Goodbye Old Life

I'm currently in the process of cleaning out my life (both physical as well as emotional).

I have the biggest to-do list on the face of the Earth (on my Earth, anyway) and I call it my "MEGA To-Do List."  There's quite a few projects on there involving cleaning the house and de-junking/de-cluttering everything.  Of course, this includes my own personal stuff.

Growing up my parents never had a "get rid of" party or shindig.  Therefore, I have unfortunately held on to most of my stuff over the years.  When we moved 10 years ago, we didn't get rid of much (seeing as we were only moving 100 feet).  However, 10 years later, we collect more stuff.  Including myself.

Well, today was a big day for me because I happened to achieve a personal victory.

In the last 5 years of my life, I have undergone a major change.  In high school I wasn't exactly the "perfect child" and I ran with a pretty rough crowd.  Obviously, peers have influence on our lifestyle and choices we make, especially involving purchases.  After my second boyfriend broke-up with me (it was rather dramatic, let me tell you), my life spiraled downward FAST!  I won't give you all the details here (and if you really want them, you can ask me personally), but I stumbled across a book series that literally saved me.  The characters of this series captivated me and literally came off the page.  By the end of the book, I felt as though I personally knew these characters.  The overall story was amazing (each book was a stand-alone story, but if you read the series you see an overarching storyline that's much more vast).  Each book dealt with someone having a traumatic past and overcoming it through the course of the story.  Each book gave me a lot of strength.

I clung to this series like a lifeline, and probably read them over 5 times (which is a lot when you realize there were 16 books at the time).  But I ate up these series like it was mana.

However, it was a romance series, and being such, there's stuff in them.

Now, this usually isn't a big deal to some people.  But over the last 5 years, I've grown and changed a lot, and it now bothers me immensely.  Such entertainment I no longer find appealing.

But, the thought of simply throwing this series out broke my heart.  Most of the books are Mass Market paperbacks, thus they do not qualify for re-sale.  I was able to sell 2 books back (one I had purchased in hardcover because I simply could not wait to read it).

I felt as though I needed to get rid of them so I could move on with my life.  They rescued me during a very dark time in my life and I have loved them for that... But it's time I moved on.

And today I did.

In the process of cleaning my room, I came across the box I had put the entire works by this author in.  I had sealed it and dated it.  "5/22/10" is what the box had on it.  I had not opened it for over a year.  However, just the thought of those books created the same sense of longing and energy as I had felt while reading them.  But I knew better.  This box HAD to go.  I hadn't opened it in over a year, and it was time.

I did not open the box.  For I knew if I did, I would have flipped through them and relived the stories, therefore I wouldn't want to throw them out.  Part of me even wanted to keep my favorites so I could analyze them for character development as an example for my own stories.  But, once again, I knew better.

I picked up the box and headed outside to the Black Beauty.

Taking a deep breath, I let the box fall into the black abyss.

Yes, the box is still sitting out there, but I'm not thinking about it.  To me, the box is gone and will never again be touched by me.

I think what's been hardest through this last year (as I knew I wanted to get rid of them) was seeing all her NEW books for this series out in the store and not picking them up.  I can't tell you how difficult that has been.  It's like a smoker trying to quit and seeing packets of cigarettes everytime he went to the store and not being able to buy them.  I tell you, it's been rough.

I'm sure you're laughing and thinking how "immature" holding on to a book series has been... But honestly, I have cherished these books like a coveted movie collection.  They meant A LOT to me...

But they are now gone... *phew*

And thus, a new stage in my life has began... One much brighter, without a cloud hanging over my head...

We'll cry tonight
And in the morning we are new
Stand in the sun
We'll dry your eyes

Arise and be
All that you dreamed

Never Judge a Book by the First Few Chapters

I finished a new book a couple weeks ago.  I first stumbled across it while in Deseret Book.  It caught my eye (mainly because it has a tiger on the front, and I'm such a fan of tigers!).  Well, I opted not to purchase the book at the time, however I kept thinking about it; when that happens, I should know better by now.

So I was in Walmart and saw it in their book section.  Despite being rather anti-Walmart, I opted to buy it.  I began to read the book and I wasn't so sure I was going to like it.  The opening chapter is done very well--really capturing the reader's attention--but the writing was slightly different than  I was accustomed to, as every writer has a different voice.  But I pushed through.  Several chapters later, we're into a major adventure.  Funny thing was, I was also currently playing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Wii, so while reading some of these adventures of caves with creepy monsters/bugs coming out everywhere, I'm reminded of the game, thus I struggled to separate the two sometimes...

About chapter 14, nearly half-way through the book, the story really picks up because you encounter another major character.  This character completes the "love triangle" and adds a whole new depth to the story.  Obviously a bit predictable in that regard, but it's quite entertaining.  Nothing like a rivalry between two brothers over a girl! ^-^

The book is entitled, "Tiger's Curse" by Colleen Houck (visit the official site here).  The book is about a girl named Kelsey.  She's working at a circus for the summer and discovers they have a white tiger as their main attraction.  She becomes very fond of him.  It's not until she discovers the owner has sold the tiger that the story really picks up.

Turns out Ren (the tiger) is not actually a tiger at all.  He's a man... cursed to be a tiger.  After some persuasion, Kelsey is taken back to India (Ren's country) where Kelsey is the only person who can help break the curse, because she has been "chosen" by a goddess.

"Tiger's Curse" is book one of (currently) five.  Therefore it is mostly learning about the different characters and discovering the underlying concept for the series.  Ren and his brother, Kishan, are cursed and Kelsey has to help them break it while facing incredible danger and adventure.

This book is actually quite a romance.  It does have adventure in it, but it's definitely a romance.

Title: Tiger's Curse
Author: Colleen Houck
Series: Tiger's Curse Series
Number In Series: #1 
Copyright: 2011
Genre: Young Adult Fiction:  Romance / Adventure
Page Length: 403

My Rating: 4.0 / 5

Official Book Trailer

Favorite Author

I cannot tell you how excited I am!!

I will be meeting LISA MANGUM at a signing NEXT THURSDAY!!!!!  AHHHHHHHH!!!!!

For those of you who do not know, Lisa Mangum is the author of The Hourglass Door Series and she's an AMAZING storyteller!!  I found myself laughing, crying, cheering, and fearing for the characters in these books.  Reading them (for they are now finished) has been an EPIC adventure and I'm actually rather sad it's now over.  But I love the way Lisa can tell the story and how she's able to accurately describe the main characters feelings and emotions throughout the series.  It's been a great ride.

AND I WILL GET A CHANCE TO MEET HER!!!!

I'm going out of town to do some "dog-sitting" and she will be a few miles from me!!  So I'm going down and seeing her!!  I have a list of questions I'm anxious to ask (well, okay, it's not a list... more like only a couple questions, mainly regarding writing in general).  I'm super hyped up about it!!

Anyway, thanks for sharing in my crazy excitement!  I'll be delusion by next Wednesday, I'm sure!