ABOUT ME

At this point you've been through a bit of my artsy looking blog and are probably asking a lot of questions, like, "Who is this mysterious writer woman? Why am I strangely attracted to her bad grammar and tendency to not capitalize anything?" Those are not easy questions to answer. In fact, I am still trying to answer them myself.

Oh bother...I'm rambling again. Let's start again. My name is Anastasia Cross, and I am a nineteen-year-old college student with a dream to edit novels, write books, and construct screenplays. I'm currently studying English with a minor in Writing, but I may go on to grad school to study film and screenwriting. I'm not entirely sure yet. Either way, I won't bore you with the "OH I LOVE TO WRItE AND SING AND PLAAY THE PIANo AND HavEE ICE cREAM fORRR DESERTS". Instead, I'll just say that in subscribing to my blog and entering the massive adventure that is my life, you will be swept away into an array of writing tips, Batman/Jack Frost analogies/allegories, poetry sprees, beta reading opportunities, sneak peeks into my writing life, and other fun stuff along the way. Thanks in advance for appreciating my stupid puns and jokes that aren't as funny as I think they are.

Until next time...







WEB STUFFS:



CREDENTIALS:
3.1k followers on pinterest
4 novels written
1 novel published
17 novels in progress
rookie poet
4.0 gpa
honors student
full-tuition scholarship recipient





9 comments:

Kira Thomas said...

Hello there! I'm Athelas. I'm a writer of Christian Fantasy and Science fiction as well. I found your blog through your Pinterest page, and it (both of them, actually) look very interesting. I've enjoyed looking through the posts on your blog.
...No, I'm not in the habit of commenting such random things. The purpose of this comment is actually to tell you that I've enjoyed your blog and have followed it. Blogger seems to dislike me at the moment, and won't allow me to follow blogs, but I will be receiving your posts in my Blog Reader. I look forward to reading more of them. ^-^

Anastasia Cross said...

Hi Athelas! (NICE NAME!!!! *taking notes for character name*) Thanks for your interest in my blog (and by an extension me) and my Pinterest page! I can't wait to look through your Pinterest as well. Right now I am in the middle of Disney World uploading my new iPad right now though....TAKING FOREVER. Anyways.

Don't worry about random comments! You literally have no idea how much I LIVE for random comments. I love it when people comment, so comment all you want! I want to talk to you! :)

Thanks again for the nice note!

~Ana

J. Parkhurst said...

Hello there! I stumbled across your pinterest board today for "Wired", and by proxy, your blog here. I would love to hear more about the concept behind it, if you're willing to share a bit? I recently finished writing a novel in what feels like much the same vein, and am always curious to see what inspires others.

Thank you kindly!

Anastasia Cross said...

Absolutely! I checked out some of your Pinterest stuff as well, and it looks like you are a very good writer, from what I read on your pins. :) Thanks for checking my blog out!

Wired is an ongoing project (I have only a few short chapters written). It occurs approximately 50-100 years in the future, where polio has returned (or has it been mutated by human hands?) and is ravaging the population in a worldwide pandemic. This mutated version of polio is dubbed dipolio. It is virtually incurable, since it is contagious and kills within a few days. Basically a scientist creates this spinal implant that suppresses the symptoms (or "hides" them) and "cures" you.

My book revolves around a boy named Mason who lives in this time and was the recipient of an experimental spinal implant, which has a glitch and causes him to go into strange rages when his brain sends excess amounts of neuron signals into his nerves (i.e. when he is overly excited, upset, angry, etc.). I could tell you more, but I believe that is the bare necessities. Does that answer your question, or do you have any more?

Congratulations on your finished novel! I would love to hear what it is about. Do you plan on publishing it?

~Ana

J. Parkhurst said...

I definitely want to read Wired now :) In many ways it's like my novel from this past Camp NaNo- The Imaginative. I'd be curious to learn more about your concept idea for the implant if you have the time. It's an intriguing idea that piques my interest.

Now you've got me stumped... which novel was it that I declared as finished? :D I think I was referencing "The Imaginative" as it's quite a similar setting to "Wired." I'd like to get it published at some point in time, but there are several other novels that are higher up on that list :) For instance, I'd like to have both parts of "The Centre" written and finished first, as much of what happens there has an effect on events in this story.

"The Imaginative" explores the world when, at long last, the golden age of technology has come and gone with a price tag higher than any could have predicted. Of those who remain, there are two camps- those struggling to survive on a day by day routine, and those that have already learned to do so while keep their heads down because they carry the blame for the Fall itself. The only difference between the two is that those who are supposedly to blame for the Fall retain the ability to think creatively.

The story itself follows several characters whose stories overlap and build off of each other. Reunath is the last of the generation to have lived before the Fall, and is on the run for having lived too long and speaking out against the darkness. He in turn mentors Saelel and Jaycien who want nothing more then to raise their young son Laynus withouth him learning of the prejudice that was he was born into. Later on, they unoffically adopt the teenage Calrycia, who was rescued from an orphanage that was a cover for something more sinister. Together Calrycia and Laynus start to rebuild the world.

Anastasia Cross said...

That sounds like a really cool book! I'd like to read it, too. :) I love those names...Saelel especially. How did you come up with names like that?

The spinal implant...well, the whole idea started when I saw pictures off a TV show called "Falling Skies" on Pinterest. A boy in the show has 'spines' on his back that make him agile and strong. This gave me a little inspirational spark that eventually became Wired. The whole dipolio thing came to be because I was already writing a book exploring the question, "What if the Nazis won WWII?" so my mind was already stuck in that polio time period.

The spinal implant is a spine-length metal plate, I guess about 4-6 inches wide, that connects to your nervous system through your spinal cord. Since dipolio has a lot to do with the nerves, the implant corrects any damage done by sending the appropriate electrical pulses through the nerves (along with other medical stuff I am not learned about enough to completely explain). Mason's experimental, glitchy implant sends too strong electric pulses when his heart rate is high and causes him to have enhanced senses (as well as enhanced strength). Unfortunately, it also causes him to go berserk when excited in any way, so far as to unintentionally harming family members and such.

I hope this wasn't rambly or confusing at all!

~Ana

J. Parkhurst said...

As for the names, I once started by forming names from Quenya, but eventually realized that I'd have copyright issues if I ever pursued publishing. Instead, I now use yafnag and the following site: http://www.rinkworks.com/namegen/. They're pretty handy if you have an idea of how you want the names to sound/feel, which is where I start.

Your explanation did not ramble at all, no fears! (Or if it did, I followed perfectly which says more about me then it does about you :) ). That's a cool concept for the implant! My devices are of a much more sinister nature, so it's an interesting comparison.

Anastasia Cross said...

Thanks for the name info. I will definitely be checking that out. I'm always looking for cool names. :)

Definitely an interesting comparison. I would say that my implant is sinister, but originally it WAS created for noble purposes, so I suppose it isn't really. I just came to the realization that its more of a corrupted good than a total bad.

Thanks for the conversation, J. I really enjoy talking to my followers. Please, don't hesitate to comment all you want on anything of mine. I love talking to fellow writers. :)

Ana

Kayla said...

I found your profile on Pinterest and followed you here. My best friend as a teen was named Anastasia Cross, so I was kind of confused for a moment x) Needless to say you are not the same woman. Anyways, great work and Hi!