Book Covers

I just wanted to use this post to spread the word about an artist who is willing to do book covers for self published authors. I think it's important for everyone to follow their dreams, so please check him out on facebook!

Reading Challenge

When I was younger my mom used to bring me to the library at least once a week. During the summer there was a summer reading program where you read books and you got a prize. I think I even won a prize before. It used to be really fun to see how many books I could read, since I usually filled up the paper that I was given. I found a 2015 reading challenge online. You don't get a prize for completing it, but it did look really fun and I think I will do it. Click this link to see the challenge

Building Character

Recently I stumbled upon a blog written by a woman who was a single mother. Her blog was supposed to be about issues that she couldn't talk to her young son about. It seemed like a pretty good idea, until I actually read the blog. It seemed as if the woman's entire identity was that of a single woman. It was very important for her to express how happy she was to be alone and how much she didn't need a man. Every post, other than one on recent events was about her as a single woman. I felt like she only had one layer to her. I thought about what it would be like to write a character like that, and at first I thought it wouldn't be very useful to write a character like that. It probably wouldn't be much fun either, however, sometimes you need to write a character who is only made up of one layer. Sometimes you need to add a character who just has one mission, or mindset. Maybe it's the post man who delivers a life-changing letter, or maybe it's a cashier who warns someone of a person following them. I could go on and on, but I think anyone reading this would understand. Sometimes it's useful to have those single layer characters around, as long as they serve a purpose.

Casual Friday: What it's like to work retail on Black Friday

As I'm typing this, I realize there are only thirty minutes left in the day. I'm still recovering from working a ten hour shift in a retail store. I thought almost everyone had worked retail at some point in their lives, but today I came across some people who clearly had no idea what it was like to work on Black Friday. I had to cut my Thanksgiving plans short because I had to get up early to go to work and stare at my coworkers (who were just standing their since we didn't have a great sale). When the customers finally started to come in they asked things like, "Can you explain to me what twenty-five percent off of everything means?" I thought that was self explanatory. As the day wore on I began to feel exhausted. My feet and back ached and I had a headache. I wanted a break, but the company I work for only gives us a thirty minute lunch break. Around the halfway point of my shift, I felt like I wouldn't be able to make it through the day. During my lunch break I walked around, checking out the sales I couldn't afford to buy from. Nothing seemed good enough to be at the mall. I wouldn't have been there if I didn't have to be. I didn't get to sit during my lunch break, since all of the tables were full (including the outdoor ones). None of the customers were rude, but some really didn't understand the sale. Being around that many people for so long with no breaks was pretty bad itself. I'm grateful I didn't need any food from the food court, the lines were wrapped around. The reason I decided to write this blog is because I would love it if everyone treated each other well this holiday season, instead of being rude. The person working in the store may not have gotten a break, be working without holiday pay, have an empty stomach, sore feet, or be wondering how they are going to pay their rent. Please be kind to everyone you encounter.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving. Make sure to tell the people you care about that you're thankful for them.

How much should an author share?

I've been thinking a lot about how much I want to share with readers. As a writer I want to build a relationship with my readers. I want to let them know a little bit about my life and I also find myself wanting to consider them friends. I want them to feel comfortable commenting on my blog/twitter/facebook/socialmedia, but I also want to have a personal life. While it's easy for me to determine how much I would share with the people in my offline life, I find it hard to determine how much I should share with future readers. Should I tell them anything about my personal life? Should I tell them the bare minimum? Should I try to find a place in the middle where I talk a bit about myself? I'm not sure. I've seen authors who post things about their husbands and children. Should I post things about my boyfriend? What would I even post? It's hard for me to share a lot about myself to began with. I just feel awkward talking about myself. Even at a recent job interview. I think it's the reason I didn't get the job. Overall I think I just need to get more open to talking about myself.

Weekend Review: The Hunger Games Mockingjay part one

This weekend I went to see the Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 with my boyfriend. We were both fans of the previous movies, and I had read the books. I enjoyed the first two Hunger Games books more than I liked Mockingjay (though I did like that she ended up with who I wanted her too). As it turns out, I also enjoyed the first two movies more than this one. I found that this movie followed the book a bit closely (the only major difference was Effie played a larger part). There were parts of the movie that may not have made sense if you hadn't read the book. I had to explain at least three things to my boyfriend because he hadn't read the books. Things like who taught Katniss the song and why it was important. I also found her relationship with Gale to be almost non-existent in the movie. In the book he kept whining about her talking to other men, He even got jealous of Finnick, who was clearly the only person who could understand what Katniss was going through. Her relationship with Finnick was also lacking. He was one of my favorite characters in the book, but in the movie they never displayed him as the damaged man that he should have been. There also wasn't much action in this movie, and sadly, I think the cat may have been the most interesting part.



Two Out Of Three Stars