June Goals

June 1st is tomorrow so of course that means today I need to set goals. 😀

Reading: This is more of an overall goal for the summer, but I am way behind on my NetGalley books! So my hope is to get my feedback ratio up to 100%.  It’s currently sitting at around 60%.  Somedays it can be hard to read on the kindle, as hard copies of books are the best things ever, but no more procrastinating for me. Time to buckle down!   Besides that I would just like to stay ahead of my Goodreads goal.

Writing:  I’m really not sure what my goals are going to be for June. I’m in a writing slump. I’m trying to work on a lot of things but feeling stretched and a bit uninspired. I would really like to get something published this month. So here’s to editing and querying.

Blogging: I need to get back into a regular blogging routine. Something between every day and every four days would be nice. I’m hoping for every other day.

Life: Tomorrow I start an internship with the indie publishing company Patchwork Press! I’m super excited as I’ll be able to get experience editing and getting to see how a publishing company works.  And as always I’m working towards my goals from this post.

So that’s all for me! What are your goals for June? If you’ve written a post about it be sure to link it in the comments and I’ll check it out and comment. 🙂 

May Promoting Creativity – Topaz Winters

Hello Lovelies! I am so very happy to have the wonderful writer and poet Topaz Winters with me this month.

Tell us a little bit about what you do.

I have been known to do many things, including but certainly not limited to: reading, writing, music-making, cat-petting, wandering, wondering, whispering, photograph-taking, blogging, editing, kissing, dreaming, reminiscing, poem-ing, laughing, crying, aching, sighing, life-choice-questioning, word-spinning, hiding, seeking, soaring, falling, unreliable-narrating, listening for more.
When and why did you start writing?

Goodness, I have what I believe is perhaps the most boring origin story this universe could hold: I read far too many books as a child & wanted to create the same magic. I have been writing since I knew how to weave words together. I foresee no ending to speak of.
Tell us about a project that you are currently working on that has you really excited.

Ah – so many projects! It is difficult to narrow it down to just one, but if I must: I think it would be Half Mystic, the literary + musical journal at which I serve as the editor-in-chief. Our inaugural issue drops this month, and the journey to come here has been a whirlwind of joy & wonder. It seems that every time I turn a corner, there is a new, beautiful challenge to wrap my mind around: editing, formatting, marketing, so much more. Our team is, undeniably, the most dedicated & passionate one I could ever have hoped for – and the mental gymnastics involved with coordinating Issue I’s release has paid off to no end. I do not think I have ever been prouder to call a project my own.
What are some of your goals for the future?

Some days I feel as if I have so many dreams that my feet lose their grip on the earth. I would like to do & be & create everything. Write another novel. Record an album, once my hyperacusis has calmed down somewhat. Grow my blog, Six Impossible Things, and its already vibrant, blooming community. Chase more spoken word opportunities. Write so many poems & so many songs. Read everything. Travel everywhere. Meet the beautiful people who are endlessly supportive of my work. I could go on.
How can we support you?

At the moment, the best way that you may support me is through my Patreon page. The kindness of my Patreon supporters is the way I am able to bring so many lovely creations to life; I am a 100% independently supported artist, and Patreon helps me keep it that way. And: you receive some gorgeous perks. To-the-moment updates as I bring projects to life (a small hint: there are exciting things stirring beneath the surface as we speak!); a free short story written only for you; monthly care packages, a favourite with my current Patreon loves; monthly video calls with myself – and more. Patreon support is the most direct way to both help me keep my art alive, and to connect with me in the most intimate fashion. I would be so delighted to have you.

You can also follow Topaz on twitter.   Hope you all have a great day and be sure to check out all the links here! ❤ 

 

May Wrap-Up

Shhh don’t tell me May is almost over. 😛 Anyway here I am again with a monthly wrap-up.  I hope your month went well?  This month went really fast and the end sort of snuck up on me. I got very few of my goals done…Hopefully June will go better for me. 🙂

Reading: 16 of 20 books.  Here are some of my favorites, reviews will be coming within the next month. I’m so far behind on reviews I apologize.

 

Writing: Edited play, added about 1k to Alice in Wonderland retelling, edited Mourning and decided it was nowhere near ready to query, and I will be sending out the newsletter tomorrow.

 

Blogging: Didn’t blog every day.

Life: Started working as helper for great-grandmother, planned/panicked about summer, got 6th piercing.

 

In Which I Write About Rainbow Rowell

Yesterday I was able to find the book Carry On at my library and immediately freaked out and sat down to read it. Because of that I decided to do an entire post about Rainbow Rowell and how much I love her books.  You’re welcome. 😉

Once upon a time I was spending the night at my cousin’s house.  She, and some of her sisters and I were all chatting up in her room when suddenly I saw a book.  It was a pale green color and was titled Fangirl.  I had heard about this book and it sounded somewhat interesting so I reached over and took a closer look at it.  I ended up reading a few pages and was sucked in.  I think I finished the book about 24 hours later.

And thus began my love of all books written by Rainbow Rowell.   I  just love how she writes such real characters, the depth of them makes me feel like they’re people. Actual living breathing people.  With Fangirl I had never encountered a character that was so like me. Cath is an introvert, kinda awkward socially writer who’s trying to make it in the real world. Everything she felt or was feeling I had felt too. It’s not often I feel like a writer has been able to correctly capture introverts.

I also love how Rowell writes romance. And that’s saying a lot because I’m hugely critical of romance in stories. I usually dislike it. But so far, in each Rowell book I’ve read she’s moved me to tears. I can actually feel what the characters are feeling almost as if it’s happening to me. From Eleanor and Park which is a teenage love story to Landline which is about a marriage in crisis. Each book made me feel so deeply and ship the characters so much. 😀

Rainbow Rowell is my role model when it comes to being a writer. Someday I hope to be as great a writer as she is.  I hope that I am able to write intelligent, deep and moving characters. I hope that I can write plots that keep people on the edge of their seat. But most of all I hope that I am able to create characters that people can relate too and love for the rest of time.

Tell me about your favorite writer? Also there must be more Rowell fans in the house? 

Living With Anxiety

I found this tweet today and wanted to share it because I related to it so much and it also got me thinking about writing a blog post about my life with anxiety and depression. So this is a bit of a different topic today but I hope y’all don’t mind. 🙂

I started feeling from a very young age, as young as 9 or 10 that there was something wrong with me. That I was very possibly insane. My brain made me do silly things, things that other people didn’t do.  I knew that patterns helped me remember things, but also that I could get stuck in patterns. I knew something wasn’t okay.  As I grew older I realized I had anxiety (and depression but that’s another story) and this is just a little bit of what my life looks like.  I would like to note before I continue that not every day is my anxiety this bad, I go through ups and downs. 🙂

Life with my anxiety looks like me walking down the streets repeating to myself “Nobody’s watching you, nobody cares, you’re just another person.” Just so that I don’t panic and freeze up.

Life with my anxiety looks like celebrating little things. Like being able to order at a restaurant, looking at the waiter in the face and smiling like a normal person. Or being happy when I can talk to the person setting up my piercing appointment without crying or having a panic attack.

Life with my anxiety looks like needing my husband to tell me “Yes you did lock the door.” “Yes you did put the cats away.” And if he didn’t see me, being patient with me as I go to double check.  It can also look like him helping me relax and try to trust my brain that says “You’re pretty sure you locked the door, it’s going to be fine.”

Life with my anxiety is not being able to sleep at night.

Life with my anxiety is not having a regular period because my stress levels.

For me, coming to terms with my anxiety has been me acknowledging what’s wrong and then looking for ways to make it better.

My anxiety and general strangeness has never been diagnosed by a doctor. Someday I think it should be but I can’t afford going to doctors at the moment. Meanwhile this is my life and I’m learning how to cope as best as I can.
I’m so thankful to have a husband who cares for me so well and puts up with me. I’m so thankful for my mom and aunt who are always looking for ways to help me with natural remedies.

The Hired Girl – Historical Fiction Is The Best

Goodreads Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, just like the heroines in her beloved novels, yearns for real life and true love. But what hope is there for adventure, beauty, or art on a hardscrabble farm in Pennsylvania where the work never ends? Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart out into her diary as she seeks a new, better life for herself—because maybe, just maybe, a hired girl cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl could only dream of—a woman with a future.

Find on Goodreads and Amazon.

I found this book at the library and was immediately interested in it because of the cover. I started reading it then and there and was not disappointed.

The Hired Girl is turner from the start. Joan, our main character is a farmer’s daughter who longs for a better life. Her father has no use for her besides as a working woman, and Joan decides if she’s ever to get anywhere in life then she needs to make some money.  Unfortunately her father doesn’t agree. Joan is a spunky character, a bit childish sometimes but not in a bad way, in a way that’s understandable for her age.  She’s also smart and hard-working. I fell in love with her right away, feelings compassion and wanting her to be able to get a better life.

There were a couple of times that I thought I knew where the story was going, but the twists always surprised me. I greatly appreciated this.  I loved the topics that this book talked about, education for women, anti-semitism and more. I felt truly immersed in the world of 1911.

This book reminded me of how much I love historical fiction, especially in YA. I feel it gives people not only the chance to learn something new about history, but also not to look at history just as something in the past. But rather to look at it from a place of sympathy and realize we all can learn from the past.

I ended up giving this book four stars on Goodreads, I heartily recommend it to you all.