Magical Readathon Results

Well, I will open up with that fact that I didn't complete my Camp NaNoWriMo story.  I still intend to work on it, but I had to take time off to heal my poor, carpal tunnel-having hands.  But, the thing I did complete was the magical readathon.  I read all five books and finished the last on April 29.  Cutting it close, I know.  I have rated all these books on Goodreads--follow me here.  So, how did all the books stack up--see what I did there?  Well...

The first book I read, for Charms, was Fool by Christopher Moore.  I ended up rating this a 4/5 stars, not for any hard-hitting reasons.  I just don't think this book is for everyone in a big way.  Most books I feel like can be made generally accessible to most people, given a big enough want and will.  But this one is... targeted.  It is very honest about what it is--a bawdy, funny, satire of Shakespeare's King Lear.  I loved it, but I'll be honest in saying that it's been a while since I've read anything so... nonchalantly graphic.  I will also say this, I am willingly going to be reading the sequel, as well as seeking out more of Moore's--this one was an accident, I swear--work. 

The next one was Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard.  I rated this one a 4/5 stars as well, but I'm a bit biased.  This one had a lot of tropes that I love in it.  I will say that it's not the best YA fantasy I've ever read--not even the best I've read this  year--but it's fun.  I think, if I really gave a harder rating of stars, I might lower this to a 3/5 since I can think, off the top of my head, of several YA fantasies that I've read that, while not hard hitting writing, are much more fun.  This book takes place in a world where people are divided into Reds--those whose blood is red and thus are nothing special--and Silvers--whose blood are silver and have special abilities.  Our main character is a Red who ends up thrown into the world of Silvers due to a power she has--but is definitely not supposed to have.  Like I said, fun, but not the most fun I've had reading this type of story.  I read this one for my Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

For Herbology, I read Because You Love to Hate Me, an anthology where every story's main character was the villain.  It's hard to find an anthology where you either like or really like every single story.  Usually there's one or two that are total duds.  Not so in this one.  Sure, there were some I liked more than others, but overall, I at the very least liked every single one of these.  In between each story is the prompt that the Booktuber gave to the author, followed by a small essay by said Booktuber, speaking on the story and villainy in some way.  Some of those were a little meh... but still, mostly enjoyable.  I gave this one a 5/5 stars.

I read Now I Rise by Kiersten White for Potions.  It's the sequel to And I Darken.  Both of these are apart of a trilogy--which ends with Bright We Burn--that is a historical fiction detailing the life of Vlad Tepes Dracul--Dracula, as most know him as--only if he was born as a woman.  Ladislav Dracul is one of two main characters in this series, the other being her brother, Radu.  In the first one, it detailed their lives from birth to their time as... extended, forced guests of the Ottoman Empire, and their friendship with one of the sons of the Sultan, Mehmed.  In this one, it picks up a bit after where that one leaves off, and equally follows the next step in the lives of Lada and Radu, as they each follow their own paths--Lada, to ruling Wallachia, land of her birth, and Radu to conquering Constantinople in the name of the man he loves but can never have, Mehmed.  I have to say, if I loved the first one--and I did--then I adored this one!  I'll definitely be finding my way to Bright We Burn in the very near future.  I gave this one, unsurprisingly, 5/5 stars. 

Lastly, for Transfiguration, I read Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell.  *sigh*  I gave this one 2/5 stars.  The author was young when she wrote this... and you could tell.  Grammatically, it's very well written.  But character-wise... it felt like the author had this really great idea, but then didn't research it any further.  The character interaction was strange and off-putting, and it felt like a bunch of different psychiatric disorders were being forced into this character that didn't fit.  Wouldn't recommend this one, if my other reads were options.

So that's it!  I officially passed all the OWLs necessary for becoming an Auror!  I can't wait for August (NEWTs).  Now, to finish Good Omens before the Prime show starts--easily done.

Magical Readathon TBR

I realize that it's seven, soon to be eight, days into the readathon when I post this.  However, I just thought that I'd share the books I'd chosen to use--along with my career and such.  So, without further ado...

Wizarding Career Chosen: Auror (dark wizard catcher; job of one Harry Potter)
Classes Needed for OWLs: Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration.

Charms: "Ageline: read an adult work"

I've actually just finished this one, but I chose Fool by Christopher Moore.  In a nutshell, it's a bawdy satire of Shakespeare's King Lear where the protagonist is Lear's fool, Pocket.  I'll talk more about this when I finish my readathon.

Defense Against the Dark Arts: "Reducto: read a book whose title begins with R"

I'm not very far into this one, but I chose Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.  A book about the division of a people: those who are Reds and those who are Silvers.  There's also a magic component involved. 

Herbology: "read a book with a plant on the cover"

For this, I'm reading my ebook copy of Because You Love to Hate Me, a lovely anthology featuring stories all about the villains--which are often my favorite characters. I've only read the first story in this antho so far, but I loved it. 

Potions: "Next ingredient: read a sequel"

Last year, I read the first in this trilogy, which is a historical fiction that asks the question, "What if Vlad the Impaler had been born a girl instead of boy?"  And I loved it.  I was very into vampires, both fictionally and historically speaking, so I can't wait to see how White's interpretation plays out in relation to what actually happened.

Transfiguration: "read a book with sprayed edges or a red cover"

So, funny story... Every red cover book I own that I have an interest of reading... I've already read.  Also, I didn't think I owned a book with sprayed edges... I do.  And it's the sequel to Fool.  But whatever.  I borrowed this one, Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell from my bestie, and I intend to read it.  Who knows?  I might need that other one for NEWTs (in August). 

And that's it!  That's my TBR for the Magical Readathon!  And it's not too late to participate!  All the links you need are in the description area of this video.  See you later! 

The Road So Far...

Yes, that is a Supernatural reference.  I can't believe it's ending after season fifteen!  What am I gonna do?!  ahem... But, that's not what this post is about.  Moving on...

Sorry, long time, no post.  My excuse?  Honestly... I was having trouble coming up with topics.  I'm kind of at the hurry up and wait portion of writing.  Or I'm writing.  I mean... yeah...  But, today, I have updates!  Here's what my April is going to look like--speaking from an active point of view, not an entertainment one.  (Seriously, so many of my favorite shows, movies, etc. are getting new content in April.)

First, and most briefly, I have a for fun project that I will begin, in earnest, I swear, in April.  It's gonna be a long one, with a final due date sometime in July... and I won't lie... it's intimidating.  I mean, it shouldn't be, but just its size alone... It's probably going to finish at close to 80,000 words... I've only written about 20,000 of those in the past... oh, that's the other thing.  Last time I opened this thing was back in.... um, hold on, I'm checking... 2009?!  I thought it was a tad later than that... oh dear.  The exact date is almost four years to the day to when my oldest son was born... I may have bitten off more that I can chew.

Second, there's Camp NaNoWriMo.  If you don't know what this is, it's NaNoWriMo in the spring/summer (they do it twice), but you get to set your own word count.  I'm attempting a novella set within the Phoenix Cycle--the novel series of which I have 2/3 written--called Smoke & Soot.  It'll tell the backstory of a certain character in the main series and is set against the backdrop of the first World Expo.  I'm crazy excited for it, honestly.

Lastly, and just as awesomely, I'm doing the Magical Readathon.  What is that?  First of all, it is explained here, in this video by BookTuber, Book Roast.  The other necessary links can be found in the description of the video.  Basically, it's a Harry Potter themed readathon where you pick a Wizarding World career, then you read based on the prompts attached to the classes needed for that career in the OWLs.  Later this year, in August specifically, Book Roast will be hosting the NEWTs for this.  I have no idea how it ups the game, but I've been given the impression that it will. 

To be more specific, I chose the Wizarding World career, Auror (dark wizard hunter, think Wizard Cops).  For that, I need the classes: charms, defence against the dark arts, herbology, potions, and transfiguration.  So according to the prompts attached to said classes, I need books that: "age-line: read an adult work," "reducto: read a book whose title starts with an R," "plant on the cover," "next ingredient: sequel," and "sprayed edges or red cover," respectively.  Off hand, I've only picked out two of those, so I'll do another blog post when I pick out the rest of that list.

My April is going to be crazy busy... but since I basically took a month-long break on everything this March, I'm looking forward to just that.  See you all next time!

In Defense of Fanfiction

Fanfiction, especially if you're trying to be taken seriously as a writer, is a tricky subject.  I've read a lot of comments from aspiring authors who also write fanfiction that range from "my family reads/loves my writing, even my fanfiction" to "everyone thinks I'm wasting my time and that I'm weird."  So, folks, I'm taking a stand.  I haven't spoken a lot about fanfiction on this blog because I wanted this to focus more on reading published works and writing for the purpose of being published.  But... I feel for my fellow fanfiction authors who aren't getting the love and support they so desperately need.  And yes, I said fellow.  So, here's my stance.

I love fanfiction.  I support it--the reading and the writing.  Now, as with anything, there should be rules.  Here are the few rules I adhere to:

1. Respect the creator.  Which, to me, means put a disclaimer on that mess.  Most authors either don't care, don't know about, or are flattered by fan fiction.   Yes, famously, there are a few that ask that you don't play in their playground.  More on that in a moment.  But, they've worked hard to make this thing that you love, to make it their living.  Respect it by recognizing that fact.

2. Along similar lines, if the creator says "don't make fanfiction for my stuff," then... don't make fanfiction for their stuff.  I know, right?  Anne Rice is among the most famous for saying no to fanworks.  And you know what?  It sucks, but it's her prerogative.  There are plenty of other vampire-related fandoms to play in.

3. Respect other fanwork creators.  Now, it's the internet, and I'm aware trolls exist.  I'm sure I've even trolled in my early days.  But, I've cast that off.  Now, I only offer positive and/or constructive things to fanwork people.  But going along with respect, that also means, don't steal from other fanwork people either.  Sure, they don't own the characters or whatever, but they own the work they put into this piece.  I've had this happen to me, where an author quoted a work of mine as part of her work without permission.  I knew that, in this particular instance, this person meant no harm... but still, it's a no-no.  Had she asked, though, I probably would've been cool with it.

So, what is it about fanfiction that I support?  Why do I love it?  Well, it's a bunch of free, fun stories at my fingertips.  Also, as a writer... it helps clear the brain.  It's a playground that's open, but still got shiny new toys to play with.  It takes a touch of the stress out of writing--just a touch; you'd be surprised how stressful even fanfiction writing can be.  You want to see if a certain idea with a plot will work out?  Try it out in your favorite fandom.  Want to try a new style of writing?  Fandom.  Want to test out a new character?  Have them interact with an established character, so you don't get jumbled up with your other original characters.  Also, it's just good practice.  I can actually open up my first fanfiction and my latest fanfiction and visibly see a difference.  And yes, writing original fiction will do this too... but you don't have the quick response system that fanfiction has.  You post a chapter of fanfiction, people read it, and they have the ability to review and tell you exactly what they thought.  Meanwhile, I've got two whole original fiction novels and one novella written, and because of trying to keep it as publishable as possible, I have to be so damn precious about who reads them.  I have just a few opinions about whether or not they're even any good.  My fanfiction?  I could tell you right now which ones are popular and which ones no one likes with zero hesitation.

I also love the community of it.  I am a member of not one, but two fanfiction related groups on Facebook.  I used to be a member of a group of people that were original writers only.  I left that group because everything there seemed like a competition.  Everyone thought they knew better than you, and no one wanted to offer any real help or support without a string or twelve attached.  And bitterness... yeesh.  But these fanfiction groups?  They support you.  They lift you up.  Regularly, there are posts on there just making sure that everyone who reads it is having a good day.  I just read one that opened up a place where people could talk about what was currently worrying them--it didn't even have to be writing related.  It's a relief.  Sure, you'll run across the occasional fandom hothead... probably several if you've been doing this even  half as long as I have.  But the number of annoying fanfiction writers versus know-it-all-for-no-reason original fiction writers is much lower.   

I plan on writing fanfiction as long as I am able--for whatever reason--to do so.  And, if you're out there, stuck on your original work, take a moment and go to Fanfiction.net, ArchiveofOurOwn.org, twistingthehellmouth.org (if you're a fan of Buffy the Vampire slayer crossovers), or whatever other fanfiction website you can find and read some fics.  Hell, maybe even write a few.  Then, take a breath, and go back to your own work.  You might have even, knowingly or unknowingly, figured out what wasn't working on that original piece.  I hope you all enjoyed this post (I know I was a little late this week).  But now... I've got to go edit my original novel... and write some fanfiction.

My Top Five Favorite Tropes

Tropes, in the sense that I'm using it in here, means a device, motif, or cliche within a work of literature.  There are some common ones out there, quite a few of them, actually.  And some of them are bad... like, rolling your eyes so hard you pass out bad.  That being said, there are several that, when done right, I can't help but love.  So, here are my top five favorite tropes.

1. Enemies to Lovers

I freaking love this trope.  This is, without a doubt, my all time favorite one.  I'm always quite taken with the villains of the story, so when they turn and see the light because they've fallen in love with the main character... *sigh*  It makes me so happy.

Example:

2. Tyrannical Government

I'll be honest, in my total list of books I've read, dystopian doesn't cover many.  And this is a trope that is most often found in that genre.  But... I love it.  The whole rebel against the tyrannical government just really gets me invested every time.

Example: 

3. Forbidden Love

I don't read a lot of romance, but two of these so far are far more likely to end up in romance novels.  Huh.  Anyhow, I love the forbidden love trope in the same way I love the Enemies to Lovers trope.  The whole "will they defy the odds" or "will they push those feelings way down"... I mean, come on... most of the ones I read have them defying the odds... but that's why I love it!  I was really into vampires in my youth (still love them, I've just branched out) and this is a common trope in those books.  It was ingrained early. 

Example:

4. The Chosen One




Okay, yeah, everyone knows this one, right?  The person is chosen for a grand destiny of some sort.  Most often, they don't want it.  There are a lot, a lot, of books that play this wrong.  I mean, really wrong.  But there are several, also, that do it right.  And those are the ones I love.  Yeah, maybe they aren't happy with their destiny, but they do it anyhow, with minimal complaint.  I actually love it when they step up to the bar with the attitude of "might as well."  Those are the best ones, in my opinion. 






Example:

5. The Unlikely Hero of Humble Origins

I also like to think of this one as "the one you least suspect."  I read up on this trope, and Harry Potter was listed under this one.  If they are talking about certain characters from the series, then yes, absolutely.  But if they mean the title character?  No.  I would say Harry falls under The Chosen One trope.  He meets the requirements of a prophecy and was literally thrust into this heroic role.  I would argue that Neville Longbottom better exemplifies this trope.  And it is for characters like Neville that I love it.  They're the little guy.  No one expects anything great from them.  And then, boom... you grow up and chop off a snake's head after telling off a dark lord.  Or something like that.  So, for Neville...

Example:

And that's it.  Those are my top five favorite tropes.  Honestly, there's several more I love.  And these books that I've listed as examples are just the tip of the iceberg.  Get out there and explore the tropes. 

Free Story: New, Not Better

I thought it might be fun if, once in a while, I showcase some of my writing here in the form of a free story.  So, here's one I wrote for... some deadline that didn't get accepted.  Hope you enjoy it.  

            Tiffany’s polished red thumbnail found the equally red button on the dash and pushed.  Again, nothing happened… not even a revving noise.  Her husband—his thinning, mousy hair caught in a light breeze as he bent over the holo-reader—sighed.  His finger jabbed at the screen, presumably scrolling through the owner’s manual to the hovercraft the couple were currently sitting in.  She sighed, leaning back in her seat.  With another huff of aggravation, her husband began to shake his head at the screen in his hands, as if it were arguing with him.

            “Do you have the key turned?” he asked without looking at his wife.

            She closed her eyes.  Tiffany was not good with heights.  The fact that she could successfully drive a hovercraft of any sort between point A and point B was nothing short of a miracle… so the idea of being in a brand-spanking new model of craft that flew a good three hundred feet above last year’s models was making her feel sick.

            “Yes, Herbert.  I have the key turned,” she said in a monotonous tone.

            Herbert huffed again, jabbing some more at the screen.  With a couple of deep breaths, she finally managed a peek over the side of the craft, looking straight down.  Gasping, she immediately realized that that was a mistake.  Other hovercrafts zoomed by so far below the two that they were totally unaware of their presence, stuck hovering several hundred feet above the nearest parking port.  She slammed her back against her driver’s seat, trying to calm her increasingly erratic breathing.  Herbert did not even glance at her way.

            “Well,” Tiffany said with a hollow laugh, “at least we’re not plummeting to our deaths.”

            “Yeah,” Herbert responded without a hint of amusement.  “That’s the new thrusters on the bottom of the craft.  Exclusive to this year’s model.  Guaranteed to still run, even if the craft won’t.”

            “Why would someone just want to hover in midair?” his wife muttered.

            Now Herbert looked at her, one brow raised.  “It’s a safety precaution, Tiff.”

            She rolled her eyes.  “I’m aware of that.  I’m just saying.  They must have very little confidence in their new and better model if they have to install something like that.”

            “It’s not that, Tiffany.  This car has the highest safety rating—”

            And that’s when Tiffany stopped listening.  Instead, she glared straight ahead at the steering wheel.  She missed their other hovercraft, the one they had traded not hours ago for this hunk of junk.  The couple was just seven clicks away from the dealership, and now they were stuck and broken down.

            “Damn it!” Herbert yelled, throwing the holo-reader into the floorboard, causing Tiffany to jump.  “There’s not a damn thing in that manual to help.”

            With a groan and her face turned skywards, Tiffany reached out and held the button on the dash down.  Again, not a sound. 

            “That’s not gonna work, Tiff.  You can stop trying.”

            “I don’t appreciate you snapping at me.  I don’t see you trying anything.”

            He scoffed, turning his head away from her. 

            “Hey, I’m not the one who wanted this stupid hovercraft in the first place.  I liked our old one!”

            He whirled back towards her, nostrils flaring.  “It was out of date.”

            “No, it wasn’t!  It had everything that this one has… oh, wait… I’m wrong there.  Our old one ran!  You’ve always done this!  Gotta have the latest technology.  What is it with you?”

            Ignoring her—as he always did when he knew his wife was on the verge of winning an argument—he bent forward and picked up the holo-reader.  Tiffany resisted a strong urge to scream as she crossed her arms and turned, very deliberately, away from him.  A few moments of silence passed as he simply sat there, scrolling through the manual yet again. 

            “Aha!” he cried finally, causing her to jump again.

            “What?” she asked.

            Without bothering to answer, he reached down to a small lever that was located between the two seats.  He jerked it to the left and then pushed it up.  Smiling triumphantly, he motioned towards the ignition button.  Tiffany pressed it, and the hovercraft roared to life.

            “We had it in the wrong gear.  That’s all,” he said, as if he had known all along. 

            With her hands tightening around the steering wheel so much that her knuckles turned white, she made a sharp turn in the direction they had come from. 

            “W-what are doing, Tiff?”

            “I’m taking this stupid, overly sophisticated piece of crap back to the dealer and getting our old craft back!  Wrong gear… of all the stupid things!”

            “But, Tiff…”

            Tiffany shot him a look so full of fire that he only smiled weakly.

            “Um… if you hurry, honey, you can beat their closing time.”    

I wrote this one back in 2015, inspired by a story my aunt had told my mom once about how her brand-new model car kept breaking down.  She kept having to take it back to the dealer so they could "work out the bugs."  (It was leased.)  If you liked this, let me know.  

 

Quotes to Inspire

I'm sure you've all seen those inspirational quotes on posters.  The ones that give pseudo definitions to words like "teamwork" or "willpower."  And I know you've all probably seen those pseudo proverb-like messages.  Crap like "He said, 'You cannot withstand the storm.' And she whispered back, 'I am the storm.'"  Only usually there's a huge grammar mistake in there somewhere.  Those are all well and good, but my God, do I really hate seeing them.  I mean, no offense to those who truly take inspiration from reading or hearing them, but I just don't.  I feel like they're over-played.  I feel like they are fake as hell.  I do have quotes that I think about quite often, though.  Quotes that do inspire me.  So, I'd like to share them all with you. 

1.

If you talk to me in real life for longer than a few minutes, and the subject of Harry Potter comes up--and it inevitably will--I will make no bones about admiring this woman.  She's an inspiration to me.  And, of all the quotes that come from her--and not the books--that I think of most often, it's this one.  She's speaking about how she was a single mother, on welfare, in government issued housing, when she began writing the first Potter book.  Most people would give up.  Most people would make excuses.  "I can't write a book; I've got to get my life together."  She made writing a book part of getting her life together.  So, if you feel like you've hit rock bottom... build a house.

2.

I won't lie.  I first heard this quote in the context of an episode of Criminal Minds.  But it stuck.  I had never thought of it this way.  You tell a kid something magical and mythical like a dragon is real, and they might mutter "wow" but ultimately they just accept it.  So, if you don't have to provide proof, why do we need fairy tales?  This quote reminds me to look at things from more than one angle.  As a lover and writer of fantastical things, it also helps to remind me that there's more than just putting fantastic things in my works to make it a good story.

3.

Okay, so, yes, this quote comes from a Let's Player while in the middle of playing a glitching Sonic game.  And also, yes, it's immediately followed by him screaming "Not fu*king this!"  But this is just good life advice.  I have been in situations where the people around me are just so wound tight and freaking out about things that are, usually, out of their control.  Sometimes, you just have to reassess, and I think of these words a lot when I'm doing just that.

4.

This quote is found inside the second book of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, called The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.  When I read this section, I had to pause and read it again.  No truer words have ever been written.  A friendly reminder to side-eye anyone who is just so gung-ho wanting to be the leader.  People, indeed, are a problem.

5.  

My favorite Seuss quote from The Lorax.  I think a lot of people are forgetting this.  Do you have to care about every little thing?  No, you're only human with a limited capacity.  But we should all care about something.  Find a passion and stick with it.  And then make sure that that passion is a little better when you leave it than when you found it.

6.

I saved my favorite quote for last.  This quote was paraphrased to me by my best friend when we were both talking about taking risks and putting our writing out into the world--beginning the trying to get published part of our careers.  You see, I'm an anxious person.  I have many fears.  Many, many, many fears.  One of the biggest ones I have is failure.  I always had to succeed, growing up.  After all, if you fail, you're a loser, right?  Wrong!  All that failure proves is that you tried.  And trying is paramount.  It's the only way to succeed.  I think about this quote just about every day.  I'm not joking.  Every single day.  Every time I sit down to edit my novel.  When I submitted it to the open door call last year.  When I eventually send it to an agent.  Every time I have to put it out into the world I whisper the words "permission to fail."  It's become my mantra.  Because it's okay.  As long as I keep trying, I have that permission. 

Those are the quotes that inspire me the most.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a novel--or two and a novella--to edit and an agent to find.