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Subplots and Storylines – March & April 2019

Tracey Dyck 24 Comments

Happy May! Last time Subplots and Storylines came around, I recapped January and February. It’s strange to think it’s only been two months since then . . . it feels like four, considering how much was packed into them!

[Note: be sure to catch the P.S. at the end of the post!]

Last day of college!

For one thing, after a torrential downpour of school projects–and a great big entrepreneurship tradeshow thingie–I am officially done college! I don’t get my diploma until June. But the work is done. Classes are over. Exams have been written. I am no longer a student. (!!!) It’s been an adventure and a half, I tell ya. Someday I might tell you all about it.

What else . . .

I registered for Realm Makers! I don’t think I’ve announced that here yet, but yes–I’ll be there for my third time in a row, and I can’t wait. This time, my bro Josiah is coming with me!

In other news, we celebrated Easter, I squeezed in some friend time between college assignments (yay for Scrabble and London Fogs and pizza nights and trying African food for the first time!). I was also a bridesmaid in a dear friend’s wedding.

My seven-year-old laptop rebelled and started crashing every time I used it. So I finally bought myself a shiny new one.*


*Feel like it needs a name, though . . . Maybe Sebastian. Because a) I like the name and b) it reminds me of Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan . . . and the laptop is sleek and metallic like Bucky’s arm? IDK, man.

Aaaand on top of all of that, I started my new job this week! I’m now in the marketing department of a nonprofit organization. My head is spinning with all the new things I’m learning, but I positively love what I get to do and who I get to work with. God is so cool!

Here’s yet another “and”—I joined the Havok team! Very excited to learn the ropes and start helping writers get their flash fiction into the world.

Screen Subplots

T V  S H O W S

I rewatched two episodes of The Flash season 3 and started The Flash season 4 (so good!). Also rewatched an episode of Once Upon a Time season 4.

M A R C H  M O V I E S

Christopher Robin
Heartwarming, nostalgic, and so, so perfect. I cried. Several times. The Hundred Acre Wood was my childhood love, and somehow Pooh still has the ability to say just the right thing in his simple way. I loved watching him and his friends help a grown-up Christopher Robin recapture his wonder.

“Sometimes when I’m going somewhere and I wait, somewhere comes to me.”

Ralph Breaks the Internet
This was actually pretty cute (minus a few sort-of crass jokes). It ended up having a much deeper theme than I expected, dealing with what happens when best friends go different directions in life. And interpreting the Internet as an actual setting was really cool. Worth seeing if you liked the first one! (Also Gal Gadot was in it!)

“My autofill is a touch aggressive today.”

Captain Marvel
IT WAS NOT AS BAD AS THE CRITICS SAID. I was leery after reviews (and Brie Larson herself) made it an ultra-feminism issue, but the movie didn’t come off as preachy to me, thankfully.

And while it may not be my favorite Marvel movie to date, it was a fun addition with plenty of banter between Carol Danvers and Nick Fury, the surprise that is Goose, and 90’s throwbacks. (Blockbuster, anyone?) Plus there was a super interesting take on the prejudices that drive war. I’m hoping for good things if we get any sequels!

“Do you know how to fly this thing?”
“Maybe.”
“That’s a yes or no question.”

A P R I L  M O V I E (S)

Avengers: Endgame
AHHHHHHHH!!!! Pardon the fangirl in me, but that movie is INCREDIBLE. I’m in awe at the scope of the thing, the emotional depth, the satisfying conclusion. Three hours of awesomeness and feels.

It’s bittersweet to see this massive story come to an end. After all, I spent most of my teen years looking forward to the next MCU release date. But it’s been a good ride. *immediately wants to go on a Marvel movie binge* Maybe I’ll manage to collect my thoughts in a full review once more of the world has seen it!

(There are so many quotes I’d like to list here, but this one’s from the trailer, so it’s not spoilery.)

“Whatever it takes.”

Page Storylines

M A R C H  B O O K S

Reclaiming Shilo Snow // Mary Weber
Remember me screeching about the amazingness of The Evaporation of Sofi Snow in the last S&S post? Well, the sequel continued with the same guts and heart as the first book. As Sofi and Miguel hurry to save Sofi’s brother, more heartpounding twists hurtled me right to the satisfying finale.

Together, this duology is inspiring in the truest sense of the word. It holds up a mirror and asks us to find our humanity, to choose goodness over rightness, and to make every choice one of love.

(Goodreads review here.) 5 stars!

Songkeeper // Gillian Bronte Adams
Taking a decidedly darker turn than its prequel, Orphan’s Song, this book follows Birdie through her struggle to hold onto hope when the Song feels distant, and Ky’s misadventures as he tries to protect his Underground friends.

I took almost a month to read this (thanks, college). Maybe that’s why the story seemed to lack that “just one more chapter” pull.

But hey, Gundhrold the griffin is still there, Amos is still his belligerent self, we get to explore the further reaches of Leira, and the ending plunges into the heart of darkness in order to reveal the cogs that have been turning the series’ main conflict! So yay for that! I’m interested to see how everything shapes up in the third and final book.

(Full review on Goodreads.) 3.5-4 stars.

A P R I L  B O O K S

The Scent of Her Soul // Bryan Davis
In this human trafficking story with a speculative twist, Mike has the ability to track the scent of young girls’ souls. He’s been searching for his daughter (who was abducted three years ago) and trying in the meantime to rescue as many trafficked girls from prostitution as possible.

Needless to say, this was a sad, intense, and horrifying read—yet the heroes of the tale gave me hope. It’s absolutely sickening what goes on in our very own streets, right under our noses. But as Mike repeatedly reminds himself, “Every girl is special. Every girl is unique. Every girls needs a hero.”

Based on the subject matter, along with some swearing (which I felt was justified and not gratuitous), I would recommend this only for mature readers. Be advised that there is frequent talk of rape as well as on-screen violence. However, it was all very well-written from the perspective of motivating action in the reader. Mr. Davis has tackled an extremely difficult topic head on and has done an excellent job.

Sky in the Deep // Adrienne Young

When I finally cracked open Sky a year after its hyped release, I hoped I’d love it as much as I wanted to. Vikings! Battle! Family! Gorgeous cover! And now I can say I DID love it.
Eelyn’s a kick-butt, axe-wielding heroine, but she has a heart, which kept her from becoming just another warrior girl. That heart might be iced over with anger and bitterness, but her slow thaw was perfect.

I kind of hated Fiske at the beginning. I was worried he’d be the typical alpha male love interest who “makes up” for his foul moods by being hot. Thankfully that wasn’t the case! He too had a heart, fiercely protective of his family, and I loved him for that.

And Halvard!!! My previous boy! He was exactly the innocent touch that both Eelyn and the book itself needed. Inge and Iri are great too, even if Iri got overshadowed by Fiske toward the end.

I also loved the Viking-inspired culture, the crisp setting, and the beautiful-yet-punchy prose. Some truly heart pounding scenes took place! (And this is the perfect comp title for one of my own books, so yay!)
Some small dislikes include a few places where it was unclear who was speaking, a couple of make-out sessions, etc. And readers should be aware that the violence is rather bloody, and there is one very gory torture scene I wasn’t expecting.
Other than that, though, I loved it! The power of family—of blood and of choice—runs through from the first page to the last.

Sentinel // Jamie Foley
Sentinel feels like it waltzed through the Story Elements Grocery Store and picked up a few bags of fantasy, a box of dystopian, a bit of supernatural, and a smidgen of alternate universe. Throw in some generous helpings of humor and voila! I don’t know what it is, but hey. Breaking genres is cool, even if it confused me a bit in the beginning.

I loved the magic academy, the whole aether magic thing going on (there were some superhero vibes), and the fact that we get a sibling relationship from the younger one’s point-of-view.

There’s a big cast of characters and lots of banter going on. A few of my favorite people…

  • Darien, the main character, is such a puppy–probably one of the more realistic 16-year-old boys I’ve read about (in terms of maturity).
  • Jet is just awesome.
  • Levi sounded exactly like Haymitch (*cough* I mean Woody Harrelson) in my head.
  • Sorvashti has a language barrier.

Some events felt like they needed more foreshadowing or explanation . . . just more development, in general. But I hear that a prequel novella should clear some of that up. Overall, though, it was a pretty fun story! (JET IS MY FAV. MUST READ MORE BECAUSE OF JET.)

(Full Goodreads review.) 4 stars.

Sword in the Stars (first edition) // Wayne Thomas Batson
Sword in the Stars plunges you into Batson’s richest, broadest fantasy realm yet–the land of Myriad. Here we roam forested kingdoms and ancient ruins and dark keeps, following a large cast of characters in a cinematic style. Rereading this book was a huge nostalgia kick. This was one of the tales that shaped my love of fantasy. Now, seven years later, a bit of the shine has worn off, but I still love the heart and vision of this book.

Former assassin Alastair Coldhollow drives much of the plot forward. Wrestling with a bloody past and an addiction to Witchdrale, he nevertheless searches for the Halfainin, a hero prophesied to defeat the Dark King and save Myriad. But a baby he never wanted and a woman he meant to stay away from pull Alastair in another direction.

Before you know it, he becomes caught in a web of dark designs as his former master, King Morlan, secretly stirs the kingdoms to war.

I loved Alastair, Queen Maren (who’s a total boss), the Shepherds, the slow decline of the people’s faith, Cythraul (the creepy dude), and all the allegorical elements!
What I didn’t love so much were some spelling/punctuation mistakes that could’ve been caught with another proofread. Also there’s a continuity problem with a character death–but the new-and-improved second edition fixes that! (I checked.) The beginning third of the book meanders. A few anachronisms like “okay” threw me off a little bit.

But I was pleasantly surprised at how well the majority of this book held up so many years later! Myriad is a world I can sink my teeth into, meaty enough to carry the rest of this series (which I think is supposed to be seven books long). I applaud Mr. Batson for setting the stage as he did, choosing poignant characters to head up a story playing out on a global scale.

(Full review on Goodreads, complete with a fully explained list of what I loved and didn’t love.) 4 stars!

[I am also quite pleased that all six of these books either start with S or almost do, and all of the covers except Reclaiming Shilo Snow match really well. #aesthetics]
 

Written Subplots

Not much to report here yet, but in April I did write a short story very spontaneously. It was one of those “just for me” sorts of things and was so good for my head and heart. So take note, writers! If you need to spend some time writing something that you don’t plan to do anything with, ever, give yourself that gift.

Hello, May!

What have you been up to? Have you seen Endgame yet?! Read any of those books–or do any of them look like they should go on your to-be-read pile?

 
P.S. I’m going on a blogging hiatus, probably for the month of May! Why? I’m going to start the Great Move (aka I’m moving from Blogger to my own website). I’ll be back when everything is ready to go! In the meantime, pop in and visit me on Instagram. See you later!
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Subplots & Storylines – January & February 2019

Tracey Dyck 22 Comments

Well hi there. Things have gone radio silent around here over the past seven weeks, huh? This final semester of college is a real doozy so far, and it’s been such a frigid winter I think my brain froze. But . . . I got my first library card in January, so #priorities, yay!

In other good news, I’m done midterm exams, which means I’m that much closer to graduating, which means we’ll be returning to a regular posting schedule soon. Thank heavens, you’re all thinking! . . . Right? Right. You’ve all been wasting away here in my absence, I’m sure. *cough*

Speaking of which, the main life update to share with you is that I’ll be starting a brand new job after college! It’s exactly the sort of position I was hoping for. Having everything in place ahead of time is a huge relief and answer to prayer.

But now–on to the mini reviews of everything I watched and read during the first two months of 2019! Buckle up!

Screen Subplots

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(Looking at you, Miss Poofy Dress*)

Once Upon a Time // Season 7 (episodes 1-3)
Final opinions are, of course, suspended until I finish the season, but so far I’m having more fun making fun of Season 7 than I am actually watching it. Oops. Everything is different and they got rid of some favorite characters, replacing them with super bratty ones.* I’m also in the dark on most people’s motives right now–hopefully they actually come to light and make sense!

January Films

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Venom
I WAS SURPRISED. Pleasantly surprised! Venom was never my favorite dude, and I’d heard this movie was gross and dark. But while it was darker than, say, Captain America . . I really liked it! So many laughs, so much suspense, and such a well-drawn villain.

For those wondering about content, most decapitations occurred off-screen, but I wouldn’t recommend it for young or sensitive viewers.

February Films

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The Grinch (2018)
Eh. So Benedict Cumberbatch voiced the green guy himself. That’s great. The rest of it was pretty ho-hum, like they took the original movie and doubled the length without adding anything significant. (But I’m guessing young kids would enjoy it anyway.)

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The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
I looooved The Lego Movie, and I’m happy to report that I liked the second instalment just as much! The only thing it’s missing is some of the novelty of the first one, but that’s hard to replicate in a sequel, so I forgive it. Aside from that, there were plenty of dazzling visuals, romping adventures, one-liners, and clever twists of old tropes (and twists of the twists, imagine that!).

Also . . .

“This song’s gonna get stuck inside your he-e-ead!”

It did. It very much did.

Page Storylines

January Reads

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A Time to Die (reread) // Nadine Brandes
I reviewed this book back when I first read it in November 2017 (check it out on Goodreads here!) but it still deeply touched me the second time around. 5 stars!

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Mark of the Thief (audiobook) // Jennifer A. Nielsen
This wasn’t as good as The False Prince, but still entertaining. I liked how Ancient Rome was fused with fantasy, incorporating mythology and even some history.

Where this book fell short for me was in character motivations. Our protagonist, Nicolas, seemed to care about his friends and family only when it was convenient to the plot. And when other interesting things were happening? Well, he completely forgot about them. (For the minor spoilers on this, check out my Goodreads review.)
Other characters: Auralia had an attitude that came across a bit more caustic than snarkily endearing, and Crispus, although nice enough, was kind of arrogant.
Anyway. I did like the “One Ring” vibes the magical bulla was giving, and Caela the griffin was cool (because GRIFFINS). The pacing of the plot was quick and enjoyable too, so 3.5 stars.

February Reads

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A Time to Speak // Nadine Brandes
Well, there goes my heart in a hundred pieces. Nadine Brandes did it again.

I can’t tell you how much Parvin’s journey is resonating with me. I wish I’d known her five years ago, but I’m glad to have met her now. She’s grown so much since the beginning of the first book—in purpose, in courage, and in tenderness.
And that shattered heart I mentioned? Every piece of it was stolen by Solomon Hawke, and I don’t think he plans to give it back. He and Parvin share one of the most solid and mature relationships I’ve ever read in YA!
I won’t even begin to flail over the plot, because there’s no way I want to spoil it for anyone! But I will say that . . .
a) Nothing is easy
b) Not everyone survives
c) Everything is vivid—the pain, the cold, the hunger, the hope

That’s what I love about this trilogy. It’s a gritty dystopian—like we’ve all seen before—except there’s hope burning brightly in the midst of darkness. And with that ending? Yeah, it’s way more meaningful than any other dystopian I’ve read. 5 stars!

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A Time to Rise // Nadine Brandes

I was terrified for everyone during the majority of this book, but I’m pleased to say that after shattering my heart in all three books of this trilogy, Nadine Brandes did in fact manage to put it back together again!

The hope and contentment at the end is something most dystopian stories don’t have. It took pages of pain and stumbling to reach it. But we made it. Parvin made it, and I’m so proud of her.
My only complaint is that there were a couple spots I felt antsy and removed from the action, but on the plus side, it was nice to have a young heroine who isn’t the sole person responsible for saving the world. So . . . I can’t complain much. 5 stars! Overall, this trilogy is a favorite!
P.S. I totally need a dogsled ride now!

P.P.S. Solomon is still one of the best love interests EVER.

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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire // J.K. Rowling
I’m still reeling! Smack dab in the middle of the series, this book has the charm of the first three, but definitely takes a turn for the darker. Something I love about Rowling’s writing is that she spends the first half of the book fooling you into thinking this is all fun and games and unrelated side quests–and then pulls everything together at the end. Everything is significant.
A few thoughts . . .
  • Harry is getting a backbone!
  • Ron is utterly clueless about girls.
  • Hermione is still a mini-me.
  • Snuffles!
  • It was fun getting a wider view of the wizarding world, what with the Quidditch World Cup, portkeys, and the Triwizard Tournament.
I didn’t expect most of the plot twists!
That. Ending. Oh my goodness. *screeches* That was terrifyingly good and would’ve given me nightmares as a child!
I could ramble on if I let myself, but I shan’t, because I want to keep this spoiler-free. (Side note: I went through this as a read-along with a few friends and 10/10 recommend the experience!) 5 stars!

The Evaporation of Sofi Snow // Mary Weber


That ending wrecked me. (And here I thought the Storm Siren trilogy cliffhangers were bad.)

But let me back up a bit. The Evaporation of Sofi Snow was exactly the cool, techy, futuristic sci-fi novel I wanted, but that’s not what made me love it.

What I loved were the characters. Broken, bruised characters with scarred pasts. Characters running from guilt. Characters clinging to the very few good things left in their lives.

What I loved was the gut-wrenching heart of the story. I knew that this book speaks on human trafficking, but I wasn’t prepared to flip the pages faster and faster, heart in my throat, as I witnessed the brokenness of humanity shouting from within the pages of a fictional world.

Rabbit trail: It’s books like these that are driving Christian fiction in the right direction. Some of you reading this review may not be comfortable with the light smattering of language, or mentions of sex, or references to characters sleeping around, or the depiction of the horrors of trafficking. It’s not pretty. But given the context, I think it was necessary. I think the grittiness was important, and wasn’t there for its own sake; it was there as a rolling up of the sleeves, a digging into the dirt to get to the root of deep pain. There are souls living the same pain that are crying out to be seen, accepted, and healed. They—we—need books like these.

(Rabbit trail over.)

After devouring book 1, I am so eager to dive into the sequel ASAP! Thank heavens it’s sitting ready on my shelf. (I’m currently reading the climax, actually!)

Written Subplots

Nothing to see here that you don’t already know! But in case you missed it, Dead Magic appeared in Havok–and has since been selected for consideration in the printed anthology!!! I also guest posted on Realm Makers’ blog in January.

No actual writing occurred these past two months, sadly. I took a peek at The Brightest Thread. Once. I sighed wistfully and then went back to homework.

Your turn, friend! What’s 2019 looking like so far? What’s the last series you binge-read? Have you seen any of those movies? Let’s chat–I’ve missed you all!

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2018 Recap // 2019 Goals

Tracey Dyck 30 Comments

A crisp new morning. The wide open feeling of new potential. This is January–or rather, it’s my idealized January. At this time of year, I find myself reflecting on what the past 365 days have been like and where I hope to go in the next 365. It’s definitely been a journey.

At the beginning of 2018, I slowed down and took a different approach to goal-setting. You can read about it here: What Lies on the Horizon. Today let’s look at those goals and see if I hit them.

2018 Goals

Organize my beta readers’ feedback on The Brightest Thread. Check! It was one whale of a job, but I did manage to wrangle all the feedback into one place and took an objective look at the critiques. (And smiled at the fangirly comments, let’s be honest.)

Try my hand at flash fiction and submit to a magazine. What do you know, I managed that too! I wrote a few flash fics, and Dead Magic was accepted by Havok. Details coming VERY soon!

Edit The Brightest Thread. I made progress on that front, for sure. The beginning of the novel gave me a hard time (how dare it), but the first 22,000 words are now in pretty good shape. I think. It’s been a while since I looked at it, thanks to college.

Start querying literary agents. Nope, I didn’t make it that far, since I didn’t finish editing TBT.

Attend Realm Makers in St. Louis and pitch TBT again there. I did make it to Realm Makers for the second time and pitched twice, with promising results. I’m excited to pursue that in the future.



Finish The Creative Way course. Ahahaha . . . no. This was on my list of goals last year too, and I worked through even fewer lessons in 2018 than I did in 2017. College swallowed my LIFE.


Get my secret project off the ground. Aside from brainstorming, I made no progress here either. See the above reason.


Spiff up the blog. Again, nope.


Maybe plan my next novel? Nuh-uh. You know the drill by now. #collegelife

Three and a half achieved out of nine.

A couple years ago, that might have made me depressed. But now? I can smile, nod, and turn my face toward the new year. Because I know that list of goals doesn’t paint the whole picture. There were more important things I wanted out of 2018, bigger wins to achieve. Most of them can’t be quantified.

I took more time for people. I noticed a marked difference in how I treated time spent with family and friends. Not that I’m oh-so-generous now, but I’ve become a little more willing, a little more able to shut up my inner critic when it wants to yak about the looming to-do list. The people in my life mean more than getting that blog post up in time or editing another chapter.

I carved out time to read and recharge. I skidded too close to burnout in 2017 and 2016, so with college ramping up this year, I knew it was even more crucial to stay rested. Again, I wasn’t perfect at this, but there were many, many occasions I made the decision to pick up a book instead of a task in my free time. Sure, there were weeks in summer when I went full-steam ahead in editing my novel, and most definitely times during the school months that I worked my fingers to the bone. BUT. Overall, I took steps to nurture my mental health, and now I’m thanking myself for it.
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Most importantly, I grew closer to God and forged a new devotional habit. Recently, I reread the What Lies on the Horizon post from last January . . . and it almost made me cry. Many of those words had faded from memory since writing them down, including this thought:

“What I know right now is that every time I have hungered for more of God and cried out for a deeper knowing of Him, He has responded. And every time, all it took was asking… and then putting one foot in front of the other with my eyes open for an answer. Another thing I know right now is that I miss digging into the Word.” [Jan. 2018]

Since writing that, I started a contemplative Bible-reading plan–and kept up with it all year. Coming from a 2017 of very sporadic times spent with God, that’s huge for me.

And when I look back at all the things God has whispered to my heart in 2018, I am moved by how kind and wise He is. All year, He encouraged me to rest, to accept grace, to trust Him. To do everything WITH Him. This was made especially clear at Realm Makers, where author Allen Arnold taught a class called Chaos and Creativity.

Books I read, people I talked to, messages from church I listened to, songs I heard . . they wove together into a beautiful melody threaded through the year, snagging my wandering attention when I strayed too far.
(And on the more superficial side of things, I finished two semesters of business college, had Mirrors Never Lie place as a finalist in Five Poisoned Apples, and read 50 books.)
I’m proud of 2018.
But now it’s time to look to the new year.

2019 Goals

Continue my devotional habit. But more than just continuing, I want to build more thought, study, and variety into it as time goes on.

Give myself more grace. This one goes without explanation.

Take better care of myself. This includes getting the right amount of sleep, being intentional about unplugging, and making space for just being still.

Graduate college and get a great job. I can’t wait! As much as I grumble about college (which is something else I need to work on), it really has been a valuable experience. One of these days I’ll share some survival tips for fellow students. Anyway, before I graduate in April, I’ll be looking for the kind of job that will make me excited to get up in the morning.

Finish editing The Brightest Thread. I’m so looking forward to brushing up this darling child of mine . . .

Send TBT to a literary agent. . . . And I’m looking forward to engaging in some serious querying!
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Attend Realm Makers for the third time. It’s my tentative plan, and I’m hoping it’ll fit in the budget again this summer.
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Actually finish The Creative Way writing course by Ted Dekker. Because there’s cool stuff to learn and it’s about time I finish what I started an embarrassingly long time ago.

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Move Adventure Awaits to a self-hosted website. You heard it here first, folks! Rather than simply spruce up the blog, I’m seriously contemplating moving to a bona-fide website later this year. I foresee many inquiries being sent to the more technologically-minded . . .

Bring that secret project into existence. And that’s all I’ll say about that. *wink*

I do have a handful of “bonus goals,” smaller and easier-to-achieve things that would be nice to accomplish, but not absolutely imperative. Things like purging my room, purchasing a new laptop, reading another 50 books (including my nonfiction TBR stack), even getting a personal blender with which to make smoothies. But I think ten major goals are quite enough for now, thank you!

2019 holds some big changes, that much is certain. I’m eagerly anticipating a change of season, from full-time student to . . . well, full-time something else, and also the chance to revive my writing life. In the meantime, I hope to practice grace for myself and others–and face the future with a peaceful heart.

What are you looking forward to this year, fellow questers?

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Subplots & Storylines – December 2018

Tracey Dyck 28 Comments
WHERE DID THE YEAR GO?
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Ahem. Hello and Merry Christmas and Happy Almost-New Year! How was your December? The first half of mine was jam-packed, what with finishing the college semester and studying for final exams. Now that it’s over, I’ve been relaxing with my family and soaking in the holidays.
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Fluffy snow arrived just in time for Christmas, so I even went sledding for the first time in two years!
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Also my first-ever Unicorn Crate (the November box) arrived and it was beautimous.
Unicorn Crate, ft. The Light Between Worlds, Hogwarts bookmark,
Unicorn Berries wax melt, Rivendell tea, Peter Pan socks, Wizard of Oz
pin, Narnia tote, etc.

Screen Subplots

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Once Upon a Time Season 6
I finally finished watching this season! It only took me all year, wow. Overall, it was a bit disappointing, but there were enough good parts that it wasn’t a total write-off. I was hoping for a more epic conclusion, especially with all the build-up. And I really don’t know what to expect of season 7 . . . I haven’t heard much good about it. I feel like they maybe should’ve quit at season 6.

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Rich Man
I started my first K-drama with my sisters, and so far we’ve seen just one episode.

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The Fellowship of the Ring
I actually watched the first half of this a couple months ago with a friend, and we recently watched the second half. (After baking butter tarts. Because Christmas.)

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The Incredibles 2
THIS WAS SO GOOD. It definitely didn’t suffer from the sequel blues! In fact, I’d say it was just as good as the first one. I’m glad they stayed true to the heart of it. (Best part: JACK JACK.)

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
More thoughts on the actual story in a moment, since I read the book this month too, but as far as the movie goes–it was good, but didn’t meet all my book-inspired expectations. It could’ve been more cohesive, I think, and it missed some of my favorite parts of the book. Lupin was cool, however. (I didn’t expect him to be played by David Thewlis, whom I’ve seen only in villainous roles up til this point!)

Page Storylines

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The Scorpio Races // Maggie Stiefvater
This one is now tied with All the Crooked Saints as my favorite Stiefvater book, and it’s definitely one of my favorite books of the year!

The island of Thisby crackled with life. The characters were full of a spark of their own, too, painfully lifelike in their hopes and hurts and mannerisms. Puck Connolly reminded me at times very much of myself. Sean Kendrick stole my heart from page one. Together, their slow burn romance was A+. The story itself carries the emotions of best horse stories, while steering clear of most of the inherent clichés. The cappall uisce are downright terrifying, I want ten November cakes right now, and I plan to reread this lovely, haunting book next year! 5 stars!

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Omega Dragon // Bryan Davis
Well, this concludes my epic year of rereading all twelve Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire/Children of the Bard books! What a joy to revisit these characters and relive their adventures, right to the apocalyptic (yet satisfying) end.

In this final instalment, explosions and gunfire rock the land, paths between worlds have become fraught with danger, and many dear characters shed sacrificial blood . . . some even to the point of death. Matt and Lauren have come far in such a short span of time. They’re now right at home in their lineage of brave heroes. And that final chapter–it was the sigh of relief and contentment after a wild ride. 5 stars!

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban // J.K. Rowling
My favorite HP book yet! This plot takes a more ominous turn, thanks to the Dementors. I can’t help but love Harry more as he struggles with a far darker and more difficult reaction to these creatures than his friends do. Also Lupin is hands-down the wisest and kindest adult in Hogwarts, aside from Dumbledore himself.

The ending had more twists than I expected, and all my favorite parts are too spoilery to talk about–so I won’t. But a certain person is AWESOME, and a certain spell is ALSO AWESOME. 5 stars!


[Currently planning to finish two more books by the end of the month: The Sacred Enneagram by Christopher L. Heuertz and Horseman by Kyle Robert Schultz. Will update post with reviews if successful.]

Written Subplots

I HAVE EXCITING NEWS!
Those of you who follow me on social media have probably heard it already, but here it is in case you missed it:
One of my flash fiction stories was accepted by Havok Publishing!
 
It’s a fantasy thriller called Dead Magic (which I’ve mentioned briefly here before), and it’s scheduled to appear on Havok’s website sometime in January 2019, during their Rebirth theme! I’ll be sure to share the details with you guys in advance so that you get a chance to read it while it’s available.
I’m super happy! It’s encouraging every time you hear a yes, because the world of writing comes with a whole lot of no’s. Even if this yes is currently just for online publication (although print is a possibility, depending on things), it’s still YES. And for any of you searching for a yes–in the world of writing or anything else–let this be an encouragement to celebrate every one you receive and keep going even when there are none in sight!
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It’s been a great month! Between Christmas and family and good books and the news about Dead Magic, I have a lot to be thankful for. I hope your December was kind to you, too.

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P.S. I’m keeping this post short on purpose, because a yearly wrap-up/looking-ahead-to-2019 post is coming up soon! There will also be a “Books of 2018” post, featuring mini reviews of allll the books I read this year! And I don’t want you getting sick of me. 😉

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