The Music of the Night

This is a non writing related post, but as I'm struggling to blog at the moment, this will have to do! (Plus I will use any and every opportunity to talk about this particular subject matter...)

PHANTOM.

Ahem. In case you don't already know, I am a HUGE fan of the Phantom of the Opera. Ever since the 2004 movie with Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler, I have been ever so slightly obsessed. I think the first ever fan fiction I wrote was about Phantom, but I never finished it! (Sarah, not finishing a story? GASP, IT CANNOT BE!)

I was lucky enough to see the West End production in April when I went to London with friends. It was an amazing experience and I cried through most of the songs. I even waited after and got to meet the wonderful man who had played the Phantom, Peter Joback. I did talk about it in a previous post here.

Now, Phantom of the Opera has been around for 25 years, and to celebrate this there was a special production produced in the Royal Albert Hall in London, which they released on DVD. ALSO, there has been a second UK production that has been touring all over the country. Through July they were in Dublin and I took my mother down to see it for her birthday! (Really it was just an excuse to see it again, but she did REALLY enjoy it! Honest!)

The Phantom was played by the fantastic John Owen-Jones, a bit of a legend in the world of musical theatre, and it was so amazing to see him live. And, like a true theatre fan, I was waiting at the stage door and got an autograph and picture with both him, and Simon Bailey, who had played Raoul.

Me with Simon Bailey who played Raoul. Isn't he gorgeous!

Me with John Owen-Jones who played the Phantom.
This man has the voice of an angel.

My brochure now has two Phantoms and two Raouls. 

As you can see I'm wearing a self-designed t-shirt which says "Get angry and drop a chandelier". If you know the plot of Phantom then you'll know why that's funny!

I've been really lucky these few months in getting to see this phenomenal show twice. Unfortunately though, it's  bit like a drug, and the more I see it, the more I want to see it again!

If you ever get to London, or New York I really would recommend it.

Gloat over!

Sarah x

Versatile Blogger Award

Just when I'm struggling to think of things to blog about, I'm given an award! 

WOOP!

Thank you very much to Jeannette over at Folio Road who nominated me! 

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you. - Already done!

2. Add the Versatile Blogger award picture to your post. Check!

3. Share 7 random facts about yourself! 

• I have seven cats! They don't all belong to me. They're mostly strays that just sort of took up camp at our house. We used to have much more, but some unfortunately went to kitty heaven, while there were some of a litter of kittens that were re-homed. 
• My absolute favourite colour is purple. I have so much stuff that's purple you wouldn't believe...
• I know most writers are addicted to coffee, but my poison of choice is tea. Good ol' strong tea with a good helping of milk. 
• I'm absolutely obsessed with Phantom Of The Opera. I've been to see it once in the West End and once on tour. I have a programme that I bring to every show and get signed by some of the main cast members. I plan on seeing it many more times in my life. 
• I am extremely lazy and easily distracted, which is why I never seem to achieve much!
• I'm a Nerdfighter. +10 points to you if you know what that is!
• I wanted to be a Vet for all of my childhood until I was about 11 then I spent a day on a farm and saw a calf being born... and I knew then that I couldn't handle it.

4. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging - Oh gosh, 15? I mostly follow blogs that, from what I can tell, are pretty well established! Would anyone mind if I cheated here? Nope? Phew, thank goodness. 

Thanks once again to Jeanette, I hope I'll get some inspiration rain on the drought of my writing/blogging soon! If you know a inspiration rain man at all, send him this way to do his little dance!

Sarah x

Hang on a minute...?

Whoops! Late again!

Thank you everyone who left a comment on my hookers! (Which sounds so wrong by the way!) I loved reading them, and was quite surprised by the response because I personally didn't find them very hook-ey!

But ONWARDS, to the hangers. 

WIP

Chap 1 - He’s unmistakably dead.

 Chap 2 - A guard yells at us to be silent, and we are.

Chap 3 -  As I'm led away, to gods knows where, all I can think is how long it'll be before I'll loath being called Princess.

I've enjoyed this blogfest! You lot always come up with such good themes! Just wish I'd been a bit more organised and got these out on time!

I will eventually get around to reading others, promise! 

Sarah x

Gotta love me some Hookers!

Well that title's bound to get some views...
(sorry this is late!)

So, I know I've been absent, but so has my brain. With moving Uni house, and mum deciding to redecorate most of our house, my muse seems to have gotten lost in the mess. Its so infuriating, because it's summer, and this is when I have the most time to write and I just can't seem to be able to do it!

Reading my WIP hookers... they don't seem very... hook-ish to me. If I'm completely honest, I'd never really taken a good close look at the beginning and endings of my chapters before now! If nothing else, these two posts will be an exercise in being more... hook-ey?

Chap 1 - "Thief!"
Chap 2 - Panic grabs hold of my throat and I can’t breathe.
Chap 3 - There are no windows in this godsforsaken prison. 

I'm sure I have other hookers floating about the place, but this post is late so I just better get it out here quick!

See you, tomorrow, I guess for the hangers!

Sarah x

Explaining my absence

I doubt that many of you had actually noticed that I hadn't posted here since April, and are now reading this in your dashboard with mild surprise and curiosity, thinking something along the lines of "I don't remember following this person..."

NO MATTER.

Hello again. It's been a while. Let me tell you what I've been up to.

April was a busy, busy month for me. I turned 20, and had lots of Uni work to do. I also went to London with my house mate and her friend. We went to see Phantom of the Opera. Ever since the 2004 movie with Gerard Butler (which is incomparable by the standards of seeing the live West End or Broadway versions let me tell you) and it was a dream come true to see it. I even waited after to meet the lovely and talented gentleman who played the Phantom. His name is Peter Joback, a Swedish pop and theatre star. He was so lovely.

8 years after the obsession began, I finally get so see it live!

This guy is 40 is gorgeous and has such an amazing singing voice.
He's also got a husband, so not only would I be barking up the wrong tree...
I'd be in the wrong forest.

So that was a nice break to have in Easter when I should have been revising for my exams. We also went to see Rock of Ages, the show that the new movie with Tom Cruise is based from. I've since seen the movie as well and would recommend the show a HUNDRED times more. The movie was ridiculous. The show is too, but it's much easier to go along with it in a theatre environment!

So exams ate away at April and May. Then I went to Spain for 10 days with the two girls I live with the first week of June. It was my first holiday away without 'adults'. It was amazing. Here are a few snaps! 

One of the scariest, yet most thrilling things I've ever done. 

Salou, Spain.

Blatantly for Facebook cover photo!

Such beautiful and intelligent creatures.

The last night!

We were instructed to pose. It was under duress... honestly.

The wonders of a metre long pizza. The three of us struggled to finish it, but did!

So now that that's all behind me, I'm finally getting back to writing. But it's not going to be easy.

I'm having to remind myself what I'd written so far, and with that comes the irresistible temptation to edit as I go through it. Can't. Resist. 

Hopefully I'll be able to have something to show for myself by the end of the summer. I'll try to resume my normal blogging frequency, but make no promises! 

Hopefully it won't be to long until we see each other again!

Sarah x

Birthday and Kreativ Blogger

As of Tuesday the 3rd of April. I'm 20. No longer a teenager. That's scary, right?

I remember this time last year I wasn't that happy about turning 19 because it was so close to 20... and now it's here. The big 2-0. What can I say? I don't feel any different.

My mother has a saying that she and her friends used as their slogans when they were all turning 40 and that was: Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional. And I think that's true for me. I just, sort of imagined that I would have had more memories from my teen years. I kind of thought I'd do all the things that they did in the books and movies; have a whirlwind summer romance, swim with dolphins, get my Hogwarts acceptance letter...

Now I'm in my twenties, the typical to-do list looks more like this: Get a job (ew.), get my own house, get married, have kids... The 20's list looks so much scarier! Where's my Tardis?

The day itself was pretty awesome. I was at my Uni house, and I came downstairs to this:

My house mate Laura had been down at 3am and decorated the living room and kitchen of our house! Then later that day, with my other house mate, we went ice skating and bowling, then had midnight pizza and movie  (27 Dresses in case you're wondering). It was the best birthday I've had in a long time. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you girls.

I got a few nice presents including some additions to my library! I knew they were coming because I ordered them myself. Still, always nice to get a good big parcel in the post! 

But that's not all! 

I have been awarded this!   

Thank you to the lovely Melissa from My Unpublished Life for the award! 

So here are the 7 things about me that you might find interesting! 

1. My favourite colour is purple. Seriously, even my kitchen utensils are purple...

2. I've never seen Dirty Dancing...

3. I must have the widest tastes in music. It ranges from poppy Katy Perry, to the country drawls of Lady Antebellum to metal kings that are Iron Maiden. 

4. My favourite piece of classical art is Ophelia (from Hamlet) by Sir John Everett Millais. Google it. It's hauntingly beautiful.

5. I am famous among my friends for liking 'bad' movies. For example. It is almost universally acknowledged that Star Wars Ep. 2 - Attack Of The Clones is the worst of the 6 Star Wars movies. However, it's my favourite. I'm a sucker for Anakin/Padme.

6. I am a Christian. And as today's Easter, it's kind of a big deal. But whatever you believe, I hope you have/had a good and peaceful day :)

7. Everyone has been labelled something at one time or another. Usually it's not a good thing. But here are a few labels that I don't mind: Nerdfighter, Hopeful, Yognaut, Hiddlestoner, Whovian, Cinephile. 

Hope you found those little titbits interesting! 

Here are some of the lovely blogs that I'm passing this award onto! Sorry if you've already had the award before!

1. The Reviews News

2. Cutest Landing

3. Teen Granny

4. Amy Christine Parker

5. Stefanie Jones

6. Jess McKendry

7. Under The Tiki Hut

Rules for the winners:

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

Lucky Number 7 Meme!

If you follow other writing blogs (and if you've found your way to mine, chances are you probably do!) then you're bound to have seen the Lucky 7 meme posting going on!

Well, I've been lucky enough to get myself tagged! Yay! Thank you to the lovely Amy over at http://amychristineparker.blogspot.co.uk/ for the tag!

This is what I have to do: Go to the 77th page of my WIP, (err, I'll go 7th, seeing as the 77th does not yet exist!) 7th line, and copy the next 7 lines, no cheating! (I kind of already have but you wouldn't want to read 7 lines of nothing now would you?)


So here's 7 lines of the still Untitled Persian fiction! If you're interested I have added a WIP page to my tabs at the top of my blog where you can read a brief plot outline if the next 7 lines are to your liking!

Maybe this is why the rich manage to acquire so many things. They buy simply because they can.

“Are you going to pay for it, or just put your dirty gypsy fingers all over it?” the merchant sneers before taking a long swig from a jug. The smell drifts over on the afternoon breeze and I get a nostril full of cheap wine and unwashed skin. He wipes his mouth with a dirty sleeve. “Clear off, little whore!”

It’s not only his tone of voice that ignites a fire in my belly, but the name he has the gall to use for me. Whore. 


Apparently now I have to tag 7 other bloggers. I've seen this meme bounce back and forth so much now that I have no idea who has already done it! So I'm going to do another sneaky little cheat and not tag anyone! If you haven't done this already, and have been waiting for a nice little tag, then please! Tag yourself! And don't forget to leave me a comment with a link so I can go take a look. I love taking a peek at WIP's!


Sarah x