renaissance2010
Turning to photography as a creative outlet during a valiant fight with breast cancer at age 34, renaissance10 survived and set up a photo contest to help raise funds for the Lavender Trust, a nonprofit that provides information and support to younger women with breast cancer. In the first two years, the competition brought in over £65,000 (that's $107,260.73 U.S.!), with entries from 130 countries last year. Renaissance10 recently joined LiveJournal to meet other passionate photographers and find supportive friends.

curiouscupcakes
Holy buttercream frosting! If you have a sweet tooth for sugary goodness or a wandering eye for whimsical confection, this is pure ecstasy iced in deliciousness. Hailing the beloved cupcake as the artisinal canvas of choice, you'll enjoy recipes, photos, and bountiful tips to bake up a batch, whether your taste leans toward French classics or funky and flavorful.

mission101
With New Years in the offing, it's an ideal time to reflect on past accomplishments, make peace with disappointments, and refocus the lens on future goals. This community welcomes you to create a bucket list of 101 things you plan to accomplish in the next 1,001 days. Offering support, guidance, and inspiration, this is a great way to jumpstart those pesky resolutions.

This morning, while pondering all the innumerable things I've yet to do before the new year and the best way to put off doing such things, A thought popped into my head of Gen in QoA saying something about not wanting to go to the otherworld and have to tell his grandfather he was sleeping off his last free moments ( alas! I'm at work right now and am bookless... so no direct quotes from me)
So I thought on this for a while and, feeling a bit guilty at my lack of constructiveness, I resolved to be a bit more productive in the future. ( so as not to have to explain my shortcomings to Gen's grandfather...)

Has this type of thing happened to anyone else? Has reading the Queen's thief series shaped your thinking or actions of late? you've developed a knack for pilfering ugly earrings from your relatives or perhaps you just view the world a little differently than before.
Thoughts? or am I just a trifle crazy?

Hey, all! I'm somewhat new to Sounis; at least I've never posted to the community before, though I have commented. I recently reread The King of Attolia and got the usual urge to make quote graphics. :D At the suggestion of a friend, I thought I'd share them with everyone here. So, here are several icons and some 300x100 banners, as well as two wallpapers. 

Preview:
   

HERE at my livejournal. :)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that, for all the perv-asive undergarment curiosity hereabouts, *no one* is curious about Nahuseresh's, especially about how that nasty, itchy, & pleasingly permanent something unpleasant got in there. We don't want to know how Gen did it; we really don't.

Further deponent sayeth not.

An interesting site I found on the internet: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheQueensThief

Thoughts?

Oh yeah and the winners for the superlatives..will be announced (winners based on whoever got the most votes in the category!) So if you haven't already put in your two-cents do so now! The post is somewhere down the page! :]

Hokay, folks, I'm back.

I've finished KoA, finally, and good lord, it was amazing. It was a thousand kinds of amazing. It was the kind of amazing that made me want to read it again, and that made me disappointed with the next book I picked up simply because the lack of amazing blend of tone, style, and secrecy.* I am very excited! It was a good book! :D

I've been thinking of fanart, but what's frustrating is, I have such certain images of a few characters (Eugenides, Attolia, Eddis), and none at all of certain others (Costis, Teleus), that it makes it very difficult to art for these folks.

I compromised for my first fanart. Gen, minus face.



Also at Deviantart!

Bit of a rush job - this couldn't taken 20 minutes - and the anatomy's a little wonky - I kind of want to draw him a little thinner, next time, like I imagine. Also, next time he'll be clothed.** But the basic concept is there.

(Need to research clothes of the time period, and also the kinds of gymnastics you can do with one hand.)

So yeah! There you have it. Hopefully I'll be back periodically with some other characters - also, faces. Faces are nice.





*This is not to say Francis Mary Hendry's Quest for a Maid is not good (my childhood!), only that it is ... not KoA.

**I have an excuse for the lack of shirt. That is because he is someplace where shirts are not necessary. Like in his rooms. Or Attolia's. Not because of gratuitous muscle-drawing. Totally not.

Here's a bit of British humor for Christmas!



OK, I must run! Lots of work to do before Christmas Eve -- Happy Holidays, everyone, and tell all your friends to listen to the podcast, because Megan Whalen Turner and her books are awesome!

Hi, everybody!

My sister Mary, my friend and colleague Maria, and I just had the most awesome conversation with MWT! We recorded it for a podcast, but, since Megan was extraordinarily generous with her time, we have cut it in two, and we'll be making two podcasts out of one interview!

I just put the first podcast up on line, and you can access it here

Enjoy, everybody! The second half will be up soon!

Hiyya everybody!! I'm new around here (not exactly new.. but I never find time to post anything here due to the heavy boulders of asignments I carry as a result of attending university). Its the first time I EVER joined a blog and sounis is the only reason I joined LJ. My addiction to MWT and the Queen's Theif a couple of months ago during a stroll in the university library, and suddenly a book caught my attention. Alas, it was KoA! But I kinda figured out from the cover that I have to read the the previous books to understand. This how the journey started (and is still going on): 
The Theif - loved it!
The Queen of Attolia - just adored it!!
The King of Attolia - omg!! there're no words to describe my obsession!!
Conspiracy of Kings - I'm having stomach cramps thinking of it!!
So I really thanked god that I didn't read the book sooner, or I would have literally died.. =)

Anyways.. I've got this question: In the KoA, Gen says to Costis that "don't give up because there is little chance (of assasination or heir)" - sorry but I don't remember the words properly. Does that mean anything? I don't know why it caught my attention but I think it would pretty cool if they find themselves a heir. =)

Its so great being here with all of Gen's fans (where I live, I don't know a single person who even heard of the series.. hopefully that won't keep bookshops to delay the book release) and be a part of it!  =)


P.S. Hopefully you understood my post despite the spelling and gramatical errors (my English sir is soo gonna kill me!)
P.S.S. Can't wait for CoK.. =''''''''''''(

i_hope_that
For many of us, the holidays can be kind of rough. If you're searching for a network of understanding friends, this ultra-nurturing community encourages you to express your heartfelt wishes and offer other members encouragement and acceptance. Not for the terminally snarky or emotionally-challenged, this is a good-spirited place to lend comfort and support.

diygifts
Feeling crafty? If you've got a few last folks on your holiday gift list, this is a great place to seed your creativity and generosity. You'll also discover wonderful DIY tips to decorate your home and entertain guests. Offering a no-frills-no-skills attitude that welcomes the cash-challenged and arts-phobic, you're sure to get ideas and make friends in the process.

cooking_club
A fun and friendly community dedicated to those who love to cook, whether you're a meat-and-potatoes type, an aspiring gourmand, and/or a vegan. In search of a brilliant dish to use up those weekly leftovers? Post your ingredients and you'll be whipping up a feast by dinner. You can also share favorite recipes. For Type A chefs, you can spice up your culinary repertoire with exciting cooking challenges.

My gift is quite a lot different from that of the lovely FreeNarnian, sadly I do not have an ARC, and have only read small amounts of KoK (Whis is absolutely LOVE of course). My present is a illistration thingie majingy (Thingy Majingy?) from QoA (And I suppose the KoA). I drew from this phrase from QoA-He had looked so young when he was asleep, and hardly older once he was awake. He needed a nursary, not a bride, Attolia though bitterly.- This bit of the book, for some inane reason, has always fascinated me. The picture is set some time in KoA. I found a very scribbly sketch of it in my huge pile of sketches and finished it. So anyway, enough burbling here it is.



Hmmm-I hope that worked. My computer likes to annoy me. Anyway, Happy Holidays and be Blessed in all your endevours!

-Tencups (I SWEAR IT!)

(It won't do the cut! I'm sorry!)

Firstly, I greet you all. I'm new to LJ so please forgive me if I post this entirely the wrong way. It's something of an experiment...

Second, I come bearing a gift! I had the privilege of reading an ARC of A Conspiracy of Kings this past week and I wanted to share some of the goodness with this splendid community. I snatched this brief, spoiler-mild excerpt from the book before passing it on to the 4-5 friends that lined up to read it after me (with some rivalry over who would get it first). With respect for those who are holding out and avoiding any degree of spoiler (brave souls!) until March/April, I have posted the excerpt at my journal instead of here. Link: http://freenarnian.livejournal.com/

Merry Christmas everyone!

On account that there is a chance to meet-up with Megan within a five hour drive traversable distance of my hometown I began my perilous quest to convince my mother it is worth driving to. Upon the successful completion of my venture, #5 (my ten-year old brother), asked if he could go too. My mother responded that he could, only if he read the books before the scheduled day, no doubt assuming that he wouldn't even if he could. I, who had been looking for an excuse to read the books aloud and perfect my voices for each character, volunteered to read them to him. We started TT yesterday and are now on chapter nine of QoA, half of which has been read aloud and the other half he read without me because he got tired of waiting. =)

stepstomarrow
When granddaughter, Jada, was born with leukemia, a donor-match was located and Jada made a miraculous recovery. In honor of her grandaughter's health, Jeanna has decided to walk across the country (in the dead of winter) to raise awareness and build support for the bone marrow registry (all that's required is a cheek swab). Follow Jeanna's remarkable journey as she travels the United States by foot.