Lord of the Rings Giveaway Trivia; Part Two

Hey, guys and gals, I'm sorry I couldn't continue the Trivia as planned--I had completely forgotten I was leaving early for a family reunion. :) I may or may not be able to post due to lack of internet, but never fear--the giveaway shall go on! :D

To read about the giveaway (though the dates no longer apply), you can click here.

Now, for today's question...

"What are all of the names of Aragorn?"

HINT; There are seven that are the answers, but there may have been more.

Guess away! :D

Lord of the Rings Giveaway Trivia, Part One

****Looking for the giveaway? Click here to learn more about the giveaway and read the rules on how to get in on it.

LOTR trivia part one, everyone! For those of you who don't know or are hazy on the details of the rules on this, here it goes;

1) The first person who gets the question right gets one extra entry into the giveaway. If you don't know how to get regular entries into the giveaway, see my giveaway post.

2) If that person also gets it without searching in the book, he or she gets an EXTRA extra entry--i. e. two entries. Please be truthful when answering. :)

3) If you answer and receive an entry or two, you can't answer trivia again. Only one or two extra entries per person.

And it's also worth noting that all of the questions will be from the book, so please don't answer from the movie. :)

With that behind us, we can begin!

And for today's question...

"What was to be seen in the palantir of Minas Tirith after the Battle of Pelennor Fields?"

[HINT; The palantiri were those shiny balls of Sight that one could contact other people and see far things in. Saruman had one in Orthanc until Gandalf took it.]

Good luck, and keep your copies of LOTR close at hand! I'll be posting again tomorrow.

Let the guessing begin!

NOTE; If you find this too hard, then just mention it. >:) I may lower the difficulty if needed.

The Giveaway--the Tolkienish Something

It's here. Finally.

The giveaway.

The Tolkienish Something.

The Whizz-Bang.

All of that. Teenage Writer's first giveaway begins NOW.

How do you try to win that Tolkienish Something? You get entries. As you know, I gave a chance to guess the prize earlier and so get an extra entry, but, unfortunately, no one guessed it. :D

Anyway, there are THREE ways to get entries.

1) You must follow. Automatic entry (although this requires a comment to claim your entry) to those who already follow. To those who don't, please comment if you do decide to follow. :)

2) You must blog about it. I'd appreciate if you'd either contact me via email (see the page titled 'Contact Me' below the title of the blog) or comment on here to tell me that you blogged about it and give me the link so I can make sure that it's legit. :)

3) And for those smart cookies out there who are thinking, "It wouldn't matter if I did both of those; so will everyone else, and I'd have the same chances as if there were only one way to get entries." So that's why I have this; every day, Tuesday through Friday, I will have a post with some sort of LOTR trivia. The first person who answers correctly gets an entry. But if that first person answers correctly without looking it up, he or she gets a BONUS entry. :D I'll be relying on you guys and gals to be truthful, though. :)

Just for clarification, if that first person who answers the question correctly looks the answer up, but someone else who hadn't looked it up answers correctly after that person, the bonus entry doesn't count. :)

But what's the Tolkienish Something?


It's a The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Boxed Set, 1977 Ballantine edition. With a golden box. :) The edition I own is a little more faded and slightly frayed around the edges than this Amazon picture, but the books are in great condition for their age.

But wait! If you're thinking it's just some old copies of LOTR, prepare to be amazed. Literally just a little bit ago, I found this page on Amazon.com. Turns out this edition is quite collectable--and expensive. :)

The funniest thing? I bought it at a Goodwill for a dollar. Literally a dollar.

Two more notes;

One, I am happy to announce I will be able to ship to Canada! :D So no worries, those of you who live in Canada.

And two, if you are closely related to me, you cannot participate. ;)

Let the Giveaway begin!

Get Ready for the Whizz-Bang!

Since I'm posting, it means that I am BACK! With a terrible sunburn that.... itches. It just hurt for the last couple of days...but now... it iches terribly...and the problem is...I can't itch it... or it'll hurt my sunburn....

So, to explain the title, sometime in the next couple of days you'll wake up and see that I have posted something with the title 'The Giveaway--The Tolkienish Something'. And you'll find out that elusive prize that no one could guess....

On a completely 'random' note, I wrote a post on Why Everything is Random...Or Not on my other blog. Beware, however--it is 1) very random and 2) it is very confusing. Only go there if you love randomness and are prepared for a Random bombardment. :)

One Year Adventure Novel--And More About the Giveaway

Recently (yesterday, in fact), I started the OYAN on my father's recommendation. For those of you who don't know (I think I mentioned this before), I started OYAN once, only for it to flop about a quarter of the way through.

So that means that Sadaar is on hold for the duration of OYAN--which might not be long, at the blistering speed I'm going.

A little bit on OYAN; It's a curriculum made especially for those teens who want to write an adventure novel--whether it be from pirates to fantasy. Daniel Schwabauer, an award winning author and maker of OYAN, is a fantastic speaker, especially when it comes to writing. If I ever get close to his experience in writing, I'd be published, without a doubt. So anyway, the sole purpose of OYAN is to get you to write an adventure novel--in one school year.

Besides this, I'd like to announce that I will be gone--again. I'm going to my aunt's wedding. :) So hang on tight! After this, and after a reunion with distant relatives and stuff, I will finally have time to do the giveaway!

Relating to this, no one has guessed what I'm going to give away yet. Here's what has been guessed and what clues I have given out;

THE CLUES

-It is has to do with Tolkien
-It is literally golden
-It is book(s)

THE GUESSES

-It is NOT "The Hobbit: Vintage Gold Hardcover".
-It is PROBABLY NOT Keeneye's. XD
-It is NOT "The Tolkien Encyclopedia Golden Cover".
-But it IS something that has "All That is Gold Does Not Glitter" poem in it.

Here's what you need to do;
-Name a SPECIFIC edition of the book that you're guessing
-You only have three guesses
-If you guess correctly--edition and everything--you will get an extra entry into the giveaway. :)

Guess away!

A Writing Timeline

This post is a sort of writing biography, timeline, of my writing. It pretty much sums up most of my writing experience. Please keep in mind that most of these dates are extremely tenative--I have a terrible memory, especially when it comes to dates. And be warned--this is a long post.

1997-1998
My mom read picture books to me

2001? 2002?
I began to read--small books at first.

2006, I think
I read Eragon, by Christopher Paolini--and I started to write small stories

2007
My writing began to get longer (although most of the plot was copied from other books, and the grammar was atrocious) and I had now determined that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up.
Late 2007
I wrote a short story for school (I wasn't homeschooled then) that was roughly 6 pages--less, on the computer.

Sometime in 2007
I wrote a short, 7 paged 'book' titled Attack of the Clones (I was really into Star Wars then), although it was a fantasy story. It centered around an old man and his sword, two snow leopards, and evil 'clones' that attacked a city. The prose was terrible, but I was so proud of it back then. :D It was meant to be a trilogy that I was coauthoring with a friend, but he never finished the second book, titled 'Snow Leopards'--or something like that. :)

Early 2008? Late 2007?
After accidentally deleting Attack of the Clones (which, by then, I had decided needed some serious editing), I found myself sitting at the computer desk, typing up a document that I christened, 'Jake's Unknown Story'. If you've read this blog long enough, you know what that particular document is now called.

The plot, by that time, was only partially developed (I had a vague concept of dragons, dwarves, and a portal), but it was halfway unique--later, that is--and I worked furiously on it for a week or so. By the time that week was done, I had fabricated more of the plot, decided on the races I was to have, and made a God-figure--which I had given much thought to, as I hadn't ever tried to integrate God into my fantasy before.

A week, eight pages, and a flurry of ideas later, my idea ground to a crawl. I didn't work on it quite as much, but in my spare time I whittled away at it.

You see, I had never completed anything that had a large, full blown plot. My previous 'works' (which totaled up to the two mentioned above) were either a school project or a random idea. This, which started out as a random idea, now had a plot and a feeling for the ending--something which I had never completed. I was rather intimidated by the idea of writing ALL of that content.

This was the problem I had.

Besides this, I had a short attention span, when it came to writing. I kept going off and starting more 'novels' (none of which passed 10 pages), though this stopped happening once my novel gained length.

Summer 2008
During this time I ran out of books--literally. I couldn't find any books to read. Of course, my definition of any was 'hardly any'. So I had several books to read, but I had a famine.

In the abscence of books, I turned back to writing. I wrote slowly, but surely, and my pages began to tally up.

2008-Early 2009
I worked on my book, off and on, and managed to get more than halfway through it.

Spring 2009, I think
We moved from our house, causing a problem--I had no computer to work on. A long lapse in my writing proceeded through two months as we tried to find a new house. At that time, I was about two thirds of the way through my novel, although I didn't know it then.

Summer 2009?
Dates are terrible in my mind. I just can't remember them. But sometime in 2009, we found a house and bought it.

Once moved in, my writing progressed very fast, both in quality and quantity. I wrote fast and furiously once I sensed I was finally nearing my goal of finishing my novel.

Later that Summer of 2009
To my great horror and disgust, I accidentally deleted 10 pages of my novel. This caused a terrible writer's block and lapse in writing that lasted nearly three months. It not only extended from my 'Unknown Story' but to all of my writing. Much of my writing ceased.

Late Summer, Early Fall 2009
I finally plucked up my courage and my determination to try and rewrite the deleted portion of my novel. It passed exruciatingly slowly, but eventually, within the week, I was back on track.

Being freed from this hindrance, I wrote like mad for the next week.

Finally, after nearly two years or so, I sat back one hot day with a sigh, and said, "I'm done." I felt a mixture of sadness and happiness, a strange sensation. I had finally finished my novel.

I realized that I must now edit my novel, a process that is still going on today.

Fall 2009
Editing begins. I checked out numerous editing books from the library, (none of which were any help) and edited and rewrote and cut--although I only did a bit of the latter.

During this time, I picked up a story that I had started during the early days of my writing famine and, after a lot of midnight thought, decided to work it in as a sequel to my novel.

Writing took off there like a bullet, and I had never wrote faster--or better--in my entire life. Some passages in that novel, like the Leviathan Chapter I posted earlier, are better than many of my current novel's chapters.

Early 2010
I finished my novel in record time--and it was longer than my first one! You can read a former blog post on it here.

Later that month, 2010
I started my third novel, the one I'm working on now. It's currently longer than both of my other novels were at rough draft--and I still have a lot left to write.

Sometime, during school, 2010
I wrote my first short story since 'Attack of the Clones'. You now know it as 'The Dark King'

Early Summer 2010
I submitted an allegorical short story of mine to a contest. It tied second place out of seven or eight other stories, which was exciting for me. :) If you would like to read it, you can go here and click on 'The Cornerstone'.

To date
I have over twenty thousand words on my last two novels and almost thirty thousand on my first--I expect to break thirty thousand soon. I have two completed short stories, one of which, the Cornerstone, is already completely edited and finished and the second, the Dark King, is being edited right now.

Besides this, I have a prequel alone and a sequel series in the same world as my current trilogy planned, and also a highly allegorical novella planned (and partially written) once I'm finished editing the Dark King. Several other, barely formed, ideas for novels not relating to my current trilogy are also floating around my mind.

----

Sorry--that was longer than I expected. :) Feel free to comment!

Review; Venom and Song

Venom and Song.

It's been talked about on this blog for some time--and on plenty of others. Finally, a month ago, it came out. I was priveleged to buy it less than a week ago. I took my time and digested it like the amazing book it was. But it surpassed my greatest hopes and expectations.

WARNING; This book may just change your view of Christian Fantasy forever.

Time is running out...

Trapped in the strange world of Allyra, the seven royal Elf lords struggle to control their new powers. With the Spider King chasing them and traitors in their midst, the young lords must unravel the mystery of the legendary Rainsong before the Elven race is destroyed forever. Standing in their way are peculiar and perilous creatures, a trap-filled fortress, and a dangerous secret.

Will the Prophecies come true? Or will the Spider King win again? [from the back cover]

Amazing. Inspirational. Heart-wrenching. Spiritual. All of these things describe Venom and Song.

If anything could be called epic, it would be this. The battles are breathtaking and detailed, but not so the reader would be grossed out. The plot is always twisting and turning. Every time I think the authors would do one thing, they do the opposite. Full of dangers, deception, hope, action, and mystery, Venom and Song is epic indeed.

The Christian elements in this book are taken to a much higher level then in the previous book. Some of the complaints against the previous book, Curse of the Spider King, was that there was little mention or insight into Ellos (the God-figure in the Berinfell Prophecies.) There is a lot more about Ellos in Venom and Song, however

One of the possible cons was that there were seven protagonists, preventing character development. Let me tell you; this doesn't happen. The characters developed wonderfully, and I cared for each one of them--the ultimate character goal of each writer.

The political intriugue in this book is pulled of masterfully as well. The only cons in this excellent book is that it ended far too quickly. :)

This book, Venom and Song, is number 8 on my Top Ten Fiction list. Seriously. I have read many books, but this one is one of the best.

I recommend this to any fantasy lover (and even to those who aren't!). Rated 9.65 out of 10.

Now, to endure the torture of waiting until the next book...

Giveaway--But Not Mine

Hey, everyone, this'll be just a short post. Seth is having a giveaway at his blog--of THREE copies of Venom and Song. Posting this will give me an entry, so here it is. Head on over there to check out the rules and stuff.

Also in that post is a shortenized version of his review, so be sure to check that out as well.

Whee! A Tag

Beorn has tagged me with the illustrious Candid Room Tag--which means I have to post picture(s) of my room without cleaning it up first. So prepare yourself to see the disaster area known as my room.

(above) This picture shows most of my room. My bed is a holy mess, my amp has cords hanging all over the place, and you can see the remaints of unpacking from my mission trip. If you zoom in close (if you can) on the table, you'll be able to see a published-in-1898 black leather Bible from Sierra Leone.

(above) My table, on which I put my radio/CD Player, clock, fan, library books, and miscellaneous junk. Behind the fan (which was on) you can see a drum from Africa. It was 10:52 PM when I took this picture, as you can see by the clock.

(above) My bookshelf, my guitars. Pretty much sums it up.

And last, but certainly not least...

My bookshelf--close up. If you can zoom in, feel free to take a look at the books. The only one whose title is clearly visible from this vantage is Brisingr, by Christopher Paolini. This isn't all of my books, however. Many of them are on my Amazon Kindle, COTSK included. Venom and Song, however, is sitting beside me with a bookmark stuck in the middle, so it wasn't included in the picture. :)

And just becuase I can, I tag ALL of my followers--those who have a blog. People who have already done it are an exception, like Beorn. :D

Heh heh, this should be interesting...