*mandaren

Mandaren Oranges!

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About Traditional Art / Hobbyist Premium Member Amanda Renee Hanson25/Female/United States

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Chapter 1 The CurseChapter 1
The Curse
Emily clung tightly to her arm as she walked through Tadington.

“Oh, isn’t going to be grand?” she asked her, a beaming grin, brighter than all of day light spread across her face as she gestured to the market stands around them. “Oh think of it Ashe! The wide world awaits me now! I am to be a diplomat like mother!” she laughed. Ashe looked down at her little sister and gave a courteous smile. Her heart sunk within her as they walked on though. “Can you imagine? Lavish balls, hearty feasts, the best of wines, romance, masquerades even!” she exclaimed. She then paused andChapter 1 The Curse by *mandaren

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Scarred- Rebecca's Intro- Final DraftScarred
Chapter 2
She tugged the sleeves of her dress down, further and further onto her wrists. She hated it when Caspian was gone just about as much as she hated it when he was around. He had high expectations for her, and she never got to put her thoughts in on the matter of her apprenticeship. At first, she had no qualms about helping him with patients because she thought of it as her way of repaying him for saving her life. But now, she considered the debt repaid and herself trapped in a sticky situation.

She hated medical work.

The blood. The guts. The gore. And getting sick from the people she tended. She hScarred- Rebecca's Intro- Final Draft by *mandaren

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Waking Up- Atalus's Intro- Final DraftWaking Up
Chapter 1

He awoke with a start, sitting up hurriedly, gasping as though he had just emerged from drowning. His heart was pounding within his chest as he tried to catch his breath. Silence was around him, though he could distinctly hear bird calls outside the window. Slowly, he began to recognize his surroundings and his tense body relaxed.

"Just a nightmare," he assured himself as his right hand scratched at a large scar that spanned his gut. Why does the damn thing always itch so much? He wondered as he looked down at the discolored flesh that cut across his gut. He put his left hand down on the bed and leaned on it.

Waking Up- Atalus's Intro- Final Draft by *mandaren

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Kings and Pawns- Prologue by *mandaren

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The traveler by *Wesley-Souza

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Statue to Meridia by ~Creathor4005

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BRAVE Merida Print by ~renecordova

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Victoria by Daria Zaytseva by ~daria-zaytseva

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LW 4. Nobility“Ugh!”, Äne groaned as her right foot sank ankle-deep into the quaggy riverbank.
“The rain will hide our scent”, Fenrir offered as he passed her.
Sköll had already coated himself with mud, and was enjoying the opportunity to splash through the bank with wild abandon immensely. Fenrir had somehow managed to avoid the deeper sinkholes; but Äne’s heavy steel and dragonscale armor made sure that if she didn’t step into an existing puddle, she carved out a new one. Her trail was clearly distinguishable through the muck. It was dangerous to leave tracks, but Fenrir had assured her that the rainfall would cause the Darkwater’s banks to swell, and the trail would have washed away by the time anyone tailing them could find it.
Not that they had run into a single person since their path along the river had put them on the main road. It was eerily empty; even the once frequent Stormcloak patrols had failed to make an appe

LW 4. Nobility

by *WynBird

really like what you have written so far- you are very descriptive, painting a picture of what is going on for the reader to enjoy, whi...

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Ship by *Konstantinidis

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Golden Hour by *Konstantinidis

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May 24, 2013 @ 3:43 pm
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Books I Have Read

Cathedral of the Sea- Ildefonso Falcones.

Started 11-27-10. Finished 12-11-10

The Lost Throne- Chris Kuzneski.

Started 12-12-10. Finished 12-18-10.

The Blade Itself- Joe Abercrombie.

Started 12-22-10. Finished 1-23-11

Good Omens- Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchet.

Before They Are Hanged- Joe Abercrombie.

Started 2-4-11. Finished 2-26-11.

Last Arguement of Kings- Joe Abercrombie.

Started 2-26-11. Finished 3-22-11

Best Served Cold- Joe Abercrombie

Started 3-22-11. Finished 5-8-11

The Witch of Portobello- Paulo Coelho.

Started 5-12-11. Finished 5-26-11.

The Heros- Joe Abercrombie.

Started 8-12-11. Finished 9-6-11.

The Queen's Captive- Barbara Kyle.
Started 9-7-11

First Born- Astra Crompton

Started 9-22-11 Finished 3-11-12

Touch of Power- Maria V. Snyder

Started 5-4-12 Finished 5-5-12

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*mandaren

Amanda Renee Hanson
Artist | Hobbyist | Traditional Art

United States

I am a 24 year old female, studying Music and Management techniques on the fly and learning how to live life to the fullest while I am at it. I am a writer, artist, musician, and dreamer all wrapped up into one brilliant package.

I love reading, listening to music, watching musicals, writing, drawing, learning, watching stupid, old cartoons, silly animes, and doing whatever I can to better myself and to help others

Favorite Quote-
‘At the age of five years I had the habit of sketching things. At the age of fifty I had produced a large number of pictures, but for all that, none of them had any merit until the age of seventy. At seventy-three finally I learned something about the true nature of things, birds, animals, insects, fish, the grasses and the trees. So at the age of eighty years I will have made some progress, at ninety I will have penetrated the deepest significance of things, at a hundred I will make real wonders and at a hundred and ten, every point, every line, will have a life of its own.’

-Hokusai

Interests

Hearts, Addictions, and Business as Usual

by *mandaren, Apr 2, 2013, 8:02:42 PM
Journals / Personal

Mood: Bemused
Listening to: My Favorite Music Playlist
Reading: Red Dawn- Joe Abercrombie
Watching: Fullmetal Alchemist
Playing: Skyrim. need you even ask?
Eating: Ravioli

Wow. *blows dust off account* It certainly has been a while since I did much on here. I do apologize for the lack of correspondence on my part lately, but a lot has been going on. I'll give you a recap of all the latest events in my life starting with the latest.

Hearts.

Recently, my boyfriend went to the clinic for chest pain and problems breathing due to a cold. What started as a persistent cough that has been dragging on since last October escalated into a cold. That would have been no big deal normally. But he is diabetic. What started as a persistent cough, became a common cold, and then wound up with his blood pressure at heart attack level with sky high sugar levels. He is insulin resist so bringing his sugar levels down is quite a feat, especially since we both love sweets. So he was forced to take a week off from work to recover and bring his blood pressure down. It has fallen a bit and he has recovered well from that. However, the medication that the doctors gave him seems to be having a bad side effect. Now he is having sharp pains in his right leg whose symptoms seem to match that of blood clots. Terrific. Hopefully we can get that problem nipped in the bud before it can escalate. If not, he's looking at potential amputation of his right leg below the knee. Too bad automail isn't real.

And speaking of automail....

Addictions.

Damn you Bejeweled. Supernatural. Fullmetal Alchemist. Doctor Who. ect;

Yes, *Slyer, all your attempts to get me addicted to FMA during high school have finally paid off. I am addicted to the damn show. I love the story line and the art in it. For those who haven't jumped on this band wagon yet... why not?

Other addictions...

Doctor Who. A new season is upon us and the new companion is very promising! I like Clara so far and think that this new season will be phenominal! WiFi that sucks the souls from people? What an awesome concept since we know that the internet has been devouring the souls/lives of people for many years.

If you have not ever watched Doctor Who, I'll give you five amazing reasons why you should.
5- The story lines are incredible
4- The attention to detail that they have when doing period shows. Van Gogh. Dickens. Shakespear. The Fricken Fifties! World War 2. All so neat.
3- The jabs and puns that they throw. Be it jokes about the show itself from previous episodes, or jokes being made in the show about other pop culture sensations (books, shows, movies, ect; ) they make the show even more enjoyable.
2- Daleks. C'mon. Who doesn't want an enemy with a plunger and egg beater for weapons that yells 'Ex-tare-min-ate!' at you as an enemy?
And the Best for Last
1- David Tennet as the 10th Doctor. Because we all know that accents are a +10 on the hotness scale. That and he's David Tennet.

Supernatural.

Two names is all I need for this. Jensen Ackles and Misha Colins. And yes, you can tweat that.
I love the jokes in this one as well. But more overly, what I love about this show is that it takes EVERYTHING from God, angels and demons, to the mythology of other cultures (They had an episode in Montana based on Prometheous in the latest episode), to ghosts, windegos, hauntings, ect. Throw in a few ghostbusters jokes and you have the life of the Winchester Brothers- Sam and Dean- two brothers who hunt the supernatural.

Bejeweled.

My mom got me hooked on this one. All she wanted was some more coins so she could get a special gem. She got it, and got me addicted. WHo would have know that one minute of gem smashing fun could for the sake of coins could be so addictive?

Business as Usual.

I am finally winding down at work. After working several six day weeks at 10 hours a day, I am finally winding down. Which means that I will finally have a life outside of work again. I am so excited! I have my first oboe lesson in six months on Thursday! that, and I can get back to all of you wonderful people again!

it won't be long soon and I will be back.

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Mandaren's Critques

First Critique- Maria V. Snyder

As some of you may know, I am a huge fan of Maria V Snyder's books, so after finishing her latest and first book of her new 'Healer' series, I decided to give a critique on not only her books, but on herself as a writer. For starters, let's get to know Ms Snyder a little bit more.

Snyder originally was a meterologist, however, her family encouraged her to pursue her writing dreams and she not only obtained a degree in writing at Seton Hill University, but became a teacher as well as a mentor for the writing program there. In her writing career, she has published a total of nine books with a tenth one to be released in the coming year.

The Study series consists of 'Poison Study', 'Magic Study', and 'Fire Study'. This series was on the New York Times best sellers list and established Snyder as a talented Fantasy as well as Romance writer. The Study series follows Yelena, a young woman faced with the choice of execution or becoming a poison taster for the most hated man in Ixia, the Commander. WHile choosing to become the food taster, her warden, Valek instructs her in all things poisonous as well as the cures so that with in a sniff or taste, she can determine whether or not the food/drink is safe for the ruler of Ixia. Valek eventually begins to train to fight when her when her life becomes endangered and protects her. However, when she returns to Sitia after learning that she is a magician (Ixians have no magic powers) she finds her life is in greater danger now than it was as the Commander's food taster. Warpers (Magicians who drink the blood of other magicians to become stronger) are kidnapping girls from the Magic Citadel and as Yelana proves to be a stronger mage than thought, she becomes a target only to discover her true powers.

The Glass Series consists of 'Storm Glass', 'Sea Glass', and 'Spy Glass'. This series picks up where the last one left off, but follows a new character named Opal, a simple Sitian girl with no particular magical abilities other than creating beautiful glass bobbles that act as a magical telephone for mages, allowing for distant communication if you have magical powers. These glass decorations also help mages detect those blessed with the power of magic because only those with magic potential can see the glow of magic within. Opal cannot see the glow within her glass, nor can she use her glass to communicate with other mages, yet she is baffled as to why the Warpers kiddnapped her from the her home. After being rescued by Yelana and her magic potential is realized, she is hired by the Citadel to make her glass animals, but when the orbs that are used by stormdancers are all broken, she has to find the recipe to make new ones in order to protect the Stromdance clan. This, however is only the beginning of her troubles as her journey marked by betrayal, as well as surprises and the discovery as to what she is capable of begins.

Her two teen novels are a known as the Inside series and consist of 'Inside Out' and 'Outside In'.

Her newest series is the Healer series with 'Touch of Power' being the first and currently only published book out in the series with the next installment 'Scent of Power' being released next year. This one is set in a new world. This story follows Avry, a healer on the run in a world that is recovering from a horrible plague that has left the 15 realms in utter chaos. As a healer, Avry feels compelled to help those in need, a mistake that nearly costs her her life in the beginning of the book as she heals a four year old girl by taking on an illness that would have killed her. The girl's parents repay Avry by turning her into the authorities to have her executed, yet at the last minute Avry is saved by being kidnaped by a group of rogues that value her life because she can heal their friend. As Avry travels with them as well as bonds with the men who saved her, she finds that much has changed in the world since she was forced to flee her apprenticship three years ago- all of the other healers have been executed under the charge of not only starting the plague but refusing to help those who had it. She also learns that there are two rulers who are pitting against eachother to become the rulers of the land, and at the same time, she learns of a third who can prevent the Religious Zelot and the Mental Nutcase from taking over- the man she was taken to heal of the plague who is under a freeze spell to keep him alive. There are problems though- this man started the rumor that the Healers created the plague and not only attacked her Teacher, Tara, but her as well and she hates him and refuses to heal him. The other problem is that if she agrees to heal him, she herself will die by taking on the plague in his place. During the journey to the sick prince, Avry finds acceptance for who and what she is not only with the men who saved her, but with those who she encounters along the way. She also finds that the lives of the men around her are not as simple as she thought them to be.

Now it is my turn for my critique of Snyder.

I first came across one of Snyder's books at Hastings back in 2006- my family had just moved into a lovely home and I finally had a bookshelf to put my books on. I didn't have a huge collection back then since space was limited in the duplex we had lived in, so, in the excitement of finally having a place for books, I began to hunt down books that not only intrigued me, but would look good on my book shelf as well. That's when I found 'Poison Study'. I had been working on my first draft of my still novel-in-progress, and the characters as well as the plot line was still not very solid, so the notion of poison intrigued me, but what made me buy it was the beautiful cover on the book. I went home with that as well as a few other books, however, I just couldn't seem to get into it or any other book that I tried to read back then. Finally, in 2007, I returned to my book and began to read it. This time, I was hooked- I read the book cover to cover engrossed in the complicated but fast paced plot line. Then I returned to Hastings to find another book in the series had been released. I quickly bought it and fell in love with the new characters in the story- Fisk a young street urchin that Yelana hires on to be a courier for her as well as her eyes and ears outside of the citadel as well as the rest of his gang that become a crucial part of the story. Lief, Yelana's brother who struggles with the guilt of watching his sister be abducted and who is unsure as to how to react with her return. Valek, the mysterious assassin employed as the Commander's right hand and most trusted assisstant who has a price on his head in the land of Sitia, that and the relationship that Valek and Yelana develop over time and the risks each take to be together and protect the other.
The last book was released in 2008, and I bought that book and polished it off as quickly as the others, and as the Glass series was published and released, I also dashed to purchase and devour each one. As soon as I learned that there was a new book out, I was frantic to find it, and when I finally got a chance to read it, I finished it in one day.

What makes these books so good?

I love Snyder's characters. Perhaps it is because of the perspective that they are written in giving the reader a birds eye view into their world through the character's eyes that I love, but I also love the snarkiness of the lead characters, and can relate to them because of the sarcastic remarks in their mind followed by an eyeroll and a sigh. What I also love is all of the plot development and character development that each book contains. Each book is a story within itself, much like the Chronicles of Narnia or the Harry Potter series, yet each book takes off where the other left off, yet builds and becomes something new and entirely different. Sure, we all knew that Rowling would finish off the series by having Harry face off with Voldermort, but I feel as though with the Potter books that the conflict between Volde and Harry was always just background noise until the last few chapters when it would resurface until the conflict resolved and Harry begrudgingly went back home. With Snyder, her book starts out with a simple problem- for instance, Avry is a healer on the run and is wanted dead- but then the problem builds- Avry was a healer on the run about to be executed but was kidnapped by rougues who want her to save their friend who she would rather see dead- and from that, the problem builds even more- Avry is a kiddnapped healer, no longer wanted dead, but now alive by rulers who would use her for their own devices in their war games. At the same time, she has developed bonds with most of the men who kidnapped and saved her, but she still refuses to save their friend. And then the plot grows still as even more characters with ties to the main character and the main male character are introduced- Avry thought she had lost her entire family until she realized that her sister Noelle was still alive only to have her sister betray her and find that the girl who once adored her hates her guts- and then- Avry discovers that the doushe bag known as Kerrick (the group's leader) is a prince who was engaged to another magician (of air) who wants them both dead.

THrough out this story, there is one major plot line in question- Will Avry heal Prince Ryne? However, springing up from that single plotline emerge several other plot lines in themselves- Avry's compromise with the Religious Zelot who kills all who do not believe and conform to her reliegion, the background that the Kerrick shares with Prince Ryne, the Zelot, and the Madman from the school they all once atttended, the role of the Death Lillies in the story, the role that Tohon the Mad Ruler may have played in the Plague outbreak as well as his experiments, and of course the love hate relationship of Avry and Kerrick as well as the role of magic in this series. While the major plot line is satisfied at the end, there are more potential questions that arise from it, leaving the reader craving more like a drug. That in itself is what kept me reading this book, unable to put it down- the action never stopped.

Snyder has a talent for making the worlds she creates believable and real to the reader as well as an uncanny ability to keep the reader guessing at what will happen next... for the most part.

Reading most of Snyder's books, one realizes that she uses the same formula for the relationship between the main female and male character in each one of her stories. I call it the cookie cutter affect. In each of the series that I have read, the main character starts out as a prisoner under the main male character's watch. She despises the man and will do anything she can to retaliate against him. However, over time, she notices that her warden has also been her protector as well and begins to soften towards them and by the end of the series, the man and woman are attracted to eachother and have bonded as soul mates, willing to risk their life for the other and often do with the trouble the female lead gets herself into. The only series that seemed to deviate from this pattern at first was the Glass series since Opal fell in love with the Stormdancer Kade, a man who never held her as a prisoner. However, after Kade turns on her, Opal finds herself teaming up with Devlin, a former Warper who had kidnapped her during the blood magic crisis. From that point on, those two fit into Snyder's traditional cookie cutter romance.

While Snyder's romances may become a bit predictable to the reader, it is the journey that lead the characters into eachother's arms that is what makes her stories so enjoyable to read. Each character transcends who they once were at the beginning of every book to become something greater by giving up something that they thought they held dear, even if it means sacrificing their lives or their powers for the greater cause of the world around them. Understanding is gained by each from learning to hear and seek out new perspectives as well as surrenduring so they can continue to fight another day. Snyder's characters are pushed to their limits and then some, and while some do not survive the trial by fire, they endure on not only in the words spoken and unspoken by the characters that survive, but by the reader as well.

The final subject that I will touch on is the research that Snyder conducts as she writes each book. From reading her first story, 'Poison Study', I could tell just based on the information that Valek drills Yelana on not only in poisons and antidotes but in weaponry and fighting styles, that Snyder had researched every feild related to the growth and developement of her characters and had more over thought over each and everything that the characters would face both on the pages before the reader and in her mind only to mentoined to the reader in passing. This became more evident in the Glass series when Snyder would have Opal either making the glass animals and described the process and the tools needed for it or whenever Opal would be talking to others about the process. Her studies as a meteorologist also were prevelant in the Glass series as well. I think that most can appreciate it when a writer takes the time to throughly research a topic that they are writing about, even if it is a side topic that is brought up every once in a while (such as human anatomy and pressure points that are both talked about in the Study and Healer series) .

In conclusion, I must say that I have and will continue to enjoy Snyder's works. While her romances may be a bit predictable, her characters and storylines are anything but predictable while the charecters and the world that they populate are lush, deep, and believable. I highly reccomend any of Snyder's works.

-Mandaren