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Today's topic, as I participate in this weekend's WriteOnCon, is another Top Ten Tuesday prompt: books I read because of the hype. Originally, I was the kind of person who avoided hyped books. I don't do that anymore, thank goodness! I do read a lot of YA,. Most traditionally published YA novels are on my TBR as soon as they sell to a publisher. But I might fast-track my reading of a book or add one to my list that I was uncertain about (or one that isn't YA) if I'm seeing a lot of hype about it online. Here are ten examples:  1) The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. Holly Black's past work hasn't really been for me--tricky fae amorality doesn't fit well with my personality. But this YA fantasy trilogy has been EV. ER. Y. WHERE. in the YA lit world, and one of my trusted friends recommended it. So in December 2019, I read the first book. I enjoyed how passionate and intriguing it is, and I look forward to where the the story goes!
2) Wilder Girls by Rory Power. This YA sci-fi horror novel was already on my TBR, but when I saw all the hype about it after its release, I bumped it up and read it earlier than I might have. In October 2019, it became one of my recommended books--brilliant, fascinating stuff. 3) The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson. If it was released nowadays, this YA fantasy trilogy probably would've already been on my TBR, but in 2014, I was new to Goodreads and not yet following book deals on Publisher's Weekly. Later, I heard how popular it was, and I gave the first book a read in October 2019. I liked it!
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Hey, friends! This blog post idea is taken from the Top Ten Tuesday archive. It's a thought that's never really occurred to me before, but it marries two of my favorite things: fictional characters and social media. I'm excited to get into it!  1) Wanda Maximoff (MCU). Since she's my current favorite, this pick is unsurprising. I'd love to follow her adventures with the Avengers in real time and get more of an insight into her life and her personality. I imagine her being an Instagram kind of person.
2) Vision (MCU). As the other half of my Avengers OTP, Vision is another obvious choice here. In all honesty, I'd probably follow all of the Avengers, because I love them, but these are the two I doubt I'd ever unfollow, even if their feeds somehow became boring. I imagine Vision being active on Twitter. 3) Newt Scamander (Wizarding World). I don't know how he'd do on social media, seeing how socially awkward he is, but I adore Newt. I'd at least have to check his feed out. I can imagine him posting lots of videos and pictures of magical animals on YouTube or Instagram (if that weren't illegal and technologically impossible in his time). His granddaughter-in-law Luna would also be an interesting one to follow! It's time for my February "taking stock" update! You can review January's update here.  Reading: Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves
Writing: blog posts and diary entries Editing: #OCDStory, at page 175 Watching: That Chapter and other channels on YouTube Playing: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery Earworming: "Blinding Lights" by the Weeknd, thanks to me reviewing last month's post Following: most recently on Twitter, Maddie Williams Wearing: a grey long-sleeved dress with pockets and black cat cameo earrings Eating: a new 45-day diet via Viome with more protein in it Smelling: pumpkin seeds Hearing: cat snores Seeing: Today, we're looking through my diaries for the events of my life that occurred on February 1st throughout the years. I don't think I've done the first of any month before, so that's kinda cool! For anyone interested, the previous installment (September 7) can be found here.  February 1st, 2000, Five Years Old
I drew a picture of my doll "Carm" outside a little house. No February 1st entry in 2001, 2002, or 2003. February 1st, 2004, Nine Years Old My youngest brother threw up. I worked on making valentines for my friends. February 1st, 2005, Ten Years Old I had a fight with one of my friends--no details written about it. February 1st, 2006, Eleven Years Old I was somehow "off schedule" and not interested in writing much. However, I'd gotten some beta reader critiques on #DragonStory and an invitation to my best friend's birthday party that I put in my journal.  I don't recall having much trouble with time management in my life before now. (Keep in mind that my chronic illnesses have wiped a lot of my memory, so that's worth taking with a bit of salt.) However, since descending into severe chronic illness and then a little ways out again, I've been struggling. It's kind of funny because my chronic fatigue means I'm much more limited by my energy than by time, unlike most people, but of course, any change in life means adjustments to how you manage time.
When I became extremely ill in 2016, I was so low on energy that I couldn't do much with my time besides sleep, watch Netflix, and scroll through social media. (I also did read books and do a little writing, both in a lower amount than before.) By the time I started improving, I was almost running out of movies/TV to watch, which is not a common complaint. I was also very thoroughly entrenched in social media. I've always loved it, after all, ever since I first illicitly joined Facebook in high school. I love being able to interact with others through writing, which comes more naturally to me than in-person interactions, and I love learning from and enjoying content from people all over the world. Social media is perfect for someone like me, and with my disabilities, it's become most of my social life as well. It's proven to be pretty effective at keeping me from feeling lonely or isolated. However, as my illnesses have improved, making it possible for me to spend more time on editing and writing and the like, social media in particular has become an issue. Most people aren't active on six different social media websites--with two profiles on one of them and three on another. I've been loathe to let go of my beloved social media, with how much I enjoy it, but time management, like life with chronic illness, is all about prioritizing. Social media is a priority for me, and a pretty low-energy one at that. But keeping up with my reading is an even higher priority, and I've been struggling there (well, struggling for me). Church, writing, and editing are also higher priorities for me than social media. As of this week, it's been a year since I opened my online freelance editing business Kira B. Edits. It's been an interesting and enjoyable experience, and today, I wanted to talk about what I've learned.  Editing is something I've long enjoyed, just like writing. I went into college vaguely thinking I might become an editor for my day job, although my main dream has always been marriage, kids, and a career as a novelist. (I wasn't sure anyone could really succeed as an editor outside of NYC, though, which did not seem likely to suit me.)
While at Adams State University (the college I attended my freshman year), I was hired as the head copy editor of the school paper. I enjoyed that job a lot more than I'd expected to. I like being able to work fairly independently and on my own schedule, and I love the feeling of fixing up written text so that the words and ideas flow. I was definitely a beginner in terms of style rules (and comma rules), but I felt the job suited me. When I transferred to BYU-Idaho, I decided to try going freelance as both a copy editor and copy writer on Fiverr. At the time, I was not aware that you were supposed to register yourself as a business when doing that sort of thing, but I didn't make taxable income anyway. In fact, I was quite underpaid, and that combined with the stress of copy writing led me to quit that job after a summer. All right! It's time for my monthly update, given through a series of "-ing" verbs. Here's what's up in my life this January. (You can review December here.)   Eating: grapes and jicama
Wearing: a dark green long-sleeved dress with pockets Reading: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Writing: blog posts and diary entries Editing: #OCDStory, at page 153, and some freelance projects Listening: to my latest jam, "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd Watching: the last few episodes of The Clone Wars Bookmarking: most recently, some resources for my job with Scribbr Playing: not June's Journey anymore, because I decided it was a (delightful) timesuck Wanting: my dinner Wishing: my body wasn't so invested in its sleep time Deciding: what changes to make to #OCDStory Admiring: how adorable my cat is Enjoying: my life Hoping: to accomplish my 2020 resolutions I forgot to post this on Wednesday as I'd planned! Sorry about that. Here are the twenty-five funniest posts I saw on the Internet during the last three months, plus one video and a bonus link. Enjoy them!.  It's time for me to share the most interesting and useful posts I came across online during the last three months. Check it out! First, in animals in need, the tweet pictured below has been making the rounds:  The next image shares websites of many different groups that help people in need of financial support for their sick/injured pets.
Welcome to 2020! Today marks not only the beginning of a new year but also the beginning of a new decade. I started this blog in mid-2012, which doesn't quite bring us to a decade ago, but there's still a lot of content here to explore if you'd like to review. A good place to start is with my past resolutions!
New Year's Resolutions January Humor and New Year's Resolutions Top Ten Tuesday: New Year's Resolutions New Year's Resolutions 2017 New Year's Resolutions 2018 New Year's Resolutions 2019 For me, this decade was largely marked by illness, with 2010 being the year that I first started seeking help for my developing fibromyalgia. According to my journals, I started showing possible signs of interstitial cystitis as early as 2013, with chronic fatigue syndrome and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome possibly making their appearances around 2015. In mid-2016, I became ill enough that I could no longer perform substantial gainful activity, which continues today, although I saw a great deal of improvement after visiting Mayo Clinic in 2017. It's been an adventure, that's for sure! ​​​Now we've got the Roaring 20s ahead of us. As we move into 2020, it's time to share the books I'm most looking forward to that release during the winter quarter! These picks will be published between January and March. Check them out, and if any catches your eye, add it to your reading list.  1) A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer. This YA fantasy novel continues the story started in a favorite read from 2019, a Beauty and the Beast retelling that crosses between our world and a cursed fantasy world. The sequel will move past the retelling into new territory and promises some drama, too! It releases on January 7th.
2) Hollow Dolls by MarcyKate Connolly. This MG fantasy novel from the dark and whimsical MarcyKate Connolly features a mind reader who discovers a man with two minds--one the original and one a bodywalker. This book also releases on January 7th. For my second best of 2019 list, I've decided to broaden things a bit. Instead of just sharing the new movies and TV shows I enjoyed most this year, I'm going to share all sorts of different content from this year (besides YA novels) that I recommend! Please enjoy, and have a happy Christmas if you celebrate! Books1) Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia. This five-star MG fantasy novel takes the Rick Riordan formula and adapts it using a combination of West African mythology and black American folklore to astonishing effect. I've never read anything that better depicts the incredible power of stories or the harrowing echoes of history. This is one of those books where I, as a writer, cannot understand how a human mind formed it, and I think everyone should read it. Movies 2) Captain Marvel (PG-13). Going into this, I was thrilled to have a female-led film from Marvel at last but also worried that Carol Danvers would prove to be too much of a tough, stereotypical Strong Female Character for me. Luckily, that was not the case! Though Carol is physically strong, a part of the Armed Forces, and a tomboy type, she also has a lot of personality--plenty of sass and wit to hook me in. Though Wanda Maximoff will probably always be my top Marvel girl, Carol Danvers has a solid place in the lineup. This movie also expresses an important and relevant political message, and there's a cat! Every movie should have a cat.
3) Spider-Man: Far From Home (PG-13). This movie raises some questions about Tony Stark's wisdom (or lack thereof), but it's also such a delightful story for the YA crowd that I can't leave it off this list. It captures that high school/teen spirit perfectly and provides some fun twists, as well as Marvel's usual top-notch characterization. The villain has the most fantastic flamboyant vibe, there's a stunning CGI sequence in the middle, and the Spideychelle ship sets sail in adorable fashion. All in all, this is a great movie to push the MCU past the Infinity Saga and into a new phase. 2019 is coming to a close, which means it's time for my end-of-year lists! First, today, I'm sharing my picks for the best YA books of 2019. Naturally, I have not read every YA book that was released in 2019, but these are my favorites from the ones I have read. If Goodreads had a half-star system, these books would be rated 4.5 stars or more! So please check them out, and enjoy.  ContemporarySince the Skywalker Saga will be ending next week when The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters, today I'm sharing my twenty-five most favorite Star Wars fanart pieces! I'm only sharing pieces for which I can find an artist. You can click on each image to go to the source. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! The Prequel Trilogy "Qui-Gon" leilei709 I've decided to start doing these "taking stock" updates on a more regular basis. I think they'll be more meaningful when there's more context. (Besides, they help me get my blog queue filled up. 😉) So here's the update for December as told through a variety of "-ing" verbs.   Eating: out at Twister's Burgers and Burritos for a
family party Wearing: a long sleeve dark green dress and pearl jewelry Smelling: hints of chocolate and peppermint Reading: Suggested Reading by Dave Connis Writing: blog posts and diary entries Editing: #OCDStory, at page 105 Listening: to The Nutcracker as played by the Bonn Classical Philharmonic Earworming: "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey Watching: The Mandalorian, a handful of CW shows, and The Clone Wars Bookmarking: most recently, a couple of potential jobs Playing: June's Journey and other game apps Looking: forward to Christmas I'm always shocked, somehow, when the weekend arrives! It feels like this year has been moving so quickly. Perhaps that's just what happens when you're chronically ill and have a simple life spent mostly at home. 😋  Today, I want to talk about an epiphany I had when I was writing this blog post. In the post, I wrote about trunking #ProphecyStory and the bright possibilities I saw moving forward in my writing career. As I did so, I suddenly realized why it's taking me so long to write something good enough to get a literary agent.
A little while back, I wrote a different blog post about how my books have lacked the originality necessary to succeed on the market. At that point, though there are reasons why I'm glad my career hasn't taken off yet, I was feeling fairly discouraged. I kept thinking, How can I be such a slow learner in my writing career when I've always been a fast learner in everything else? But now I understand that it's not an issue of being a slow learner. I've likely been learning and improving at a decent enough pace. The problem is that I wasn't writing in the way that works best for me. I've known for a long time that, when it comes to writing advice, the cardinal rule is that you need to do what works for you. Not every piece of writing advice will be right for every writer, though most advice has its place. What I didn't realize was that this doesn't always come naturally. You have to put in effort to find the way that works for you, and it won't always be the first way you try. You have to test it. You have to apply those pieces of writing advice and see if they improve your work.
Thanksgiving is coming up on Thursday, so today I'm sharing my yearly gratitude list!
Like last year, I'm thankful for my friends, my family, and my cats.
I adore my Spartacus as much as ever!
As a disabled rights supporter who follows many activists, I sometimes see posts online talking about "inspiration porn" and how it's ableist. For a long time, I didn't totally understand why. But I do now, and I thought it would be a good idea to talk about it here on my blog. So let's get into it! What is inspiration porn? Inspiration porn exploits disabled people and their accomplishments in order to inspire abled people. Though it may seem harmless at first, these articles, images, and posts contribute to the distorted vision of disability that we have in our society.  Why is inspiration porn ableist?
There are a few different reasons why inspiration porn is damaging to disabled people. First, it focuses on a person's disability to an extent and in a way that is dehumanizing. While disabilities are a real part of life and can have a significant impact, it's important to always remember the human living with the disability. Instead of constantly focusing on what makes them different, talk about the things that make them relatable! Second, inspiration porn ignores the fact that disabled people are always achieving amazing things, just like abled people. We aren't as incapable or as unusual as society often thinks. We have our own interests and dreams and ambitions, and we're out there making things work every day. Third, the central message of inspiration porn is that "if this disabled person can do it, anyone can do it." This sets up a weird conflict between abled and disabled people where abled people are always supposed to be better and more achieving than us disabled people. If they aren't, that means they're failing. How messed up is that? Hey, everyone! Recently I wrote a post listing middle grade novels that I recommend. As I was writing this post, it occurred to me that I could also offer some good picks for younger YA readers. Young teens, around the thirteen/fourteen age, are often overlooked in the publishing world, but it is super important for them to have good books to read as they transition from middle grade to young adult literature. For me, this transition was a really big deal. I wasn't ready for older teen books that had sexual content or that delved into darker issues, so I struggled at first. I'm really grateful for all the softer/younger books that helped me get into reading YA lit. Without them, I may have never had the chance to fall in love with the category! With that in mind, I present to you my picks for transitioning young YA readers. Don't forget to also check out that middle grade post! I included a few book series there that transition from middle grade to YA as the story progresses, and they would also be good picks for this age group.  1) The Giver by Lois Lowry. People don't really seem to be sure whether this one is MG or YA, which makes it a good pick for this post. It does star an MG-aged character, but it also addresses many serious topics that may push it towards YA. As the series progresses, it quickly moves into definitive YA territory. Wherever you choose to categorize it, this sci-fi/fantasy series about a a broken, multi-dystopian future is both thought-provoking and beautiful. I've loved it for years and years, and I absolutely recommend it for young teens.
2) Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz. As a young teen, I was a big fan of Anthony Horowitz's work. I first discovered him through the Alex Rider series, a YA thriller about a fourteen-year-old boy who becomes a spy for the UK after his uncle's suspicious death. It's an intelligent and fascinating series--I even wrote a post here about similar books that fans might like. I also loved Horowitz for The Gatekeepers, a YA fantasy series about five gifted teens who have to take on a horde of ancient, eldritch monsters to save the world. Though these books have some intense and violent parts, they're well-suited to a young YA audience. Coming in on the heels of last week's more in-depth update, today I'm sharing another Taking Stock of My Life update, where I answer a variety of -ing questions!   Eating: a bit of chocolate!
Drinking: my usual water Wearing: a navy "Current Mood [Low Battery]" t-shirt and black skirt Smelling: not a whole lot, since I have a cold Reading: Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger Writing: blog posts and diary entries Editing: #OCDStory, at page 79 Listening: to some of Taylor Swift's latest work Earworming: "Kill This Love" by Blackpink Watching: a Star Trek movie that's overdue at the library 😬 Bookmarking: nothing new recently Playing: the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets video game with my brother Wanting: to not have a cold anymore Wishing: for a better world |
Kira BrightonI’m an unpublished YA novelist, a freelance editor, a sci-fi/fantasy fangirl, and a chronic illness sufferer. Stories are my life! Popular PostsWhy I Hate James Pat...
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