Hey everyone! Great news, Candace Knoebel has a new novel released, entitled Born in Flames. This is available via ebook here:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/born-in-flames-candace-knoebel/1112772359?ean=2940015130775
You can check out her blog here:
http://candaceknoebel.wordpress.com/
This is pretty exciting stuff and I'm wildly happy for her. It is so far available only in ebook, so I'll have to forgo my dreams of a signed copy for now. I have the digital copy which I am reading in between my assigned reading for philosophy and english. I'll probably get through her book first, though. It's already quite interesting and I'm about three pages in. I'll try to post up a review of that. The review of The Souls of Black Folk is currently sidelined (fyi), but I have not forgotten it!
This is all for today, happy reading everyone!
Be strong, be brave, be awesome!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
On the Subject of Literature
Today, I have already spent my momentary eloquence at my other blog. I apologize for the lack of illuminating phraseology. Not that I usually attain that, but still, I feel compelled to apologize. The beneficial thing about reading authors who are wonderfully articulate is the decided improvement in sentence structure and thought processes of the lucky readers. I do not want to imitate those authors exactly, I still desire to have my own impact somewhere in the world of literature. What good is literature if you remove the subjective nature of it by emulating someone else's writing so closely that a reader may not be able to tell the difference? I suppose if the author's goal is to, "write just like Mr. Award-Winning Writer", they would be ecstatic at hearing that a reader might not be able to pick out the difference between their writing and Nathaniel Hawthorne's.
I, however, would be saddened (although simultaneously flattered, of course). I am not saying that I would rather write incorrectly, merely that I wish to remain true to my own style and voice while making improvements in the formulation my ideas. I know that I can vastly improve my writing, and while I strive to do that, my goal is to reach the masses with my fiction. I do not write with the goal of winning any kind of award. I am simply a writer, and as such, I must write or go mad. Here is my more eloquent and lengthy post on my wordpress site:
http://crampedwriting.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/literature-and-philosophy/
I, however, would be saddened (although simultaneously flattered, of course). I am not saying that I would rather write incorrectly, merely that I wish to remain true to my own style and voice while making improvements in the formulation my ideas. I know that I can vastly improve my writing, and while I strive to do that, my goal is to reach the masses with my fiction. I do not write with the goal of winning any kind of award. I am simply a writer, and as such, I must write or go mad. Here is my more eloquent and lengthy post on my wordpress site:
http://crampedwriting.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/literature-and-philosophy/
Sunday, September 2, 2012
It's All About Living
I am hardly ever bored. It is just that sometimes, I don't know what I want to do. I have a virtual pile of things that I am able to do and enjoy quite a bit. I can't always paint, however, or draw. I love to crochet, but sometimes that gets old as well (still in the learning process). I can't always watch movies, or even write.
Do you ever feel as though you have to do something, anything to zap the synapses in your brain or you'll spontaneously combust? People are going to call me a mad woman, I swear. There are days where I know I should be running through fields of grass, waving my arms in the air hollering with joy. When I don't get to do that, the pressure builds up and it is difficult to turn my energy and whims to something entirely different. Like sitting still and writing. That doesn't work well and it makes me feel trapped. Ever feel trapped? Maybe it's just me, but I like to think that writers need their freedom and wide-open spaces. Things are different for "us writers". Fine, that's probably everyone at least once in a while.
I have to confess that there are times when I look around at everyone, plodding through their lives. It seems as though they are content to do the same things day after day with the occasional visit with friends thrown in. Perhaps it's all about the camping with friends. That must be what is different, because I feel like I'm going to crawl out of my skin one of these days. I'm not going to be able to do the same thing for 20 years and never learn, never pursue something different. I'll go brain-dead. So right now, I'm cramming my head with all manners of hobbies and knowledge. It's a challenge and I love it. I feel vibrant and alive. It's something I feel down to the tips of my toes and it's a vibration that hums through me telling me that this is how life is supposed to be. Pursue those dreams, ignore the haters and the naysayers. When someone says you can't accomplish your goals...just smile, hold your head up high and tell them, "Watch me!".
We were made for so much more than a pale existence lying in the arms of a corporation.
Do you ever feel as though you have to do something, anything to zap the synapses in your brain or you'll spontaneously combust? People are going to call me a mad woman, I swear. There are days where I know I should be running through fields of grass, waving my arms in the air hollering with joy. When I don't get to do that, the pressure builds up and it is difficult to turn my energy and whims to something entirely different. Like sitting still and writing. That doesn't work well and it makes me feel trapped. Ever feel trapped? Maybe it's just me, but I like to think that writers need their freedom and wide-open spaces. Things are different for "us writers". Fine, that's probably everyone at least once in a while.
I have to confess that there are times when I look around at everyone, plodding through their lives. It seems as though they are content to do the same things day after day with the occasional visit with friends thrown in. Perhaps it's all about the camping with friends. That must be what is different, because I feel like I'm going to crawl out of my skin one of these days. I'm not going to be able to do the same thing for 20 years and never learn, never pursue something different. I'll go brain-dead. So right now, I'm cramming my head with all manners of hobbies and knowledge. It's a challenge and I love it. I feel vibrant and alive. It's something I feel down to the tips of my toes and it's a vibration that hums through me telling me that this is how life is supposed to be. Pursue those dreams, ignore the haters and the naysayers. When someone says you can't accomplish your goals...just smile, hold your head up high and tell them, "Watch me!".
We were made for so much more than a pale existence lying in the arms of a corporation.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Almost Friday!
I just love those weeks which seem interminably long. It's like crawling on hands and knees through a couple of inches of mud, uphill with nothing but your fingernails to secure a hold. Fine, that might be a little bit overly dramatic, but it is just one of those weeks for me. Probably every other week is one of those weeks for me.
I'm definitely getting restless. Trying to work, go to school, add overtime a little bit, cook homemade meals and do a bunch of other things is so crazy to try and juggle. Writing? Wait, what's that? Oh yeah, that's just the weird thing I'm trying to go to school for. Whatever, zzzzz. That's pretty much a synopsis of every day for me. Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Most likely. Will I ever learn from those kinds of experiences? Probably not. Will I regret trying to go five million different directions at the same time? I don't think so, but perhaps you should ask me that again in a few years. I may just be buried under the half-finished pile of manuscripts which fizzled out and died before finding their way to completion.
Even if I am taking on a little too much, I like the challenge. I can see how much I can do, and it will either force me to rise to the occasion or I'll have to re-prioritize and only "juggle" the things which are most important in my life.
Sorry, really random, I know. Hope you all have a great rest of the week and a great weekend!
I'm definitely getting restless. Trying to work, go to school, add overtime a little bit, cook homemade meals and do a bunch of other things is so crazy to try and juggle. Writing? Wait, what's that? Oh yeah, that's just the weird thing I'm trying to go to school for. Whatever, zzzzz. That's pretty much a synopsis of every day for me. Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Most likely. Will I ever learn from those kinds of experiences? Probably not. Will I regret trying to go five million different directions at the same time? I don't think so, but perhaps you should ask me that again in a few years. I may just be buried under the half-finished pile of manuscripts which fizzled out and died before finding their way to completion.
Even if I am taking on a little too much, I like the challenge. I can see how much I can do, and it will either force me to rise to the occasion or I'll have to re-prioritize and only "juggle" the things which are most important in my life.
Sorry, really random, I know. Hope you all have a great rest of the week and a great weekend!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Tuesdays are for Randomness
Hello all! (warning, randomness ahead)
You know something about Tuesday? It's a little bit "meh". It's just sandwiched in between horrendous Mondays and then the more awesome middle-of-the-week Wednesdays. Poor Tuesday. I feel like Tuesdays get a bad rep because they're so close to Mondays.
Anywho, I have been hiding out in my kitchen lately trying all sorts of new recipes. It's been so much fun and I actually think it has helped my creativity. Plus, I just feel so much better making homemade meals. The fewer the preservatives and pesticides that go into my system, the better. This is actually completely uncharted territory for me. I bake things like fish and chicken and can throw a few spices on, but that's not really something I consider "cooking". I'm very proud of myself because I've made homemade mac & cheese, and a host of other awesome things. Thank goodness for Pinterest. It has saved me from culinary boredom. I would not have thought though, that being creative in the kitchen would have done anything for my writing.
Strangely enough though, I feel as though it has enhanced my creativity this week and have been able to write more than I expected. It is a great feeling, so I'm chalking up my recent culinary inquisitiveness to a serendipitous diversion. I love hobbies. Cartooning is quickly becoming another hobby that I'm enjoying, though I'm not terribly good at it. It's one of those things I'll still do, just because I like it. So yes, a bit random, okay fine. A lot of randomness today. But it's cool, right? Anyhow, back to contemplating life as I know it.
Happy Tuesday!
You know something about Tuesday? It's a little bit "meh". It's just sandwiched in between horrendous Mondays and then the more awesome middle-of-the-week Wednesdays. Poor Tuesday. I feel like Tuesdays get a bad rep because they're so close to Mondays.
Anywho, I have been hiding out in my kitchen lately trying all sorts of new recipes. It's been so much fun and I actually think it has helped my creativity. Plus, I just feel so much better making homemade meals. The fewer the preservatives and pesticides that go into my system, the better. This is actually completely uncharted territory for me. I bake things like fish and chicken and can throw a few spices on, but that's not really something I consider "cooking". I'm very proud of myself because I've made homemade mac & cheese, and a host of other awesome things. Thank goodness for Pinterest. It has saved me from culinary boredom. I would not have thought though, that being creative in the kitchen would have done anything for my writing.
Strangely enough though, I feel as though it has enhanced my creativity this week and have been able to write more than I expected. It is a great feeling, so I'm chalking up my recent culinary inquisitiveness to a serendipitous diversion. I love hobbies. Cartooning is quickly becoming another hobby that I'm enjoying, though I'm not terribly good at it. It's one of those things I'll still do, just because I like it. So yes, a bit random, okay fine. A lot of randomness today. But it's cool, right? Anyhow, back to contemplating life as I know it.
Happy Tuesday!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
What If I....
Today I'm feeling the need for insipid posts about "What If I...".
What if I had a superpower? What would that be like? I could put away my random thought (generated by a dream, just so you know. I'm really not THAT weird. Well..I probably AM that weird. ), or I could pursue this. I'm convinced that every dream has an element in it that could make a great story or scene.
So at first I think of all the awesome things I could do if I had a super power. Then I realize that if I truly did have a super power, things would not be all "Superman". In fact, I would probably be pursued by numerous governments who might send officials to "diplomatically" sway me to work on their behalf. If I refused, I imagine that some countries would pursue a less legitimate way of acquiring my services. This could be a story of avoiding said governments and what might happen in the end. Realistically I would die, or the governments might find a way to control my mind, overriding my own will (through scientific means, or harming those I care about).
Another way the story could go, is that I find others like me and we band together and try to fight the entities, going public with the situation to generate awareness and prevent ourselves from falling quiet victims to the governments. This could fail or succeed depending on how the story goes. Then there could be a story where someone turns me over to the government and they run tests and begin trying to make replicas of my super power in other people.
Well, I think you get the point. Just by asking one seemingly ridiculous question, I have multiple story possibilities. All it took was a few people to ask that very question and we have a world of superheros and comics that span years and still win the hearts of many. It only takes one person to ask that "what if" question. Don't be afraid to be that person.
What if I had a superpower? What would that be like? I could put away my random thought (generated by a dream, just so you know. I'm really not THAT weird. Well..I probably AM that weird. ), or I could pursue this. I'm convinced that every dream has an element in it that could make a great story or scene.
So at first I think of all the awesome things I could do if I had a super power. Then I realize that if I truly did have a super power, things would not be all "Superman". In fact, I would probably be pursued by numerous governments who might send officials to "diplomatically" sway me to work on their behalf. If I refused, I imagine that some countries would pursue a less legitimate way of acquiring my services. This could be a story of avoiding said governments and what might happen in the end. Realistically I would die, or the governments might find a way to control my mind, overriding my own will (through scientific means, or harming those I care about).
Another way the story could go, is that I find others like me and we band together and try to fight the entities, going public with the situation to generate awareness and prevent ourselves from falling quiet victims to the governments. This could fail or succeed depending on how the story goes. Then there could be a story where someone turns me over to the government and they run tests and begin trying to make replicas of my super power in other people.
Well, I think you get the point. Just by asking one seemingly ridiculous question, I have multiple story possibilities. All it took was a few people to ask that very question and we have a world of superheros and comics that span years and still win the hearts of many. It only takes one person to ask that "what if" question. Don't be afraid to be that person.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Yay! My Review of Alison Goodmans novel, "Eon"
Finally! My long-awaited
review of the book Eon, by Alison
Goodman.
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