That's right, after I finished the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, I set out to read Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom Duology. Because I had to meet Kaz Brekker in a literary fashion. For those who don't have Netflix and haven't had the pleasure of seeing season one of Shadow and Bone, the … Continue reading Book Review – Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
She'd heard all these things before.She knew the chances of landing a traditional publishing deal were astronomical. All the statistics were the same. All the naysaying was the same. And that nagging voice telling her the minimum wage day job was all she would ever know?Yes, that too was the same.So why was this article … Continue reading The Article of Doom
I love high stakes stories. I love when the heroes have to battle against all odds and sacrifice all of themselves to reach the end goal. And I love when that end goal is "life as we know it" or Armageddon. And I love the hero who is plucky and normal but housing some extraordinary … Continue reading Abandoning or Embracing Cliché’s
Why yes, I did technically win Camp Nano this year. But the novel is not quite done. I do have a few scenes left to write, so the forward motion continues. However, the breakneck speed to reach 50k is going to taper off. There are obvious pros and cons to participating in NaNoWriMo, and as … Continue reading Wrapping up Camp Nano 2021
I shall open with a small confession. I have an amazing husband. He not only works full time, but he enjoys spoiling me with expenditures that I would normally not afford myself. For instance, a year's worth of Master Class where I can listen to Neil Gaiman chat about storytelling is not something I would … Continue reading Week 4 – Camp Nano 2021
Why yes, I picked up this book after binge-watching the Netflix adaptation. I'll take stories however I can get them. I will note, however, that I do not often choose to check out the book after seeing the story in some other media format. This is because my TBR pile is ever growing and there … Continue reading Book Review – Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Looking back at the works I've written, I see stories that missed the mark because I did not have a handle on my craft. I see characters who were not fleshed out well enough, and scenes that never grounded the reader inside them, allowing them to experience it. I see fragments that make more sense … Continue reading Looking Back
Our family has been a fan of Ms. Novik since the dragon Temeraire chose William Laurence as his Captain, so I'm not sure why it took so long for me to start Uprooted. I will make a brief note that this book has a small section that is not terribly appropriate for younger readers, so … Continue reading Book Review – Uprooted by Naomi Novik
I'm not certain who first coined the phrase that writers must "kill their darlings" but I find myself staring down the barrel of my proverbial gun today. With my shelter book finally completed - yes, that only took me all of COVID and then some to finish - I am on to the next project! … Continue reading Killing Darlings
Writing is not for the faint of heart. When I started this whole writing thing, I was a child who thought it was great fun. One assignment from a teacher in the sixth grade opened the world of fiction to me and I played around with all the fantasy, making shallow stories that grazed through … Continue reading The Courage It Takes
