, but I tend to loose my cool if something doesn't go my way. I'm also a bit of a control freak. This will need to change. 


Resolution for the week:
There are countless other ways I could improve myself, but I think that's enough to start with. This week, my task is to stop swearing. It will be hard (exam time is looming), but with some self-restrained I hope to kick the habit once and for all!
<3

 So I just saw this show on tv called 'Bridezillas' and almost broke down into tears. It's not a funny (or very good, in my opinion) show, but the way those women were running around like headless chickens trying to organise their wedding is exactly how I feel...
Though I'm not getting married.

A few weeks ago, I thought that the whole publishing process was going well. I had an editor who seemed very thorough and good, and was waiting on her to get back to me with a quote.
Not only did I have to send her emails to prompt her to get back to me, but she is far too expensive, and- what's more- not even really the right person for this job! 
She just sent me a sample edit of the first chapter. For the first few pages, I will grant, she was excellent. A few more pages in, however, and she had completely oniolated Clio and Sally's conversation with comments of 'this isn't how people speak.'
I got so mad.
Because that is exactly how teenage girls do talk! It was almost an exact transcript of a conversation I had once had with a friend. To her middle-aged eyes, it might not seem realistic, but to my readers- who are predominantly young adults- it would! 
I don't know if I can deal with that for the rest of the book... and pay her ridiculous money for it, on top.

So now I'm contacting editors again which means that there will probably be delays... again. I'm not so sure that our December/January deadline is so realistic anymore...

Ok. I think I'll go make myself a cup of tea and calm down because, not only do I have a hellish publishing process to get through, but hellish med exams to pass.

Yeah, that cup of tea is looking quite nice right now...

<3 Anya

(Not quite as wonderful as a chapter of Clio, but a very Happy Birthday to Lindsay! Enjoy being of a legal age!)

 I wish I had been the genius behind that name, but alas I must give credit to my friend Bec for renaming my new Blackberry to ‘Crackberry’.
Why Crackberry, I hear you asking?
Because I’m addicted to it. 

I’ve never been one for fancy gadgets because I never really felt that I needed them. Lately, however, I have found that I’ve become much more materialistic in many ways- clothes, gadgets… I think I’ve just come to accept that appearances really do count. No matter how annoying it might be, it’s true. So, instead of fighting it, I’ve decided to wholeheartedly embrace it.
I’m loving it. 

My first step was to invest in an iPod. So many people could scarcely believe that I had gone through my high school years without an iPod. I guess I just never really needed one.
My main reasoning for getting an iPod was that it has a lot of memory on it and, as I don’t own an external hard drive, I thought I’d just get an iPod which could have music and my documents backed up in one.
So yes, backing up these days is a breeze with my iPod- ten minutes and I’m done. I shudder when I recall the numerous times my computer crashed last year and I had to hurriedly back up all my writing, uni work, movies and songs onto any 1Gb memory sticks I could find in the house! Not fun.
Music-wise, I have to say that my $10 mp3 player worked just as well. I don’t listen to music very much outside of the house, and when I’m at home, I listen from my computer.
So did I need it? Was it worth the investment (I was assured by all my friends that an iPod was definitely an investment).
I have to say no. Aside from the few instances it’s saved me with my computer’s crashing antics, it really hasn’t been all that useful. 

So the iPod was enough ‘gadget mania’ for me for a while. Until last week, in fact, when I invested in my ‘Crackberry’.
I hate mobile (cell) phones. I really do. I hate giving my number to boys because they always text me and it’s such a copout from just calling me, saying what they have to say, and leaving me alone.
Instead, they prolong the process (and my torture) by sending me texts every day with ‘how was your day?’
Or, in the case of Mr Creepy Surgeon, disgustingly and revolting messages hinting at us getting together.
So phones and I have never gone too well. I’ve always taken good care of them, mainly because I’ve never used them. They’ve rarely been charged, and when they have been charged, I rarely ever picked up because I just have so little interest in the device.
Last month, however, my phone randomly froze on me. Long story short, I was forced to use an ancient brick with zero battery life, no camera (my, how precious does that sound!), and the most annoying call/text ringtones.
I hated it with a passion and, after receiving texts all day two Sundays ago on the damned thing, I decided that enough was enough.
I was going to get a new phone. 

I was definitely sucked in by the Agent Provocateur adverts with the beautiful models who use Blackberries, my friend (who had just invested in one), and… the lure of having emails sent to my phone. With very little thought, I went straight to the shop the next day and signed up for a Blackberry.
Unlike my iPod, I definitely use this little item, and love it!
With writing, I get a lot of emails. I’m like an addict with them too- at home, I’m always online (hence my quick responses to most of your reviews), because I’m constantly getting emails. After a long day at uni, it can take me up to an hour to respond to reviews, comments, emails…
It’s very time consuming.
With my Blackberry, they get sent to me like text messages. It’s so easy, because I can respond to my emails during boring lectures, lunch time, in the car, on the train when I’d otherwise be doing nothing.
Also, now I’m not on my computer so often because I know that, unless that light is flashing red, I don’t have any new emails…. And because I’m not on my computer, I find less reason to procrastinate with writing...
Which you all might not like so much, but it’s been very good for me, time-management-wise.
Also, the phone just looks so professional! I had a poster presentation last week, the day after I purchased my crackberry, and I felt so suave carrying it around with me.
Especially seeing as my presentation was next to Tuesday Boy, whom I was very conscious to appear cool, collected and wonderful in front of.
Needless to say, I did… and managed to have a wonderful presentation to boot! 

Now I’m starting to think of investing in a new computer. I have had my computer for five years now. It has no battery life, the charger isn’t quite right for it, it’s missing a key…But this is something on another level. I’ve written close to a million words on this computer. I’ve done all my writing on it and, despite its crashes, it has served me well. I’ve spent more time with this computer than with most of my friends (which sounds so sad, but it’s true).
So there’s a sentimentality attached to my laptop. Price is not what is stopping me from going straight to the store to invest in a new one, but loyalty.

 See how materialistic I’ve become? I’m feeling loyal towards gadgets! 

So, summing up, do we need these gadgets?
No, we don’t. I’m living proof of this, because I’ve managed with next to no gadgets for a long time.
But I’m young and have the funds, so why not? Guilty pleasures make life just that little bit more enjoyable, and life is short. I’m over living my life for the future.
Because tomorrow might never come. Now is what counts.

 <3

 

 Dear Sarah,

Thank you so much for taking your time to type out that entire section from HP6 for me when I had lost my book. I have been an emotional wreck all day and was not doing too well when my Gmail went to- Inbox (1)

But then I clicked on your LJ comment and saw what you had done for me and my day went from horrible to amazing. I can't believe I have an online friend who would do so much for me. You are so wonderful. Thank you forever.

All my love,

Anya


Everyone else-

Right, so I can't remember if I've done this or not, but I'll do it again. Sarah, the loveliest person ever, is also a talented writer on ff.net. She actually has a spin off story of VmM on her ff.net account! So, be wonderful and go check out her stories and review them. 
Without her, you wouldn't be getting another WbaP chapter in, like, forever... so show how grateful you are by reviewing her!
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1762151/Saciice

Oh, and just so you know, I love you all as well.... Just in case you thought I didn't. I feel so blessed to have you all. 

<3 Anya

 I really am going to kill something...or someone. Preferrably him.

So I have my period. As if my hormones being out of whack wasn't enough, my stupid friend is annoying me more than ever. I actually hate him. He's just such a control-freak dickhead fuckwit bastard who is delusionally in love with me and thinks he has the right to facebook stalk me and question my friendships with other boys and FUCK he's just SO annoying. I wish he would just get out of my life already. But no. I'm placed with him next year as fucking well. If he thinks we're hanging out, he has another thing coming. God, if he thinks his stupid dick will ever make it close to me, he has ANOTHER thing coming. It's called a knuckle sandwich.

So. That's not it. Yesterday, creepy 60 + year old surgeon whom I used to teach violin decided to drop by my house and return a book which I had lent him when I was teaching him. He had the nerve to write a note as well. Fuckwit bastard. Honestly. Where do these men come off thinking that they have a chance with me? He's old enough to be my grandfather. Fuckwit.

All of those things pissed me off, but they didn't set me over the edge. Fucking HBP has GONE MISSING and I had allocated this time to write the next bloody chapter of WbaP but I need book 6 for Morfin's memory to write the start of the fucking chapter and I bloody can't because the fucking book is GONE? Where the hell is it? I've searched the entire house ten bloody times already and have found Book 1 (missing for years), book 1 in Greek, book 2, book 3, book 4, book 5, book 7.... but not bloody book 6.

Which means I can't finish the bloody chapter.

I only read the stupid book twice... two years ago. I can't even remember if there's a proper memory where Tom visits Morfin... or if I've just made this up in my mind. WHERE IS THAT STUPID BOOK??

Ok. I'm going to stop ranting. I don't think I've sworn as much as I have today in a VERY long time. Blame the fucking men of this world. Missing Book 6 is my brother's fault anyway because he read it last. 

<3 to you all. And, if you're male, I have nothing against you. Unless you're a bitch to girls and think that just because you have a dick, it makes you better. Because it really doesn't. If anything, it means there's not enough blood for both ends and.... ok, I really have to stop.
Sorry.

I think I'm relieved. 
Hopefully, I'll only have to edit Stained Glass one more time.
I've just spent the past week going through the entire novel and fixing what I didn't like from the last time it was edited. Now I'm about to send it to the editor's for a last edit and then (hopefully) I'll just have to read through it one last time to make sure I'm happy with the changes.
I think if you find you're obsessed with a book, the key to getting over that obsession is to edit it heaps of times. Works a treat ;)

So. On a different note-

I'm SO excited! I just went to Officeworks (Office store, for those not in Aus) and printed out the entire novel! It's all bound with a laminated cover and back and is SO EXCITING! It looks so close to being a book now! 
I almost just want to keep the printed version myself! Alas, I have to give it to my editor :(
But I still have 12 hours with this version. I just keep looking at it and smiling. I think I'll die from happiness when the final copy is in actual book form.

Also-
Last night I was talking to my friend, Artie. The same one who on the occasion comes and writes VmM with me. Now, we were discussing  Stained Glass and I was asking her what she thinks of certain bits of it and she said this-
'You do realise that if you build up a fan base of readers, there's going to be a mass flocking of teenagers going to churches to have sex. You'll be infamous and hated by all churches'.

Oh God I hope not... even though it might be publicity for the book which could be good in a way. I think that if I'm going to have sales, it'll be church groups buying the book for book burnings! What saddens me about this, really, is that I think that the religious elements of the book could really be misinterpreted because I'm not actually saying anything bad against religion. I myself am Greek Orthodox (and go to Catholic Church every week) and religion is actually quite an important aspect of my life!
Oh well, I just hope that I'll still be allowed into church after this book comes out.



<3

I swear that if anyone ever accuses me of not having done good research for this book, I will find them and... slap them. 
I have just spent my entire evening reading EIGHT books on Celtic Tradition, Myths, Excorcism.... 
I am absolutely brain-dead. 
These books weren't small either. Some were massive.  I know so much about Celtic tradition now, I think I'm close to being an expert.
I'd say I know just as much about Celtic tradition now, as I do about Ancient Greek myths and Ancient Greece. That's saying something, because I've been reading about Ancient Greece for my entire life- not to mention getting drilled about it every week at Greek School.

But I really enjoyed it. I have to say, I really wasn't that into learning about Celtic culture until tonight. I have a little confession- I actually did bare minimum research on the topic to write the first book. I really just wasn't that interested in anything other than finding a myth to make my story idea work!
But now, I think it's fascinating- and they really had some very beautiful concepts-
'Death is not an ending, but a doorway to an eternal life'
So now I'm very knowledgeable on the topic. What is even better is that I now have so many wonderful and detailed ideas for the sequel.

You all asked me how I came up with a plot as complicated as TGM was, but really it was very easy- It was the product of one night's solid research on Greek Mythology. It was strange- I read the myths/facts on the history, and I just kept thinking 'yeah, I can use this. This is good.'
And tonight I had that same experience and it was wonderful! It's amazing how, when given a few basic concepts from history, all you need to do as the writer is connect the dots to produce a story! It feels like cheating in a way- a bit like fanfiction, really...

So yes. Whilst I am exhausted, I feel like this evening has been very productive. Even if my assignments are still hopelessly unfinished...

Love Anya

Quite a lot has been happening in my life lately. I won't talk about personal things here (in which case, this post would turn into a thesis), so we'll limit it to being about Stained Glass.

So. We've been discussing the entire publishing process and it's all so exciting!

I'm even getting my own proper website! It's still under construction and probably won't be up until the book's in print, but still- my own website! I never thought I'd need one! I think it's pretty cool too- I get my own specific email for it for my 'readers' to contact me through and there's a separate one for media enquiries... and then a widget on the side to join my mailing list! I'm going to have a mailing list?
Well, this is all provided that people buy my book and are into it. I mean, I'll still have the website but the mailing list may be a little lonely if no one is interested.... so all of you make sure you get a copy and tell your friends to get one too!

So even though the website has been my most recent joy, there are other things to discuss as well-
It has pretty much been decided that 'Stained Glass' shall be the name of the book. Also, as a Clio Gray exists (she's actually an author), we're making the small change in her name to Clio Grey. It's ridiculous how a change from an 'a' to an 'e' can annoy me so much but.... Clio Gray the authoress was born before my character so I shan't fight this one. 

A cover for the book has not been organised as of yet, but will be soon. As I have quite a bit of input into this, I thought I'd run by a few ideas with you lot- 

1) I was thinking perhaps a picture of a church's stained glass with a girl kneeling at it holding a red rosary
2) The neck (and bit of jaw) of a girl + her chest and you can see her red rosary at the opening of her shirt
3) Just a plain cover (probably black) with a red rosary

Yeah, we're still not quite certain on the matter of the cover and I'm pretty sure my ideas aren't sounding too awesome. I think they look better in my mind than I can explain them (which is shameful given that I'm a writer). If any of you guys have ideas, please send them through! I suppose my biggest two symbols/imageries of the novel were the rosary and the school church... but perhaps you picked up on something else? Either way, let me know!

Now we (you and I) need to consider something. I'm not one of those people who forgets the people who helped me in the beginning and, really, I would never have even continued writing TGM had I not had a solid batch of loyal readers who reviewed it. And, even if I had finished it, I would never have continued writing to be in the publishing process which I am now.
So, it's very important to me that I don't forget you all or do anything that makes you feel that I have. 
What am I on about? Okay, tell me how you feel about this:

a) Finishing VmM by around start of December this year for good.
b) I have been told I should remove my stories from ff.net
c) Taking off all the stories which I have trialled on this LJ 
d) Getting rid of this blog altogether or shifting it to a different blog site/ having a blog on my actual website


Now, before you all freak out at the idea of all these points, here my proposed 'solutions'

a) + b)- I can just continue on with them anyway. Personally, I think it's good in getting potential new readers anyway. Should I have the ridiculous good fortune to become an authoress whom people know of, I change my pen name on both of the websites and continue on with them.... and if this does not work, I can have a separate mailing list to all of you original readers and can post updates there. Then again, doesn't every author have to start somewhere?

c) Getting rid of the first draft of Clio is non-negotiable... but you'll have the proper version of the book anyway by then so it shouldn't matter. As for the other stories.... well, I doubt that any of you were really hooked/like them enough to care about this point anyway.

d) I don't think this itself is a huge issue either... it just may be a bit annoying for a while. I'm not sure if I need to change sites, but LJ is limiting in some ways and, for some reason, likes to stuff up a lot on me so perhaps the change is overdue anyway!

Well. I think that's all the news I have for you at the moment! 

<3

It's amazing how much posting I can get done when I'm meant to be studying.... -_-"   (btw, vmm has been updated)
This is just a quick post, however, to let you know about a movie that inspired a suprising amount of plot in TGM. It's a German movie and it's called 'Blueprint'.
If you watch it, the mother-'daughter' relationship between Iris and Siri (I just realised the irony in this name- some people give Sirius that nickname) really inspired a lot of how H/Anka ended up.
Also, the theme song for it is Mozart's piano sonata in A major (1st mvt) is one of my favourite pieces of all time (and one of the few things I can actually still play quite decently on the piano)... I imagined Anka would have grown up listening to her mother playing it for her. The piece has a very innocent and simple charm to it which I think H would have wanted Anka to be like... unlike her own 'life theme song' which was Liszt's 'La Campanella' (fiendishly difficult and complicated to play... but if you listen to it just sounds simple and beautiful) 

'La Campanella': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEnfZjqMSy0
Sonata in A major for piano: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HADtL7a6wxg&feature=related
Blueprint- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0321473/

Enjoy!

<3

News #1: I am publishing Clio. Hopefully by Christmas/New Year. Shall keep you all posted on how/if it works out...

News #2: As I am devoting all my original ideas to Clio until it hopefully gets published, I have decided that I might like to write something else to keep my sanity during the editing process. I really enjoyed writing the oneshot for VmMorrow- 'The Sun Rising' and am wondering whether I should go back on my word and write another fanfiction...

Here is my proposal: 

Witchcraft by a Picture

 Having grown up with Tom Riddle, Selene Asteria knew and hated him more than anyone else in the world. But hate is a strong emotion and some bonds can never be broken... AlphardBlack/OC,TomR/OC. Warnings:Sex Scenes, Violence

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5316529/1/Witchcraft_by_a_Picture

The first chapter is up. Please make my day and go review it! The rating will remain T until it becomes 'M-worthy'.... which probably won't be for a couple chapters yet.

I've set to planning it and it's amazing how all these extra plot twists and character pairings are coming to me so easily. I think I would really like to do this story.
I know everyone wanted me to do a 'what happens after' for TGM with Anka and the kids, but their lives are too close to the HP book timeline and don't include enough of the book's characters to interest me. Plus, I have VmMorrow for what happens in the future.
Also, I know that it might have undertones of Clio, but I swear it is very different. In any case, Oliver is no where near as bad as Tom Riddle is, and Clio is nothing like Selene.
But, the bottom line really is that I find Tom Riddle/Voldemort the most fascinating character in the HP books and I really, REALLY miss writing something definite. 

So, don't forget to review!

Love Anya

p.s. 'Witchraft by a Picture' is the name of a John Donne poem. The poem is no where near as romantic as 'The Good Morrow' which I think is fitting given what happens to Selene's relationships. 

 

Synopsis:

Dr Loretta James has come to the small country town of Noojee to look after colleague, Dr Wilson’s country practice for a month whilst he goes away on holiday. She thinks she’s in for a relaxed month of work compared to the city hospital she works in but, when her patients start getting murdered, she realises that what she’s in for is a far cry from her original expectations- especially when she is the main suspect in the investigations.

Genre: Crime fiction (with a twist of romance)

 

I

 

It was a cold winter’s night when Dr Loretta James walked into the Noojee Hotel, exhausted from her long drive and hungry. She was disappointed to see that the pub was empty, excepting the two teenage girls playing a game of pool in the corner and the stout, middle-aged bar lady. If she had her way, the pub would have been full so that she could have kept her head down whilst eating without being asked any questions.

Chewing her lip nervously, she went up to the bar.

‘What can I getcha, love?’ the bar lady asked in a strong country accent, chewing her gum loudly. Her name tag said that her name was Julie.

‘Uh… a glass of the house red and… do you serve meals here?’

‘Sure, love. We’ve got a pot n’ parma special for ten bucks- but you can have your wine instead of the pot if you want.’

‘Thanks, I’ll do that,’ Loretta smiled, handing over the money and taking a seat at the bar.

‘Here’s your change, love.’

‘Thanks. Quiet night, is it?’ Loretta said, motioning around the empty pub.

Julie frowned.

‘Nah, it’s usually pretty quiet here.’

Loretta looked surprised and Julie smiled ruefully.

‘Most folks here buy their piss from us but go home to drink it.’

Loretta nodded.

‘Are there many people in the town?’ she asked, taking a sip of the wine and grimacing at the horrible quality of it.

Julie shrugged.

‘A hundred or so. Say, are you staying or just passing through?’

‘I’m staying, actually. Just got here- I’m taking over Dr Wilson’s clinic whilst he goes on holiday. Loretta James.’

‘Julie North,’ Julie said, shaking Loretta’s hand.

From Julie’s knowing smile, Loretta guessed that many people were probably very well aware of her coming to town.

‘Ah yes. We’ve been expecting you. You’re staying at Dr Wilson’s house, aren’t you?’

Loretta nodded and tucked into the parma which Julie had just set in front of her. She didn’t care how fattening it was or how bad those saturated fats must were for her- she was so ravenous that it anything could have been served to her and she would have eaten it.

‘Dr Wilson’s a real good doctor. Well-liked and respected amongst the town, he is.’

Loretta smiled cautiously. She wasn’t quite sure what Julie was insinuating with this statement.

‘Well he’s certainly an excellent doctor. He’s still talked about back at the Alfred in Melbourne.’

‘Noojee’s very lucky to have such a doctor,’ Julie nodded. ‘We’re all scared that he’ll never come back from his holiday.’

Loretta looked at Julie, at a loss for words. Eventually, she cleared her throat.

‘If you’re worried that I’ll want to take over his practise here, Julie, then I can assure you that there’s no chance of that happening. I’m booked up with patients back in Melbourne from the start of next month. Either way, I can assure you that Dr Wilson will return to Noojee.’

Julie gave Loretta a small, non-telling smile and Loretta sighed and stood up.

‘Well thanks for the parma. I suppose I’d better get going- Dr Wilson’s expecting me.’

‘Sure, love,’ Julie said, returning to her previous jovial self. ‘You have a good evening now.’

Loretta smiled and left the pub. She sighed as she got in the car. No, she didn’t have any experience with living in the country, but she knew enough to know that if Julie wasn’t happy about her arrival to town, it was likely that everyone else in town felt the same way about her.

A few minutes later, she had arrived at Dr Wilson’s house and it was exactly as she expected. It was a two-storey cottage with a neatly manicured front garden consisting of box hedges and perfectly pruned rose bushes.

‘Loretta,’ Dr Wilson smiled warmly as he opened the door and welcomed her into the house. ‘Good to see you. How was the drive up?’

Loretta shivered as she stepped into the warmth of the house and smiled as she saw a roaring log fire in the living room.

‘No problems on the freeway, so it was good as far as I’m concerned. What about you- are you all prepared for your big holiday?’

Dr Wilson grinned, his grey eyes twinkling and as he motioned for her to take a seat in one of the brown leather armchairs, in front of the fireplace.

‘Oh, I’ve been prepared for this trip for quite some time.’

‘Lucky you- going on a holiday. Where are you going, by the way?’

‘I’m staying pretty close to home, actually. I’m just visiting relatives around Australia,’ he said, twirling a lock of his grey hair and clearing his throat as he rose and walked over to the drink stand.  

Loretta sighed and stared into the fire, admiring the amber flames.

‘But surely it must be great to have a break from the constant pressure of seeing patients? I know on some days I just get so sick of a few of those nutcase patients that I don’t care if they live of die. Unfortunately, those hypochondriac patients are usually the ones that live forever and never have anything life-threateningly wrong with them anyway.’

‘Then you’ll be needing this,’ Dr Wilson laughed, handing Loretta a whiskey. ‘Cheers to your time in Noojee.’

‘Cheers,’ Loretta agreed, chinking her tumbler with his. ‘Please tell me that your patients here are generally easy-going. I’ve just come out of a hell rotation in surgery at the Alfred and could really do with a relief from the stress.’

Dr Wilson screwed up his nose.

‘Unfortunately, my dear, there will always be those patients wherever you go and I can assure you that there are a handful of such patients here.’

Loretta sighed and ran a hand through her curly brown hair.

‘You seem well-liked here, though. I had a bite of dinner at the pub before I came here and Julie couldn’t speak more highly of you.’

Dr Wilson’s mouth became taut.

‘She’s… a trying patient.’

‘Really?’ Loretta asked, genuinely surprised.

‘She comes in every week,’ Dr Wilson sighed.

‘Oh well…. Maybe she has a crush on you?’

Dr Wilson laughed.

‘The way she abuses me when she comes in- I hardly think so. They’re all like that, really. But then you say something about leaving and they treat you better than God Himself.’

They sat in silence and, for a few minutes, the only sound was the crackling of the fire.

‘Well! I have an early start tomorrow- as do you! You’ll need to arrive at the clinic by 7am so that Mrs Johansen can show you the ropes before you start for your 9am patient.’

Loretta nodded and tried to suppress a yawn.

‘Here, let me show you to your room,’ Dr Wilson smiled, patting her knee and standing up and walking to the staircase. 

 

A/N:  Ok! I have just returned from a short weekend away to my grandfather's farm and have come back with a fresh idea for a new story. If there is any author who I adore (apart from JK), it is Agatha Christie. For some reason, each time I've gone to my grandfather's farm, I've had ideas of murder stories coming to me and now I have fully formulated a plan for this story and intend to see this one completely finished (unlike the last 2 stories I've posted up here). 

Now! You might think that that first chapter didn't tell you much, but it was actually was quite important. How? That's for me to know and you to find out! 
And I know that it’s been a while since I wrote anything original so I may be a little rusty. Please give me constructive criticism so I can improve as best as I can! 
Much love,
Anya

 

Now, sushi is good, great, perhaps one of the greatest foods invented by man. It's healthy, filling, affordable, convenient and can even be sexy- if you take a leaf from Sex and the City's Samantha's  book.
It even comes with different fillings making it edible by those who like their meat, vegetarians and vegans alike.

And speaking of fillings... you haven't lived until you have tried spicy prawn sushi. I know I certainly hadn't and shall never forget the time I first took my first bite-

It was the day after I had my first (and only) date which, yes, involved sushi. It also involved a bird crapping on my pants and my face hurting from forcing a smile for three consecutive hours, but that's another story. Now, the sushi we had on this date was horrible. The worst vegetarian sushi I had ever tried. It wasn't fresh and the vegetables were in no way crisp.
Upon coming home, I had decided to lay off the sushi front for a while.
Now, the next day, I happened to be walking from the train station to my violin teacher's house and was hit with the realisation that I was ravenous. The only food shop open on the way to her house, however, was a sushi one.
And then I was hit with a dilemma- just how hungy was I that I was going to eat sushi, when the thought of the food made me never want to eat again?
Well, as I said, I was ravenous so I went in the shop and decided to risk it. The shop itself didn't look too amazing either and sushi is one of those foods you have to be careful of. Nonetheless, I went in only to be hit by another dilemma-
There was no vegetarian sushi.
In fact, there were no generic flavours at all. It only seemed to have special fillings which are reserved for asians who have an aquired taste.
The only thing which looked remotely safe was spicy prawn sushi.
And so, highly apprehensive, I made the plunge. I ordered one and was on my way.
But then I stopped.
Because I just realised that, even though I was sweating from how much the sushi was burning my mouth and throat (I'm not a spicy food connosieur at all), it also happened to be one of the most amazing, intense and orgasmic gastronomic experiences I had experienced for an extremely long time.
So good, that I even contemplated running back to the shop and getting another hand roll but, by that point, I had arrived at my teacher's house and thought that I should just get on with my lesson.
During the lesson, however, all I could think about was how amazing that sushi was and, needless to say, once the lesson was over, I ran straight to the sushi shop and bought 3 more rolls which I munched at all the way home.
And thus sushi and I were reconciled due to the spicing up of our relationship with a bit of spicy prawn!
And I haven't looked back since that day. So long as there is spicy prawn sushi available (it's only available at a select few sushi bars), my world is a much happier place. 

So here's to a long and healthy relationship with spicy prawn sushi.
Kanpai!

Love Anya