My Book Writers Tag

So, my sister (Kathryn Thies from Bookwise) and I just got together and filmed a TMI Tag video and that got me inspired to create my own tag! I'm calling it the My Book writers tag- hopefully it does well! Knowing me, I doubt it will, but, in the rare case that you like it, feel free to do it and comment the link! I'm tagging Katie on this one.

Anyway, here are my questions and answers!

1. What is your book called?

Life in Mill Halley

2. State of Publication?

Part of it is posted on my blog, the rest is in progress. I hope to publish the whole thing on my blog soon!

3. Basic Plot?

Four girls, best friends, growing up together. Covers birth through death.

4. How long have you been working on it?

It will be a year next Wednesday.

5. State it is at now (if not done)?

Getting there. Not completely done with the first draft, but a lot of it is edited. That was contradictory.

6. Any ships?

Yes..... But, I won't spoil it.

7.  Theme song?

One for each of my four main characters:

Skyler- The Lonely by Christina Perry

Ginger- Make You Feel My Love by Adele

Roslyn- Stand by You by Rachel Platten

Linnette- no clue

8. Which character are you most like and why?

Skyler- neither of us can riddle out our own feelings.

9. Fact not included in the book?

I'm pretty sure I don't elaborate on how the girls climbed the ivy-covered fence to get into a private park in the summer, where they would swim illegally.

10. Where have you written most of this book?

No answer. I've worked on it everywhere- kitchen, living room, car, bedroom, basement, Wisconsin, everywhere.

Mill Halley Editing

Hello!

I am working intently on the Life in Mill Halley novel, and am planning to begin editing in December. I would really appreciate help editing, and think you would be awesome for the job. Sadly, since I am an amateur author, I can't exactly pay you, but you would be able to read the book one month in advance and I would put your name down in the inside cover--- or however that cover will be. I am still working on the logistics, but if there was a cost, I would be willing to charge my wonderful helpers less.

What I would imagine you would do is go through the google doc and suggesting any edits. I would then go through and change everything, and once more, before publication, you would all read it and make any final edits.

So, what are you waiting for? Email readnowtoday@gmail.com to sign up OR if you have any questions. I will only be taking 3 editors, so hurry!

Love and Luck,
Pippa Liber

Life In Mill Halley: Poems!

I know I'm not publishing anymore Life in Mill Halley until the book is done, but I can still post Skyler's poems! They aren't in the book, so what better time than when I have no idea what to write?


So, here we go:




The One Who Calls Me Sweet


We're together
We're meant to be
I can't get you off my mind
When I try
You catch me in your gaze
You hold me in your arms
I know that I will never leave
And hope you think the same.
           -Skyler Foster




What I Don't Know


Some nights I climb into bed
With a soul feeling as broken as shattered glass
Because I can't find the hurt in me
And I know it's in you too
But if you know there's hurt in me
Then you must be keeping it a secret
Because what I don't know isn't harmless
What I don't know is what keeps me awake.
           -Skyler Foster


Some Feelings


Some feelings you can't put to words
Some feelings can't be drawn
Some feelings can only be felt
Some feelings are only expressed through tears
           -Skyler Foster

Life in Mill Halley

I am writing this post to tell you that there will be no more Life in Mill Halley posted on this blog for some time, instead only updates on how this book is coming. I hope to have it out by the end of the year for you to read- free, of course.


The book is broken up into three parts- One, the elementary years, Two, the middle and high school years, and Three, college and beyond. Part One is nearly finished, Part Two- almost halfway done, and Part Three- Not even started. All of the posts I have already put on this blog about the girls will remain. Feel free to read them and strategize what will happen next- I will tell you that Linnette does still die, that all four girls get married (but to who?) and the four girls have a set career. If you have any ideas about what happens in the book, you can put them in the comments because I'd love reading them!


Until Tomorrow (Ten Word Tuesday Returns!),
Pippa

Skyler's Journal 7/10

7/10

I talked to Linnette today. Showed her my journal, let her take time reading it, and then asked her what she saw.

      “We knew it.” She looked me dead in the eye. “After fifth grade, I thought you lost your liking for him, but Roslyn knew you still did, and Ginger and I trusted her.”

      “Why didn’t she tell me?” I asked.

      “You did deny it!”

      I sat in contemplation a second. I had been saying that I had no romantic interest for Lusis- or, well, I had been changing the subject. Linnette had a point. “What do I have to do now?” I asked.

      Linnette only shrugged. “Ask Roslyn.”

      “So we should tell Roslyn and Ginger?”

      Linnette looked at me like I had just preformed treason. “Of course! That’s what friends do.” In response to my glum look, she added, “Do you want me to do it for you?” I nodded.

      Now, Roslyn. Ginger, and Linnette all know about my crush. Now that I know, I begin to regret it. What if it isn’t there? What if it is just care?

Skyler's Journal 7/09

7/09

Gosh, it has to be real. Just Care? I should stop ignoring my feelings and just let them float.

I have a crush on Lusis Karmackle.

But, oh, goodness, what am I supposed to do? What does Roslyn do? Do I need to hide it, or do I let the world know? Do I tell Roslyn and Linnette and Ginger and leave it at that, or do I just march around with a sign? I could just tell people if they asked, but what if Lusis asked? Or what if someone completely untrustworthy, like Lucy Martin, asked, and then the whole world knew? I should just talk to Linnette. She’ll listen.

Skyler's Journal 4/27

4/27

I need to write everything I know about myself. I can’t swim so deep, but maybe if I see the surface and go deeper, I can learn my ways without getting to the bottom.

My name is Skyler Foster.

I am fourteen years old and in Eighth Grade.

I was baptized at First Christian Church of Mill Halley last year.

I live in Mill Halley.

I have three best friends- Roslyn, Linnette, and Ginger.

Roslyn has a crush on Jonothon Ibbit.

He is popular and has dated probably 20 girls in our year.

That doesn’t matter to my story.

My feelings sometimes sink deeper than I want to swim

I can’t tell how deep and what’s down there,

Only that it is important to me navigating the waters of life.

Whenever I have a feeling I don’t want to see again, I let it sink

Now I want to find those feelings.

Not so I feel that way

But so I know what is down there.

There’s a boy called Lusis-

He lives across the street

I had a crush on him in first grade

Ever since he let Linnette win the spelling bee.

I thought he had a crush on Linnette.

But he treats her like a little sister that he has to protect.

Linnette has her own problem.

I had a crush on him in second, third, fourth, and fifth grades.

In sixth grade I realized there is more to love than I previously thought,

And that crush could not be real.

I then began ignoring it, allowing myself to get caught up in the ways of life.

In seventh grade it jumped over my mind, but I laughed.

In eighth grade, I began to watch.

Could it be real?

And here I am now.

Could it be real?

Could I love him, Could he love me?

So many ‘what if’s

So many ‘coulds’

So many ‘woulds’

Everything I see on Pinterest says I love him

And I do care for him, just as I do my other friends,

Maybe that is all. No romance. Just Care.

Skyler's Journal 4/26

4/26

Today something peculiar happened. Lusis and I were walking to gym together, as we always do, but Ginger was sick so she wasn’t tagging along. Around the cafeteria entrance, I dropped my colored pencils. Of course Lusis helped pick them up, THAT didn’t surprise me a bit- but when he was handing me some of the pencils and thought I wasn’t looking, he looked at me the same way that Roslyn looks at Jonothon.

      “What?” I asked him. He looked confused.

      “What what?”

      “You were looking at me… in a different way.”

      “No, I wasn’t.” His blush was as red as a rose from the rose bush. To save him, I left it at that and finished picking up the pencils before standing up and walking the rest of the way to gym.

      Why would he look at me like that? I try to push to the back of my mind that he had a crush on me, because there is no getting my hopes up since a crush could fade in days. But why would Lusis having a crush on me get my hopes up. It’s not like I would date him if he asked me- I wouldn’t! But maybe I just want him to be an option when I’m older. Prepossessing boys are in short supply in Mill Halley, and Lusis could go quickly. But why would I want him to stay single? I’m so selfish, and I can’t swim any deeper. I have to get some air.

Skyler's Journal 4/22

4/22

I’ve told you about Lusis before- we’re best friends, or at least I would say that we are but I can’t tell how I really feel about him. I think about him daily, which I know is how Roslyn sees Jonothon. Roslyn’s heart is with Jonothon, only he doesn’t know it. Could my heart be with Lusis’? I wouldn’t even know, for my feelings are deeper than I care to swim. Linnette tells me just to write it down. She doesn’t know about my possible crush on Lusis, but she does know about my feelings being so deep as a result of her closely following my Pinterest board and being perceptive enough to pick up the smallest of details on how I really feel. Of course she follows Ginger and Roslyn’s as well, but they pin more crafts than quotes. I post both.

Life in Mill Halley (9)

-----Linnette Birdie-----

The Light Never Stays, Yet Life Moves On

      When Ginger began playing in the band, she told us about how her teacher told them that when you get lost in a piece of music, the rest of the ensemble isn’t going to go back for you. You have to learn to find where your peers are and join them in the music. And my popularity was like that, but I wasn’t able to catch up in fourth grade, when I sort of melted into the background. I was ‘that girl’ who was always reading, who never raised her hand in class even though she knew all of the answers. I was the ‘know it all of third grade,’ and now Skyler was the know it all.

         Life continued. Fourth grade was a good year. In class I would listen to the lectures- the worst lectures that we would get were 10 minutes- do the worksheets, and pull out Lois Lensky’s Strawberry Girl. Skyler sat on the opposite side of the room, and she would try listening to the lectures but often her gaze shifted in my direction. It wasn’t because she was trying to look at me- She was looking at Lusis Karmackle.

         Though Skyler would never admit it, we all knew that she loved Lusis and was awful at hiding it. She would bring him up in the weirdest ways possible- when someone said their favorite color was green, she would smile and say, ‘Lusis’ favorite color is green.’ I would look at Roslyn, who would turn to Ginger, who would turn to me, and then we would all look Skyler dead in the eye just in time for Roslyn to say, “You’re in love, Skyler.”

         Skyler would suddenly begin to whistle, and we’d all roll our eyes, and drop the conversation for another time.

         I hated the conversation. We were in fourth grade! It didn’t seem right for Skyler to be in love, yet she was. She just didn’t want to say so. Maybe her thoughts were the same as mine, maybe she was just embarrassed to like someone who hardly knew her. And at the same time, I felt bad for her. Lusis hardly recognized her existence, Roslyn, Ginger, and I got all over her for it, and her parents had no idea about anything that was going on.  But Skyler was still Skyler, and she had poetry now.

         Though Ginger wasn’t in our class, at recess, she would be the Ginger she’d always been- swinging upside down on the monkey bars, swinging on her front side, going down the slide head first- until the recess monitors would catch her. Then, Roslyn, Skyler, and I would wander away so we wouldn’t get in trouble, too. After being released from the wall, Ginger  would run to play soccer with the boys.

         Roslyn was just Roslyn. She drew all of the time- during class, too, I think- and didn’t care what anyone thought. She dared to be different. It didn’t matter. I was pretty sure she didn’t take up Skyler and my request to for a crime trio and break into those pastels, but she still made artwork beautiful with the pencils, watercolors, and crayons. It was crazy how a fourth grader could have so much talent.

         On our birthdays that  year, we really could all expect what type of card we would get- From Skyler, a poem, from Roslyn, a painting, from Ginger, a gift card, and from me,  a Hallmark or Dayspring. It was the peak of our friendship, if you graphed grades 1-12. Not a care in the world, except for the Skyler Situation (we called it the SS), and what was that but foolishness?

         We had yet to discover.

Life in Mill Halley (9)

**********Skyler Foster**********

Poetry

          Fourth grade started with Linnette and I being sorted into Ms. Hammond’s class. Ms. Hammond had a round belly and walked around with a cane. Everyone dreaded their name on her roster. Roslyn and Ginger’s hopes soared over the next few days with the glee of their luck to be in Ms. Stewart’s class. Ms. Stewart was young and had straight brown hair that she pulled back in a ponytail.

        The first day of school, Ginger and Roslyn had no homework but Linnette and I had a poem to write about our favorite things. I had never written a poem. Linnette came over for dinner, and while we waited for the spaghetti to boil, we talked about what we would write about. I decided that weather would be a good place to start. Linnette said that poetry needed a strong feeling behind it. I imagined the sun on my face, then the pitter-patter of rain. It was strong. I could almost smell the rain.

        After dinner, we settled in the kitchen. I took my number two pencil and placed the tip on my paper to write.

Summer Evenings

Suns last rays

Shine on my face

Soaked up by skin

Summer Sun

Rainy Saturdays

Pitter Patter of drops

Puddles building

I tug a rain boot on

Rainy Saturdays

Cloudy Mornings

It’s not about to rain

You can tell

But the clouds

Put a damper on all else

Cloudy Mornings

Life in Mill Halley (8)

~~~~~~Roslyn Royel~~~~~~

~~~~~~~It Never Hurts to Have a Friend~~~~~~

 

I sort of lucked out with the pastels. The next day, Linnette was vomiting all over and Skyler was visiting with her grandmother. Instead, Ginger and I hiked over to the park where Ginger played soccer last night. She kicked her ball happily as we trotted down the brick sidewalk on Hamilton Street.  She brought up the subject abruptly.

“What are you going to do about those pastels?”

“They’re tempting.” I respond. “But I’ll get in trouble.”

“So?” She asks it like a plead for more information instead of a question.

“I’ll wait for permission, I guess. But they are so tempting!” I let out a whine that sounds shriller than I was expecting. Ginger ignores it, and turns to face me.

“Don’t do it. Cover the red saran wrap with a painting or a drawing of something cool. I don’t care what, just forget what’s under there. And next time Linnette and Skyler ask about it, make sure you check with me and your parents before lifting the cover.  

I nod as we approach the crossing. Together, we cross Jackson Road and enter the green paradise. She sprints to the goal, slides in the mud, and attempts to score a goal. It hits the goal posts and bounces back. Ginger bounces back up to her feet, and though her forest-green shorts are now darkened with mud, runs in for another attempt.        

Life In Mill Halley 7.5

<><><><><>Ginger Laces up Cleats<><><><><>

<><><><><>Part Two<><><><><>

        They were bright green. 

        Soccer started on March 14. The pie from school's Pi day was topsy-turvy in my stomach. The kids there acted as if they were right at home. 

        We started off running around the field. I tried forcing myself to be unhappy, but the grass felt so... soft under the cleats. My feet fit perfectly, and as I ran my flyaway hairs from my pigtails swirled around my face. I felt at home. 

        The stretches were nothing that I hadn't done in gym class. I felt the tension in my legs, but the pain felt good. It was a strange feeling- that I loved this, but at the same time I shouldn't be. 

        We began kicking balls. I loved every second of the drill, and when I glanced back to my parents, they were smiling. I didn't say a word to any of the other kids, and that was okay, because we didn't need to. It was soccer, not school. 

        But it was over all too fast. All I knew was that I would lace up cleats again. 

    

Life In Mill Halley- 7.0

<><><><><>Ginger Laces up Cleats<><><><><>

<><><><><>Part One<><><><><>

           My parents were big people for soccer. When I was a girl, I questioned the sport. I may have enjoyed playful running, but running with a mission? Running in front of people while kicking a ball? It seemed slightly...lame. 

           Of course, Mom and Dad didn't agree. They met in middle school in the sport, before being separated into girl and boy teams. They wanted me in it from the second I was born,  but I always resisted. 

           Then, I cracked. It was a winter evening, right before we went back to school after President's Day. That fateful Monday when my punishment for straight B's. Spring Soccer. 

          "We understand one B," Mom and Dad confronted me. "But 5? There are only five classes!" 

          "We've enrolled you in spring soccer." Why didn't I turn in that homework? Now, it was too late. My homework was a paper mâché mouse. 

          I had to lace up cleats. 

Life in Mill Halley-6

~~~~~~Roslyn Royel~~~~~~

~~~~~~~I Pick Up a Brush~~~~~~~

            When I started third grade, I had no idea this was the year of my budding career. I enjoyed finger painting, water colored occasionally at Ginger's house, but never owned a set of art supplies. That year, my grandmother sent me an art set. It was blue, plastic, with a handle that snapped shut. Inside were two black plastic trays. One held crayons and watercolors with a two-sided brush, the other colored pencils and pastels. The pastels were instantly covered with a sheet of red saran wrap- Mom said they would get my hands too messy.
            This was the beginning of my life. I painted every second possible. My parents were so proud of me. I actually did something productive now! But whenever I opened my art set, there were the pastels, shining at me from behind the sheet of red. It was hard enough not to lift the red sheet. I probably did that every day. The plan hatched on the way home from school. It was Skyler's idea, but I followed through.
             "What 'bout those pastels, Roslyn?" She asked out of the blue on a Thursday afternoon in a singsong tone that she only used in front of close friends.
              I remember she said pastels like pass-tells. I ignore it and reply, "I can't wait to use them," buy Skyler's face doesn't react. Instead, we walk a couple of feet in silence.
              "Why don't you?"
               "Rules," I sigh.
               Sklyer and Linnette laugh, but Ginger continues her usual bouncy walk, red pigtails flying like she hasn't heard a word of the conversation.
               "Just break the rules!" Linnette states.
               "You can't get caught!"
               Ginger halts and spins on spot to face us. "You will get caught. Like when I tried cutting my tooth out in kindergarten? I got in trouble, but not by mamma and dad."
               "How can you get caught using pastels. They're just like crayons!"
               "Sure," Ginger shrugs. "See you in a month." She turns and crosses the street, a car skidding to a stop to let her by.
               "See you tomorrow." I sigh and mount the stairs to my house.
               "Roslyn!" Sklyer calls from the sidewalk. I turn, mid stride. "Pastels tomorrow?"
               "Maybe!" I call, and disappear into the home.
         

Life in Mill Halley- 5

      “Lusis and Linette, written test tomorrow.” We file out to the yellow tiled hallway.”

------------Linnette Birdie------------

My First Encomium

I was worried that night. I studied just to show my parents that I wanted to win, but didn’t really study and instead scammed the words. The next day, I met up with Lusis Karmackle on the playground.

“Win, Linnette,” He whispers.

“I can’t. You deserve it.”

“No, you.”

“Let’s both get the words right.”

“If we can.”

We shake pinkies. It’s a promise. I must stick to my word.

______________________

But Lusis doesn’t. He misspells several words, but only barely. He showed me at recess, acting sad. But I can’t be sure. He seems a bit glad that I won with my A+ paper, but I am sad that it wasn’t a tie. It puts our lunch table into a solemn mood, and at recess I read my book while Skyler, Ginger, and Roslyn play spider-monkey with Lusis, Jonothon Ibbit, and Micah Jonas in their usual insouciant way. I notice Lusis doesn’t hang from the monkey bars, like he normally does, but instead crouches underneath the slide.

My parents brighten up my mood. They take me for ice cream and congratulate me countless time. Afterwords we watched an old comedy.  I laughed a ton, and fell asleep during the credits. It was over.

Drawing Pentagons- A Life in Mill Halley Story (Sklyer)

            My pen scratches over the paper.
            A pentagon has five sides. 
            We've been taught that long ago.
            But we're not taught about life, how to deal with hardships.
            A pentagon has five sides. 
             I look across the classroom, where Roslyn sits, pencil gliding over the paper as she gets a head start on tonight's homework. She looks up and places her pencil on her chin, as if in thought. Lusis is several sits behind her, reading a book. He's finished with the work. I have only my name, Skyler Foster, and a number 1 on my page. Blue marks and pentagons march across the paper below, where my work should be.
            A pentagon has five sides. 
            I look back to Lusis. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be mad at me.
            Hold up, I command myself. You don't even know if he's mad at you!
            But that dark Skyler inside me (I call her Lira) retorted, saying that if she was in Lusis' situation, she would be mad so he must be mad.
            I sigh and turn back to my paper and look into the textbook.
            A pentagon has five sides. 

Life in Mill Halley- 4

**********Skyler Foster**********

My First Love

In first grade, on the very first day, we were given a list of words that we had to learn how to spell for the ‘Spelling B’. Being me, I had no idea what a ‘Spelling B’ was, but Linnette and Roslyn kindly explained it to Ginger and I over recess.

“The teacher gives you a word,” Linnette started.

“And you have to spell it!” Roslyn shouts.

“And, whenever you make a mistake, you sit down.”

“And if you sit down last, you win!”

The rest of the recess period we studied words and talked a bit.

All of us thought Linnette would win.

I have to say, I am shocked on how we, as first graders, received four pages of words to learn. But, at the beginning of the year, none of us knew that the Spelling Bee wouldn’t be until January. And so the four of us studied every day in the first week before slacking off.

When the spelling bee actually came, we were warned a week in advance and we went back to the same study method. I grew tired though, and instead of the usual studying went back to playing Spider-Monkey with Lanesha Stevens and Jonothon Ibbit.

On the night before the spelling bee, I definitely did not expect to win. The Bee started out well. Ginger was the 15th out out of the 25 in the Bee. Then Jonothon Ibbit spelled ‘mother’ wrong and he had to sit down. Roslyn, Linnette, and I were in the top 5 with Lusis Karmacle, and Micah Jonas, but then Roslyn had to sit down and then me and finally Micah. Linnette and Lusis spelled words back and forth, back and forth. Ms. Hanover moved to the second grade list.

“Linnette, your word is Physical. We engaged in Physical activity in gym class.”

Her hands started fidgeting, her eyes darted around the room. “Physical,” She whispered, looking at the ground. “F, I, S, I, C, A, L.. Physical.” Ms. Hanover closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry, that is incorrect.” Linnette moved to sit down, but Ms. Hanover interrupted

“Wait!” Linnette turns abruptly. “Lusis has to confirm his win. “Spell Physical, Lusis. We engaged in Physical activity in gym class.”

Lusis grimaces. “Physical. P, H…. Y.” He stops, looking at Linnette dead straight in the eye. “Z-I-K-A-L-L., Physical.” Ms. Hanover looks insulted.

“That is incorrect.” Lusis smiles. “Linnette, Physical. We engaged in Physical activity in gym class.”

Linnette takes a deep breath. “Physical. P, H, Y. S, I, C, A.” Linnette stops abruptly, turns to Ms. Hanover. “L-L.”

By now, Ms. Hanover looks revolted. Lusis and Linnette are both too nice to let the other win. I have to say that I first fell in love with him then, but hid it. From Roslyn, from Ginger, from Linnette, even from my parents. Something held me back.

“Lusis. Physical. We engaged in Physical activity in gym class. Physical.”

Lusis looks mad, not only at Ms. Hanover, but at Linnette, too. “ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY AND Z!” He shouts. The class starts to giggle, but is interrupted as the bell rings. We all dash to the coat closet, get our stuff, and line up at the door to be escorted out.

Life in Mill Halley 3

<><><>Ginger Gillam<><><>

My First Crime

            As a small child, I always stole stuff, starting from when I was little. Maybe a cookie from the drying rack, or quarters from the coin jar. When my sister Anna was born, I stole her pacifiers, her dollies, her stuffed animals. It was all stored in a cardboard box in my closet.
            I remember one day, in kindergarten, Lusis Karmackle lost his tooth. I had yet to lose a tooth and was dying to. I did something that my other friends would never dream of doing. I stole the Ziploc holding the tooth. With the tooth in it.
That day after school, when I got home, I waved the bag in mom’s face.
             “Look, Mommy!” I called upstairs, waving the Ziploc! “I lost a tooth!”
             “Let me see!” She bent down onto her hands and knees. I waved the bag in front of her face.
             “No, silly, inside your mouth!” I shut my lips and shook my head.  She took the bag from me.
             “Hmm… It’s very dirty.”
“I’ll go and brush it!” I said quickly, remembering how when Rosyln lost a tooth, she brushed it with her toothbrush to make it clean for the tooth fairy. I smiled but then shut my mouth right away, darting to the bathroom. After brushing Lusis’ tooth, I stuck my finger in my mouth. I tried to pull out a tooth, but it was stuck.
            I was really, really stupid in kindergarten ‘cause the next thing I did was tiptoe down to the kitchen, sneak up to the knife drawer and pick out the sharpest, most serrated knife there was. I inserted it into my mouth and…. well, you can guess what happened next.
            I got the tooth out, but with the gum on it, too. I screamed so loud that I was sure Skyler and Roslyn could hear me a block away. In the following hour, my kindergarten self was rushed to the hospital, checked in and investigated by the doctor, and numbed for surgery. The Doctor had to stitch up my gum, and I was confined to a diet of applesauce and pudding for a week. I never found the tooth I cut out.
            My parents didn’t know the entire story for ten years.