PrickleForrestChronicles By Chrissy Hartmann

Category: Uncategorized

  • The Apprentice Stone…Book Review

    Another  page from The Prickle Forrest Chronicles…

    A Prickle Forrest Book Review

     

    BOOK:             The Apprentice Stone

    (Shadows of Time Book 1)

    AUTHOR:       Darrell Newton

    PUBLISHED:  October 2017

    PUBLISHER:   Fire Smyth  Press

    FORMAT:       Digital

    PRICE:            $4.99

    AVAILABLE:  https://www.amazon.com/Darrell-Newton/e/B006OD3A0Y

    Book Trailer:    https://www.amazon.com/Darrell-Newton/e/B006OD3A0Y

     

     

    Do you love  Star Wars? How about  Guardians of the Galaxy? Then my guess is you’ll love THE APPRENTICE STONE.

     

    The one unique  thing that sets  this book apart from the others is the element of time travel. A major factor  in this tale…but there’s a twist. You can no longer travel back in time, only forward. The adventure begins with Francisco, a young medieval  Spanish boy whose inherited  a healing stone…only to be used for good  otherwise you chance damaging the stone.

    Francisco   is challenged  with living on the streets of Toledo Spain and hiding  from his uncle.  As if this weren’t enough for the young  healer to deal with he’s now tempted to join  up with the  Sittiri or KEY’ARI to help  save the world by  full filling an ancient prophecy   or taking a different path  and becoming powerful creating a new destiny for all those involved.

     

    The author has crafted  a very believable world  with sticking to true life events  and detail of setting. How one wouldn’t believe they were not running with Francisco and a group of teens  in medieval Spain , fighting in the battle  of Las Navas de Tolosa, or being sold  in a 14th century   slave market, I couldn’t comprehend after reading these pages.

     

    The authors use of historical facts and Sci-Fi blend beautifully. The aspect of Sci-Fi works well especially  the time travel.  I’ll be honest. Time travel baffles  me…the concept and mechanics of it all, but after reading  the Apprentice Stone  I’ve got a better handle on it. It’s the fact that the author’s approach is not  overbearing and so far out there that it helps make it more understandable and believable. You’ll wish you had your  own oclocks  or  Plexus bed.

     

    All I can say is Wow! Wow! Wow!

    If all Sci-Fi were written this well and entertaining  my bookshelves  would be filled with them.

     

    My only problem seemed to be  picking a favorite character. All had a unique voice. All had a unique story of their own. All  created a unique  problem for me to root for just one. So I took a unique  approach and  am rooting for all of them! From our hero, Francisco  to the  bad guy, Ceowolf  I can guarantee  there won’t be a character  to dislike. Each are written  with their own    Joie de vis.

     

    I highly recommend this book and look forward  to the next edition to this series.

     

    The only question I have for the author and his well crafted novel…Aare you in any way related to Sir Isaac Newton?

    Lucky if you are, wonderfully written  if not, but all in all, brilliantly done!

     

    Kudos to Mr. Newton!

     

    My Rating:  4.5 stars. 4.5 Douglas Firs. 9 Oreo Muses Review.  This book is highly recommended .

     

    Author Info:    Darrell Newton

    SciFi & Historical Fiction Author website:         http://darrellnewton.com/

    amazon author’s page    http://www.amazon.com/Justin-Tyme/e/B006OD3A0Y/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

    twitter         https://twitter.com/DarrellAlNewton

     

    ChrissyHartmann ©October2017

    PrickleForrestChronicles ©October2017

     

  • Back to the Movies…

    BACK TO THE MOVIES…

    It’s been some time since I visited the movie theater. I hadn’t wanted to go not because of the movies out there of little quality, that’s a whole different story, but I hated being a bother to my fellow moviegoers.
    No one likes the constant questions to describe what’s going on in the scene and I detest over explanation. So what got me back into a theater seat?

    I’d heard movie goers with disabilities were having much success and actual enjoyment because theaters now equipped themselves with the latest adaptive technology for everyone to participate in a night out at the movies.

    Thrilled at this possibility of returning to the movies I was game to try it out.
    But on a side note, I’m a fan of great tunes and I’d heard this sequel’s sound track was as fabulous as the first one.

    So wanting to witness volume 2 gave me the extra umph I needed to justify to shell out the cash for the overly priced tickets and possible disappointment that this new technology for the disabled was not up to par.

    Prepared to just listen to the dialogue and sing along to the sound track, I was shocked at the quality of the narration and how well everything worked. There was no extra cost for the use of the head set which was a pure bonus then when the movie came on, after the trailer previews, the narration started.
    Able to follow along with the plot needing no assistance from my fellow watchers all I could think was, It works! I’m back to the movies. “Hallelujah!”

    The movie was a real treat. The clear narration explained all of the high adventure in space. The spectacular soundtrack that could make any star dance to its beat had me doing just that.

    I loved it! The whole experience brought about a rebirth of venturing out to the movies.
    Normally I stick to books, audio books, some e-books if I can find a tolerable narrating voice, but now with this discovery that movie theaters are now carrying devices for the hearing and visually impaired to better enjoy the movie experience it means the purse strings will get quite the stretching.
    Honestly, I doubted the experience would prompt me to mark Saturdays off as movie night but it has.

    I could say it’s the screen writers or the sound track for the reason but in all reality it’s probably the fact I can walk in to a theater, unfold my seat, sit down with my tub of popcorn and gallon of overpriced soda and finally slide on some earphones, sit back and actually watch the movie through my ears. What a fantastic treat.

    And if you’re interested…Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 gets the soft fuzzy prickles of a Douglas Fir,2 thumbs up, *****, and 10 Oreo review rating from the muses.
    Sound Track is fabulous like the original and I’m looking forward to downloading the tunes to my iPhone.

    And since its Saturday, Johnny Depp’s new amazing pirate tale is now inked onto the calendar for the 8 o’clock showing tonight.

    So stay tuned…more coming from the Prickle Forrest Chronicles!

    As an added bonus check out:
    AMC Assisted Movie going
    https://www.amctheatres.com/assistive-moviegoing

    Movie Popcorn Nutrition Facts:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-calories/movie-theater-popcorn

    Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEpsPXUt4R0

    Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 Soundtrack Facts:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardians_of_the_Galaxy_Vol._2_(soundtrack)

    Follow me on Twitter: @ usawriter355

    Chrissy Hartmann 4CRHB 2017©
    Prickle Forrest Chronicles 2017©

  • Happy New Year from The Prickle Forrest

    Happy New Year!

    This year will be exciting.  The latest  venture  down  the Prickle Forrest path  will hopefully end at  the Publishers door.

    but in the meantime  a quick  prickle that will hopefully  tickle your funny bone.

    A linguistics professor was lecturing to his English class one day. “In English,” he said, “a double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative.”

     

    A voice from the back of the room piped up, “Yeah, right.”

    Hahahaha!

    May your new  year  be filled with many  blessings and  much success in writing.

  • A Prickley Happy New Year

    Happy New Year!

    This year will be exciting.  The latest  venture  down  the Prickle Forrest path  will hopefully end at  the Publishers door.

    but in the meantime  a quick  prickle that will hopefully  tickle your funny bone.

    A linguistics professor was lecturing to his English class one day. “In English,” he said, “a double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative.”

     

    A voice from the back of the room piped up, “Yeah, right.”

    Hahahaha!

    May your new  year  be filled with many  blessings and  much success in writing.

  • One Stop For Writers: An Online Library Unlike Any Other

    Every once in a while, something comes along that changes things for the better.

    And in the world of writers, this is especially welcoming, because we all know just how much sweat, courage and persistence it takes to write a book and then release it into the world.

    Today I’m pointing you toward a new website which I hope will help writers brainstorm stronger characters, craft deeper, more compelling plots, and teach us how to be more effective with our description so we draw readers in.

    One Stop For Writers is a collaboration between Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman, authors of The Emotion Thesaurus, and Lee Powell, creator of Scrivener for Windows. This powerhouse online library is filled with one-of-a-kind descriptive thesaurus collections, tools, tutorials and much more, all geared to provide the resources you need to strengthen your prose and write more efficiently.

    Want to check One Stop For Writers out?

    Hop on over to Writers Helping Writers for their Launch Week festivities (October 7-14th)! If you know Angela, Lee and Becca already, you probably can guess there will be some great prizes, and probably a bit of paying-it-forward too.

  • Hello to the World of Writers!

    The excitement’s building.

    the prickles today are soft and tingly.

    Yes its almost that time…

    One Stop For Writers is almost here! Watch this fun little video for a look inside this unique library for writers: https://onestopforwriters.wistia.com/medias/jy2kj7hmyw

    remember the site launches soon so please bookmark their website, you’ll love it!

    http://www.onestopforwriters.com/

    Chrissy Hartmann

    Prickle Forrest LLC 2015©

  • Aps for Writing on the iPhone

    What’s the most irritating thing for a writer?

    I know most would say writers block, but not for me.

    For me it’s when I’m on the go and an idea hits. It’s not the idea that’s irritating, it’s the fact I have no pen or paper near by to jot down my thoughts.

    But with technology these days, that scenario is pretty much obsolete.

    Below is a list of iPhone apps I find helpful as a writer.

    1. A novel idea by Shawn Svacha

    This app is great for the new novelist on the go. The cost is well worth the price. Its free at first but with a few $$It can expand to even something better with adding the function of Drop Box and e-mail sharing. Plus you can even write out full scenes. This is a great app to get your novel organized.
    I love it because you could actually create your novel in this one little ap. It has character outlines, setting outlines, scene outlines, and story characteristics. Then when you’re ready, you can e-mail it or send it to the cloud to share or pick up on your PC. It’s simple to use and keeps everything grouped by novels. So yes, you can work on numerous books
    I give it *****
    at once. Check it out at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-novel-idea/id421948244?mt=8

    2. Pages by Apple

    I haven’t explored every little facet of Pages but that’s only because there are so many. But what I can tell you, if you want, you can format, type, edit, and print anything you want on Pages. This has templates to use of many types and it also has the ability for you to open a previously created document into pages and work from there. I love the automatic saving it does. The sync to Drop Box is an added bonus. One feature I hope to check out soon is converting a document to PDF. It’s well worth the price of $9.99 and if you desire more templates there’s even an additional app to tandemly use with Pages for more document templates. More info can be found at:
    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pages/id361309726?mt=8

    3. MS Word by Microsoft corporation

    If you love Word, you’ll love it on your Apple product.
    I’ll admit, I’m a PC user and when MS word became available for the iPhone I was thrilled. The only problem is you have to obtain a subscription for MS Word 365 to access the complete functionality of the program and that can run you $$$.

    but I still give it ****

    Check MS Word out at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-word/id586447913?mt=8

    4. Access Note By the American Foundation for the Blind

    Yep, folks that’s right. The visually impaired do write. And if you have trouble with vision then Access note just might be the best writing app for you. The screen commands are simple to use with VoiceOver. It’s Fast and efficient navigation throughout a note by page, paragraph, line, word, character, and other elements can speed things up. You can do a search and find and the app will mark your place with the cursor. For more info check out:
    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/accessnote/id591287188?mt=8

    5. Voice Dream Writer By Voice Dream LLC

    This app is awesome. It can save you time with text-to- speech writing and proofreading. Best of all when your document is read back to you you’ll hear how it flows and any mistakes which is great for content quality.
    The Apple Bluetooth keyboard is compatible if you need that hands on approach. Syncing with iCloud and Drop Box is available too.
    The price tag is $9.99 and well worth it. Voice selections are abundant and can be purchased at a minimal cost too. See

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/voice-dream-writer/id920583100?mt=8

    6. Word press by WordPress.Org

    Who doesn’t like to blog and read blogs? This handy little app lets you do both. No $ to acquire it. It’s easy to set up a new blog. You can draft from here and even post something new. Your Word Press blog from the PC is all there. Just login on your phone and take your blog on the road. You’ll never know when inspiration hits and the ability to blog anywhere is divine. So Keep your readers current write from the Apple. Get it at
    https://apps.wordpress.org/

    7. Outliner by CarbonFin

    Here’s a handy little outliner ap. Its great for doing all kinds of writing tasks whether it be a grocery list or a full length novel, this is a great one to check out. Its $4.99 and it can be found at

    http://carbonfin.com/.

    Its awesome features include online sync, sharing and editing.

    8. Paperless by Crush Apps

    Okay this is usually my go to app for when I need to take a real quick note or make a list. This app is great for making any and all kinds of lists. You can add icons and themes to each to make it fun. Its plain and simple, just the way I like it. Its like writing on a piece of paper.
    Find it at

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/paperless-lists-+-checklists/id359564368?mt=8

    9. Day One by Bloom Built LLC

    Believe it or not people like to read journals. if you’re a writer and want to keep your readers entertained try this simple but elegant little ap. Its $4.99.
    The price to remind you of your thoughts for the day whether it be listing them or writing a diary page its going to be helpful. The app isn’t hard to use and added features of sharing to other social media sites such as twitter and Facebook are a bonus. Backup to the iCloud and drop box makes syncing a sure thing. And if this is strictly for your eyes only a passcode is available too. This app has lots of extra features. You should check it out at

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/day-one-journal-notes-diary/id421706526?mt=8

    10. Journal Chronicle a personal diary
    here’s my favorite to journal in. Its only $2.99…and well worth it.

    I love the simplicity of the program. It makes it easy to sit down and write a few hundred words without pain or complicationand without fuss I can export all my stuff to my PC or friends. Backups can be made with a few quick taps. You can even save them to Dropbox , Drive, and Evernote.
    Adding pictures to your enteries can be done with as many pics you want and customizing the program can be made as much as you want.
    As an aspiring author I love the idea of separate notebooks. Hours of searching for my entries is now over with the easy search feature. The program may look simple at first but its got a lot of punch to it.
    I give it a definite *****.

    You can find it at

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chronicle-personal-journal/id371886793?mt=8

    And to top it off here are five helpful aps all writers, no matter what you write, should consider:
    1. Dictionary.Com
    2. Drop Box
    3. Flexy
    4. Writers Ap (Agent finder)
    5. Able to extract

    On a final note, most of these apps, if not all of them are VoiceOver friendly and my Apple Bluetooth keyboard works great with them.

    Happy writing!

    ChrissyHartmann

    Prickle Forrest LLC 2015 ©

  • Welcome to the Prickle Forrest Chronicles

    Ever go into the woods and find a trail you have no clue as to where it will lead?

    Well, that’s sort of what this blog is like.

    Hahaha! Welcome to my world.

    The Prickle Forrest Chronicles hope to raise the hairs of your consciousness, whether it is by tickling your funny bone or sending a chill down your spine and possibly getting your ire up.

    Uh-huh. That’s the plan

    There’s no agenda. No map to plot out. Just a sense of direction to follow the muse. So push forward to venture in.

    That’s right you can do it!!!

    Like a forrest with its many varieties of life, this blog won’t be skewed to one thing.

    Yep! Yep! Yep!

    The writing is all-subjective to the ponderings of the moment.

    Don’t be surprised to see essays, opinions, pros, poetry, snips of my novels, and even reviews.

    Yeah baby!

    All me…

    But do remember I have a wee bit of a life outside my writing and for now I don’t blog on a regular basis. So if you want notified of any future postings then follow me…this might be a journey you won’t want to forget. .

    Hahaha!

    Remember writing keeps the muse at bay…and they can be ornery stinkers when they want.

    Happy writing!

    Thanks in advance…

    Chrissy Hartmann