Lauren Kate

Last night, as I may or may not have said in my last posts, last night I went to listen to an author speak. Anyone who knows me will have noticed that I can rarely be seen without a novel, a notebook or both. And if they haven't noticed... they need their eyes tested.

Anyway, I'm very obviously a writer as well as a reader, and I was thrilled and excited to hear in the school notices that author Lauren Kate was giving a talk locally on Wednesday night. And that it only cost $2 to go to.

Those of you who don't actually know who I mean by Lauren Kate: I'm talking about the author of The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove, which was her first (and less known novel). No; she's an international best-selling author now, with her books translated into over thirty languages. That's one hell of a lot. I'd say you've probably heard of her highly popular series (you get let off not knowing if you're not a teenage girl), Fallen? The series consists of three books so far: Fallen, Torment and Passion, with a fourth book coming next June called Rapture.

Obviously, I went to the talk. I bought a copy of Fallen beforehand and got it signed afterwards. I stayed behind and talked to her for a little while after everyone else had left and got some photos! It was really cool getting the chance to say hi to her and getting my book signed!

Anyone who hasn't actually read the Fallen series yet, and likes books that are a bit dark, paranormal with a few teaspoons of romance, they will be the best additions to your bookshelf ever. And if you needed any more reasons to go pick them up: Disney has the rights to make them into movies and the script is almost done!

Happy reading!!

Sayonara, fellow ninjas!! xoxo

My Magical Wardrobe

There are always things which are good for you but you don't particularly enjoy. For example, there's vegetables (though that doesn't apply to me; I'll eat almost any of them), homework, and maths (which I also like). On the weekend, I made an important discovery, thanks to something I really don't like- cleaning. But I don't think I would've been able to make this discovery in any other way.

In short, I discovered that my wardrobe is magical. Narnia crossed with Harry Potter magical. It is honestly a wardrobe with magical powers. It has the power to return things to me that I lost ages ago or never even knew I had. And the stuff inside it takes me to another place.

The first thing I found was a necklace. I'd been pondering its whereabouts for several years, and I finally found it. I got it from two of my gorgeous cousins for Christmas one year. They always get the most amazing presents. It's got heaps of dangly, pretty things on it. It's a lot girlier than most of the jewellery I wear nowadays, but I love it anyway. It reminds me of Paris somehow.

I found a whole box of Shrinkies shortly after that discovery. A whole box full!! Those of you who aren't familiar with Shrinkies- they're sort of like overhead projector sheets with colouring-in pictures on them. Once you've coloured them in, you stick them in a hot oven and they shrink before your eyes. They bake in the oven for a bit and when you take them out, they're tiny! So very, very cool! You can make necklaces and keyrings and stuff with them.

A whole stack of jewellery boxes fell on me then, so I picked them up (obviously!). It was pretty chancy that I decided to look in them though, because I found a pair of earrings! They're not flashy and I doubt they were very expensive; just a simple pair of gold sleepers. They're handy to have though- they're the only pair of earrings I own that I can sleep comfortably in- and, like with the necklace, I'd been questioning their whereabouts for years. Except that this time, I actually remember putting them in the box now.

I never forgot about these, either- a box of little flower fairy lights I've had (but never put up) since I was eight. My mum was inspired to buy me them for one birthday after seeing the way they were decorating one of our relative's bedrooms. I still haven't put them up yet (because my attempt to do so resulted in snapping of part of my Venetian blinds; not good!) but when I do, I will upload a photo!!

I found heaps of my old notebooks where I used to write all my old stories when I was in Kindergarten up until now. I keep them all because I like looking back over them every so often. I found my old Winnie the Pooh exercise book that I've had since Kindergarten, which was my first ever writing book. I wrote this one story that I distinctly remember, called What A Bad Baby! when I was five. Mum thought that it was very cute, particularly because I wrote "an overdue apple" without realising that apples are never actually "overdue."

Yes, I know I have been a very lazy blogger and I am so sorry! I've been preparing for the exchange, which starts on Saturday! I'm very excited to be meeting my sister (who I'm not actually related to, just to set the record straight!), and I've had to get the house ready for her to move in! So, sorry in advance if I don't post regularly!

Sayonara, fellow ninjas! xoxo