Terry Pratchett's Birthday Post

In dedication to Terry Pratchett

April 28th, 1948- March 12th, 2015

‘NO ONE IS ACTUALLY DEAD UNTIL THE RIPPLES THEY CAUSE IN THE WORLD DIE AWAY…’

– REAPER MAN

I first read a Terry Pratchett book at the beginning of college, when I read Good Omens, by both him and Neil Gaiman. The story that Neil tells about how the book started is one of my favorites. I love hearing about the friendship that they both shared and it just makes me wish more and more that I could have met Terry. 

I started reading the Discworld back in 2017 and have been reading the series consistantly ever since. This year, over five years later, I decided that I am going to finish the 41-book series. I'm going to be reading books 30 and 31 next month (Wee Free Men and Monstrous Regiment). The Discworld seemed like quite the undertaking when I had started it but thank God I did. It's one of the best pieces of literature that I have ever read in my life. I love how Terry wrote this series and that they can be technically all read separately, in the subseries, and also together as a full series. Over the years, I have gotten so connected to each of his characters. Granny Weatherwax, Death, The Librarian, Sam Vimes, Captain Carrot, Nanny Ogg, and I could go on and on. They feel like family, and I feel that more and more each time I read the books. 

Terry had a one-of-a-kind writing style that pulled me into his books so long ago. Not only is he one of my all-time favorite authors, but he's also one of my biggest inspirations as an author. I will never stop speaking his name. #Speakhisname

Today, on what would have been his 74th birthday, we celebrate Terry Pratchett Day.  #TerryPratchettDay🐝 It's a day to celebrate the man's work, his life, and just to celebrate him. Happy Birthday Terry. 

Story Writing Tag

 Story Writing Tag

Tag Tuesday- April 26th, 2022

I have been wanting to do a writing tag on here for quite a long time and just have not done it yet. For my first Tag Tuesday in a while, I decided to do this tag that I saw for the first time many years ago. It was a lot of fun going through the questions again and seeing how my answers have changed since I first did it almost four years ago. These are my up-to-date answers that I came up with last night.

This tag was created by Bethany Atazadeh (video- https://bit.ly/2smHh6O) and Brooke Passmore (video- https://bit.ly/2JjLu4Z)

1. CURRENT STORY: What is your current story idea that you’re working on right now?

📖 I am actually working on two different ideas at the moment. Mainly, the first one though. 

     📖 First, I am working on my sequel to a young adult fantasy novel. They are twisted retellings of classic tales such as fairy tales, Greek Mythology, Peter Pan, and Alice's Adventure in Wonderland. This is the second book in a four-part series I have planned out.

     📖 My second idea is an adult contemporary novel.

2. SPARK OF INSPIRATION: Do your ideas begin with characters, plot, world-building, or something else entirely?

     📖 Really, they begin differently depending on the book. Many times, it will be a mixture of characters, plot, and world-building. Sometimes just characters and plot. A lot of times I'll get ideas for a scene in my book with just a line of dialogue that comes into my head and then the scene plays out in my head from that line. I love it when I can get a whole scene or chapter from just a little idea.

3. BRAINSTORM: How do you puzzle piece your story elements together? Do you start with the ending and make your way to the beginning or vice versa?      📖 I write ideas as they come to me. First, I'll start with a working outline and then I go into my ideas. I've always have written books that way. I'm not one for writing chronologically (at least completely). 4. KEEP OR TOSS: How do you know when you want to keep or dump a story idea?      📖 When I'm able to flesh out a good amount of the plot that means that the story is a keeper. I actually was not even planning on going back to the young adult fantasy book which I had started in 2014. Then in 2016 I got the idea for it again and really got into it in 2017. I know that I would never force a story that is not working out in my head. Now, I have the basic plot worked out for a four-part series and am almost done with the sequel. So, I'm very glad I decided to go back to that idea. 5. ORIGINAL IDEA: How much of your original idea for your story is actually used once everything is finished?      📖 This really depends on the work. Sometimes it changes a lot and sometimes not as much. With my first novel, I had to rework the entire first part of the book to make it work better. I rewrote the entire part and am very happy that I did. The novel is so much better for it. 6. HIDE OR SHARE: Do you share your book ideas with friends or keep them a secret?    📖 I share my ideas with my best friend. She has been my writing confidant for most of our lives. Over the years, we have always shared our stories with each other. She was my first peer-reviewer back in high school and has helped me so much over the years. I also bounce ideas off of my family too, who are very helpful. 7. DREAM: Have any of your book ideas originated with a dream/nightmare?    📖 Yes, very much so. I have had plenty of scenes come to me from dreams. Sometimes, I will dream up scenes in the night and then will wake up and have to write them down right away. Other times something somebody will say in a dream will spark an idea. Just recently, I got this brilliant idea for one of my characters from a song that was in my dream. It's funny because I have listened to the song so much over the last year and never got the idea, but in that context, the idea popped into my head. 8. DOPPLEGANGER: Have you ever had an idea for a story but then see a similar premise in a book/tv-show/movie?    📖 No, not really. 9. BIG SCREEN INSPIRATION - Have any of your favorite movies/tv shows sparked ideas for scenes in your book?     📖 I get ideas from so many different things. I will say my original love of retellings definitely comes from Disney movies and also Shrek. So yes, I don't know if I would be so obsessed with them today if it were not for those movies from my childhood. 10. NOSTALGIA: What’s the oldest/first story idea you remember coming up with/writing down? 📖 When I was really little, probably eight, I wrote a little book that was about a butterfly who went to the bookstore. I still have that somewhere. It's not much of a story though.

📖 I wrote my first longer story in seventh grade that I can remember. It was a take on the legend of King Arthur. For some reason, I only made one copy and gave it to my teacher who was supposed to give it back to us at the end of the year. Needless to say, I never got that story back. I wish I had it because I would love to see how much I've grown in my storytelling since then. 

Reviews for Week 16

Reviews Week 16

April 18th-24th

Book 45: The Castle of Llyr

by Lloyd Alexander

Read April 18th

📚📚📚📚📚

I am absolutely adoring this series and that makes me so happy. This is a wonderful fantasy world that I cannot get enough of along with its wonderful set of characters. Taran is really growing more and more into the leadership role throughout the course of these books, and he has grown so much on me.

For this book, I wanted to touch on the character Princess Eilonwy, who I have yet to really talk about that much. She is such a strong character. She's got the right amount of sass and she is so clever. I love that she's not afraid of letting people know what she thinks about them and what she thinks about anything. She is the type of character that you want kids to see. I love how we finally are getting answers about many aspects of her family, her bauble itself, and the evil enchantress Queen Achren who we met in the first book.

The world-building has been great, and I cannot wait to see what will happen in the next book. This series is definitely becoming a new favorite of mine.

Book 46: Disney's Hercules: Official Comics Movie Adaptation

by Evan Skolnick, Fabian Nicieza

Read April 20th

📚📚📚📚

Great graphic novel adaptation of one of my favorite Disney movies. Loved how they adapted this!

Book 47: Little Thieves

by Margaret Owen 

Read April 19th-24th

📚📚📚📚📚

This was a phenomenal fairy tale retelling. I loved every single page of this book, and I especially loved the main character, Vanja. Going into the book I knew the basics of the original fairy tale, but I have never read it myself. I really love where Margaret Owen took this story. Vanja does a lot of terrible things, but I just loved her so much. Her narration was perfection. I loved the little stories she told throughout the entire novel and how they were interspersed in the entire story. It was great to get little pieces of her past and to learn more and more along the way.

“Once upon a time, there was a girl as cunning as the fox in winter, as hungry as the wolf at first frost, and as cold as the icy wind that kept them at each other's throats. Her name was not Gisele, nor was it Marthe, nor even Pfennigeist. My name was -is- Vanja. And this is the story of how I got caught.”

Retellings from the point of view of the villain are some of my favorites and this one was one of the best I have read. Vanja really was more of an antihero in her tale. She is such a complicated character, who we see grow a lot over the course of the novel. Her relationships are definitely an important aspect of this. When we first meet Vanja, she has a very hard time trusting anyone and that makes a whole lot of sense when you learn her story.

Emeric was such a great character. I love how he is first introduced and how Vanja took him for granted. It was great when she finally realized what she was up against and when we realize how fast he figured her out. Their rivalry, comradery, and then their eventual relationship were all beautiful. It was just so much fun to watch them play off of each other. I could not get enough of their interactions.

“You’re what happens when an encyclopedia wishes on a star to be a real boy, if that encyclopedia was also an absolute prick.”

Then we have her relationship with Gisele, the princess whose identity she steals. We slowly find out what has happened between the girls basically their entire lives and it is so complicated and messy. It was entertaining to see them once they meet up in the book. Gisele is not a pushover character in the slightest and it was quite entertaining to see her role.

This book had great LGBT representation with a beautiful romance between two female characters and also binary characters. It was wonderful to see how accepting the world of this book was to that.

Then we have the gods, who are a very intricate part of Vanja's story. At the beginning of the book, Vanja is taken in by who she calls her Godmothers, Death and Fortune. They are both so vital to Vanja's story and have helped shape who she is as a character. We also get the god who curses Vanja and sets the plot into motion. All of these characters and the many other gods we see throughout the novel were so intriguing. I love seeing the different depictions of Gods in fantasy worlds. Especially, the character of Death. Death is a popular character in literature for good reason and her depiction here was similar to some I have seen before.

Finally, I want to talk about the setting. One of my favorite things is when a book takes a real place and makes it fantastical. This book was a perfect example of that. The German setting was great and loved how much it played into the story as a whole. It just felt so authentic and drew me even more into this world.

This was a beautiful story with a powerful message, lyrical writing, multi-dimensional characters (that I adored), and a setting that felt so real. I highly recommend this novel and I cannot wait to read the next one.

Reviews Week 15

 Reviews Week 15

April 11th-17th

Book 42: Disney Encanto: The Graphic Novel

by Random House Disney

Read April 13th

📚📚📚📚

A pretty great graphic novel adaptation of the beautiful movie. I loved that they created a graphic novel of the movie and enjoyed reading it to the little girl that I nanny for. She really enjoys stories told in graphic novel form. This one was no exception.

First of all, the artwork throughout this entire book is absolutely stunning just like the movie. The artwork is beautiful just like the story as a whole. It depicts each of the scenes pretty well from the original movie.

I was also glad that they turned many of the lyrics or messages in the songs into dialogue throughout the graphic novel. It would not have made much sense for them to break out into song in this format but I'm glad that they did not take out the messages that these songs held for the story. They all hold a lot of meanings in the scenes. And for the most part, they do a pretty good job of adapting this into the medium.

This was a pretty great adaptation of a movie that I fully adored when I watched it. I'm glad that I picked it up for my collection. It was wonderful.

Book 43: Malice

by Heather Walter

Read April 11th-15th

📚📚📚📚

Had a great time rereading this beauty before I picked up the sequel. It was just as great as the first time, and I decided to post my review for the first time I read it below this. 

Original Review from March 26th, 2021: 

I really enjoyed this retelling of Sleeping Beauty and the different directions it took the story in. Learning about the different Graces and their powers was an interesting part of it along with Alyce's powers.

The hatred of Alyce and how others treated her throughout the book was terrible. I love how this book focused mainly on Alyce's story and her growth as a character. She's been pushed down so much throughout her entire life and tortured. Watching her figure out her worth throughout the novel and what transpires from her learning more and more about herself were some of the best parts of the novel. I also really liked the romance.

This is somewhat of a villain origin story and I'm all for that, especially that ending. I really enjoyed how dark this book got by the end and how it wasn't the predictable happily ever after. Not that I don't like those types of books, but I'm glad to see something different. Especially since this is a villain story. Cannot wait to read the second book to see what happens next with Alyce.

Overall, this was a great book that I'm so glad that I picked up. Thank you Netgalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Book 44: Misrule

by Heather Walter

Read April 15th-17th

📚📚📚📚

I'm glad to say that I enjoyed this sequel just as much as the original. Ever since I finished the first book last year, I have been eagerly awaiting to pick up this one.

It was interesting to see where the story went after the first book finished. I was not quite sure where Walter was going to take Alyce's story, but I can honestly say that I believe it was a great way of doing it. The best part is the introduction to more of this fantasy world and its various other citizens. We get to see the repressed characters in such a new light, and it was great to follow many of them around. Alyce learns quite a bit about prejudice in this story, including her own.

I loved seeing Alyce as the ruler of the Dark Court and how much of a "grey character" she is throughout this entire book. She wasn't the complete villain that you would assume that she would have been after the events at the end of the book. Many characters throughout the book obviously see her as one but they always have. I loved following her perspective again.

Also, I liked Aurora's part in this story a lot. I'm not going to spoil that for anyone, but she plays a very important role in the story.

Loved the introduction of the new characters and races of this world. We get to see Demons, more Villa's, Shifters, and Imps. I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters throughout the story and their relationship and deep bond with Alyce over the hundred years. I especially loved the Imps they were so funny. Some of the standout new characters are Derek, Neve, Regan, and many others. I felt like we really got to know them throughout and I'm glad that they were part of this world.

And finally, I found the ending perfect for Alyce's story. I know that it is not going to be the best for some people, but I adored it so much. It was wonderful.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC of the book. All opinions are my own. *

Reviews Week 13 & 14

Reviews Week 13 & 14

March 28th- April 10th 

Book 35: The Lost Wonderland Diaries

by J. Scott Savage

Read April 2nd- 3rd

📚📚📚📚📚

Love the wordplay, puzzles, and the many different riddles throughout.

This was really great the second time around and I loved getting back into this world before I read my ARC of the sequel. Loved following Celia and Tyrus again.

My favorite part of this book is the fact that Savage has created a world that feels so much like Carroll's original. I loved the characters that he created this time around that fit so well with the world of Wonderland. They feel like they could be pulled off the pages of the original. Also, it was great seeing so many familiar faces of Wonderland. My favorites of his takes are probably Cheshire and the Mad Hatter.

An enjoyable read that I highly recommend! Below I will also show my review from when I originally read the book. 

Original review from August 27th-30th, 2020:

I really enjoyed this take on the world of Wonderland and the characters. Savage does an incredible job adding to that world and creating a voice that feels reminiscent of Carroll's but also so unique. This version of Wonderland was quite different and the additions to the story felt just as zany and nonsensical as Carroll's own creation.

Celia and Tyrus were great protagonists in this story. I enjoyed watching them grow throughout the book. It was also interesting to see the major focus on Celia's dyslexia throughout the entire story. This focus fits along perfectly with the story and I believe will be a great thing for middle-grade children to read about.

I loved the wordplay, puzzles, and riddles throughout the entire story.

Book 36: Night Watch

by Terry Pratchett 

Read April 3rd-5th 

📚📚📚📚📚

Absolutely wonderful! Probably my favorite of the Watch books so far. 

Loved following Sam as he travels back in time to his past and starts to mentor his younger self. It was really enjoyable seeing so many of the characters that we have come to know and love throughout the series in the past. Loved seeing Lu-Tze again as he tries to help Sam fix everything. Sam molds many different aspects of the series that he doesn't even realize.

“But it must’ve happened!” snapped Vimes. “I told you, I can remember it! I was there yesterday!” “Nice try, but that doesn’t mean anything anymore,” said the monk. “Trust me. Yes, it’s happened to you, but even though it has, it might not. ’Cos of quantum. Right now, there isn’t a Commander Vimes–shaped hole in the future to drop you into. It’s officially Uncertain. But might not be, if you do it right. You owe it to yourself, Commander. Right now, out there, Sam Vimes is learning to be a very bad copper indeed. And he learns fast.”

Sam goes through a lot in this book. We see him as a young man just learning in the Night Watch and we see him as a husband and a future father. He has come a long way in the series, and I have loved watching him on his journey. In this book, he is just trying to get back home to his wife and his life as a whole. But he also is trying to stop a revolution.

“Well done,' said a voice somewhere behind him. 'Consciousness to sarcasm in five seconds!”

Terry's humor is spot on as always, but the messages and story arc overall were the best part of this one. I recommend this book highly.

Time travel books are always favorites of mine and this one was a great example of that.

Book 37: The Twilight Library

by Carmen Oliver

Read April 5th 

📚📚📚📚

The preschooler that I watch, and I really enjoyed reading this book a lot. First of all, the illustrations were stunning. She could not stop talking about how pretty the book was which, she really never usually mentions with books. Also, the story was great in this one. Loved the Twilight Library and the lyrical writing in this piece. I definitely recommend it for preschoolers. 

*Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my ARC of the book. All opinions are my own. *

Book 38: There's an N on Your Nose

by Dennis Canfield

Read April 5th 

📚📚📚

This was a cute little book that used a lot of the letters in the alphabet while also showing body parts to go along with them. The preschooler I watch really did not enjoy this one as much as other books that are similar to this where they teach you the alphabet. I also think that this one could have been better if it used all of the letters throughout the book in some way. 

*Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my ARC of the book. All opinions are my own. *

Book 39: Ballet Bruce

by Ryan T. Higgins

Read April 5th 

📚📚📚

A cute addition to the Mother Bruce series. My preschoolers have always loved the Bruce series and I always pick them up when they come out. This is the first one I have read from the World of Reading part of the series. It was good but not as great as the others in the series. The little girl I nanny for does ballet so I thought that it would be the perfect fit for her. We were both hoping it would have the geese do ballet, but it never got to that point. It was cute though and she did think it was funny that they wanted to do ballet. 

*Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my ARC of the book. All opinions are my own. *

Book 40: In the Shadow of the Throne

by Kate Sheridan, Gaia Cardinali (Illustrator)

Read April 5th 

📚📚📚

This was a pretty good take on portal fantasies. It just felt too short for the story as a whole and I did want more of it. The story felt rushed throughout most of it and felt like it could have been a much longer story.

One aspect that could have been expanded on was the characters in general. Would have loved to see more interactions between them all and also to get to know them more. I just don't feel like we got to know these characters much at all.

I would have also loved to see more of the kingdom too. Worldbuilding to me is essential to a fantasy world and we didn't get much of this. It would have been interesting if Jordan was given a tour of the kingdom when Griff and Prince Astel bring him to the capital. Seeing more of the Elf kingdom would have been nice. This would have given both Jordan and the reader a chance to learn more about this new world that we are both getting thrust into.

Loved the fact that this had LGBT representation, even though it was brief. I hope that eventually, the authors come back to this world because I think there could be so much more added to it.

Also, the illustrations and coloring were very nice. They went along nicely with the story and it drew me to it in the first place when I saw the cover.

Overall, this was a pretty good graphic novel that I recommend to portal fantasy lovers that what a little bit more LGBT representation.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC*

Book 41: Secrets of the Looking Glass

by J. Scott Savage

Read April 4th-7th

📚📚📚📚📚

This is a series that I love and is a great retelling that I believe young and old readers will both enjoy.

I loved the first book in this series, so I was excited to see that there was going to be a sequel based on Through the Looking Glass. The plot in this book was very enjoyable and it was great getting to follow along with Tyrus and Celia again in a new adventure.

This zany adventure was a great follow-up to the first book, with lots of riddles, wordplay, and characters that I was looking forward to seeing Savage's take on. I am not as big of a fan of the original book Through the Looking Glass as I am of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but I will say that Savage's version of this story was awesome. I'm glad that the adventure for Tyrus and Celia was unexpected, especially the ending.

It was great that so much of the plot dealt with the chess battles since chess is an important part of Through the Looking Glass, but that it was not bogged down in chess. Every instance of it in the plot made a lot of sense and it was entertaining to see how it fit into the story overall.

Loved the riddle battle with Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle Dum, the poetry with Humpty and Dumpty, the different chess battles throughout the entire book, the wordplay (both physically in the book and in the story in general), and I loved the eerie scenes with the Black Sheep.

Also, I want to mention how much I love the fact that Tyrus has started a book club in this one and that they are reading Inkheart. Makes me want to read that book again. It's one of my favorites, that I first read in ninth grade. And I hope that this will lead even more young readers to pick it up.

What a great follow-up that added so much more to the world and to the characters as a whole! It was great to see Tyrus and Celia learn even more about themselves and grow as young people. I'm glad that young readers get to see such great character growth throughout both books in this series.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC of the book. All opinions are my own. *