tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72406397514608294842024-02-18T21:31:36.527-08:00Pages and Stages "Write and write and keep on writing; just make sure your life's exciting."Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-47621953251434719342021-09-28T12:35:00.034-07:002021-09-30T15:46:40.026-07:00In which I lead you TO A DARKER SHORE <p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXW__lg7SAifeFjskSUXpyaiR3gUTg6buYXagg17VxwLyVqRs_q7WiJb7Fte8-KggZOFBkA4GtXwkfJdlPrDT-OIIXlo2q4guK_r_wx1eQwCafCPIAaWfl0Fm39IASn2DL6QlCHvrXK8o/s1800/IMG_2100.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img alt="An image of five burning moths or butterflies, with the text TO A DARKER SHORE" border="0" data-original-height="1011" data-original-width="1800" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXW__lg7SAifeFjskSUXpyaiR3gUTg6buYXagg17VxwLyVqRs_q7WiJb7Fte8-KggZOFBkA4GtXwkfJdlPrDT-OIIXlo2q4guK_r_wx1eQwCafCPIAaWfl0Fm39IASn2DL6QlCHvrXK8o/w505-h283/IMG_2100.JPG" width="505" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div data-block="true" data-editor="3oq65" data-offset-key="c042t-0-0" style="color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="c042t-0-0" style="background-color: white; direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 2px; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="c042t-0-0"><br /></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="c042t-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 2px; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="c042t-0-0"><span style="background-color: white;">It's been a spell so I thought I'd share a little here about my current WIP, a young adult fantasy in which an autistic shepherdess with aspirations accidentally damns her best friend, so she goes to hell to kill the devil. She doesn't let grief, kissing monsters, or chub rub</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span data-offset-key="c042t-0-1"><span data-text="true"> in the furnace of hell slow he</span></span>r down. (Well. She may pause a MOMENT for the kissing.)</span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="c042t-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 2px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="c042t-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 2px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmCjg6-Gxlc62nkj1jgYlOGNK55AvZvmBkf1NLi_Pt7V4G96WYujjsP19U5NG4fL9C8YSJ4gYKmjr3nlCQa4eTglg9Z_J2KDJ6lUI-wzmvC-xLfZzPDfba3F5-pRFGP_jAGzEd7cC6Io/" style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; white-space: normal;"><img alt="There was that same intensity, written in the unforgiving, eager lines of her face. "We're already in hell. We may as well sin."" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1608" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmCjg6-Gxlc62nkj1jgYlOGNK55AvZvmBkf1NLi_Pt7V4G96WYujjsP19U5NG4fL9C8YSJ4gYKmjr3nlCQa4eTglg9Z_J2KDJ6lUI-wzmvC-xLfZzPDfba3F5-pRFGP_jAGzEd7cC6Io/w400-h225/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="c042t-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 2px; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="c042t-0-0" style="background-color: white; direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 2px; position: relative;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">TO A DARKER SHORE (<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23MonsterInferno&src=typed_query&f=live" target="_blank">#MonsterInferno on Twitter</a>) draws on my Italian heritage as well as a few Greek myths (though it is not a retelling). The title comes (via a slight mistranslation by me so it fit the book better) from Dante's </span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: helvetica;">Inferno</i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">:</span></div></div></div></span><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0%;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0%;">Non isperate mai veder lo cielo:</span><br style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0%;" /><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0%;">i’ vegno per menarvi a l’altra riva</span><br style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0%;" /><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0%;">ne le tenebre etterne, in caldo e ’n gelo.</span> </span></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Hope nevermore to look upon the heavens;<br />I come to lead you to the other shore,<br />To the eternal shades in heat and frost.</span></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsxKFWS10mq36U1hy_ZMlPZ9V13k41pmAsQXgZCDfSNH3BL_e9L57Y49jLTzolVM3E6AMkY-VBjW-8hJ1z3K9aQqWw02nvnj6BZ_BDfA4Sdft-d_qbeQ5Tr6ec23JPhpWtk1NmM7sewU/" style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt=""Here you're no one. You're nothing. You're meat, or your teeth and claws."" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1608" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsxKFWS10mq36U1hy_ZMlPZ9V13k41pmAsQXgZCDfSNH3BL_e9L57Y49jLTzolVM3E6AMkY-VBjW-8hJ1z3K9aQqWw02nvnj6BZ_BDfA4Sdft-d_qbeQ5Tr6ec23JPhpWtk1NmM7sewU/w400-h225/image.png" width="400" /></span></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But for all the "abandon all hope" of it, this book continues my tradition of writing dark fantasy that's really just an excuse for an inordinate amount of mutual pining, forced proximity, and happily ever afters. Three romance tropes dressed in a cassock if you will.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRJuYPtZM2qg6J8sw5FHvgXnMUUmxZxJxMnDll2jTrqikD9u7sfk2RQ3e44esf7pmSnk1-IpHI7mOJOsqyf5koZSb1mZnB7CSgPZoPfYxiNQ8p8XTZdEt-MsgofmoPlQiH-xrBnZePaI/" style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt=""The bow hung heavy from one hands. He ached for her to touch him again. it would kill him just as much as to hear no, with his end dark and near, and yet his heart lurched after the one answer he truly hungered for. Want me. Ruin me." data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1608" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRJuYPtZM2qg6J8sw5FHvgXnMUUmxZxJxMnDll2jTrqikD9u7sfk2RQ3e44esf7pmSnk1-IpHI7mOJOsqyf5koZSb1mZnB7CSgPZoPfYxiNQ8p8XTZdEt-MsgofmoPlQiH-xrBnZePaI/w400-h225/image.png" width="400" /></span></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;">TADS also features friends to enemies to lovers, a girl who steals the sky, lightly veiled Catholic angst, and the biggest game of The Floor is Lava ever. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;">A STEM girl and a painter boy. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;">Monster makeovers (it's that thing where you make someone look worse/like a monster). What I've been told by professionals is a more lyrical prose style. Sadly no cats, but there are some sheep. And a nonna ready with her wooden spoon if you're acting foolish.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3u1xov2bFbIt6IPSCIhqzCqYeGP2Oe38mCtxWnUS2KQW7c0RwMEqjhmS7aKEmiTPEj3Qnd2q98GnTRsyjD0XQoXYzVxJZDTQKOSqVFFOqNWzSUNHyN8QJjpERBXL1duEaDoqEcINlwkA/" style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUj1vSq10-8G9S9uQE-5CiQRzgzwcczCeCpM5OOp4G3CMhDS4kOZfHQ2BCj1KFlIDMWVTfLiWwZ-5etcOcjUMI-FvMaq6DL0VMO-QPXEEcLJnBV3XLVPxQ1dLOLM0ij1ki_p-SK3Xj1dg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt=""'Monster!' She slammed her palms against the stone, at the beast obscured in shadows and her own reflection in the dark glass. 'I hate you!'"" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1608" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUj1vSq10-8G9S9uQE-5CiQRzgzwcczCeCpM5OOp4G3CMhDS4kOZfHQ2BCj1KFlIDMWVTfLiWwZ-5etcOcjUMI-FvMaq6DL0VMO-QPXEEcLJnBV3XLVPxQ1dLOLM0ij1ki_p-SK3Xj1dg/w400-h225/image.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;">Like I said, I drew from the stories I heard growing up, of the earthquakes and wolves that made my family in Molise say, <i>hmm maybe we should give a different continent a try</i>, as well as Greek myth,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;"> Milton, Keats, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;">the life of Dante, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;">and probably a few Disney movies. And possibly </span><i style="font-family: helvetica;">The Paper Bag Princess</i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> got in there somewhere, too</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;">. A lot of me is in the book, of course. There's on the page fat rep, a demi hero, two autistics in love, bis, and sword lesbians. The exploration of autistic masking (not the very good public health kind) and unmasking while isolated in hell was made all the more intense by writing this through the ongoing pandemic lockdown, as my sensory and processing issues have become dramatically more marked, and I'm not sure, like a certain cinnamon roll monster, how much I really want to rejoin society.</span></span></p><p><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3u1xov2bFbIt6IPSCIhqzCqYeGP2Oe38mCtxWnUS2KQW7c0RwMEqjhmS7aKEmiTPEj3Qnd2q98GnTRsyjD0XQoXYzVxJZDTQKOSqVFFOqNWzSUNHyN8QJjpERBXL1duEaDoqEcINlwkA/" style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt=""'You only think I'm beautiful because you're surrounded by monsters.' 'No. I think you're beautiful because I'm surrounded by monsters and you came for me.'"" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1608" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3u1xov2bFbIt6IPSCIhqzCqYeGP2Oe38mCtxWnUS2KQW7c0RwMEqjhmS7aKEmiTPEj3Qnd2q98GnTRsyjD0XQoXYzVxJZDTQKOSqVFFOqNWzSUNHyN8QJjpERBXL1duEaDoqEcINlwkA/w400-h225/image.png" width="400" /></span></a></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Here, have a playlist! I live in my headphones and have been listening to this (okay actually a much, much longer version) over and over the last several months. A friend sent me one song because it reminded her of TADS and I proceeded to listen to it sixty times in a row.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/4xsFirEWkntLWzukxQSn3D" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Have some memes that will only make sense if you've read for me, but maybe will give you a taste of the book?</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpR4xSnZ8HmKkoARAuq_-VWfde2gRtTGAystlZw4WRqZaF9TF6lCJ64tyWUl-NgteIXDSi96VuWXjJqdcWGTUtZDkO20u41y02PsxiNx-UZujuZ2_zEwYGcqxN7xTPdhtTGd1xEP9qjRI/s1080/IMG_0775.JPG" style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="1080" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpR4xSnZ8HmKkoARAuq_-VWfde2gRtTGAystlZw4WRqZaF9TF6lCJ64tyWUl-NgteIXDSi96VuWXjJqdcWGTUtZDkO20u41y02PsxiNx-UZujuZ2_zEwYGcqxN7xTPdhtTGd1xEP9qjRI/s320/IMG_0775.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0yQY1PaTJU8drDIjAbJKYZklTegJIx1gzMa-d4Sq6u6EhbkdfERcykAuKNDgUfFLtcW-TZEhJyQMFV32H6tpk0zpciUYEbK-CizY0gQoBND10OBOu-p31c9iZ6niaP7J08n7s4gadpc/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="735" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0yQY1PaTJU8drDIjAbJKYZklTegJIx1gzMa-d4Sq6u6EhbkdfERcykAuKNDgUfFLtcW-TZEhJyQMFV32H6tpk0zpciUYEbK-CizY0gQoBND10OBOu-p31c9iZ6niaP7J08n7s4gadpc/" width="244" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguLDf2vW-zlrK7yKSmAtj7_CwgREj0YWxhCx8AVAN5wy_vgaEA120xJjTejffdWbHvd1O7CA0TQHlWw6cR2w6HYlpcjM0xYwTuLjJ2yC5AHVwiPlwh59knmqPFrZWczbZcywz-m-2Z5Cg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="813" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguLDf2vW-zlrK7yKSmAtj7_CwgREj0YWxhCx8AVAN5wy_vgaEA120xJjTejffdWbHvd1O7CA0TQHlWw6cR2w6HYlpcjM0xYwTuLjJ2yC5AHVwiPlwh59knmqPFrZWczbZcywz-m-2Z5Cg/" width="216" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHBl5ywVWWXS6BjAbL0nr8ArL7jmlfBSxv_VNZ7Uvzi23YrC3dHrOVhSAILsvVFC-Tl2gx3VCCtxjoTWP_ik5BdYcGJ9x0WZgta49MTlZTTxBqSv19w_UjEhbnoQJH2xnmj3rR-mhEzY/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="1080" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHBl5ywVWWXS6BjAbL0nr8ArL7jmlfBSxv_VNZ7Uvzi23YrC3dHrOVhSAILsvVFC-Tl2gx3VCCtxjoTWP_ik5BdYcGJ9x0WZgta49MTlZTTxBqSv19w_UjEhbnoQJH2xnmj3rR-mhEzY/" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmQDegl_oNCpC55yFBGd4mpsjtwwE10ncoJInKxb3JqMeodXg5jtFnw6TafDPafTmFkb9b11io0FIOo0R9OM9Zr1yTURB-166Ik5Ely8mIKoA5rn0UZOJkVNRzYxkIm4uvKXsl-pp9XQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1030" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmQDegl_oNCpC55yFBGd4mpsjtwwE10ncoJInKxb3JqMeodXg5jtFnw6TafDPafTmFkb9b11io0FIOo0R9OM9Zr1yTURB-166Ik5Ely8mIKoA5rn0UZOJkVNRzYxkIm4uvKXsl-pp9XQ/" width="274" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Cu6RB7377XjpqDCfZrzt3DYDfiXdBDk9K07jGEXMS88tez0Qu5vYbyqZu6Wn-N0TrGUFX_wlizv6NpNHr67LE4REaDcXZFO86ZMmkxTxOTLhg3NL3nEC-8vqK2zDLHN9qX1zY6PW4Fo/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1080" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Cu6RB7377XjpqDCfZrzt3DYDfiXdBDk9K07jGEXMS88tez0Qu5vYbyqZu6Wn-N0TrGUFX_wlizv6NpNHr67LE4REaDcXZFO86ZMmkxTxOTLhg3NL3nEC-8vqK2zDLHN9qX1zY6PW4Fo/" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="294" data-original-width="828" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLPd8yO6bPCTIXm9Yc24PEq7VWqgoIntzrp2QmSiU0Cwa1tSswbCxf3vnUaloV9MOUhV_eO9ttj42DqmWoLaHLiEK-difiBhLROYH3Q9pzl6aFmZZuYZfGjCRERuFGmVBkt0ot1Ww1xk/w320-h114/image.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="not a meme just my family nailing my brand" width="320" /></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">not a meme, just my family nailing my brand during a discussion of Abruzzi e Molise</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><p></p><div class="RY3tic" data-latest-bg="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQYSZPIh91tOayl-FFdiPWnRQnnqhZsDpmCuoKFFrcEvWDLWROGadAJHv-SQ4OcbtowCcUZuP3zBeFBWAXbyT1TWQkl1nRX7EXZsn4AjDOmKw8jsgekhLFwgxFgUWsSi8XxONZ2R_NKg/w281-h201-no/?authuser=0" style="background-image: url("https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQYSZPIh91tOayl-FFdiPWnRQnnqhZsDpmCuoKFFrcEvWDLWROGadAJHv-SQ4OcbtowCcUZuP3zBeFBWAXbyT1TWQkl1nRX7EXZsn4AjDOmKw8jsgekhLFwgxFgUWsSi8XxONZ2R_NKg/w281-h201-no/?authuser=0"), url("https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQYSZPIh91tOayl-FFdiPWnRQnnqhZsDpmCuoKFFrcEvWDLWROGadAJHv-SQ4OcbtowCcUZuP3zBeFBWAXbyT1TWQkl1nRX7EXZsn4AjDOmKw8jsgekhLFwgxFgUWsSi8XxONZ2R_NKg/w72-h51-k-rw-no/?authuser=0"); opacity: 1;"><div aria-hidden="true" class="eGiHwc"></div><div aria-hidden="true" class="KYCEmd"></div></div><div class="RY3tic" data-latest-bg="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQYSZPIh91tOayl-FFdiPWnRQnnqhZsDpmCuoKFFrcEvWDLWROGadAJHv-SQ4OcbtowCcUZuP3zBeFBWAXbyT1TWQkl1nRX7EXZsn4AjDOmKw8jsgekhLFwgxFgUWsSi8XxONZ2R_NKg/w281-h201-no/?authuser=0" style="background-image: url("https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQYSZPIh91tOayl-FFdiPWnRQnnqhZsDpmCuoKFFrcEvWDLWROGadAJHv-SQ4OcbtowCcUZuP3zBeFBWAXbyT1TWQkl1nRX7EXZsn4AjDOmKw8jsgekhLFwgxFgUWsSi8XxONZ2R_NKg/w281-h201-no/?authuser=0"), url("https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQYSZPIh91tOayl-FFdiPWnRQnnqhZsDpmCuoKFFrcEvWDLWROGadAJHv-SQ4OcbtowCcUZuP3zBeFBWAXbyT1TWQkl1nRX7EXZsn4AjDOmKw8jsgekhLFwgxFgUWsSi8XxONZ2R_NKg/w72-h51-k-rw-no/?authuser=0"); opacity: 1;"><div aria-hidden="true" class="eGiHwc"></div><div aria-hidden="true" class="KYCEmd"></div></div><div class="RY3tic" data-latest-bg="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_v0ZN9VtAwIhOwK2xDNwmbKi3yVD_oEUXZxjsh0O14bBSJsxXazEdMCNcx2ypYgQp6BalwACq4C_XF6RpILHqxt4huv9oUcCwtS54-LPlk_5MWBJRv-aCfaFFwY5CRxnpszeeZw1yDJw/w474-h250-no/?authuser=0" style="background-image: url("https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_v0ZN9VtAwIhOwK2xDNwmbKi3yVD_oEUXZxjsh0O14bBSJsxXazEdMCNcx2ypYgQp6BalwACq4C_XF6RpILHqxt4huv9oUcCwtS54-LPlk_5MWBJRv-aCfaFFwY5CRxnpszeeZw1yDJw/w474-h250-no/?authuser=0"); opacity: 1;"><div aria-hidden="true" class="eGiHwc"></div><div aria-hidden="true" class="KYCEmd"></div></div><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Have an aesthetic!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBJ95xfOARbLb_UvoenOslrBldEb2dAwlEgxThX7s4Bfs3-7S5xK8f_b7TV6z2WnFZKM5ljyBCTaekL0aFergqJdd7JJuCiNsiQtkF9zVLa0QkAjEdMsEVcxMFQ_dzUPZQ4L59IAIp_o/s828/IMG_2683.PNG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="A novel aesthetic with images of a neon "inferno" sign, an icarus falling, a candle melting in a palm, a location tag saying "hell," a burning butterfly, a dark haired boy and girl, and a quote: "You either fall to the monsters or become one."" border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="828" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBJ95xfOARbLb_UvoenOslrBldEb2dAwlEgxThX7s4Bfs3-7S5xK8f_b7TV6z2WnFZKM5ljyBCTaekL0aFergqJdd7JJuCiNsiQtkF9zVLa0QkAjEdMsEVcxMFQ_dzUPZQ4L59IAIp_o/w400-h398/IMG_2683.PNG" width="400" /></span></a></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">And finally, have an opening snippet, why not (I unrepentantly love prologues and haven’t revised this one out quite yet):</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><p> </p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">They chained her to the rock. Left
her on the craggy island cliffside to feed a monster’s hunger. Her sacrifice
would purchase paradise for the rest of her world. </span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Saltwater kissed her cheeks, whether
from the sea spray erupting along the jagged dark coast or tears shed, only the
gods could say. The air was all salt and spindrift. As if the world wept for the
loss of her.</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">But it would not save her.</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">It would not unlock the chains that
clanked as she began to shake. It would not bar the three beasts sent up the
volcanic vents to fetch her down to hell—the shimmering dark leopard, the
burning red lion, the coarse-coated wolf. The chains would break only under
their powerful jaws. She would never again go in the ship that brought her
here, through the treacherous sea. The men had already turned for home, kept
safe another cycle by her offering. Without it, this place and its master would
rain ash and evil over all, send tides of monsters against their shores.</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The chains clattered now, like great
teeth gnashing. Not the girl but the rock itself quaked.</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The monster must be fed.</span></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Thanks for reading and joining me in hell for a while. With the current state of reality it makes for a nice escape.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JY8AmqpRDXVvkPx6zjtHJX2SDjkxPH7yuLx5r1UJBcvkyiZhCU1Vbko9RNDgoDuf-V3YC7LdNCUdgZIs4C-m6SOmT8k8uXvcs1qJqYm00-zoXpncqmF9fmxmd9odo1p_sKZZ3u-ksD4/s1800/IMG_2080.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1011" data-original-width="1800" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JY8AmqpRDXVvkPx6zjtHJX2SDjkxPH7yuLx5r1UJBcvkyiZhCU1Vbko9RNDgoDuf-V3YC7LdNCUdgZIs4C-m6SOmT8k8uXvcs1qJqYm00-zoXpncqmF9fmxmd9odo1p_sKZZ3u-ksD4/w512-h288/IMG_2080.JPG" width="512" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">Art is the work of Mat Collishaw </span></div><br /></span></div></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-2955680329833137352020-11-08T10:48:00.001-08:002020-11-08T11:17:01.265-08:00In Which I Cannot Believe I'm Saying This But I Got Into Pitch Wars!<p> This was a week where dreams came true. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWqNS_AwdbOxB8vDKFeRn4E7cmO7s2lsMHco9I_KXyekWGlr_EEWlWsBxiykZNm_tr5OPI6aZ5jV_oFl5R5kGspu3dNZJGqkh5uvGiN3vZ8vhGWEYGj3q7HjBNhh7WSCn473u94c527Q/s600/WhatsApp_Image_2020-11-08_at_9.41.06_AM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWqNS_AwdbOxB8vDKFeRn4E7cmO7s2lsMHco9I_KXyekWGlr_EEWlWsBxiykZNm_tr5OPI6aZ5jV_oFl5R5kGspu3dNZJGqkh5uvGiN3vZ8vhGWEYGj3q7HjBNhh7WSCn473u94c527Q/s320/WhatsApp_Image_2020-11-08_at_9.41.06_AM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>When the week started, I was an anxious mess. I made a deal with God that if I could only have one good thing this week, to please take my four Pitch Wars requests in exchange for the election turning out all right. Ridiculous, but I could not fathom how very bad things would get for more and more vulnerable people if we had four more years of this awfulness. I was desperate.</p><p>And then things started looking okay. We all waited for it to be official. And even before the tension fully broke, Pitch Wars announcements were coming. I found myself suddenly, horribly caring about them again. I told myself it would be okay either way, that I have awesome CPs and a list of editors who expressed interest during #DVpit (and an agent I was about to finally query when I didn't get in--hopefully they'll still be excited to see my book when it's in the showcase!). But my anxiety had been practicing all week. Emotional DMs with friends in the same boat were my lifeline.</p><p>And then new messages appeared. The list was up. I turned my phone over. Got on my laptop. I clicked the link. I scrolled down, and down, and down--quickly through the middle grade and adult lists, and then slower, and slower, and slower through young adult. I was just dropping my shoulders and about to tell my family, already sitting down to dinner behind me, that I wasn't getting in, when my name appeared--next to the very first mentor team that had gone onto my sub list, the ones I automatically knew I would be beyond thrilled to work with, the ones I thought might really get my book. Sheena Boekweg and Alechia Dow both have published thrilling, fat-positive YA SFF books and have been my inspiration for hopefully getting to do the same someday. And now I get to work with them on my book!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi604rdKut01D3d2yjXE0g6UR3Xx55r7vZWcYZyyNbRJkvAz8a4Y5qxfMVly4wZobMKy1DcRcvgPcdQJFICbvFJfDon0t-ORZh_ui535vQq9U1HtahZFc8R6aKahtK8NZ35JaCnohzQb0k/s1081/pw+announcement+screen+shot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1081" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi604rdKut01D3d2yjXE0g6UR3Xx55r7vZWcYZyyNbRJkvAz8a4Y5qxfMVly4wZobMKy1DcRcvgPcdQJFICbvFJfDon0t-ORZh_ui535vQq9U1HtahZFc8R6aKahtK8NZ35JaCnohzQb0k/w400-h321/pw+announcement+screen+shot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>After checking for friends' names (and being both ecstatic and devastated!) I hopped back on Twitter, where Sheena shared this gorgeous picture (I LOVE THIS BLOODY STATUE) and some of the nicest things anyone's said about my writing. I was too thrilled to sleep, so I got to celebrate with Alechia when she woke up over in Germany! I am so, so honored that they have chosen me and my book to give their time and expertise to, and I'm so looking forward to digging back into WE SHALL BE MONSTERS aka #MurderStatue and making it the best possible version of itself before sharing it with agents. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1b2IyoWXI2sajy1POtC_UzM-TLOLUobCe8SiJXl-YlroS_LwWP_HYTSwLORQdMTQRQWo9t2kakzhACtCt0c7Xxf8nmw6tDYm-P6RE9x11aU9Id_0ECmycFwJWQWo6bYUJrh3DcPdFUZ8/s1920/wsbm+image+from+team+marshmallow.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1b2IyoWXI2sajy1POtC_UzM-TLOLUobCe8SiJXl-YlroS_LwWP_HYTSwLORQdMTQRQWo9t2kakzhACtCt0c7Xxf8nmw6tDYm-P6RE9x11aU9Id_0ECmycFwJWQWo6bYUJrh3DcPdFUZ8/w225-h400/wsbm+image+from+team+marshmallow.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><p>Please click on the cover images to check out my mentors' exceptional books:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.mystgalaxy.com/book/9781250209795" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Cover image of GLITCH KINGDOM" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5w3mxwdDt15o83uA9yaA6WEevqFfSGVfrlPTOpfmnz7rWs0mUBtGUUBR9XJ1sdV1X3cywLvDxYP9SoG_xyaHj72KaRHo8Xm4fFjk9FSZKjlt_iW_8AXaitK0620M-AWsdDi-cJB__Cw/w207-h320/9781250209795.jpg" title="https://www.mystgalaxy.com/book/9781250209795" width="207" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.mystgalaxy.com/book/9781335911551" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="264" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhglWp8sIza93kwgDm_HRIWR5rHX3ZmLb7G63WPVFd-xgtmpwUYvem-eHHKWZBOLuqrOJLlp9Cpt48kfJ0X9HQQZh3MdPRhJxDFBC1NYigyUa8oeJlfflTlHErjRTpAa3BYA7zUhP_MBjk/s320/9781335911551.jpg" /></a></div><p>And you can <a href="https://pitchwars.org/pitch-wars-2020-mentor-picks/" target="_blank">read more about the Pitch Wars program here.</a> This year there were more than 4200 applicants and just about 120 writers got in. I have been on the other side of that math before--I got one partial my first year trying, when the very kind Tobie Easton read a bit of a truly awful fairy tale mashup and gave me a very encouraging phone call, and a few fulls the next year with DAUGHTER OF NO TEMPLE, which got lots of love over at Author Mentor Match thanks to the fabulous Emma Theriault (her<a href="https://www.mystgalaxy.com/book/9781368048200" target="_blank"> beautiful book </a>comes out in MERE DAYS YOU NEED IT GO BUY IT NOW), and lots of requests out in the querying trenches, but no offer. I'm hoping I've grown enough as a writer now that with a little more help and a lot more work, I can finally level up and make that leap. But I know how it feels to hope and not find your name on that list (I didn't even talk about applying to Pitch Wars this year ahead of time, beyond a couple DMs/Slacks, because it does hurt to hope and be let down!). If that's you this year, DO keep writing. Work with CPs, send that book out, write another. Read lots and lots of recent books in your genre and category, read a couple craft books if they jive for you, and keep going. DO NOT give up, please! I don't know how it happened, but recently I could feel my brain finally digesting the lessons it had been chewing over for years. Finally my writing was coming out how I wanted it. And I'm definitely still learning! And very, very lucky.</p><p>That math can mean you don't get in, don't even get a request, with a truly excellent book. Math and I aren't always the best of friends. I gave math the side eye a couple times this week. But people smarter than I with big maps kept me calm, just like the friends with bigger hearts and greater patience in my DMs. And somehow, things turned out pretty great! Which is a peculiar feeling lately!</p><p>Both dreams are going to require a LOT of work to make them truly come alive. But I'm ready to work on both, and see what more good things we can finally hope for.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbY-5eCsIctKOlTs_NzG9lkQbq4NTMcJtvFO4SWkOuJ6op2lZwyvmkd_4yzHXg9-4C6VCu1G6txIjVE3tebzspiRKyjWxX04Xhcb4vM2CMu_s2a65pf9MVPKtJ17WIeuSNCKWcHenLiUg/s820/pitchwars2020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="820" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbY-5eCsIctKOlTs_NzG9lkQbq4NTMcJtvFO4SWkOuJ6op2lZwyvmkd_4yzHXg9-4C6VCu1G6txIjVE3tebzspiRKyjWxX04Xhcb4vM2CMu_s2a65pf9MVPKtJ17WIeuSNCKWcHenLiUg/s320/pitchwars2020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-82067966889085500032020-09-11T22:18:00.013-07:002020-10-08T20:06:26.986-07:00In Which I Share A Little About #MurderStatue aka WE SHALL BE MONSTERS <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixqPultVfuG4WKWhLtcuLApw-euXUcL_zeUCowx8x3vYT2JOHONCSsoB9PEOihX2Ue6yaSYFUmxQUFyfTlCFxH5VOv_RpkO7LGm8Ukbv1PXjiWDP2sQUsghjnCAfNMpbKd1h2LswbRqnk/s400/IMG_2612.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A statue peering at a cell phone held up before her face" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixqPultVfuG4WKWhLtcuLApw-euXUcL_zeUCowx8x3vYT2JOHONCSsoB9PEOihX2Ue6yaSYFUmxQUFyfTlCFxH5VOv_RpkO7LGm8Ukbv1PXjiWDP2sQUsghjnCAfNMpbKd1h2LswbRqnk/w164-h164/IMG_2612.JPG" width="164" /></a></p><p>Since I won't shut up about it, I thought I'd make a post sharing some details from my YA Fantasy #MurderStatue book. Scroll down (or click) to hear <a href="#about-book"><b><i>about my book</i></b></a>, farther to learn <a href="#about-me"><b><i>about me</i></b></a>, and all the way to the end of this post for a <a href="#snippet"><b><i>snippet from the book's second POV</i></b></a> just because I can't have a #MurderStatue post without my favorite murder statue.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6h0pAi40aQstFY5u6BHv_umrbqHi-u8WFt7AkeNdXLzQoZzGM6mJ0lMLuUXXHtYFNt2bZ5r_-ewMksgE_WBAx_9bG_xkcV5y8ZAUDgthvdBoWz52az3HPBM2YycV_hOEgjjWKvHMOXEA/s1920/Murder+Statue+Aesthetic+NEW+purple.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="a nine panel aesthetic of statues, character inspiration models, a scenes from Rome, as well as a quote "Black moon, bloody moon, something's coming, something soon"" border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1920" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6h0pAi40aQstFY5u6BHv_umrbqHi-u8WFt7AkeNdXLzQoZzGM6mJ0lMLuUXXHtYFNt2bZ5r_-ewMksgE_WBAx_9bG_xkcV5y8ZAUDgthvdBoWz52az3HPBM2YycV_hOEgjjWKvHMOXEA/w328-h328/Murder+Statue+Aesthetic+NEW+purple.jpg" width="328" /></a></div><p><a id="about-book"></a>ABOUT MY BOOK:</p><p>In WE SHALL BE MONSTERS, a city-state is guarded by its hundreds of statues until one awakens and begins murdering the people she's meant to protect.</p><p>WSBM features:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Dual-POV</li><li>Enemies to lovers (Real enemies! No rivals weak sauce! There is blood!)</li><li>A fat, angry girl with a sword</li><li>An autistic boy with nothing but the poem in his heart</li><li>Sister angst</li><li>LGBTQ+ secondary characters/romance</li><li>Greco-Roman, alt-Italian vibes</li><li>A magic system based on the three states of matter</li></ul><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eb8h8llETxeOfPpXh3nLi0hz83MbCY3yvC4iTxoW2b4N5XDeP-Lw4v3IG7B7BGtVz0wJT4H8h8iCjdesnA8IoviDYLUYKzokUKYYejTpx4ojjxMA9hvIx6tbF2mh4bcI1sIgUUUYGJU/s1079/IMG_6050.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="a painting of a statue awakening and surprising the artist carving it" border="0" data-original-height="1079" data-original-width="800" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eb8h8llETxeOfPpXh3nLi0hz83MbCY3yvC4iTxoW2b4N5XDeP-Lw4v3IG7B7BGtVz0wJT4H8h8iCjdesnA8IoviDYLUYKzokUKYYejTpx4ojjxMA9hvIx6tbF2mh4bcI1sIgUUUYGJU/w155-h210/IMG_6050.JPG" width="155" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIjrFULPqm93Tw16daRPbXb_KmN75HE24ofQmg6lvpbEGtOdWt0py5beezbf3_obtZ2ALgiTV0Jcj4WNGA-_7-KUogE-VhdRJSs1dVrbPxBkO62xZZNA85xMYISHZlp7O2TRLOwnBhyphenhyphenQ/s850/IMG_2355.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="the sculpture of Medusa with Perseus' head" border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="567" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIjrFULPqm93Tw16daRPbXb_KmN75HE24ofQmg6lvpbEGtOdWt0py5beezbf3_obtZ2ALgiTV0Jcj4WNGA-_7-KUogE-VhdRJSs1dVrbPxBkO62xZZNA85xMYISHZlp7O2TRLOwnBhyphenhyphenQ/w140-h210/IMG_2355.PNG" width="140" /></a></div></div><div>Comps? </div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Pygmalion meets Frankenstein</li><li>The 80s classic Mannequin if she started killing everyone (I haven't seen this since I was a kid so I'm just assuming that doesn't happen in the film, right?)</li><li>The statue on the left meets the statue on the right</li><li>Romeo and Juliet vibes if Juliet carried and used that knife the entire time </li><li>If you want to play by the rules, <i>Strange the Dreamer</i> meets <i>Girl, Serpent, Thorn</i></li></ul></div><div><div><p>WSBM turned out deeply personal, and it's been both exciting and scary to share it with CPs and betas.</p></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Lujt6SCA0_4uyfDJWMxXvRSdQKXWx5AaXoiWOkrAFce5lUPei_XW3nCNRsCWJlTYqSt7OxTUb65ajwZVemc9K0G0uhthw4XJ-O0lmxfOMtEmYu9JVBGdGUOhrBwxLLfJ4ucXS5IPRSk/s612/the+fear+of+nonna.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="screenshot of a conversation with a friend about how my book's critique of the Catholic church and naming a lesbian after my grandmother might make my mom freak out" border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="612" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Lujt6SCA0_4uyfDJWMxXvRSdQKXWx5AaXoiWOkrAFce5lUPei_XW3nCNRsCWJlTYqSt7OxTUb65ajwZVemc9K0G0uhthw4XJ-O0lmxfOMtEmYu9JVBGdGUOhrBwxLLfJ4ucXS5IPRSk/w314-h282/the+fear+of+nonna.jpg" width="314" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And also my mom😬<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><p>The book draws on my Italian, Roman-Catholic background, and I do think Nonna would appreciate and probably not come after me with the guilt, but the autism rep and the girl who just happens to be fat as she lives her adventure and how it all intertwines with these teens' coming of age are what I'm really hoping resonate with readers who need more of these stories. That's so important to me, it kept me writing through an epic, on-going, debilitating flare up of my chronic pain condition (thanks, mismanaged pandemic, for barring access to regular treatment!). I mostly act like everything's okay, online, but these past months have been hell, and WSBM, even on days I can barely sit at the computer, has been my main outlet. This isn't the book of my heart, it's the book of my screaming nervous system.</p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2X9dEb9gCAxD7_YTg6Ajjk26VMwUcTQPoDt3mnUkxRwWbEXovomgRC23dORXd-ZKU_0dIblka_pePOb4WfUy7qL141r-9dIq4hZXQiH4wAObIliuEz973r6rVhtQb8eXZYdVxRsIm_zg/s843/IMG_1200.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="an female Asian artist with her gorgeous female sculpture" border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="632" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2X9dEb9gCAxD7_YTg6Ajjk26VMwUcTQPoDt3mnUkxRwWbEXovomgRC23dORXd-ZKU_0dIblka_pePOb4WfUy7qL141r-9dIq4hZXQiH4wAObIliuEz973r6rVhtQb8eXZYdVxRsIm_zg/w126-h168/IMG_1200.JPG" width="126" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02bf2Q9jFYQA-U3a-8CU70Y_eZn5ehEpxqMBQH4l2BedIgRiK7qJvtgQ1ub060RV7h7_2l38UWy4oL_SSeTCoRKTwCXbfv5LJjutT2UrCFitLwJFTx-M9t-qZGejaHVqRVVBHPAFoIBE/s721/IMG_1210.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="a sculpture in a yoga pose and glowing at cracks that line her body" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="721" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02bf2Q9jFYQA-U3a-8CU70Y_eZn5ehEpxqMBQH4l2BedIgRiK7qJvtgQ1ub060RV7h7_2l38UWy4oL_SSeTCoRKTwCXbfv5LJjutT2UrCFitLwJFTx-M9t-qZGejaHVqRVVBHPAFoIBE/w168-h168/IMG_1210.JPG" width="168" /></a></div></div><p>Side note, it's been a trip working on this book while statues took over the national discourse. My book is nothing to the vital ongoing movement to remove expressions of white supremacy, but it's been wild seeing people discuss how statues shape the story told by those in power while writing a book literally about statues asserting their own narratives and murdering the lies of the past. And people digging themselves out from under institutions that have brainwashed them.</p><p>That got heavy! Let's get to some fun stuff.</p><p>WSBM WRITING PLAYLIST:</p><p>Oh, the John Donne Holy Sonnet #14 of it all (except in the very best Donne tradition, turning that rapturous fervor to a love interest). We've got Hozier, Florence, Evanescence, Eurielle, Klergy, Halsey, etc. </p><p><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/1Eqzyg1Nl0JY4Kvxcxq07r" width="300"></iframe></p><div><p>MEMES BECAUSE WHY NOT:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The general aesthetic I was going for, Italian disaster, that's it, that's the book</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyYvgp_F3dTix7QWDQAZ9IuwS67rp_zv-Z6eEdE3196Lj_Um_tocdqI5swrQtwdonhfuYfVf_xGlBeHB7Ip9kZM9k_CVzNFI6-dexJmaIgxXoK7zgLNkskx2I2a8kgQKMe5MfOmI0WEA/s860/IMG_1567+%25281%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="788" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyYvgp_F3dTix7QWDQAZ9IuwS67rp_zv-Z6eEdE3196Lj_Um_tocdqI5swrQtwdonhfuYfVf_xGlBeHB7Ip9kZM9k_CVzNFI6-dexJmaIgxXoK7zgLNkskx2I2a8kgQKMe5MfOmI0WEA/s320/IMG_1567+%25281%2529.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Not a meme but the FOOD! This book made me cook so much. A critique partner asked about the squash blossoms in the book, and this is what they look like before cooking, stuffed with ricotta.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw75I2BEgpYe-ELkXpQTKEtkhqUk0c4MbyYLJ5gRyAtrgJaxjGvcWZuKnNqHBIAcxv1FDoPeyKv71gGng6Qai-iLkzrdaodHP6L3d76Nh6DEm_qtxgo-04T9C2DC6ijfS451zSzUePB70/s2048/IMG_1445.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw75I2BEgpYe-ELkXpQTKEtkhqUk0c4MbyYLJ5gRyAtrgJaxjGvcWZuKnNqHBIAcxv1FDoPeyKv71gGng6Qai-iLkzrdaodHP6L3d76Nh6DEm_qtxgo-04T9C2DC6ijfS451zSzUePB70/w262-h197/IMG_1445.JPG" width="262" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Milo, who is so soft he's legally not considered a solid. He's my pensive, overthinking, sad Italian boy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIdfxDwWY2KNPIhjhMVM5XSpPxTVz7OQ36kky7z-mayNioZeQxMiif_qKRtR6nBLcutJKKvykEnJBJX_81Ayq5oYWSe-mIgipKE7MZV8NyyA2L5CA47PEFA0tN5VhKTBvvDZ88tCnZsU/s622/IMG_1995.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="622" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIdfxDwWY2KNPIhjhMVM5XSpPxTVz7OQ36kky7z-mayNioZeQxMiif_qKRtR6nBLcutJKKvykEnJBJX_81Ayq5oYWSe-mIgipKE7MZV8NyyA2L5CA47PEFA0tN5VhKTBvvDZ88tCnZsU/w254-h158/IMG_1995.JPG" width="254" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUP_xvbOSvRoijJi6-WxfnMFTIKF78Te9aX1Dl2ek6T4MWFU4DmMDnfdeg8JwbwSZObeYWYE_Kge8rmzzNVTmTqV444JphBXlU6eQITA_m8bwFgUO3jDheTgc2_-JCzq9gVefGWovRxU/s236/IMG_1998.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUP_xvbOSvRoijJi6-WxfnMFTIKF78Te9aX1Dl2ek6T4MWFU4DmMDnfdeg8JwbwSZObeYWYE_Kge8rmzzNVTmTqV444JphBXlU6eQITA_m8bwFgUO3jDheTgc2_-JCzq9gVefGWovRxU/s0/IMG_1998.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Milo meeting Gia:</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRiQPDzU-3r_mLEMBqzSug3dIhMJKIMbul4nRvRz2ePEHCkE4AFRtayCNPWeJTOHgS7MjheM_A_sY0qoWRZNuBwIHJC1u_IK52VAuSk7hQwRpSV27ULI6753sevZZ1MBsOpfsW5Hu8yfU/s736/IMG_1339.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="500" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRiQPDzU-3r_mLEMBqzSug3dIhMJKIMbul4nRvRz2ePEHCkE4AFRtayCNPWeJTOHgS7MjheM_A_sY0qoWRZNuBwIHJC1u_IK52VAuSk7hQwRpSV27ULI6753sevZZ1MBsOpfsW5Hu8yfU/w278-h410/IMG_1339.JPG" width="278" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgn9DkHg46LbcQYs3KB2NEWCE43Xi3Y3beYg4-TladNkZxT05NLHX3Nlvp7IvUfSWadBI69xqFoEBXHryA_3ETy-iN0QomUlhytbebi7TuG0Bw5-g2idU662YMbLW337thy6WHIVHFcc/s1366/IMG_0749.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgn9DkHg46LbcQYs3KB2NEWCE43Xi3Y3beYg4-TladNkZxT05NLHX3Nlvp7IvUfSWadBI69xqFoEBXHryA_3ETy-iN0QomUlhytbebi7TuG0Bw5-g2idU662YMbLW337thy6WHIVHFcc/w328-h184/IMG_0749.JPG" width="328" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The temple trying to maintain control through the chaos:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhQ6Wo4Ufqnw71IkY6rv2LaVN2wNrf54UUnKLMLQyQQipYp0uBxrb_9akh1L8v4OXYu-yr4RcrzbT18ksCxf145N9OM3G0qSkk8w9eKLii5YoNenD0hyphenhyphenITYLhwepvD2Wj6IXMKae8kQs/s1440/IMG_0750.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1440" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhQ6Wo4Ufqnw71IkY6rv2LaVN2wNrf54UUnKLMLQyQQipYp0uBxrb_9akh1L8v4OXYu-yr4RcrzbT18ksCxf145N9OM3G0qSkk8w9eKLii5YoNenD0hyphenhyphenITYLhwepvD2Wj6IXMKae8kQs/w328-h207/IMG_0750.JPG" width="328" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Milo's best friend, Valentina, himbo of himbos:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMsocq78jrv50pM73NmNf-kviE9W1t8d6Sz052rnRJa-lFWjjv-wYjBejROjUgGImV_6iNzdlu0SHd6Kh6DIHyIRhbZDtNEh7XfTyJzsBu7vjS42ERLpzY7hn_nPrKi4QzcPt6xl_uNvc/s741/IMG_0466.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="650" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMsocq78jrv50pM73NmNf-kviE9W1t8d6Sz052rnRJa-lFWjjv-wYjBejROjUgGImV_6iNzdlu0SHd6Kh6DIHyIRhbZDtNEh7XfTyJzsBu7vjS42ERLpzY7hn_nPrKi4QzcPt6xl_uNvc/w287-h328/IMG_0466.JPG" width="287" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRvAbHRNDm0-Fc2Vitqs2R0I2XW47CblyptZ_tJEB2-F2mQ4Q-jGxbvh26MdyQcoxkWbSO-tbTsuhbQdJt3s993w3aCcES56RlITcIdWxvO0pihUInEGZGG0-EcK2-gc1V8_m5CqYxfTg/s1024/IMG_0536.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="1024" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRvAbHRNDm0-Fc2Vitqs2R0I2XW47CblyptZ_tJEB2-F2mQ4Q-jGxbvh26MdyQcoxkWbSO-tbTsuhbQdJt3s993w3aCcES56RlITcIdWxvO0pihUInEGZGG0-EcK2-gc1V8_m5CqYxfTg/w262-h177/IMG_0536.JPG" width="262" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>A LITTLE <a id="about-me"></a>ABOUT ME: </p><p>If you're not one of the three readers of this blog and found this via Twitter! I'm Leanne, writer of young adult fantasy. I love teaching, theater, and actively dismantling systems of oppression. I can be found (uh pre-pandemic) spending too much time and money at my local indie, Mysterious Galaxy, screeching on Twitter about my friends' books, and corrupting the minds of America's youth (as an English teacher). I've been writing novels for a while now, and I'm really excited about seeing where I can take WSBM.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN2ZEvF7AesV6aA8AxK8ydYpnbuBv7REAu5ey6a6-0ISEKQNFWa1ayJiKkOQRD1K_z3JAhCxTCWMqMkW3AE9ZvZrfPuCXaya3zzA5nXtKvDdSZYrhbKD4M7vlkGw1-NG_gERfBQVjJiM/s1800/IMG_2501.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="a collage of me with writer friends" border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN2ZEvF7AesV6aA8AxK8ydYpnbuBv7REAu5ey6a6-0ISEKQNFWa1ayJiKkOQRD1K_z3JAhCxTCWMqMkW3AE9ZvZrfPuCXaya3zzA5nXtKvDdSZYrhbKD4M7vlkGw1-NG_gERfBQVjJiM/w262-h262/IMG_2501.JPG" width="262" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;">Thanks for reading! You can connect with me on Twitter and Instagram through the links in the sidebar. (And scroll down to read a snippet of my fat angry murder statue.)</p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTvNIVkUhukfr0tnvMqcnakT_bPEsApNcfapDrJKYKUt0SXayRrf-Q37-FrS0Hz9kji34e2RkhhF2eEG7ntFSJzNIDxdIVA3hskFYg_uSiUN0wgz9a7Vl9S1jz7E8veL9l3olpogwiWQ/s620/IMG_0712.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="a meme I made where a happy baby (me) loves pizza (my friends' books)" border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="500" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTvNIVkUhukfr0tnvMqcnakT_bPEsApNcfapDrJKYKUt0SXayRrf-Q37-FrS0Hz9kji34e2RkhhF2eEG7ntFSJzNIDxdIVA3hskFYg_uSiUN0wgz9a7Vl9S1jz7E8veL9l3olpogwiWQ/w205-h254/IMG_0712.JPG" width="205" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">BONUS <a id="snippet"></a>MURDER STATUE SNIPPET:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She drags in her first breath in a
thousand years, drinks in pine, gulps down the last dregs of sunlight. It runs
through her lungs, her blood, like the blazing of light on bronze. Quick,
metallic.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She must remember how to breathe,
how to live, but after a millennium, her grip doesn’t fail. Her sword completes
a swing aimed at an enemy long crumbled back into dust. The movement almost
drags her off the pedestal the templars set her upon, but a length of ivy
fashioned of iron grips the ankle above her foot that was planted flat, secured
to the block of stone. She hefts her sword back to recover her balance, wincing
at the ivy’s bite.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She sheathes her sword at her back
and pulls free a knife from her belt. Crouches, and slides the blade between
her boot and the iron. Takes her deepest breath yet, and angles the handle
down.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her swallowed cry still sends the
cat darting away. She shudders in another breath, and rocks the knife forward
again. Again. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The edge of the blade bites through
a leather strap. She grimaces and wrenches again. She doesn’t expect the pain
to stop just because she’s awake. Alive.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why is she alive?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The top wisp of iron ivy gives just
enough for her to slip her thickly curved leg free. The knife is ruined, dulled
on the iron and bent—she tosses it aside, knocking over the ridiculous paper
beast, and climbs down. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The cat leaps from the shadows to
tuck itself against her throbbing ankle while she surveys her surroundings.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Darkness. Crumbled temple walls. And
trees grown up to supplant its columns. But the slight moon is out, and she
knows where she is. Her feet know their way down this hill. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her rage knows its long-held target.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And, pricking painfully at her
heart, a slice of hope urges her forward.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The cat skitters away from her first
shambling steps. Gia sets her teeth and straightens her spine. The cat creeps
behind. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When they spill into the city, Gia
finds it familiar and unfamiliar, a great stone heart calcified. Some ways are
filled in with new buildings, small streets and alleys, but she finds the main
arteries. The old squares, great buildings of worn stone.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She finds the other statues.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Above a well sunk in the middle of a
square, a stone man with one arm contorted back raises his other in warning. A
jeweled beast, a serpent, positions its teeth around the man’s wrenched arm.
The mockery of it—Gia’s rage swells like the Argus in late spring. She stares
up at the man’s face, agony cast in moonlight, and the slice of hope wanes,
growing smaller and sharper, piercing deeper.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She pushes on. The streets are all
quiet. It’s the city’s turn to sleep. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And hers to enact vengeance.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first temple waits atop its hill
at the end of the great road, paved darkly and lined now with so many statues.
Their stone faces watch her. Jeweled monster eyes wink with silvery light.
Carved teeth and claws fill the dark.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She draws a slow deep breath through
her nose. No running away this time. She enters the square, limps towards the
temple steps.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A figure shatters the staid lines of
the temple’s steps and columns, silhouetted by the torches along the wall. A
long curve twisting in pain and endurance and spiked with a dozen weapons.
Arrows and spears feather the statue’s back and shoulders like a nightmare of
wings. A lone spear shafts down through the woman’s front, rending stone tunic
and flesh. Gia doesn’t feel her feet move, but she finds herself closer,
rounding on the statue, looking up into her face—beautiful and stoic and marked
with a crescent drawn upon her high brow.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The slice of hope splinters all the
way into Gia’s heart.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her rage comes alive, like a serpent
threading through her veins, through her limbs, like battle cries and clanging
swords in her head. Her breath escapes her again. There are no more fine words,
just her vision narrowing to one black thought: <i>Enemy. Enemy. Enemy. </i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The temple breaks open, light
spilling from around a door. Gia crouches behind the statue’s pedestal. Two men
stumble out.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Templars.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One begins down the steps, but the
other hangs on the door frame. “You’re too drunk to make it.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The pleasures of Helena’s bed call
even through three bottles of wine!” </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first templar dismisses this
with a wave and a laugh, “You’ll wake tomorrow in an alley halfway there and
late for rites.” </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Better make an offering now then.”
He leans one hand upon the statue’s breast, just above where the stone spear
pierces her, and with his other jerks up his robes. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The other man snorts and swings
himself back inside, fumbling the door closed. The clank of the lock and thud
of the security bar follows.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Piss hits stone. Gia rises like lava
coursing upwards. Why does <i>he</i> get to
be alive, to drink and piss and bed his way through days and nights never
stolen and frozen in stone? She draws her sword.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The templar spins, barely steadying
himself by the jutting spear. He spies the cat, ambling across the square, and
slumps. Chuckles at himself.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He doesn’t notice Gia until she
steps completely from behind the statue, one girl shifting into two. One still
and stone. One blood and fury.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They sing together as Gia strikes.
Her sword slashes—the man falls. Blood flies. A proper offering at the statue’s
feet.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He struggles away, painting the
stones a slicker black. Only able to gasp. Gia thrusts, trapping his body to
the stone. The moon has lost itself behind the city walls, but there is just
enough light to see the fear in his eyes. Gia drinks it in to the last dreg. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When he’s dead, she yanks her sword
back, hissing as her weight shifts to her sore ankle. Still, there’s more to
do. More enemies waiting in this temple. She steps around the fallen templar.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her chest tightens. Gia frowns. She
is not afraid. She is the monster stalking this night. Her next breath comes
thickly.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Something is wrong.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She retreats, back to the edge of
the square, catching herself against the corner of a building. She fights down
another breath. Her palm scrapes over the rough blocks. She shoves her way
farther from the enemy, around another corner, down a narrow alley. The cat
chases after her and mewls as Gia sinks to the ground.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No. She can’t go back to the silence
and waiting, under the unbearable weight of betrayal and impotence. Her fist
clenches the hilt of her bloody but unsated sword.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She swallows a shallow breath and
curls into herself, as if she could hold on to it. But with a gasp she becomes
again stone, and still.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-24236668764450067512020-09-05T11:19:00.000-07:002020-09-05T11:19:34.587-07:00Off Book: REBEL ROSE by Emma Theriault <p><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOl_t54jW5XqLFlah2eMU8VwcH3Hn01howu5M8egRZddS52SKFfQgZpzZ7EiVp8ZnfGMtuOwq-Xb5R663bWdKBVFamHK14xBDalXWsXIoqBXHhi7qzDKuOptyEc4do5YYIHcWIJL7pvb4/s400/rebel+rose.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOl_t54jW5XqLFlah2eMU8VwcH3Hn01howu5M8egRZddS52SKFfQgZpzZ7EiVp8ZnfGMtuOwq-Xb5R663bWdKBVFamHK14xBDalXWsXIoqBXHhi7qzDKuOptyEc4do5YYIHcWIJL7pvb4/s0/rebel+rose.jpg" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><p><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">Description from <a href="https://books.disney.com/book/rebel-rose/" target="_blank">Disney</a>:</span></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #6a6a6a; font-family: "avenir next", sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><blockquote><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #6a6a6a; font-family: "avenir next", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white;">Happily ever after is only the beginning as Belle takes on the responsibility of becoming queen and learns to balance duty, love, and sacrifice, all while navigating dark political intrigue—and a touch of magic.</span></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #6a6a6a; font-family: "avenir next", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white;">It’s 1789 and France is on the brink of revolution. Belle has finally broken the Enchantress’s curse, restoring the Beast to his human form, and bringing life back to their castle in the province of Aveyon. But in Paris, the fires of change are burning, and it’s only a matter of time before the rebellion arrives on their doorstep.</span></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #6a6a6a; font-family: "avenir next", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white;">Belle has always dreamed of leaving her provincial home for a life of adventure. But now she finds herself living in a palace, torn between her roots as a commoner, and her future as a royal. When she stumbles across a mysterious, ancient magic that brings with it a dire warning, she must question whether she is ready for the power being thrust on her, and if being Queen is more than just a title.</span></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #6a6a6a; font-family: "avenir next", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rebel Rose</em> is the first in the Queen’s Council series, an empowering fairy tale reimagining of the Disney Princesses—and the real history behind their stories—like you’ve never seen before.</span></p><p></p></blockquote><p><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">Review:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I adored this book! Theriault gives us the perfect blend of Disney and historical detail, in a compelling but utterly readable voice. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Belle is brought to life as a likable and relatable heroine, and her progression from feeling uncomfortable with her new royal-adjacent role to claiming it in order to help the principality she was once desperate to leave for far-flung adventure is a satisfying journey. When she finally cuts through all the delicious political intrigue, she had me cheering along with the rest of Aveyon (a moment that also had me choking up). </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5UuejVCv8B7RPsFQw8EMe6BZWzYJjWQsAkI6rrFDC6E_JmdPFs7lwQu9fU9R1ddANIrqh_HIWJV6Eyd96qcufFdxL4Th6q1RWj1_5XkJD0dtDow5ryVA6iOzMke3RKzxaUlZ2JvJ6n0/s268/tenor.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="134" data-original-width="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5UuejVCv8B7RPsFQw8EMe6BZWzYJjWQsAkI6rrFDC6E_JmdPFs7lwQu9fU9R1ddANIrqh_HIWJV6Eyd96qcufFdxL4Th6q1RWj1_5XkJD0dtDow5ryVA6iOzMke3RKzxaUlZ2JvJ6n0/s0/tenor.gif" /></span></a></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It's fun seeing many of the characters from the animated and recent live action films come into play--I am so here for Big Virgo Energy Cogsworth, and a feisty Mrs. Potts plays an important role as advisor to Belle, not directing her but inspiring her to find her strength. It's really a joy seeing a relationship like that between older and younger female characters, along with another female friendship for Belle that was a highlight of the book for me. Plus, when Mrs. Potts used a potty mouth (just the once!) it made me laugh--definitely a glimmer of Emma Thompson in the role there! There was also deft handling of the "gay moment" introduced at the end of the live action film. I don't want to get into spoilers, but I appreciate how in the book it's evolved into a presentation with real empathy, plus Theriault includes multiple representations of queerness and also uses all that rich historical research to bring in new characters of color.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3eAZT65_zuPn87kAKYlmNzR-gqvc9TDMMbMpRIRMecq5cdlVMj-UUO9-dBC9xAN2aLlSuKZC14jufZ_9GmbXgeAnSRlqTOYPIGV8eM4bRDkpQcu1oX142fyEPlxst16s9NQT9r6Fg-s/s480/giphy+%25286%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3eAZT65_zuPn87kAKYlmNzR-gqvc9TDMMbMpRIRMecq5cdlVMj-UUO9-dBC9xAN2aLlSuKZC14jufZ_9GmbXgeAnSRlqTOYPIGV8eM4bRDkpQcu1oX142fyEPlxst16s9NQT9r6Fg-s/s320/giphy+%25286%2529.gif" width="320" /></span></a></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The romance is just what I think fans of BATB will be looking for--no questioning of the love between Belle and her prince, just the pair facing new challenges together and apart. There are several adorably sweet moments between the two (hello, ponytail!), and a heartfelt treatment of the emotional aftereffects of the curse they've been through, as well as the rocky start to their relationship.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguApTwzRO9gJN_2fhdeYeivuiN9KdEmkRLV2aRDsIOuSatCczK4znt39ZQRJnkdZ-WB025H1hL6JI92iIt0_qfgTOpSn8DUHe4CIJfG_3Q4jV4-yGByhsRG2dd6_JbepGn-bb0dR7lY3o/s245/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguApTwzRO9gJN_2fhdeYeivuiN9KdEmkRLV2aRDsIOuSatCczK4znt39ZQRJnkdZ-WB025H1hL6JI92iIt0_qfgTOpSn8DUHe4CIJfG_3Q4jV4-yGByhsRG2dd6_JbepGn-bb0dR7lY3o/s0/images.jpg" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I think readers will love the clearly well-researched historical detail in the descriptions of France and Aveyon, and there's enough courtly machinations to keep them guessing along with Belle as she goes from the rowdy streets of Paris to the principality and people she's desperate to protect. This is a great read to get swept up in, with plenty of far-off places and magic spells--I couldn't put it down!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9_witg6DLEw8oII3gAe6YyxZ8KRncIZy0Z4Wi8PdhNLcfsLeIZVHdjgx9L72zxLRZVzwlYZ0vZd2OKs5V2_oKvuqAmTFBzfCJWHtYIUFjg3ETXJr5X23aD9dj52kbCijLIiNB2sY6HY/s600/source.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9_witg6DLEw8oII3gAe6YyxZ8KRncIZy0Z4Wi8PdhNLcfsLeIZVHdjgx9L72zxLRZVzwlYZ0vZd2OKs5V2_oKvuqAmTFBzfCJWHtYIUFjg3ETXJr5X23aD9dj52kbCijLIiNB2sY6HY/s320/source.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-44387714405455889832020-05-26T14:38:00.001-07:002020-05-26T14:38:34.261-07:00Off Book: SURRENDER YOUR SONS by Adam Sass<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcYp05P2EHxH1yQUwu1z7zTmxKRhKAmTNk9JRdDhN9Bo2-VOrn-7UIQDzzi3rDc5UR-0XX9BJ1AQynj8w_p8ZcR_DC3gya9G2jF2CLlkdhyphenhyphenR-nr08AkhkCXEMP_ya3aJpoUnhUIqL3V0/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcYp05P2EHxH1yQUwu1z7zTmxKRhKAmTNk9JRdDhN9Bo2-VOrn-7UIQDzzi3rDc5UR-0XX9BJ1AQynj8w_p8ZcR_DC3gya9G2jF2CLlkdhyphenhyphenR-nr08AkhkCXEMP_ya3aJpoUnhUIqL3V0/s1600/download.jpg" /></a></div>
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Summary from <a href="https://www.adamsassbooks.com/" target="_blank">author's site</a>:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: adobe-garamond-pro; font-size: 18.8559px; line-height: 1.3em; overflow-wrap: break-word;">
<strong>SURRENDER YOUR SONS</strong> is a YA mystery set on an island—like LOST but very, very queer. A gay teen named Connor finds his summer vacation interrupted by a group of masked men who abduct him and deliver him to a conversion therapy camp on a desolate Pacific island. Connor’s religious zealot family arranged this for him, but he has no intention of staying.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: adobe-garamond-pro; font-size: 18.8559px; line-height: 1.3em; overflow-wrap: break-word;">
Connor then teams up with the other kidnapped LGBTQ+ teens to uncover the camp’s dark secrets and take the whole place down.</blockquote>
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Review:<br />
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I have been hearing about this book for so long, and then I read it and it was beyond anything I had imagined. Yes, it's like LOST or LORD OF THE FLIES but queer, but it's anything but derivative. This book takes so many literary conventions and busts them apart, then crafts them into something utterly new. I loved the daring nonlinear unraveling of the timeline and mystery, which goes so much deeper than expected. I loved how unflinchingly the book examines the messy reality of queer life, and all the places the queer community builds family and strength for themselves. This isn't a book written for someone who wants a smoothed-over image of queer experiences, you can tell this comes deeply from a real OwnVoices perspective. It's for the young people who need to hear that voice, their voice, and see both the struggles more inescapable than an isolated island and triumphs possible. The presentation of queerness was so good (including a model of how to handle pronouns for trans characters through a character's POV). Connor is a voice that's going to stick in my head for a long time. The story is a wild adventure, but by the end I was a crying mess, holding my breath as I turned the final pages.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-35078667246950228122020-05-26T14:14:00.003-07:002020-05-26T14:14:35.710-07:00Off Book: WENCH by Maxine Kaplan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETeHxJiiouC9GNOHa9nue9h5VbkLZ7KUyZYoHQw6pttwpje1z22r0yK4o7I6OB6oMs2d7u-MoKKhjczi6CQllGFDim3nIc-i1sABz8i-pR-k2jR2hbRn3e__kik8J__eh1bQayrdoEwo/s1600/42732645._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETeHxJiiouC9GNOHa9nue9h5VbkLZ7KUyZYoHQw6pttwpje1z22r0yK4o7I6OB6oMs2d7u-MoKKhjczi6CQllGFDim3nIc-i1sABz8i-pR-k2jR2hbRn3e__kik8J__eh1bQayrdoEwo/s320/42732645._SY475_.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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Summary from <a href="https://www.maxinekaplanbooks.com/wench" target="_blank">author's site</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Cormorant Garamond"; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.4px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tanya has worked at her tavern since she was able to see over the bar. She broke up her first fight at 11. By the time she was a teenager she knew everything about the place, and she could run it with her eyes closed. She’d never let anyone—whether it be a drunkard or a captain of the queen’s guard—take advantage of her. But when her guardian dies, she might lose it all: the bar, her home, her purpose in life. So she heads out on a quest to petition the queen to keep the tavern in her name—dodging unscrupulous guards, a band of thieves, and a powerful, enchanted feather that seems drawn to her. Fast-paced, magical, and unapologetically feminist, Wench is epic fantasy like you’ve never seen it before.</span></blockquote>
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Review:<br />
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WENCH was a fun romp with admirably strong female characters--strong in all different ways! The world building will greatly appeal to the Minecraft/gaming crowd. As the magic system was explored and developed into more intricate systems, I kept thinking of all my students who would would be totally entranced by this story. It's a little episodic--the main focus throughout sits squarely on the stout, capable shoulders of the title wench, Tanya, as she goes in search of the one thing she wants and ends up exploring farther out into the world and into herself than she planned. The larger cast of characters are fun, especially Jana. The body positive rep/exploration (for female and male characters) is another plus.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-86128765108802481442020-05-25T16:21:00.002-07:002020-05-25T16:21:55.700-07:00Off Book: LITTLE CREEPING THINGS by Chelsea IchasoI'm SO excited to share my review of LITTLE CREEPING THINGS, a book I've been looking forward to reading since I first read the pitch, and which comes out June 2nd.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fkZ4TRBJMYhxH_lNXtYdwA0J6fHFStY8vHR48R7ikFwcDfqMRxwD4a4fPk_bDBKcJEyZYXB6cLiFumi-kXJvAl-aKHIi6_gh_KO6HdsBIgQuNos-kR6fEwFyDGzu2seJR_m4Va5muiE/s1600/5130mcqw4IL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fkZ4TRBJMYhxH_lNXtYdwA0J6fHFStY8vHR48R7ikFwcDfqMRxwD4a4fPk_bDBKcJEyZYXB6cLiFumi-kXJvAl-aKHIi6_gh_KO6HdsBIgQuNos-kR6fEwFyDGzu2seJR_m4Va5muiE/s320/5130mcqw4IL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Blurb from <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/little-creeping-things-chelsea-ichaso/1132970994" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; outline: none;">
<div style="background-color: #f2f2f1; box-sizing: border-box; color: #21282d; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 13.8097px; outline: 0px;">
As a child, Cassidy Pratt accidentally started a fire that killed her neighbor. At least, that's what she's been told. She can't remember anything from that day. She's pretty sure she didn't mean to do it. She's a victim too. But her town's bullies, particularly the cruel and beautiful Melody Davenport, have never let her live it down. In Melody's eyes, Cassidy is a murderer and always will be.</div>
<div style="background-color: #f2f2f1; box-sizing: border-box; color: #21282d; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 13.8097px; outline: 0px;">
When Cassidy overhears what sounded like an abduction and Melody goes missing, Cassidy knows she should go to the cops, but... She recently joked about how much she'd like to get rid of Melody. She even planned out the perfect way to do it. It's up to Cassidy to figure out what really happened, because if she comes forward without a suspect, she knows people will point fingers at her. Again. And she can't let that happen.</div>
<div style="background-color: #f2f2f1; box-sizing: border-box; color: #21282d; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 13.8097px; outline: 0px;">
But the truth behind Melody's disappearance will set the whole town ablaze.</div>
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My Review:<br />
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I found this thriller to be compulsively readable, which is what I'm always looking for when I pick up a thriller. It also totally did that (rare) thing where it had me questioning and suspecting EVERYONE. It reminded me of TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET in that way. The tension was deliciously taut as I could see the mystery going in any number of ways, and also couldn't quite figure out how it would unravel, until it did, in its very satisfying conclusion. There was a fair amount of relationship drama woven into the mystery, too, so teens who are looking for that will be happy. The characters are likable and well-drawn, the voice strong and engaging. Overall, this was a compelling and satisfying read--with an unsettling edge.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-41456881096673430912018-08-30T11:10:00.003-07:002018-09-05T11:33:26.658-07:00Off Book: A BLADE SO BLACK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.llmckinney.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZmf86lVffyTKUy0_LkwzXiibNkklJwrPX6GFcfjc7OUV8SBaRAyk3F7H_8XqgVCtGQDC7628aHQkx37deh8yX92jOYD53JtfrYuz4yHUopo4RDOZL0IiDbyLKkAyQHbRqnu7UKMa0aw/s320/abladesoblack.jpg" width="207" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Summary (via <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Blade-So-Black-L-L-McKinney-ebook/dp/B078WZZXYQ" target="_blank">Amazon</a>):</span><br />
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: -4px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">"The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she's trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice's handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she'll need to use everything she's learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head . . . literally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Debut author L.L. McKinney delivers an action-packed twist on an old classic, full of romance and otherworldly intrigue."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Review:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is an engaging reimagining of the Alice story, chock-full of fun (and, yes, heartbreaking) elements. There are several wonderful characters to meet, and McKinney smartly introduces the greatly appealing Hatta right from the start, who pulls both Alice and the reader into the adventure of the book. I have soft spots for the book's version of the Dormouse and Alice's friend, whose costume choice for a birthday party, handled subtly by McKinney, KILLED ME. (I don't want to give anything more away, but THE SWEETNESS. IT BREAKS ME.) But in Wonderland, the fierce female characters we meet (and the love stories among them!!! Yes, f/f rep!) take this to the next level. Add in a strong, highly-relatable voice, the Buffy-style issues Alice deals with with her mom and friends, and the final twist, and this is an exciting debut lovers of all things Wonderland will enjoy. Moreover, the connections McKinney makes between the threats in Wonderland and very real threats in our world add a layer of meaning to this book that will make it all the more important to get into the hands of teen readers. And as someone who enjoyed Alice as a child and Buffy as a teen, I can only imagine what this story will mean to young Black readers today. It's an unbirthday present for everyone (unless your birthday is September 25th, then sorry!).</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-47668502662844465102018-05-20T16:54:00.003-07:002018-05-20T17:02:06.620-07:00Off Book: SADIE by Courtney Summers<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7x3cXhRhtt1IHex2anl9KFldDydoVeSV-SzGPdDOr24gHMFrCRnZR1TNEPoDQ0xVAIUJnxSR6BZtXA9UqMkcMibT03LzA1WbJAG19JGOiz0y4IVip2MB_D5fIE9Xt0Yu1BZH2GJyTow/s1600/SadieFinal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="359" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7x3cXhRhtt1IHex2anl9KFldDydoVeSV-SzGPdDOr24gHMFrCRnZR1TNEPoDQ0xVAIUJnxSR6BZtXA9UqMkcMibT03LzA1WbJAG19JGOiz0y4IVip2MB_D5fIE9Xt0Yu1BZH2GJyTow/s320/SadieFinal.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
SUMMARY: (from C<a href="http://courtneysummers.ca/novels/sadie/">ourtneySummers.ca</a>)<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arapey" , serif; font-size: 18.6px; text-align: justify;">Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him. When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late. Poised to be the next book you won't be able to stop talking about, Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. </span><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arapey, serif; font-size: 18.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Sadie</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arapey" , serif; font-size: 18.6px; text-align: justify;"> will keep you riveted until the last page.</span></span><br />
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REVIEW:<br />
I was so excited when I spotted the woman in the red hoodie at YALLWEST. I took a picture with her and therefore earned an ARC from Wednesday Books. (They ran out of copies at the booth and instead mailed me one right away, which was above and beyond!)<br />
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Kiersten White (who will always talk up others' books at events, one reason she's amazing) mentioned at the YALLWEST "Thrillers" panel that SADIE is so brilliant. I was looking forward to reading, but also dreading it a little. I'd heard how devastating Summers could be. But she always makes it more than worth it.<br />
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The structure of this book is innovative, and impressively pulled off. The podcast is presented as a script, in mostly alternating chapters with regular prose from Sadie's point of view. The format highlights themes of knowing, exploring how people understand and impact each other, and don't, from those they hear about in the news to their closest family. The writing completely drew me in, even as the reality it described was hard to look at. Summers so wholly realizes the world of Sadie, primarily poor Midwestern communities, and never sounds like someone looking in this world from the outside--or looking down at it. The book unflinchingly addresses the truth of girls' lives, but manages to never diminish them into something simply lurid or sensational. The humanity of Sadie and the other girls is a force.<br />
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The title character is someone the world ignores but who has a galaxy of love and hate and desire and repression inside her. Sadie says, "I'm dangerous," and that line resonates as you get to know her better and better. I don't even really know how to talk about this book, because Sadie feels so real. I made myself savor the book, holding off on finishing so I could have something to read at the park with my kids, but I still finished in a couple days and her voice just keeps living on inside my head.<br />
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This book will hurt, but also remind you of the power of women, which despite all the ways men and the world try to destroy it, is still out there, somewhere, hopefully.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-45331867956758351982018-05-20T15:37:00.000-07:002018-05-20T15:37:26.130-07:00Off Book: CROSSTALK<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFN62AY7dWa3PjU8R-0RSrliynN1czh0LqctlDc-MEQf4KMquLucjVsusrwc5PzQgVj-MCnNAIewxlBY4R5TS8mPy_2cz4rdUoBBRkjIpv29Yr0p5Xl8FEkZF-xFwm4j5-yssqOwMl74/s1600/crosstalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="474" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFN62AY7dWa3PjU8R-0RSrliynN1czh0LqctlDc-MEQf4KMquLucjVsusrwc5PzQgVj-MCnNAIewxlBY4R5TS8mPy_2cz4rdUoBBRkjIpv29Yr0p5Xl8FEkZF-xFwm4j5-yssqOwMl74/s320/crosstalk.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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SUMMARY: (from <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/222193/crosstalk-by-connie-willis/9780345540690/" target="_blank">Penguin Random House</a>)<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Fort-Book, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In the not-too-distant future, a simple outpatient procedure to increase empathy between romantic partners has become all the rage. And Briddey Flannigan is delighted when her boyfriend, Trent, suggests undergoing the operation prior to a marriage proposal—to enjoy better emotional connection and a perfect relationship with complete communication and understanding. But things don’t </span><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Fort-Book, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;">quite</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Fort-Book, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> work out as planned, and Briddey finds herself connected to someone else entirely—in a way far beyond what she signed up for.</span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Fort-Book, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Fort-Book, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Fort-Book, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">It is almost more than she can handle—especially when the stress of managing her all-too-eager-to-communicate-at-all-times family is already burdening her brain. But that’s only the beginning. As things go from bad to worse, she begins to see the dark side of too much information, and to realize that love—and communication—are far more complicated than she ever imagined.</span><br />
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REVIEW:<br />
I know I'm a couple years behind, but I really enjoyed this book. When I discovered Willis as a young teacher, I couldn't put her books down and learned to save them for breaks. Willis' books will either delight or destroy you, and I was waiting to savor this one because I knew it would delight me. A week when I had a bad cold seemed the perfect chance to lose myself in her latest romantic comedy.<br />
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This book features one of my favorite book covers of all time and a hero who so closely resembles my husband, right down to the name, I was a little spooked. So I may be biased about enjoying this book! But it delivers all the classic overwhelming zaniness of modern life Willis is so adept at, features a satisfying romantic duo, and brings the experience of telepathy to life in vivid detail. If you loved BELLWETHER, TSNOTD, or Willis' lighter short stories, you'll enjoy CROSSTALK.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-36833324742158297302018-05-20T15:02:00.001-07:002018-05-20T15:18:00.279-07:00Off Book: GRIM LOVELIES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHB_g-tXeHrcIYyUCOqOsRfdv-HuS8eM2Lc3FhYEMJpSFqw6GH4JjcE441USrubmv3bx7uaQcb5bBNUTfGUO5c0Adqa4Ll3COEq_FUr_DWQ9kbU3Aq-NVCs4SpyTORNimMhGZRdQb3xM/s1600/grimlovelies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHB_g-tXeHrcIYyUCOqOsRfdv-HuS8eM2Lc3FhYEMJpSFqw6GH4JjcE441USrubmv3bx7uaQcb5bBNUTfGUO5c0Adqa4Ll3COEq_FUr_DWQ9kbU3Aq-NVCs4SpyTORNimMhGZRdQb3xM/s320/grimlovelies.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span id="freeText11445656366810246989" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">SUMMARY: (from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37570566-grim-lovelies" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Seventeen-year-old Anouk envies the human world, where people known as Pretties lavish themselves in fast cars, high fashion, and have the freedom to fall in love. But Anouk can never have those things, because she is not really human. Enchanted from animal to human girl and forbidden to venture beyond her familiar Parisian prison, Anouk is a Beastie: destined for a life surrounded by dust bunnies and cinders serving Mada Vittora, the evil witch who spelled her into existence. That is, until one day she finds her mistress murdered in a pool of blood—and Anouk is accused of the crime.<br /><br />Now, the world she always dreamed of is rife with danger. Pursued through Paris by the underground magical society known as the Haute, Anouk and her fellow Beasties only have three days to find the real killer before the spell keeping them human fades away. If they fail, they will lose the only lives they’ve ever known…but if they succeed, they could be more powerful than anyone ever bargained for.<br /><br />From New York Times bestselling author Megan Shepherd, Grim Lovelies is an epic and glittering YA fantasy. Prepare to be spellbound by the world of Grim Lovelies, where secrets have been long buried, friends can become enemies, and everything—especially humanity—comes at a price.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">REVIEW:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">I picked up an ARC of GRIM LOVELIES with a friend at YALLWEST. We'd been eating lunch and chatting with our writing group, and a huge long line had grown on a path nearby. My friend decided she wanted to try to get a copy, as the drop was just about to happen, and we lucked out. We did NOT manage to get a macaron--those ran out just before we reached the front of the line--but did get some nice GRIM LOVELIES swag (lip balm) and some fizzy apple cider in fancy gold cups. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">We had a feeling right away that we had scored a special book. The cover was stunning, and the blurb on the back was enticing. But when I dove into the book a couple days after the festival, I found myself completely swept up by the writing. Megan Shepherd has said the story was somewhat inspired by the idea of the animals turned into a coachman and horses for Cinderella, and there are nice little hints of that in the story, but her book manages to be something completely original while drawing upon and remixing the power of fairy tales.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">The stakes are through the roof nearly right away, and the book fully explores the duality of its characters and setting--balancing the magical, less modern world with contemporary Paris and France, following the "Beasties" who struggle to maintain their human forms, and observing the fine yet important line between loving and using someone. Respecting and empowering oneself while navigating relationships among friends and the greater world will appeal to teen readers. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">There were several specific elements I really enjoyed. The goblins which ended up playing an important part were fun and I loved how their fashion sense played into the human world. I want a teacup on a chain like a pocket watch! The found family ended up being highly satisfying, each character offering fun personality. What I was impressed by was how no one character fell into a stereotype--it took time for each to develop. And the main character had a most satisfying arc. Anouk starts out so young and unworldly, and watching her develop and begin to get a taste of her power was wonderful. While the ending of this first book of a duology was dark, as Shepherd is known for, I didn't find it frustrating. I was swept up in the stunning conclusion that is, like the gargoyle Anouk comes across early on in the book, beautiful and ugly all at once. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-36988718294905575302018-05-07T17:21:00.002-07:002018-05-20T14:40:20.001-07:00Off Book: CITY OF GHOSTS by Victoria Schwab<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjBUT2ISBkdqC2h8YLz-6nGm__BWq9sbVbCv3-ANinV0CWTzvkjZDjcdgs8XsYJhicmxjvHzOkmNvkEFgloceJgBfmubEMsQ9pBgVYK32ma3A7OyNyI5goc17-kWLX1dvPhV7z4MFu30/s1600/city+of+ghosts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="599" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjBUT2ISBkdqC2h8YLz-6nGm__BWq9sbVbCv3-ANinV0CWTzvkjZDjcdgs8XsYJhicmxjvHzOkmNvkEFgloceJgBfmubEMsQ9pBgVYK32ma3A7OyNyI5goc17-kWLX1dvPhV7z4MFu30/s320/city+of+ghosts.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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Summary: (from <a href="https://www.scholastic.com/kids/book/city-of-ghosts-by-victoria-schwab/" target="_blank">Scholastic</a>)<br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Cassidy Blake's parents are The Inspecters, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can really see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.<br /><br />When The Inspecters head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass and Jacob come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil.<br /><br />Cass isn't sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn't belong in her world. Cassidy's powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.</span><br />
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Review:<br />
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I can't BELIEVE I was lucky enough to get a copy of Victoria Schwab's latest, her first middle grade book! Thank you, YALLWEST (I'll also have an ARC review of GRIM LOVELIES coming soon).<br />
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I read this the day after YALLWEST and really enjoyed it. I haven't read much middle grade since my daughter started reading too much and too fast for me to keep up reading ahead/with her, but CITY OF GHOSTS reminded me of some of my favorite middle grade from my own childhood. It made me think of my daughter's cousin Sid Fleischman, and his spooky, engaging stories, like The Ghost on Saturday Night.<br />
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The story starts off with exciting elements, particularly the ghost best friend, and keeps adding to them, exploring the system of ghost rules Schwab has established, all the while keeping it compelling to the main character, the relatable Cassidy. The book has a satisfying puzzle, but leaves things open for further books in the series, which I think kids will be eager for.<br />
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Schwab opens the ARC with a letter and says she likes scary stories, but is afraid of them. I don't think this book is too scary for most kids, but thrilling as it dips into different spooky locales (never with overwhelming description) and rises to a cinematic climax. I think CITY OF GHOSTS will meet the demand of my students who are always looking for more spooky stories.<br />
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Young readers will likely also enjoy the references to Harry Potter and explanations of American versus British vocabulary. And the exploration of supportive, if complicated, friendship is stellar. I also liked how the parents are present and a part of the story, something that I've seen readers asking for, rather than another orphaned main character.<br />
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The excitement for this ARC being handed out was great, the line very long, and I don't think that those who scored a copy, nor those who read the book when it comes out in August, will be disappointed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-43519869100564973772018-05-07T16:52:00.001-07:002018-05-07T16:52:48.500-07:00Off Book: ISLAND OF THE MAD by Laurie R King<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxn0jkgTMKWbrWoRXAIJaADvzPk51sUNCgv7amgq4egWg5QXMoJbYqhfIPiqKoJdHGLhFMu84nCCcAmaDNtuM8Ky1zcB1AIV7zOSlcFihyUP1S1gbcLBO1gkvalBiizDGpxmJHEdY9W4/s1600/KING_Island-197x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxn0jkgTMKWbrWoRXAIJaADvzPk51sUNCgv7amgq4egWg5QXMoJbYqhfIPiqKoJdHGLhFMu84nCCcAmaDNtuM8Ky1zcB1AIV7zOSlcFihyUP1S1gbcLBO1gkvalBiizDGpxmJHEdY9W4/s1600/KING_Island-197x300.jpg" /></a></div>
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Summary (from <a href="http://laurierking.com/books/island-of-the-mad/overview" target="_blank">LaurieRKing</a>.com)<span id="goog_1256746900"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1256746901"></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">A June summer’s evening, on the Sussex Downs, in 1925. Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are strolling across their orchard when the telephone rings: an old friend’s beloved aunt has failed to return following a supervised outing from Bedlam. After the previous few weeks—with a bloody murder, a terrible loss, and startling revelations about Holmes—Russell is feeling a bit unbalanced herself. The last thing she wants is to deal with the mad, and yet, she can’t say no.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">The Lady Vivian Beaconsfield has spent most of her adult life in one asylum after another, yet she seemed to be improving—or at least, finding a point of balance in her madness. So why did she disappear? Did she take the family’s jewels with her, or did someone else? The Bedlam nurse, perhaps?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">The trail leads Russell and Holmes through Bedlam’s stony halls to the warm Venice lagoon, where ethereal beauty is jarred by Mussolini’s Blackshirts, where the gilded Lido set may be tempting a madwoman, and where Cole Porter sits at a piano, playing with ideas…</span></div>
Review:<br />
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I'd just finished another (modern, high school-aged) Holmes adaptation when I received an e-ARC of ISLAND OF THE MAD, so I happily dove into the latest in the series I had discovered as a high schooler myself.<br />
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I read the first Russell and Holmes book as a teenager, over a winter break when a personal tragedy had struck my life. Going with Mary Russell on her adventures, the greatest starting over her winter break at Oxford, was a lifeline. Mary was better than me, but similar in ways not many girls were in the few teen girl protagonist books I got my hands on were. Going to see Laurie King at a book signing was the first author event I attended outside of school author visits. These books, therefore, have always held a special place in my heart. I've also enjoyed King's other series, some of which cross over with her Sherlockian exploits.<br />
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Each book offers clearly copious historical research, arch humor, and a certain twist, whether it's exploring the romance of Russell and Holmes, shining a light on the darker dealings of the British Empire, or digging into the psychological damage of trauma and addiction. ISLAND OF THE MAD seems to give a vacation to the poor Russell and Holmes, who have been on one grueling adventure after another in the last several books. During their efforts to ascertain the safety of a friend's aunt, they get to enjoy themselves, helping to invent water skiing and Cole Porter lyrics. (In this way it's more in the vein of THE PIRATE KING than some of their darker adventures, though there are heftier themes present as well.)<br />
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King's writing is always engaging and utterly readable. I noted down several lines that had me bursting out laughing, as Russell contemplates attacking her boorish dinner companion with a fork and runs through her own feminist thoughts to herself. The dinner with the awful lord is like Facebook with your parents' cousins, except you're hoping the lord will be a murder victim, rather than just blocking the distant family members.<br />
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The book delves into downright chilling discussions of fascism taking hold in democratic nations and thugs succeeding and taking power, and the very real implications this has on people's lives, especially queer people and women. In this way King makes this historical book relevant to today's unfortunate political situation as well as providing a cathartic response in the success of Russell and Holmes' and the friends they enlist to help.<br />
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I attended a panel at a book festival this weekend and at the "Thrillers" panel someone mentioned Laurie King's method of using a spreadsheet to ensure clues are dropped at a good pace and the characters' lives are fully worked out. The care she takes is evident in the clear presentation of her plots. This book has the bonus fun of (often short) chapters from Holmes' (third person limited) POV, which, ultimately, delightfully intersects with Russell's efforts on the behalf of her friend's relative.<br />
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I can't speak specifically to the representation of mental illness--it appears respectful--but as always King brings in positive viewpoints on the reality of life for queer characters living in a less accepting time. This makes King's books some of my favorite historical mysteries. If you haven't read any of King, I do recommend starting with THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE, but when you do make it through the first few you could skip ahead to ISLAND OF THE MAD for a fun adventure.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-68172723285511130242018-05-06T10:12:00.000-07:002018-05-06T10:12:14.995-07:00Off Book: BLOOD WATER PAINT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTjJabIh3u8-0PD0_v48UWqp5aKdcH5yioQ7IzyeNXVpD6WJ5G5poC8pI4odQ7soYTSpOFEMsgaxVgj9iN3FwkVs6xQHYlW4oQ1oKHcEZqUzkpjMkZ9jytYIylSh5o-8DDR5PGHS-KpA/s1600/blood+water+paint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTjJabIh3u8-0PD0_v48UWqp5aKdcH5yioQ7IzyeNXVpD6WJ5G5poC8pI4odQ7soYTSpOFEMsgaxVgj9iN3FwkVs6xQHYlW4oQ1oKHcEZqUzkpjMkZ9jytYIylSh5o-8DDR5PGHS-KpA/s320/blood+water+paint.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Summary (from <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/557182/blood-water-paint-by-joy-mccullough/9780735232112/" target="_blank">Penguin Random House</a>):<br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Her mother died when she was twelve, and suddenly Artemisia Gentileschi had a stark choice: a life as a nun in a convent or a life grinding pigment for her father’s paint.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" />She chose paint.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" />By the time she was seventeen, Artemisia did more than grind pigment. She was one of Rome’s most talented painters, even if no one knew her name. But Rome in 1610 was a city where men took what they wanted from women, and in the aftermath of rape Artemisia faced another terrible choice: a life of silence or a life of truth, no matter the cost. <br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;">He will not consume</i><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;">my every thought.</i><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;">I am a painter.</i><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;">I will paint.</i><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" />Joy McCullough’s bold novel in verse is a portrait of an artist as a young woman, filled with the soaring highs of creative inspiration and the devastating setbacks of a system built to break her. McCullough weaves Artemisia’s heartbreaking story with the stories of the ancient heroines, Susanna and Judith, who become not only the subjects of two of Artemisia’s most famous paintings but sources of strength as she battles to paint a woman’s timeless truth in the face of unspeakable and all-too-familiar violence. <br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;">I will show you</i><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;" /><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; text-shadow: none;">what a woman can do.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Review: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Listen: just read this book. You must read this one. (TW for sexual assault is the exception.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This book truly makes you feel. You feel the messy, misleading, confusing, elating life of the artist. A friend of mine, when I recommended it, balked at reading a novel in verse, but the poetry is simple, sweeping you up in the mind and life of Artemisia. The chapters where Artemisia's mother tells her stories, in prose, seem slower at first, but the mother teaching her daughter how to face this world is so compelling, I found myself enjoying them just as much. Enjoying may the wrong word. Craving perhaps--as I imagined and mourned how women must help each other face the reality of our world, as I anticipated the triumph of the biblical women's stories. This book is searing. I meant to read it all at once but I had to put it down, as my dread grew. For the entire second half I was tearing up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The author told this story as a play originally, and I could imagine how powerful the story would be enacted on stage. It holds that kind of magic as a book, the feeling you are witnessing a story, hearing the testimony of women's voices. It's wonderful that as a book so many more can experience Artemisia's story.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-24310387419522120752018-05-06T09:57:00.001-07:002018-05-06T09:57:26.035-07:00A Soft Place to LandScene: lunch out with the Schwartzkins<br />
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Rookie: *scooting into my space until he is cuddling my arm, which is trying to feed me vegetables but whatever, CUDDLES*<br />
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Rookie: Ahhhhh! *pretends to fall and cuddles harder into my arm* Good thing I found a cushion!<br />
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Me: Moms are a soft place to land, as the song sort of goes. Everyone needs a soft place to land<br />
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Rookie: Am I your soft place?<br />
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Me: Yes<br />
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Owl, thoughtful: I think I'm mine<br />
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And that pretty much sums up the Schwartzkins right now.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-62611755028292738592018-01-26T11:49:00.001-08:002018-01-26T14:02:06.823-08:00Off Book: WHITE RABBIT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/whiterabbit/calebroehrig/9781250085658/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1071" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCC_4rgAHh5vfThRX7pFSbXnWkAqnO9EJ7U2A19FNrR9JHVPsZ3ET03RHQ2rZwPCtPc59ZVKNpkUtfgRrjbcMn_UfV_54NrtZpHypud1CKTahL0FF8MMTiOgErG8ESROb46l6qdspxlL8/s320/whiterabbit1.JPG" width="214" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/whiterabbit/calebroehrig/9781250085658/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">"Rufus Holt is having the worst night of his life. It begins with the reappearance of his ex-boyfriend, Sebastian—the guy who stomped his heart out like a spent cigarette. Just as Rufus is getting ready to move on, Sebastian turns up out of the blue, saying they need to "talk." Things couldn’t get worse, right? Then Rufus gets a call from his sister April, begging for help. He and Sebastian find her, drenched in blood and holding a knife beside the dead body of her boyfriend, Fox Whitney. April swears she didn’t kill Fox. Rufus knows her too well to believe she’s telling him the whole truth, but April has something he needs. Her price is his help. Now, with no one to trust but the boy he wants to hate yet can’t stop loving, Rufus has one night to clear his sister’s name . . . or die trying."</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks to the generosity of <a href="https://twitter.com/writerkmc" target="_blank">Karen M. McManus</a> I had the opportunity to read an ARC of WHITE RABBIT by Caleb Roehrig, and, well, I read it in one day. That's really all you need to know that this YA thriller is successful at drawing you in, keeping you turning pages. This was a satisfying almost old-school mystery, with a shocking set-up with the bloody sister holding the knife, and the protagonist tracking down and talking to suspects, but the menace of the killer lurking in the mist and shadows through one wild night keeps the suspense brewing. And the relationships take this over the top. I adored the main relationship explored between Rufus and Sebastian, but Rufus' history with and feelings about his sister, father, mother, and classmates were compelling as well. No spoilers here, but lines like describing broken ceramics at a busted-up party as "bloodthirsty confetti" and a suspect like "the daughter of Regina George and Voldemort" made me have to put down the book for a second to grin. Rufus is a truly realized, highly complex main character, and his worst night ever made for a great day of reading (and night, though I was only able to finish as it got dark because my husband came home and kept me company as I stayed up to finish because THIS BOOK IS SPOOKY IN THE BEST WAY). </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-84729365600182549942018-01-12T16:49:00.000-08:002018-01-12T17:07:41.445-08:00Off Book: See All The Stars by Kit Frick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiOQTQP2IS9thIg68_cUgdZ3iiLmTqXwKd8VXHJFBFd-FVtL8uz-ft_NX0zPT9ihQnvb_HqnEwpHOQB4fLZT0jAonUeVScolQ9-7dXlCEArW2gjy7AYCB6NZXIzI4zKTE3mIngrG8W2c/s1600/cover128747-medium.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiOQTQP2IS9thIg68_cUgdZ3iiLmTqXwKd8VXHJFBFd-FVtL8uz-ft_NX0zPT9ihQnvb_HqnEwpHOQB4fLZT0jAonUeVScolQ9-7dXlCEArW2gjy7AYCB6NZXIzI4zKTE3mIngrG8W2c/s320/cover128747-medium.png" width="211" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://kitfrick.com/publications/young-adult/see-all-the-stars/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">"We Were Liars meets 13 Reasons Why in this thrilling debut novel that sweeps readers away as they try to solve the mystery of what happened <i>then </i>to make Ellory so broken <i>now</i>."</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You guys. This book consumed me. I read it in two days and can't stop thinking about it. From the first page I could tell it was masterfully written. Halfway through I wanted to tell teachers how great it would be for students to read. And once it was over I wanted to see it replace in the curriculum a certain ancient tired book that we already hated back in the 90s.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reading this book is like watching a terrible impact, a ship inevitably hitting an iceberg, and the girls' collision contains all the iciness and destruction of such an event. You want to scream at the characters, each fully realized, to avoid the mistakes they are heading towards, and then you just have to watch, have to turn another page to see it all play out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's a powerful book, but it's not all bleak. The puzzle of how Ellory attempts to put her life back together is just as compelling as how these four girls went from a tight orbit to scattered apart. And Kit Frick deserves a standing ovation for pulling it all off.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-5802232630907325462017-08-04T14:28:00.000-07:002018-01-06T17:47:02.923-08:00In Which I Feature DAUGHTER OF NO TEMPLE (AKA I SUBBED TO PITCH WARS!!!)<span style="font-size: large;">I've just submitted to #PitchWars, a mentoring contest run by <a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/" target="_blank">Brenda Drake</a> and supported by many amazing authors in the writing community. I'm in the lovely "waiting to hear" phase (actually very short for the publishing industry, so it's not so bad!) and since I couldn't put *everything* I love about my book into my query, I decided to share here. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpBgHFmf4msCI2ikAQcSFECXOJqiyvHtdFojdYqnvVxiAelW6Vw04qzOvPbGc6u-ti6FaBZ068FkiirWS4BaiCCona4ma-pyXVx9ITLq8hChpsOq_1kPEM8n6Pvr4mPQ_JyPSeJ7v4c4/s1600/DDdOaXBUAAEI-Bv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpBgHFmf4msCI2ikAQcSFECXOJqiyvHtdFojdYqnvVxiAelW6Vw04qzOvPbGc6u-ti6FaBZ068FkiirWS4BaiCCona4ma-pyXVx9ITLq8hChpsOq_1kPEM8n6Pvr4mPQ_JyPSeJ7v4c4/s320/DDdOaXBUAAEI-Bv.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The book I submitted (mentioned in my<a href="http://pagesandstages.blogspot.com/2017/06/in-which-i-present-my-pitchwars.html" target="_blank"> #PimpMyBio post</a>) is called DAUGHTER OF NO TEMPLE. When I sat in the movie theater watching Wonder Woman I was excited (okay yes because it was freaking WONDER WOMAN but also) because these were the kinds of fights I was writing about (I watched so many hours of fight expert videos on YouTube!), with a woman kicking ass. And the costumes were very Guerran/Volieran. I had been worried some of my fights were too over the top (okay no one jumps as high as in WW) but everyone loved WW, SO. Confidence! BUT THEN I realized an even better comp for DONT might be She-Ra. For reasons. That I won't go into so I don't spoil the book. (Don't worry, she's not like secretly Lukas' sister, like He-Man. Or Star Wars. Not that they look anything alike.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But I *can* share Random Facts About DAUGHTER OF NO TEMPLE:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~The working title (just so I could keep files easily searchable and refer to it when speaking with my family) was CLEAVE. Hahahahahayeah. It was this whole swords/cutting away/clinging to/falling in love idea. Contronyms are fun! But it was never going to be the real title.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~There are Easter eggs, some of which allude to Pride and Prejudice, Florence and the Machine, and Hilary Clinton.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~My critique partner asked if the male main character, Lukas, was intended to be autistic, because of things like how he hyperfocuses and fidgets (and he's brilliant). Honestly a lot of him came from myself (haha, not the brilliant part, the socially awkward part). I did shape it the way my CP wondered. I hope he is indeed the kind, positive rep my CP noted him to be.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTOte6lwsZasRsWkAppLuzluOcUwOoHBAWAtSEqXOQDQfyUhDCR8NaOXRM8Zca8XisYk8_s-7U7fd3iC9GeBw-GSQz15EdS0WTJ-ALR5Tk25n159C8gCm-iyk4k8uxc_yzFsfJDgiruQ/s1600/awkwardDarcy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="400" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTOte6lwsZasRsWkAppLuzluOcUwOoHBAWAtSEqXOQDQfyUhDCR8NaOXRM8Zca8XisYk8_s-7U7fd3iC9GeBw-GSQz15EdS0WTJ-ALR5Tk25n159C8gCm-iyk4k8uxc_yzFsfJDgiruQ/s320/awkwardDarcy.gif" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Two words: Awkward Darcy <3</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />~Arina is plus size. So is Cal, the secondary female character. I left their descriptions somewhat vague so that readers can picture them how they want, but I picture Arina as a stout, curvy softball player or weight lifter, basically, with thighs that can break a man's neck. Arina is a warrior, Cal hikes through forests and climbs mountains, and both save the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~Arina was also partly inspired by this Chilean protester: </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavS__0jZXd78byPdAof14-jrwo0ZuPH1HGp9H28SJpmXiLCgtrMnvMnN76fitDk8W9mjw2YmWAMMQHGCJLVPmQcFftXmWDi51uBUZ8I5nTemNvekmBvnTUHjeob326VQN8gQqyL5hA0Y/s1600/ArinaInspiration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="780" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavS__0jZXd78byPdAof14-jrwo0ZuPH1HGp9H28SJpmXiLCgtrMnvMnN76fitDk8W9mjw2YmWAMMQHGCJLVPmQcFftXmWDi51uBUZ8I5nTemNvekmBvnTUHjeob326VQN8gQqyL5hA0Y/s320/ArinaInspiration.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">YES.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">~Petra was partly inspired by Natalie Dormer:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VY7p2XMRz6b9_6Rrz-0KCZVAmtwkQKGlazrkolDN8rQyb2n1yLvzmOojHrSc5bbcAJzC9favQjuT_rrXLdBfAeiG27vhP-rNQwhCd_We0-NI92wdVAulDweKS5ljgmrL6ukRDxgAmaA/s1600/PetraInspiration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VY7p2XMRz6b9_6Rrz-0KCZVAmtwkQKGlazrkolDN8rQyb2n1yLvzmOojHrSc5bbcAJzC9favQjuT_rrXLdBfAeiG27vhP-rNQwhCd_We0-NI92wdVAulDweKS5ljgmrL6ukRDxgAmaA/s320/PetraInspiration.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Those eyes.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">~Lukas I figured out after getting a good sense for Arina--what his skills were, what he looked like, and what had wounded him, and how that informed who he had become. That in turn revealed to me why he feels how he does about Arina.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">~Aja was inspired by two students of mine from years ago, down to looks and mannerisms. They didn't get into physical fights, but were passionate like Aja.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">~Markos was inspired by a few different actors and ideas in my head, but one was Edward James Olmos. THAT VOICE.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">~Cal took the longest to develop. I had ideas for her for throughout the book, but I only figured her out as I made my way through the whole draft. Even after revisions and CP input I might still be figuring her out, TBH. But I adore her. Everyone loves Cal!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That's all for now! You can also read more about my background in <a href="https://pagesandstages.blogspot.com/2016/06/pitchwars-pimpmybio-blog-hop-in-which-i.html" target="_blank">last year's #PimpMyBio</a>. I'm going to try to dive back into planning my next book, which is still a secret but I'm super-excited about. You know how they say when you're terrified to write a book, when you think you can't handle it, that means it's the right book to write and will be amazing? Well, this book is apparently going to be really amazing. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazdohtMb6mIL4STejeFlfw_cN3M7S_GPKPLiW9sPmq21dsf4YKOx0XFcCjrNjJhyphenhyphenv7owwtNwz7dd-gCEcDe-5EuTe7GVaI1MuQNCseM5q8u_kcFG_zMoEK44ndL9epZoDpVCjiMndjW4/s1600/tenor.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="498" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazdohtMb6mIL4STejeFlfw_cN3M7S_GPKPLiW9sPmq21dsf4YKOx0XFcCjrNjJhyphenhyphenv7owwtNwz7dd-gCEcDe-5EuTe7GVaI1MuQNCseM5q8u_kcFG_zMoEK44ndL9epZoDpVCjiMndjW4/s320/tenor.gif" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Maybe also how I'm feeling about the Pitch Wars wait.</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-75791668980123186192017-06-06T22:36:00.000-07:002017-08-04T14:29:35.852-07:00In Which I Present My #PitchWars #PimpMyBio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsII1RkiOn1fp2TfGmOXIVp25HEoFT6PEe_f5RmoGnqSw-8ipnzPe7e-NH-ZJD2_vocN5KYJ9mgOBwpIHvMvWxif8bIyPdOCekiuEHmLIUsgKyUdE7oxZ-RoWsltAsu8wLJQIU8tD-j08/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsII1RkiOn1fp2TfGmOXIVp25HEoFT6PEe_f5RmoGnqSw-8ipnzPe7e-NH-ZJD2_vocN5KYJ9mgOBwpIHvMvWxif8bIyPdOCekiuEHmLIUsgKyUdE7oxZ-RoWsltAsu8wLJQIU8tD-j08/s1600/giphy.gif" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Welcome! I'm Leanne Schwartz (<a href="https://twitter.com/lifebreakingin">@LifeBreakingIn</a>), a YA fantasy writer and #PitchWars hopeful. <a href="http://www.lanapattinson.com/pitch-wars-2017-pimpmybio-contestant-blog-hop/">Much gratitude to Lana for putting on this blog hop. Thanks for reading mine, and have fun checking out the others! </a>I love reading as many bios as possible each year, because finding others in the writing community is the best part of PitchWars.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pI4MtGJKMhQX4ABWjDnt25BDGno5f9xIuYw1f9peHjGsSlZMim773_HD0u4tMih7YTfeP0ikV-3oXOhhfG3pap2hjrkmGDX8KvbFxSURtisD4k-k1ceLfMrTDdd7gb5Xpcq73gWrDVs/s1600/giphy-downsized+%252810%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pI4MtGJKMhQX4ABWjDnt25BDGno5f9xIuYw1f9peHjGsSlZMim773_HD0u4tMih7YTfeP0ikV-3oXOhhfG3pap2hjrkmGDX8KvbFxSURtisD4k-k1ceLfMrTDdd7gb5Xpcq73gWrDVs/s1600/giphy-downsized+%252810%2529.gif" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Especially when we get exhausted and loopy.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Seriously, I've yet to get in, but participating in the PW community has changed me as a writer. I've found my amazing CPs (<a href="https://twitter.com/SierraWritesYA">Sierra</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/saunapants">Sarah</a>) and soaked up tons of writing advice. This past year I've improved my writing, working on plotting, pacing, tension, and character arcs. I read recommended writing books and tons of YA fantasy, studied the chapters shared with me for feedback during PW (especially from those writers who were selected as mentees), and applied what I learned in my latest WIP.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmeJ0VGMNKMe8EdMHsL9nxrDOWIcKUifk8-l5hbIIGpuM5j7YtPkB7lG34t_1DnlgLNnsB3Bm4lfusRHERgsHC9bMILD47ZSRF6LEA1x2bN0CODZq3LZbuDTVxE5fQ7wod69jmI_sZX8/s1600/giphy+%25283%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmeJ0VGMNKMe8EdMHsL9nxrDOWIcKUifk8-l5hbIIGpuM5j7YtPkB7lG34t_1DnlgLNnsB3Bm4lfusRHERgsHC9bMILD47ZSRF6LEA1x2bN0CODZq3LZbuDTVxE5fQ7wod69jmI_sZX8/s320/giphy+%25283%2529.gif" width="266" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My book, DAUGHTER OF NO TEMPLE, is WONDER WOMAN meets GRACELING. I've drawn on my partial Italian Catholic heritage and smashed it against my fierce feminism. We've got city-states patronized by different gods, female friendships, and hate-to-love. Also, an "unlikable" protagonist (though I hope people love her like I do), magical baptism, and young people figuring out who they really are versus the communities where they've been raised. Oh, and non-skinny heroines, insulting/endearing nicknames, and bickering. So much bickering. All in a word count that hits the sweet spot for YA fantasy.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiPETJtdICpclc5Jf6XSCwnOzl8lkIl7ue17i-Mqn9o3QjqPEPuF9jbFsG_0HKlHkrGpg8YkGABSwK_XgyjhPYB5fbPVSBqyqk27rmGmZi6UdWNTs2CURE9EBvmBeNYv8lFj2Hjn7pXoI/s1600/giphy-downsized+%25285%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiPETJtdICpclc5Jf6XSCwnOzl8lkIl7ue17i-Mqn9o3QjqPEPuF9jbFsG_0HKlHkrGpg8YkGABSwK_XgyjhPYB5fbPVSBqyqk27rmGmZi6UdWNTs2CURE9EBvmBeNYv8lFj2Hjn7pXoI/s1600/giphy-downsized+%25285%2529.gif" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yup, I cried.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What kind of mentee would I be? Well, this year I taught an entirely new course load full-time, homeschooled two kids part-time, outlined, wrote, and revised a book, blogged for an educational tech group, CPed, directed a Shakespeare performance with 6th and 7th graders, and called my reps on the reg. I know how to get it done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And I'll only be substitute teaching this upcoming school year, so I'll have, like, OODLES of time now. I am an English teacher, so while of course I have typos and occasional mistakes (I'm a terrible speller!), my writing doesn't suffer from an overload of grammatical issues, I hope. But I know how much work a stellar book takes. I'd love a mentor's critique to guide me in making my book as powerful as possible. I am ready to take feedback, ready to work hard, ready to rewrite as much as needed.</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9T1dLXCIA45WqUHs5_0tSXzaoxapeiZaFpxjW8d5XGdGNrTFt_m8gtawdHFxmBlEjb8XFfzOpIg8yeG3V0OsFwBQCJtNIHhBHaMkJblMf31aU5ULKZ8NGBjznbvXn83yF9fXBE_It5rM/s1600/giphy-downsized.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9T1dLXCIA45WqUHs5_0tSXzaoxapeiZaFpxjW8d5XGdGNrTFt_m8gtawdHFxmBlEjb8XFfzOpIg8yeG3V0OsFwBQCJtNIHhBHaMkJblMf31aU5ULKZ8NGBjznbvXn83yF9fXBE_It5rM/s1600/giphy-downsized.gif" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I really wanted to use this GIF, because AMY! But the "alot" bugs me. A lot.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As a teacher I talk to my students a lot about having a growth mindset, and the importance of revision. The day the draft for our first major writing assignment is due, I ask the kids, "Did anyone write theirs in blood? No? Carve it in stone? Ok, good. Time to REVISE." And the first thing we do is peer-read, to develop our critical eye but also to get a fresh perspective and input on our writing.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERUMg5HvJuFLCKBzS_cNfLwfSKr9_TJT1FkDps6FbfuBNAVAsQxWiCB2qYrYdmGG49ZC0lo8nDPa1WZsVJDeRykt_6ja_j2BhqvJWx-3bLLjCvcO_wa3WgO4drkyyslmkq9kzLQOsdlk/s1600/comeonbrain.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERUMg5HvJuFLCKBzS_cNfLwfSKr9_TJT1FkDps6FbfuBNAVAsQxWiCB2qYrYdmGG49ZC0lo8nDPa1WZsVJDeRykt_6ja_j2BhqvJWx-3bLLjCvcO_wa3WgO4drkyyslmkq9kzLQOsdlk/s1600/comeonbrain.gif" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Instead of resorting to this.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, want to get to know me a little better? Here are some faves and facts:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvZZPpT774zW3SorvO-1uTKyP5l8P20PoK2i6bfLxhKjNU1qOnUd1_LPj4ziklUl1g33mkV952xBwOOnBMTldSkoDSwkc_zPfn6TKybt4jxcTEF514czHp8okju4S3yc3P7wSTCkrLdU/s1600/giphy-downsized+%25289%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="418" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvZZPpT774zW3SorvO-1uTKyP5l8P20PoK2i6bfLxhKjNU1qOnUd1_LPj4ziklUl1g33mkV952xBwOOnBMTldSkoDSwkc_zPfn6TKybt4jxcTEF514czHp8okju4S3yc3P7wSTCkrLdU/s320/giphy-downsized+%25289%2529.gif" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Selections from my writing playlist for this book: </i>Florence and the Machine (Kiss With a Fist, Howl, Rabbit Heart, pretty much everything really), Sarah Bareilles (In Your Eyes cover, Brave, Hercules), Thea Gilmore (Even Gods Do), Natalie Merchant (the Ophelia album, Wonder), Kelly Clarkson (whom I hadn't really listened to, but I needed some power songs: Stronger, Beautiful Disaster)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Some books I've enjoyed recently: </i>As I Darken, The Hate U Give, The Star-Touched Queen, Stalking Jack the Ripper, The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You, The Ship Beyond Time, Caraval</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Fun fact: </i>I met Tom Stoppard when I was nineteen and baby-me FANGIRLED SO HARD. I was writing my thesis on his Arcadia and I have a few Regency YA fantasy plots brewing thanks to all that Neoclassical/Romantic research.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Fact #2:</i><i> </i>Students and other teachers tell me how organized I am. It's allll a coping mechanism. It does not come naturally. Same with handling scary situations: I once drove to an teaching demo interview belting along with "I Have Confidence" to make my voice stop shaking. (I got the job.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Fact #3:</i> I can never remember exactly the difference between apricots, peaches, and nectarines.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Some parts I've played (because theatre was My Thing growing up):</i> Rosalind, Lady Macbeth, Lady Capulet, Clytemnestra, the Blue Fairy, the Evil Fairy, a Spoon, Mrs. Beaver, and Kili (yes, from The Hobbit. The Musical.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpW7XTo8l-LfTDdZRNV_aj_oukIUQIdRoUrzBBJuThMBIbXCKrSZ1uLFpB9XXbCDmfcO3Y1vyylv90YcSPdmna0xUorMUG-JMcYAK5lXcE2ZV-Es7gRvDhlXKWjgamK3etRdrwoTMiYzM/s1600/giphy-downsized+%252812%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="135" data-original-width="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpW7XTo8l-LfTDdZRNV_aj_oukIUQIdRoUrzBBJuThMBIbXCKrSZ1uLFpB9XXbCDmfcO3Y1vyylv90YcSPdmna0xUorMUG-JMcYAK5lXcE2ZV-Es7gRvDhlXKWjgamK3etRdrwoTMiYzM/s1600/giphy-downsized+%252812%2529.gif" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And finally, if you've made it this far, I want to share something special a few of my students made for me as school ended. It's a book cover, with room to write in the title of my book when it gets published someday.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqpRt4O160nxo_OoKy3FaWHD5Xg126E9mmqCsGsjyUys_IV7CTAV2_sEuiljtVv05F-sqR6zliFGTVbPVtSim3ndmEvvQc4YTsvcMsDbkAFtyD51WGrON01GQzW1OlbjRsCdtsWBvPrKM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-06-06+at+7.17.37+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="628" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqpRt4O160nxo_OoKy3FaWHD5Xg126E9mmqCsGsjyUys_IV7CTAV2_sEuiljtVv05F-sqR6zliFGTVbPVtSim3ndmEvvQc4YTsvcMsDbkAFtyD51WGrON01GQzW1OlbjRsCdtsWBvPrKM/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-06-06+at+7.17.37+PM.png" width="251" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">We're still working on spelling.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">YOU GUYS. My scholars are the sweetest (well, they've mostly nagged me to finish; it's only fair considering how I hound them for their homework). A few are writing novels of their own, and we commiserate over our progress and plot holes. Several have asked to read my book this summer, which makes me happy, because writing YA is all about the kids. I hope you get a chance to read it, too.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFr0VU1CNHa1QeNcT4Voz4qSinTGSPDhQpIOdo8yohasWgUJrbai-MYjhrlXMbTcHCgxaN8mseTKjPs6RAc93v4uFHq-ydNX1Cjcm6oEOKmKG6FUIbGJOg-CmkBQvYq0KHrppfOU3_xxU/s1600/giphy-downsized+%25284%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="400" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFr0VU1CNHa1QeNcT4Voz4qSinTGSPDhQpIOdo8yohasWgUJrbai-MYjhrlXMbTcHCgxaN8mseTKjPs6RAc93v4uFHq-ydNX1Cjcm6oEOKmKG6FUIbGJOg-CmkBQvYq0KHrppfOU3_xxU/s320/giphy-downsized+%25284%2529.gif" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-44459428932722150832016-02-07T12:02:00.000-08:002016-06-17T16:35:05.543-07:00Off Book: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves<span style="color: #134f5c;">Off Book is my rambling reactions to recent reads.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;">(SPOILERS for all book commentary posts)</span><br />
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Karen Joy Fowler's book is about three years old, but I'm just reading it now. I imagine it was popular in my hometown of Davis when it came out; it's fun to trace Rosemary's antics through the college town. But the appeal of the book is so much deeper.<br />
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My mom read the book first as an e-book, and therefore didn't know the major plot point that it's a story of a family that raised a chimp as a daughter for five years, and the fallout from when Fern is taken away. She said it was fascinating at her book club to see how different her experience was from those who read a physical book and saw the chimp on the cover and read the copy on the back of the book. Mom says she enjoyed the reveal, so she wrapped a copy up for me to give me the same experience. It certainly made the first third of the book tantalizing, and also let me experience the story as narrator Rosemary intends, hearing of her sister Fern before designating her "just" a chimp.<br />
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The book is about how we grow up revising the stories of our lives in our own heads, about how we came away from nature--this past, lost paradise of a rambling farmhouse and land, where animals are kin and the patriarchy is (only seemingly?) held at bay. The doubles--imaginary and real friends, dummies, sisters--and the title hint at the theme of knowing ourselves and others. It's about identity, how we find ourselves in others and make ourselves into who we are, and a basic nub of immutable identity at the heart of us. It's about storytelling itself--a very human act--and it's entertaining as heck!<br />
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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, a book worth buying, worth the shelf space. It's going to be a classic. Fan of Kingsolver's The Bean Trees will enjoy.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240639751460829484.post-61395618379853352502014-12-14T23:15:00.001-08:002014-12-14T23:54:39.679-08:00Pages and StagesI'm writing this with my left thumb. And I am not lefthanded! My son just abandoned ship with regards to his lovely bed and sought refuge in the big bed. My right arm seems to be his life preserver right now. And that illustrates just what Pages and Stages is about. Writing. Parenting. Growing. Rookie, as I'll call him here, will not always need mama's arm to pass through the second stretch of night. For now, I'll assist him. And I'm learning as I write, and as I cling, adrift in darkness, to this little person. <div><br></div><div>I trust the process of learning, of growth, of change. I've been here before. Big sister, Owl, spent many a night huddled in mama's arms. Now she remains in the kids' room, placidly sailing on her dreams. If she ever puts her book down and falls asleep.</div><div><br></div><div>Ah yes, the books. Books for Owl. I'm an expert on books through elementary school level now, thanks to my ceaseless looking for new reads for her. Books for me, and maybe you. I'd like to share what books guide me through my own rough waters, and hear from you as well. </div><div><br></div><div>And books being born. Books emerging, books being carved out, word by word. I'm writing a few. Hopefully not with my left thumb. Although perhaps it's like standing on one's desk to gain a new perspective. Perhaps the child carried along through the night's writing is what gives it that new outlook. </div><div><br></div><div>And maybe not books but shorter, if not smaller, pieces of writing. Blog posts and essays and poems. Maybe that I share here. Maybe that you need help with. Let's read and write and learn and grow. Sailing, together, on the infinite sea of words. </div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1Sbu10-dMSURH4NSvhX1olvCqecZfzW57UDrP6t0zo689lIMi1qGFUn-2I9aS93QdilvU_Utqlsk1AskYEdoWHlpNdi9WPNo1bo40zX-4V2NHuzyeATCDKd_lHAAjyQQAJ1BU-yT20A/s640/blogger-image-1980669653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1Sbu10-dMSURH4NSvhX1olvCqecZfzW57UDrP6t0zo689lIMi1qGFUn-2I9aS93QdilvU_Utqlsk1AskYEdoWHlpNdi9WPNo1bo40zX-4V2NHuzyeATCDKd_lHAAjyQQAJ1BU-yT20A/s640/blogger-image-1980669653.jpg"></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0