2013 So Far In Pictures

Hi again!

I was inspired and energized, so I thought I'd do another post and share with you my 2013 so far, captured in photos. You can even say it's the many faces of me! They are in order based on Facebook! Enjoy!

on set of "Double Crossing"

practice makeup.. I didn't really like it.

"Dark Side of the Moon" opening night's makeup

another experiment with my makeup for "Dark Side of the Moon" This was the clean version before.

practice makeup the night before another run of Dark Side of the Moon

finished look for another run of Dark Side of the Moon

on set of "Conscious"

training for my new job as a Customer Service Representative

I believe this was show #5 of Dark Side of the Moon

St. Patty's Day at work

Monday after the last show of Dark Side of the Moon

Last show's celebration afterwards

The next solo pictures are  my attire for work :)

meeting with friends

chicken day at work :)

shopping trip to Santa Monica Promenade in Los Angeles

"Yellow Face" Advanced Screening at Director's Guild of America

After party at Bird's Cafe (this pic if in front of a bookstore)

Lupus Day, wear purple to work

"Double Crossing" movie

Mom decided to be my photographer - she hasn't seen me in weeks

this would make an awesome portrait :)

I graduated - May 17, 2013

No more new pictures so far since I've been sick. Hope you liked this post!

Read More

Officially Graduated from College!

Hi everyone!

I'm sorry I haven't been updating much. I've been so busy ever since I graduated in December. This past May 17, I walked in the graduation ceremony and made the end official. I've finished school and I'm free! Check out some of the photos!

Goodbye, university. It's been quite a ride.. (not really)

For the first time in history, ladies and gentlemen, may I present my awesome mother! She was so proud of me :) She's internet-shy.

My biggest supporters: my aunt and uncle!

my apartment :) sadly, there wasn't really a party.

my cousin is always there for me :)

making him proud was/is one of my biggest goals

my graduation cake: three layers of chocolate goodness. If you live near San Diego, come over and get a slice :)

Read More

Excerpt: Requiem for Blood

Title: Requiem for Blood
Author: Alexandra Hope
Release Date: February 7, 2013
Buy Link: Amazon

Blurb:

Marrying East Asian mythology with Western folklore, this novel has a surprising twist for fans of the paranormal genre!

Seventeen year old Olivia Cohen has also had an appetite for blood and an aversion to the sun as a human and when she is killed by a mysterious young woman, she finds her appetite has heightened and her skin is now burned by the sun. Living her life in a colony with other people who live a "vampire-like" lifestyle, she has grown up hunting humans and believing there is a blood so powerful it will turn them from vampire-like into true vampires. On one of Olivia's final nights as a human she meets eighteen year old Troy Evans and is immediately drawn to the unique scent of his blood. Now as an actual vampire, she must learn how to suppress her need to hunt and kill for his sake and decide if his unique blood is worth saving from those who seek it.

16+ for dark themes.

Excerpt #1

“I know hiding is prey mentality but come on,” Felicity whined, feigning disappointment. “I'm not hiding,” said Olivia as she stepped from behind the tree and showed herself. Felicity threw two shuriken as soon as she revealed herself, their sharpened blades just missing Olivia's arm and embedding themselves into a tree. A blur before her eyes, Olivia was gone and replaced by leaves and dirt stirring in the air. “What the hell....” her voice trailed. She tucked her head into her shoulder and put her arm up to shield her eyes from the dirt. When the dirt and leaves had settled she turned and saw Olivia had ran off. She took a machete to a tree, only managing a dent to its massive bark. “This is hardly fair Olivia,” she yelled. She pulled out a third weapon from her jacket pocket before whispering, “It's a good thing that I don't fight fair.” Felicity shrugged the jacket off, tossing it to the ground and walked through the forest, alert. At every slight movement she threw shuriken and always just missed Olivia who scrambled behind trees and further into the forest. Olivia thought of the many times she was forced to play predator in these woods and how her heart raced with each close call. She imagined if her heart could beat at that moment it would pump itself right out of her chest. When she had gotten far enough away from Felicity she lay quietly onto her back, her arms sprawled out to the side. A branch rattled above her, leaves falling down and as she looked up a bird spread it's red wings and flew into the night sky. Relieved, she closed her eyes and buried her head back into the damp ground. It was no more than a few seconds before they shot back open. Felicity's machete was coming down quickly but as she looked on, it felt like it was barely moving toward her. The blade was closer than it seemed when Olivia tried to roll to the side. Her shirt, soaked and dingy, was caught under Felicity's foot, forcing her to squirm out of it or fall prey to the blade. She was out of the shirt and back on her feet before Felicity could see anything. Though the night was cold and she was now only in a camisole, she felt no different as she sped through the forest. Her movements were fast and fluid like globs of light streaming passed Felicity forcing her to throw three more throwing stars with poor precision. She took a right to avoid the attack and grabbed onto a large tree. Olivia was only a third of the way up the tree when she felt Felicity tug her leg. She kicked her leg back, striking Felicity at the jaw. Stumbling back, she spat red and her blue eyes had turned a piercing cold. Olivia was sitting on a branch when Felicity stuck her third weapon, a sai, into the trunk and used it to scale the tree, pulling it in and out as she went up. Olivia leaned backwards and her legs wrapped over the branch before she could plummet to her un-death. After hanging backwards and awaiting Felicity, she lifted her legs from the branch and fell gracelessly onto the ground. The landing was anything but soft, her body cut up and blood seeping out as she sprinted away. Within seconds the wounds closed up leaving only a dull pain as a reminder that she had been cut. Felicity slid down the tree and took in the scent of Olivia's blood, a smile creeping on her face. She followed Olivia’s scent but stopped when her foot came over something buried under the leaves. She picked up the hook sword and added it to her collection of unauthorized weapons then continued after her scent. When she heard rustling to her left, she stopped and pointed the hook sword in that direction with her last shuriken in her other hand. Olivia had been deliberately rustling leaves under her feet to beckon Felicity toward her, kunai in hand. The final shuriken struck Olivia's arm and she cried out. “First strike's mine,” Felicity declared as she appeared in front of her. Though Olivia had expected her to attack, even with her vampire senses, she couldn't detect the direction it was coming from. Olivia held tightly to her injured arm, the wound unable to regenerate as the weapon remained lodged in her. Felicity's eyes had warmed up unexpectedly when she saw Olivia clawing at her arm. “Stop moving, I'll get it out,” she said. She fell beside Olivia and put her hand to her arm but was caught by Olivia. With the shuriken still stuck in her arm, she grabbed Felicity's wrist and held it tightly. “I've finally gotten your last throwing star.” “You wanted it to get lodged in your arm?” she sat back, bewildered. “Surprised?” asked Olivia, her voice getting smaller but a faint smile on her face. “At your stupidity? Yes.” Olivia's grip was tighter on Felicity's arm, so much that she could feel the bones grinding beneath the skin. She winced at the pain, but tears did not well in her eyes. “Are you enacting your revenge? Quite the sore loser you've become,” Felicity commented through gritted teeth. Olivia pulled out the kunai from her pocket. “I never wanted to do this,” Olivia admitted. “Do what?” The kunai struck Felicity's jaw and blood spurted from the cut. She took her free hand to her face but still did not cry. Her eyes were bold. “You wanna kill me? Go on, do it. It's natural order....considering how many I've killed.” “I would never kill you,” she confessed. “But I couldn't...” The scent of Felicity's blood had stopped Olivia in her verbal tracks. Felicity smiled, a rather sweet smile. “You smell it too? Something—” “Shut up,” her voice was more pained than annoyed as she screamed at Felicity and then her eyes went dark. Olivia pulled her head from Felicity's neck, her body languid and covered in blood. No, she thought as she sank into the trunk of the tree. “Olivia?” Felicity's voice was a murmur as her name choked out of her month. She coughed. “You're a vampire...but how?” She looked down at a bloody Felicity, her eyelids hanging over her blue eyes and threatening to close. “I wish you didn't...” “Didn't what?” she asked through coughs, her eyes studying Olivia's. “I wish you didn't know that I was a vampire.” Felicity's eyes shot open, her imposing blues bright on her face but without their usual iciness. “I wish you would just forget...” Olivia's voice was almost a whisper as she stared at her. “Forget what?” Felicity asked, her eyes blinking rapidly. She put her hand to her jaw then to her neck, pulling back a crimson stained palm. “What happened?”

Read More

"One Day..."

I saw someone post a note on Facebook, and I thought, I want to write something, too. I didn't feel like writing a poem, so this is what I came up with instead.

Beyond the cloud of my disappointment, I realized a simple truth. It wasn't your fault. I've had the highest expectations. When you let me down, I had a long way to go, and the impact hurt...a lot. Despite that, I can't fault you for anything except I wish you would have set me straight from the beginning. I wish you wouldn't have said yes if what you really meant was no. If you cared enough, disregarding me would have been the farthest thought from your mind. If I was smart enough, I would have known you only really care about yourself. The beauty of this is that I will learn from it. Sure, I might be a little down for now, but eventually, I will look back and smile at how ridiculous this whole thing had been. It will be a memory I'll look back on and one day, I will thank you. Thank you for making me a better person. Thank you for inspiring me to be happier. Thank you opening my eyes to the fact that people like you are not worth my time or my tears. One day, I will realize all of that. For now, I'll keep moving and smile through the tears until my eyes run dry and all that's left is the memories of what could have been.

For all my readers who are also going through some stuff right now, just keep on smiling. I'll be here for you so just send me an email. Don't be bitter because you'll only be hurting yourself. Instead, be happy that whatever it is happened, because at some point, it made you smile or laugh. Don't change into someone miserable because one event got you down. Be strong, and be beautiful.

-Arianne

Read More

Advanced Screening of "Yellow Face" at Director's Guild of America

If you'd like to know how the movie went, read my blog post on my acting blog. This post will be my feelings of the before and after of the event.

Before:

I was so excited! I've been preparing for this night for weeks! I've bought my dress not knowing where I was going to wear it to. Then, I got the email about this screening, and the mission has started. I went on a hunt for the perfect shoes. I tried so many different makeup looks hoping to find the perfect one for the event. I bought other miscellaneous things to add such as accessories. My roommates and I got all dolled up a few hours before we needed to leave to drive to Los Angeles. I was having a great time before we even made it to the venue.

During:

During the screening, I was disappointed that the only two LA guests that told me they were going, flaked. One forgot, and the other had a misunderstanding. Well, that's just dandy, isn't it?

After:

After the screening, I called up my friend and she said we'll meet at Birds Cafe. We were standing outside for a while waiting for a table. I didn't mind, but I sure was starving. Disappointment and hunger do not mix well. Still, I was looking around hoping a miracle would happen. Of course, nothing happened. We finally got a table, and my friend showed up a few minutes later. We talked and I revealed a secret or two. We had fun. It takes time for me to process an incident, so I wasn't upset about being stood up... That is, until the morning after.

Morning After:

I was woken up by a friend who wanted to hear all about the event and what happened. I could understand why because I went on for a month about how much I was preparing for the night and how it was going to be so perfect. Well, I told him I got stood up and he was not very happy about that. That's when a cloud loomed over my head. I wouldn't have gotten out of bed if I didn't have to go to work. I wanted to have a good cry, but it was time to get in the shower and get ready. There was no time for a pity party. I had a life that wouldn't stop just because someone didn't value me enough to make me a priority.

Eventually, I decided to forgive this person. It wasn't a one-sided fault. I messed up, too. One of my screw-ups was that I put everything on the line that my satisfaction relied on this person. I was lucky enough to have such amazing friends that I did not have an opportunity to feel sorry for myself. Besides, that person missed out. I wanted to share a special event, but I guess we weren't on the same page. That's too bad. Now I know better. I won't make the same mistake again.

Read More

Interview: Water's Blood by Elaine Calloway

Title: Water's Blood
Series: The Elemental Clans, #1
Author: Elaine Calloway
Publisher: The Writer's Canvas LLC
Release Date: February 1, 2013
Pages: 511
Buy Links: Amazon  BarnesNoble  Smashwords

Blurb:

Nature’s Elementals—Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water—have lived for countless millennia. Disguised as humans, they are charged with one mission: protect the innocent from fallen angel clans, who reap human souls and force them to do their bidding.
Brooke, a Water Elemental stationed in New Orleans, broke the rules once—she mated with a human. For her indiscretion, she is forbidden to share a life with her loved ones: NOPD officer Alex and their half-breed daughter, Ella.

Now Ella is about to turn sixteen, and the local clan of fallen angels is determined to snare her soul by Halloween.

Brooke broke the rules once by allowing love to interfere with her mission. Now she and Alex must put consequences aside to break the rules again—if they wish to save their daughter’s soul.

Interview

1. Why did you choose to write about elemental magic?

Hmm, good question. I believe some stories simply long to be told. Our creative souls want us to discover the joy of meeting and getting to know each character. But why Elementals?  

Maybe because these four core forces--water, earth, fire, and wind--affect our lives in such powerful ways, yet we often take this fact for granted. Take Water, for instance. People drink it, brush teeth with it, shower with it--all innocuous activities. But consider the flip side of what Water can do. The same element that can clean your teeth can also wipe out a country with a Tsunami, flatten homes with hurricanes, and destroy miles of hearty crops with flooding.

I liked how a force, an Elemental, could have the potential for miniscule and huge powers, but I went one step further. Rather than create a tale about superheroes who constantly kick-box the villains, I wanted to see how the characters could thrive if they were forced to keep their powers secret. This added a layer of conflict that I hadn’t planned on, but wound up being a good theme for the series.  

2. How much research did you have to do for this book?

Strangely enough, this is one book that didn’t require much research. I like to get settings right--inserting real places, intersections, cultures and lifestyles into the story. But WATER’S BLOOD is set in New Orleans, and I grew up there. All the culture, way of life, spirit of the people, was something I already knew. I’m doing extensive research for Books Two, Three, and Four, since those are set in cities I’m not as familiar with.

During a New Orleans trip home to see family and friends, I went to a local bar that became the inspiration for Brooke’s pub and loft. I did speak with several bartenders and police officers, so I could get the job details right for Brooke and Alex.  

3. How did you choose your character names?

*Smiles* This took some decision-making! I suppose this is the area of “research” that I spent more time on. For Brooke, the main Water Elemental character, I wanted a water-sounding name but nothing too corny. I’ve always liked the name Alex for the hero. The other Elementals, I did research online to see what their names could be and came up with similar names to their individual element: Phoenix is Fire, Terran is Earth, Tempest is Wind.

Regarding the names for the Fallen Angels, the antagonists, I did research on evil-sounding names that had specific meanings. Then I posted a bunch of them on Facebook and asked people to pick their top three favorites. Soren, Cristos, and Dominick won, so those are the three antagonists in this book. Same method for Book Two, and I don’t have the names of the villains for Books Three or Four yet!

4. Do you have a routine when you write? (food, drinks, day vs. night, etc.)

I’m a morning writer, but I’m more of a fan of writing whenever my creative energy is at its peak. For me, that’s before the errands, chaos, phone calls, etc. of the day sets into my mind. It is easiest for me to just write first thing--then all those errands can be done throughout the day. For a while, I wrote on my lunch hour, too. That worked for a bit, but by the time evening rolls around, my brain is mush. For some, that’s their second-wind time.

I guess the good thing is, my morning writing and caffeine go hand-in-hand!

5. Did you get any input on your cover? It's beautiful!

Thank you so much! I had the general idea that I wanted the close-up eye, but that was all. I showed my ideas to a few people to get their feedback, and then tweaked what I wanted from there. My graphic artist, Taryn Knight of Leafbreeze Creations, was someone I found by sheer luck on the Deviant Art web site. Her work is amazing and she was very responsive to my thoughts and what I wanted to see in the cover.

I agree. I could not be happier with my cover :)

6. Anything you'd like to say to our readers before you go?

I think that WATER’S BLOOD is much like the city of New Orleans itself. There are elements of good and evil in both; there are choices which align our steps along a certain path in both. For anyone who hasn’t seen New Orleans, definitely go! She is a mysterious and paranormal city.

Book Two of the Elemental Clan Series, RAGING FIRE, releases summer 2013. 

About the Author:

Elaine Calloway is originally from New Orleans and can still do a decent Cajun accent upon request. She is currently writing the Elemental Clan Series, a series of paranormal tales set in iconic cities such as New Orleans. Book One, WATER’S BLOOD, is available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Book Two, RAGING FIRE, will be released summer 2013.

For more information or to connect with Elaine online, visit her web site at www.elainecalloway.com

Website and blog : www.thewriterscanvas.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/writerscanvas

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6915219.Elaine_Calloway

Read More