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Piano Day & Writing Update

Happy Piano Day! The 88th day of the year (because 88 piano keys). I once dreamed of releasing my gaslamp fantasy short story The Secret Piano on Piano Day, but life had other plans, and that’s okay.  The Secret Piano is still coming, one of these days, to my newsletter. (You can still sign up if you want to be the first to get the free short story when it does happen! Or if you’re interested…

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#Books #Fantasy #Gaslamp #Gaslamp Fantasy #My Short Stories #My Writing #Short Stories #Short Story #The Secret Piano #Writing

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#MarchMagics Post the 4th

Rainy Thursday here. Hard to believe the month is two-thirds over! Status updates for #MarchMagics! I finished Feet of Clay (by Terry Pratchett) and it nearly finished me. XD By which I mean that I accidentally stayed up until 3 a.m. (on Daylight Savings week too) to finish it. Whoops! Sam Vimes is top notch, as always, and it was a lot of fun reading just-for-fun. I’ve done a lot of re-reading…

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#AmReading #DWJMarch #MarchMagics #Diana Wynne Jones #Fantasy #Giveaway #Howl&039;s Moving Castle #March Magics #Terry Pratchett

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Giveaway: Howl's Moving Castle!

Howl’s Moving Castle paperback giveaway! (US only, sorry! Because shipping is a beast…) To celebrate 12 years since I first read HMC, I’m so excited to announce I’m giving away a paperback copy of this gorgeous edition I ordered all the way from “across the pond” from Waterstones in the UK and has now made its way to my abode in Texas where the trees are blossoming in a way Sophie and Howl would…

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#MarchMagics #Diana Wynne Jones #Giveaway #Howl&039;s Moving Castle #March Magics

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All power corrupts but we need electricity (#MarchMagics 2024, post the second)

A smattering of books for March Magics. The wall socket in the back of the photo reminds me of a DWJ quote. XD “All power corrupts, but we need electricity.” -Archer’s Goon by Diana Wynne Jones Which was also quoted in Deep Secret, which I find MOST fun, because DWJ was quoting one of her books in another one of her books. XD These are some possibilities of books I might want to read this…

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#AmReading #DWJMarch #MarchMagics #Charmed Life #Chrestomanci #City Watch #Diana Wynne Jones #Eight Days of Luke #Feet of Clay #Howl&039;s Moving Castle #March Magics #Poetry #Terry Pratchett #The Game

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#MarchMagics 2024: Post the First

March Magics is here! And I’m excited to spend some time (even if I have very little of it) in some Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett books. If you’re looking for the intro post for the #MarchMagics event, Chris Lovegrove has it over on his blog here! I don’t have specifics of a post in mind but in keeping with my ruminations in the previous post, I’m just here to type up something and post…

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#AmReading #MarchMagics #City Watch #Diana Wynne Jones #Discworld #Fantasy #Howl&039;s Moving Castle #March Magics #Sam Vimes #Terry Pratchett

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March Magics is Back! (2024)

Just a tiny post today. 🙂 I’m super excited that March Magics is returning this year, hosted this time by Chris over at Calmgrove! Oh happy day! Thanks to Chris for carrying on the torch! (Originally created/hosted by Kristen at WeBeReading, who retired from hosting the March event after last year’s, and to whom we’re all very grateful.) March Magics is my excuse every year to have a bit of…

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#AmReading #MarchMagics #Diana Wynne Jones #Fantasy #Howl&039;s Moving Castle #Terry Pratchett

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Lloyd Alexander's 100th Birthday (+Giveaway)

Today is the 100th birthday of one of my favorite (and most influential) authors! Lloyd Alexander (1924-2007) was the author of dozens of delightful books, including the Chronicles of Prydain. (Stay tuned for a Prydain paperback set giveaway!) My Lloyd Alexander collection — and my cat Callette, since Lloyd loved cats and included them in most of his works, so it seemed appropriate! Lloyd…

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#Chronicles of Prydain #Favorite Books #Lloyd Alexander #Lloyd Alexander&039;s birthday #Prydain #The Iron Ring #The Westmark Trilogy #Vesper Holly

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Happy Release Day, Wrought of Lions and Sand!

Happy release day to my top-anticipated book of the year, Wrought of Lions and Sand by E.J. Kitchens! This epic fantasy series features my favorite mentor character ever, the bestest guards, heroes I adore (Athdar! Breccan!), lots of princesses (the first book was a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling), magical critters (baby lions and white foxes tho’!), banter, a smidge of romance, action…

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#Book Release #E.J. Kitchens #Epic Fantasy #Mentors #Of Magic Made #Twelve Dancing Princesses #Wrought of Lions and Sand #Wrought of Serpent and Snow #Wrought os Silver and Ravens

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Shadows of the Ambassadorial Halls by Amelia Nichole

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#AmReading #Amelia Nichole #Book Review #Books #Fantasy #Gaslamp Fantasy #Serial Fiction #Shadows of the Ambassadorial Halls #Steampunk

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i am a tree (a poem)

(Photo by Nong on Unsplash) I Am a Tree (A Poem) Copyright © 2023 by Deborah O’Carroll My branchesBlow in the windLeaves turningBrownFeeling unlike meCan’t wait for springWhen the leavesWill turnGreen againNotFadedLike now I am a treeBeautifulAliveBut only sometimesNot in thisSeasonOf fadingBefore green spring Someone passes by my trunkStopsSnatching a leafFalling from my crownCatch with…

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#Autumn #Fall #Inspiration #My Poetry #Poem #Poems #Poetry #seasons

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Writing Update

One year ago, I wrote this post. I thought I was ready to share it and get back to normal in my writing life. Things haven’t gone so smoothly, and I’m not where I’d like to be or where I thought I’d be, but I thought it was time to share this update anyway. Perhaps it will give a glimpse of some of my journey trying to find that road of writing these last few years. I may not see the road for…

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#amwriting #Girls Spies and Other Things the Faeries Stole #Glassman #Ishness #Kedran&039;s Wood #Life #My Writing #Operation Foxtail #Tare #Writer&039;s Block #Writing #Writing Goals

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Summer Reading Wrapup (2023)

Long time no blog! But I want to start sharing about books again, so I thought it’d be fun to take a look back at the books I’ve been reading this summer! (Summer here defined as May through August. XD) In give-or-take chronological order, here we go! Saber’s Pride (C.M. Banschbach) This one I technically read earlier in the year since I got to copyedit it (aahh!), but it released in the…

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#AmReading #Book Review #Books #C.J. Brightley #C.M. Banschbach #E.J. Kitchens #Graphic Novels #Hazel B. West #Joanna Ruth Meyer #Jon Del Arroz #McKenzie Catron #Mini Book Reviews #Reading Recap #Reading Roundup #Ronie Kendig #Sarah Chislon #Sarah Holman #Sarah Pennington #Secret of Roan Inish #Selina J. Eckert #Summer Reading #Superheroes #Tara Grayce

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10-Year Blogiversary

It’s the ten-year anniversary of starting this blog! :O I can’t believe I’ve been blogging for a whole decade! I created this, my first blog, on September 9, 2013. ^_^ I’ve been a lot quieter here since starting a book blog in January 2016, starting a Bookstagram in June 2018, getting a lot more busy with life and freelance copyediting work these last few years, and sending my first quarterly…

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#amwriting #WritersLife #Blog Anniversary #Blogiversary #Life Updates #Road of a Writer #Writing

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How to Catch a Glassman (New Short Story Prequel!)

Free #shortstory on my blog today! Even #superheroes have to pay the rent. When Restoren "Glassman" starts receiving broken things to fix with his repairing powers, it may be just the job he needs. But he could find himself in a fix he can't...well...fix.

I’m delighted to share a new Glassman superhero short story here on my blog today! (This takes place before A Night in the Life of Glassman, the other short story about this character so far, so you can read today’s post even if this is your first time meeting Restoren/Glassman.) Enjoy! About How to Catch a Glassman Even superheroes have to pay the rent. When Restoren “Glassman” starts…

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#amwriting #A Night in the Life of Glassman #Free Short Story #Glassman #How to Catch a Glassman #My Stories #My Writing #Short Stories #Short Story #Superhero #Superheroes #Superpowers #Writing

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2022 Books: Stats & Pie-charts!

I neglected to post a general photo of (most of) the books I read in 2022 — at least the physical, photographable copies — so here we are! (There’s a link at the bottom of the post to the full year on Goodreads, including digital ones.) Everything on the top shelf except the last five (a.k.a., not the ones by Diana Wynne Jones or Ally Carter) are books I had the privilege of editing last year! ❤…

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#AmReading #Audiobooks #Piecharts #Reading Roundup #Reading Stats #Year in Review #Year Reading Wrapup

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Tare Character Art Reveal! (+ Newsletter!)

I'm so excited to share character art for a character from my modern fantasy Kedran's Wood series WIP. In fact, for my favorite character ever: Tare! #characterart (Art by @artfulscribbler )

Guys, I have art of my character Tare! :O I’d never commissioned art before, but I won a character commission from the amazing Hazel B. West of Midnight Coffee Art and so I picked Tare because he’s my favorite of my characters. (Don’t tell the others. Just kidding. It’s no secret. XD) I was nervous about it but Hazel was AMAZING and so patient and helped me figure out what I was looking for in…

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#Art Commissions #Author Newsletter #Books #Character Art #Contemporary Fantasy #Hazel B. West #Kedran&039;s Wood Series #Modern Fantasy #My Stories #My Writing #Newsletter #Suburban Fantasy #Tare #The Owl of Kedran&039;s Wood #The Secret of Kedran&039;s Wood #The Shadow of Kedran&039;s Wood #Urban Fantasy #Writing #Writing Update

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Wrapup: #MarchMagics 2022!

Recapping my recent #DianaWynneJones and #TerryPratchett adventures!

Time got away from me (clearly! XD), but it’s time to look back at the Diana Wynne Jones and Pratchett related goodness I got up to in March — and, actually, April as well! I didn’t manage to finish up my March Magics goals during the month since I got crazy busy, so I carried on a bit of the reading in April, which was rather nice, actually. And now that I’m trying to ease back into blogging, I…

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#AmReading #DWJMarch #MarchMagics #Books #Cart and Cwidder #Diana Wynne Jones #Diana Wynne Jones March #Drowned Ammet #DWJ #Everard&039;s Ride #Fantasy #Howl&039;s Moving Castle #March Magics #Terry Pratchett #The Color of Magic #The Crown of Dalemark #The Dalemark Quartet #The Spellcoats #Tiffany Aching #Wintersmith