Month: December 2018

My Year in Books: 2018 Edition

I read so many awesome books this year. Here are some of my favorites!

This year was a good reading year for me. As of the writing of this post, I completed 77 books, comics, and short stories (and yes, I include comics in this count. That’s a post for another day.). And I think that’s pretty good!

So today, for the final post of 2018, I thought it would be a good idea to hold my own bookish awards party. Here are my favorite books for a few different categories. 😉 (All books I read in 2018, though they were not necessarily published this year.)

Non-Fiction

First place: Educated, by Tara Westover. This is an amazing memoir about the childhood and education of a girl who grew up outside of the school system in a family that told her the world was out to get her. It’s thoughtful, insightful, heartbreaking, and empowering, all in one book!

Honorable mentions:

The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson. This book is all about a serial killer who was active during the Chicago World’s Fair. Very creepy and well-written!

On My Own, by Savannah Jezowski. This is a great little companion for indie authors, teaching them how to use Word to format manuscripts for print and ebook publication… not only is it good for saving some money, but Savannah’s voice is easy to read and friendly.

Contemporary Fiction

First place: The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas. Every human should read this book. It’s empowering and devastating and really explains the world that either readers are all too familiar with or not familiar enough with. Everyone needs to read it.

Honorable mentions:

When Dimple Met Rishi, by Sandhya Menon. This is an excellent coming-of-age story set in the American Indian culture… with a pretty fantastic set of characters!

Hushed, by Joanne MacGregor. This is a unique Little Mermaid retelling about a girl determined to save the world and the movie star she loves. It’s an adorable story!

American Panda, by Gloria Chao. This is another coming-of-age story about a girl who must come to terms with what she wants versus what her family wants for her… and all the consequences that come with it.

Save the Date, by Morgan Matson. This is a cute, funny, and simultaneously heavy story about what it means to grow up and become your own person… all set against the backdrop of a wedding gone horribly wrong! As I had my wedding this year, it was a fun addition to my TBR.

Science Fiction

First place: The Fireman, by Joe Hill. This is such an imaginative story about a fungal infection that ravages the Earth. Once infected, people have only a little time before they spontaneously combust… or do they?

Honorable mentions:

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein. This is a great classic tale of revolution with an amazing narrator.

Fantasy

My biggest category.

First Place: Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi. This story is about a girl with magic in a world that hates people like her. And her quest to restore magic to the world for good.

Honorable mentions:

Etched in Bone, by Anne Bishop. This is last year’s installment in The Others series, one of my favorite urban fantasies. The political tension is heating up, and the characters are as lovable as ever!

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater. This is a very unique standalone based on kelpie mythology. If you ever wondered about racing kelpies, this book is for you. Such fantastic lore and worldbuilding here!

Salt & Stone, by A. L. Knorr. This is an extension of The Elemental Origins series, so you’d do best to read that first. But this is such a deep and emotional story of magic, self-sacrifice, and mystery… with mermaids!

How to Hang a Witch, by Adriana Mather. This is set in modern day Salem, following the descendant of Cotton Mather. It was a delightfully creepy tale of teen angst, generational grudges, ghosts, and witches. Good for an October read!

Short Stories

First Place: Tears of the Sea, by Savannah Jezowski. Very rarely have I read anything that can do so much worldbuilding with so few pages! And her writing is so lyrical and beautiful… I truly read nothing else like it this year!

Honorable Mentions:

Blood in the Snow, by Sarah Pennington. This is an Asian-inspired Snow White retelling that I’ve talked about before. It’s a beautiful story of love and magic!

Final Thoughts for 2018

It was a good reading year. I also read plenty of graphic novels and comics, and while I didn’t lay out my favorites here, or list all the books that deserve attention, I enjoyed so many of the stories I read for a variety of reasons. You can drop on over to my Goodreads page to see them all!

But now I want to hear about your year in books. What were your absolute favorites? Were there any that you’d recommend? What about books you didn’t much care for? Let’s talk in the comments!

Warm Wishes and Ugly Sweaters

Books can be like ugly sweaters. Read on to find out why.

Hello reader and writer friends! Christmas is almost upon us! Merry Christmas! And for those of you who celebrate other holidays, happy holidays!

Today I was thinking about the idea of the Ugly Sweater, mostly because my job had an ugly sweater party this week. I remember growing up with these sweaters… and actually associating them with the whole idea of “uncool.” They were the kinds of sweaters worn by older people (let’s face it, as teens we think parents and grandparents are uncool) or the social outcasts. But as is the case with many things from my childhood (geek and nerd culture, for one), this “uncool” thing is now the “cool uncool thing.”

And you know what? I think this can apply to writing, too. Genres go through cycles of popularity, and books are ridiculed and lauded in the same breath. It just shows you that everything goes through cycles, and every book has its audience. A great example of this is Anne Rice and her vampire stories… she once talked about how her books go through cycles of sales that rise and fall every few years, as vampires go in and out of popularity.

Much the same can be said for many genres. They go in and out so quickly that if you miss one good release time, another will be coming.

So my wish for you this season is that you will find your cool uncool things and love them. That you will flaunt your love for them. And if you’re writing them, that readers will flock to it. Don’t be afraid to write (and read) the things you love, just because you love them.

And have a wonderful holiday season, friends. ❤

Drowning in Books

Drowning in books? I am. But I’m happy about it. Are you?

Did you know that the TBR is never-ending?

There was once a time when I thought my TBR pile (TBR: “to be read”) would possibly be completed, but I have since come to realize the plight of almost every reader everywhere: TBR piles never shrink. They only grow.

We live in an age where people (like me, next spring!) can publish without the help of an agent or a publishing house, leading to a large number of books being released that may not have ever been available to the public even ten years ago. Indie publishing is a huge market, and this means that there is an overabundance of books I want to read.

So now I have over 400 books on my ereader, of which I’ve read less than 50.

And then there’s the physical books, the ones I usually buy to keep up with the publishing industry, since I plan on querying also (side note: having both independently and traditionally published books makes someone a hybrid author… and that’s my end goal). It’s vitally important to a writer/author to keep up with the current market by reading new releases. Otherwise you can get left behind.

So my TBR shelf at home, a literal shelf in my library, is sagging under the weight of so many books, bought with the best of intentions and left until I get around to them.

And my digital TBR list on Goodreads is well over 700 books now.

And for a long time, this seemed really daunting. It made me sad to think of all the books I would never get to read.

But recently, I heard it put another way, which is in line with the thoughts I am starting to have about my TBR: don’t be afraid to keep adding to your list. Yes, maybe it seems overwhelming, but if you limit yourself because of what you haven’t read, you may miss out on your new favorite book. And every book you buy, even if it’s a free copy through Amazon or a giveaway, supports the author and encourages them to write more. (Check out K.M. Robinson on Facebook to see this post… she’s a great author to follow, too! And she discusses how the TBR affects authors in particular.)

And then there’s one other point I’d like to make. Having a lot of unread books isn’t a bad thing because we all go through seasons in our lives where we need something different. Personally, I cycle through genres depending on how I’m feeling or what I’m feeling like reading that week. Or month, as is usually the case with my physical books anymore. So having these books in your own personal library, whether physical or digital, gives you the opportunity to read the thing you want to read right now. You don’t have to worry about not having a fantasy when you want fantasy or a contemporary when you need fluffy. You just have to go get it off your shelf. And reading becomes a much more enjoyable experience and escape as a result.

So yes. I’m drowning in books. But you know what? I’m happy about it.

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What about you? Do you feel overwhelmed or overjoyed about your TBR? Does anything I’ve said above make you think a little differently? Let’s talk in the comments!

Reminder time!

1. I’m releasing a book soon! You can subscribe to the newsletter to hear all the most up to date information. Hint: I’m working on a special newsletter bonus right now, and subscribers will be the first to get their hands on it!

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Writing is Vulnerability

Writing is hard. So is letting someone else see your writing. And most of all, hearing what they have to say about it.

Happy Friday, writing friends! A bit of a short post today, but there are some things on my mind this week that won’t take up as much time and space as usual.

Recently, I’ve done a lot of things in my writing life that have been putting my vulnerabilities to the test: I sent my first book baby off to a developmental editor (and got all the comments back this week), I’m publishing this book baby next year (so promoting it a lot), I am entering writing contests, I am preparing to query (again), and I opened a freelance business (more on that at the end of this post).

Needless to say, I’ve been busy, both mentally and with my time. And besides just keeping me busy, they have exposed me to not only hearing and accepting criticism but asking for it as well.

That’s rough.

But it got me thinking about the process of writing itself. While all these activities have opened me up to a place where I have to leave my vulnerabilities out in the sun for all to see, all those things I hold dear and support my image of myself (or used to hide from others)… the truth is that we already do that whenever we write with honesty.

You see, if we write from our own lives, whether it is using experiences, emotions, or ideas with which we are familiar, we are telling truths that, more often than not, are so close to who we are as people that letting someone else see it, or even just admitting it on a piece of paper (or computer screen, whatever) is telling the world something about us. It’s a piece of us, so much so that any criticism or questioning of the things we write feel like criticisms of us both as the writer and the human.

It’s so hard to do this, even in the privacy of our own homes, but it is so important to being a writer. Lending our truths and our vulnerabilities to our stories makes them real and gives them more connection and depth. Without it, the story is shallow and meaningless. And without letting others offer criticisms, we are limiting our ability to improve ourselves and our craft.

So yes, it’s hard to let other people see these things, to open yourself up to criticism. And it’s hard to hear the critical things about our work and ourselves. But it’s vital to our growth as writers and to make our stories that much better.

So go write, go share. Don’t be afraid of the criticism. Ask for it. Embrace it. Use it to your advantage. And remember these words:

Writing is vulnerability.

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IT’S TIME!!! Friends, I am finally open for business! If you have editing and/or proofreading needs, consulting needs, or the need for a fantastic fantasy map, I’m your girl! Take a look at my Services page to see what I’m now offering (and the rates), and if you need a little more convincing, look over at the Testimonials as well.

I can’t wait to work with you to make your stories shine!