15/04/2013 - Blog Poll, Please VOTE!

Hello!

So as you see (or should see) to the right, we have a poll going on. The reason? Well, my posts or updates have been really slow lately. I've run out of ideas. :-\ That and I don't have much time to organise my posts until the 19th of April (my holiday's start then).

So to help me decide what to post next, I created a poll. Anyone can vote on this blog, so please, take 30 seconds of your time and click a button. Seriously. DO IT!!!

Anyway, to help you with your choice, I have decided to post a little bit about each choice here.



#1 - Short Stories - These will be spontaneous, not really regular. They will also vary in topic. The good thing about this is that you can suggest things for me to write about.

#2 - Book Reviews/Recommendations - These will be once a week, whenever I finish a book. They will usually be about Wattpad stories that I get requests to read, so you might not be able to go and buy a copy if you want to read it.

#3 - Informative Articles - Articles from around the world about the biggest news topics, my take on them. They'll be informative, but opinionated, too. I can never seem to stick with detached, boring news article type speech.

#4 - Interviews With Other Authors - These will be sparse. I cannot guarantee when these will be posted, but if you would like to see them, I will try to get them. They won't be with huge authors like J.K Rowling though.

#5 - Guest Posts - Posts by other authors. Cannot guarantee these will happen but I will try my best to make it happen if you want them. Also, if you want to contribute something to the blog, please let me know.

#6 - A Blog-Only Story, 1 Chapter Per Week (for 6 months) - I will write a 24 chapter story for the blog only, posting one chapter a week for 6 months. These will be short chapters, but hopefully enjoyable. This story, although yet to be confirmed, will be about a girl who wakes up in hospital and finds out that she has full use of her brain and now has special powers. I've been wanting to write this story for a while, but I can never find the motivation to finish it as I have no plans to get it published.

#7 - Poems - I hate poetry, but I will try to write a poem a week. No guarantee on them being any good though.



Anyway, now you know what the choices are. So look to the right and VOTE!!

14/04/2013 - Need A Good Book To Read?

Yes, yes, yes, I know. I am a very bad blogger >:( But hate me all you want, because I have a new post for you!

But first, I sincerely apologise for not posting like I should have. It is very irresponsible of me. The only excuse I can offer is that I am very busy with university right now. That, and I have no idea what to write about. I need suggestions people! I'll be adding a poll on the sidebar soon, so keep an eye out for that.

Anywho, since my friend Geri is really slack at answering her phone, the weekly book review is no more. Instead, I am recommending a whole new blog, dedicated to book reviews.

This blog is called 'ALPHA reader', and I'm not sure how often they update because I've just started following them myself, but they're away right now so they're taking a hiatus from posting. However, I still recommend checking out this blog if you're desperately seeking a new book to read.

Well, I'm going to bed. It's nearly 10pm where I live and I have Uni tomorrow, so I better get some sleep. Goodnight readers! (:

09/04/2013 - To Create A Vampire

Ingredients
8 x Centranthus Flowers (signify immortality & never ending love)
6 x Dahlia Flowers (create extreme beauty and selfishness)
3L Apple Water (create immunity from sickness)
12 x Wild Delphinium Flowers (create bloodlust)
2 x fruit bat fangs (enhance teeth strength for tearing flesh)
15 x mosquitoes - dead, crushed (create desire for blood)
1L Drinkers own blood (extra strength for transition and need to feed)
1 x Large Tiberium Jewel (creates venom for ability to turn others into vampires)


Method

1. Crush the petals of the Centranthus, Dahlia and Wilde Delphinium in a small bowl.
2. In another bowl, crush the fangs of the fruit bat. Add the fangs to the crushed flower petals.
3. In a large bowl or jug, mix the apple water with the blood. It MUST be the blood of the drinker or this will not work.
4. Crush the mosquitoes and add them to the liquid. Then add the flower/fang mixture.
5. Melt the Tiberium jewel and add it to the liquid.
6. Mix everything by stirring the concoction twelve times clockwise, then once anti-clockwise.
7. Repeat step 6 twice more.
8. Once stirred, say this: "Tibi Immortalitatem. Tibi aeternam salutem. Sis semper et perpetuo valere decet. Ego donum et maledicentibus vobis cum vitae. Ita mote sit."
9. The drinker should then take the potion.

*the spell must be performed at midnight*

8/04/2013 - Future Spells

TO SEE THE FUTURE

Passing moments as you dance
Call upon my sacred glance
Call upon my witches sight
Bless me with vision, a sacred light,
Moving time, making flight
Give me now a second sight




TO VISIT THE FUTURE

My knowledge gone, I must move on
Take me to the future at once





TO RETURN FROM THE FUTURE

My time is up, I found what lack
Send me home, send me back





TO SUMMON FROM THE FUTURE

With knowledge that is not yet sound
Keep me rooted to the ground
Begging for a gift to flay
Send it back to help my aid





TO SEND TO THE FUTURE

There are things not of this time
nor in their rightful and proper place
I use the power inside of me
Send them back through time and space

07/04/2013 - Truth Spells

MIDNIGHT TRUTH SPELL
Also known as: Full Moon Truth Spell

Moon and tide please help me now
I seek the truth here not yet found,
Let this night be unlike others
Let the noble show their colours,
The moon is seeking out her sun
Make the evil scream and run,
And by the power that is me
So as I will it, so shall it be.





HOUSEHOLD TRUTH SPELL

For those who want the truth revealed
Open their hearts and secrets unseal
From now until it's now again
From now which the memories end
For those who are now in this house
Only the truth will be heard from their mouths





ONLY ONE TO KNOW THE TRUTH

I cast a spell in every day,
To see the truth, to know the way,
I conjure the truth by the power of me,
Give thy truth unto me.

06/04/2013 - REVEALED! Extras of the Venefica Series!

Hello! First off, I'd like to give a shout out to my little brother Kyle, who's turning 15 today! Gosh he's getting old!

Haha, but seriously, I'm posting some extras from my upcoming book series Venefica, such as spells, potions, and other stuff. Keep an eye out over the next few days for them (:

05/04/2013 - Rebel With A Cause by Ashleigh Neame - Excerpt 3

They drove through a series of winding streets and when they hit a long straight, Kaitlyn relaxed a bit. That was, until she saw the U-turn at the dead end. Bekah slowed down a little then pulled on the handbrake, swiftly manoeuvring the car around the cones. Kaitlyn felt the seatbelt cut into her when she fell against it. She hit the back of the seat with a thump.

Ouch, she cried mentally. Whiplash.


They made their way back the way they came, with a few variations along the way. Bekah kept on pushing the speed limits, leaving Kaitlyn terrified out of her mind. Without either of them seeing it coming, Bekah lost control of the car. She swerved dangerously and came perilously close to hitting a lamppost on the passenger side – where Kaitlyn was sitting. Kaitlyn screamed.

04/04/2013 - Fighting the Demon

This short story is published, but it's free, so I'm posting up here (: Hope you enjoy! It's also the beginning of a discontinued series - I lost the files for the rest of the series so this is it.

Alexis rushed down the crumbling stairs in a frenzy of nerves. She was late for workagain and couldn’t find her car keys. She ran into her shabby kitchen, almost slipping on the puddle that had formed from the overflowing kitchen sink.

“Shit!” she cursed, running to turn off the taps. Her feet skidded on the worn lino.

She emptied the sink and moved to the coffee maker. The last dregs of coffee were sitting at the bottom. Having no time to make any more, she added lukewarm water and grabbed her favourite coffee mug down from the shelf. As she opened the door it came off - the hinges had obviously rusted through. She slammed it down on the wobbly kitchen table and turned back to her coffee. Cold. She put it in the microwave but it was on the blink again. Frustrated, she downed the soggy mixture and slammed her cup on the counter.

“Disgusting,” she growled.

She turned away from the empty mug and searched for her car keys again. Nowhere could she find them. She saw her flatmates keys peeking out from under the fridge and dived for them. She was sure her flatmate had taken her car when he couldn’t find his own keys.

She dumped the keys in her bag and ran to the back door. The front door had long since been boarded over.

A fat grey rat scurried in front of her and she screamed, flailing her arms and dropping her bag. She scooped it up before the rat could get inside and pulled on the door. It jammed on her first pull. She tried again but the door still wouldn’t open. She looked out the window and discovered that it had been boarded up too.

She went to the laundry and climbed on top of the washing machine so she could reach the window. She jimmied it open and looked out. The rosebush was right below her but that couldn’t be helped. She jumped out of the window and shredded her tights on the thorns.

“Aargh!!!” she screamed, pulling her tights off and stuffing them in her bag. God she needed to find a new place to live.

She stood up and ran out to the roadside. As she suspected, her flatmate had taken her car. She opened his car, put the key in the ignition and switched the car on. As she moved into gear and pulled away, the exhaust went ‘bang!’ and small volumes of smoke started streaming from under the bonnet.

Alexis was so preoccupied that she didn’t even notice the dark-skinned man watching her from the bushes.

Ariyus shimmered back to the underground, bowing to his master. His knees cracked on the hard cobblestone floor.

He murmured an apology before standing up, his hands crossed.

“I know who she is,” he said gruffly, in his low voice. His mouth was hidden by his giant moustache and distorted by the unsightly scar on half of his face.

“And?” asked his master, his silky voice tainted with boredom. It echoed around the chamber, spookily whispering his words back to him.

Ariyus shifted uneasily. “She is no older than 22, perhaps. Light brown hair, and violet eyes. She has an intense aura – I know she is the one with the power.”

“Well done,” said his master, flipping a gold coin in his fingers. “I knew feeding you that aura reading witch was a good idea.

Ariyus bowed at the waist, deeply. He shimmered out, quickly.

“You’re late.” Her boss was not pleased. Alexis watched as she swivelled in her chair, tapping her pen on the dull, pine desk.

Alexis bowed her head, worrying.

“You do realise that this is your last warning. If it happens again then you are out.” Her boss’ voice was stern and sharp. The tempo of the pen increased.

“Yes, ma’am,” Alexis replied in a tiny voice. Even her delicate good looks and honest soul could not get her out of this one.

“Remember, Alexis. Just because you are by best friend’s niece does NOT mean that I will continue to be lenient. The rest of the staff are asking questions. Just remember, Alexis. No more warnings.”

Alexis sniffed unhappily. It wasn’t totally her fault that she was late.

“Stop crying, you still have a job.” Her boss shooed her out of her office.

***

Alexis sat at her desk, staring at the plans for a new shopping mall downtown. It was going to be huge, and she was the rookie in charge of it. If she stuffed up when choosing the decor and customers didn’t like it then she was out for sure. She would go down as the biggest idiot decorator in history. She trusted herself to get it right, but the mall had a very small budget for such a big place and really, a master was needed to pull this off.

She sighed, feeling dejected.

“I am never going to pull this off,” she announced to thin air.

“Oh, come on,” smiled her co-worker, Andrew. He had just peeped around to her cubicle. “You have the most brains in this building.”

“Right,” she said, turning to face him. “That’s why I live in a condemned, boarded up building with a flatmate who steals my car.”

“Right,” he replied, smiling. “You know, there’s a spare room at mine if you’re interested. Cheap rent, too.”

“Let me guess, it’s boarded up, too?”

“No, just the opposite: 7 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 living areas. It’s huge. Some old lady rents it out for, like, 50 kaching a week.” Andrew rubbed his fingers together, indicating money. “You wanna come check it out after work?”

Alexis hesitated, wondering if she should. She didn’t even know the guy.

Andrew saw the hesitation in her eyes. “Don’t worry; there are 4 other girls. It’s totally respectable.”

“Ok, sure,” Alexis replied. That was a huge weight off her chest. She hated living in that hell hole. What could be worse?

***

Ariyus watched as she moved around her office. He was pretending to be a client, transmogrifying himself into a famous basketball player. Thank god he had eaten that witch, Delia.

“So, sir,” the annoying employee was saying. “You would be best to look at upwards of $15,000 for the kind of redecoration that you want.”

Ariyus looked at the employee without blinking. “I heard that Alexis Osiris works here. I would like to see her instead. I hear that she is good at getting luxury redecorations on low budgets.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Corones, she is busy with the new shopping mall downtown. She won’t have time for anything else for the next few months.”

“I don’t care,” Ariyus growled. “I wish to see Alexis Osiris NOW!!”

***

Alerted by the yelling coming from Andrew’s booth, Alexis rushed over to see what was wrong. Before she could get there, however, huge bangs and crashes filled the room.

Alexis stood in the doorway, horrified at what she saw. Andrew was in the corner, whimpering. His desk was turned at a funny angle and a big, muscled, dark-skinned man with a huge scar on his face was standing in the middle of the room. He turned when he sensed her, snarling.

Terrified, Alexis waved her hands and froze the room. The man froze for a second but fought through, unfreezing and growling even more threateningly.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Alexis Osiris. I am more powerful than you!” he roared, stomping his feet.

Alexis backed out of the room, grabbing her keys and hurrying to her filing cabinet. She unlocked the bottom draw and pulled out her diary. She had kept it since she was a little girl, when her mother was still alive. She remembered her mother telling her about witches fighting demons and writing them down in the diary for Alexis.

Alexis flicked through the pages, looking for the picture of the demon invading her work. She couldn’t find it fast enough and the demon crashed into her cubicle, pushing everything over and creating havoc. She turned around and froze him again, moving her desk (and anything else heavy that she could find) on top of him.

She turned back to her diary, holding her hands over the pages and willing them to open to the right page. A wind picked up and the pages flipped by themselves, eventually falling open to the right page.

Alexis turned around and saw that the demon had unfrozen and was struggling to move. She froze him again then turned back to read the page.

Ariyus.

A recently ‘born’ demon that was turned after an almost fatal car crash. He was gifted the power to absorb a witches powers by eating them. He is a particular favourite of the Demon King because of his near invincibility.

“Shit. He’s near invincible?!” Alexis turned and looked at him, horrified.

“That’s right, bitch. You can’t defeat me,” Ariyus laughed.

Alexis froze him again, reading on.

Ariyus was deathly allergic to peanuts in his human life and is still sensitive to them if inhaled. A simple jar of peanut butter is enough to kill him.

“Peanut butter?” Alexis laughed. “That’s all it will take to kill you?”

Alexis continued to laugh at Ariyus. She laughed so hard that she didn’t realise that she had no peanut butter.

“Do you have any peanut butter?” Ariyus smiled evilly. “Of course you don’t. You’re allergic too. I can sense it in your aura.”

Alexis stopped laughing and froze. She hadn’t thought of that.

“See?” Ariyus’ laugh mocked her.

Alexis froze Ariyus and read some more.

He can also be killed by sticking a demonic blade into his stomach or chanting this simple spell:

Evil eyes look unto thee,
May you soon extinguished be.
Bend my will to the power of three,
Eye of Earth, evil and accursed.

Alexis turned towards Ariyus. She was getting pretty tired now, although she could not tell. After freezing Ariyus so many times she had exhausted her power. This did not stop her.

She took a deep breath then looked at Ariyus. She unfroze him and stared at him.

“Evil eyes look unto thee, May you soon extinguished be. Bend my will to the power of three, Eye of Earth, evil and accursed.”

The spell hung in the air for a moment. Light seemed to be coming from inside Ariyus’ stomach and he looked down.

“Noooooooo! How can this be?” he cried. He shook his fists in the air and his stomach exploded in a burst of flame, sending ashes into the air. The ashes floated down to the ground and went ‘Poof!’

04/04/2013 - Rebel With A Cause by Ashleigh Neame - Excerpt 2

“What the fuck?” the guy screamed. “What the hell is going on?”Regan scowled. “What's your name, dipshit?”

The guy scowled right back. “Dude! You fucking wet me! What the fuck?”


Regan sprayed him again.


“I asked you a question,” he said sternly. “And I expect an answer. Don’t make me repeat myself. I don’t like it when I have to repeat myself.”


“Name's Carter,” the boy said.

“And how old are you, Carter?”


“I'm eighteen.”


Regan went and turned the water off, leaving a sopping wet Carter on his lawn. “Ok, Carter,” he said when he got back. “Here's how it's gonna be. You're going to go back to where you came from, and never see my daughter again. If you come near my house again, I will call the police and have you arrested."

03/04/2013 - Rebel With A Cause by Ashleigh Neame - Excerpt 1

Kaitlyn watched from a distance as Carter punched Marcus in the face. She heard Bekah screaming at Carter, and he ignored her. She saw Marcus fall to the ground as Carter shoved him.

“You’re a user!” Carter screamed. “You stole my girl and now you’re using my cousin! She’s like my sister! And you knew that, you son of a bitch, didn’t you?!”


Marcus scrambled away. “I didn’t, I swear!”


Carter was fuming. “You using her to make my girl jealous? Or are you using her to piss me off?”


Buy Rebel With A Cause anywhere eBooks are sold.

02/04/2013 - Ashleigh's 2013 Calendar

Hello everyone! How was your Easter? Or if you don't celebrate Easter, how was your weekend? I'm back from my weekend away, but I'm still trying to catch up on all my Uni work I have missed, so it'll take me a couple of days to get back into the regular posting I'd been doing before I left.

So, to start off with, I'm just doing a simple post about what I'm planning on getting up to this year.



Now as you know, I have self-published two books. But what you may not know, is that I totally hate the first one I wrote. So, I have decided to revamp and relaunch The Joke's on YOU!

There will be no awkward scenes (at least I hope not) like version one, because I'm changing the Hamilton storyline a bit. I will also change some of the dialogue, to make it cleaner and nicer to read.

I am also hoping that for this book, I could possibly get a new cover. If anyone out there wants to try, go ahead. I'll be having a new cover for the TJOY relaunch.



I also have work to do for uni, so that comes first. I will also be continuing to write my new book series, but don't count on a book being released this year. It's taking longer than I thought to find time to write it, so it will be released next year sometime.


I will try keep regular updates for the blog, but it's a bog job for one person, so if you would like to or have written something and would like others to read it (or even not, this blog gets hardly any views), please, please, please, send your writings in. PLEASE!!!

Ok, that's all for now! Ciao!

29/03/2013 - Easter Break & Monthly Newsletter

Hello all! I'm very sorry, but in my country, it's Easter Break this weekend, so I'm going away, and I won't be home until the 2nd of April. I'm really sorry, but this unfortunately means that I won't be posting anymore until then. I apologise if you are a regular visitor, so please accept my apology. When I get back, I will try and write as much as possible.

Also, the weekly book review by Geri Craig will not be happening this weekend as scheduled. It will start the week after, on the 7th of April.

I am also thinking of releasing a monthly newsletter. It will only be about a page or two, because it will consist of the top 5 posts per month, as well as one of Geri Craig's book reviews.

If there is something you would like to see in the newsletter or on the blog, let me know. Also, if you have any comments/letters/rants about the blog or news or anything else, please submit a 150 word (no more!) to me via e-mail. I will post three in the newsletter. Also, to receive the newsletter, you will need to email me and let me know. Your email will go into a spreadsheet so you can stop receiving the newsletter any time. I will not spam you with mail - you should only receive a newsletter from me once a month, unless things change.

Comment below your thoughts about a newsletter.

Write soon!
Ashleigh Neame

28/03/2013 - A Cut Scene From 'The First Vampire'

King Manuzi watched with narrowed eyes as his witch wife was led onto the wooden platform. The guard accompanying her had roped her hands behind her back. Manuzi's face showed and expression of distaste, but not for the reasons the kingdom thought. Manuzi knew the kingdom thought he was ashamed of his wife's magic, but the truth was he had given his wife those powers in the first place, and he knew that tying her hands behind her back would make no difference - magic came from the head, not the hands. The hands were only one of the ways magic could be channelled. 

To be honest, magic wasn't even the reason Queen Liluri was to die today. Unbeknownst to the kingdom, Liluri had given birth to twin girls only a few days ago - children that Manuzi knew he could never have. While he was away on palace business, Liluri had been having an affair with Thaddeus, one of Manuzi's best warriors, and most trusted guards.

Manuzi spotted the guard in question standing in the crowd, watching Liluri with intense eyes. Manuzi looked over at Liluri and saw her eyes fill with joy as she met the guard's eyes. Although his expression stay stony, Manuzi was smirking on the inside. Liluri and the guard thought they were the only ones who knew the truth, but they were wrong. Since Liluri became imprisoned, Manuzi had been drinking a special concoction that made him immune to magic for a short period of time. He knew his wife better than either of them cared to admit, and he knew that she would attempt to cast a spell to keep her daughters safe.

"It's such a shame," the man sitting next to Manuzi said. "I thought your wife was from far better stock."

King Typhon, oh how Manuzi wished they weren't brothers. King Typhon was his father's son with his first wife, making him Manuzi's elder half-brother. Typhon and his wife, Queen Echidna, had come over from their cosy palace on the Central Island to 'support Manuzi' through this tough time.

"I thought so too," Echidna agreed.

Manuzi thought how ironic Typhon and Echidna's comments were, when Echidna was holding one of Liluri's spawn in her arms. When Liluri had cast the spell, she made the entire country - all five islands! - think that the girls belonged to different mothers. King Typhon and Queen Echidna had ended up with the younger twin and named her Selene. Everyone thought Echidna had given birth to Selene. Manuzi had no idea where the other twin had ended up.

"Liluri's mother died when she was young," Manuzi lied to his brother. "I suspect for the same reason Liluri must die today."

"Possibly," Typhon said. "But let us not speak ill of the dead. We shall focus on the monumentous task at hand - getting through today."


If you enjoyed this cut scene and would like to read the published short story, simply search for 'The First Vampire' wherever eBooks are sold.

27/03/2013 - Why 'The Second Venefica' is NOT Cliché

Well, I'm back again, and this time, I'm writing about why I love my third novel, The Second Venefica.

Ok, so I was reading this story on Wattpad on Monday night, called "Why I would love to slap some of the writers on Wattpad", written by Wattpadder loveforever27. The chapter 'Sighs Dramatically' is all about cliché stories that people seem to love reading.

Was Twilight a cliché? Yep. It was all about the new girl at school managing to grab the attention of the schools most eligible bachelor, and eventually winding up married to him as part of their Happily-Ever-After.

But seriously, when does it happen in real life? Not that I've seen! (If it's happened to you, comment below).

Anyway, further down in the post, the writer mentions one of the most cliché storylines ever - Good girl meets Bad boy and hates him, and then they lowly fall in love.

Right, so this storyline got me thinking about The Second Venefica (which is still being written - follow me on Wattpad to read a new chapter every week).

In my story, (I hope I'm not giving too much away here!), the heroine, Lily, cannot fall in love with the villian, Thaddeus. The reason? She already fell in love with him! There's a whole backstory about Queen Liluri and Thaddeus' love, and if you've read my other posts about this story, you would know that Queen Liluri was Lily's past life.

So really, in thinking about it, my book is similar, but doesn't follow that storyline. Genius! I was so worried about it being cliché.

Ok, so TSV sort of follows another Wattpad cliché storyline - the one with the heroine having non-existent parents.

To be honest, TSV doesn't have that, at least, not entirely. At one point or another, Lily is always in the care of one parent, i.e. she's always living with either her mum or dad (except in the beginning when she lives with her boyfriend, but keeps in close contact with her mum).

When the book is set in the Western Island of Paradise, Lily lives with her mum. When it's set in the Central Island, she lives with her dad. If she ever goes to the Northern Island though, she'll be in the care of her great-great-great grandmother who is an ex-witch, and a vampire. If Lily goes to the Eastern or Southern Islands, I'm not sure who she'll be in the care of, but I'll figure that out later.

My point is, through most of the book, Lily is under the care of at least one family member. So really, The Second Venefica hints at being cliché, but is not entirely cliché.

Thank god for that, huh?

To read the funny ass ranting of loveforever27, visit http://www.wattpad.com/1671338-why-i-would-like-to-slap-some-of-the-writers-on

25/03/2013 - A Very Elaborate Way of Saying Something

Hey! Welcome to another blog post.

Now, as you can probably tell, this blog is turning out nothing like the title...oops. Guess I'll have to think of a better name and URL. Any ideas? Comment below!

Now, onto the post. This is actually something I did in my Creative Writing lecture this afternoon. Let me know if you like it!

There is a class of which was cancelled,
Which is to be today.
No such message was received,
About the change of date.
To go or not to go is the question,
As such an internal debate.
Should I or should I not do,
What doth do my mate?
I shall not do what most will do,
Which is to go, take place.
Thee shall go, to go home
To thee happiest space.

Can anyone guess what I'm talking about? Comment below!

Ciao for now,
Ashleigh.