One of the happiest moments for a book blogger is eagerly going to their postbox & seeing what delightfully wicked print books have arrived for their reading pleasure! I have always held a keen interest in postal mail, being a long-term postal letter correspondent which has given me such a heart of joy seeing envelopes & bundles of love arrive from dear friends around the world. Imagine my new excitement in seeing the books I am reviewing arriving by publisher, author, publicist, or literary agent! Such an exciting new chapter in postal splendor!
I have been wanting to blog about my excitement about being placed on certain blog tours and/or in receiving books for review direct from authors, publishers, or publicists. I originally came across a weekly meme on Mondays entitled Mailbox Monday and you could say, that my new feature on Jorie Loves A Story is an extended idea from the original! Except to say, with one minor switch-up! Although I attempt to write down when books arrive by Post, I am never quite as certain when the books arrive as I am always reading the next book in hand! Therefore, please join me as I get excited about the books on my shelf which are next in line to read!
ChocLitUK postal bundle: The Maid of Milan by Beverley Eikli, Flight to Coorah Creek by Janet Gover, Romancing the Soul by Sarah Tranter, The Silent Touch of Shadows by Christina Courtenay, & The Road Back by Liz Harris arrived with much elation as I have created a bit of a niche of celebrating ChocLit Romances in my exclusive feature entitled: #ChocLitSaturdays!
Each Saturday that I am able too, I highlight a ChocLitUK author & novel! I also strive towards hosting the authors for extra features as they are available to do so! Curling up with a ChocLit novel is quite delightful indeed, as you know your going to meet such a wonderful cast of characters, with the warm comfort of romance soaking into your heart as you enter the narrative! I appreciate the well-built back-stories, the honour of courtship and/or marriage, and the ability of a story being wholly wholesome as it is appealing to the senses!
Being a book reviewer for this lovely Indie Publisher from England is a true honour for me as I have always appreciated well-written and conceptualised romance! They tuck in a special goodie for me to find alongside the four books I requested to review, and as you can see from the list of books I mentioned, my surprise this time around was a book! Previously I have been surprised with mocha chocolate covered pencils which declare “Where heroes are like chocolate – irresistible!” For a free taste visit: www.love.choc-lit.com!! The hardest part by far is settling on which books to request, as I am always finding there is such a large breadth of choice! A happy problem to have yet a daunting one at the very same time!
Imagine my happy shock to realise that these particular mocha coloured pencils were not merely chocolate in appearance but how they can be smelt? I suffer through horrid seasonal allergies (i.e. pollen) and the entire time I’ve been receiving the pencils I never could ‘sniff out’ the smell! IF I had not caught a whiff of the chocolate scent attached to these wicked sweet pencils in a ChocLit newsletter (they were relaying the success of the chocolate pencils & pink shirts at a book festival) I am not sure when I would have realised it? I can happily report my nose is overjoyed! I am planning on using the pencils for sketching and illustrations! What a happy day it will always be when I sit down to draw!
I knew I wanted to re-visit the writings of Ms. Liz Harris after having read A Bargain Struck as much as having a delightfully spontaneous conversation with her on Twitter about writing and Oxford. The bits she shared with me about her début novel The Road Back, as much as the trivia about how she came to know the writer behind the Inspector Morse novels (who enscribed a blurb on this novel) inspired me to want to read this myself! In times like these, I feel very blessed for Twitter and for the ability it gives all of us to reach out to the writers we are reading and the writers of whom touch our hearts with the stories they compose! Twitter is a conveyor of conversations and of connecting readers to writers. Such a wonderful moment though, to realise that whilst I am sitting in the East Coast of America, Ms. Harris was typing back a reply to me settled in Oxford, England! This reflection reminded me of the initial phone calls I would make aboard whilst calling my dear friends for the first time and hearing their voices coming through with accents and clever turns of phrase! The world is not as large as we may think as it draws closer than we can sometimes believe possible.
Whereas with Romancing the Soul, I decided to embrace a story centered around a past life regression and entertain the idea of how love can become entwined throughout time and not limited to a single life lived. I spoke about this a bit whilst I reviewed a wicked sweet short story entitled: Time Out of Mind. I like seeing different approaches of a story being explored and as the soul is immortal, there is always a certain element of surprise in how far we are willing to eclipse conventional reasoning and enter into the realm of the impossible where dreams, past lives, and elements of the supernatural envelope into our everyday lives. I find it all rather exciting! Flight to Coorah Creek was a bit of a given I would request because I have always held a long-term fascination with Australia and with small Western townes in the United States. Partially out of my love of small townes, frontier settlers, and cattle ranches I eked out a passion for Western & Cowboy literature! Likewise, the Australian Outback mirrors the Western Mountains & Plains due to the long stretch of miles in-between settlements and civilisation! Not to mention the fact, that air ambulances arrived in Florida during my childhood years to help forestall major trauma patients from expiring before they could reach the hospitals who had the right staff of doctors and specialists who lived hours outside of where they were injured or taken ill. The helios that fly the skies with the medical cross are always the ones I try to remember to say a silent prayer over as much as after having witnessed or driving past a newly found accident on the road. First responders have always had my utmost respect due to their selfless dedication of saving lives where nanoseconds count and love hangs in the balance.
Whilst visiting the Wenches (over at The Word Wenches; a favourite haunt of mine) I was caught up in a discussion about time slips & time travel! The visiting author that day happened to be Christina Courtenay of whom I have started to get to know via Twitter (as she is one of the ChocLit authors who tweets quite regularly; inasmuch as the Wenches truly!). I had not expected to win her lovely book but it also happened to be the very book I was betwixt about requesting via ChocLitUK! You see, I could not quite decide whether or not to request this title OR The Silent Touch of Shadows,… I felt that whichever book I did not request I’d make sure to request the next time around! Ha! The stars aligned and I am able to read both! I think what was fantastic about her visit with the Wenches, is finding that I am not the only reader plumb addicted! to time slips and/or time travel stories! I am always quite bemused to see how each writer handles the differences in time, setting, and scope of creating the reality ‘between the layers’ as I am to be fully engrossed into two separate yet equal time eras! I cannot wait to find out how ChocLit authors choose to venture into this exciting realm!
As I have two examples of time slips from Ms. Courtenay to absorb into and find what motivates her as a writer to create the allure for those of us who seek to read time slips in fiction! The last time I was taken by surprise by the utilisation of a clever time slip was when I read Letters from Sky by Jessica Brockmole! To take letters and correspondences to a heightened level of narration was simply the icing on the cake for me! It is the treatment of interweaving a time slip into a story which attracts me the most! This extra special treat of receiving The Secret Kiss of Darkness will round out my #ChocLitSaturdays!
Oh, and I nearly had forgotten to mention that Ms. Courtenay surprised me with a bookmark for The Secret Kiss of Darkness and a miniature crystal ball which is a remarkable likeness to the one on the book cover! I am always happily surprised to see what an author tucks into the book and/or the package in which the book is sent inside! I am not sure about my fellow book bloggers, but I always lit up with such pure joy in seeing the little touches which makes receiving these little bundles of books by post such a wonderful mail day for me! I get all giddy and excited when I find they have enscribed the book to me as well! A little surprise I am not always expecting as most of the books I receive are direct from the publishers or publicists alike! Little moments of happy joy sprinkled into my ordinary days!
I have always fully supported self-published and independently published writers, as I personally always loved the different avenues authors take towards publication. This is one reason why you will oft-times find me showcasing an author from every different side of publishing: mainstream, independent, self-published, and inspirational. Which are truly the four main branches in today’s publishing world, except to say, that I do not put more weight on any single branch, as I accept all writers and all stories on equal ground. Therefore, when I was first approached through the Book Blogging Community by self-published author J. Woods to read her paranormal romance Gilded Feathers I was must esteemed! The story sparked the series which followed known as “the Gilded Feathers” and the premise is quite supernaturally enticing!
I had originally planned to read and review her début novel late last week, but due an unexpected series of life moments running interference with my blog life and my reading adventures, I have had to unfortunately push back my posting schedule. Not only for Gilded Feathers but for my A to Z Challenge posts as well. It is my goal now to read my third foray into paranormal romance alongside a gutting fictional testimony of overcoming insurmountable odds to restore your right to be a mother and to keep your family intact. The book I am now speaking about is Etched On Me by Jenn Crowell who is a traditionally published author I crossed paths with through a weekly twitterverse chat called “#LitChat”. What struck me about her novel is that she is bold about the stories she tells in giving a portal of a glimpse inside the world of a harsh reality many might not realise is completely ‘etched out of one woman’s living reality’. The dichotomy difference between the two will be most apparent, but I also find Ms. Woods to be of equal strength in daring to believe in her writings to the brink of making them available to the world through a lot of grit and determination by choosing the self-publishing route. Each woman strives to give stories which will challenge the perception and the empathy of their readers in different genres. My review of Etched On Mewill post on Tuesday, 15th of April whereas my review of Gilded Feathers will post on Monday, 12th of May.
What inspires me the most about stories and the art of story-telling is how varied the diversity of choice is within what is being offered right now in the world of publishing. Old established literary branches are getting dusted off and revitalised by ingenuity and passion from the voices of today whereas emerging platforms of story craft are bursting out seeking an audience who wants a refreshing change from the passage of what used to be considered the norm. I even find it remarkable how ChocLit is redefining the world of ‘Chick-Lit’ by providing the alternative voice within the already netted and complex world of Romance! Hence why I am always lamenting I am a ‘Choc-Lit’ girl rather than a ‘Chick-Lit’ girl! Laughs heartily. And, although I would truly love to be wrapped inside the comfy cosy soft world of romance on any given day of the week — alas, this girl aches for a healthy relationship-based meeting of the souls; I do find a great amount of joy in mixing it up and adding dashes of intrigue, thought-provoking historical narratives, and books which entice me to stretch further outside the realms of my traditional go-to narrative settings, styles, and time periods. To keep an eye out for the cutting edge daring souls who are a part of a collective movement to write a story which stands on its own wings and feet as to be representative of a new wave of literature. This is what excites me as a reader and what makes being a book blogger such an incredible gift!
Coming up on Friday, 18th of April, will be my review of Inscription a decidedly epic historical romance set amidst intrigue, adventure, and courageous wit! When I read these affirmations attached to the plot, I wasn’t sure if I had bit off more than I could chew OR if I was about to settle into the most wickedly intriguing jolt of my life! Methinks the latter will come into play moreso than the former! Laughs. I must confess that although I oft considered myself to be a daredevil reader, never pinned into any particular genre or styling of story, it was not until I started to host blog book tours that I started to notice that part of my reading world was a bit cut-away from the rest of what was being offered! I think the years I have been without an Indie bookshoppe have hindered me a bit, as I remember the days of my youth in being transfixed by the local author shelves and the event lists of upcoming authors & bookish events treating my heart and mind to the larger sea of fish publishing affords to an eclectic reader. When your a bit out of touch with an Indie bookshoppe, even though I have a beautiful local library, what I am missing are the random conversations overheard about such and such author who is either self-published or using a local press to get their feet wet. Therefore, I am evermore blessed to be crossing paths with all the lovely writers I am right now because as a book blogger who is inspired dearly by the stories and characters she encounters, the girl behind the blog feels an intense gratitude for the opportunities to engage with the stories which alight in her hands!
I am curious then, if any of the newly arrived books for review which are upcoming this week on Jorie Loves A Story, would entice a visiting reader to pick them up for themselves!? OR, if they perchance had the opportunity already to read them, what were their impressions?!What drew you to the author or the narrative within!? And, if you are a fellow book blogger how do you feel your literary wanderings have increased since you started blogging about your reading life? Do you find the twitterverse an exciting portal towards extending friendship and conversation? And, what do you feel is the best gift you’ve received since you started your book blog!?
Cross-posted with Mailbox Monday (a weekly meme) on Monday, 14th of April where book bloggers & readers alike share their inbound books for review, newly purchased books, or otherwise added to their shelves to read. Conversing via: #MailboxMonday My feature was inspired by Mailbox Monday, however as I am always in throes of reading books for review and/or borrowing books from my library, I am never quite as certain which week the books have arrived!
{SOURCES: Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven with edits in Fotoflexer by Jorie. The Maid of Milan, The Secret Kiss of Darkness, The Silent Touch of Shadows, Flight to Coorah Creek, Romancing the Soul, and The Road Back Book Covers provided by ChocLitUK for both review and promotion; used with permission. Gilded Feathers book cover was provided by the author J. Woods for promotion and review; used with permission. Etched On Me book cover was provided by Simon & Schuster for promotion and review; used with permission. Collage of #ChocLitSaturdays created via PicMonkey. The book trailer for The Maid of Milan had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for the opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it.}
I am involved in a world-wide globally connected blogosphere challenge where each blogger who signs into the participant linky is quite literally confirming their express desire to blog straight [except on Sundays!] for *26 Days!* whilst writing *26!* most intriguing & thought-producing alphabet essays! Or, to be comically inspiring, randomly cheeky, and otherwise delightfully entertaining! The bloggers who have signed into the challenge are from all walks of blogosphere life: book bloggers united alongside lifestyle gurus; writers of all literary styles nudged up against travelogues; the gambit runs the full course of each and every theme, topic, subject, and genre you could possibly light your heart with joy to broach in a blog! And, the curious bit to the journey is where your posts lead you as much as where other blogger’s posts inspire you! It’s this fantastic community to celebrate the spirit within the blogosphere as much as the spirit of connection amongst the bloggers who might not have crossed paths with each other otherwise. After all, the road map for blogs is as wide and large as the actual world outside the nethersphere of websites, pixels, and memes! Walk with us whilst we discover a bit about ourselves, our blog, & each other!
I am blogger #552 out of 2279!
Our world is a melting pot books should be too RT @aishacs@mayaprasadwrite so glad you write about India We need more diversity! #yalitchat
{ should be noted:@aishacsposted a multi-post Interview
on the blog Story & Chaiabout diversity in literature; Part II, Part III, Part IV }
Originally I was going to focus on E P I C F A N T A S Yfor Letter E, except to say, that throughout the twitterverse and the book blogosphere I was finding encouragement to draw light on another equally as important discussion of interest E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E! I grew up in a moderately sized city to the extent that the world was outside my door, the essence of the melting pot in vivid colours and dimensions was all around me. I loved the multicultural heritages I grew up near and I enjoyed the conversations I had with those who could help me understand traditions, cultures, and religions outside of my own. I have many fond memories speaking to Native Americans for instance whether I was at a bookshoppe or at an arts & crafts festival. I loved finding ways to engage with people who could dynamically shift my point of view and endear me to how our differences bridge the gap to how we are all interconnected and related.
Although I grew up in a house full of European descent (for the most part; mostly Briton though), the inertia of connectivity of other cultures was always encouraged and sought out. When you live in a city of any size, you get to see a beautiful cross-section of everyone who lives within the city itself. Whilst your riding the bus or walking down the boulevard you are greeting people as you come across them, accepting them as you speak to them, and within those brief moments of conversation you begin to grow curious about their own stories. Stories in which they grew up sharing within their own families and stories in which they grew up reading inside the books they cherished as bedtime companions.
I always celebrated then when I found multicultural characters in the stories I was personally reading as well as settings outside the norm of the net in which is regularly cast. E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E does not end nor begin on having different perspectives in ethnicity or nationality, as it also is inclusive of the ideal for a balancing of all characters and the lives in which they lead. This can include single | divorced | grandparent | foster parenting, adoptive or step-parent families, LGBT families and individuals; learning difficulties as well as those who are living with a medical handicap, illness, or affliction. Immigrant stories of people and families changing their stars for a life in a new country; biracial and multi-ethnic families. Whilst going further to extend past religious differences and spirituality freedoms to include a cross-section of all representations of a person’s beliefs as much as the differences in how we live, eat, and breathe. Full equality is giving the writer the will to focus on the characters they can personally identify with and as thus, can endear the reader to draw connection with as well. For every well-written story there is a reader who is aching to read a story which has transcended the living reality mantra of the earth being a melting pot and has taken the theory into practice in literature. I hint about my views about all of this under “My Bookish Life“.
E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E for me is reading the world through the lens in which we live. Our world is a beautiful melting pot of cultures, traditions, religions and individualism. Why not celebrate those differences by painting living testaments of our lives as a portrait through the characters we breathe to life in novels? Giving back a bit of the grace in which we are free to live?
by Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story
I recently reviewed a book for my Booking the Rails Feature where I highlighted Wonder by R.J. Palacio who wrote this beautiful book about a boy whose face is altered from other children yet the light of his heart uplifts everyone who meets him. The beauty of the novel itself is showing the grace of living your life as true to who you are on the inside as to reflect back to those who perceive you through prejudicial eyes the joy in being authentically yourself. The barriers people build up between each other can be brought down one by one if we endeavour to understand what alienates us and be determined to draw out empathy and compassion as a first response rather than fear, ignorance, and indifference.
August has a keen philosophical intuitiveness about himself, the dynamics of his family, and his personal living environment around him. He seeks to find solace out of uncertainty and squalls chaos with simplistic truths which etch out the stigmas of which society oft-times places on individuals who are in some shape or form ‘different’ from the ‘norm’. And, the sad truth is that normalcy is in the eye’s of the beholder! To be normal is quite definitively the ability to be wholly true to yourself, your internal resolve of spirit, and in knowing who you are without the prejudgements and negative thoughts of others assembling into your heart. August has instinctively dry humour to convey his thoughts about life, dispelling any unease to meet him because he breaks the ice by simply being himself! He draws you into his sphere by engaging you in a way you were not expecting! No pretense. He’s simply ‘August’, who prefers to go by ‘Auggie’, the brother of Via and the boy who wants to live like a regular ten-year old entering fifth grade!
Each book I am selecting to highlight as part of my Booking the Rails feature will be a story which will challenge convention and/or the ideals of story-telling and branch out into new horizons for both my readers and those who find the books on the trains. I want to start a conversation on those posts of giving dialogue and conversation to topics and subjects that will benefit from having a light shined on them. It’s my own wink and a nod to creating a new pathway back into the culture of being ‘bookish’ and ‘conversational’ with each other. Rather than merely nodding in agreement or staying silent altogether. More of my thoughts on this are contained on my visit to The Star Chamber Show : Episode 16. (archived & easy to listen too)
Carol Antoinette Peacock & Pepper in the author’s office. Peacock Family Album.
Previously, I showcased the adoptive story of Carol Antoinette Peacock whereupon her story entitled: Red Thread Sisters embarks on the journey of adopting children from China. This is one of many yet to appear on Jorie Loves A Story, as one of my sub-focuses on my blog will be positive adoptive stories for those who are considering foster adoptive options as well as international, open, and other avenues towards adopting children into their family home. I wanted to find authors who give a positive testament of the emotional keel a child or teen experiences prior to adoption as much as the transitional period after they are adopted. (if the story broaches both time periods) What I appreciated about Ms. Peacock’s writings are her honesty in leading with her heart and her own adoptive story in which the Red Thread Sisters stems from at its core.
There are two sayings throughout “Red Thread Sisters”, as well as in the personal letter attached in the afterword by the author herself,… one is a meditative pause of ‘light reflected as brightly lit as lunar lanterns’, and the second is the poignancy behind the entitlement of the book itself, ‘of the delicate red thread that unites all of us in a shared common bond, where those who cross our path are meant to be in our lives, and despite the appearance of the thread’s nature, will hold steadfast and strong perpetually’. The book gives pause to any woman considering motherhood through adoption and any father choosing his path of fatherhood through adoption, because it touches on the raw emotions that are silently withheld from the adoptive parents, by children who live in constant fear that something they do or say or not do even will be grounds for them to return back from whence they came. To become un-adoptable simply because they didn’t live up to the adoptive parents expectations. It’s also a book that examines adoption from the reflections of the children themselves, as they struggle to yield and bend with a new rhythm completely different from the one they were used too whilst at an orphanage, group home, or foster home. They have to learn its okay to make mistakes, to learn and grow through their experiences, and that a forever family isn’t co-dependent on perfection but rather with honesty, heart, emotion, and love. May we always keep ourselves lit from within with a light of hope as powerful and strong as lunar lanterns, to advocate for adoption and the expansion of our hearts and worlds when a child in need of a family, finds one in those of us willing to open our hearts and homes to them.
One author where I found a strong sense of giving E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E a new definition of purpose is Laura Resau. Her blog is linked to my sidebar where the RSS feeds join the mixture towards the bottom. I have been making purchase requests for her books at my local library each chance that I can as well. The tricky bit is to remember which book of hers I read first: What the Moon Saw OR The Indigo Notebook!? I have taken it upon myself to read all of her novels, but I am still in the middle of accomplishing this goal! I have also read Star in the Forest.
Photography Credit: Tina Wood Photography
Laura Resau is the award-winning author of seven highly acclaimed young adult and children’s novels– What the Moon Saw, Red Glass, Star in the Forest, The Queen of Water, and the Notebooks series (Delacorte/Random House). She draws inspiration from her time abroad as a cultural anthropologist, ESL teacher, and student. Loved by kids and adults alike, her novels have garnered many starred reviews and honors, including the IRA YA Fiction Award, the Américas Award, and spots on Oprah’s Kids’ Book Lists. Praised for its sensitive treatment of immigration and indigenous people’s issues, Resau’s writing has been called “vibrant, large-hearted” (Publishers’ Weekly on Red Glass) and “powerful, magical” (Booklist on What the Moon Saw). Resau lives with her husband, young son, and beagle in Fort Collins, Colorado. She donates a portion of her royalties to indigenous rights organizations in Latin America.
The Indigo Notebook Book Trailer by the AuthorLaura Resau
[ after the 1:00 mark the song continues to be enjoyed by audience ]
Resau has the natural ability of fusing the indigenous culture of Mexico and Ecuador into her novels in such a wonderfully skilled way, that whilst I was reading The Indigo Notebook I instantly flashed back to my own memories of traversing through the interior of Mexico in and around the Federal District and the Yucatán Peninsula! One of these days I want to collect her books for my own personal library, but what I appreciated about my local library is being open to bring in authors who write multicultural stories for a young audience who could benefit from the life lessons and story contained within her pages! As I start to re-read over the books I have already read and progress forward into the ones I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading, I will be writing down my thoughts on my blog! I am always hopeful that through the sharing of my own lamentations about the writers and books which speak to me to the point of being moved emotionally, I will in one small way impact another reader’s life.
E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E : A sampling of Books to Read
{ books I have predominately found through my local library }
UPDATE:per rifflebooks.com errors I’ve moved this list to my #LibraryThing
(as I will be reading these selections throughout [2019] part of my #BeatTheBacklist challenge)
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’ Dell (personal library)
Reaching past our own heritages and our own living environments gives us a wider world view and depth of understanding. We become wholly in-tune with the harmony of the world’s spirit by embracing all the lovely and unique differences which shape our identities. We grow out of love and we give back love each time we endeavour to forge a bridge between our culture and the culture of someone else. We give our spirit a bit of a lift by the joy of celebrating the history of people who live as passionately as we do and whose traditions are as rooted in their culture and families as much as our own. Lessons of connectivity and of friendship will always abound when two souls are willing to make a connection.
One of the books I have oft spoken about online via my blog and my Twitter feeds is “The Golem and the Jinni” by Helene Wecker, which is an atmospheric enriched narrative which crosses the divide between mythology and immigration. She digs deep into the setting of her novel to shift between New York City and the old world in which the Golem and the Jinni originated from. She has a deft hand in revealing human emotions and convictions out of characters who are everything except human! What endeared me to the text is her gift of story-telling to not only enchant you with a magical kinetic plausibility but to give you a full score of characters who are each on their own individual journey towards self-discovery. It’s in this inherent quest to understand both origin and worth in a world set against the tides of where their destinies are taking them, Wecker infuses her narrative with a connection of heart.
Each were set on a course to learn and grow out of their experiences in a place neither expected to be. They each succumb to their inherent natures, but I feel only one of them is able to change the other for the good. Because one of them is stronger than the other as far as knowing how to make good on what has been turned for the bad. Their journey leads not to a resolution of sorts to overcome their individual obstacles towards true freedom, but rather too a junction point that leads them to question everything they felt they knew thus far along. And, in that conclusion the reader has to sit back and ponder the true meaning behind “The Golem and the Jinni”, for was it a journey of theirs that you took or an inward journey of understanding the limitations of humanity?
I am hopeful that more readers will seek out E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E by choosing titles by all authors of all backgrounds who celebrate our united spirit within the global society of nations and nationalities.
Thank you for joining me on DAY 5 | A to Z Challenge!
I am a girl named Jorie who loves a story!
I am a bookish library girl on a quest for literary enlightenment!
I am predominately self-taught and library educated!
I am Mademoiselle Jorie!
Thank you for joining me on this journey!
This marks my fifth post for the:
Which authors do you feel reflect the beauty of E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E? Which authors who are newly published OR have books which will soon be forthcoming would you recommend to be added to the “on the horizon” category of this post!? Which books have captured your heart whilst enveloping you in another person’s shoes and culture?! How do you feel progress has been made to give ever writer a voice and each story the gift for expanding our horizons?
UPDATE: 1 May, 2014: In the weeks since this post was first published I have participated in #diverselit & #WeNeedDiverseBooks movements on Twitter. I also created the tag #EqualityInLit to reflect my personal view and feelings towards diversity and equality in literature. You will denote a new category indexed on Jorie Loves A Story “E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E” which speaks to the heart of how this blog post inspired me to make my views a bit more well-known.
{SOURCES: A to Z Challenge Participant & Letter C Badge provided by the A to Z Challenge site for bloggers to use on their individual posts & blogs to help promote the challenge to others.The photograph of Carol Antoinette Peacock was given to me by the author and used with permission. Laura Resau photograph, author biography & book cover for The Indigo Notebook used with permission by the author. The book trailer by Laura Resau had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portals to this post, and I thank them for this opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Post dividers provided by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com.}
I am involved in a world-wide globally connected blogosphere challenge where each blogger who signs into the participant linky is quite literally confirming their express desire to blog straight [except on Sundays!] for *26 Days!* whilst writing *26!* most intriguing & thought-producing alphabet essays! Or, to be comically inspiring, randomly cheeky, and otherwise delightfully entertaining! The bloggers who have signed into the challenge are from all walks of blogosphere life: book bloggers united alongside lifestyle gurus; writers of all literary styles nudged up against travelogues; the gambit runs the full course of each and every theme, topic, subject, and genre you could possibly light your heart with joy to broach in a blog! And, the curious bit to the journey is where your posts lead you as much as where other blogger’s posts inspire you! It’s this fantastic community to celebrate the spirit within the blogosphere as much as the spirit of connection amongst the bloggers who might not have crossed paths with each other otherwise. After all, the road map for blogs is as wide and large as the actual world outside the nethersphere of websites, pixels, and memes! Walk with us whilst we discover a bit about ourselves, our blog, & each other!
I am blogger #552 out of 2279!
D R A G O N F I C T I O N has been a part of my life ever since I first saw Pete’s Dragon, as it combined two of my favourite loves: fantasy & musicals! The interaction of the cast and of course, the dragon is what endeared me to dragons throughout my childhood! And, yet it wasn’t until I was in my late teens to where I started to seek out D R A G O N F I C T I O N with a passion for finding works of literature which bespoke of the dragons I had hoped to encounter! There is such a cross-sect of literary works featuring dragons that its hard to pick amongst them to bring forward the ones that I am hoping will become the dragons who fill my heart with joy!
Dragons to me, always felt to encompass human-like characteristics that gave you the impression that if any species could live in an accord with us, it would be the dragons! They are generally emotionally driven, feel things deeply with their hearts, and they have keen observation and hearing skills that make them in a position to have empathy and tolerance. I always had the sense inside me that a dragon is as curious in nature as humans, and oft-times could get themselves into a bit of trouble untoward that regard!
I am not necessarily against dragons who have less empathy and humanity inside them such as the more brutish types found in the Harry Potter series, but I do happen to lean more towards the dragons of the Leland Dragons series by Jackie Gamber! I had the honour of reading the complete series whilst hosting either a book review or blog tour with Tomorrow
Artwork Credit: Mathew Perry
Comes Media on behalf of the Seventh Star Press trilogy! The dragons inside Gamber’s series has a penchant for heart and soul, a dedication to community, and a willingness to seek peace over violent warfare. The stories soaked straight into my heart and overflowed me the kind of happiness a reader hopes to stumble across whilst finding both a new author to pursue reading as much as finding a new niche in literature which excites her! It was my honour and pleasure to blog about each installment as they alighted into my hands, and I was thrilled to peaches to be a part of the blog tour for the final novel Reclamation as it contained such a powerful and spiritual ending of epic scale!
My heart still flutters back to the very beginning, when I first became invested into the lives of Kallon and Riza, as it was the singular moment I had realised that there is truly a niche inside dragon fiction which has captured my heart! I was struck by the breadth of the world-building as much as the genuine dialogue of how dragons live, work, and interact with not only their kind but with the humans who live on the fringes of their societies. Not everything was always roses, mind you, but it was a bit like gathering an insider’s glimpse into a world you never expected to have such an intimate portrait of! As I walked further into their realm, I started to see the similarities and the differences between their culture and the humans they were always afeared to become close too.
Prior to reading this lovely series, I was one of the ones who went to see How to Train Your Dragon with the high hopes of nestling into a new dragon film which harked back to my love of Pete’s Dragon! Who wouldn’t love seeing how the Vikings would interact with the misunderstood and oft-times persecuted dragons!? I longed for this particular film to spark a sequel, and I am bursting with excitement for Summer 2014 when it become a release on the silver screen! Sometimes your dreams come true in ways that your not always expecting, and for me, finding ways to have D R A G O N F I C T I O N a focal point in my life has been this book blogger’s life’s ambition! Through book blogging, I am getting the proper chance to exchange conversations with a wider audience of readers, and therein lies the joy! I am meeting fellow fantasy lovers who not only read dragon stories, but are forthcoming about which authors they appreciate and which authors they are hoping to dig into next! Prior to being involved with my own book blog, I found the waters of how to traverse this exciting branch of literature beyond daunting as those readers I would come across at libraries or bookshoppes were not as straight forward on which narratives spoke to them the most! I am thinking this might have something to do with the fact most of those in-person readers were blokes, and I oft noticed there was a discrepancy between their views and my own. As if perhaps a girl couldn’t hold her salt in the fantasy realms. Sad, yes. True, most definitely! Online I notice the divide doesn’t exist. If you dig fantasy, you rock to the fantasy lovers! Gender doesn’t even enter into the conversation, and that is something to celebrate! Of course, this might not be true ‘everywhere’ but I can only relate what my personal experiences have been and hence how my experiences might differ from others. I do hope in the future to be in an area where there is a wider net of readers and ones who are not as prejudicial towards each other as readers are here.
Next to (writers who are) research enthusiasts, my next favourite writer is the wordsmith! The one who uses a palette of words to paint the portraits of what evolves into the stories that light up our imaginations with such a vigorous intensity! They use words in a fashion that infuses emotion, heart, and observation in a way that is both poetic and brilliantly unique. And, being emotional beings (dragons), I would wager could lead to disappointments, misunderstandings, and grievously difficult emotional keels! She eclipses the depth of their personality with deft skill! Soulful! Dragons to me, have always come across as being ‘soulful’, filt to the brim with an ageless wisdom and a mission to seek out understanding in things that they do not always understand at first.
In March, whilst visiting Fantasy Cafe [one of my favourite fantasy-based book bloggers!] I started to have a bookish discussion about ‘D R A G O N F I C T I O N‘:
@JLovesAStory I haven’t yet read any of the dragon books you were thinking about, but I loved Robin Hobb’s related 3 trilogies.
I had not realised that I had written down Robin Hobb as a perspective D R A G O N F I C T I O N author whilst curating a short list underneath my review of Redheart, which proves that sometimes time and memory are not as they ought to be! I was most esteemed of this conversation because it proved to me that I am on the right path as far as the writers I am seeking out and the novels of which interest me the most! When she had mentioned the series by Marie Brennan I was enraptured as soon as I pulled up information about the book series! I mean, who wouldn’t want to soak into a world based on a ‘dragon naturalist’ perspective!? I have always been properly hinged to the natural world, and this felt to me as though a piece of my own world was crossing into my fictional wanderings! The sketches and illustrations which are featured in the novel’s cover-art is beyond impressive!
Likewise, I’ve been attending the #genrechat sessions on Twitter, whereupon a heap of topics are discussed but mostly we’re appreciators of science fiction & fantasy, and thereby this conversation was a lead-in:
@JLovesAStory Some authors you might want to check out include Robin Hobb, Rachel Hartman, James Stevens, and A.D. Trosper.
On my own, I have stumbled across a few authors who speak to me as being writers I could sink my teeth into their fantastical worlds where dragons roam and my heart can alight inside a well-built world. Enchanted Forest Chronicles byPatricia C. Wrede is one of the series I latched onto due to the following reasons and I happily stumbled across an interview of Wrede’s whilst typing this post!
The Temeraire series byNaomi Novik is another series I came across as I tried to unearth series that were a bit set aside from the norm. I wanted to try to find dragons I would appreciate reading but also have an undercurrent heart of a story which would resonate with me as a deep appreciator of historical fiction. In fantasy, I love the writers who build these well-lit worlds where you can nearly fill your eyes with their entirety by the time you conclude each individual story. Your mind and heart fill with such a warm glow of visiting that you immediately want to duck back inside and see what has happened since you last had been there.
Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik : Book Trailer viaNaomi Novik
There are a few book bloggers I try to regularly read who have the same affinity for fantasy as I do:
Fantasy Cafe – I enjoy how she goes beyond the basics of the books she reads and her fondness for chatting about the books she enjoys!
Bookish Whimsy – She actually first inspired me to seek out Finnikin of the Rock & Classics Re-Told! Always inspiring on my visits!
On Starships and Dragonwings– Hostess of the Friday link exchange for Science Fiction & Fantasy reviews, discussions, & giveaways!
Once Upon A Time – One of the book bloggers who most inspired me whilst I was creating Jorie Loves A Story!
Each of these book bloggers brings something new and different to the table. In the way they shape their reviews to the way they are willing to engage with readers and book bloggers alike! I have always appreciated their kindnesses and once I get back into visiting blogs on a more regularly basis, I am hoping to leave comments regularly and continue to seek out the books they are introducing me too! They have a wealth of information that I do encourage you to seek out yourself!
Being that I am posting my “Letter D” a full day after it was meant to be featured, I had the pleasure of dropping by:
I was attempting not to reveal my pure joy in seeing that Amrita posted about ‘dragons’ on her Letter D day!! I was elated beyond what I can express seeing that we share such a wicked sweet affinity for the lovely creatures! And, to think that we each are seeking out the same ‘humanness’ in D R A G O N F I C T I O N is quite stellar indeed!
A short listing of books & authors of D R A G O N F I C T I O NI have uncovered:
Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle, Book 1) by Christopher Paolini (*earmarked to read for TBR Challenge)
A Natural History of Dragons (Memoirs of Lady Trent, Book 1) by Marie Brennan
The Dragon Keeeper (The Rain Wilds, Book 1) by Robin Hobb after reading Farseer, Liveship Traders, and Tawny Man series!
His Majesty’s Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1) by Naomi Novik
the World of Pern by Anne McCaffrey (I am still trying to sort out where to ‘begin’)
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
The authors Mr. Hallowell recommended Rachel Hartman, James Stevens, and A.D. Trosper (the last two of whom I need to research!)
I will not know for sure which new stories of D R A G O N F I C T I O N will take my breath away, but I do know this, the mere fact that there are new dragons to meet and new characters outside of dragonkind to embrace, I am going to be a happy dragon girl for a very, very long time yet to come! In the meantime, I was inspired to create my own contribution to spreading the joy of reading this sub-genre of fantasy by giving those of us on Twitter a hashtag to use for conversations &/or book suggestions: #dragonfiction! Start using it today! Rock on, dear hearts! Rock on!
Thank you for joining me on DAY 4 | A to Z Challenge!
I am a girl named Jorie who loves a story!
I am a bookish library girl on a quest for literary enlightenment!
I am predominately self-taught and library educated!
I am Mademoiselle Jorie!
Thank you for joining me on this journey!
This marks my fourth post for the:
And, might I ask a Question I previously broached on Jorie Loves A Story on Day 4?
IF your a reader of dragon lore and fiction, which books and series stand out in your mind as the next ‘best’ read for me to engage in!? I’ll compile a list, and when I go to sit down with more books of this nature, I will pull your suggestions together and see how many I can read! I do have copies of “Eragon” & “Brisinger” on my self as much as I am curious about: the Temeraire series byNaomi Novik, the Rain Wild Chronicles byRobin Hobb, Pern byAnne MacCaffrey, and the Enchanted Forest Chronicles byPatricia C. Wrede, of which I have stumbled across thus far! IF you’ve read any of these, which were your favourites!? And, what warmed you to the story of Leland Province, as I reviewed the trilogy!? Have you read and enjoyed any of the other authors or books I have mentioned!?
{SOURCES: A to Z Challenge Participant & Letter D Badge provided by the A to Z Challenge site for bloggers to use on their individual posts & blogs to help promote the challenge to others. Trilogy book covers for the Leland Dragon series provided by Tomorrow Comes Media and used with permission. The book trailers Crucible of Gold & Seraphina as well as the author interview by Open Road Media Videos had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for the opportunity to share more about this novel & film. Tweets were able to be embedded by codes via Twitter.}
Coincidentally, this particular {RAL} was meant to be commenced between my friend Maggie’s blog & my own during the lovely month of {January!} However, towards that end, I found myself lacking the hours necessary to devote to achieving the goals I had set forth in my mind! I truly wanted to celebrate not only a new Brontë classic I had not yet read, but I wanted to read it in tandem with a dearest of a friend who was as wrapped up in the mirth of reading this particular selection as I had been! We bonded over the early bits of Septemb-Eyre, which technically is another {RAL} in which by all outside appearances I achieved a most epic fail! From my perspective, I simply found myself caught up in the coattails of wicked sweet readalongs at a point in time which worked against me rather than with me! I had this to say on #JLASblog‘s twitterland feeds:
What is the best course of action if life throws you too many lemons to complete a RAL, a Thon, or a #readingchallenge?! Begin anew & soar!
Within thirty short days of celebrating my lovely journey as a bookish blogger, whereupon I shall be commencing my very first ‘blogoversary!’*,… I must say I felt as though bits and bobbles of this journey are starting to come full circle. In how there is a bit of a difference between ardent intent and dedicated motivation verse the peculiarities of the reality in which we all must live our lives. As readers who are addicted to the initial inertia of discovery as much as the euphoric exultation of the reading experience itself; we are both bound and fluxed into the vacuüm space of time’s continuum. There are certain road blocks which invariable arrive at the precise moments when we believe in a rather futility of fashion that our calendar is free of cluttered nuances of everyday woe as much as obligations of which we are committed to engage in. Our personal lives outside the bookish blogosphere sometimes vex us to supernova proportions, but we have to yield, drawing in copious amounts of patience filled breaths awaiting the day when everything aligns just as we had hoped! Reading is never meant to be rushed through to the brink of blinding speed but rather absorbed in such a way as to process the story through all of our senses as though it were a living experience.
My approach to reading the classics thus far afield, I must say has had its unique share of ripples in the vortex! And, yet there is a part of me who feels as though the original challenge to read each book which has captivated me is still in progress rather than closed for progress! Time is temporal and reading by extension has a limitless expiration date!
{*} I count my blogoversary not by the day of which I launched Jorie Loves A Story but rather by the hour in which I created my blog!
#WutheringHeights Chat #1: 21Feb
Part I: Chapters I-X Chat #2: 28FEB
Part 1: Chapters XI- Part II: Chapter 7
Chat #3: 8MAR <— The *ONLY!* chance left to converse!
Part 2: Chapters 8-20
{ betwixt a migraine, a cold, and a garishly brutal Spring pollen allergy;
i was forthwith out of contention! }
By hook, by crook, by wicked intent,… alas no! Another tale’s beginning perhaps! I am endeavouring to reclaim my interest for the Brontë sisters by deferring to Ms. Emily’s Gothic and haunting tale (presumably, I have not yet entered Wuthering Heights; not now, not ever!) to bring me back full circle into Jane Eyre! Shall you follow along with me and anxiously watch each week throughout March if I not only meet my Chapter deadlines but if I am able to once more put thought to keys and type out my ruminations as I clarify them? Or, perhaps you’re a veteran of the classics already full of moon and heart for dear Ms. Emily!? Why not drop by as I reach each Chapter bracket, converse a bit on this timeless story and wander around the discussions on An American in France whilst your here!? We’d be grateful to have you and look forward to your input and opinions! The classics are meant to be dissected and discussed! Let us dig deeper into the core of the classical stories by exchanging our thoughts, views, and observations! Rock on, dear hearts! Rock on!
{ Reading Diary }
{ periodic updates will appear }
{SOURCE: Badge for Jorie Loves A Story created by Ravven with edits by Jorie in Fotoflexer.}
The badge for this Reading Challenge disappeared when the blog was deleted. Originally the blog post was located here: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2013/12/01/a-year-in-re-reading-a-2014-reading-challenge
{Official Rules & Blurb}
The (very brief) rundown to this challenge:
This reading challenge runs from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014
You can join at any time
Any book is acceptable in this challenge so long as you’ve read it in the past; perhaps it was a DNF you wanted to revisit, perhaps it’s a book you’ve read and loved but don’t remember the details too much. It’s totally up to you how you want to define this
Linking your reviews to THIS POST (originally located: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2013/12/30/a-year-in-re-reading-a-2014-reading-challenge-master-list) is optional but strongly recommended just so that we can share titles and thoughts with other bloggers, learn new titles out there and get to know each other in the process
Levels & Goals :
1 – 4 books — Occasional re-reader
5 – 9 books — Re-reading pro!
10+ books — Re-reading champ!
{Reason for Participation}
The books I am outlining to re-read this year were books I made a bit of progress with towards completing prior to the challenge beginning! The total time I’ve attempted to read them goes back to 2009 and leads up until the close of 2013! A few of the selections I truly did read in full, enjoyed immensely, and am opting to re-read them in order to blog about my ruminations! Either that, or simply to visit once more with the characters! Others, I might have only had a nip and a nod of a glimpse into before they had to boomerang back to the library!
{Book Selections}
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau
A Vintage Affair by Isobel Wolff
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates
Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler
The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe by Mary Simses
The Golden Hour by Maiya Williams
Fools Rush In by Janice A. Thompson
{SOURCE: A Year of Re-Reading Badge provided by Caffeinated Life and used with permission.}
This is one reason why you will oft-times find me showcasing an author from every different side of publishing: mainstream, independent, self-published, and inspirational. Which are truly the four main branches in today’s publishing world, except to say, that I do not put more weight on any single branch, as I accept all writers and all stories on equal ground. Therefore, when I was first approached through the Book Blogging Community by self-published author J. Woods to read her paranormal romance Gilded Feathers I was must esteemed! The story sparked the series which followed known as “the Gilded Feathers” and the premise is quite supernaturally enticing!
now speaking about is Etched On Me by Jenn Crowell who is a traditionally published author I crossed paths with through a weekly twitterverse chat called “#LitChat”. What struck me about her novel is that she is bold about the stories she tells in giving a portal of a glimpse inside the world of a harsh reality many might not realise is completely ‘etched out of one woman’s living reality’. The dichotomy difference between the two will be most apparent, but I also find Ms. Woods to be of equal strength in daring to believe in her writings to the brink of making them available to the world through a lot of grit and determination by choosing the self-publishing route. Each woman strives to give stories which will challenge the perception and the empathy of their readers in different genres. My review of Etched On Me will post on Tuesday, 15th of April whereas my review of Gilded Feathers will post on Monday, 12th of May.
Resau has the natural ability of fusing the indigenous culture of Mexico and Ecuador into her novels in such a wonderfully skilled way, that whilst I was reading The Indigo Notebook I instantly flashed back to my own memories of traversing through the interior of Mexico in and around the Federal District and the Yucatán Peninsula! One of these days I want to collect her books for my own personal library, but what I appreciated about my local library is being open to bring in authors who write multicultural stories for a young audience who could benefit from the life lessons and story contained within her pages! As I start to re-read over the books I have already read and progress forward into the ones I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading, I will be writing down my thoughts on my blog! I am always hopeful that through the sharing of my own lamentations about the writers and books which speak to me to the point of being moved emotionally, I will in one small way impact another reader’s life.
