Hello all! As promised I return this Monday to present you with my favourite Christmas songs. Friday I talked about my festive favourites & I mentioned that I liked Christmas music but decided to leave my favourite songs till today, as it is Music Monday.
So without further ado, allow me to give you my top 5 Christmas tunes:
'Fairytale Of New York' by The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl
Such a good song- it may be be rather melancholy in places, but the tune itself is mostly upbeat. Gotta love this classic tune!
'A Spaceman Came Travelling' by Chris De Burgh
This is one song which I find odd that I like this time of year. See, I'm an atheist, yet this song is very much based on Christianity & the nativity. I think what draws me to this song though is the space theme- plus the song itself & the way it's sung is good.
'Gaudete' by Steel Eye Span
Again, another one I find odd that I like as it's religious & I'm an atheist, but I really just like how this song sounds!
'Feliz Navidad' by Jose Feliciano
The reason why this song is in my top 5 is because of the good memories it brings. I went to Florida for Christmas 2012, & whilst in Seaworld this song was playing. Hearing it takes me back to the sun & the good times!
'Santa Claus Is Gunning You Down' from Futurama
What's better than a murderous robot Santa? A song about a murderous robot Santa, that's what! Gotta love this little parody!
Well, that's it for my Christmas songs. Now it's time for an announcement:
As you're all probably aware, I've been very busy recently, what with Uni work & getting things sorted for Christmas. Unfortunately, I have a lot of Uni work to do over my Christmas holiday, so I'm putting the blog on hiatus until my hand in. After then it should be running as usual on a Monday (or Tuesday) & whenever possible on a Friday.
So that's that my readers. I'll fill you in when I return, but for now, I wish you all a merry Christmas & a happy new year!
Good evening readers! Hope you're all well this festive season- I've been pretty busy, hence the lack of posts the past week. To be fair, there hasn't been much to blog about, but nevermind- let's crack on with tonight's post!
Seeing as it's the Friday before Christmas, I thought I'd share with you some of my seasonal favourites. Christmas is such a nice time of year I find- it has such a lovely atmosphere, what with the festive music, the decorations & being the season of good will. It's great spending quality time with family & friends, which would be the first of my festive favourites, along with giving said loved ones presents- it's so nice to see their faces light up when they see their gifts!
But as well as being a time of giving & sharing, Christmas is also a time for self indulgence. I think it's essential for everyone to have some 'me' time, & I'm sure everyone has their own little things that they like to do to treat themselves at Christmas, whether it be watching a certain programme or film or just chilling with some festive tunes & a glass of mulled wine.
Speaking of programmes, this brings me to my second festive favourite. There are plenty of festive shows on TV over Christmas- various Christmas specials & classics such as 'The Snowman', but my favourite Christmas special to watch is the Futurama episode, 'Xmas Story'. Futurama is one of my favourite shows & I love the insight into a futuristic "xmas"- which is terrifying as well as heart-warming! Matt Groening's decision to portray Santa Claus as a murderous robot is a great one & one that makes this festive favourite a joy to watch!
"He'll hunt you down & blast your ass from here to Pakistan!" (Image not mine)
When it comes to self indulgence at Christmas time & festive favourites, I don't think I could leave this post without mentioning food! Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a great selection of food- from nibbles to biscuits to main meals- Christmas is the time to indulge oneself in all the goodies, be that cheese footballs, twiglets or a fine selection of cheese & crackers. Now, I do love my food, so this is one of the highlights of the season for me! Amongst all the delights the season has to offer, these are my favourite Christmas foods:
Lebkuchen- These are German biscuits similar to Gingerbread. My Mum bought me some a couple of years ago & they are amazing! They have a cake-like texture on the inside & usually have a biscuity outside, coated with either sugar or chocolate.
Caramelised Peanuts- These are something I only tried last year, but upon doing so I discovered that they taste great- sweet, crunchy & very more-ish!
This year's batch- yummy! :D
Mince Pies- I love the fruity flavours of the mincemeat, combined with the sweet pastry it makes for a lovely festive treat. Teamed with a cup of tea, they make for a great snack during the day, or a dessert if heated & served with custard- yum!
Pigs in Blankets/Bacon Wrapped Sausages- Now these are number one for me & the Christmas meal would not be a Christmas meal, & Christmas wouldn't be Christmas, without these delightful, rather morbidly named* treats! These have always been a favourite of mine ever since I was little, & I always save one until last in my dinner so I can savour the taste!
Love them! (Again, image not mine.)
I also enjoy hearing Christmas music- the delightful tunes really do help to put you in the mood! But I won't say too much here- you'll have to wait until Monday to learn what my favourite Christmas songs are!
And there we have it readers, my festive favourites, covering the 4 Fs- Family, Friends, Futurama & Food! What are your Christmas favourites? Why not let me know by leaving a comment below? :D
Thanks for reading, I'll be back Monday to share with you my top Christmas tunes! :)
*When you think about it, the term "pigs in blankets" is rather morbid- it may sound cute, but really it's dead pig wrapped in dead pig.
Hello readers! Been a busy week here in the life of Amy Sheppard, hence why you didn't hear from me Friday & why I did a Tune Tuesday last week. This week I am taking the time out to continue my music challenge, with my hardest song choice to date!
A song I want played at my wedding. Not something I've thought of- heck, I've not even decided if I will get married yet! May just live "in sin" as they say & hold a party with a buffet, seeing as that is the best part of a wedding (not to mention it'll cost less!). Or I'll end up being a crazy cat lady...
But who knows? Maybe when I'm older I'll be more inclined to marry. If the event ever does happen, I've decided this would be a good song:
'Last Night On Earth' by Green Day
It's my favourite "love song", so I think this would be appropriate. Contains "nice words" as my Grandad would put it (although I doubt he'd think so about this song, I hasten to add). Fingers crossed the man I end up with is a Green Day fan...
So there we have it, a song that I want played at my wedding. Future me, if you do decide to get married, please think back to this post when coming up with a playlist! Readers, if you wish to share a song you want played at your wedding, please feel free to comment below!
Hello readers! Tune Tuesday returns! Again, it's because I didn't have time to do my usual Music Monday post, so I've decided that this shall be the post I go to in the event that I do miss Music Monday.
Here's this week's tune:
'Fix Me' by Jack Strify
The reason why I've chosen this song is because on Sunday, the digital copy of Strify's 'Illusion' album was released to those who had pledged. I'm currently giving the album a second listen & I'm loving it! The song above doesn't appear on that album & I'm not allowed to post any of that music online as the album hasn't been properly released, however, this song is equally as great as those on the album. Plus, the imagery given in the first few lines of this song is similar to that given in some of the songs on the new album (well, it is for me).
Anyway, this song is great & I thought I'd share it with you. Plus, Jack Strify is a great artist- some of you may recall he was the frontman of Cinema Bizarre & their music is also excellent!
Thanks for reading folks! Hope you enjoy this week's tune & I'll be back with the challenge on Monday! :)
Hey readers! Music Monday & the challenge returns! Although this week, it's not a particularly upbeat post, as today's challenge is to share a song I listen to when I'm sad. Now, much like with the angry one & the happy one, I don't really have a go-to song when I'm sad. In all honesty, I rarely feel sad, & usually when I do I don't really like music that reflects these feelings, I prefer to listen to something that may perk me up a bit &/or distract me. However, if I do have to pick a go-to "sad" song for this challenge, it's going to be this:
'Bury My Troubles' by Imelda May
The reason why I've chosen this song is because I feel Imelda gives good advice- bury your troubles away! The song talks about getting rid of negative feelings & not being a slave to them, which is easier said than done but is still a good notion to go by!
There we have it, tonight's post. For a more positive post this Monday, why not head over to my friend Jess's blog, 'Vanilla and Owls', & check out her album post!
Good evening readers! Tonight's post is an insight into some of the work I'm doing at Uni, as I'm finally learning something new- yay!
One of the things that attracted me to my Uni was the fact that I would learn how to build a website properly. This is a skill I had admired for a while & something that I have been eager to learn, & now that I'm in my second year I'm finally doing so! Today, as part of an advanced workshop, I started to build my own website prototype using HTML & a piece of software called Espresso. I found myself really getting into it & here's what I created:
Homepage- just mucking around, writing stupid text, found a cute picture of cats to go on it.
Mucking around version 2- just writing random stuff, casually popping a picture of my Sim in there.
Was in a Futurama mood, so this had to be done. Again, just messing about.
And that's my website making so far! I may try & code up my blog once I'm a bit more savvy with it. But for now, I'm making silly things & just playing with it until my group give me actual content to work with.
Thanks for reading tonight, I hope you've enjoyed this insight into my new Uni work & skills! :)
Hello readers! I bet you're thinking- "tune Tuesday, what is this?" Well, seeing as I didn't to my usual Music Monday post yesterday as I was very busy catching up with coursework, I decided that I would compensate today & give an alternative. Rather than continue the challenge today (but it shall resume next week!) I thought that today I'd share a song with you all, which is:
'Killed It With My Bare Hands' by The Hitchers
Now you all get the rather odd title. The reason I share this song is because it's been in my head the past few days. I was listening to the album 'It's All Fun & Games Til Someone Loses An Eye' by them the other day & this song hasn't left my head. Also, they're a really good band, Irish punk, I definitely recommend checking them out!
And that's all for today's post. May or may not be back Friday, but shall definitely return Monday!
Good afternoon readers! To celebrate the fact that I've had my first 2 sales on RedBubble, I thought I'd do another edition of 'Shameless Self Promotion' & give promotion to my outlet for t-shirt design, among other things.
(There's also a link in my 'Elsewhere On The Net' page above.)
I decided to set up a RedBubble account as I'm interested in selling some of my designs as t-shirts. I've been a fan of graphic tees for ages & to have something I've designed being worn by others is a dream! I thought having this account would be good for getting a foot into this side of the industry, plus RedBubble has the option to allow different coloured tees, meaning that buyers can personalise their merchandise. So far there are two designs on my page, which are:
As stated in my reflective art post, this piece started as a doodle, which I later found a photo of & vectorised. I liked how it turned out & thought it would look good on t-shirts. Initially, the design was on a website called StreetShirts, but I felt it was way too expensive, so moved it to RedBubble instead.
White version
Black version
Me sporting this design on a baseball tee back in January. Credit for the image goes to Georgia. :)
"There's What I Believe..." (Quote From 'In The Flesh')
This is something I did whilst exploring hand lettering for a Uni project. This is my favourite quote from the show 'In The Flesh', & most possibly my most favourite romantic quote! I felt it would be great done in lettering due to the lovely look it has, & decided that this would be another design that's would work well on a t-shirt. This is my most successful design & the holder of the 2 sales I've made!
White version- also available as prints with extra text.
Black version
Me sporting my tee today. :)
And there we go, some lovely tees to feast your eyes on! Why not treat someone with one this Christmas? :D
Hey all! Another Monday means another edition of the weekly music challenge. This week I get to share with you a song I listen to when I'm happy. To be fair, this is a lot of songs! And when my mood's good I tend to listen to whatever- & usually I tend to go by whatever song's in my head when I decide what to listen to & not my mood. So today I'll share with you a feel-good song of mine, well, more of an upbeat favourite:
'The Reckless And The Brave' by All Time Low
First track of one of my favourite albums, always puts me in a good mood! Plus, this song is pretty awesome!
So readers, what's your song to listen to when you're happy? Comment below!
Hello there readers! November is upon us & Fridays return to their usual sort of post. There will be a slight change though as my schedule has become full of Uni coursework, so I'll be reducing actual posts to every 2 weeks starting the week after next. On the Fridays I don't post anything properly I'll try & at least post some pictures from my week, but I may not, depends on how busy I am or how interesting my week's been.
Speaking of Uni, I thought I'd give an update on my personal life, seeing as the last time anything was properly said about that was September. As the title (very optimistically) says- things are looking up! (I would add 'oh finally!' to reference Paramore but I think that'd be a bit over-dramatic.)
For those of you that know me IRL or have read some of my older posts, you'll know that I was rather disappointed with my first year at Uni & such feelings left me unsure of my chosen career choice. I'll admit, I wasn't particularly looking forward to going back because of this, however, I chose to remain hopeful & optimistic about the second year, & I have to say I'm a lot happier with the course this year!
For starters, the intro talk given by the course leader was really optimistic, giving insight into the things previous students have done & what we can achieve. I felt really good after that- raring to crack on & get designing!
Secondly, the tutors are so much better this year! A couple of them I encountered last year, one in particular was always one I favoured, but this year we have a new addition who happens to be my personal tutor- & she is brilliant! She's a friendly human being & very motivational- after a tutorial the other day I felt really eager to go & get creative, which led to me creating a great looking final piece:
Needs some tweaking, but am pleased with how the brush lettering came out! Based on a speech given by Bill Gates. Vectorised in Illustrator to make it editable.
Admittedly, there's a lot of work being back at Uni, as I've said, & after four months off it took my brain a while to adjust to the workload! Still, at least I'm actually enjoying myself & learning things, unlike last year.
As well as Uni going in the right direction, I've also passed my driving test- yay! After it being postponed twice, I decided to check online for a cancellation & voila! Got an earlier one! It's great to finally have this independence & to be able to drive properly, as they say, you really start learning to drive when you're properly on the road.
Another thing which I'm really pleased about is that I made a sale on RedBubble! Whilst lettering for the project above, I decided that I'd letter one of my favourite quotes from 'In The Flesh', which, after vectorising, I put up on RedBubble. A few days later, I had an email come through saying I'd made a sale- which I think is pretty awesome! Haven't earned much from it but still, knowing that someone out there has bought something I've designed is awesome!
A screenshot of the piece on RedBubble, which you can find here.
There we have it, a brief insight into my personal life over the past month. I'm glad I'm finally enjoying my course & I soon plan to improve my presence on the web. I also have an idea for a project for next year, but that will be revealed nearer the time.
As I said, Friday posts won't be as regular, or if they are, not all of them will be overly wordy.
But that's all for now, I hope life is going well for you all out there!
Thanks for reading! :D
Ice cream selfie from Sprinkles. You've not seen my face in a while so I thought I'd share. :)
Hello all! Welcome back to the Music Monday challenge! This week's challenge is to share a song I listen to when I'm angry. The thing is, I don't really get angry very often, so I don't really have a go-to song for said emotion. I know in my periods of feeling slightly miffed I kind of have a go-to album, but if I have to pick an angry song, I'll go for this:
'Blackout Time' by Blowsight
The reason why I chose this song is because I used to listen to it a lot when I was at college when I felt annoyed with the lack of organisation & ton of coursework. Little did I know that a year later I'd experience more disorganisation & even more coursework at Uni...
Ah well, enough of the negative feelings, I'll be back Friday with something more positive!
Hey readers, happy Halloween! For my final edition of Freaky Friday, I thought I'd give you all some ideas of what to do with your nails this Halloween. I'll admit, this is a bit late as Halloween is today, but it can give you some inspiration for next year. (Or for any time in the year if you're the type that likes all things spooky every day!)
Before I begin, I'd like to say that I'm not an advocator of any particular brand of nail polish. I'm going to give tips on colours & styles, so feel free to use whichever brand you please! Now that I've established that, let's move on to the actual post:
Those of you that know me in real life will know that I love doing my nails! I'm no pro, & I'm not a fan of having them too long either, but I love having them painted &, when I get time, doing snazzy designs. I think it's great when people have nice nails & it is an art form I admire, & in the past few years I've become rather fond of regularly painting my nails & getting creative with them.
Halloween really is the perfect opportunity to have some fun with your nails, as it's a time of year where it's likely you'll be dressing up or, if you choose not to don a full costume, you can show your spooky spirit in your nail art! Now I know not everyone is a fan of having the more artistic designs on their nails & that some people may not have the time to do or feel as though they can't do such things, so I plan to start from the basics & work up.
Basics
For those of you out there who like to keep it simple & stick to just painted nails, then I suggest sticking to dark tones for this occasion. You can't go wrong with black- if anything it's the colour of the season, plus it has an air of sophistication, for those of you out there that are a bit more classy. Colour wise, stick to jewel tones- dark reds, purples, dark greens, dark blues. Silver could work as well, although that would be better teamed with black. In fact, any of the colours teamed with black would look great, if you do want to mix it up a bit. Try the current nail trend of having something different on the ring finger- this finger could be a colour & paint the rest of the nails black- this is an easy way to make your nails stand out!
Examples of dark tones, perfect for keeping it simple!
Have included white here as this would also work well.
Simple Method, Snazzy Nails
Just because it's Halloween, doesn't mean you have to have dark nails! In fact, brighter shades could work really well- just think of all the different Halloween advertising you see! Bright orange, green, vibrant red, yellow, even pink! However, I'll admit, these colours will work best alongside black. Now you can do the method I mentioned above with the ring finger, or alternate, but a really simple way to get awesome looking nails is to use crackle polish. This stuff is amazing! I love it! You could do a really bright colour (or even a dark colour or white) & paint over it with black crackle for an instant nail makeover! Trust me, people are always impressed with this stuff. Plus, with some brands, you can get coloured crackles, which means you could do this in reverse if you wanted!
Sparkles or glitter would also work well to give nails a little something. Again, the ring finger technique could be used with this style of polish, but could also be done across all nails. A simple technique just to give nails a little more oomph!
Examples of bright colours- these would look great under a black crackle!
I would seriously recommend getting some of this stuff, especially the black. Again, brand is up to you, but this style of nail varnish is amazing- & not just for Halloween!
Brighter crackles for a reverse effect.
Example of black crackle on colour- I did this over the summer (which is why it's quite bright), but using colours similar to those shown above would look great for Halloween!
Example of reverse crackle, which were my nails for last week.
Stepping Up Your Nail Game
For those of you that are looking for something more creative, this is where I move onto the more arty-farty nail designs. For these, you don't need any specialist tools- a thin paintbrush will work fine & either a cocktail stick or bobby pin will work as a dotting tool. Sharpie & gel pens also work well. Now, just because I'm mentioning brushes doesn't mean I'm instantly going into the more intricate stuff. You can do really simple things with these tools. Brushes can be used to make stripes, either fully across the nail or a simple line.
My sister did this design using two tones & a cocktail stick. I think it looks great!
Tape is your friend when it comes to making 'perfect' lines. I use that term loosely as it's likely the lines won't be 100% spot on. With tape, you can create checkered nails, duo tone nails, triangles- you name it, you can probably do it! You can also use tape (or even plasters or special strips) to do french manicures. You could have the tip black, or do a reverse french with black & white.
Combining the ring finger trend with checkered nails- I used masking tape to help get more even lines.
Hogwarts nails, did these a while back. I used tape to get the two different colours on my nails & a brush to paint the Deathly Hallows symbol. This is a great idea for anyone doing anything Potter themed this Halloween!
Reverse french. Another classy yet effective look this Halloween!
Another really cool thing is ombre nails. I only tried the technique yesterday, but again, it's a very simple process to instantly have more interesting nails! Just pop a couple of colours onto a sponge & dab them on your nail, but make sure you use a white colour as a base first, as this will enable the colours to stand out!
Was feeling the black & orange theme, but any colour can be used!
Tools used. I used a scourer sponge for the dabbing, although a flatter sponge would create a smoother gradient.
Remember, Nails Are Tiny Canvasses
This is the section for those of you out there that a feeling a little more creative. As I said earlier, this is the perfect occasion to have some fun with your nails, whether it's part of a costume or just to pay homage to this frightful occasion. Halloween brings about a range of imagery that can easily be put onto nails- pumpkins, ghosts, cats, skulls, zombies, spiders- I could go on but instead I'll just say, if it fits with Halloween, put it on your nails! You can choose to paint it on, but decals also work amazingly & can be easily sealed in place with a top coat.
Try anything! You could have the same design across all nails, or have different characters on each nail! The best part is to have fun & not to worry too much if it isn't perfect- at the end of the day, if you've done it, regardless of any little mistakes, people will still be impressed with your artistic skills! Techniques mentioned before can be used, such as the ring finger, or you could combine arty designs with crackles- whatever you choose! Here are a couple of my own designs:
Skull face nails. Decided to combine with the ring finger trend to give it a more minimal feel.
Tools used for the above design.
Zombie nails! My favourite design to date!
Tools used to create the zombie nails, used a white gel pen for the teeth as these were very small- it worked amazingly!
And there we have it, some tips for your talons! Whether you want to keep it simple or go all out- I hope you've found yourself some inspiration this Halloween! Remember though, these tips aren't just for today, they can be applied any time of year & to any occasion!
And that's all for today. Once again, happy Halloween! Hope the nail art goes well, & if you do wish to share with my any designs you do, feel free to post in the comments section below! :D
Hey readers! It's almost Halloween, which means if you haven't already had one early, you've probably got a Halloween party coming up. Or, you plan to do nothing & stay in, either enjoying some quality alone time or some time with loved ones. Either way, you're going to need some good tunes to put you in the mood for this spooky occasion, & if there's one band I recommend, it's these guys:
(Image isn't mine)
Erik X (left) & Curtis RX (right) form the horror band 'Creature Feature', a band I came to hear of thanks to a site called 'Mooky Chick'. The article on there (which still exists) gave a good review, stating that their music was a "combination of rock, Goth and horror movies" & then went on to list the themes across all of the songs. I thought they seemed interesting & gave them a listen, & I'm very glad I did! Their music is great, perfect for the Halloween season! They have two albums- 'The Greatest Show On Unearthed' & 'It Was A Dark & Stormy Night' along with a few singles, & their music has a very quirky sound, a bit like the music from an old Gameboy game mixed with rock. Combine these with lyrics on themes of the paranormal & spooky, but in a humourus way, & you have the brilliance of this band!
Another thing to mention is Curtis RX's solo project 'Rufus Rex'. Similar music to Creature Feature & equally as brilliant! So before Hallow's Eve approaches, I suggest you give these guys a listen. And if you're anything like me, you'll be listening to them all year round! Thanks for reading, will be back on Friday with my final Halloween themed post, & I'm really going to nail this one!
Hello
readers, welcome to the second edition of my Freaky Friday blog
posts. This Friday we take another trip into the realm of horror
fiction, where I'd like to recommend the "master" himself:
Darren
Shan
The Man himself- image is not mine by the way.
Dubbed
"The Master Of Horror" when it comes to fiction, Darren
O'Shaughnessy (better known by his pen name Darren Shan) is an Irish
author, born in London but went to live in Limerick in Ireland when
he was 6. He's written books for both adults & teens/teens,
mainly in series' but he does have the odd stand alone book.
I
first got into his work when I was about 13, when my Auntie loaned me
his 'Cirque Du Freak'/'The Saga Of Darren Shan' series (which I
believe is his most popular). I'll admit, at the time, it took me a
while to get into the series- I wasn't as big a reader then as I am
now- but once I did, I was hooked & became obsessed! I later went
on to read more of his books, all of which are brilliant, & I'm
currently reading his 'Zom-B' series.
Instagram shots of my copies of Zom-B & Koyasan.
Anyway,
enough about my life story, back to the actual blog post.
Aside
from him being my favourite author, the reason why I am recommending
Darren Shan is because his books are brilliant! Firstly, they are
well written & exciting, full of twists & turns that will
keep you hooked! Things aren't what they seem in his books, which
will bring me to my next point in a moment. Back to the writing
first. Shan's books are generally fast paced, allowing the action to
be absorbed & enjoyed quickly which means a fast read, so for
those of you out there with a busy schedule (like myself)- these
books would be perfect to get your regular horror fix! I'll admit,
since being at Uni I haven't had a chance to read much, but every
three months or so I'd get the new 'Zom-B' book & within a few
days it'd be finished. Ok, he is my favourite author which is another
reason why I dedicated time to those books, but if you give his books
a chance, he could end up being your favourite author too!
Now
onto a point I made earlier about things not being what they seem in
Darren Shan's books. As a horror writer, his books feature
mythological beings such as vampires, demons & zombies. In fact,
these three beings are the main characters in his teen series. Now
you're probably thinking, "what's so special about that?
These are things that have all been done before!". Yes, they
have, but the great thing about Darren Shan is that he puts his own
stamp on things. Take vampires, for example, which are the main
characters in the 'Cirque Du Freak' series (& also it's prequel
'The Saga Of Larten Crepsley'). The vampires in these books aren't
your typical "suck all your blood 'til you die" vampires,
but instead take only what they feel is necessary & are very
noble creatures. Shan does still keep the typical myth alive in the
series, but I shall give no more spoilers! The same situation applies
for zombies- Shan keeps the typical myth but his main "revitalised"
zombies have his personal twist.
He
creates great characters, both for the sides of good & evil, &
even those in between! He tackles themes such as death,
discrimination, friendship & acceptance well, incorporating these
issues into the action & twists of his work.
My signed copy of 'Sons Of Destiny'- more on that in a moment!
Honestly,
his books are amazing, so they are something I would definitely recommend you give a chance, not just for the Halloween season, but
any time of year! Here's a list of his works so far, listed by target audience:
Teen Fiction:
The Saga Of Darren Shan/Cirque Du Freak (Series, completed. 12 books, first book 'Cirque Du Freak'. There's also a manga version of this series.)
The Demonata (Series, completed. 10 books, first book 'Lord Loss')
The Saga Of Larten Crepsley (Prequel series to The Saga Of Darren Shan, completed. 4 books, first book 'Birth Of A Killer')
The Thin Executioner (Stand alone)
Hagurosan (Stand alone)
Koyasan (Stand alone)
Zom-B (Series, on-going. 12 books, first book 'Zom-B', 10th book to be released in February 2015)
Adult Fiction:
The City (Series, completed. 3 books, first book 'Procession Of The Dead')
Lady Of The Shades (Stand alone)
The Evil & The Pure (written under the pen name Darren Dash, I believe it's a stand alone, will admit I've not yet read this one as it's only available as an e-Book)
He also has other short stories posted on his website, which you can find here.
There we have it, one author recommendation for you all. Another interesting fact & claim to fame of mine is that I actually met him during the signing for 'The Thin Executioner'. I was 14 at the time; here's the photo of the two of us & my signed book:
Such a good day! Since, I've also been tweeted by him a few times too for various things. Can't wait for the next signing near me!
Thanks for reading all! Oh, & the weird title? A Cirque Du Freak reference. If you read it you'll understand! :)
Hey there readers! Before I crack on with today's post, I'd like to apologise for the lack of post on Friday- had a lot of Uni work to do over the weekend which was due in for today, so that had to be a priority. Just so you know I have my 2nd & 3rd 'Freaky Friday' posts planned, the 2nd is still being written & shall be up this week. I'm thinking that after this month I'll reduce my Friday posts to one every two weeks, or maybe even change the day? But I'll discuss that more at a later date.
Now let's get on with today's post!
This week's Music Monday challenge is to share a song from my favourite album- very easy! Today's song is:
'F.O.D.' by Green Day
Dookie is such a great album- touching on feelings of angst, coming-of-age, love & friendship. This song provides a thoughtful yet final angry burst to the album, which ties it up well. (Until you get to the hidden track, 'All By Myself'.) I like this song, admittedly my mental imagery for it takes the lyrics more literally than it should, but really the lyrics are brilliant metaphors dealing with the end of a relationship, whether or not that's platonic or romantic.
So there's my song for today- feel free to respond with your comments on your songs below!
Hello readers! Blogging resumes this week after being ill & in tonight's edition of the Music Monday challenge, I have to share a song I wish I heard on the radio. Although there are a lot of songs I'd love to hear on the radio, I think there's one song that definitely fits the bill for tonight's choice:
'Hit On The Radio' by Blowsight
It's catchy, it's brilliant, it's Blowsight! Gotta love this song, they have a remix of it as well which, although has more of an electronic sound to the original, is equally as good!
So readers, what's a song you'd like to hear on the radio? Comment below! :)
Hello all! This is a filler post, to apologise for the fact that I haven't done my proper posts this week. I was ill last weekend, which seeped into Monday of this week & I completely forgot about my usual post until earlier on this afternoon. I have started to write a new post, however, I'm not really feeling the blogging vibe tonight & I want the post to be really good!
Again, sorry for the lack of posts- you will be pleased to know that I am feeling better now, not 100% but still out of the rough stage.
I shall return next week with a continuation of my music challenge & the Freaky Friday post.
Stay tuned folks, I'll be back next week! For now I'll leave you with a couple of pieces of Repo! inspired lettering I did this week, which does fit with the whole Halloween theme:
Which reminds me, are you all liking the new colour for October? It'll be back to purple once November comes. :)
(Also, putting images means my face doesn't show up large when I share on social media)
WARNING: CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS FOR REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA
Hey readers! We're now in the month of October,
which means Halloween is approaching, so I thought I'd start the
season off with a review of a film with scenes that could turn your
insides out! And if the concept of this film ever becomes a reality-
that could well be the case!
Two weeks ago I decided I'd finally get round to
watching 'Repo! The Genetic Opera'. For those of you that don't know,
it's a musical set in the not-too-distant future, where organ failure
became an epidemic & a company called GeneCo was started to
comcat this, offering organ transplants under a payment plan, both
for those in need & those wanting “genetic perfection”.
However, those that fail to repay for their surgery have their organs
repossessed by the Repoman. The story itself follows 17 year old
Shilo Wallace, who's (supposed to be) kept in the confines of her
bedroom by her over-protective father due to her, apparently,
suffering from a blood disease inherited from her late mother. She
does, however, venture outside, tempted by GeneCo founder Rotti
Largo, who promises her a cure. Outside, she's exposed to the harsh
realities of the world she inhabits, but does she get the cure she's
promised, or is she just a “mighty small drop in a mighty dark
plot”?
Shilo Wallace, portrayed by Alexa Vega
Initially, I had mixed feelings about this film.
After I first watched it, I felt I'd enjoyed it but it wasn't as good
as I'd hoped. Over the next two weeks, it grew on me, trying to write
this up I kept re-watching part of it, & eventually I had more of
the song lyrics getting stuck in my head & I came to realise that
I really did enjoy it!
The plot was good, focussing more on Shilo than
the act of organ repossessing, something that I wasn't aware of until
I watched it. This being the case, it was good to see how it panned
out & I enjoyed seeing how the backstories & plot came
together. What I really liked about the backstories (this, to me,
includes the introduction at the beginning) was the comic book style
in which they were shown, the dark tones complimenting the gothic
style of the live action well. That's another thing I liked, the
gothic theme- certain costumes, such as those for Shilo, Graverobber
& especially Blind Mag, were brilliant. I especially loved Blind
Mag's make up- it looked amazing! Shilo's outfits were great to, a
very simple colour palette of black & white worked well- the
white expressing her innocence & the black reflecting her a
rebellious edge.
Graverobber, portrayed by Terrance Zdunich
Graverobber I'd say was my favourite character,
despite him not being in it very often. Terrance
Zdunich did an excellent job of
playing this charismatic & striking character & I wish he had
been in it more often, rather than just narrating & being
conveniantly helpful to Shilo. What I feel is the best song belongs
mainly to him, which is 'Zydrate Anatomy'. After I first watched the
film, this was the song stuck in my head, & the only one I felt
wasn't a conversation to music. The song is catchy & has some
good hooks it, such as the repetition of certain lines & the
heavy rock guitars. I also liked when this tune was reprised in
'Epilogue'- I have a feeling this is why it got stuck in my head!
Here's the song, absolutely brilliant!
Other songs I enjoyed were '21st
Century Cure'- another by Graverobber, where Zdunich shows off the
deep tones in his voice, which work excellently! 'Chase The Morning'
is another favourite of mine, again, it's another I find catchy, &
I love the tones in Sarah Brightman's voice here. Plus the
harpsichord sound in that song & the whole performance of it is
just brilliant. 'Seventeen' I liked as it deviated away from
everything else & had a good rock & roll feel, & after a
re-listen & having it stuck in my head, I'll add 'I Didn't Know I
Loved You So Much' to my favourites list as well- such a good song
that captures the unconditional love between Shilo & her father.
'Mark It Up' is another that's been stuck in my head, but I wouldn't
call it a favourite.
Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag during 'Chase The Morning'
Speaking of songs, this brings me to the point of
things I didn't quite like about the film when I first watched it. As
I mentioned briefly earlier, I felt quite a lot of the songs were
pretty much conversations to music. Some of the rhyming was pretty
poor, &, to steal a phrase from a friend of mine who's also
watched it, cringeworthy. Through some of the songs, I did find
myself sat there thinking “really?” & shaking my head at how
bad some of the lyrics were. This was the main thing that initially
put me off though, everything else I enjoyed!
Before I end this review, I'd just like to add
another couple of things. I would recommend anyone who's into horror,
the gothic style or anything a bit weird give it a watch. It isn't
for the faint hearted, there are scenes which contain blood &
guts & will make you squirm, although the reposessing part isn't
in it as much as I initially expected.
Rotti Largo, portrayed by Paul Sorvina
Overall, it is a good film. An original story &
concept, ok some of the songs aren't great but still, it's something
I'd recommend watching at least once. Rating wise, I'd give it a
7/10, as it has grown on me over the past week & really isn't as
cringeworthy as I initially thought it would be.
So if you're considering a night at the opera this
October, why not opt for a cheaper version & nab yourself a copy
of this film? With a plot & characters worth following & a
view into a dystopian future that isn't completely unlikely, I'd say
it's definitely something to add to your watch list this October!
Thanks for reading all, I hope you've enjoyed
tonight's post! :)
NOTE: IMAGES USED ARE NOT MINE & I TAKE NO CREDIT FOR THEM
