Sarah's Summer

Episode 2

Noe and I wrote a children's book a couple of years ago that is special to both of us and are delighted to share it with you. The story is not fantasy-based, rather it highlights the fun that children can have in their own world of imagination and adventure.

So for the next few weeks, we'll be posting a chapter or two for you to share with your kids ... you are invited to come into the second installment of Sarah's World. We hope you enjoy it!

Sarah and Pcee

The next day ...

     Sarah was in her backyard picking flowers for her mother. Seeing a very pretty one growing by the fence, she went over to look at it. As she was walking that way, Sarah noticed something moving on a leaf. She jumped back in surprise and then saw it was a colorful caterpillar! It was moving slowly, but then it caught sight of Sarah and stopped. The caterpillar raised itself up and looked at her and she looked at it. She thought it was so pretty, she held out her hand and the caterpillar crawled onto it.

     
     Sarah carried it inside the house into her room, looking for a good place to keep it. Since there was no water in her aquarium, she put it in there.

     Now, Sarah really wanted the caterpillar to feel as if it was still out in the yard, so she brought dirt and leaves in for the aquarium. Her mother, seeing her coming in and out of the house many times, asked what she was doing.

     "I'm making a home for my caterpillar." Mom wanted to see what she was talking about, so Sarah took her to her room.

     "See, I'm putting dirt and things in the aquarium so the caterpillar can make a home." Mom told her when an aquarium is used like that, it is called a terrarium. But for Sarah, it was much easier to say it was an aquarium with dirt.

     After she had gathered enough dirt, leaves and twigs, Sarah started to arrange everything so it would look pretty and be a pleasant home for her caterpillar. She found a good sturdy stick that looked like a bridge and thought her new friend would have fun climbing it. Now it was time to see what it would think of its new home.

     The caterpillar did like it, but Sarah still thought something was missing. Then her eyes got bright and she rushed outside. In the yard, she found some things she liked, then ran back to her room. Opening the lid to the aquarium, she placed several shiny rocks inside and said, "Now it's perfect! My caterpillar has a pretty new home!"

     Sarah was excited to show her mother, so she called her to come see how it looked. When Mom saw it, she told Sarah it was the best caterpillar home she had ever seen and that the caterpillar would love living there.

     Later that day, Sarah was looking at this squirmy little thing and decided she should give it a name. She thought, "I could call you Shawn or Gus ... but maybe you're a girl, so your name should be Mary or Irene. I think you must be a girl, because you're so pretty." As she put her face closer to the aquarium, she said, But I need to find the best name for a pretty caterpillar like you."

     Sarah kept saying to it, "What can I call you, my pretty caterpillar?" She sat looking at it and then came up with a great idea: "I know! I can call you P.C. for Pretty Caterpillar." After saying P.C. a few times out loud, she started saying Pcee, which was the same thing, but faster.

     "That sounds like a perfect name for a pretty caterpillar like you!" she said. And before she went to bed that night, she tapped on the aquarium and said, "Good night, Pcee."

Come back next week for more! And for links to the other parts of this series, look to the right sidebar under Sarah's World posts. ~

copyright © 2012 by NoeandCindy

Goodreads review: The Sun Also Rises

Noe's review:


The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 1 of 5 stars 

Well, I tried—I really did. This was the fourth time I attempted to read Ernest Hemingway's “The Sun Also Rises.” Twice I tried audio versions, and twice I tried reading it. I told myself on this last effort, I’m going to push through and read this all the way, because Hemingway is supposed to be a great writer and I must be missing something, both as a reader and as an author.

But it was like trying to eat cardboard. The writing is insipid, uninspired, colorless, uninteresting, boring, tedious—in other words, it offered nothing stimulating enough to give any reason for reading the next page. I did manage to get to chapter five, then I flipped several chapters to see if it would get any better; it never did.

How did he become such a big deal, I have to ask? Surely there were hundreds, if not thousands, of lackluster authors in his day, and somehow it was his nothingness that became something to clamor about. Was he randomly chosen in some sort of author’s lottery, and as the winner, his publishers would promote his works as being outstanding? Is this book “The Emperor’s New Clothes” in paper and ink? Or do people have to have more mojitos (said to be one of his favorite drinks) than someone should have before reading it?

I also read “The Old Man and the Sea” in its entirety with the same impression. I chose to try “The Sun Also Rises” because, in the opinion of some, this was his best work. Maybe it is, but I will not waste another second trying to read it.

View all my reviews

Note: Goodreads rating is as follows:
 did not like it
 it was okay
 liked it
 really liked it
 it was amazing

Make this a summer to remember for your kids!

New blog series

Noe and I thought it would be nice to do something for the kids this summer. We wrote a children's book a couple of years ago that is special to both of us and decided to share it with you. The story is not fantasy-based, rather it highlights the fun that children can have in their own world of imagination and adventure.

So for the next few weeks, we'll be posting a chapter or two for you to share with your kids ... and now, here we go:

Welcome to Sarah’s World
    At the dinner table, Sarah and her mother and father were talking over the day’s activities. “Sarah, how was school today?” her father asked.
    “It was fun! The teacher had us do some games about things we learned this year. She said with school letting out this week for the summer, there was no sense in giving us homework. Besides, they have already started collecting our school books. Some kids said theirs were still at home—did you know if they lose their books, they have to pay for them?”

    “Are all your books turned in?” Mom asked.

    “Yes, although I wish I could have kept our reading book. It had a lot of good stories, and we didn’t get to finish all of them.”

    “Well,” said her father, “I’m glad you took good care of your books. It shows your mother and me that you’re just as responsible at school as you are here at home. And I tell you what, since you saved me some money by not losing your school books, instead of you helping Mom clear the table, I’ll do that and you can ride your bike for a bit. Then you and I will go get some ice cream from the grocery store for dessert.”

    Sarah smiled. “Thanks, Dad!” she said, and she was out the door and on her bike in a flash. Mom and Dad heard her saying as she was getting her bike, “Boy, am I glad I’m responsible!”

    School was something Sarah really enjoyed, and the teachers could always count on her to cheerfully take part in all activities. On the last day of school before the kids arrived, their teacher had written some math problems on the chalkboards. She divided the class into two groups to play a fast skills game. There were enough problems for everyone on each team to do one equation, and no one could leave the board till they got the correct answer. Whichever side could finish all the problems first would win!

    The class became pretty noisy as the race started, each side cheering their teammate at the board, but they could not help work the problem. If a student had to give up trying, they could sit down, but the teacher would add another problem to their side. Sarah’s team wanted her to go last, so that if there were any extra ones to do,she would be the one to work them, since everyone thought she was the best at math.

    Eon, a very happy boy that everyone liked, was not very good at math and had to give up on his problem. He was on Sarah’s side, and they began getting behind until the other group hit a tough equation to work out too. Now Mike was able to make up for Eon’s lost time, and that made the sides even again, only Sarah’s side had an extra problem to do.

    The teacher was smiling with pride as her pupils were flying through the math problems. She had made the last one very hard, knowing which two students the class would choose to work it. As Sarah and her good friend Lucy reached the boards, both sides were cheering them on. The two girls were busy working out the equation, and did not look at each other.

    Then Sarah heard Lucy say, “I’m done!” Sarah’s arms dropped to her side until she heard the teacher say, “No, that’s not the right answer.”

    Now Sarah’s team began urging her to hurry as she turned to the board again! She finished the hard problem, but didn’t say anything yet, because she wanted to start on that extra one, which she was able to do quickly. She then cried out, “I’m finished!”

    Everyone cheered, it had been such a fun game! The teacher told the class how proud she was of them all, and someone teased, “Even Eon?” Everyone laughed at that, including Eon, because he had such a good sense of humor. And the teacher added, “Yes, even Eon.”

    At lunch in the cafeteria, Sarah, Lucy and others were talking about how much they enjoyed the race. Lucy said, “It was a good thing Mike came after Eon, otherwise I don’t think you would have been able to catch us.” Everyone thought Mike was the smartest boy in the class.

    There was a nice end of school party, with cupcakes and chocolate milk some of the mothers had brought. Before you knew it, the last bell was ringing and everyone was saying goodbye to each other and to their nice teacher. Sarah and Lucy got with their friends Abby and Pam, and they all walked home together, like they had so many times that year.

    “I can’t believe this was the last day of school,” Pam said.

    “No more homework!” Lucy cried.

    Abby added, “I have to go visit my grandmother for two weeks. It’s kind of fun, but where she lives there aren’t any kids our age. She and I have fun together, going shopping and watching movies and stuff, but I’m always glad to get back here for the rest of the summer.”

    “My cousin Margaret will be coming to spend most of the summer with me,” Sarah chimed in, “and we always have lots of fun. What about you, Pam?”

    “Our family always goes to spend a month at my uncle’s farm. There are plenty of animals, like chickens and cows, and they have a nice pond we can go swimming in.”

    “Does a rooster wake you up in the morning?” Sarah asked. The girls laughed, but Sarah really wanted to know, so she asked again. Pam said, “I know it sounds funny, but the rooster really does wake you up with its crowing.”

    “And then you go right back to sleep, right?” joked Abby.

    Lucy said she and her brother were going to summer camp again this year, which they always liked. This year they would be doing some art crafts, hiking and learning to play ping-pong.

    One by one, they came to each girl’s house and everyone gave each other a big hug and said they’d see one another again soon. “Have a happy summer!” they all sang out.

    At dinner that night, Mom asked Sarah about her last day of school. She excitedly told her parents the story of the math race and about all the plans her friends have for the summer.

    “We’re very proud of you, Sarah, for doing so well in school. And it sure sounds like your friends will have a good time doing all those things,” Mom said, adding that she always liked summer when she was young because she had time to read a lot of books. Dad mentioned how he enjoyed playing baseball during summer.

    To this, Sarah said, “I heard some boys talking about what they were going to be doing for the summer, and all they could talk about was playing some new video games.”

    “You don’t like playing video games, Sarah?” asked her dad.

    “I have played one or two, but I don’t think it’s that much fun. All you do is sit there and move your fingers, watching the screen. I would much rather be outside riding my bike, or just out discovering new things. Or if I am going to be inside, I would rather read a book or draw.”

    “That’s my girl,” Dad said with a smile. “Maybe we can play some baseball this year... I’ll show you how to throw a curveball.”

    Later in bed that night, Sarah thought, with a big smile on her face, “School is over and now we’re on vacation—I know tomorrow morning is going to be the start of a great summer!”

Come back next week for more! And for links to the other parts of this series, look to the right sidebar under Sarah's World posts. ~

copyright © 2012 by NoeandCindy

"The Sun Also Shines for me" giveaway!

Available till end of June

Two copies of our book are up for grabs on Goodreads.
We appreciate everyone signing up and hope that the two winners will post their reviews on Goodreads and perhaps on their own blog sites if they have one.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Sun Also Shines for me

by Noe

Giveaway ends June 30, 2015.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to Win

At this time, our book has a 4.4  rating on Amazon
and a 4.71  rating on Goodreads.

We're pretty sure you'll love it!

Goodreads review: The Story Girl

Another review by Noe:

The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery

My rating: 1 of 5 stars 

This book is a story of a simpler, innocent time for youngsters. Published in 1911, it is about several cousins and friends in their pre- and early teens who are spending a year together on the family farm on Prince Edward Island. Being written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, I anticipated reading a beautiful heartwarming tale, but instead I was sadly disappointed.

I don’t know why the book was titled “The Story Girl” since the cousin who is referred to in this way, Sara Stanley, is no more prominent in the story than any of the other children. One would think with such a title the pages would be filled with interesting yarns told by the story girl, but that is not the case. She does relate some stories, but neither she nor any of her stories are the driving force of the book.

Despite Montgomery's tremendous ability to make simple things sound wonderful and to create memorable people, she falls flat here. There were glimpses of her talent—for instance, the way she describes a rainy day: “The rain was weeping on the roof as if it were shedding the tears of old sorrows.” Who else besides Montgomery could put down such amazing lines? But the problem is, she only rarely does so in this book.

Religion makes up a great deal of what the children do and talk about, such as prayer, reading the Bible, going to Church, choosing a religion, and Judgement Day. In one part of the book, the kids were facing the possible death of one of their friends, and this expression I found particularly moving: “... his skepticism falling away from him like a discarded garment in this valley of the shadow, which sifts out hearts and tries souls, until we all, grown-up or children, realize our weakness, and, finding that our own puny strength is as a reed shaken in the wind, creep back humbly to the God we have vainly dreamed we could do without.”

Very much like the teachings of Christendom were, witchcraft and mythology are also among the main themes of the children’s conversations. All this religion is not presented in a preaching sort of way, but neither is it entertaining, like the old favorite TV show, Art Linkletter’s ‘Kids Say the Darndest Things’ was.

In other words, “The Story Girl” might be likened to watching family videos of someone else’s kids—there is a rare highlight of pleasure, but most often you are yawning, waiting for it to end.

Too bad, Noe really wanted to like this book.
L.M. Montgomery is the author of his favorite book, Anne of Green Gables.

Note: Goodreads rating is as follows:
 did not like it
 it was okay
 liked it
 really liked it
 it was amazing

A ton of things Jane Austen did not say

Okay, not a ton, but…

We haven’t read a lot of Jane Austen Fan Fiction (or variations) since we also write those kinds of stories. I guess we just want to model ourselves after Miss Austen herself and would never want to somehow copy another writer’s line of thinking or that sort of thing. But I am interested in what others may have happening to our favorite characters, so I have read a few.

I noticed right away that some of the writers of this genre use words that stand out in my mind as not belonging, that I could not remember being in Jane Austen’s stories. One is “the ton” … what is that, exactly? Well, it is not this: “informal use: … a large number or amount;” but instead, according to one regency glossary, it is this:

Ton - (pronounced 'tone') High society; the elite; generally the wealthiest and those of rank, with royalty at the top; in today's terms, the 'in' crowd, such as Hollywood stars. To be "good ton" was paramount, and opened most any door in fashionable society. Occasionally, those without either fortune or pedigree could become a member of the 'ton' ...

That sounded like a good term for that day, but did Jane Austen use it? Another word often used is “missive” … and here’s what that is: “a written message addressed to a person or organization.” So instead of using the word letter, this word sounds more formal, like something you might think those people of the ton would use - and maybe some people "without either fortune or pedigree" would too, so they could sound like they had fortune! But did Jane Austen use this word?

    
  

I decided to look just these two up in all of JA’s works to see if I was simply not remembering her using them. Using Amazon Kindle’s handy little search feature, I found not one instance where she used either of those words. It was kind of funny, because for “ton” such words as these popped up: Meryton, Brighton, Lambton, etc, and even astonishment, tongue, monotonous, atonement and simpleton! And for “missive” there was submissive and submissively, but neither of those is used in Pride and Prejudice - I suppose pride doesn’t go with being submissive!

Some JAFF authors also use phrases such as “five and ten” to mean fifteen, but I was certain Jane Austen said Georgiana Darcy was ‘but fifteen years old’ when Wickham tried to get her to elope with him, and that fifteen was Lydia Bennet’s age as well. I’m sure using that kind of terminology didn’t start until after a person reached twenty years of age, when it was proper to say “one and twenty” and so on, because again, I used that search feature and didn’t find one time where “one and ten” - “two and ten” - “three and ten” … you get the idea … was ever used by Jane Austen.

So why do some JAFF authors choose such words or phrases? I think it may be that they’re looking in ‘Regency era’ dictionaries and not checking to see if Jane Austen herself ever used them … but of course, if they were paying close attention to her writings, they would know that, wouldn’t they? As a consequence, instead of sounding like Jane, to me their stories sound more like Georgette Heyer or others who write about that period. That's the beauty of her works: although Jane Austen wrote 200 years ago, it sounds fresh, as if she was writing today. 

  

Anyway, the point is she didn’t use those words and if we’re going to call ourselves “Jane Austen fan fiction” writers, we should try to write like she did. Perhaps one JAFF author started it and others are just copying her instead of Miss Austen. I really couldn’t say, I just think it would be so much better if they would model themselves after her style, since after all, they are taking her works and expanding them. Of course, don’t get me started on the liberties some take on utterly changing the characters into horrid mean people or sex-crazed maniacs … that’s a whole 'nother blog ...

Call me proud, or maybe I’m just prejudiced, but I’m happy to say that none of our stories based on Jane Austen’s works uses these terms.

Here's some of what our Amazon reviewers say about us:

On The Sun Also Shines for me

“This is a story that Jane Austen could have written.”

“I think Jane Austen would have approved!”

“I think Jane Austen would have loved this sequel!!”

“Maybe I'm a bit obsessed about P&P and Jane Austen but happily she can still live in her stories and in fan-fictions. After 200 years it's so sweet to read something which actually Miss Austen could have written. Because this book is in an old-fashioned-style. The Autor (Noe and Cindy) took the magic from her into theirs. I really hope more Janites would find these books.” (Germany review)

On Mr Darcy falls in love

“The author was also very true to the original Darcy, not taking liberties with his character. The Darcy in this book is the same person, we are just able to understand him.”

“Unlike some P&P books, he did not turn Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett into different people. And though I have nothing against sex scenes, but between these two and before marriage just does not make sense. Jane Austen would not approve, but she would approve of ... this book."

“Jane Austen would love it herself!” (Germany review)

On Mr Darcy and the Space-time Continuum

“It was Douglas Adams meets Jane Austen. Just what you would imagine but wackier.” a review by another JAFF writer - we really appreciate her comment.
"Short, charmingly unusual."

To read more about Regency time, check these references:

Regency Period Glossary -- note that neither ton nor missive are in this glossary

When is the Regency Era? -- this is a great explanation of things

Write Like Jane Austen

Thank you for reading what noeandcindy.write !

This article was written by CINDY

https://www.amazon.com/author/noeandcindy.write

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