What Follow Friday?

Okay ... my bad. I usually do the Follow Friday meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read every Friday, mostly because it's fun to see what everyone is reading, and then because it promotes the blog - a massive priority as an author.
This week I didn't do it. The day just got away from me, mostly because I was buried under a mountain of edits for my second book, The Damned. (awesome read BTW, you so don't want to miss buying this :P)
So why did I miss the weekly ritual that I have participated in for over thirty weeks?
Okay, pipe down to those of you that are saying 'who gives a crap?'. There has to be someone out there that thinks me blowing off 'Follow Friday' for a two hour session at the gym was more important so that I could finally pour myself into my slim fit jeans and then head out for a girls night?
*clasps a hand to my ear* Yes, I'm hearing the 'Amen, sister'.
So, needless to say I went to my girls night out. I looked great in my jeans, and we listened to music of yesteryear, and sang (badly) and laughed about it until late. Naturally I ducked home and crawled into bed while everyone else took it to the next level at the clubs but everyone knows I'm a virtual hobbit and boogying on the dance floor is not really my thing (I just embarrass myself and everyone else with my Saturday Night Fever moves)
Anyway, so being that music was the main topic of conversation for most of the evening, we started laughing like mad when we all realised there were about a million songs we 'thought' we knew the words to. But have you actually sung a song, have your buddy turn to you and say, 'Mate, that's not how the song goes'.
Answer ... we all have. So with this in mind, here are some of the little gems we came up with;

1. Cold Chisel - "Cheap Wine"
Our version - Cheap wine and a three-legged goat (Who the hell has ever seen a three-legged goat?)
Real version - Cheap wine and a three-day growth

2. Elton John - "Island Girl"
Our version - I like girls (I totally thought this was an affirmation)
Real version - Island girl (you think the title of the song might have spelled it out for me)

3. Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes - "Time of my Life"
Our Version - We saw the writing on the wall, I've never felt this mad before, it's a specialty.
Real version - We saw the writing on the wall, as we felt this magical, fantasy (go figure)

4. Madonna - "Ray of Light"
Our version - And I feel, like a disco gnome, and I feel. (Truth be told, we were laughing at someone else for this one)
Real version - And I feel, like I just got home, and I feel.

5. Snow - "Informer"
Our version - Informer, you know fhshgsgkhsfgkskskgsklfhdhdhdrs to blame, a licky boom boom down.
Real version - Informer, ya' no say dadda me Snow me I'll go blame, a licky boom boom down
(Yeah, Snow, no one has ever understood what the f@#%k you are saying)

Anyway, these are just a few. There were so many more it's crazy. My face still hurts from laughing so hard. My friend even told me that she'd had an ongoing argument with her brother for over ten years because he swears Charles and Eddie's "Would I lie to You" was "Ooh la la to you".
You gotta love a girls night out.
Have a great weekend everyone, let me know if there are some songs out there that throw a spanner in your lyrical genius. I'd love to hear if you're a disco gnome or that you like girls.

Kristy :)

Book Review: Frost Arch by Kate Bloomfield

What do you say about a book that begins with a little history? Not the sort that takes you back to the conquerors of our globe or the discoverers of modern medicine. I'm talking about the history of our race, the dying breed of the human being and the rise of something else, something more advanced.
No, I'm not talking about cyborgs or futuristic ideals of space crafts and alien technology, either. I'm talking about the mutation of our most basic possibilities. I'm talking about a future where our ignorance has destroyed the world that we know and what has risen from the ashes of our destruction holds the key to powers beyond our wildest expectations.
This is how Frost Arch begins, a tantalizing look into the world we once knew and left behind. A world where humans are considered the scum of the earth, powerless and pathetic. A world where all that now exists in peaceful cohabitation are the Mages - advanced humans with abilities beyond everyday reach.
Avalon Redding is one such Mage. Barely eighteen years of age she wields the gift of fire yet she is unable to control it, unable to prevent hurting those she loves. So she leaves her family in the dead of night and heads for the city of Frost Arch. Her future seemingly grim, she stumbles upon Hawthorne, a winged, fox-like creature that offers her comfort and adoration when her confidence is at its lowest.
Hiding both the secret of a deserted family and her new furry friend, Avalon takes a job in a wealthy manor, her days soon filled with the tiresome whims of the rich. But her free time is consumed with the mysteries of her master's past, a rapidly growing Hawthorne, and her new friends Jack and Camryn.
Jack a healer and Camryn an animal whisperer, they soon find that Avalon is both naive yet endearing, causing more trouble than seems plausible. They say curiosity killed the cat, but for Avalon, curiosity is a part of her nature, leading her into a precarious situation that soon sees her without her power of fire for protection. Will she be able to overcome the trials that befall her? Will she be able to save the ones she loves and stay strong within herself?
Time will tell.
Frost Arch was a surprisingly enjoyable read. After the opening Prologue, I expected a lot of destruction and mayhem, suppression and anger. What unfolded was what I've come to think of as the future written in the past. Quaint villages with taverns and market places, manor homes with servants and stables. The mixture of magic carefully integrated into an era seemingly left in our past. I was captivated by the forgotten time and imagery of make-believe, and I was amazed at how natural it seemed to splice the fantasy proposition with something of a historical fiction.
Frost Arch was well written, the characterisation right on the money for my tastes. I didn't doubt the intentions of the characters at all, and no conversation or exchange seemed unbelievable or rushed. The story line itself was for lack of a better word sweet, although, there were moments of torment that gave the overall plot more depth. There wasn't a lot of action or violence which I tend to like to keep a novel fast-paced, however, the docile nature of the story lended itself quite nicely to the temperament of the characters and the era in which was transcribed.
I rate this book four out of five stars. It was a most enjoyable read that I will definitely venture for the second book in the series to discover what happens to the lovely Avalon, the tireless Jack, and the lovable Hawthorne.

Synopsis: Avalon lives in a post-apocalyptic world where Mages are the dominant lifeforms and humans are uneducated and enslaved. As a fire Mage who can't control her powers, Avalon flees her home town after almost killing her little sister.
What Avalon doesn't expect, however, is that her life will take a dramatic change when she moves to Frost Arch, a snowy city where she gets a job as a maid, and befriends a local healer.
Before she knows it, Avalon is on the run from the law.