The Liebster Award #7 and Sunshine Blogger Award #4

The Liebster Award #7 and Sunshine Blogger Award #4

Four months ago, I tagged Allie at Of Rainy Days and Stardust Veins for this pair of tags, and a few weeks ago she tagged me right back. I’m not sure if that’s in violation of the rules, but here we are. XD

Rules:

  • Thank the blogger who nominated you. (Thanks, Allie.)
  • Display your award.
  • Answer the questions you were asked.
  • Nominate 5 bloggers.
  • Ask 6 new questions.
  • Let your nominees know they were nominated.

Questions:

1. What is your favorite kind of tea?

Um… unsure. I had Continue reading “The Liebster Award #7 and Sunshine Blogger Award #4”

Why I Read YA (even though it often stinks)

Why I Read YA (even though it often stinks)

Keeping on the trend of reading habit posts inspired by conversations, I wanted to discuss the value of YA fiction. Mainstream YA can get a lot of flack in conservative Christian circles, and for good reason. It’s often shallow, riddled with unnecessarily mature content, and contains little moral value for a young reader looking toward literature for characters to look up to, or even to gain a greater appreciation for the craft of writing. However, I still read YA and I still think that mainstream young adult novels—even those less solid books—have value of a non-literary variety. Here’s why. Continue reading “Why I Read YA (even though it often stinks)”

Reading for Writing: What Authors Should Read

Reading for Writing: What Authors Should Read

I’m guessing that everyone here is a reader. I’m also guessing that most of you authors began writing out of a love for reading. When you started, reading was a grand escape and a fun leisure activity, and you read whatever you wanted whenever you wanted, but now that you’re an author you hear people saying “Read these books to improve your craft!” “Don’t read those or you’ll take too much inspiration for your own books and write a copy!” and other dos and don’ts that could make reading less enjoyable. We start reading for writing instead of reading for reading, which has its benefits but also its drawbacks. Here’s what I personally think authors should read (hint: it’s pretty much everything) and why each category is beneficial. Continue reading “Reading for Writing: What Authors Should Read”

5 Reasons We Don’t Have Flying Cars (and the Worldbuilding Takeaways)

5 Reasons We Don’t Have Flying Cars (and the Worldbuilding Takeaways)

A couple of weeks ago, I had the strange idea to write a post about why we don’t have flying cars. “Well that’s random,” I thought. “Where in the world am I going to post that?” And then the idea rattled around in my head for a couple of days and I realized I could associate worldbuilding principles to my reasons for our current lack of flying cars. So… here we are. XD Continue reading “5 Reasons We Don’t Have Flying Cars (and the Worldbuilding Takeaways)”

Book Review: Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

Book Review: Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m going to start off by saying that I’m a Christian and thus don’t agree with the lifestyle choices of the LGBTQ+ community. I won this book in a giveaway, and if I had read the reviews to see that Once & Future had heavy LGBTQ+ themes, I probably wouldn’t have entered the giveaway at the time. However, I respect the individuals who identify with the LGBTQ+ community and decided to read this book out of a desire to better understand those individuals. Unfortunately, this turned out not to be the best book for that as the writing didn’t do the community justice (in my opinion, as an outsider). Continue reading “Book Review: Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy”