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Sequel in the Works

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DAY 291 - 26/18/10 - My debut novel, Legacy of Revia: Siblings of Fire,  is almost ready for publishing. I recently submitted the formatted manuscript and the cover. I'm currently waiting on physical proof copies. Once I get those and check them, my book will be ready for distribution. Lord willing, I shall meet my publishing deadline of mid-November. I may even be able to sell my book in person at a few book fairs. So, What's Next? Anyone who read my latest  monthly newsletter knows that I am currently writing my book's sequel .  I am up to chapter two.   Imagine that. I have yet to officially publish my first book and I'm already shifting my focus to the second. The sequel will continue the story of Revia , following the main characters, several months after the events of the first novel. Why Write a Sequel? I've been considering this ever since I made it to chapter eight of book one. As I was typing, I began to think, "There's not gonna be enough space ...
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My Entertainment is Not Entertaining

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DAY 252 - 26/9/9 - Lately, it's been hard to do anything without thinking about my book. People ask me, "How was your weekend," and I say, "I found a formatter and I'm working on the cover reveal." Then the y ask, "Anything else?" "Yep, I watched the sunset with a friend, and that reminded me of my fourth chapter." Much of my life keeps  relating to my work, even the movies and books I choose for entertainment. Everything I read and watch makes me think of my work. I saw  Project Hail Mary  (2026) for the first time, and I didn't enjoy it. I wanted to think, "Look how cool outer space is. And such a unique musical score!" But nope. My mind kept thinking, "This narrative keeps its tension low by staggering its moments of suspense, which allows the film to be a low-stress experience." I was too busy thinking about how others might take in this movie for me to take it in for myself. This keeps happening, especially wi...
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Are We Afraid of SPOILERS!

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DAY 230 - 26/18/8 - Spoiler alert! There will be no spoilers in this post. I didn't know about the whole "no spoilers" thing, until I started watching the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After that, I couldn't watch something without people telling me, "I didn't see it yet. No spoilers." Initially, I thought this meant, 'They just don't want me to tell them the ending,' but that was a mistake. I realized my error when I told a friend what my favorite part of a movie was. "Ahh! You spoiled it," she screamed. "No, I didn't. That was at the beginning of the film." Her response shocked me. "You spoiled that it was the only fun part! Now I know the movie is bad." That's when I realized how serious some people take their spoiler warnings. Roger Ebert, a renowned film critic, wrote this about spoilers in 2006: "Spoiler warnings" on Web-based movie reviews are a shorthand way of informing the reader that a ...
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Summer Reading—Relaxing or Rigorous

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DAY 201 - 26/20/7 - Growing up, I was never a fan of summer reading. I didn't mind reading during autumn or winter, but summer was for climbing trees and playing with sticks.  If all I read on vacation were the plaques at museums, then that would be enough for me. I wanted adventure, so I dreaded the moment  when Mom would sit me down and put a book in my hand. That's how I'd always know when summer was over—blue skies blocked by a required schoolbook .  After I graduated, I could choose what I wanted to read, but not necessarily when I wanted. These days, I don't read for grades. I read to get more books. My local library holds a summer reading BINGO. If I read a certain type of book, I can check off its corresponding square. Some are easy, such as "reread your favorite." Last year, these squares led me to some amazing novels. I didn't know how much I'd appreciate Act I of Little Women.  However, I was underwhelmed by this romance I did for "genr...
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None of Us Were There—To Dismiss Written History

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DAY 188 - 26/7/7 - The summer heat sizzled on the library's sidewalk, and the gentleman I was talking with wasn't satisfied with my answer. He and I were walking in a crowd that just watched the movie musical 1776 . The story ended on a somber note, which confused me. The gentleman, however, crossed his arms and said, " We can't be sure how those events happened." I gladly replied, "We can. The founding fathers wrote letters and there are a ton of corroborated accounts about that first Independence Day." The gentleman stopped. Without emphasis, he said, "Well, none of us were there." He shook my hand and walked off. "None of us were there." What a silly comment. Of course, none of us were there, but what does that prove? Are we unable to know what happened at an event simply because we didn't experience it? The logic is absurd, and I'll demonstrate that through these hypothetical texts: DAN: Hey babe. How is the concert? MARG...
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Frieren x Family—The Mind of an Anime Character

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DAY 159 - 26/8/6 - I was working retail the other day, and a customer came up to me. He asked me a couple questions about our store. I was more than happy to answer, but he had a lot of questions. After a while, another customer got in line behind him, so he finished and left. The next customer then said to me, "You know he was giving you attitude." That stunned me. If he was being irritable, I wouldn't have minded, but I didn't know if he was. I couldn't tell what his intentions were, and the whole scenario got me wondering just how much I'm missing when others are speaking. "What did they truly mean?" That's the mystery at the heart of it. "What were they saying behind their words?" It's a question many have pondered. When we hear others talk, when we read a friend's message, or when we see someone make a face at us, we often think, "What did they actually mean?" Lately, I've been thinking about this too, especia...
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My Novel and My Music (featuring one of my book's characters)

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DAY 152 - 26/1/6 - I can't whistle. Spent a lot of years trying, but I've yet to have success. Because of this, I've often wondered, "What am I supposed to do while I'm working?" The answer: Listen to Spotify, of course.  The music I listen to helps me stay focused, and it inspires my creativity. I'd like to tell you more, but I want to go beyond just writing about it. So, to liven things up, I've asked someone special to help me out. This topic is of great importance to her, because these songs made her the character she is. Without further ado, let me introduce you to an amazing fictional woman, who goes by the name of...   No! You can't say it. That would ruin it.   Oh. You're right. I guess I got excited about my readers meeting you.   Well, save it for when the book comes out. For now, no names.   But, who do I tell them you are?   How should I know? You'll think of something.  [10 sec. Pause] Or maybe you won't. Should we  get on ...
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