Snippet Sunday is a weekly post in which you share a snippet from your current writing project. This snippet is from Scarred Flawless, (my YA fantasy novel).
“Blood magic was a vile, twisted thing that never failed to make him ill–Cobalt or no Cobalt.”
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and allows us to combine our love of books with our love of lists. This week’s topic is, “My Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2019”.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and is designed to combine two great things: books and lists. This Week’s topic is…
Snippet Sunday is a weekly post in which you share a snippet from your current writing project. This snippet is from Scarred Flawless, (the young adult fantasy novel that I am currently editing).
“The soundlessness swirled with the kind of simmering, viscous energy that forms when many people collectively hold their tongues out of fear, rage, and raw, untempered hatred.”
Hey, bookish and writerly people!
School has almost officially ended for me, therefore I might actually have time to blog again! I need to review a ridiculous number of books, but I’m going to kick off my blogging comeback with The Emotions In Colors Book Tag created by Cait @ Paper Fury. I wasn’t officially tagged for this; I just thought it looked cool and decided to do it!
In this tag, you are given ten prompts consisting of a color and the emotion associated with it. You are then asked which book, (or books), you associate with that color and emotion.
Salt to the Sea by Rita Sepetys is the last book that I remember crying over. It’s heartbreakingly hard to read, but you should all go read it anyway because it’s SO good!
Also, Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow completely ripped my heart out and put it back together again because it’s so beautiful and sad at the same time!
◦When authors kill off their main characters. If this serves a writerly purpose, I have no issue. If it’s blatantly obvious that the author was thoroughly sick of writing that story and wanted an excuse to end it, I’ll probably never read anything by that author ever again. *Refrains from ranting about very popular series*
◦When my iPad dies in the middle of a page. This is just obnoxious and needs no further explanation.
◦Running out of Audible credits and being forced to wait a number of days before starting a new book.
◦Accidentally touching my iPad screen and sending the Kindle app scrolling off to who knows where. This is even worse when you accidentally read a spoiler in the process of trying to find your place again!
◦Not being able to find a book in an accessible format. This is a blind bookworm problem that will not apply to the majority of readers, but it’s THE WORST! 😤
If Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor could just go ahead and exist already, that’d be great!
Can I nominate Adam and Niko from my own book for this one? They’re basically the definition of unlikely friends! No? I have to pick something published? Fine…
I’m going with the gang from The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. None of these characters should work together, but they totally do!
◦The Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. I read the first three or four books in this series and decided I didn’t care anymore. I don’t even remember what it’s about except that it was like The Hunger Games with aliens, which sounds cool in theory but definitely does NOT work in reality.
◦Basically all of John Green’s books. It’s not that I don’t think they’re good books; they’re just not my genre.
◦Everything by Rainbow Rowell except Fangirl. I loved Fangirl because of the writerly aspect; I just don’t have enough Hufflepuff in me to enjoy her other books. Again, they’re not my genre.
◦The Raven King: I didn’t expect it to end like that, but I love it anyway!
◦Crooked Kingdom: There isn’t a single thing that I would change about this ending! It’s just SO perfect! 😍
◦The Cruel Prince: This ending provides the perfect amount of closure and manages to leave the plot open for the sequel at the same time.
My favorite color is purple; does that make me hard to understand? The answer is a resounding, “YES,” if my unedited writing is any indication. Anyway, here’s another list:
◦Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: Once upon a time, I did a massive book report over this book. I guess my teacher didn’t understand it either because I passed the class with an A!
◦Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe: What even is this? 😖 It makes my brain hurt…
◦All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: Before you yell at me in the comments, I am fully aware that this is an unpopular opinion, and I do not care! I have tried to read this book twice, and I still do not understand it or the hype surrounding it. There’s just something about the writing style, pacing, timeline, or head hopping that prevents me from focusing on it enough to understand it. It may also be that historical fiction just is not my thing, and I don’t exactly agree with the portrayal of the blind character in this book.
Since when is white a scary color? I associate white with purity and goodness! Oh well… here’s another list:
◦J. K. Rolling because what she did to Dobby proves she’s heartless.
◦Laini Taylor because she kills off everybody I get attached to.
◦Marissa Meyer because… I’m not going to spoil Heartless, but if you read it, you’ll understand.
◦Maggie Stiefvater because she has to possess some kind of dark magic in order to rite like that!
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is probably going to be everyone’s default answer to this, but that’s what I’m going with! It has SO much significance in the context of the real world, and you should all go read it if you haven’t because it will give you a new perspective!
◦Jest and Catherine from Heartless by Marissa Meyer. I just love them!!!!
◦Marco from The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia. I wouldn’t really call him playful, but he’s adorable!
◦Noah from The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. Noah is under appreciated, okay?! He deserves recognition for being the smudgy Hufflepuff that he is!
◦Nina from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. She’s just SO bubbly!
Have you done this tag? Drop me a link in the comments so I can check out your answers! Also, let me know what authors scare you and why, and recommend me a book that you think is powerful. I’d love to see your thoughts! 🙂
Snippet Sunday is a weekly writing post in which you share a snippet from your own writing. This snippet is from Scarred Flawless, (the young adult fantasy novel that I am in the process of editing).
“Fire is a fickle thing. It smolders, flares, and fades upon its ever-changing desire–answering only to those who hold power over it. Vivian Devereaux holds such power. She wears flames like cloaks and sparks like diamonds, but the only eyes that will ever rest upon her fiery splendor are her own. There are two kinds of fire in this world: one is wicked; the other is sacred. Vivian’s fire is the wicked kind.”
Greetings, writers!
It is time for me to do my annual writing recap and announce some writerly goals for the upcoming year! This year has been pretty crazy, so…
I had three writing goals for 2017:
◦Finish the rewrite of Scarred Flawless and have it ready for beta readers by January.
I’m calling this one a success! I had the rewrite, (I had to put it in third person instead of first), finished by April, and I should be finished with the last round of edits tonight! I still have to export it from Scrivener and make sure everything is formatted correctly, but I technically accomplished my original goal. I hope to be starting the beta reader process in the next couple of weeks.
◦Outline Fractured Faith, (the sequel to Scarred Flawless).
I sort of accomplished this? Kind of? Okay not really! I have a few scenes written that I know I want to include, a big-picture plot, and a rough summary, but I do not have an official scene-by-scene outline.
◦Write five short stories.
I technically did this. I finished the first drafts of five short stories, but only two of them got edited because I turned them in for class work. The other three are in some random folder that I will probably never find again.
I only have three writing goals for 2018 as well because… three is a magic number! They are:
◦Finish the beta reader process for Scarred Flawless and start seeking publication for it. insert terrified emoji
◦Outline Fractured Faith because I didn’t do it last year!
◦Outline my new novel idea that is currently under the working title, “Nevermore Forever”. I haven’t talked about this much because it was literally a tiny spark of an idea until two nights ago, but I will have a post up on it soon!
◦Read a minimum of thirty books. That was my goal for 2017, and it didn’t happen, so I’m trying again!
◦Keep up with writing book reviews instead of getting eight reviews behind like I am now.
◦Actually use Goodreads. I have a terrible habit of not updating Goodreads for months at a time and then spamming the feeds of my followers with a million updates at once. It would be really nice if I could end that this year!
If you have writerly goals of your own, let me know what they are in the comments, or drop me a link to your own blog post! Also, if you’re interested in beta reading Scarred Flawless, keep an eye on my blog and Twitter feed because I will be posting updates.
Beautiful Books is a writing link-up created by Cait @ Paper Fury. Today’s topic is, “How’s the writing going”?
Overall, how is your mental state, and how is your novel going?
My mental state is pretty frazzled at the moment. It is day five of NaNoWriMo 2017, and I have 1057 new words to my name. That isn’t even the recommended word count for day one… Because of this pathetic excuse for a day five word count, I have switched my goal around a little bit. Instead of trying to edit Scarred Flawless and draft 50K words of the sequal, I have made my primary goal to finish editing Scarred Flawless. This is WAY more important to me than drafting a new thing right now because I want to have it in the hands of beta readers by January. Therefore, I’ll be counting every thirty minutes of editing as one thousand words for NaNo this year.
What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?
The Counsel Hall was no place for the innocent or kind at heart. So much innocent blood had been spilled upon the tiles that it was a wonder the floor was white instead of scarlet. Niko Devereaux had watched every drop of that innocent blood spill a thousand times over, and sometimes the presence of the unseen in the Great Room was so strong that it was difficult to tell what was tangible and what was non-corporeal.
Who’s your current favorite character in your novel?
The proper answer here is, “Please don’t make me pick a favorite fictional child”, but I’ll be honest… Niko is my favorite.
What do you love about your novel so far?
I LOVE my characters! The characters actually came to me before the plot, so they were extremely well-developed before I even started writing.
Have you made any hilarious typos or other mistakes?
I haven’t made any hilarious typos myself, but autocorrect did a number on my first draft! I didn’t realize it was on, and for some reason it insisted that my main characters name should be, “Nero Develop”, instead of Niko Devereaux. Let’s just say I spent some quality time with the find-and-replace feature before I did my first read through… 🙂
What is your favorite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?
Beginnings are my happy place! Nothing has to make a ton of sense in the beginning because the rest of the story is there to explain things, but middles and ends require logic! I don’t like it when writing and logic collide!
What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best? Feel free to show us a picture of your writing space!
I don’t eat while I write because food and keyboards should never mix, but I do drink coffee or tea depending on what I’m up for that day. I do listen to music while I write, )you can click here to view my Scarred Flawless playlist on youTube). I write best either late at night or early in the morning when no one else is awake.
How private are you about your novel while you’re writing? Do you need a cheer squad or do you work alone (like, ahem, Batman)?
No one gets to know about my writing except my closest writerly friends until the first round of edits are over.
What keeps you writing even when it’s hard?
Other people did it, so I can do it too!
What are your top 3 pieces of writing advice?
◦Don’t chase after any shiny new ideas unless you are absolutely sure that your current project isn’t going anywhere. You’ll never get anything published if you don’t stick with something.
◦Write about something you are passionate about. If you love something, you’ll probably also enjoy writing about it.
◦Writing has no rules; don’t let anybody tell you otherwise!
“Kaz leaned back. “What’s the easiest way to steal a man’s wallet?”
“Knife to the throat?” asked Inej.
“Gun to the back?” said Jesper.
“Poison in his cup?” suggested Nina.
“You’re all horrible,” said Matthias.”
-Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows
Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: Six of Crows #1
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Suspense
Pages: 462
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Published: September 29th, 2015
Amazon
iBooks
Audio
Goodreads
Synopsis From Goodreads:
Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:
Break into the notorious Ice Court
(a military stronghold that has never been breached)Retrieve a hostage
(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)Survive long enough to collect his reward
(and spend it)Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.
Six of Crows is very dark for a young adult novel, yet it still manages to be an easy and entertaining read. The character development is amazing, I loved the romantic tension, and it has some of the best world building I’ve seen since Harry Potter! The only major complaint I have is the plot. As far as I can tell, the first chapter is completely unnecessary, and the pacing seems kind of slow for the first quarter of the book. That being said, Six of Crows is easily one of my most favorite books ever because of the characters and world alone!
“Everything’s a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. It’s up to you.”
-Nicola Yoon, Everything, Everything
Title: everything, Everything
Author: Nicola Yoon
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Pages: 310
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Published: September 1, 2015
Amazon
iBooks
Goodreads
Synopsis From Goodreads:
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.
Everything, Everything is one of those books that you can read again and again and get something new from the story every time. It is a somewhat slower-paced story, but it still manages to catch your attention and hold it until the very end. The characters, plot, and setting are all very well developed. The only complaint I have is that the romance seemed very “instalovy”.
The characters in Everything, Everything each have their own backstory that contributes to the plot. Maddy, (the main character), has a severe immune disorder that prevents her from leaving her house. Olly, (Maddy’s love interest), hasn’t had the greatest family life. Maddy’s mother lost her husband and another child in a car accident, and now Maddy is all she has left. Each of these unique backstories contributes to the plot and character development in a way that makes Everything, Everything feel like more than the average teen romance.
Everything, Everything has a very interesting writing style. It is told in the first person narrative through Maddy, (the main character). The writing seemed a little… choppy at first, but after the first chapter or so it became much more fluid.
The plot of Everything, Everything is well-paced for the most part. I do think that some of the exposition could’ve been cut from the beginning, and the romance did feel a lot like instalove. I’m choosing to forgive the instalove in this instance, however, because of the unique situation. I believe that the instalove was made up for by the interesting backstory, strong character development, and bitter-sweet ending.
The ending of Everything, Everything was not what you usually see in young adult romance, but it was a welcome change in my opinion. Without spoiling everything about Everything, Everything, the ending brings a psychological twist into the story that ends everything on a bitter-sweet note.
Overall, Everything, Everything is a great read if you’re up for a cute teen romance with a psychological twist!
Cheyenne Raphael Writes 