Writer/ Aspiring Author/ Reader/ Gamer/ Book Slave. Blogging my writing, travel, and random thoughts. I blog book reviews, my writing struggles, favorite quotes I come across, and even some random creative prose. The views and opinions expressed on this website are purely my own. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, the owner of this website will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services that will add value to my readers.
House Stark/ House Mars/ Allonsy.
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If you could clone the best pet you’ve ever owned, would you? They won over your heart with that cute face, their spunky personality, and moment’s shared. When they were gone the world stopped. It didn’t matter if you saw the end coming or it was sudden, either way it didn’t make your loss any more or less painful. Now, what if you can have your pet back? Would you clone your best friend? Dog and cats live short lives. With cloning you could have the opportunity to have the same pet for your entire lifetime. There are companies that will clone your cat or dog for you. For 50,000 – 100,000 dollars you can experience another lifetime with them. What about the homeless pets?
With so many homeless pets, strays or animals living in shelters, I can’t help but think that money would be better spent towards vaccination and care of an animal in need. Your perfect pet is gone. There could be another perfect pet waiting for you. A pet that can teach you new, fun lessons about living. Nothing can replace the one gone but you can save the life of one waiting for a chance at life outside a cage. Each animal has a special talent and personality and so many are in need of loving homes. Adopt today.
[I was cleaning out my computer today and I found this old writing I had forgotten all about. I recall it was a sample writing I sent in with a job application but I don’t remember for what company. I don’t think it’s half bad. Think it could have used a better title. Thought I’d leave it here so it can be read.]
Friday. What happen to the week? I can say I am not ready to post and I don’t have a topic this week. This week I haven’t been focused on writing as much as reading. I have had the goal to finish A Dance With Dragons (A Song Of Ice And Fire #5) by George R.R. Martin and just did today. I feel relieved to finally be done and caught up but whenever I end one of these books I’m left with a little anxiety over the cliff hangers. Grrr. But it was a good read and week even with the lack of writing.
With that over I want to move on to a lighter read so I have more time to write. This means next Friday won’t sneak up on me (I hope) and I’ll have a story to tell. Until then here is a quote I think fits me and this week:
“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” – Douglas Adams
Sitting outside the New York Public Library. A little girl runs up to her mother pulling a picture book out of the red lion imprinted brown paper bag. Her words are French but her excitement is unmistakable. She is talking fast and I don’t understand the words meaning but I know why she is animated. Here is a little girl thrilled over a book. Her father and I share a smile. We understand each other. But in the moment I see a family’s exhilaration over a child’s enthusiasm for a book purchase I become sad. Others like to say dead tree editions of books are quite literally dead. Does that mean people will miss out on child’s thrill for reading. I can’t imagine a child getting excited about a downloaded picture Kindle edition book like that little girl did. As long as children read I don’t care the platform. I wonder how many Library card and book eager faces the regal lions have seen? It’s possible the lions at the New York Public Library branch have a superpower most places don’t. Or will they see less keen faces over books and more camera flashes with stories of paper past.
New York Public Library Main Branch Lion Taken By Me
I think I’ve seen this video in the past or maybe I the quote somewhere but I have found it again and I thought I would share. If you haven’t seen it watch it. It is from Ira Glass. It is not just advice for writers but to all people in creative work. If you’ve seen it, watch it again. Nothing like a friendly reminder that you’re not alone and you have to keep fighting for what you want. If you can’t watch it this second, (you’re reading this a work right now aren’t you. No judgement.) I have posted the text below. So be inspired. Don’t feel so alone. Keep fighting.
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
– Ira Glass
I have a few other quotes and speeches that help me trucking along. Stay tune for more advice form others that helps me keep going on a troublesome writing day. Do you have simple advice that keeps you writing?
Mother’s Day was busy. In the morning we planted the garden. Beefsteak and Big Boy tomatoes, red bell peppers, frying peppers, and eggplant have made it into the grown. Just like last year we pulled the weeds which wasn’t much compared to last year. Instead of adding manure this year we added peat moss. We spread the peat moss over the top of the area and was going to turn over the soil but the rotary tiller wasn’t working. After sometime we just decided to let the moss enter the soil naturally. We laid the seeping hose and pinned in the weed barrier fabric with staples. I planted the tomatoes in a row in the back, the peppers to the front near the stoop and eggplant next to the driveway. (Picture below). We left a space for the Romanian tomato pepper. I didn’t know I had to soak the seeds before planting so they ended up being late bloomers but from pictures below you can see they are growing strong and heathy. We are thinking of putting them in the grown this weekend or sometime next week. I was nerves after years of tilling that the worms present in the soil have been torn up. So we added some new worms to the soil. I didn’t take a picture but we also planted cucumbers and kale over in a small area of the yard.
This week we are helping the boyfriend’s grandma plant some of her veggies in her planter pots. So excited. I love gardening and I can’t wait for the veggies to start growing.
If you’ve been reading along you know I’ve been sending out queries. Most of the responses have been general rejection until a few weeks ago. Whenever a submission’s response pops into my inbox I am uncertain of the outcome. Crazy I know because I think if it was good news they would call me. But always, this little part of me hopes they accepted my story and want to schedule a meeting to discuss something along the lines of publishing. So far most submission responses have been generic rejections except for the last one. I finally got a rejection with some positive and the negative feedback.
It’s amazing how criticism can stop someone in their tracks. I was looking for more places to send, writing more stories, writing and promoting this blog when this email made me stop and think. Why am I writing? But it took me some time to continue on and just say, “this is one story. This isn’t the end.” Also, I didn’t expect this story to be wildly successful. Just something I thought could be out there on the shelf of a bookstore or in someone own personal collection.
It still can be. I have decided not to quit on this story and it’s characters. While, this was just this one person’s criticism there have been quite a few rejections and maybe this is what the others are thinking. Maybe it was what I was thinking deep down. As a writer I think I always knew something was off. It’s hard to see being so close to the story. Handing it off isn’t always easy either. Friends and families just give a once over and gush over the perfect. I was thinking of reading and editing one more time. Seeing if the narrative voice does need tweaking. I’ve been away from this character for some time. Fresh eyes can be all that’s need to make this story everything I know it can be. Even if, in the future, it’s not published I don’t think this was ever a waste of time. I’ve learned so much. Here I go, back to the writing board.
Should I buy the hardcover additions of The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series? The debate still lives in my mind. And an update on the box set available in October is a price decrease from $57 to $51. Barnes & Noble has even a better deal. The box set is only $37. Thanks B&N for making my decision a lot easier. In this post, to help my brain, I will review the second book in the series Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Talyor. If you haven’t read the first, warning, just the synopsis may give away some spoilers. Read ahead at your own risk.
Karou has finally learned about her past. She know knows where she comes from and who she is. Karou’s stories continues but she sets out without her family or friends. Karou must work for The White Wolf the same wolf that ended her last life. She uses the skill she learned from Brimstone to make monsters to fight in the Wolf’s army. Her once-beloved, Akiva, tries to undo some of the wrong of his past and ties to save as many as he can.
I still love the wonderful unique prose. The first half of the book was slow and made it hard to get into until it wasn’t. The world building is clear and vivid. The character descriptions of half human/ half beast is imaginative. Still the same engaging characters and a few new interesting introductions. Taylor has gift by making the reader feel the defeat of her character’s and their situation but as the story plays out the reader can feel the main characters, Karou and Akiva, grow from followers to leaders. Love how this young adult novel has found a grown-up voice with the cold truth of the ugly side of war. This story is not all daggers and pain. Taylor still manages to add some humor, romance, and hope. What I loved about this story is that this is not just about star crossed lovers but the depth to save a people, save two worlds, and save themselves.
I have hit the 100 followers mark on this WordPress blog. Thank you to all my followers for reading, liking, and commenting. I started this blog a little over a year ago and I can’t believe how much it has grown since I started. I can’t believe how much I have grown. I have seen my writing improve and I have seen the weeks I struggled with words and finding topics to talk about. I greatly appreciate all of you. For some 100 followers means nothing. Especially the ones that have 1000’s but for me I am shocked, amazed, and happy. Also, would like to thank all the follower on my other platforms. Just because Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter haven’t reached a easy round number doesn’t mean I don’t love you any less. You are all my favorites.Thank You! I hope to continue to post once a week so here’s to many more posts in the future and many more Thanks.
I’m trying to keep the spending down. For me this isn’t hard when it comes to things like cloths or extracurricular activities but books, they are my spending weakness. I’ve been doing well lately. I have mostly borrowed from the library and friends. There hasn’t been too many books I’ve come across I feel I need to own. I’ve been pretty happy reading them and giving them back. I’m very proud when I’m able to put down the books I find in book stores and simply check it out of the library. It has saved space on my bookshelves already overflowing with read and to-read copies of dozens of books. I now have a set of books I feel I need to own and in hardcover no less.
The book series is The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. I love the story, the characters, the settings, and the cover art. I’ve tried to win them in Goodreads giveaways but I’ve had no luck. The good news, the hardcover is still available for the first book in the series. Since this thought has been on my mind since the release of the third novel in the series I decided to look up the damage this purchase would cost my wallet and the outlook is not good. I understand what I wanted but it still hurts when you see the $56 dollar price tag. But that total was all the individual books added to the cart. Next, I looked up to see if they have a box set. It looks like the box set is not out yet and not planned to be released until late October but with a $52 tag. I think I will wait and keep an eye on the price of the box set to see if it decreases before October. Maybe by October my wallet will be a bit better, the set will be somewhat cheaper and I can justify a great series on my bookshelf. If you haven’t read The Daughter of Smoke and Bone series my short review is below of why I think it’s worth the read.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone Box Set
I came across this book because of Vaginal Fantasy, a book club introducing me to romance genre books with strong female leads in the urban fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction. The first book is calledThe Daughter of Smoke and Boneand as I said above it is by Laini Taylor. This story is about Karou, a blue haired, tattooed, knows multiple of languages, art student, and orphan living in Prague. To her sassy, sarcastic, lovable best friend, Zusana, Karou is a girl who draws amazing monsters in a sketch book. What Zusana doesn’t know is Karou’s demons are real and the only family she has known. Karou is just trying to get over her crummy ex-boyfriend and do her job, collect teeth for her beast like foster father Brimstone. As Black Hand prints start showing up on Brimstone’s portal doors in cities around the world what comes to past is a history with no good or evil but a muddled gray of sides.
This book is labeled young adult but I believe it can appeal to an adult audience. The author has an impeccable writing style. The world building and setting is clear, imaginative, and beautiful. The characters are unique. I liked Karou, Brimstone, and the shop full of teeth. You know that Karou’s job to collect teeth is serious business when it is on the black market in exchange for wishes. Taylor doesn’t disappoint when the reader learns what the teeth are being used for. The romance that develops in the second half of the narrative slows down the book a bit but the mystery of the characters and their pass is what kept me reading. When the story ended I was left with more questions and looking forward to the sequel.
Favorite Quote:
“You were true to her, even if she was not to you. Never repent of your own goodness, child. To stay true in the face of evil is a feat of great strength.”
“Strength,” she said with a little laugh. “I gave her strength, and look what she did with it.”
I want to thank Felicia Day, Veronica Belmont, Kiala Kazebee and Bonnie Burton (the girls from Vaginal Fantasy) for opening my mind to wonderful books I would have missed out on like this one. I’ll write a review for the second book in the series, Day of Blood & Starlight next week. Maybe this will help me make some bookshelf decisions by then.
When I had the money some days I would go to the MET. I would find a favorite painting, statue, or place, sit in front of it and write. Sometimes it was just a journal entry, an idea or a story. Sometimes it was nothing. When it was a story it was usually about what I stared at. I loved those days and miss them. I would go by myself. I could take the day and wonder wherever I wanted. There was no worry it wasn’t what someone else wanted to do. All that mattered was what my mind and writing hand wanted to do. Sometimes I would spend hours in one section or at one painting. But sometimes if the day was nice it was through Central Park for some nature inspiration. I hoped nothing would become to familiar or boring. That my mind would clear and my writing would take off. Sometimes I could write pages upon pages. The worst days were when no ink would leave the pen tip.
I looked for someplace closer. I use to write at the Starbucks by me. It was a long walk, and a noisy place. Before people yell at me for not supporting a nearby cute Mom and Pop cafe there isn’t one near me. Still this Starbucks feels like a homey cafe. Maybe it’s the small town feel surrounded area or the baristas who seem to know many customers that come in by name and their drink. All that’s missing is the to stay (London style) ceramic mugs. I liked the ambient cafe noise. I liked hearing the sound of steam hitting the milk as coffee foam was made and the people around me working or talking. In the cafe I could people watch. I liked catching meet and greets, business deals taking place, the old men playing chess or children and teenagers giggling and laughing just a little to loud. I liked being able to get any type of coffee or tea creation. Probably the one thing I never went for that most did was the free WiFi. I found it easy to shut off Internet access and write. I stopped going because of bad weather, calorie intake, and maybe that one nosy interrupting person.
Next I tried the library. It seems it has been the one place I have always had trouble writing. In one library I couldn’t get any work done. One of the Assistant Librarians knew me from around the neighborhood and would love to chat with me. He was loud for the library and even said embarrassing, inappropriate things that got looks from other patrons and workers. Needless to say it made me feel uncomfortable. I tried to be polite but it was an every visit occurrence so I stop going to that location and tried another. I realized from another library location I have always believed libraries are too quiet. Hearing every turn of a page can be maddening when I’m trying to write. I look up from the screen with every movement.
I think the best writing I do is when I’m on vacation or away. A new city, place, and constant stimulation. I know what I have to write about and the short amount of time I have to write. It’s not story writing but journal writing and who cares? I write like a fiend. (Sorry for the cliche). I don’t care about imperfections just as long as I get everything I want to remember down. The air, sights, sounds, and the events of the day.
Lately I’ve been writing from home. I make my own tea and use the Coffitivity or Rainy Cafe website to get the ambient sound I need to write. When I need to leave I take a walk around the block or to the dog park to clear my mind. It always helps to watch my dog, Lana, run free from the leash and tumble around with her doggy friends.
Do you find going someplace helps you write? What place has inspired you? Or do you need complete silence to get words down on the page?
Random Thoughts 
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