Monthly Summary: April 2017

April was a busy, but overall pretty good month. I had a great time with friends for my birthday and made a lot of goals!

A Book Review of Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

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Cinder is back and trying to break out of prison―even though she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive if she does―in this second installment from Marissa Meyer.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother, or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana.

So Your Character Has Autism ... Featuring Rebekah Hancock

I've heard much about Autism and I've even known some people with Autism. According to Wikipedia: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior. I had never looked into it with very much detail until now. This is why I'm so happy that Rebekah has volunteered to be interviewed about what it's like to have it. 

Let's welcome her!

Read Rewrite Burn Tag & Bookish Lover Tag

Since Beautiful People has not gone up this month, I'm using this extra slot to catch up on all of the tags I've gotten! I've only got three more to go besides this!

A Book Review of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

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When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. And she’s more than a little startled when the body disappears into thin air. Soon Clary is introduced to the world of the Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of warriors dedicated to driving demons out of our world and back to their own. And Clary is introduced with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque monster. How could a mere human survive such an attack and kill a demon? The Shadowhunters would like to know…

So Your Character is From France ... Featuring Victoire @ Mon Coin Arty & Fraise Fruitrouge

It's time for this week's So Your Character is ... Post! This is a weekly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I'm hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven't checked out last week's  So Your Character Has OCD ... be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!

I had the opportunity to actually go to France on a mission trip for eight days. It was an amazing experience and my first trip to Europe (I plan to have many more!). I really enjoyed the French culture I experienced both in the countryside and in Paris. I also have French blood, so some of my family come from France. I've always felt a special connection to the country since I was a little girl and I'm so happy to learn even more about it from Fraise and Victoire!

Writing Lessons from Movies: Pocahontas

Pocahontas is one of my favorite Disney films. It's the first Disney film I remember watching and the lyrics give me chills every time. It's also based from a true story which makes the tale even more interesting. It is also hailed by the Native American actors as one of the most accurate films portraying Native Americans at the time. I've always felt a connection to the Native American culture which is why this film is even more close to my heart.

Besides all that, Pocahontas has some fantastic things to teach us about writing. So let's get through this steady as the beating drum. ;)

Now I'm 24 ...

My 23rd year had a tough turn, so I must say I had many wonderful moments, but I'm glad it's over. I always feel like every year my year doesn't actually completely begin until my birthday. Here's a little nostalgia blast recounting what's happened and how my blog has grown!

So Your Character Has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ... Featuring Emily Walker

It's common in our culture to jest about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder when someone likes to be really organized or clean. I admit I've done it. But for many people it's a real disorder that affects their lives. Emily can explain it much better than I can, so I'll let her take it from here.

Villain Necrologies & Debacles: Marvel Cinematic Universe Edition

Villains meet their demises in so many different ways. For some this means death, for other this means an unfortunate incapacitating situation. Writers put a lot of thought into how their antagonist finally fails, but which way is best for your villain? That all depends on so many different circumstances, including audience and genre. This is what inspired my series "Villain Necrologies & Debacles." Over time, I'll be analyzing different animation studios, franchises, and more. These posts are meant to show you what sort of defeats have been done whether common or uncommon, perhaps inspire some villain defeats of your own, or you can just enjoy the morbid humor. Check out last month's Disney Animation Edition!

In this edition, I'll be analyzing the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now because there have been so many reboots, I'm not going to go into every Marvel movie made (*cough cough* The horrible Daredevil movies. *cough cough*) and I'm not analyzing the shows such as Agents of SHIELD or Netflix's Daredevil. I'm going to analyze the running Avengers (Phase 1-3), X-Men, and the Amazing Spider-Man movies (cause they were amazing despite Andrew Garfield cutting them off *shakes fist*), since those seem to be the running cannon. 

Warning: Spoilers for all of the villains in those movies. 

Small is Beautiful, Inspire Me, and Blogger Recognition Tags!

So Beautiful People hasn't gone up, so I'm moving the tag post today. I'm really behind on these anyway. XD Without further ado, let's get to it!

So Your Character is From Wales ... Featuring Ester @ To Write or Not to Write & Tasha @ 365 Days, 365 Photos

It's time for this week's So Your Character is ... Post! This is a weekly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I'm hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven't checked out last week's So Your Character is from the Midwest United States ... be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!

I have Welsh blood and I've seen so many Doctor Who episodes set in Wales. That is the majority of my knowledge of the country, so I'm so happy that Ester and Tasha could be here to tell more!

Utopian versus Dystopian: A Look at Two Societies

Dystopian is a very common word in the YA literature community, while on the other hand Utopian is more akin to classrooms. Despite original intentions both of these societies can be very nefarious and controlling but it in polar opposite ways. I was discussing this with Cassia @ The Book Bowl and she put the differences this way:

Fear is a driving force in so many people's lives and it's so easy to control. A utopian government finds a way to eliminate fear of death, or loss, or hurt, or pain—anything and everything. A dystopian government finds ways to make the citizens fear anything but especially them. It's fear vs. trust. Trust the government to take away the hurt or fear the government or you will be hurt.

I don't know about you, but this concept blows my mind and it really summarizes a lot of societies. Let's break this down further.