Announcement - At last I have...

Announcement:

Hello everyone,

Today I bring you a sort of quick but very important announcement. Not just any announcement but one that I treat as a surprise for anyone reading this and an accomplishment on my end. As you might have noticed by the title, "At last I have..." done something. Here is what the "something" is:

So, you all know about The Hero's Prophecy Series I am writing, right? Well, as you might also know, I have been working on a website for the series. Well... let's just say I am done. Finally. Done. Okay, take that back, I am not 100% done, yet. I still have to finish a minor quiz, and draw a picture for the ten year old THP hero, Justin. After that, I will have to add that picture then my website will be done. But hey, let's say it is 98% done. Here is the link to the The Hero's Prophecy Series Website which I strongly recommend checking out: http://ashleeg01.wix.com/thpworld

The THP (The Hero's Prophecy) website has quizzes on what character you are, what role in the Prophecy you would have, and other fun quizzes plus information and background stories on each Hero and Creature of Darkness. I also have on there a smaller blog separate to this one where I post things related only to the THP series. On the website, there is a Hero Interview like what I have done here on the blog, FAQ about the website, and I also plan to open up a shop through the website once the series is fully published.

Again, I think you should check out the website and maybe share it with some other people. I put a lot of work into writing everything. I am working on converting all the pictures to ones I draw, but until then, not all of the pictures I made. It would be nice if you left a comment either on this post or on the website (by using "Contact me") to let me know what you think of the website and what I could improve. Thanks for reading this, and keep an eye out for any new posts coming up!

Note: This was, what I would consider the "Surprise Post" for now, but I might come up with something even cooler within the next few days. Well, probably not Saturday-Sunday because I am pretty busy then with Geocaching and we often go to Spokane to shop then which is about 1 and a half hours away. But still keep an eye out for posts those days, just in case.

The Hero's Prophecy Series - An Interview with the Heroes

Hello everyone,

As you might know, I mentioned yesterday doing a post that gives an update on The Hero's Prophecy Series possibly for today. Well, I decided to something a little more interesting. I remembered that in the past I did an "interview" with Steve, Hero, and Sadie - three of the characters from the Hero's Prophecy series. But two of those characters are not introduced until Book 3. And the real action with them is not until Book 4. So I want to do another character interview, but with more of the Heroes. Those Heroes include Steve, Sadie, Hero, Niamey, TheBest, Archer, Zalia, DragonSlayer, and Justin. Here is an Questions and Answers Interview with some of the well-known Heroes:

Steve, how do you feel being the Prophecy Child knowing that one day you must kill the King of Darkness?

I... I don't really know. I lived almost my whole life on a farm, and only recently started training in the Nether [In Book 4]. If my father, uncle, and great-uncle could not kill the Dragon, then what is the chance I can? I might be brave, and I would never admit this to anyone, but I don't think I can slay the King alone. I believe that every hero needs help in life from people who care.

Archer, what were your feelings after Zalia tried permanently killing you the first time?

At first I was just shocked to be alive. If it was not for DragonSlayer's skilled father, I would have died in the woods then devoured by Zombies or Wolves. But after that phase passed, I really just felt lost, gone. I guess that is why I took to such a violent but hidden fighting life. I needed something to cover up my lost and grief. I was not at all angry at Zalia, nor at myself or anyone else. The only thing to blame was her disease. But even now, I feel the pain. I love my sister more than anything, even with her disease. And to know that she is still out there and safe after what happened... well, it makes me feel more complete.

TheBest, why do you cover up your help-needing self as a cruel, lying, powerful kid?

First of all, I am not "help needing". Yeah, I lost my parents. But that does not mean I will go crying to Steve saying "help me, help me!". Also, I am not cruel. I am strong, powerful, and feared. I do lie about things too, but that is just necessary. If people knew I was fifteen and not sixteen as I claim, my status would fall. If I gave mercy to the new people of Mineville, my popularity would go to nothing. To have power, you have to have people's fear. And to have their fear, you have to be strong and be able to lie and bring a sword down on someone's head.

DragonSlayer, would you really do anything to save Steve? And if so, would you do it just because of Notch's law or because of your friendship?

I would do anything to save Steve, or anyone else close to me. I would not want to die and leave him behind, but I would if I needed to. And as to what I am, I am unsure. I believe in Notch's law to protect Steve with everything and do not doubt his power. But I also do not protect just because some immortal king tells me to. Even if it was against the law, I would still protect Steve with my life. So I guess it is because of our friendship because I know Steve would do the same for me.

Zalia, do you ever think about your brother, Archer? And if you do, what do you think about him?

My brother Archer is a... a rough topic. I love him, of course. But after what happened those many years ago, I feel that he is just a ghost in my memory. Even though we met again, I could only force myself to believe he was a ghost. Archer was supposed to be dead, whether I wanted it or not. But I do think about him. A lot. And I have mixed feelings and thoughts. I always think about what happened, what might have happened, our future if I was not what I am, and whether or not Archer still exists in the world. Part of me denies all I have seen in the past few months since the Zombie Appocalypse. But I can only keep myself from thinking the never ending "What if..." questions.

Niamey, why do you help Steve so much even though you seem to hate him?

Well, I don't hate Steve. But I don't like him much either. The thing is, before my mom went out to find my father, and before leaving me, she left me a note. The girl who rescued me had kept the letter, and I treat it now like a life because it is all I have left of my mother. That note told me all about the Prophecy and the importance to protect Steve. Even if I don't like Steve, my mom did. Or at least, she wanted to protect him. And because of that, I have no choice but to do the same. Yet, I tend to help Steve more in words. I give him parts of his past and future and give some advice. Either way, I am just doing what I believe is right.

Sadie, how was it being possessed by the King of Darkness [in Book 4]?

I do not remember much from then. I saw some parts of what I was doing, hearing, and saying, but I had no control over myself. I remembered when I called Steve a monster though... and I could hear the Dragon whispering in my head, forcing me to say and do things that I would never even think about. The Dragon is pure evil, and I cannot wait until he is destroyed for good. And one of the things I find so horrible now is that even though I have so much book knowledge, it was not enough to help me. That alone just proves how different and powerful the King is.

Hero, you are considered a cool kid. But why did most people not take you seriously when you went to the schools to warn them about the Dragon returning?

Sadly, it is because of who I am and the news I was delivering. First off, no matter how "cool" I look, I have white eyes. Most people still believe Herobrine as some evil ghost thing. And seeing me? Well... only one can imagine what went through those teens' heads. Secondly, who wants to believe that the King of Darkness has returned again? I sure would not. Not to mention I was not from any of the schools I warned. Just that alone is enough to make most people not believe me.

Justin, what made you sacrifice yourself for the remaining survivors, even after your whole family was dead [assuming ghosts can talk]?

I had a duty to complete. My mom basically sacrificed herself to find my father. That left Millie's life in my hands. And when that Zombie killed her... I knew nothing else mattered. My parents were dead. My sister was dead. What else was there to live for? But of course, there was something else to live for. Even before Steve came crashing through my back door I had a mission. I wanted to prove my worth to my family, even if it killed me. Once Steve came, that gave me a firm idea. I decided to do all I could to protect him and help the others if it meant proving I still cared to my lost family. If my family had not died, or even if just Millie had not died, I probably would not have sacrificed myself. I would be too afraid, and I would not want to abandon my family. But when everything is lost, the only option left is to take the role of a leader or hero. That is exactly what I did and I do not regret my option at all.

 

 

I hoped you enjoyed today's THP Heroes Interview, and I will probably bring you more. I am sorry for the lack of a picture for Justin; I have yet to make one. All the pictures I drew. I will, along with getting Justin's picture up, update Zalia's once I draw the background to hers. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this interview. Also, for a quick update, Book 1 is done. I am just waiting for my mom to finish reading it before I decide what to do next. As for the website that goes along with the series, it is nearly done. I just have to add some more pictures for the characters which I hope will be done by this weekend. Then I will quickly check the pages to make sure there are no typos/spelling errors and then I will post the link on  here. Also, I probably won't have posts - or at least any long ones - every week from Friday-Sunday because I am really busy those three days. Typically, I will post on Monday-Thursday. Thanks again for reading this!

The Hero's Prophecy - About Book 1

I am back as usual, and this time I am here to tell you about Book 1. Even though I am not done with the series yet, I decided to go back and edit book 1 so I can start publishing the series. Well, the editing is taking much longer than I originally thought. Why is that? Well, not only do I have to edit but I have to also make chapters. Why did I not make chapters in the first place? Uh... forgot? No, I just normally don't do chapters. Along with editing and making chapters I have to also make the book longer. Why? Because I want this book to be an actual novel from 300-400 pages long, maybe 500 for the later books. And then I got another problem. I was not paying attention in what point of view I was first writing it. So the first part of the book is in one view and then the rest is in another point of view. Because of this I have to change like the first 40 pages of the book to the right view. Add all those problems together and I get one very, very messed up book to edit. Well, does the book have a good theme? Of course! In my opinion anyways. If I did not like the book I would not be editing it, right? And I am spending all this time trying to fix these problems so it is obviously worth my time. Would it be easier to re-write the book (a third time)? Maybe... but I don't want to risk that. I really like the book so I will not give up yet.

What is book 1 about? Well, I might as well start explaining that. Ever since Steve, a fourteen year old boy, could remember he has been living in a farm town. The thing is, Steve never had interest in farming. He would always watch out the window at night when the Zombies and other monsters roamed the town and he would imagine himself killing them. For Steve's eighth birthday he asked for a sword. His mother thought, well, he won't do anything else besides watch monsters so that is how Steve got his first sword. Right when Steve had opened the gift and saw the sword, he skipped the rest of his birthday party and went outside to practice. Ever since then, Steve has done nothing else. As the years passed, he became more experienced and soon moved onto archery. By age thirteen, Steve told his mother and the mayor he would defend the town at night so the people could go outside without trouble. Both of them were reluctant until he sneaked out one night and killed every monster that came towards him. His mother was shocked, but she secretly knew this would one day happen. This boy, only just thirteen, would one day become a hero. Knowing that Steve would need to prepare for the future, she sent him away to practice in a town of fighters - Mineville.

Just two months before he would turn fourteen she sent him away empty-handed besides for some apples and a bottle of water. Steve willingly went knowing he did not belong in his hometown. Well, nearly instantly after arriving Steve gets killed. Luckily for him, people re-spawn after being killed by another person. He would not be so lucky if he was killed by a monster or fell to his death. Since Steve hates losing he instantly wanted revenge. But then he makes two more enemies - an expert archer and a hunter girl. Even with three enemies, Steve is only thinking about revenge and lets nothing get in his way. But then he runs across a message - one left by a thief. The message leads to something the sixteen year old thief took from Steve's main enemy. With a new mission, Steve sets out in search for this treasure not knowing he was heading for a permanent death and a major fight with an evil creature and his two main enemies. 

 I will stop here for today, but I will create another post within a few days about what happens next. Just so you know, Book 4 is the best in my opinion because it is filled with adventure, danger, and monster fighting. Plus that is actually when Steve's younger brother, Hero, and his friend, Sadie, really take action in the book. Hero actually tells part of book 4 instead of just Steve which I like because Hero is a very different person from Steve. Hero explains things differently, and is much more lively than his serious, boring brother who only cares about survival (I don't really like Steve much). Sadie is a lot like me, Hero is like Katie sort of, and Steve is sort of like how I act when I am playing single player survival mode or the Hunger Games in Minecraft. I actually think Book 5 could be the best, but I have not got around to writing it yet. Well, I'll be signing off here, but be ready for tomorrow's post!

Minecraft Hoodie Design Series - The Specialty Hoodies

I am back as usual with a new topic - some of my sketches/drawings. I just finished number six in the series today, so it is up to you what is best. I have recently gotten into sketching other things besides trees so I combined it with Minecraft, the Hero's Prophecy series, and the Star Catchers series to get Minecraft Hoodie Designs. Each one has a black creeper with an eye-color on the back and front. For most of the hoodie designs, it is one solid color such as blue or pink but then there are the Specialty Hoodies. A Specialty Hoodie is like the ones in the picture below:

The Three Specialty Hoodies

The first one above with the green checkers design is called the Green and Green Creeper Hoodie. The second one is my final outfit that tops off the design series. Ignoring some mistakes I made, the design is one of my favorites. It is called Dragon Tail Creeper Hoodie (I first named it Ender Tail). The third one is called the Nether Flames Creeper Hoodie and that one is based off the Minecraft Nether. I like this one too because when you put on the hood, it sort of looks like your head is on fire because of the flame designs on the hood. Also, that last one would, if a real outfit, have way better flame designs but I am not really the Expert Sketcher here. Which one do I like best? Um... they are all plenty nice and they are based off the three Minecraft Dimensions, the Overworld, the End, and the Nether, so I really cannot decide. The green (Overworld) checkers one was my first design out of all six of them (I only showed 3) and it is the only one I could do a checkers design for without messing it up. The Nether Flames (Nether) is nice too, but I would not wear either one in real life. The Dragon's Tail Creeper Hoodie (End) is the only one I would wear out of the three, but only if the Dragon did not look like he was made out of clay by a three-year old. So my favorite one is probably the Green and Green Creeper because that is the only one I did not really mess up on, plus it looks cool. And when it comes to them being real clothes, I possibly would not wear the End one either... unless it was really good.

On the left you can see a picture of the sixth design close up. The black on the sleeves, on the hood, and around the neck is supposed to be an Ender Dragon's tail, but you cannot really see the silver spikes. Wherever there is white near the black, that should be where the spikes are at, but they blend in with the purple. And then I ran out of room for the wings and legs, but it all worked out I guess. The black towers are the obsidian towers in Minecraft with the Ender Crystals on top of them. If this was a real outfit, on the back would be an Ender Dragon flying towards you with its mouth open making it look something like the picture on the right. 

Remember when I said these outfits were based off Minecraft, the Hero's Prophecy series, and the Star Catchers series? Well, let me tell you why and how the two series were involved. If you read my posts about the Hero's Prophecy series I am writing you might remember that I mentioned a boy named Hero. Hero is Steve's younger brother, and all he cares about is being cool and slicing off monster heads. Well, the person wearing the Nether Flames and the Green and Green Creeper Hoodies is Hero. I recently remembered that Hero's eyes are white like Herobrine's so I will have to change that. But why did I chose to use Hero for these sketches? Well in one of the books he actually does wear the Green and Green Creeper Hoodie and for the final book (yes, I planned that far ahead) he will wear the Nether Flames Creeper Hoodie. Don't ask me why I planned out what each character is going to wear... let's just say it is for the final battle. Then there is Isabelle Zalia, a girl from the Star Catchers series I am writing. The only thing is, her name in the book is Isabelle McCafery, not Isabelle Zalia, but I sort of forgot that too when I was making the sketches. Either way, she is supposed to be Isabelle McCafery from the Star Catchers series. Before I sign off here, I would like to say one more thing: Please forget the fact that I messed up things like eye-colors, names, drawing skills, and lengths because at least they looks cool. I will return later with the other three Creeper Hoodie designs, so be prepared!

The Hero's Prophecy - A Basic Introduction

In my last post, I explained just how this series came to be, but now I will explain some of the books, the three main characters, and the main enemy as well as some basic information. The first thing you should know is the main character. His name is Steve, yes, to Minecrafters he is mainly known as the Default Skin (Unless you count the second Default Skin in 1.8). Here is a picture of the simple hero in my book:

So, now you can see him. Not much right? Correct, but he has skills. There is a Prophecy that has slowly been taking form over the years. Part of it says, without giving too much away, that a boy will slay the Ender Dragon to save the world. But it will be a battle, and not everyone will come out alive. This boy's brother will be caught, and be imprisoned in another dimension, the End, and they will lose their mother after this boy meets her again. But who is this boy? Well, part of the Prophecy describes him as looking like his father when he was young, and his father's name is Herobrine. No, in this book, Herobrine is not the evil ghost of Notch's dead brother, he is actually one of the good people. With the Prophecy out, everyone thinks for sure it is this boy in the picture above - Steve. He was given away when he was a baby to protect his life, but now that he is nearly fourteen, and memories are coming back to him. Steve is sent away to a town full of survivors and fighters so he will be ready when he learns the Prophecy. But things don't go easily for Steve. People want to kill him, and monsters won't leave him alone. Well, here is one thing you should know: being killed by a person in the world of Minecraft means you will come back, also known as re-spawning, but you're not so lucky if it comes to monsters. Steve spent most of his life in a town called Farmington where he defended the people every night from all sorts of evil monsters. He started doing this since he was thirteen, and now nearly being fourteen years old, Steve has gained a lot of skills in Archery. But I really do not want to give away a lot so onto the next character: Hero.

I am sorry, but I don't have  a picture for him besides some (in my opinion, bad) drawings/sketches. I will actually be showing those soon enough, but right now, I might as well describe him. Hero is the younger brother of Steve, but they are complete opposites. Steve's only goal is to keep himself alive, but Hero has other ideas. He has two main goals: Being cool and slicing off monster heads with his sword. Hero always wears hoodies and keeps his enchanted iron sword strapped to his side. If he did not live in the Nether, Hero would probably be one of the popular kids in town or in school, but thanks to the Ender Dragon (I will get to him soon) Hero's life is not like that. He has blonde hair, blue eyes, and much lighter skin than his brother, taking on the appearance of his mother in a way of eye and skin color. Because of that, everyone knows Hero is not the one to slay the Dragon even though his father is Herobrine. But once again, I don't want to give away too much just yet so here is the next character: Sadie.

Sadie is a lot like me when it comes to our personalities. She is a researcher, likes reading, hates fashion, very organized, and knows a lot about non-fiction things. She is also a good leader thanks to her knowledge and her organization, plus she is an expert when it comes to map reading and planning. Sadie's story is kept secret to nearly everyone besides a few people. A few years back, the Ender Dragon came and destroyed Sadie's town, magically locking every building and home and catching them on fire. Luckily Sadie had been outside writing but it had also meant the death of nearly everyone else. A few weeks before that, Hero had been in her town warning schools about the Ender Dragon returning and Sadie was one of the few people who actually believed the news. Because of that, Hero and Sadie became quick friends and started training once a week at a hideout they made just outside of her town. Well, once Sadie's town was destroyed she fled to the hideout and called Hero and the others (Steve was not there then). A portal was opened and she was brought to the Herobrine Family Castle to live and train there. Since then, Sadie has just told people like Steve that she lived at the castle for training. I also don't have a picture of Sadie yet, but I might be able to sketch something up. Now, I have one last person, monster more like, that I must list - The Ender Dragon.

The Ender Dragon... the King of monsters, also known as the King of Darkness. His home is in the End, one of the three dimensions in the story. He has the power to possess people, even immortal people like Herobrine, and he is slowly gaining power to take over the world. If not stopped, the world would be changed forever. Once again, I don't want to give away too much yet so here is a picture:

 Sorry, he might be sort of hard to see, but that is the Ender Dragon. In a future post about Minecraft, I will try to get better pictures or a video of him. For now, that will have to do though. You now know a little about the Prophecy, the three main characters, and the Ender Dragon, so I will be signing off here, but be prepared because next I will introduce my hobby of music.

The Hero's Prophecy Series - How it all Began

I am now moving onto my next major topic of hobbies - writing. I love to write books and series, and I get most of my inspiration from the books I read. I currently have two series I am working on: The Hero's Prophecy and Star Catchers. I have to thank a few things for my inspiration for the Hero's Prophecy series: Minecraft, Minecraft Legends, a Minecraft Parody I saw, and the Percy Jackson Series. So, as you can see, Minecraft basically created the Hero's Prophecy, with the help of the Percy Jackson series. I will first go into how exactly the first book was created, so here it goes:

My sister, Katie, was watching Minecraft animations and songs on the computer, but the sound would only work unless the headphones were plugged in so she was wearing them. I was reading, but I just cannot pass up a good MC animation even if there is no sound, so I sat in the chair next to Katie and started watching it. Then I saw one animation that caught my eye. I had no idea at the time that it was a Parody of Radioactive called Redstone Active until I asked Katie, "Can I listen for a minute?" She finally let me listen and that is when I discovered the MC animation was not even an animation! I liked both the song and video though, so I continued to listen while Katie was trying to tug the headphones off my ears saying, "Let me have it! It is my turn!" Of course, why would I listen? So I finished the song, gave her back the headphones, and ran to get my notebook and pencil. I had remembered a lot of the words, plus the full animation since I watched it two times, so I wrote a small 5 page book by the actions of the people in the animation/song. I was inspired at the time and bored of reading so I created a humorous, short book that even Katie likes now. I cannot remember when I decided to turn the book into a series, but I eventually did. Going onto my computer, I started to write and write, but then I stopped, instantly knowing what I wanted to write was not in line with the first book. Thinking for a few days, I finally came up with this: save the short one for Katie as a single book, and re-write the series including Book 1. Well, that was actually a good idea because I instantly started to see a real series, and from then on I just could not stop typing. Of course, finally it was bedtime, but I was up early doing it again. There are some times were I have to stop for a few days because I run out of ideas, but I always come back fresh. Well, that is how the Hero's Prophecy came to be. Here is the link to the Parody that started it all: Redstone Active Parody/Animation In my next post, I will explain about the series and characters, so be ready! Also, I will be adding some MC screenshots in my next post of the main character and the main enemy.