Over the course of the past year, I’ve made the effort to expand my dialogue about storytelling by going beyond the boundaries of books and out into the mediums of TV and movies. I do so by devoting a least one post every other month to an overview of a TV show or movie that’s reached a significant time in its history (i.e. series premiere, series finale, film release, anniversary of a release/premiere, etc.). Previously, I discussed my thoughts about the enthralling Philippe Petit biopic, “The Walk.” Today, I go over the second Disney/Pixar film to come out this year, “The Good Dinosaur.” Continue reading “An Offbeat Kind of Coming-of-Age Story: About “The Good Dinosaur””
For those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving yesterday. For everyone else, I hope it was just as good of a day for you yesterday. I have a couple of announcements to put out prior to tomorrow’s regularly scheduled post, so let’s get it going:
First of all, in light of Black Friday, I have a little sale going on for my first novel, A Moment’s Worth. Since the sale I did for it on Amazon back on July did really well, I decided to do it again. From now through to next Friday December 4th, you’ll be able to purchase A Moment’s Worth for $1.99. I highly advise you take this opportunity to do so, especially if you haven’t read it yet. Besides, who knows when the next sale for it will be. You can go purchase A Moment’s Worth on Amazon here. Continue reading “Special Friday Post: Black Friday Sale and the Poll”
Another four months has passed since I last gave a full-on update about the making of my second novel. Therefore, I believe that’s just enough time for me to write up a new one. As I look back on the progress on the novel between the previous update and now, I realize now that a lot has happened, and as you can imagine, I really like that.
In case you missed out on the previous blog posts about this (which you can check out here and here), I currently have a poll going on where people can vote on whether or not they want to see my second novel available in print as well as digital. 2016 is not that far away now and that is the year I plan to release this novel I’m currently working on.
While editing is still taking place, it’s wise to note for the past two months, I’ve begun conceptualizing what the front cover is going to look like, and I aim for this week to mark the beginning of really assembling that together into fruition. With the fact that I’m starting to dive in on that aspect of it now, naturally it’s wise to consider whether to create a back cover for the book too, and that normally applies with books that are released in print. But since I still don’t know if I should release it in print or not, that’s why I want to make the following announcement: Continue reading “Special Sunday Post: The Poll Has a DEADLINE”
If I ask you if you’ve read books such as Of Mice and Men, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Fahrenheit 451, The Great Gatsby, Lord of the Flies, The Joy Luck Club, The Grapes of Wrath, and other books of a similar kind, chances are you might say yes. However, if I asked you if you’ve read these books in your spare time, chances are a majority of you are going to say no, and likely say that these were reading assignments for your high school English classes. You might have been asked to read a certain number of pages for homework assignments and then discuss them in class the following day. You might have had to keep an eye out for things like key vocabulary words, use of symbolism, and certain dialogue for you to annotate. You might have had to take quizzes to test your comprehension on said book, conduct group discussions about the text and then present your findings, and maybe even go as far as doing a book report on it.
Many of us can recall doing this so many times in school, that it’s a norm. But now, after having written and published a book myself, I look upon those past assignments in a different light and consider all that’s worth considering what analyzing books in the classroom. Continue reading “Analyzing Books in the Classroom”
When in writing, they say to “write what you know.” Personally I don’t always find that to be true, let alone right. To limit yourself to writing a story using only the knowledge you know, no matter how knowledgeable you are, can be a narrow path to travel down. That’s why sometimes, when creating a story, it’s best to step out of your mind and sought out external resources; whether intentionally searched for or not. It’s all about the drive of wonder and the desire to enhance, and it oftentimes leads writers down a journey of a different kind. Continue reading “Research, Inspiration, Wonder”
If you reside here in the United States, then Happy Election Day! Contrary to what the media is making it seem like otherwise, this is not the year where we vote for president, but today is a reminder of the rights we have to actually provide voice to who we wanted to see representing our communities, our states, and our country. For those who reside outside the United States, I can imagine similar rights existing when it comes the governing bodies as your respective leaders as well.
It’s with that that I figured today would be a good day to remind everyone that the poll to vote whether or not you want my second novel to be available in print is still open. There’s still no date as to when it will close, but I still advise not to wait around too long if you consider voting, and here’s why: My second novel is to be released in 2016, and while the actual release date itself is yet to be determined, with the fact that we are in the month of November now, it’s evident to see how the new year really isn’t that far away now.
Edits are still taking place, but eventually I’m going to have to start working on the publishing aspect of the book, and I need to make sure I have all the necessary material on me ready to go (in terms of cover art, proper formatting of the manuscript, etc.). It’s not everyday an author gives its readers this kind of power, in terms of deciding what forms the novel will be published, so I encourage you to take a few seconds to vote.
To see the original post regarding the poll, click here. Thank you for reading and a new post will be up on Saturday like always.
Lola By The Bay 