Hi everyone! I finally registered on the forums... isn't that cool? ;)

Well hmm... about me... I'm a bit of a bookworm, and mainly like to read fantasy, adventure and spy books. My favourite book ever is Harry Potter, followed closely by Artemis Fowl, Bartimaeus Trilogy, Da Vinci Code and the Lemony Snicket books.

I'm also an animal lover and own two adorable guinea pigs: Keiko and Lilo, from which this account is named after. I love them to bits!! :D

That's all for now... :)

Hello keikolilo! :D Yes, it's very cool!

I'm into HP and ASoUE too... I've got a copy of "The Amulet of Samarkand" that I've had for ages but haven't read yet. :rolleyes: *is terrible* I've heard lots of good things about it though.

I always wondered about the origin of your name... Guinea pigs, eh? :) Awww...

GUINEA PIGS ROCK!!! :D :D :D

Yeah, I love the Bartimaeus Trilogy! Nathaniel's character and personality is a bit like Artemis himself. I thought the first few chapters were boring, but I made myself read it... and loved it! I've read all 3 books.

C'mon... try reading it again - to the end. It's funny in bits, and there's a main character in the 2nd and 3rd books called Kitty too. :)

LOL. As you can tell by my name, I have a bit of a soft spot for cute furry animals!

I remember when I got the book, I read about two pages but then had to stop reading because it made my head hurt! I don't know why. I shall have to find a nice Working Brain day and try to get into it. :) I've been told the ending of book 3 is amazing.

Haha, that's cool. I bet she'll be my favourite character! :lol:

Good luck for finding a Working Brain day then :D lol.

The ending of book 3 is amazing, but very sad. :(

I love animals... dolphins and guinea pigs are my faves.

Heh heh... like my avatar? I think it rocks!!! :D

Heh, thanks, I think I'll need it. :rolleyes: My brain is a bit... temperamental. Or maybe just mental.

Eek. I'd better steel myself for it then. :3

I like pretty much all animals. XD; But I have a special thing for arctic foxes. They're so cute!

No way, your icon sucks. ;P

*sobs* Oh that's nice... *sobs harder* You don't like my icon!!

heh heh, just joking :rolleyes:

ROFL. I think that icon came out well actually. Glad to see you using it. :)

I also like the other icons too... with Emily and Kirsten as Holly/Juliet. You did a gr8 job! :D

Thanks. :D

When I went to find Kirsten pictures to make the icons with, I ended up with about sixty of them - so I think I'll be making icons of her for a while to come! :lol:

That's great!!! :D Can't wait ;)

Okay, I finally read "The Amulet of Samarkand" a couple of days ago. :D I quite liked it. It didn't totally blow me away but it was good. I'm definitely going to pick up the other two in the trilogy. And I've met the character called Kitty! :lol:

Oh yay!!!!!

Kitty's mentioned in like two sentences in whole book, but in books 2 and 3, you get to read from her viewpoint.

The third book was the best!!!!!!! And I've heard that there is going to be a movie based on the books, so that will be exciting! :lol:

I like it how the books are all so big and thick... I love big books! :D

Have fun reading the other two books!! :)

Ohh, yaayyy! She sounds like a cool character. I'm really interested in the Resistance... I was half-thinking they were doing to turn up at the end of TAoS. :rolleyes: But all of the political wrangling and other types of magic could be so interesting.

I've heard a lot of people saying the third book was amazing, apparently there's a great ending. I shall have to hurry up and get to it!

Gosh, a movie? Oohh... Hopefully it won't spend as long in development as AF has though. :(

A great ending, yes, but sad... :(

What did you think of Bartimaeus? He's really funny, but Nathaniel's view is great too.

Hurry up, AF movie!!!!!!!! Arrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhh!! <_<

Sad? :o Eek. *girds herself*

Bartimaeus is definitely funny. :lol: I love his little footnotes. If you've seen my LJ, you'll know I write like that too! Nathaniel, I think, is the typical young fantasy hero but he's still cool.

Yes, hurry up! We want it now! *goes off to make placards to parade with*

Despite of the ending, I still liked Ptolemy's Gate (3rd book in the BT) the best.

Yeah, I've seen your LJ, it's quite interesting. :)

What job would you like to have? I want to be an author, vet or a fashion designer. I love art and English at school!! :D

Are you going to be seeing the Commonwealth Games? Yay, it is in Melbourne this year, where I live! But I didn't get tickets, so I'll be watching it on TV. :(

Heh, thanks. :) Don't 'spose you've got an LJ too? (Or other journal?)

I really, really want to be an author. :D I've wanted to be one for a long time... But it's so hard, to work on my novel when I'm feeling sick and already have other commitments (like SCHOOL *hiss*). But I'm getting there. :lol:

I don't know, sometimes I watch that sort of thing. It depends what time of day it's on and which events they're showing. I like watching the girls' gymnastics and the running, but that's about it. XD; Of course, with the time difference it'll probably all be shown at like 3am. (*looks at clock* So right about now then.)

I'm thinking of setting up a journal at blogspot.com or something... so yeah maybe... ;)

I want to be an author too, but this kind of job takes a lot of patience... I once wrote a story in year 6 that had 3000 + words, but now I generally write in the 800 to 1000 word range (my English teacher makes us write in a word limit). :D

I'm going to watch the Opening Ceremony and the swimming events. (I take swimming and badminton lessons.)

How old are you anyways? I turn 14 in May. :)

Ah, yeah, I used to use Blogger... I had a personal journal on there. That's where Eye on Fowl is hosted too. It's a good service, but for a personal journal I prefer some of the functions on LJ (lockable posts, friends' journals collated, etc.)

The first draft of the fanfic that I'm working on at the moment is 3600 words - it's the longest fic I've written, even including the chaptered fics! XD; But I'm supposed to be doing several novel-length fics for the Twelve Labours of Heracles.

Working within a word limit can be good for you though. I love writing drabbles. Having to condense everything means you have to choose much better verbs, adjectives, etc. to get your point across. You learn a lot about editing that you can apply to longer work. :)

I don't actually do any sports myself... I can hardly walk up two flights of stairs without getting exhausted. :lol:

I'm 19. :( *is super old* It's really scary, most of the fandom is younger than me... But then I was 14 when I read the first book!

Really? I was 12 when I began reading AF. My mum borrowed the first 3 from the local library as audio books. I thought it would be really boring but I listened and then... fell in love with them! I guess mothers really do know best. :lol:

Then I badgered my friends to read it. One of them read the AF books and she likes them too! Then the next year, in Year 7, our class had to do that book for English.

What are the Twelve Labours of Heracles? I've seen them on your LJ...

Have you read any books by Dan Brown or Anthony Horowitz? I've read the Da Vinci Code, that was interesting and clever, and read all the Alex Rider books by Horowitz. I love reading!! :D

What kind of novel do you want to write (you said you wanted to be an author) ?

Well, I was 14 when the first book came out so... XD;

I rambled on about AF for so long that half of my friends gave in and read it. But none of them actually joined the fandom. :3 But I did have an interesting day when my American copy of TAI arrived and I took it to school to read because I couldn't wait: by the end of the day I'd had about five people ask to borrow it because it wasn't out here yet!

The Twelve Labours of Heracles (or 12LH for short) are an AF fanfic challenge. It's to encourage people to write fics that haven't really been done before, or if they have, not done that well. The website for it is here: http://criminality.popullus.net/challenges...abours/main.htm

I've read the first Alex Rider book... I need to get hold of a copy of the second one. XD; Are you going to go and see the movie when it comes out? I think I may have managed to actually get my parents interested in it.

I want to write children's fantasy books. :D (So a bit like AF - but less with the flatulence jokes!) How about you?

About the AR movie... they already made it and I have the trailer!!!! The boy who plays Alex looks completely different to how I imagined him... :lol: I really want to see the movie ( I love the books, have read all of them so far), but they haven't posted the Aus release date. :( I think in the UK it comes out in June/July. But here is the link to the trailer:

Stormbreaker.com

Tell me what you thought of it!

The same thing happened to me, but with TOD. I especially booked it at the library and when I finally got it (!!) I was so thrilled and excited that I couldn't properly concertate on reading it. Like I couldn't focus on the words, my mind was jumping everywhere! Then I took it to school the next day to finish it off and a couple of people begged to borrow it... so that is my happy story... :lol:

Hmmm... the 12LH looks interesting... maybe I'll check it out ;)

Me? I am hoping to write a adventure/mystery book maybe with a bit of fantasy. Not total fantasy like LOTR, but more like AF. I already planned out the characters, but I need to think up a grand plot... :D lol.

Tell me when you publish your story, cause I want to read it!!! :lol:

I've already been watching all of the trailers and everything - I've even managed to get my parents to watch them too, which is why I suspect they're actually interested in seeing it. XD; The boy doesn't look exactly how I imagined Alex, but he's pretty close. The movie looks like it's gonna be pretty cool.

I was up half the night reading TOD. XD; Fortunately there was no code, because I ordered in an American copy - when I got TEC I was up until 5am breaking the code! My parents nearly killed me!

Ahh, sounds cool. :) Good luck with finding a plot. I've already got most of my plot and characters, now I just need to knuckle down and actually write it. :lol:

LOL, well, that might be a while... seeing as I've got to finish writing it before I can even get it accepted.

My little brother and I are the only ones in our family who are really, really excited about the upcoming AR movie. :D

I thought the code at the bottom was just a pretty decoration, but then I went on the net and read how the code was actually a secret message! :lol: I managed to decode like two chapters worth of codes on the 1st AF book, then got lazy and did a internet search for the rest of decoding. *I've been very naughty, I know.* But I'm proud to say I actually decoded TOD all by myself. :lol:

Yes, I can get quite lazy when it comes to sitting down and staying focused on writing a story. It's only when I get right into it then I start to enjoy it. I think I write better if there is a due date (like at school). :D Gosh, it makes me wonder how JK Rowling and Eoin Colfer can write such long and exciting stories.

Random question of the day: Which publisher do you want to send your manuscript to?

Yay!! I checked the week's TV Guide, and they are airing Maddigan's Quest on TV this Friday!! :lol: I can't wait!!!!!!

Whoo! Well, I hope after all of this that you actually like it. :D

My parents are definitely interested in the AR movie. The other day I offhandedly said, "so are we gonna see it?" and Mum was immediately like "YES". XD; (Although Dad did qualify it with "only if you are a good girl and go to school"...)

I decoded all of them myself. I love that sort of thing, always have. In fact I was very excited about putting my cryptographic skills to the test - until I remembered the translated passage that we're given. (Until then I'd been using the chapter titles! :rolleyes:)

Between the demands of school and being ill, I think of endless reasons not to write. x_X; I always seems to be planning... I know some planning is necessary, but sometimes I just look at it and think, "surely I don't need to know that right now? it'd be helpful, yes, but I don't need to know it. so maybe I could write that bit..." But then of course I go, "ah, but for that it'd be helpful to know this, so I need to think about - " and then I go and do some more planning!

I don't know about a specific publisher, but preferably one that has a grown-up fiction department too so if I ever write some of that I don't have to look for another company!

Yeah, it's tomorrow, MQ. But I have to tape it, because I come home later than when it starts. ;)

Do you still go to school when you're 19? :rolleyes: Our schooling here only goes up to year 12, when you're 18.

I think planning helps when you write stories... I get more ideas and my work is better organised. :D

hmmm... I like Puffin and HarperCollins. If I ever write a story, I would send it to either one of them. But maybe I'll start being a journalist for a magazine or newspaper. :D

Get better soon!! :)

Even if you're at home to watch it, tape it anyway! Then you can watch it over and over. :lol:

Our schooling system goes up to 18 as well. But I've had a chronic illness since I was 14, and I've pretty much been out of school all that time - so I'm having to retake some of my final exams in order to get better marks. :/ It's not exactly fun.

Some people can write without planning; in fact, they can't write with planning. I don't know how they do it. I've tried it a few times but I always get a chapter or two done and then just... stop. But then again, if I do plan, I just keep planning and planning and don't write anything! Because the trouble is, the more ideas I get, the more ideas I need to fill the new gaps created by the ideas that filled the last lot of gaps!

I wouldn't want to try and be a reporter in order to have a job while I finished a novel... Getting a book published is competitive, but so is being a reporter. :3 I would rather just concentrate on getting the book done.

Thank you. :3 I hope I will. Five years is a long time...

Yay! :lol: I watched MQ the other night, so that was the highlight of that day. It was... okay, I suppose, but I'll watch next weeks' too. I actually started taping it just after the opening credits, so I didn't get to see the opening part. :(

That kinda sucks, having to retake exams... I mean, one time is already nervewracking!! :unsure:

Hmmm... that was a bit confusing the last bit about the gaps and filling them in. lol. :blink: With planning, I get the ideas and the actual writing thing done quicker.

Being a reporter is really competitive, I agree. lol, I remember last time, I wanted to be a vet, because I loved animals and reading the Animal Ark books. They used to be my favourite books! I still like animals, yes, (especially guinea pigs) but have sort of stopped reading the Animal Ark books. I like drawing and designing stuff, so maybe I would want to be a fashion designer or illustrator. :lol:

Aww, only okay? :( Well I hope you like the next episode more. It'd be a shame if you didn't like the series after all I've hyped it! (I actually nipped to the kitchen to get a drink just after I'd started my tape, so I missed about 15 secs at the beginning of the episode and I came back and was like, "WTH is going on??" LOL.)

It's not the taking the exams part that's so bad, because I'm okay with exams. Once I'm there I go into a bizarre "Exam Mode" calm and just get on with it. It's the extra year of work that bothers me. :/

LOL. It was kinda meant to be... XD; But basically, everytime I get an idea, there's always something confusing about how it fits in with everything else in the story. So I need another idea to make it work, but then that idea doesn't quite fit, so I need another... and another... ad infinitum.

I've only finished a novel once so I've no idea if planning actually helps me write faster!

I loved animals when I was a kid (guess I still kinda do, LOL) and I remember reading Animal Ark as well... Then again, they were so popular that basically everyone read them! :lol:

There's lots of other things that I'm interested in and people keep saying to me, "why don't you be a...?" but writing is just the one thing that I've always wanted to do and that just gets me really excited.

I am really annoyed with myself. *grumble* I had forgotten to tape the second episode of MQ. Stupid brain. :angry: Grrrrrrrrrr...

Yeah, I would be bothered too with an extre year of work! ;)

Wow, how long was your finished novel? The longest I've ever written was like 10 pages in a word document. :rolleyes:

I love writing too! :P But I only enjoy it when I'm in the 'swing' of it, like when I'm actually writing. I get so excited! Planning's alright too, I suppose... I just don't like sitting at my desk, waiting for a magnificent idea to hurry up and form in my mind. LOL. :lol:

Aww... Well I hope you haven't missed too many more! :( I think it'd be a shame if you didn't manage to see any of the rest of the series.

My finished novel was about 50 sides of A4 when printed out, so that was probably... I dunno, maybe 10,000 words? Which is like a fifth of the size of most young adult books. I was only about 11 or something though. XD;

I enjoy all the different parts of the writing process: coming up with ideas, planning, the actual writing. It just gets annoying if you're stuck in perpetual planning. :rolleyes: And writer's block isn't particularly enjoyable either - but you can't really say that's part of the writing process as not much progression gets done! ;)

(Oh, and having your story ripped to shreds by an editor/beta reader isn't that fun either... But you just gotta get on with that.)

I have no idea what is happening in MQ - I forgot to tape last week's episode too *oops*. I don't know why I keep on forgetting to remember stuff like that. :(

11 years old... that's really young to write 10,000-ish words!! I find it a struggle to write 1,500 words. lol. What was it about?

Haha... what's a "beta reader"? :blink:

Did you manage to get hold of the second Bartimaeus Trilogy book, The Golem's Eye? I'm currently rereading the last book in the series for the third time. :lol:

I had terrible trouble remembering MQ was on - especially on Mondays, after the three day break! I had to leave myself little notes saying "Kitty, don't forget MQ!!!" XD;

If you want to try and catch up, there's some good synopses on TV.com - you can read the ones for all the episodes you missed and then hopefully you'll know what's happening with the plot! :D

I wrote it over about a year so really it's not that impressive. :/ It was just a sort of action-adventure-fantasy type story.

A beta reader is someone who reads the draft version of your story for you and gives you pointers to improve it. What sort of pointers tends to vary by the person doing it, but you know - generally spelling or grammar mistakes, characterisation, plot. It helps you to produce a better story overall. But, as I said, it's not so fun if they totally rip your story to shreds and you have to edit the whole thing!

Yesss, I did get hold of it. But I haven't read it yet. ^^; *naughty* I will though! And I'm sure you'll know when I have because I'll be like "fdjkghdjghn must get Ptolemy's Gate!!!" :lol:

I am so forgetful... and lazy. Over the past weeks, I've missed all the MQ episodes and can't be bothered remembering to tape/see it. Very *bad* of me... <_< Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

At least you finished writing the story. Isn't that something to be proud of? :lol:

But *why* would they "rip your story to shreds"? Unless it was really, really bad. lol

I love the Bartimaeus Trilogy, as much as I love Artemis Fowl. They're both so engaging and have great plotlines and amazing characters. *cheers to both* :D

Hehe, forgetful and lazy? :P LOL, sounds a bit like me. Oh well.

I guess having finished it is something to be proud of... Even if it was complete rubbish! :rolleyes: (Can you say "melodrama"?)

Because in order to improve, you have to know what you need to improve on. So it's quite a good idea to get your betas to rip your fic apart, because even if it's a "good" fic you can still benefit from that. :)

So far I quite like the Bartimaeus Trilogy, but definitely not as much as AF. I totally fell in love with AF right from the first book... Maybe I will grow to love BT more as I go through it, but it'd be quite hard for me to like something as much as I like AF! XD;