Excerpt from "Cinderella and Sebastian"

For your enjoyment, here is a short paragraph from my story (working title) Cinderella and Sebastian. Let me know what you think!


The bark dug into Sebastian's back as he pressed himself against a tree, listening to the travelers’ conversation. "Aye, an' he hired the bloke to kill the Caliph, he did," said the one with gravel in his voice. One of them spit. "He's a trai'or to his blood, he is," added the other. Sebastian's heart plummeted and he squeezed his eyes shut. Banished and yet wanted at the same time, he thought with no amusement. But when he opened his eyes he saw a girl standing there, her eyes like saucers as she took in his attire, his weapons. Without thinking, Sebastian tackled her to the ground and muffled her cries with a hand. He drew his dagger and held it to her throat. The girl's eyes, too shocked for tears, did not blink. Seb listened until he could no longer hear the travelers. Still keeping the dagger aloft, he held a finger to his lips. The girl nodded and he drew his hand away. "Forget my face," he said, and stole deeper into the woods.


-Grace

Celebrity Look Alikes: Dina Meyer VS Erin Richards

This will probably be my last Celebrity Look Alikes post for a while. I really want to refocus my blog on the writing aspect, as I set out to do in the beginning. So, I hope you enjoy this post before the meme goes on a hiatus.
Our candidates today are the lovely Dina Meyer and Erin Richards.

(Dina Meyer picture from the Heroes for Hire website, http://heroesforhire.us)

 

(Erin Richards at the premier of The Quiet Ones)

You've probably seen Meyer in numerous roles including Johnny Mnemonic, Starship Troopers, ABC's Castle, and CBS's NCIS. Richards, on the other hand, has most recently been seen on FOX's new series Gotham as Barbara Kean, although you may also have seen her in The Quiet Ones, Open Grave, and the BBC's Merlin. These women both have some intense stares, ethereal baby blues, and luscious textured locks. Clearly there's a secret to keeping your face acne-free. (Side note: Acne doesn't end when you're seventeen! This is something they don't tell you: you get it the rest of your life!) Their chins are also slightly pointed, and they both have arched eyebrows and nude-colored lips. The biggest contrast is their hair. I wonder what Miss Richards would look like with auburn hair. I find it interesting that Richards plays a character named Barbara on Gotham, which centers around the fictitious city from the DC universe before the pseudo name Batman came to be. Dina Meyer starred in Birds of Prey (2002-2003) as Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl aka Oracle. Do I see a character parallel here? Granted, Gotham has only aired one episode (Mondays at 8/7c on FOX) but it has already been hinted that Barbara Kean has a shady past with another character on the show. I wonder if it has anything to do with computer hacking. If so, that would be a great set-up if she were eventually to become Oracle. Although that would mean Oracle would be much older than Bruce Wayne once he and she connected.
Ahem.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little post. Once again, I hope to post more writing-based posts in the future. Stay tuned!

-Grace

Celebrity Look Alikes: Nicolas Giraud VS Kit Harington

This seems to be the only thing I'm good for these days. What can I say? Between writing and college, my methods of detoxing are pretty slim. So I find quite a few people who share certain resemblances.
On that note, here are two more that I think you'll find rather interesting. Say hello to Nicolas Giraud and Kit Harington.

(Above, French actor Nicolas Giraud from the movie The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec)

 

(Above, actor Kit Harington showing off his Jon Snow figurine; known for HBO's television series Game of Thrones)

 

 

I first saw Mr. Giraud while watching The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, a French film that kind of reminded me of the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel. Both films are extremely entertaining. They contain elements you certainly won't find in your typical comedy sketch.

You might recognize Mr. Harington for his role as Jon Snow on HBO's mega-hit series Game of Thrones.

Both men have incredibly dark features: black curly hair, dark eyes, and a generous growth of hair around the jawline. They may not be twins, but I think they could even play brothers.

That's all I have for now. I promise to get make to more writerly stuff soon. Believe me, the wheels have been turning. If our bodies could indicate the kind of workouts our minds got on a daily basis, there would be no need for gyms.

Have a wonderful week.

 

-Grace

Check Out My New Toolbar

You may have noticed the righteous new toolbar that displayed when you came today. Isn't it lovely? Now you can share my grammatical mistakes all over the web! I've been swamped with homework lately, especially Basics to Web Design. I'm learning all about HTML and accessible web pages -where there's alternative texts for images and multimedia. It's all very interesting. As I've been reading through, I've been thinking, "I can totally use that in my blog." Anyway, just wanted to give you an update about the new toolbar. There's some really faded text above it that says "Tell Your Friends!" I hope to tweak it so that it's a little more visible.
Later.

-Grace

Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch

For my Creative Writing class, we were instructed to describe the scene in the picture below using each of the five senses at least once. For your enjoyment, the surfer.

Daniel stands before the churning green waves like a sentry, an avenging angel of the sea. Another wave crashes and dissolves at his ankles. He digs his toes into the sharp sand, mostly crushed sea shells, remembering the last time he was here. Because last time, Layla had been with him, and her wide, eager smile had shone brighter than the sun.
Daniel squints back tears as soft water mist brushes into his eyes.
One more wave, Danny. Please? He can hear her musical voice now as another wave builds far in the distance. Perfect surfing weather, as it had been that day. Just one more wave.
Water crashes at his feet, nearer, stronger, gaining breath and attitude after a resting period. The seagulls caw overhead, the sound lulling and familiar as a salty breeze cools Daniel's face.
He couldn't save her. His heart turns over in his chest at the thought he had punished himself with for the last three years.
It must have been near here, he thought, gazing out to where the sky met the water and down along the coast. Water far in the distance rolled in anticipation. Daniel remembered showing off for Layla as she paddled out a little farther. They were always competing against each other even though she was five years his junior. Daniel remembered cresting a great wave when, out of nowhere, Layla sipped alongside him. He had been so caught off guard that he turned his board hard and the end had caught Layla in the head. He fell into the water like a fish thrown back after a catch, and when he emerged sputtering, his board had washed into the shallow water... and so had Layla. Facedown, yellow hair splayed in every direction, she didn't heave or even twitch.
Danny had rushed to her and hauled her onto the beach, checking to see if she was still breathing.
"Layla?" he said. touching her forehead. "Layla?" He pressed his fingers under her jaw, searching for a pulse. People had started gathering, their murmurs swarming around him, but he paid them no mind. Daniel pressed his ear to Layla's chest and counted to four before he started CPR. Fifteen compresses, tilt, pinch, two breaths. Again, again, again....
Another wave crashed, washing away Daniel's nightmare. He took a deep, cleansing breath, tasting the energy in the air. He waded farther out, the anxiousness of the water mounting with his own rising adrenaline. Daniel picked up his board and went farther out, faster this time, and then slapped it onto the water, sliding easily onto his belly. Paddling out, he glanced down out of habit at the ribbony blue letters painted near the top of his surfboard. Layla, they read.
Come on, Layla. Let's do one more wave.

The photo is by G. Baden of Corbis Images. I think it's called Contemplating the Surf.

-Grace

Celebrity Look-Alikes: Jennifer Ehle VS Meryl Streep

So I was watching this video montage of period drama couples (courtesy of YouTube). By period dramas, I mean movies like Pride and Prejudice, North and South, and Tess of the D'Ubervilles, although the genre could extend to include many Renaissance-y movies like Ever After, or even Phantom of the Opera. Anyway, I stumbled across one such video and noticed the woman who played Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice looked a lot like Meryl Streep. However, as some of you will probably know, it was actually the very talented Jennifer Ehle who portrayed the spunky Bennet girl. There is a twenty year age difference between the woman, and I personally believe they could play relatives in a movie someday. What do you think?

(Picture of Jennifer Ehle from http://imdb.com)

(Picture of Meryl Streep from the Indiana University Cinema website http://cinema.indiana.edu)

 

Yeah. Totally mother-daughter material.

 

-Grace

Celebrity Look-Alikes: Wes Bentley VS Matt Bomer

This is fun! I enjoy finding people who look alike. Today's episode of "Celebrity Look-Alikes" include The Hunger Games' Wes Bentley and USA's White Collar's Matt Bomer. See for yourself.

(Picture of Wes Bentley from http://metro.us)

(Picture of Matt Bomer)

 

The top photo is of Wes Bentley, who recently played Seneca Crane in The Hunger Games (the guy with the crazy facial hair) as well as Jerry Cohen in Cesar Chavez. The second photo is Matt Bomer, whom I know for his portrayal as smooth con man Neal Caffrey on USA's White Collar. As you can see, both gentlemen have a similar angled jawline, low-set eyebrows above light blue eyes, and in these pictures they even style their hair in similar manners. However, I think Bentley's eyes are slightly more sunken while Bomer's cheekbones are a little more prominent. But they both look fantastic in a suit and tie, no?

I hope you enjoyed this segment of "Celebrity Look-Alikes."

 

-Grace

 

PS: I will be getting back to more writing-based posts as the weeks progress. I've been swamped with my own projects as well as a few stories for Helping Hands Press. More on those soon. Stay tuned! Enjoy the weather!