Melody Personette's Blog

Sooooo, I'm sure your aware from the way my Instagram blew up on Saturday that I was having a blast at the local Comic Con! Like always I was super anxious the week before... I always get myself all worked up about the most exciting and smallest things to the point where I'm like why do I even bother making plans? Why do I bother going outside the house? And then once I get to the exciting thing I planned I am perfectly fine and not anxious at all and everything goes perfectly fine. #anxietyproblems (yes I do hashtags like an immature teenager but I honesty think the whole hashtag thing in day to day conversation and blogs and stuff is hilarious so I do it anyways).

Anyways, it was a complete blast! I would do it again in a heartbeat. Heck I would have gone Friday, Saturday and Sunday if Sunday hadn't happened to be Easter. Sean Maguire from Once Upon a Time (he was a lot of fun) was there along with Cary Elwes (he was hilarious and really awesome!), Jewel Staite from Firefly (she was super sweet and great). Charlie Cox was there (*cue screaming Daredevil fans in the distance*). My friend Paige completely went fangirl crazy when she got a picture with him and got to sit through his panel. The Sean Maguire panel was going on in the middle of that one or I would have totally gone with to see Charlie Cox. The panels were fun and all but they weren't my favorite part. I actually got a little antsy and ready to go half way through all three that I went through, mostly because none of them were like my all time favorites. The vendors were awesome and they had the coolest stuff there! I got a Gambit poster and some Charles Xavier earrings and a TVD magnet and some New Mutant comics which I was so psyched about. There was so much there to look at and I could have bought everything in that giant room. They even had like a life size Toothless to take pictures with. A cosplayer Tony Stark and his car and the Ghost Rider bike to take picture with for like 20 bucks (I learned that the hard way when I got on it and got yelled at haha).

But I think my ultimate favorite part was the cosplayers! Some of these costumes were hardcore and gorgeous and amazing! I took pictures with so many people and it was the best! I honestly could have just spent the whole day looking around and looking at people's costumes and getting pictures with them. It was so cool! Next year I have decided that I am totally going to do a hardcore or semi-hardcore cosplay of someone (I haven't decided on who yet... I don't really look like any fictional characters).

If you have the opportunity to go to a comic con or if you know one is coming to a city near you I would encourage you to go. It is so worth the money and everyone there is so nice and friendly and it's a really great experience. And honestly it isn't very expensive (if you can stop yourself from buying everything there!).

Here's a few pictures to convince you to go:

This was too cool!
We literally followed this guy down the hall on accident and then I was like you know what? Can I have a picture?
Those clones were everywhere! I saw them repeatedly throughout the day haha
Batman!
This is my fave picture! He was a very good Kylo Ren That girl with the box on her head was weird... I saw her couple of times. The Anna and Regina were gorgeous! And I found Commander Cody and Arrow! Best. Day. Ever.
Also Bobba Fett and some bad panel pictures (I got some awesome seats right up front though)
And a few spoils from the day. I am dying to wear my Xavier earrings! (Also I went in a Legion inspired outfit but I don't think anyone noticed. I still felt pretty awesome wearing it though haha. Though just a tip... unless your cosplaying don't wear a dress or skirt to Comic Con especially if you'll be waiting in lines and sitting cuz sitting on the ground in a skirt is awkward and uncomfortable lol). So yeah, you should definitely go to a Comic Con. If you do don't be afraid to go up and ask people for pictures cuz everyone I asked for pictures were super awesome about it and super nice in general.

So yeah. Go to a Comic Con and have a blast and be your geeky, weird, fangirl self amongst people who will not judge and are as big of geeks as you are!

Have a great weekend everyone!

I've realized something about us writers and readers and consumers of stories over the past few weeks and I figured I should share.
Because the title of this post is more or less inspired by this episode... plus Andrew. The ultimate Storyteller.
The past few months I've been in a big reading slump. Alwyn Hamilton broke that slump momentarily with her Traitor to the Throne (which I could not put down!!) but now I find myself re-entering my reading slump. Despite my lack of being able to get into a good book I have been consuming, devouring TV shows. When I say devour I mean for real devouring them. I think it really started with Buffy back in November 2016. I went through like... four months of being sick for weeks on end and so I had lots of time on my hands to watch shows. Let me just say I devoured Buffy and then I went and gobbled up Angel too (as in his show... sometimes I think they should have come up with a different title instead of naming the show after the main character). I'm pretty sure there was another show right after that that I binged too but I can't remember it. The next one I remember eating up is Trollhunters (don't judge!). I felt sort of awful as a writer and as a reader that I'm not reading too many books this year. I'm not devouring them and loving them and searching desperately for more of them. Not with books anyways. TV shows have become my new creative outlet, my new way of gaining inspiration. I devour them and I love them and I search desperately for more of them. Is that bad? Is that wrong as a reader and writer to be more into TV shows than into books?

For a while I thought, how am I supposed to write well, to grow in my writing if I'm not reading books?! One of the biggest rule as a writer is to read. Read, read, read. By reading we not only enjoy ourselves but learn from other writers, masters of the trade if you will. I thought, watching all these shows is great and I love them but how am I supposed to learn and grow my writing by watching TV shows?! There's no sentences and wording I can deconstruct. Just plots and character development and dialogue and setting and world building and, and, and.


I missed the whole point! I told myself TV shows aren't going to teach me how to be a better writer. Not when it comes to descriptions and where to put this word and how this sentence should go. But those are all small stuff! Easily fixed! I was missing the point all along and I finally realized why I have become more drawn to TV shows than I have to books. Yes I will always love books and I crave the next time I will get lost in one and I adore that feeling you get when you just have to stop for a moment and fangirl over that one sentence that was written just perfectly or that one description that makes you green with jealousy because you wished you had come up with it. But TV shows hold so much more. While watching Buffy and Angel and even Trollhunters I've come to realize how much I truly appreciate the art of directing. The certain way the camera is pointing at that one character in that one scene that makes it all so meaningful. The coloring of a scene, the carefully placed props, hidden meanings within settings. A song playing during an emotional moment that just makes you feel deep in your gut for that one character. (The best examples I can give for that is that one part in Power Rangers movie... I won't give any spoilers but that really emotional part near the end when that song is playing. And the end scene between Buffy and Spike in Beneath You). Not to mention the actor's facial expression. The tiniest twitch of the eyebrow or move of a hand. It's so hard to put such minute detail into a book (trust me I have been trying so hard to capture those facial expression and ticks that I now see in my characters whenever I write). It's all so physical and real and right in front of you.

TV shows and movies, even graphic novels and comics, may not teach you sentence structure, how to make a paragraph flow or the other smaller, yet just as important technical parts of writing a book but they do teach you a whole lot. They teach you plot, character arcs, character dynamics, how to write a decent (if epic) romance, how to diversity not only in skin color but in physical attributes and personality, and I think most of all they teach you realistic, well done dialogue. Dialogue is everything in a screen play so when you're absorbing so much TV and movies you inevitably soak in dialogue techniques too that you can apply to your writing. They can even teach you descriptions. With a show you can see the characters face to face. Everything about them. Whether they're tall or short, skinny or heavier. What color hair, skin and eyes they have. Their little ticks and habits. The small "insignificant" things they do with their hands and feet and body and facial expression that makes them, them. Just like with dialogue, if you are absorbing as much TV as I do then you inevitably pick up on those little details and can apply them to your writing.

If you're a writer and your brain is hardwired to write novels or like novel formatted books and yet you find yourself reading more graphic novels/comics/TV shows/movies don't sweat it! Don't feel guilty about it. I've felt a little bit like a hypocrite and kind of guilty for not reading as much even as I sit here and write out a novel... It's this stereotype that all writers much be bookworms and adore books and read books twenty-four/seven and enjoy nothing else except for writing and reading and maybe occasionally a show or movie but books always come first. That's the stereotype that I thought I was for a long time. But as time goes on people change and the way they find inspiration and learn as a writer change too. I still love books. I am dying waiting for A Court of Wings and Ruin and Renegades by Marissa Meyer and I am so buying Our Dark Duet the instant it comes out! Not to mention it is always agony waiting for Shannon Messenger's next book. But those are series and authors that I am - and have been - fiercely loyal to for years and so it's impossible to break the cycle of just not reading their books because I adore them as authors and their characters a ton! Getting into a new series or reading a new book by an author I don't know is slightly harder for me right now so I turn to my familiar TV shows full of familiar actors and that is ok. If you're in a reading slump or are changing as a writer and creative looking for inspiration that is perfectly alright!

So you read those books and watch those shows and fangirl over those movies (any Marvel movie ever!) and you write that novel or short story or novella or screenplay and don't let that stereotype of what a perfect writer is supposed to look like stop you. If you didn't have different creatives and writers out there with variety of what they like and don't like every book would be exactly the same and every writer would be exactly the same! And what fun would that be?

I hope this post has encouraged you guys to keep up the good work and stay motivated as a writer and creative! Have a great week everyone!

Hey all! So, I haven’t been posting a lot the last two weeks or so even though I have several great post ideas. Also, I don’t have a revised or even semi-decent short story that I could post so today is an update day!

First off, today is Good Friday. When it comes to Easter I think a lot of us would rather dwell on Sunday, when He is risen, but today is the day that my Jesus went through unbearable torture and pain to free me of my sins and save me from the enemy and I cannot put into words my love and gratitude to Him for what He endured and did for me. Today is a day to remember and honor His sacrifice for us and on Sunday we get to celebrate that He is risen and He has won and the enemy has lost.  So writing-wise, I have to say that I am super happy that I finished my handwritten revisions on Project Khione. Now it’s just time to plug in all the changes I made onto the computer… and maybe switch up the plot yet again cuz that is just how it goes sometimes. On the Weapon Icean front… I got my first review and it was a pretty mediocre… sort of negative review so that stung a bit and I think I’ll do a post on how to handle those kinds of reviews, especially for self-published authors. But it seems that I had a totally different idea of what Weapon Icean is than everyone else. People who are reading it are saying it’s a junior high, middle school book even though I’ve been marketing it as young adult soooo I am going to roll with the Junior High and Middle School criteria because I trust the people I’ve gotten this feedback from and can see where they’re coming from. Also, junior high and middle school readers and authors are amazing so I’m content with that audience. (Some of my all time favorite authors write for middle school age). It’s just a matter of sort of now redirecting all that young adult marketing stuff into Junior high and middle school. So yeah, I’m figuring that out and this whole published book, marketing thing is a big learning curb. I’m learning as I go so that with each new book that is finished and ready to be published I can publish and market even better than the last time. It’s all a learning experience and I’m really liking it.


Second off, if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook or pretty much anywhere on social media you know that I have recently gotten into a short story kick. Like I am just churning those things out like crazy. They are very short… like when I say short story I mean as in 1,200 to 3,000 words, so about 3 to 8 pages. I’ve collected them and stuck all of the messy first drafts into one document that I am calling A Short Story Collection: Magic and Mayhem. I plan on revising them (cuz I really love them and I really feel like these guys can go somewhere) and then publish them in one big collection with about twelve short stories or in two separate ones. Six of them are random short stories from random “worlds” and with different characters that don’t mesh and ya’know just stories that are by themselves. The other six are all in the same world that I’m calling my modern magic world. So, I’m not sure if I should release all twelve of them together since the two types are very different from one another. But anyways! that’s my thought process on all that and as you can tell I have a lot to think about and plan and figure out if I actually want to release a short story collection or two.
I’m doing a lot of experimental writing, sort of feeling things out. I think with working on Weapon Icean and Project Khione, full length just complete novels I’ve sort of wanted to branch out and stretch my creative muscles. That’s where the short stories are coming from. With my other project I’m going to try something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. A serialization or episodic novel, kind of like a TV show. I just want to see if I can actually pull it off and do it and if not then that’s ok cuz at least I tried. I’m also thinking about trying some fan fiction, maybe a novella or novelette and I’m sure there are other “book” formats to tell a story that I don’t known about yet.  So yeah, that’s where I’m at. In a sort of experimental, let’s go crazy and try different things because I can stage of my writer life.
Oh! And tomorrow I’m heading to my first ever Comic Con!! I am so excited and a little nervous cuz there’s going to be a lot of people and lots of stuff going on but I think once I get there and get into it I’ll have a blast. I’m going with a bunch of friends and I’m gonna do a weird sort of casual outfit inspired by the show Legion. With his black shirt with the orange arrow on it, a black skirt and black boots. So it’s sort of the vibe of the show plus a little bit of David and Syd’s vibe too. I’m psyched and I will take lots of awesome pictures and my Instagram will probably be blowing up so get ready!
Have a great weekend and Easter everyone!

This short story sort of came out of nowhere (like most of my short stories do) but when I finished it I realized its set in the same world and time as a novel I'm working on. Set in a world where magic and creatures (vampires, werewolves, witches) are all out in public and live side-by-side with normal people. It's a fun world to write in and learn as I go on so I hope you enjoy Infinity's story!

***

Infinity scowled as she bumped into someone for the third time. She jumped out of the way as the next wave of passersby swarmed the bustling city sidewalks. Being invisible was hard… But it was worth it, Infinity thought as her hand went up to her chest. Her hand fisted around the locket hanging from her throat as she dodged another person. This locket held the cure for life and death.
Whatever that meant.
All she knew was the witch she stole it from really didn’t want Infinity getting her hands on it. The witch who owned the store across from a fancy penthouse complex had gone out and Infinity had slipped in. It had been easy to find the lock box hidden under the witch’s front desk. Not so easy to open it. Infinity had had to pick the lock and despell the lock box with one of the magic objects she’d stolen from a wizard a few years ago. When the box popped open she reached for the biggest, shiniest thing in there. Just as her fingers had grabbed hold of the locket the witch had walked in. Infinity had just managed to escape without too much of a hassle. Besides the fact that she was invisible now.
She walked on the side of the sidewalk, next to buildings so that she wouldn’t have to jump out of the way of so many people, her fingers caressing the smooth surface of the silver locket. Four blue gems sat in the corners, north, south, east, and west with a red ruby glittering in the center. A bit too gaudy for Infinity’s taste, but it would make for a big pay day in the black market for black magic objects. Who didn’t want to the secret of life and death? People would pay big money for this locket. If only Infinity could get it open, then she could prove to buyers that it was valuable and could do what the witch said.
Infinity turned a corner and bumped right into someone. Infinity opened her mouth to say sorry but then remembered she was invisible and went to duck passed the guy. But instead they ended up going the same way and bumping into each other again. Infinity’s brown eyes widened as they collided with a pair of baby blue ones. A pale boy with a dusting of freckles and reddish hair stared at her. Not through her but at her. He stopped short from trying to go around her, his mouth falling open when his eyes caught site of the locket around her neck. “You…” he whispered.
Infinity raised her eyebrows, gripping her hips. Who cared if he could see her? Once Infinity had seen a  poll online done by a few witches that said one in every five-people had second sight. Infinity was bound to run into at least one of them in a place like New York.
“Yeah, me?” she snapped back. She glanced over her shoulder. Who knew if the witch was still after her?
His eyes flicked between the locket and her face several times. “You hold the Pendant of Life and Death.”
Infinity shrugged, glancing down at the locket. Stay cool, maybe he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, she told herself. He can’t… She’d stolen it from an obscure witch who ran an herbal/magic shop full of cheesy, useless crap. Infinity had been surprised to find out the woman was a real witch with real power. Though how hard could an invisibility spell be, really?
“What’s it to you? If you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to be on my way,” she said trying to inch around him. Instead he grabbed her wrist and stopped her, his eyes as round as they could get. “You can’t. It’s the sign I’ve been looking for. You need to come with me.”
Infinity snorted and yanked her wrist free from his grip. “Yeah right, whatever. I’m not going anywhere with you buddy.”
One of his eyebrows twitched up a few inches higher than the other. Not in a deliberate way… more like a nervous tick. “I can turn you visible again.”
That was all it took. Not that Infinity minded being invisible. An invisible thief was better than a visible one, but she was sure it would get tiring sooner or later. She didn’t want to end up being driven mad by no one being able to see her… A mad thief was no good to anyone. “Are you just saying that to get me to follow you?” she asked, hands gripping her hips. She really didn’t like how he was staring at that locket with such interest.
He shrugged, shoving is hands into his pockets. His right eyebrow twitched again. “Maybe a little but I really can do it. I’m a warlock in training. I can turn you visible easy.”
“Then do it. Right here. Right now.”
“Uh… no. Not that I haven’t made a spectacle of myself before but… I’d rather keep that locket under wraps. Do you have any idea what that can do? Where did you get it?”
Infinity touched the locket possessively. The boy finally looked at her instead of at the jewelry around her neck. He wasn’t really a boy. A young man at about Infinity’s age. Seventeen or eighteen maybe. Nineteen at the oldest. He was a full few inches taller than her and cute in a scrawny slightly awkward and suspiciously confidant kind of way. But weren’t all warlocks and witches socially awkward and confidant? All the ones Infinity had met had both traits to a certain degree. If they weren’t awkward than they were quirky. This young warlock-in-training couldn’t be any different than his other brethren.
“I stole it from a witch,” she said. Infinity may be a thief but she never lied.
His eyebrows shot up in a very expressive way that made those blue eyes get even wider. Infinity found herself wondering if he wore contacts. He seemed like the kind of guy who would wear glasses… nerdy kind of glasses. But nerdy in a cute way. “You stole it?”
She nodded, blinking away the unwanted thoughts about him. “Uh yeah… so can I go? I have to go find a buyer for this expensive and very important locket.”
 “You’re going to sell it?” He sounded repulsed and disgusted.
Witches and warlocks… always so judge-y.
“Yeah I am. I’m a thief. It’s what I do. You got a problem with that?”
The guy started to open his mouth but seemed to think better of it and held up a finger. “I can pay you double. Any buyer you may have, I can pay double what they would pay.”
Infinity scrutinized him doubtfully. Untucked white and blue button up shirt, baggy jeans, and white Vans. Not exactly rich kid material. Not even close. “Yeah… I don’t think so.”
“No its true! My master, Master Tristan, is very rich. He can double you’re pay, I swear. I’ll take you to him right now. Just give me a chance. If I’m lying than you can just punch me in the face and run away.”
He had a point. Infinity could take him. She shoved her hands into her ratty green hoodie and glanced around, trying to seem uninterested. “Fine, whatever. Only because you’re bugging me. But if you’re lying I will punch you.”
The young man nodded eagerly and grabbed her wrist, dragging her through the streets of New York.
“What’s your name anyways?” she asked hedgingly as the turned a corner and headed toward the mansions just outside the city.
“Darrell Dawn but everyone just calls me Dawn.”
“Isn’t Dawn kind of a girl name?”
He gave her a pointed look. “What’s your name?”
Infinity grinned sheepishly. “Infinity.”
“Because that’s so much better than Dawn,” he teased, smirking.
“Well, why don’t people just call you Darrell?”
His smirk vanished and he stared straight ahead. “My dad’s name is Darrell and I don’t want to be reminded of him every time someone calls me by my name.”
Infinity raised her eyebrows but said nothing. She understood touchy subjects, especially touchy subjects pertaining to parents. To Infinity’s shock he led her into the Upper East Side and stopped in front of a super secure, high tech wall. Trees obscured the mansion from view but Infinity already knew Dawn hadn’t been lying. His master was loaded.
Dawn stepped forward and spoke a word from a different language into a pad beside the glowing silver gate. With a ding and a shimmer of defense spells disabling, the gates opened to expose a marble driveway leading up to a huge, medieval-castle-esque mansion.
Infinity’s jaw dropped as she walked through the gates and into a small but gorgeous and manicured estate. She didn’t even notice the gates closing behind her.
Dawn smirked and gestured at the mansion and trees lining the driveway leading up to the front door. “Believe me now?”
Infinity nodded wordlessly and his grin widened as he led her down the driveway. She couldn’t move her head around enough to see all of it. So many beautiful trees in full bloom and a few statues here and there of mythical creatures and ancient warlocks and witches. They walked around the round-about in front of the stone stairs leading up to the front door. Infinity suddenly felt like a dirty rat. She didn’t even want to touch the immaculate stone steps, let alone enter the no doubt gorgeous and clean inside of the mansion.
Dawn knocked three times and the door opened a minute later. A dark skinned, bald man in a sweeping black cloak and tuxedo from the 1960’s, complete with coattails and all stood in front of them. His face went through numerous expressions so fast Infinity had a hard time reading him. From puzzled at having a strange girl in front of him, to dumbfounded at seeing the necklace around her neck to welcoming and grinning as he accepted her and the locket. He clasped his hands in front of him.
“Well, well I see Dawn found his sign. Come in Miss. Lebau. We have much to discuss.” He swept his arm out in a grand welcoming gesture and Infinity stepped through the threshold without hesitation.
“How do you know my name?”
The man’s dark eyes glittered with secrets. “I know how to read people which makes it quite easy for me to find one’s name without being told who they are.”
“Ok…” was all she could think to say. She stepped inside and the outside world and her troubles disappeared entirely. For the first time in Infinity’s whole life she felt like she could breath and so she did.
Infinity quickly collected herself as the door shut behind her and remembered what she was doing here. To become visible and get money. She folded her arms, staring at the two men in front of her, trying to ignore that she was in a house she could never afford in a million years. “So, shall we discuss payment?”  ***

Have a great weekend!

Since I've been so busy to hardcore work on my latest WIP and since I'm just revising Project Khione now, like basic print-out-pen-to-paper revisions I've had to found different ways to get keep my writing muscles strong and to get my creative fix for the day. So while working the third draft (a complete rewrite) of Phoebe and Jasper's story (my soulless gypsy girl and in love vampire) I've been doing some short stories here and there and I thought I would share one with you guys. This idea of the Mora'gan and Prince Roanake (Roan or Ro) has been rattling around in my brain for a while. One of these days they will get their own story but for now they'll just have to settle for the occasional short story.



Reunited Warriors:



The girl cradled her green mug between her hands, staring out the café’s window as rain pelted the sidewalk. Thunder clapped in the distance, followed by a white streak of lightning. Her fingers tapped restlessly against the side of the warm mug while one of her toes tapped out a nervous rhythm under the table. To the barista behind the counter the girl looked worried, on edge as if she were waiting for something… or someone.
“Can I get you anything else?” A young woman with frizzy brown hair and an apron tied around a floral dress stopped in front of the waiting girl.
The girl, Morgan, glanced up at the server and forced a smile. “No… thank you. I’m fine.” She turned her attention back to the window where the storm was growing more fierce and bold with each lightning strike.
“Well I hope you aren’t planning on leaving any time soon. The storm’s getting pretty bad,” she said before walking away.
Yes, yes it was. And that was exactly what Morgan was waiting for. Each thunder clap was a horse’s hoof beating against the clouds, and each lightning strike was the edge of a swinging sword. Morgan did plan on leaving soon but not by car or by foot. He’d promised to be here soon. A week ago after the fall of his father and the destruction of the portals, Prince Roanake had taken Morgan’s face in his hands and kissed her with a fierce determination. The sweetest and yet most bitter kiss Morgan had ever received. She ran her tongue over her lips, remembering the taste of his grief and the blood from his split lip on her mouth.
“Go. We cannot be seen together… but I will find you,” he’d whispered urgently when he let her go. Morgan had gone breathless from his desperate kiss and she’d wrapped her arms around his neck as if to keep him there with her forever. “Where? When? How will I know your safe and you, me? I can’t part with you… especially now that we both hold new roles to fill.”
He’d shook his head and pried her hands from around his neck even as she could see the pain of forcing her away from him written on his face. “Meet me… at the first place we met. That café that sells that foul drink. I will see you there in a week’s time and if I do not return, then keep coming every evening until I do. I promise Morgan, I will come for you.”
Morgan had nodded and stepped away from him in the middle of the battle field, amidst all the death and carnage. Fallen soldiers, civilians screaming and running for their lives and yet there they were. A prince turned king by the death of his father and a mortal girl turned warrior by the destiny given to her by the stars.
With one final kiss, they parted and ran in separate directions. Raonake, back into the fight to save as many of his soldiers and civilians as he could and Morgan, to the nearest portal to escape.
Now there she sat, practically on the edge of her seat waiting for the storm to turn into something more. For lightning to strike the ground and for her king to appear. She’d spent the whole week on edge, staying out of sight and away from any portals. Her parents would be worried sick when she didn’t come home tonight but it couldn’t be helped. Destiny came before her mortal life. Morgan had learned that when she was first called to be the next Mora’gan. She was to stand at her king’s side and lead his armies with her magic, to defend the Lands from those who would seek to destroy the Fae life and to uphold law and order by any means necessary.
Morgan took another deep sip of her white mocha as it began to hail. Thunder struck again and she jumped as lightning flashed right outside the front door. The barista and server shrieked and jumped back. The sound of shattering glass filled the air as Morgan sucked in a sharp breath.
There in front of the door, drenched in rain and being pelted by hail, stood her prince. He wore what he called his “mortal” clothes to fit in. Jeans and a t-shirt under a simple black leather jacket. Morgan jumped out of her chair and ran through the front door, the bell over the door jingling wildly.
“Ro,” she shouted and threw herself into his arms.
She heard him let out a deep sigh as he wrapped his muscular strong arms around her small waste. He practically lifted her off the ground as he kissed her cheek. “Morgan. I was so worried… I worried for you,” he whispered.
“I worried too. I’m ready to go,” she murmured back.
They pulled away, their hands still clasping each other’s arms. Roanake’s eyebrows furrowed. “To leave your family and life? Morgan… I can’t ask that of you.”
Morgan shook her head, her eyes fixed on his face. His sharp jawline, his tan skin that had seen too much sun and the black hair falling into his crystal clear blue eyes. “You don’t have to ask me. I want to go. I have to go… my life isn’t here anymore.”
“But leave your family?”
“You’re my family now. And my responsibility. There can’t be a king of the Fae without a proper Mora’gan to keep him safe.”
He gave her a small smile and pulled her into another hug even as hail pelted their heads and rain soaked them through. “Then let us go,” he whispered into her ear.
Morgan held on tight to him and watched as he raised a hand. Thunder rumbled in the distance, shaking the ground and lightning struck them. There was a zing and electricity zapping the air and then they were gone, riding the storm away to the Lands where they would have to struggle to regain their home and their mantels as newly appointed king and his Mora’gan. Together they would succeed.
Inside the coffee shop the girl’s mug shattered into pieces on the floor as the server stared, jaw dropping, at a lightning bolt struck and took the strange girl and handsome guy with it.

As a self-published author social media is very important. As a blogger social media is important. It's not just a fun way to share what you've been up to and stay in contact with friends and family but its also a very important marketing tool. Even if you aren't published, traditionally or self, or even a blogger, if you share your art then you are marketing. If you share that your writing today or share a little of your latest project, or share a piece of a painting or doodle your working on then you are marketing. It might be unintentional but your still marketing yourself and your writing by sharing on social media that you are writing or revising or that you just finished draft 1 or draft 30 of your book. Especially if you use hashtags like #writerlife #amwriting and so on. I've come to realize how important it is to post about my writing and projects often and consistently. My goal is keep up a good following on my networks and get interest and likes. I want to share some of my favorite social media networks and some hacks to make your life as a marketing writer or blogger easier.

Instagram Hacks:

If you follow me on Facebook or Tumblr or any other social media network you have to have noticed how much I love Instagram. Instagram is my all time favorite network. It's easy and simple and by far the best way to get a large following and become noticed. All you need is good photos and a good description underneath and lots of strategic hashtags. I have two separate accounts. One is private and I just post more personal stuff on there for friends and family to see. I don't post a lot on there but when I do it's usually personal. And then I have the private account. What I love about Instagram is that on Settings you can go to Add Account and then you create or sign into your other account and then at the top of your Home page on your username you tap it and you can switch easily between accounts and get notices from both accounts.

For my author account I post a lot about my writing or reading or TV show watching... pretty much anything that I'm up to throughout the day that I feel like sharing. I post about Weapon Icean a lot to keep the book relevant and circulating to gain some attention from potential readers. As a writer or blogger don't just post about your blog or writing. Post about your normal life outside of writing too. Followers and readers want to get to know you. I post about my latest read, my newest binge-worthy TV show I'm watching, music I've been listening to, what I ate for lunch, what I was up to that day in general and a few selfies and pictures here and there. Another hack is hashtags. They are huge! I usually write a description for my post and add three to four hashtags on there so when I share on Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter they'll have a few hashtags on there that will help share my post more. After a publish the post I comment on it with several lines of hashtags. It all depends on what the post is about but if its writing related I usually use #writerlife #writersofinstagram #writerproblems #amwriting #yagenre #auhorlife #selfpublished #writerscommunity #authorsofinstagram #booklove #WIP. For posts about reading and books or about Weapon Icean I usually do hashtags like #readerlife #amreading #readersofinstagram #bookish #booklove #bookstagram #readerprobs and that sort of thing. I usually have at least three or four lines of hashtags and then I publish the comment and my post is officially hashtagged.

Another super awesome thing about Instagram is that before you publish your post underneath there's several choices of social media platforms you can share your post on. Sign into your Facebook account, Twitter account, Tumblr or Flikr account and when you hit publish your post will show up on all those platforms to be shared and seen by your other followers that aren't on Instagram.

You can find me on Instagram Here

Pinterest Hacks:

I love Pinterest. If you follow me on there you know that I spend too much time on that app just pinning away all day long. I have tons of public boards and lots of private boards. I'm not as savvy with the whole marketing of Pinterest as I am with Instagram but there are a few things that I've learned to help share your blog posts and books. One of the best ways I would say is to get onto lots of group boards. I'm on the Go Teen Writers group board where I can share my blog posts and I'm on several Indie author group boards where I can share Weapon Icean. I don't have as much success as some do on group boards but they do work and they do help at getting your posts and books out there.

Another thing that helps on Pinterest is to create a board for your blog. Each time you post a blog post make sure you have a good pinnable picture on there and then pin the blog post to your blog board. Create a board that says Books I've Published or something like that and post your published books on there. Also, for writers storyboard your stories! Not only is it fun and helps get rid of writer's block but it also lets readers take a sneak peek at the inner workings of your book. Readers can check out your books Pinterest storyboard and see what images, prompts and sayings inspired you while you wrote the book they read. Potential readers can find your board and love the Pins and find the idea interesting and go and buy it because they liked how fascinating your storyboard is. Also create a Writer board, a Book board to pin about some of your favorite or latest reads. Create inspiration boards to help you find inspiration when writer's block is settling in and a character inspiration board. Not only do these things help with your creative process but it helps you gain new readers and new followers.

You can find me on Pinterest Here

Goodreads Hacks:

I just recently have taken advantage of Goodreads. This platform is mostly for readers and authors. As a blogger or artist there isn't much you can get out of Goodreads. But if you're a new author this is what you need to do to take advantage of the author program on Goodreads. (It took me forever to figure this out and I may miss a few steps because Goodreads makes it kind of complicated and slightly difficult to become an author... to me anyways, so make sure to look it up on Google and you'll find directions on there). You add your newly published book to the Goodreads database. Title, ISBN and all that and then hit publish and it will be in the Goodreads system. Then you search your book and click the author name and I believe it will ask you if you are the author. You say yes and then apply and within a few days your Goodreads account will go from basic reader account to author account. On there you can connect your blog and social media sites to your profile, answer author questions, and create book giveways.

I recently realized something awesome. As a writer and reader, if you are reading a book search the book your reading and then put it under Currently Reading. You can connect that to your Facebook and I think Twitter too and whenever you update what page your on in your book through Goodreads the progress will go up on your social media which could also help you gain more followers and readers, especially if you attract those who read the same genre as you do.

You can find me on Goodreads Here

Instagram and Pinterest are my two huge social media platforms that I use every day, all day. Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter are great too but they aren't my thing. Everyone has their own platforms that work best for them and fit with how their brain works. My brain happens to be very visual (funny because I'm writer which has no visuals and is all imaginary) so Instagram and Pinterest that are full of images and thrive on images are perfect for me. Writing statuses and funny quotes from your book and blog posts on Facebook or Twitter might suit the way your brain works better. So try out Instagram and Pinterest but if those don't work for you then check out Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or even Google+.

As a side note, some may say Tumblr is scary and at first it can be difficult to figure out but I would suggest getting a Tumblr account. You don't even have to be on it all the time. Just set it up. Get a good picture and a username and try it out because you can do everything from post pictures to statuses to vocal recordings and videos and also lets you put your Tumblr posts onto your other social media platforms. So just check it out and give it a try. Some of the most loyal and fanatic of fans are on Tumblr.

(You can find me on Tumblr Here)

I hope these hacks help you as a writer, author, reader, blogger or artist! Have a great week everyone!

What are your favorite social media platforms? 

Lately it has come to my attention that I, as a writer, am weird. We're a special kind of breed of crazy. Not many other creative or people can understand us. We talk to and for our characters as if they're real people (because uh, duh they are). We drink too much caffeine whether it be through coffee, Mountain Dew, Coke or tea. We sit in chairs in front of a computer for hours at a time, sometimes spending our whole day locked in our room (maybe that's why I relate to vampires so much, because they don't leave the house ever either...). Often times we'd rather sit and talk about character arcs, antiheroes, our latest binge-worthy TV show or book series addiction than about the latest gossip or politics. So yeah... we are a little crazy and I think that's ok. I wanted to make a list of some of the things us writers do that other people find weird (or at least that I, as a writer do that other people and myself included, find weird). That's what is so awesome about us writers. Not one of us are the same. We each have our own weird writerly habits and they are all super hilarious and awesome. So here you go. This is me in a nutshell:


I've come to love all forms of caffeine. Coke, Starbucks' zebra mocha, black tea. Anything that can give me a major energy boost and make me a little jittery is the best! Said no writer ever.

This is on the list not because it's weird but because I feel like it's weird for me as a writer to be do this. But I always make time to eat lunch. Even when I have pry my hands from the keyboard in the best scene ever. If I don't eat a solid lunch I get yucky and there goes my writing for the day. Food and writing are equal in my book.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I think very highly of my writer self. Depression slumps aside I think I am pretty much a genius. I'm brilliant and a master story-teller. I mean seriously I am pretty awesome and I make sure I know it. In a room alone I'll come up with an idea and out loud, alone, in my room, will be say oh my gosh... I am a genius! What the heck... how do I even come up with this stuff? I am brilliant! Or when I come up with an idea while talking to someone or come up with the best sequel or ending to a movie or show I just watched I will be like oh my gosh... I am a genius! I am so good! Proof: Yesterday after seeing the Despicable Me 3 trailer I told mom they should make one where the girls are ten years older and like have become spies or evil geniuses and I was like wow I am really good. I could make that company billions of dollars. I know

I get way too into TV shows. TV shows are primarily what I talk about. I can and have sat and talked people's ears off about character arcs and what I would have done differently and the pure genius of a show or certain scene or episode or line of dialogue. And if it's not a show it's a book where I will tell you every detail of the plot gush about the characters. What do normal people even talk about with each other? I mean how boring would life be if you didn't have shows and books to fill your conversations with. I swear about 90% percent of my conversation with people about shows, movies, books and characters and that other 10% is "normal" stuff.
Andrew and all of his fanboy comments and moment are pretty much me...

I relate characters to aspects of my life, to other people's lives and sadly, even the Bible. Yeah... the other day in Bible study class I read a certain verse and the first person who came to mind for that verse was Andrew from Buffy the Vampire Slayer... Is that bad? I'm not sure...

When listening to songs I zone out and imagine certain scenes and characters and just day dream. I know of at least one other writer who does this. I am not alone!! Alice seemed like an appropriate gif for this one...

I often talk as if my characters are the ones controlling the and I'm just doing as I'm told. Is that weird?? Maybe... Yeah I couldn't find a good gif for this one. Good rule: If in doubt always go with a psych gif.

Honestly, I know there's more writerly weird things I do but I can't come up with any right now sooo these are the main ones I've observed about myself. For all you other writers just know you aren't alone if you do any of these things!


Have a great day everyone!

So this is probably the saddest post I've ever written. I may or may not get all weepy and there is no way I could put everything I want to put in this one post but I want to give The Vampire Diaries a proper send off. Tonight is the night that the last episode ever airs... I am so sad. My obsession and love for the show, the characters, the cast, and the writers started a couple years ago. I think I was only sixteen at the time so I started watching it in 2014 I think. That seems like forever ago.


Because I had to put this in here somewhere. TVD always and forever.

All I can say is that I had had a pretty crappy month or so. I just remember that one month -- I can't even remember which month it was but it was at the beginning of the year -- of awfulness. Lots of doctors and lots of tests and a pretty scary and difficult diagnosis. I had always had a little bit of anxiety and depression but after that both issues sky-rocketed. I was trying to cope with a new reality while also having panic attacks every day and feeling like my throat was closing up all day long. Even before that though I had been asking my mom over and over if I could watch this really cool show that I really wanted to watch called The Vampire Diaries. After that she said sure go ahead (plus I was sixteen by then). So that night, it was like eleven or something I got on Netflix and clicked the Pilot. I loved that show and the characters from the very first second of the Pilot. It was epic and awesome and beautiful and fun. I think I stayed up until 1 watching the second episode too and then had to force myself to go to bed because I do not like staying up past 1. The next morning I was up and watching the third episode and it was all downhill/uphill from there depending on how you look at it.




But I just remember this one day where I was in a constant state of anxiety, like any minute I could go into a panic attack. I didn't have any meds or anything to help me then and I just remember I pretty much sat and watched The Vampire Diaries all day. That show was the only thing that kept me from having a full blown panic attack, it was the only thing that kept me sane and made me forget about the way my throat felt and how anxious I was. The world of the Vampire Diaries with Elena and Stefan and Damon and Bonnie and Caroline made me forget that I was on the verge of a panic attack. I remember from that day I had called my mom because everyone else was out having a great day and was so frustrated because I couldn't get anything done that day, I was just a mess and how all I've been doing is watching The Vampire Diaries and she just said more or less if that's what you have to do to feel better than just do it. So I did. The Vampire Diaries kept me from my anxiety. And when I felt sad -- there were a lot, I mean a lot, of days of sadness -- The Vampire Diaries made me smile and made me laugh and made me feel inspired. After that awful month and that hard diagnosis I sort of lost my writing. I had to sort of refind myself as a writer because I had changed and my mindset had changed so much and The Vampire Diaries and the characters and the plot inspired me and helped grow me as a writer and changed my writing forever.




I can't tell you guys how much those characters mean to me. If I got the chance to see even one of the actors from that show I would probably thank them and freak out because I love them so much. I resonated with Elena so much because she had just gone through something impossibly hard and difficult: her parents had died in a car crash. Her world had been rocked and shaken and tipped upside down. Kind of like mine had. She was just trying to get through the day, smile and pretend everything that was alright, recover and find out who she is now because something like that makes you a different person and Elena wanted to find out what kind of person she was. Before the car crash she had had a boyfriend Matt, been a cheerleader and been lots of fun. After the car crash she broke up with Matt, stopped cheer leading and was the gloomy graveyard girl that sat and wrote in her diary. She had to refind herself like I did. Elena made me feel not so alone.


Plus I loved how she wrote in her journal every day. It appealed to my writer side.

And then Stefan came along. The new mystery guy at the high school that was so obviously a vampire to the viewer. He resonated with Elena, made her smile and laugh when she hadn't smiled a real smile in so long. Stefan was sort of her superhero that appeared and rescued her. Made her feel safe and happy and gave her hope that things would get better. I loved -- and still love -- Stefan. His and Elena's love story took my breath away and made me forget about all the bad, hard things in life. The things he said, the way he gave hope to Elena and said things will get better, you will get better or how she went through a great loss and she's different now and that's ok really got to me and resonated with me.




I loved this line. Thank you Stefan. :)

Out of all them Elena was the one that hooked me on The Vampire Diaries because I felt so close to her but Damon? Damon made me smile and laugh every. Single. Time. He was in a scene. Even when he was really not nice and a big jerk in season one I saw him for the first time and I was like yes, this is perfect, I like this guy a lot. He was so sarcastic and fun and dramatic and his facial expressions and just the way he was, Ian Somerhalder did and still is doing such a truly fantastic and amazing job with that character. I was on the Damon train since Hello Brother.
Best. Scene. Ever.

I resonated with Elena, Stefan gave hope in his words, and Damon made me smile and grin and laugh.




Of course I also can't forget the other characters. Bonnie Bennet, Caroline Forbes, Matt Donovan, Tyler Lockwood, Jeremy Gilbert Alaric Saltzman, Sheriff Liz Forbes, Katherine Pierce, Enzo, Vicki, and then the whole Michaelson family. They are all amazing and I love them all. I cried when some of them died and cheered when some of them came back. Without these dynamic and very real and very human supporting characters there would be no Vampire Diaries. Yeah you can have the amazing Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder but without everyone else there wouldn't be a show. I love how fierce Bonnie is and I loved watching in the first season how she became a witch. Bonnie is the most selfless character there is, ever. Once your her friend she will die for you. She will do anything for you.
I'm a witch... (Season 1)
(Season 6)

I loved watching Caroline go from the cliché perky, mean, tries too hard cheer leader to the strong, independent and beautiful inside and out woman and mother in season 8.
She started out insecure and unsure of herself...
And ended up being powerful, beautiful and in love.

Matt's the one who keeps them all grounded. The only human on the show that has ever stayed a human and I love him for that.
Matt with Vicki in season 1
Sheriff Matt Donovan in season 8

Tyler was fun. He was a great character. Annoying a lot of the time but by the end it was cool to see him go from a real jerk of a high school kid who think's he's all that to a grown, mature man.
He's... spoiler alert.

Alaric has always been the father figure and from the instant he showed up on the show he was just... there. He just fit in so perfectly that I sometimes forget that he doesn't come in until like season 2 or 3. He was like Elena and Jeremy and became close friends to everyone else.
From single, vampire slayer teacher to...
Epic, friend of a few vampires dad.

And Jeremy? How could I almost forget Jeremy? He was awesome from beginning to end. He went through so many phases! From the high school punk who did drugs, to the Loner, then becoming a Hunter and eventually growing into a loyal, tough, strong young man who finds his true calling.
From Jeremy's punk/loner phase to...
To strong, powerful vampire hunter who knows who he is.

 And Enzo... He doesn't come in until like season 5 or 6 but it feels like he's been here forever.
From the moment on saw him he made me smile and laugh and I loved his friendship with Damon and then with Caroline and eventually, after some confusion and soul searching he became a part fof the team, the family. There are so many other supporting characters I could go on and on about but that would make for a super long post.


Enzo... I loved him from the moment he entered TVD. Even when he wasn't a great person, all the way to...
A great person of loyalty and beautiful relationships who didn't go around killing people.

Ever since that night when I started The Vampire Diaries this show has become kind of my happy place. If I am feeling super anxious or depressed and can't even cope or my head is just a big mess I turn on The Vampire Diaries and just sit and take in the familiarity of the world and the characters. It almost instantly relaxes me when I turn an episode on of that. Any episode really. I have rewatched that show from beginning to end at least three times now and when the final episode airs and the last season goes on Netflix I plan to rewatch it from beginning to end again.




But despite the drama and the epic love stories and the even more epic love triangles. Despite the deaths and the supernatural vampires and werewolves and dopplegangers and overall craziness that is The Vampire Diaries the show has always been about one thing. Not the love between two characters(though that's on of the best parts of the show) but friendship and brotherhood. Deep down to its core, like Julie Plec has said before, the show has always been out two brothers finding each other and coming together and being together. Stefan and Damon. And that hasn't shown more in any other seasons than in the last two when Nina Dobrev left the show. Two brothers standing together and phasing the impossible for each other. Willing to die for each other, going through all the good and the bad together. Without Stefan and Damon there would be no Vampire Diaries.
I loved watching Stefan and Damon's brotherhood and moments when you see how much they truly love each other.





And the friendships. There are so many. The friendships are what make this show. Between Bonnie and Caroline and Elena. Between Matt and Tyler and eventually Jeremy. Between Matt and Caroline. Elena and Matt. Tyler and Caroline. Damon and Bonnie. Stefan and Elena. Stefan and Caroline. Bonnie and Enzo. Damon and Enzo. Caroline and Enzo. The list can go on and on but by this last season they have all become friends. Even when they hated each other at some point they've learned to forgive each other and remain loyal and loving toward one another.
I loved this scene so much.

I just love how this show has shown what true friendship is and that a guy and a girl can be best friends without anything ever happening between them like Damon and Bonnie.
Bonnie and Damon are epic together. "#friendshipgoals

Most of the other guy/girl friendships do end up with some love or kissing but all those relationships always start out as friendship and all of them always end with friendship which is really beautiful. By this last season their friendships have become more a family bond. Each and every one of them want each of them to live their lives to the fullest. To have a good, happy, content life. To find love and live and just... be happy. They want what is best for each other just like a family. Even if they don't necessary like that person or don't agree with how they are finding happiness or love with a particular person they still want each other to succeed in life no matter how long or how short their lives are.



I knew Matt would have just the right words. Despite everything he's gone through and some of the crap his friend's have put him through he still wants what's best for them and will be there for them always.

There's so much more I could say but I think I'm going to end this goodbye post here. With friendship, love, and brotherhood. I am going to cry after that last episode. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. But I want to say that I will be a TVD fan forever. This show will probably go down as my all time favorite show forever. And I know they're just characters but to me they feel so real, like close friends that I'm about to lose forever. So thank you to Elena, Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Matt, Alaric, Jeremy, Enzo, and everyone else for helping me through some of the hardest times of my life. Thank you to Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Candice King, Kat Graham, Zach Roerig, Michael Malarkey, Julie Plec, and Matthew Davis for sticking around for so long. For not leaving or giving up on the show and for loving the show and the characters as much as I do. It's been one heck of a ride and I have complete faith in Julie Plec and the other writers that they will finish the show strong and beautifully and tie everything together just right.




I don't know how to end this the right way so I want to share some of my favorite episodes that I have literally watched again and again:


Season One: The Pilot (because nothing is better than the Pilot of TVD and Stefan was perfect in this episode). Lost Girls (Vicki and Damon were the best in this episode). Bloodlines (I loved how Damon and Elena's friendship showed and blossomed in this one). Miss Mystic Falls (the dance between Elena and Damon is pretty much the best scene in the entire first season). Blood Brothers (because of the backstory for Stefan and Damon). Season Two: The Return (the season premiere and when you realize how much you are not going to like Katherine). Brave New World (Caroline and just that whole situation and the conflict and scenes between characters were so good!). Bad Moon Rising (Elena and Damon... again. Plus Stefan and Caroline were so good in this one). Rose (maybe its the first time you meet Elijah or how good Rose's character was but I just really liked this episode). By The Light of the Moon (I don't know what it is about this episode. It was just so well done and the character interaction was fun and intense. I also really liked Rose and Damon together). The Last Dance (one of those TVD high school themed dances that I always love to watch). As I Lay Dying (Delana was perfect in this one). Season Three: I honestly can't pick just a few episodes for this season because this season is my all time favorite of TVD. I've always liked Stefan and Elena together but I also love Damon and Elena too and this season has both in it. This has the epicness of Stefan and Elena's love but also I feel like this is really the beginning of Damon and Elena's love story too. I loved Jeremy in this season too. I feel like in this season he finally grows into not just Elena's little brother but a true character all his own and The Hybrid starts him off on the many character arcs that will turn Jeremy into the man he is by the end of the series. Caroline and Bonnie, Matt and Tyler and Alaric, all of them have great character arcs in this season. Plus the Original family plays a central part in this season and I loved getting to know Elijah, Klaus and Rebecca. Season Four: Again this is my second favorite season and I just can't choose one episode. I loved Elena's arc in this season, going from human to vampire. Jeremy's hunter journey was great. Caroline and Klaus had some of the best scenes in this season and were honestly really sweet in most of them. Lots of Delena scenes. Bonnie also had a very interesting character arc that I liked in this season with Professor Shane (or CreepyPants as Damon would say). But I have to say one of my all time favorite episodes of the entire series is in this season. It's at a tie with Lost Girls. The episode The Five. I loved it and I loved the carefreeness of the dance scene between Elena and Damon and the confliction and just the whole thing. Season Five: This has to be my least favorite season of the show... But I do have some favorite episodes. For Whom The Bell Tolls (memory-less Stefan is always funny). The Cell (the introduction to Enzo and I loved the flashbacks of Damon). Fifty Shades of Grayson (I always liked the interaction between Katherine and Matt and I like the scene they have in this one. Also I just really liked the whole vampire virus arc over these couple of episodes. How Damon handled it, how he tells Stefan about it and Elena being in trouble in this episode). While You Were Sleeping (the interaction between Elena and Damon is so sweet in this episode). Rescue Me (I loved Caroline and Stefan and Caroline and Enzo in this one). Home (Elena and Damon=epicness). Season Six: I love, love, loved the growing friendship between Damon and Bonnie in this one. My all time favorite friendship in this entire show. They are the best together. And Kai? He was so awful, like the worst bad guy on this show, even worse than Klaus but he was really funny and I enjoyed watching him. I can't really come up with any one episode that I've watched over and over in this season except for the last three which are I'd Leave My Happy Home For You, I'll Wed You in the Golden Summertime, and I'm Thinking of You All The While. Those three Elena and Damon's relationship was beautiful and sweet and epic and I loved every scene with them together. Season Seven: Again with the Bonnie and Damon friendship. They are honestly the best together. If I had to choose a few episodes for this season I would say... Hell is Other People, Things We Lost in the Fire, and Postcards from the Edge. The Damon scenes in those episodes were sooo good! I loved it. I loved Matt's arc throughout this season. It was good to see a different side of him and realize how grown up and adult he's become. I loved Somebody That I Used to Know (the Benzo was perfect and epic and I adored them together). Gods and Monsters was an epic and scary ending to this season that promised the best final season of TVD forever. It was the biggest cliffhanger ever and I honestly thought Ian Somerhalder's acting was spot on in just that final scene with Enzo. Season Eight: And... the final season. I'm gonna start crying. I'm sure the final episode will be on this list when it's aired but every episode brought held back tears and nostalgia. I love in this season how Damon and Caroline's friendship has shown more, how beautiful Bonnie and Enzo's relationship is, the epicness of Caroline and Stefan, (plus seeing Caroline with her girls more), and how Matt finally gets the spotlight he deserves. I loved how they called each episode by some of the best lines of the first season. I don't think I could choose just a few episodes but so far my favorites are Hello, Brother (because hello, brother... I mean seriously best line of dialogue in the whole show;)) The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch (I loved the interactions between Caroline and Damon and how she helped him so much to get over those stupid sirens). Excuse the language but this is the episodes name, Nostalgia's a Bitch (yeah the title isn't my favorite but I do remember Damon saying that in season one and I loved this one because it was all about forgiveness. Forgiveness for each other, forgiveness between brothers, forgiveness toward Damon. It was a beautiful episode). And of course We're Planning a June Wedding (I loved every second of this episode. The wedding, the Damon/Caroline interaction, the Bonnie/Caroline interaction. The Stefan and Caroline love. All of it). Aaaand now I think this is the longest post ever so I'm going to end it with Goodbye The Vampire Dairies. It's been epic.
Thanks for everything TVD

Hey everyone! So I didn't get a post up on Wednesday. I've had a cold all week and just have been feeling tired and weird because of it. Anyways, right before we got on the plane for Disney, like at the airport in the terminal I finished Roseblood and it was great and I wanted to share what I thought with you guys!




I went into Roseblood having waited forever to read it! I love A. G. Howard's Splintered series and own all of them on the Kindle. The only reason it took me so long to finish Roseblood (like it's taking forever for me to finish Starfall) is because I've been so buys with writing and class work (plus TV shows are just as important to me as books) otherwise I would have finished it much sooner.


When Howard came out with her New Adult novel I bought it and started reading it expecting to be wowed like I was with Splintered. It wasn't as... good as I thought it would be but that may because I'm eighteen going on nineteen and I love me lots of Young Adult and not so much adult stuff still... not even New Adult (I'm a child at heart). But anyways when I heard Roseblood was coming out I was like yes! Finally another YA book by Howard! Plus I mean it's a retelling of Phantom of the Opera! I have never read the book or saw the movie but I listened to the one song... yeah I know I'm not really into the classics unless its old folklore and myths and stuff but I loved that one song and I loved the idea and the plot and the feel of what the Phantom of the Opera is. So I was psyched to hear she was making a Phantom of the Opera retelling, especially after seeing the amazing things she did with Alice in Wonderland. And I was not disappointed.




I was surprised, and taken aback, and inspired by all the twists and turns the book held but definitely not disappointed.




I won't give any spoilers but I love Thorn. He is the love interest and the second protagonist of the book and Howard did such an amazing job with him. Thorn is an extremely complex character with deep meaning, unique personality and an even deeper internal struggle that leaves you emphasizing with him and loving him. A war is always going on in his head between the two people he loves the most and it was very intriguing to see who he chose, if he did "choose" at all because how could you choose between two people you love so much that it would pain you to lose either of them?


The main character Rune was pretty much just what I expected from A.G. Howard. Quirky, three dimensional, with fears and loves and hates and who has an eye for fashion. I loved the unique, dark, sort of Goth but also sort of steampunky fashion of Alyssa in the Splintered books and was hoping for more descriptions of the same sort of quirky, vibrant outfits from Rune and yet again I was not disappointed. Rune herself with her gift of music that slowly unravels and reveals itself and it's secrets to you and Rune as the book goes on took me by complete surprise. By the middle of the book you'll stop and be like whaaat?? I was not expecting the book to go that way! At least I didn't anyways. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book except for a great story so I was taken off guard by the big twist in the middle.


But besides the vibrant and very real, quirky characters the story itself that Howard created is rather dark and macabre. Yet again something I was expecting... only not to the point she took it. I loved how the Splintered series was a darker and slightly more morbid version of Alice in Wonderland and was yet still beautiful and mystical at the same time. Roseblood had the same feel to it, though some of the things -- most of the things -- in the backstory was much more disturbing and dark and slightly creepy than I was expecting... Not to mention some of the content is kind of mature. I definitely wouldn't recommend this book to any 13 or 14 year old.


Without giving any big spoilers away this Roseblood was great and a twisting and turning ride of secrets revealed and magic. I highly recommend it to anyone who loved her Splintered or New Adult series.


Wishing you all a great weekend!!

We got back from Disney on Friday and it was so fun! There were a few hiccups but overall we had a great time. Me and my family visited Magic Kingdom and Epcot and I thought I would share some pictures. We also did the Ohana breakfast and got to take pictures with Lilo and Stitch and on our last night had a princess dinner (my personal favorite).









My mom has much better pictures than I do on her camera and phone but these are the ones I could find on both of our Facebooks. It was so fun and I will be back with a writerly post on Wednesday and hopefully Friday. Have a great week everyone!