Hollins! And Short Story #4

I've spent the last week settling in at Hollins University in Virginia, where I'm officially working on an MFA in Children's Literature (because I apparently like to collect degrees). I'm still sorting out my schedule, but I promise reviews are coming. In the mean time, I wanted to share a short story I just wrote for my genre study in fantasy course, which was supposed to be a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid." I'm sharing it here because the stories I post on the blog are written and posted sans revision, and in this class we're supposed to be handing in first drafts, so I thought it fit the bill. So, without any further ado, I give you "Song of the Sea."

Reviews and an Update

I said I would have book reviews up, like, last week, but clearly I haven't posted any new ones. My internet went away again, so I'm trying to write a few up for scheduling purposes. So they are on their way! Up first is going to be Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Allison Goodman.

I'm also working on Tea Tree Publishing stuff and getting ready to head back to school, which is actually super exciting. I've already got a jump on my reading, so I just finished Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. Also looking forward to seeing Maggie Steifvater while I'm there, hoping I might be able to get a signature on Scorpio Races, which has been my favorite of hers and will probably come up in my Scandinavian and Celtic Mythology in Children's Lit course. All that's left is to get back to writing.

When I get back I'm planning on moving towns. Again. But I'm doing all kinds of scheduling, so I promise I'm not going to let myself slip back into the void. I'm determined to be super productive and present. I know what I want and how to get it, so I'm not letting anything get in my way anymore, especially not myself.

Apologies & Excuses

I'm sorry; I get so excited about posting on here and doing reviews, and then I let life just come in and sweep me away. It also doesn't help that I refuse to get internet because the providers here suck...

Nothing much has actually happened lately to blame for my absence, well, at least nothing exciting. Although, I suppose that's not entirely true; I did finish out what is, for now at least, my last semester teaching. It was crazy hectic and stressful, and I've just been binge watching a lot of Netflix (Daredevil! The Fall! Amazing stuff, guys. Seriously. Go watch them.) while trying to figure my life out. Again. Funny how that happens so often for me. I really need to find a full-time gig. Oi. 

Anywho. School is over, and I'm enjoying the lull before I head off to Hollins in about a month. Which really means I've been ordering books and making plans and trying to figure out where I'll be living when I get back. Fun (and seriously stressful) stuff. But it's all good. Because I'm finally feeling like a person again. One with hopes and dreams and feelings. So I'm thinking about books a lot: books I want to read, books I want to write, books I want to analyze and discuss. The creative juices are officially picking back up, and it feels good. 

I have manuscripts to read as well as a number of published books (both for my upcoming classes and for recreation) and a fervor to get writing, both academically and creatively. I also feel like embracing myself rather than trying to continue conforming to the idea of professionalism I've had to maintain as a non-tenured (hell, not even full-time) professor and manager, meaning I want to color my hair something obnoxiously bright, something I've never been able to do without bleaching my near-black hair. I'm turning over yet another new leaf in my attempt to live a happier life: I've quit teaching as adjunct faculty, I'm leaving the theatre, I'm heading off to VA this summer to pursue yet another degree, I'm dedicating more time and energy to Tea Tree, and I'll be going teal in the near future. 

So if you still read this, stay tuned for more exciting updates, stories, and reviews (which I'll be doing weekly from here out just like the good old days), because I'm not giving up on blogging just yet.

Tea Tree Publishing is Live!

I've been meaning to get on here and tell you all, but I've been a little busy with work. First, I got accepted to the Children's Literature MFA at Hollins University in VA, which is really awesome and exciting. So WOO!! And second...

Tea Tree Publishing, the independent publishing company I hoped to open with my former professor, is finally real! Our primary focus is publishing local (at least for now) children's and young adult literature as well as local folklore. For more information you can check out our website at teatreepublishing.com and see what we're about, or jump from there to our social media accounts and follow us.

I can't tell you all how excited I am to be starting this adventure. :)

Book Review: House of Ivy & Sorrow

Title: House of Ivy & Sorrow
Author: Natalie Whipple
Published: April 5th, 2014 by HarperTeen
Format: eBook, 368 pgs.
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Parnormal, Mystery

Description:

Josephine Hemlock has spent the last 10 years hiding from the Curse that killed her mother. But when a mysterious man arrives at her ivy-covered, magic-fortified home, it’s clear her mother’s killer has finally come to destroy the rest of the Hemlock bloodline. Before Jo can even think about fighting back, she must figure out who she’s fighting in the first place. The more truth Jo uncovers, the deeper she falls into witchcraft darker than she ever imagined. Trapped and running out of time, she begins to wonder if the very Curse that killed her mother is the only way to save everyone she loves.

Review:

If you think you know witches, think again. There is no good magic, only dark. The only difference between the good witches and the bad, then, is whether or not they let the magic consume them, to eat them alive from the inside. And then there's the Curse. The thing that drained the life from Josephine Hemlock's mother and countless other witches throughout time. That sucks the magic from them until there is nothing left. Where it comes from, no one knows, but when a man appears at the heavily fortified Hemlock house dripping in evil and darkness, Jo and her grandmother must finally come to terms with the loss of Jo's mother to figure out just who killed their dear Carmina and stop the Curse from obliterating what remains of the Hemlock family.

Natalie Whipple offers up another piece of her heart in this beautiful tale of family and sacrifice. As is her way, she crafts fantastic worlds within our own populated by real people. It's hard not to grow attached to the characters when it seems as if you are reading about your own best friend, boyfriend, or grandmother. Whipple captures what it is to be in love for the first time, to be an ugly duckling, to shun someone close, and be so completely terrified of losing those we hold most dear.

But Whipple's success with this story does not come solely from the relatability of her characters; it also stems from the ease with which we accept the world she has built for us and the skill with which she shapes the story. Far too often plots are easy to predict, but the mysteries in House of Ivy & Sorrow are not so easily unwound. Delightfully, it distracts with little details that you see coming, only to wait until the last moment to reveal something bigger. So while you may guess a few smaller facts while reading, Whipple has mastered the art of concealing the bigger picture until she is ready for the reveal.

Another wonderful tale of supernatural wonder and the beauty of family from an author who continues to inspire and persevere. Do check out her other books, including Fish Out of Water (out Feb. 5th!), as she never fails to impress.

But It Now:
Amazon. B&N.com. Book Depository. IndieBound.

Short Story #3

Standing on the edge of the roof, the boy looked out at the dying land and sighed. He had done all he could. There was nothing left to plant, no water to spare. He was all that remained. It was over. There would be no harvest this winter, and the food inside was too little to last beyond the week.

His shoulders sagged and his breaths came more slowly; the panic had long since passed. This was the end. The end of his land, his family's heritage, his very life.

The world stretched out before him, beckoning him to the far corners of the earth, and he was ready, now, to listen. With Mother and Father gone there was no one left alive to keep him; even the land, it seemed, had given him leave to go. And he would listen.

Inside, the boy packed what meager things still fought the ravages of time into a well-worn knapsack. He traded his slippers for more sturdy boots and shrugged on a leather coat; the sky may have been empty these last months, but the wind grew fiercer daily. Last bits of bread and cheese found their way into pockets and pouches, and with one final look around the bare house, he closed the door and followed the wind.

Book Review: Fish Out of Water by Natalie Whipple

Title: Fish Out of Water

Author: Natalie Whipple

Published: February 5, 2014 by Hot Key Books

Format: eARC

Age Group: Young Adult

Genre: General Fiction, Romance

Description:

Mika Arlington was supposed to spend the summer after her junior year shadowing her marine biologist parents at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but when her estranged grandmother randomly shows up on the doorstep one day, those plans are derailed. Because Grandma Betty isn't here to play nice—she is cranky, intolerant of Mika's mixed-race-couple parents, and oh yeah she has Alzheimer's and is out of money.  While Mika's family would rather not deal with Grandma Betty, they don't have much choice. And despite Mika's protests, she is roped into caring for a person that seems impossible to have compassion for. And if that wasn't hard enough, Mika must train the new guy at her pet shop job who wants to be anywhere else, and help a friend through her own family crisis. Something's gotta a give, but whichever ball Mika drops means losing someone she loves. Not exactly a recipe for Best Summer Ever—or is it? 

Review:

I've had my review copy of this book for about a month now, and while the release is still a little ways off, I wanted to take my time getting this up because I wanted it to be right. It's only recently that I've come to enjoy realistic fiction, books without superpowers or imaginary worlds with great battles; I like to submerge myself in science fiction and fantasy novels, and part of the reason why is that I rarely found a realistic novel that, well, felt real to me. Even books like Hold Still, 13 Reasons Why, and The Fault in Our Stars (all of which I loved, by the way) are stories that don't belong to the everyday; yes, they happen, but I don't consider these types of stories as things that occur on a regular basis to the average person; they are exceptions, and, yes, they are real and heartbreaking and wonderful. 

But what Natalie Whipple has delivered is a moment of truth. 

Mika (and that's Meeka, not Micah) finally gets the opportunity to work at the Aquarium with her marine biologist parents when two strangers bring all her plans crashing down. Dylan is the new guy at work, but he's also the boss's hot troubled nephew with more than a few issues, but Dylan's not even the worst of Mika's problems. When an old woman she's never seen before shows up on her doorstep, Mika thinks she must have the wrong address, but Betty Arlington turns out to be Mika's estranged grandmother who has no money, no home, and a developing case of Alzheimer's. Torn from her summer internship and caught between the two people she wants nothing to do with, Mika's life becomes an emotional roller-coaster that feels all too familiar.

I wanted to read this book because I have followed Natalie Whipple's journey online for years and have become a huge fan of all her work, and I wasn't the slightest bit disappointed when I cracked this book open; of course, it doesn't hurt that she references The Princess Bride, like, a lot.

While I don't have a relative with Alzheimer's and I haven't fallen in love with a bad boy, I connected with this story so much more than I thought possible. From fights with parents and the fear of falling in love for the first time to quoting movies with best friends and hating the way the world works, this book nails what it is to be human, to have family, to struggle with why people are the way they are. It is real, and it is raw, and it is a great story about acceptance in a world with far too little of it. Whipple shows us what it is to keep swimming when all we want to do is give in, to fight for the things and the people we love and believe in rather than living a life of regrets, and to never give up on anyone, especially those we call family.

Fish Out of Water is a must-read for anyone who has ever lived, laughed, loved, lied, or lost, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Order It Now:

Amazon. B&N.com. Book Depository.