Titled: Title - Part 5

Yikes . . . you really build up a pile of good stuff after a while, even (especially) at university. They're beginning to burst out of my bookmarks . . . so it's time to share them!

Princess Princess - Basically one of the CUTEST lesbian comics you can find out there. Not only is it adorable, but it's also fun - it's short, but the plot is fantastic. Also, character development! You can read this in probably a half hour, so go read it! Now! Do it!

#SupportWNDB LGBTQIA+ Chat - Basically, a big chat with a bunch of LGBT+ authors about the writing industry and LGBT+ issues within it. Great talk, really. If you are an aspiring author like me who wants to include diversity into your work, especially of this variety - check this out! Might help give you some ideas, right?

Ambivalently Yours: Big in Japan - The primary point of this post actually stems from feminism and sexism, particularly as viewed by an outsider in Japan. It's an interesting post - it starts with the perception of Japanese fashion and leads into a group of men taking advantage of the customs of the country, and then into a discussion of empathy. But, don't take my word for it!

Pub Hub: Considerate Craft: Pitching Characters - A bunch of clear-cut advice when you're pitching a story about diverse characters. If I had to sum it up: just write a pitch like you usually would, and let the characters speak for themselves! Also, jokes. Stay away from the senseless jokes . . .
Anyways, I am not a publisher and I do not have the words to say this stuff any better, so go check this out!

The Militant Baker: How To Kick Ass on a Daily Basis - The Militant Baker is a pretty cool blog, which continues the trend these days about radical self-love, especially body love. How to Kick Ass on a Daily Basis is a great article to help get you on the way to loving yourself, and it's a great pick me up, too. Also: in case you're having a BAD day, check out this for all of your "shitty brain days"! It really helps!

O Human Star - Oh my gosh, guys - I think I'm in love. It's not hard to get me to fall in love with an LGBT story (because there are so few out there compared to other mainstream stories), but O Human Star is absolutely WONDERFUL. To sum it up very concisely: it's about robots, reincarnation, and a love story that struggles to be reborn. Go read it! Now!

The Art Assignment - I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. The Art Assignment is a show hosted primarily by Sarah Urist Green that goes into contemporary artists' studios and asks them about their work. Afterwords, the artist gives the audience an assignment, anything from "find a friend, find the exact middle point between you two, and meet there", to "crochet a giant rug out of your old clothes". It's an awesome show, and the results have been spectacular; check out the Art Assignment's secondary tumblr to see some of the results!

How long did it take me to write this Titled: Title post? More than a month. But these links, of course, are TIMELESS, and if it's a comic, I always link to the first page. So go! Explore! Crawl into the lovely world of the internet (beware, though: there be trolls out there).

Review: The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

“They think they’ve gone to heaven,” he says. “They don’t realize that means they’re dead.”

Matriarchy. Class. Monarchy. Those words evoke a lot of feelings for people, whether these factors influence them or not. And why shouldn’t they bring out these emotions? One of them defies the “norm”, another is a daily reality, and the final is a form of government many people aggressively protest. Yet all three come together in a beautiful dystopian novel, so beautiful because by my definition, it is not a dystopia at all. It’s a telling tale of politics and changed times and what happens when the system is warped. And among it all are an artist, a lovesick boy, and a king – a king meant to die.

Today, we’re looking at The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson.

***

These days, it seems like all of my good books come from Diversity in YA, and this is no exception. I put it on my wish list for my birthday and got it – but it was only on the sixteenth of this month that I finally finished it, approximately 30,000 feet above ground.

I mean, I was in a plane. But regardless.

I think what drew me to this book was the cover. They say never to judge a book by its cover, but I’ll admit, I do it all the time – which is WHY a good book cover is incredibly important if you’re trying to sell a book. The Fault in our Stars has an iconic cover. The Song of the Lioness series has beautiful illustrations. And Grasshopper Jungle is – well, Grasshopper Jungle. You know what I mean.

I do not know who designed the book cover, but I do know the intentions behind it, which you'd have to find out by reading the book. But it’s a grasping cover, one that makes you want to ask questions. Who is this girl? What are the lights that seem to come from within her skin? And by all means, who IS the Summer Prince?

Let me just say this: a cover that makes you ask, and a book that gifts you answers, is ALWAYS an A-plus combo.

***

Sometimes a narrative’s voice isn’t really noticeable . . . and sometimes, that’s okay. The voice is a 1^st person point of view from the perspective of June Costa, a waka living on the eighth tier of the pyramid city of Palmares Três. Due to her living on the eighth tier, she is considered somewhere between middle and upper class – most likely upper, due to her stepmother being an Auntie, or politician. And before you ask, her father is dead – her stepmother is married to her actual mother. Yay, LGBT representation!

Due to June’s position, both as an upper class person and a teenager, we get to see into a lot of thoughts in her head. Many of them have to do with her position above the other classes (particularly those classes who live on the verde, or poor area of the city), and on her opinions of others, like her fellow classmates. It’s a good view to have, because she is a person with a lot of things to think about and speak out about. After all, she is an artist, and most artists, I’ve found, have quite a bit to say.

Most YA books tend to have the same style, or at least as far as I’ve noticed. This is no exception; the character development is straightforward, the writing is clear, etcetera. Not much to say here except that I wish there was some more detail and clarification – I couldn’t follow along with some of the descriptions, especially when June was in the verde! I understand this is a tricky business because I have similar troubles myself, but it only becomes more evident with some of the maneuvers June has to do to get through the verde. More on this later, when I get to the spoilers.

***

June’s story begins with the selection of the Summer King in Palmares Três. Now, who is the Summer King, you ask? The Summer King is ritually selected to act as the queen’s “consort”, and he, after his term is over, will select the new queen. Now, this is normally pretty pointless, because the only person available in the room at the time of selection is, well, the queen.

“But T.J.!” I hear you saying. “Why can’t he just pick somebody outside the room? Can’t he just go and bring them in?”

Actually, no. He can’t – because his selection begins the moment his throat is slit. He has that time, until he dies, to select the next queen. Because that’s the thing about Summer Kings – they are picked to die at the end of term.

Now, why does this matter so much? Well, the new Summer King is named Enki, a boy from the verde, and June figures out very quickly that he is an artist. His art? I have no room to reveal that yet, but let’s just say that when June realizes this, she quickly works to make him her collaborator. After all, she has a bit of an award to win, and it’s not like she’s inconveniencing him – after all, he’s already made her best friend his own lover . . .

Not enough detail? No, too much, really. If you are still confused, you will find just about as much information on the back of the book as you will find in this review. Just believe me – the plot is a WHIRLWIND, and I love its progression. Believe me, it’s worth every penny.

***

Time for SPOILERS! If you don’t want to be spoiled, DON’T READ THIS NEXT PART! Skip to the end and you’ll know my verdict.

***

***

This isn't a typical dystopian/utopian novel – most dystopias become overturned, with the government/society being torn down and built anew. That does not happen in this book; in fact, the focus is not about overthrowing the government, but exposing its corruption, and later attempting to escape it. The end result is the repair and, one can only assume, the reparation of what went wrong – but I can’t go into that, even in the spoilers section.

***

I mentioned earlier that there was some LGBT content? I wasn’t kidding. There are TWO clear-cut LGBT couples in the book – June’s parents, and the Summer Prince’s relationship with June’s best friend, Gil. The book also demonstrates diversity in the obvious way, being that these are Brazilian persons with dark skin, even to the point where the Summer Prince, Enki, calls himself a negro for his deep, dark skin. Add to that the language bit, and there’s diversity flying out everywhere. There’s even a reference to when they attempt to sing in English!

I love diversity in books, no matter what it is. If you are looking for a YA diverse book – well, this is it!

***

Now, I’m going to go ahead and alert y’all to a potential trigger, because I know that I enjoy knowing about these sorts of things before I read books. About halfway through the book, you learn that before the events in the story, June’s father had taken his life – from what I could garner, and from what was described, he had fallen into depression and had filed for what my guess is euthanasia. Shortly after this, a character within the story takes his own life as well, although neither of the scenes are graphic, and neither character is young when this happens. The excuse is made that “oh, they were old, it was their time, technology makes us live too old anyways”, but then again, I don’t buy that bullshit. Take it as you will.

As for any other warnings, I would advise that there are two sexually explicit scenes, although the one isn’t so much “explicit” as much as it’s just obvious that somebody is doing the deed. I wouldn’t let these sway you, because it’s YA fiction anyways, but just in case you wanted to know. There are also two graphic deaths that take place, but neither of them are suicides, and the scene in which they die is rather short. The descriptions that come later are also graphic, but not to the same extent.

***

The one other thing that I can think of to mention is that I REALLY like that this was a matriarchy, and the problem wasn’t that it was a matriarchy – there was definitely some humanist arguments, but largely, the problem in and of itself was not that the rule was by women. Basically, you could’ve substituted a patriarchy in and the complaints would’ve been about the same.

I LOVE when writers do this. I love it when they go ahead and mess with the social order, and then show that by the way, it’s OKAY. It’s the same reason I read diverse books; it shows that it’s not the end of the world, and that it’s really not so different (i.e. bad) as people think it is.

***

***

Spoilers end here!

***

So how does the book do? Let’s return to the 10-point system.

Voice: 8/10. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, which is fine, but it also didn’t necessarily stand out to me. So it’s not bad, but there was room for improvement.

Style: 7/10. Still not seeing anything new, but it was still good, so thumbs up here. That being said though, points are lost with the lack of detail.

Plot: 10/10. This was really the high point of the book, that the plot was both predictable but also surprising to read. As I said, it’s not your average dystopia, and for that, I’m very grateful.

Readability: 9/10. It’s not a challenge, so it loses points, but either way, no problems here. Unless you’re going to throw a hissy fit over the occasional Portuguese, then I wouldn’t worry about it.

Average: 8.5/10. Seems fair enough to me, although I would maybe round that up to nine. After all, I took off points for the lack of challenge, which may just be a me thing.

So, would I recommend this book? A hundred percent I would! I adored this book, even though it took a little time for me, personally, to get through it (not because it’s long, but because university and finals are hard). It was a great spin on a typical story of its genre, but took the idea in a new direction by playing with core elements and eliminating the need for a total reconstruction at the end. Overall, if you need something to pass the time with on a couple of airline flights, The Summer Prince is one of the books I recommend a hundred percent!

To: The One That Got Away

I am posting twice in one day, whee! But I also want to post this before I regret it.

Watch this, and you will understand.

The following was my message.

***

It’s weird to address this to you, because this project is called “the one who got away”, and, well . . . I sort of let you get away. And that’s not your fault or mine or anybody else’s. It was time.

I still want to say I’m sorry though.

It’s been two years now. Everything that happened is a long lost and foggy memory now in the past. I remember I had a lot to thank you for, such as thinking that I am so much more amazing than I believe I am, but I also know that I was very sorry. Sorry for your bad back, very sorry for your mom, very very sorry for the distance between us. And that sucked. And I wish I had done more apologizing, although I’m sure you would’ve giggled and told me not to say that so much. And I, of course, would’ve smiled, just as I am smiling now.

I don’t mean to drag this out. So I’ll just go ahead and say it, and end with this: I am sorry for all the things I could not fix. But I also thank you. I thank you for helping me learn more about myself, and I thank you for being there for me even if I didn’t think that I needed you.

***

This was a fairly personal message for a very personal reason, but it was the first thing I thought of when I read the phrase, "The One That Got Away". And I mean it, really - she didn't get away. I let her leave. And hell, that's what matters, right?

I'm not going to give you the name or the details of who this was to and why, though I'm sure you can glean some information from the message I left. So please don't ask, alright? I will say, though, that this was my first Art Assignment, and I loved it. I feel at peace, weirdly enough, having read and done that.

This was a cathartic enterprise, even if spur-of-the-moment. So I suggest you take the video's advice and follow the same journey I did. If you're in Canada like me, add (1) to the beginning of the number, and you'll do fine. I hope this helps you as much as it helps me.

(Keep in mind that if you later come back to view this and find it's gone, it may be because I took it down, I'm already nervous sharing this, although I am glad for the anonymity at the moment.)

Project For Awesome! Get on it, Folks!

Imagine my surprise when I get up this morning, turn on my computer, and find that I have about a hundred more views on my blog than I did the day before! I'd posted my blog link on the P4A livestream, and somehow, more than a hundred people found it. Thanks, Nerdfighters! You know who you are.

What I want to quickly note today is the Project for Awesome. What is the Project for Awesome? To put it quickly: the Project for Awesome is a charity event run in the middle of December (hint: RIGHT NOW) to help support awesome charities that can help the world become a better place. The event is hosted on the website Project for Awesome dot Com, and right NOW is accompanied by a live stream run by Hank and John from the Vlogbrothers on Youtube (featuring additional guests). It is a fantastic event with a ton of awesome people coming together, so you should go check it out. Like . . . now. You can donate and support P4A right here on their Indiegogo campaign.

Now, I know you want to know: what did I donate? I donated about $125 to the Indiegogo campaign, NOT counting the matched money (at the time, they were matching additional money, so every dollar coutned as $2.50), so I ended up grabbing some perks like the Hanklerfish art, the Nerdfighter art, the Princess Bride commentary . . . I can't wait to see the latter, especially! So I hope that stuff motivates you!

In the meantime, hello and thank you to all of the Nerdfighters that are checking this out, and please do stick around! I'm not as active as I want to be right now due to school, but I do a lot of stuff like a series called Titled: Title, a group of fantastic reviews, and the work to be a great author someday. Doubt me? Just wait - one of my next posts will be about some of the work I've been doing lately.

DFTBA (don't forget to be awesome), and best wishes!

Avoiding Anger; AKA, Why I Write

The world is stupid, everybody. But then again, I think we all knew that.

The last few days have been totally bat-shit weird. I know I haven't been very active on this blog due to university taking a giant poop on me, but here are some of the events that I know people will be able to relate to:

• Sleeping past my alarm one day after the other, and having to rush to class with nothing more than a muffin/granola bar.
• Finding my dorm room incredibly cold, when my roommate doesn't even flinch.
• Having to get a form filled out by my doctor, only to learn that it was going to cost me MONEY (how the hell . . .?)
• Getting a "fuck you" from my body this morning, which, to keep it from TMI, I can only explain as being the reason for why the past few days have been my body's worst nightmare.

It sucks.

BUT LET'S IGNORE THAT AND DO A MEME ANYWAYS!

Super-Fabulous-Me has been following Gala Darling for the longest time, just so I can be even more super-fabulous. But, as she will tell you, it's not easy being super-fabulous all the time. So she blogs a TON about how to stay your super-fabulous self! Anyways, she did the Why I Write meme-thing that's been going around (apparently . . . I don't always keep up!), and I decided that it was the perfect meme for me, and I needed to do it. And hey, at the end, she tagged everybody who was reading. What a coincidence!

. . . okay, so I needed an excuse to do this. But screw it. Girls just wanna have fun!

WHAT AM I WORKING ON?

Right now, my consistent project is a fanfiction called Moments of Polarity, which is about my OC Alexei. Alexei is a polyandrous and genderfluid shinobi, who has to deal with issues like war, acceptance, death, and forgiveness. I'll let you guys guess at what it's based off of (Hint: It recently ended in controversy).

Besides that, I have some backburner projects in my head - I want to do a revamp of my Project: Chant, and I want to start working on an anthology examining different sexualities and gender identities. Oh, and in and amongst this, I'm working on Pathfinder backstories. Someday, I will be a GM . . .!

HOW DOES MY WRITING DIFFER FROM OTHERS IN ITS GENRE?

I am, for the most part, a fantasy writer. I have a heavy focus on religion and diversity, which may not be surprising until you realize that I work within the contexts of the religions that already exist - Project: Chant involves the main character attempting to distance herself from a religion that she doesn't fully believe in, Christianity, as well as acknowledging the internal flux and violence within a religion of my own making, Tamesism. Project: Faith is clearly based off of Christian ties, though it will also need a reworking once I begin to learn more about Christianity; it also works off of the main character being a lesbian, which is explored in a great part of the book because - by the way - there's a side romance involving another woman who happens to return her feelings.

Besides that, I think my writing tends to delve into the poetic more than other fantasy writers? Although I'm not going to claim that too quickly . . .

WHY DO I WRITE?

Mostly because I can't help it. I have a mind that likes to run a thousand miles a minute, and I'm so often coming up with insightful and serious phrases that I have no choice but to record somewhere. Right now, my shelf has ideas and quotes scribbled onto Post-It notes hanging off the hardwood, and I have a small booklet that I'm writing in to record my ideas. Most recent thoughts: some interesting facts about color that I discovered.

Again, though, I think lots of writers write because they have no god-be-damned choice in the matter. It's either that, or lets the ideas float around in your head. After a while, it starts getting cramped up there.

(You could also make an argument several years ago that I wrote, especially during this month, so I could try and push my thoughts away from the nastiness that began in my past at the beginning of November, in seventh grade. But that's another story for another time.)

HOW DO I WRITE?

I open my laptop, boot up whatever word processor I feel most comfortable with at the moment, and I start clacking away. Right now, Moments of Polarity is being written in Word, but many of my projects have started off in Scrivener, one of the best writing programs I've found. Sadly, it is an expensive program, but my method was to use the trial for a month of NaNo, win, and buy it with the 50% discount offered. It's worked for me before.

I almost always write with music on my headphones, and I often write at nighttime, when my brain is less focused on the events of the day and more focused on whatever the hell I want to do next.

HOW DO I GET PAST WRITER’S BLOCK?

Great question! I've been trying to answer that myself for the last several years. I no longer remember how long ago it was, but I dropped into a bin with writer's block and could only make real progress if I was writing a novel-long piece. Thankfully, I seem to be escaping that hole now that I'm at university and able to bat around different ideas, but regardless, that's been the longest and most painful period of writer's block I've ever had.

How to deal with it on a daily basis, though? I do a couple of different things, but it mostly boils down to either avoiding the work for a little bit until I get an idea, or forcing myself to sit down and write my way through it. Both techniques work depending on what the problem is, but they vary beyond that simple formula.

I PASS THE BATON TO…

I really want to tag Austin Kleon for this, but unfortunately, I can't find a way to reach out to him without feeling like I'm being a bother. Of course, though, whoever is reading this can go ahead and do it as well - I'm curious!

Hugs and kisses all around, as well as some hot cocoa and blankets. It's COLD out there!

Coming Out Day!

It's October 11th - Happy Coming Out Day! Please pretend that every word in that sentence wasn't actually capitalized - my inner grammar nazi is flipping its shit.

It wasn't until a few minutes ago that I realized that I should probably type something up about today, even if it was short. After all, I have not been shy in admitting my orientation; now that I'm at university, I'm not even trying to hide it at all, for the most part. I sort of feel like I have a duty to talk about it, and I suppose I might as well. I have the time.

***

First off, I should point out that every day is Coming Out Day. I mean, let's face it. I came out in mid-August 2012, and sort of did it again about just a week past (apparently my mom thought I was more bi than I actually am. Go figure).

Second, Coming Out Day is not a requirement for those who are LGBT+. Anybody out there feeling like they need to/should've come out today, don't beat yourself up - come out when you feel ready to. No need to present pressure.

This begs the question . . . the fuck is the point of an official Coming Out Day?

Unity, I suppose; knowing that other people are coming out today too. Perhaps awareness, showing that the LGBT+ community is unafraid. Not only that, but if somebody comes out to you, it might create more closeness; if you come out to somebody and they reject you, it's an awakening. I guess those could happen any other day of the year, but eh. Who am I to complain? The fact that we recognize it is important enough.

I think the act of coming out is very personal, no matter how you do it. It can be very anxiety-inducing, depending on the situation. I should know - I am lucky enough to have accepting parents and brothers, but I was very scared when I first told my mom about the girlfriend I'd made just the night before. The fact that she was so accepting was a relief, but I know that others aren't so lucky. Some are ignored. Some are tossed out of their homes. Some are killed.

In some ways, coming out can be the bravest thing somebody can do. It's an act of honesty, and an act of trust. If it goes wrong, if it turns into a Big Deal (TM) . . . there can be major consequences.

So in a way, Coming Out Day can help boldster the bravery and strength of those coming out; it shows them that they are not alone, that others are doing the same thing, and that their action is noted and noticed. That can make this day so, so important, and it shouldn't be overlooked. It matters. It matters, and it doesn't just matter to those who come out; it matters to those who are come out to, as well.

If you have been come out to: accepting that your son, daughter, husband, brother, sister, father, mother, husband, wife, or friend is LGBT+ may be tough. It may go against all of your ideas, it may radically twist them up and shake them out like wet laundry. But don't think of it as bad. Instead, please thank them - thank them for their honesty, for their goddamn bravery. And if you can't find the will to do that within yourself . . . then at least respect them. Respect them, and do not throw them out.

It's hard to find friends who are brave enough to stand up and admit that they defy the norms forced upon them. And the LGBT+ community - it's one of the bravest I know.

Have a good Coming Out Day, everybody.

Titled: Title - Part 4

I'm sitting in my university dorm with a too-hot cup of tea next to my computer and my toes turning into icicles. I swear, at some point I'm going to write my professor an email reading, "I'm sorry I wasn't at class today, because I know we were supposed to talk about the concept of hell today, but I stepped outside and I'm pretty sure this is it. Good day."

...not to say I don't like my university. It's wonderful. I have great classes and a good dorm and easy-to-access meals, so while it's fucking freezing and I'm sure I'm ready to get frostbite (IN SEPTEMBER), I'm really enjoying myself. Honestly, besides the cold, I have few complaints.

But anyways, I know I haven't been posting regularly as of late, but I did want to share with you some of the stuff I found in the last few weeks. Here:

Who Should Decide What High School Kids are Allowed to Read? - a continuation of the debate about The Miseducation of Cameron Post. I could go into a whole rant about this at this point, but I think you should just check my tag for it and just take it from me: this is a complex issue. But yeah, this was a good refresher, and I'm glad it was posted - I don't think we should forget about this quite yet.

Publishers Gave Away 122,951,031 Books During WWII - I found this shortly after I found the article above. Can you believe this?? It's rather inspiring, especially the part about The Great Gatsby. As a writer, I'm really interested in the history of books and what gets people interested in literature. After all, I'm a reader, too (although as I stare at my desk-library of books, I get the strange feeling that I'm not quite living up to it at the moment). Anyways, read it - it's a great historical analysis of what got us back into literature.

Chester 5000 XYV - Yes, I know exactly what I'm discussing when I show this off. Chester 5000 XYV definitely has a plot that is meant for 18+ viewers, so I will let you discover it yourself, but I will note this: even if you put the mature content aside (which, really, is the whole reason some people might read it), the plot is fucking wonderful and worth a good look.

Tripping Over You - Take an extroverted dork. Then take a shy but intelligent student. Mash them together and it sounds like heaven, right? Here's the catch - they're both boys. And man, does that make for a great story. Just read it - it'll have you gushing from the cuteness before you can even properly register. Pro Tip: after reading each page, hover your mouse over it. Most of them have secret text.

A Little Known Hack from Japan to get your Notebook Organized - I haven't begun to use this because I'm a little busy right now, but this is a system that allows you to easily tag your paper notebooks so you can find thing easily and accurately. My take on it? When I sketch, I often add notes about my characters, and I've often made new characters right on the spot, right in my notebook. One of my new characters, Alexei, has almost all of her initial development right in my sketchbook! So if you want to mark which pages have character notes, certain characters in particular, random ideas, equations, etc . . . this might be worth the effort. Pro Tip: I think colored markers would make this even more visually workable.

Ms. Bardugo and the Anon Wang - Overall one of the best responses about diversity and the opposition to it. Of course, it's LGBT related, because what else would I discover? Pro Tip: This is why you do not demand to have a say in what writers write.

Why Foxes Get Respect in Japan - I found this page in the midst of looking up information about Inari, a Shinto god from Japan. Why? Err, cultural tie-ins with my fanfiction work. Nonetheless, this is an interesting read with interesting art to match. Pro Tip: Read about the kitsune and realize how badly Westerners translate Japanese mythology sometimes.

I really don't have much more to say than that! Just remember, if you ever feel like you're life's too busy . . . think of what it's like for a first-year university student in a foreign country. Then you might feel better, eheh.