Monthly Wanderings: February 2020

February was a crazy, but wonderful month. Between snow, an amazing trip to Florida, productivity in writing, and the best Valentine's Day I've ever had it was just fabulous!

ScribeTunes: Tragedy

The newest ScribeTunes is here! American and Canadian powers combine in a collaborative project between me and Cassia Schaar to help writers have the best music for their writing. Have you ever spent half an hour or more trying to find the right mood music when you should be writing? Then this project is for you! Every other week we will be releasing playlists on Spotify and Apple Music that are themed for any writing scene you can think of! 

A Book Review of Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient, rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Wednesday Books (April 24, 2018)
Page Count: 341 pages

My friend Cassia bugged me to read this book for months! Just the title and the fact that it’s about Vikings intrigued me and I’m so glad I picked it up!

Winter Florida Trip 2020 Report

Oh my gosh, guys. I had the best dang time during this trip. So many dreams became reality at Universal and Disney! It was so awesome!

ScribeTunes: Romance

The newest ScribeTunes is here! American and Canadian powers combine in a collaborative project between me and Cassia Schaar to help writers have the best music for their writing. Have you ever spent half an hour or more trying to find the right mood music when you should be writing? Then this project is for you! Every other week we will be releasing playlists on Spotify and Apple Music that are themed for any writing scene you can think of! 

The Laments and Revelations of a Christian Geek Writer

Though I was raised in a Christian home all of my life, I never felt like I fit in with the Christian community. As soon as I started showing any form of geeky tendencies as a kid, I felt a disconnect from every church, Sunday school, church camp, you name it I went to. But after so many years of agonizing over not being able to fit into the Christian culture cookie mold, I've finally felt free enough to be a thriving geeky writer in her faith. 

Writing Lessons from Video Games: Horizon Zero Dawn

This is my favorite game I played in the latter half of 2019. I fell in love with it from the first scene. I love the gameplay, plot, characters, world, music, graphics, just everything about it. The only thing I was little miffed with is it had a bit of a left-leaning feminism vibe with some characters, but other than that golden. It's become one of my favorite games of all time. And as is always a big qualifier for why I like most anything, the writing is also excellent so I'm going to rant about the writing and some more about how much I love this game.

Warning Spoilers: Everything is clean except point five.

A Book Review of Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman, long inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction, presents a bravura rendition of the Norse gods and their world from their origin though their upheaval in Ragnarok.

In Norse Mythology, Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki―son of a giant―blood brother to Odin and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator.

Gaiman fashions these primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and delves into the exploits of deities, dwarfs, and giants. Through Gaiman’s deft and witty prose, these gods emerge with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to duping others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.

Genre: Adult Fantasy
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (March 6, 2018)
Page Count: 299 pages

I freaking love mythologies and this book is like a dream of mine. I've always loved Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology so it's so amazing to see mythological tales written out in novel form. It's the best idea. THANK YOU, NEIL GAIMAN!