This post is going to be exactly what the title claims (for once!). In response to two great posts by Cait at Notebook Sisters and Emily at The Loony Teen Writer, I'm cataloging some possible future story ideas for the record, and hopefully piquing the interest of my wonderful blog readers!

(Let's try and ignore the fact that this post is being published MONTHS later than the ones it's supposed to be responding to. I'm great at follow-up, aren't I? *sigh*)

I have too many story ideas. I have so many bouncing around in my head at once - it's nothing short of maddening.

These will be divided into novel ideas and short story ideas - and hopefully I'll be able to see which have the most appeal (and which to write first, someday, if - * ahem* - when I finish my current projects). Note that these are all working titles, because many of them suck.

Novel Ideas

Season of the Hunt

Genre: YA fantasy

So, basically: A retelling/twist of Red Riding Hood. Rika is one of the cursed huntresses living in the woods by the village. (Obviously the village doesn't have a name yet because I'm great at planning like that.) These huntresses are said to wear red hoods and flower crowns, and they're rumored to be beautiful and pale as corpses. They're the Red Riding Hood figures. The huntresses have been cursed to be young forever, with enhanced reflexes and senses, hunting the wolves that were once common in the woods. Now, they're even more terrifying than the wolves themselves. Rika accidentally breaks the curse on herself and discovers the real reason behind it, with the help of one of the wolves. It turns out that the entire pack in the woods are actually boys who have likewise been cursed. The rest of the story basically follows the wolves and the red-hooded girls joining forces to break both of the curses and return to life in the village.

Wait, but why?: This was all about the aesthetic - black and red and pale, pretty flowers. I just wanted to write something with that feel to it, and Red Riding Hood seemed like the perfect thing to steal and twist into exactly what I wanted it to be.

Of Keyholes and Roses

Genre: YA fantasy with gothic undertones

So, basically: A retelling of the fairy tale "The Maiden with the Rose on Her Forehead", set in a gothic-esque castle in a France-esque kingdom neighboring a Middle East-type country. The heroine doesn't have a name yet, but I know that her father is from said neighboring Middle East-type kingdom (making her mixed-race), that she's asexual, and that she was born unable to walk, so she uses a wheelchair. (This is because I wanted to have a heroine as diverse as possible, and her identity just sort of came to me. A lot of my story ideas these days spring from wanting to represent minorities, so I think about them with this specially in mind.) She also has a rose growing from her forehead. Since her forehead rose and the fact that she needs a wheelchair are seen as bad luck in her home kingdom, her mother hides her away. This becomes... complicated, since her mother is the country's princess, ruling in her brother's stead while he fights a faraway war. The story unfolds as our heroine claims her birthright as royalty and comes to terms with her incongruous identity.

Wait, but why?: This whole thing springs from the fairy tale - I found this on a list of little-known fairy tales, and it's so delightfully screwed up and creepy that I couldn't help coming up with a book idea for it. Then I added the element of diversity that I've been yearning for in books.

Pick Your Poison

Genre: YA science fiction with possible fantasy elements

So, basically: A science fiction novel, possibly with fantasy bits and pieces, in a southeast Asia-type setting. Our heroine (who has no name because I have so much forethought) works as a professional poisoner in the capital of the kingdom. She's also something of a vigilante, delivering punishment to clients who use her poisons to take advantage of women. (Meaning she goes and poisons them personally. She might not kill them, but she does cause them a bit of pain. It's all very morally ambiguous.) Anyway, our MC's dream is actually to go to medical school, but the admissions officer is barring her because a) she's got this criminal record, right?, b) women aren't admitted into medical school anyway, and c) she poisoned his son as part of a contract. Meanwhile, MC is being hunted by a man who believes she's the heir to some long-lost bloodline and wants her to have his children - he doesn't really care what method he uses to impregnate her. The story follows how MC comes to achieve her dream while avoiding the a-hole who's doing whatever he can to find her.

Wait, but why?: I basically combined a bunch of elements I want to see in YA - Asian-inspired fantasy, girls making poisons, girls fighting rape, girls in medicine, friendship, a YA without a romance - and came up with this.

The Silent and the Stained

Genre: YA contemporary fantasy, possibly magical realism

So, basically: A retelling of the fairy tale "The Six Swans", set in modern-day New York City. Lynna Garter (wow, one of my future heroines has a full name for once!) hasn't spoken for six years, and a rich boy (with no name, predictably) wants to find out why. She works on the street selling shirts that she makes, but she works the hardest on a set of shirts she keeps to herself. It turns out she needs the shirts to break a curse on her brothers that has turned them into swans (that's the fairy tale part). She and said rich boy strike up an ill-fated and somewhat messed-up romance on the side that she has to learn to break away from.

Wait, but why?: I mainly came up with this because I had this idea about magical tattoos and I wanted to write a protagonist who looked like Emma Watson. Truth.

Seamus

Genre: MG cyberpunk (ooh, how refreshing!)

So, basically: (I know this title sucks. It will most definitely change if I ever write it.) Twelve-year-old Seamus is a military genius, Ender Wiggin-style, and he has to team up with a ragtag group of hackers in order to wage a cyber-war on the corporation that has been oppressing his city.

Wait, but why?: My younger brother asked me to write this - we came up with it together (he did the name, genre, and some of the premise stuff) and I thought it'd be super fun if I managed to do it right. 

Simmering

Genre: YA historical fantasy (and we're back!)

So, basically: (This title sucks. It's an extremely working title.) All I know is that it's going to be magical and set in 1920s America. That's it. That is actually it.

Wait, but why?: I MUST WRITE A FLAPPER BOOK. ALSO MAGIC IN THE 20s. ALSO THE GREAT GATSBY. Yeah.

Short Story Ideas

"Hollow-Hearted"

Genre: YA fantasy

So, basically: A gender-flipped retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth with a medieval Japan-type setting. When sickly princess Seii's guard, the dragon Kaoru, is killed while defending her from a would-be assassin, she must journey down to the Underworld with nothing but her koto (a Japanese musical instrument) to save him. Once there, she must use her music and her intelligence to open three gates that lead to the very heart of the dead lands and reclaim her guard - only to realize that he might mean a little more to her along the way. (Although I plan on changing the original myth's tragic ending.)

If we're thinking inspirations, Seii and Kaoru are obviously heavily inspired by Chihiro and Haku from the Miyazaki film Spirited Away.

Wait, but why?: I was deeply inspired by Chihiro and Haku after a rewatch of Spirited Away and wanted to do something with the Orpheus myth because it has so much potential. 

"The Art of Swallowing"

Genre: YA fantasy (though this could very well turn into a novel)

So, basically: A retelling of the fairy tale "The Girl Who Pretended to Be a Boy" with a Middle East-type setting. Possibly ties into Of Keyholes and Roses (mentioned above in "Novel Ideas" section). Our as-of-yet nameless heroine must dress as a boy to serve the emperor who has conquered her father's lands, because her father has no sons to send. The emperor sets her on the impossible task of winning a beautiful damsel's hand in marriage (named Iliane in the fairy tale, but no name in my version quite yet), but our heroine and said beautiful damsel end up falling in love instead. It's all totally great and girl-power-y.

Wait, but why?: I just adored this fairy tale so much. There's so much feminist awesomeness going on here, even if the ending ruins it a little. (The ending involves the heroine making a wish so that she turns into a boy and marries Iliane that way. I'm planning on keeping the heroine as a girl.)

Read More

Wow, I haven't done a Fiction Friday in a long while! And look - what a milestone. It's my tenth Fiction Friday here at Fairy Skeletons, and to celebrate, I'll be highlighting two extra-special short stories from Tor.com.

It's no secret that Tor is one of my favorite places to look for short stories online - they publish very high-quality stuff that manages to not take up too much time to read. (In fact, it's one of my greatest aspirations to be published by them someday.) It's refreshing and fun and a wonderful venture. So without further ado, here are two of my favorite speculative fiction stories on the web that I've found this week!

Gorgeous illustration for the story, done by Pascal Campion.

Ignore the stirrings of war. Let the carriage to a royal ball wait. There is a story to be told: of a starless night, a mother and her sick son, and a mortal who falls in love with the snow god, and will do anything to have her...

"Bridge of Snow" by Marie Rutkoski - It's basically a given that I would love this one. After all, it's a tie-in to Rutkoski's fantasy YA book The Winner's Curse, which I'm sure I've talked about on this blog a number of times. I've gushed about the setting and characters to anyone who will listen, and this short glimpse into Arin's (the male protagonist's) past is a delightful bite of a country long gone. 

Oh, and a short sampling for your enjoyment, which will undoubtedly lead to you reading the rest of the story if you haven't clicked the link already:

But how to tell her son the rest? The way the god silently followed the goatherd, so close that his shoulders grew frost? He drew for the snow god, whose frozen diamond tears fell at the sight of his images and rang against the rock. Every morning, he looked for her. He began to love the chattering of his teeth. When she appeared, the air sheered and sharpened. It became hard to breathe. Still, he longed for that painful purity.

Unfairly pretty illustration for the story, done by Karla Ortiz.

Claire’s lover has no tongue. A slave liberated from a heathen temple, Aya cannot tell the story of her stolen voice, or of her and Claire’s unfolding love. She cannot speak her pain, her joy, or her sorrow. And if she sees that which eludes the blind goddess of justice, she cannot bear witness.

"In the Sight of Akresa" by Ray Wood - This piece is so tragic and lush. I loved the danger sweeping beneath every sentence, the rich fantasy worldbuilding done in such a short space of time, and the passion of the characters all around. I say without exaggerating that I want to read a book of this. From the bottom of my heart, I need a book of this.

And a little, slippery, burning quote for you:

I think you caught the waver in my voice. Your eyes plunged into me, direct as daggers, and I had to let mine drop. My fingers lingered on the leather of your glove as I handed the bird over. I had seen enough, in that look—I had seen, in the way your eyes hesitated on my hair and then my lips, that you shared something of my desire.

Hopefully you all find as much to love in these pieces as I did. Happy Friday reading to you!

Read More

Oh man.

This song has worked its way into my bones and I don't even know why or how or when. I just love it so much.

So I've listened to three different versions of "Do I Wanna Know?" by Arctic Monkeys.

It seems a little over the top, I know. But it's a great song, perfect for dark musings at ungodly hours of the night, simmering and dusky and cool. All three versions are equally fantastic and have their own appeal, so I've embedded them all below.

The Original: LISTEN ON SPOTIFY / or you can Google it if Spotify isn't working for you

The original evokes the most unique mood, I think, and that's what drew me to this song in the first place. There's a rough, bloodshot, half-crazy aesthetic to the entire thing that carries a dangerous appeal. (In fact, it reminds me so much of Ronan and Adam from Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle series that I want to burst. Right down to the lyrics and the background and everything.)

The Vitamin String Quartet Cover:

This is a tiny bit slower than the original (a really tiny bit!), but I love string quartets with the fire of a thousand suns, and the way VSQ has interpreted the song here makes it just as amazing even without the lyrics. 

The Paola Bennet Cover:



I've talked about Paola Bennet before - in the very first Music Monday post I ever did, in fact. But I couldn't resist featuring her again for this cover because it's gorgeous. It makes me ache in corners of my heart I never knew existed.

So I know this is a bit of a short post, but hopefully the music rec makes up for it! I'll leave you with a snippet of my favorite part of the song:

So have you got the guts?

Been wondering if your heart's still open 

And if so I wanna know what time it shuts

Simmer down and pucker up

I'm sorry to interrupt

It's just I'm constantly on the cusp

Of trying to kiss you

Enjoy, and do comment with your thoughts!

Read More

Some of you might be aware that I run a literary and art magazine based on Tumblr called The Teacup Trail. If you're not, here's a short introduction to my small publishing endeavor:

Our first love is anything speculative, whether it’s writing or art, full of the magic that makes the world go round. Fairy-dusted, shadowy and cursed, or suffused with starlight - however you like it, we’ll love it if it’s fantastical. That said, we know that tea comes with many different flavors, and we’re happy to try them all.

That's what our aesthetic is like. However, our art editor has to leave us, so we're looking in a hurry for a new one! 

Here are some short benefits of the position:

• You help decide the visual artwork that gets published in The Teacup Trail.
• Your bio is listed on our Masthead page. 
• Although we can't offer payment, you do get the experience of working as part of a literary magazine's editorial staff.
• We'll be forever grateful for your hard work (no, but really, you would have a special place in our hearts).

Our ideal new art editor would:

• Have a spot-on sense of The Teacup Trail's inherently magical/speculative aesthetic.
• Have a keen eye for visuals.
• Have the free time to go through any art submissions that come in.
• Be able to report accept/reject recommendations to the editor-in-chief (that's me!) in a timely manner.
• As a plus (but it's not necessary) be interested/skilled in visual art.
• As another plus (but again, not required) have experience working with a literary magazine.
• And yet another plus (not necessary) be able to promote The Teacup Trail around the Internet.
• And as always, be passionate about The Teacup Trail's mission.

Sound like something you might want to do with us? Let us know at teacupsandhearts [at] gmail [dot] com with just a few things:

• Why do you want to work with The Teacup Trail?
• What experience do you have that qualifies you for this position? (This isn't as important as the first question, so don't be too worried.)
• Do you have any art samples that demonstrate your qualifications? If so, attach them or link us to them! (This is optional.)

If we think you might be a good fit for us, we'll email back asking you to give us accept/reject recommendations with reasons for a few sample art pieces. And remember, if more than one individual shows exemplary talent for the position, we may take on more than one art editor.

Some final words: don't be afraid to apply if you're genuinely interested. Passion for the mission is so much more important than experience, so if you don't have any, contact us anyway! We'll be glad to consider anyone and everyone.

We hope there are lots of interested people in this position, and the entire staff of The Teacup Trail sends much love!

Read More

I'm taking a short break from all of the post series that I normally do and opening up on a topic I feel really strongly about: "strong" girls in YA. A lot of the hyped-up books these days make too many people think that writing girls who are fighters is the only way to go. To that part of the book world I say - let's agree to disagree. Girls are people. We're much more complex than that.

Below are some recommendations I have of books featuring girls who are a different kind of "strong". Hopefully this inspires you to both read and write more layered heroines and to appreciate the undoubtedly strong girls and women in your lives!

Incidentally, a few of these are great diverse picks, too, so I'll be highlighting those as well. (Look for the "diversity alert"!)

girls who are strategists

In this category, girls can be wickedly cunning. They know what they want and how to get it, how to maneuver around people while maintaining reputations of steel. They understand society and at times, they can turn the tables without lifting a finger.

Kestrel Trajan of Marie Rutkoski's The Winner's Curse is just that - a winner, through and through. Despite her very unremarkable fighting skills, Kestrel can blackmail, cheat, and steal her way out of any predicament, being fabulous all the while. She's secure in her own skills and can keep the upper hand for as long as she needs to. Even when her life is a tenuous game, Kestrel uses jagged strategy to come out on top.

(NOTE: The Winner's Curse is the first book of The Winner's Trilogy.)

Lucero-Elisa, or just Elisa, as she's normally called, is the beyond-amazing protagonist of Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy and a queen in every positive sense of the word. Her character growth is extraordinary - she goes from being a frightened, dumpy princess to a powerful leader comfortable with her own body and abilities. Plus, most of the prominent characters are people of color, Elisa is anything but your "typical" thin heroine, and everything about this series screams GIRL POWER.

(Diversity alert! Setting based on Spanish culture, most major characters are Latino/a.)

Suzume of Zoe Marriott's Shadows on the Moon is different from the vast majority of female protagonists in that she is very vengeful. She's cruel and she knows it. She may be the heroine of a Cinderella retelling, but this is Cinderella given power and the drive to carry out what she wants. Also, this fantasy world is based on medieval Japan, and it features characters from a country based on African civilizations.

(Diversity alert! Setting based on medieval Japan featuring another country based on Africa.)

girls who find the silver linings in their "flaws"

There are so many ways one could go with this. Who is a character without flaws? Who is a person? But this category is more about a character's "flaws" as they're defined by society rather than by the character herself. 

Terra Cooper of Justina Chen Headley's North of Beautiful was born with a port-wine stain on her face. It's a prominent birthmark that mars everyone's view of her and even earns her the nickname "pretty ugly" from her own father. However, she comes to accept and even love herself over the course of the book. That takes a kind of strength that is quiet and universal, and I really admired that about this heroine.

girls who are technologically savvy

...because let's face it, some of us totally are. This is for the girls who talk to machines (sometimes more than people), for the girls who could dismantle a security system faster than you could think, for all the girls out there today who are working in STEM fields and kicking butt.

Linh Cinder is a mechanic. Cress Darnel is a hacker. (Scarlet Benoit is plain awesome, too.) They're the heroines of The Lunar Chronicles. So it seems that here we have a duo of girls, both brilliant with machines and not afraid to flaunt it as an important part of their respective skill sets. Best of all, their skills are acknowledged by the majority of the cast of characters. 

Emily is by far my favorite character in Kady Cross's Steampunk Chronicles series, although she's not really the heroine. (The third book of the series, which is the only one with a cover that features Emily, is pictured here.) She's whip-smart with a good amount of heart to back her up, and she isn't afraid to discipline her peers if they're being foolish. 

Maddie Brodatt from Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity (which I'm currently listening to as an audiobook) proves time and again that she can do just as well as - and frequently better than - the boys. She has the training and determination to go far, and her skills as a pilot, among other things, are recognized by even those who doubt her at first. Verity, the main character, is also a wireless operator and very good with both technological and interpersonal maneuvers.

girls who find strength in their relationships as well as their own selves

Sometimes romantic relationships can be a source of great strength, and YA doesn't let that happen a whole lot - or at least, not very effectively. All too often, one-half of the couple becomes just an accessory for the other or loses all of their substance in order to make the other half look good. Balanced relationships are about loving one's partner AND oneself, and these YA girls know how to do that.

Kaede and Taisin, the heroines of Malina Lo's Huntress, are a) SO shippable because ahhh and b) two girls with tremendous power in very different areas. They build a sturdy kind of love (not a spoiler, because the blurb kind of gives it away) that rests on trust and respect. This allows them to each take comfort in the other while knowing their own talents and limits.

(Diversity alert! Setting based on Chinese mythology, plus girl/girl romance.)

Alina Starkov, starring in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy, has to discover that she doesn't need to pine after a boy before she can truly fight for what she believes in. Everyone's telling her she's the "chosen one", as the Sun Summoner - the most powerful Grisha in existence. So she comes into her own power while discovering that love is really an important source of its own magic.

Despite not really being a YA protagonist, Celia Bowen of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus is definitely worth mentioning here, especially since The Night Circus could easily appeal to YA readers. Weaving through a forest of intricate, heartbreaking prose and thorny emotional threads, this book allows Celia to come into her own in an organic way. She defies fate and the rules set for her by her father - plus, her magical powers are fabulous.

Kate "Puck" Connolly, one protagonist of Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races, finds a quiet sort of power in her achingly lovely romance. It wraps around her softly and a little dangerously - though she can be reassured with the knowledge that she herself is perhaps even more dependable.

Do you have any more suggestions? By all means, leave them in the comments! And go forth and enjoy these girls and these books!

Read More

Wow, I haven't done a Music Monday in a really long while! So today I'll be sharing two new picks with you as a sort of comeback.

First up is Farao, a UK-based indie artist whose haunting voice and chilling atmosphere make for some really great music. I found Farao through Maggie Stiefvater's Tumblr, because I pretty much trust Maggie Stiefvater's taste in almost all areas. A writer that great is going to be able to appreciate good music, right?

Anyway.



The first of Farao's songs that I listened to was "The Hours", and oh man. Oh man. Shivers all around. Farao's voice has a quiet depth and power that took me totally by surprise, and the background instrumentals are basically the best thing ever.

Another one of Farao's songs that I found was "Tell a Lie" - and again, more ethereal and wonderful vocals and background. Feast your ears below:



The lyrics are also absolutely stunning, if you listen closely enough to catch them. These songs have so many stories inside of them, and I'll be sure to pick them clean for inspiration in the future.

The second pick is a song by The Civil Wars called "Devil's Backbone". The simple, soft harmonies of the vocals in this are breathtaking, and the climax that the song climbs to is bone-shaking and gorgeous. I believe I came across while listening to a fanmix for the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series (one of my all-time favorites, by the way) and I immediately made note of it.

While it's not on Soundcloud (so I can't embed it, unfortunately), "Devil's Backbone" is on Spotify, for those of you who use that. (If you don't, I highly recommend it. I keep all my writing playlists there.)

So Spotify users should please listen to this beautiful song here: https://play.spotify.com/track/4qoD4IJbbir3hsAu4IowiG.

A snippet of the lyrics:

Oh Lord, Oh Lord, he’s somewhere between

A hangman’s knot, and three mouths to feed

There wasn’t a wrong or a right he could choose

He did what he had to do

Oh he did what he had to do

Yeah. Pretty in a mournful way, I suppose.

Add some beauty to your Monday with these songs - I hope you fall in love with them as much as I did!

Read More

*ahem* I'm in love.

Let me reiterate from the post title: No, not like that. (What, did you think I actually developed a crush on someone NOT fictional or famous?)

I'm in love and you could be too. Oh yeah. Actually, I'm pretty sure you will be. *tap dances*

I've talked about Kimberly (the queen Karalius, obviously) on this blog before - she's one of the Figment friends who so kindly supported me when I first joined the site and continues to support me even now. In fact, she is one of the most popular writers on Figment, so I was a little starstruck when we first started interacting. Kimberly's a wonderful person, and I love talking about writing, books, films, and whatever else might come to mind with her around the Internet. She's very, very kind, insightful, and creative, and I'm so lucky to know her. And her writing reflects her whimsical, curious spirit in every way, featuring a trademark style of magical realism that turns even the most ordinary places and people into little treasures. Girls who can command a hive of bees? Check. Boys small enough to live in dollhouses? Check. Mothers who shapeshift into human hearts to save their sons' lives? You got it.

However, whenever we started talking about publishing, Kimberly said she hadn't had any luck snagging an agent or a publisher for any of her works. I was shocked, almost outraged, because she's an absolutely brilliant writer. I thought, "The publishing world sure is missing a lot if it won't take notice of Kim."

Well, that changes today. Kimberly Karalius is getting published.

*squee*

Here's a blurb of the book, for all your grabby hands:

Love is real in the town of Grimbaud and Fallon Dupree has dreamed of attending high school there for years. After all, generations of Dupree’s have successfully followed the (100% accurate!) love fortunes from Zita’s famous Love Charms Shop to happily marry their high school sweethearts. It’s a tradition. So she is both stunned and devastated when her fortune states that she will NEVER find love. Fortunately, Fallon isn’t the only student with a terrible love fortune, and a rebellion is brewing. Fallon is determined to take control of her own fate—even if it means working with a notorious heartbreaker like Sebastian. Will Fallon and Sebastian be able to overthrow Zita’s tyranny and fall in love?

Yes, that is every bit as awesome as it sounds. And the boy I was referencing in my post title is indeed Sebastian. He ran off with my heart, the knave. 

That shows how much I'm willing to give for Kim and her story - I am never using the word knave in a blog post again. Or casual conversation. Or... anything, really.

I mean, Sebastian is the knave. It just so happens that I am perfectly and totally okay with that. But I digress. 

I was lucky enough to read the manuscript of Love Fortunes and Other Disasters (originally titled We Could Fall in Love), and let me tell you, it is one of the most glorious books ever to book. (Book is both a noun and a verb now. Roll with it.) Which is why, when Kim submitted it to Swoon Reads back in April, I was absolutely sure they would select it for publication.

Swoon Reads is a YA/NA romance imprint of Macmillan that takes open submissions through an online community. The manuscripts submitted are then voted on over a rating period, and some of the top-rated manuscripts are looked at by the publishing team at Swoon Reads. Then three manuscripts are picked to become actual BOOKS. It's an innovative and really wonderful publication model, and a huge step forward for the publishing world.

After enthusiastically doing my best to support Kim in both the writing and the promotion of her manuscript as much as I could, I was overjoyed to see that it had made it to the top ten manuscripts on the entire website. And now Kimberly Karalius has been chosen for publication of her novel.

My first thought upon reading the announcement was YES. JUSTICE HAS FINALLY BEEN SERVED. VICTORY IS MINE.

That was before I dissolved into incoherent squealing.

Everyone go give her some love, okay? She's worked incredibly hard on her journey towards being a published author and I'm so, so proud of her.

(That makes me sound really stuffy and pretentious. But honestly the only thing I'm stuffed with is pride and sheer happiness.)

The book releases on June 9, 2015, and without spoiling anything, I'll tell you a few things about it: it's got ships (the definition that involves kissing). It has magic. It has color and wonder and life. IT HAS A SUPPORTING CHARACTER NAMED BEAR (yes, you read that right, and no, he isn't an actual bear). I, for one, plan on going for it the moment it comes up for preorder.

THE NINTH OF JUNE, EVERYONE. Mark your calendars now. I can't wait to hold Love Fortunes and Other Disasters in my hands and give it a huge bookish hug. And trust me, you'll want to as well.

Please do congratulate Kim on her blog or Twitter. She deserves it ten times over.

(By the way - because I'm a complete dimwit and forgot to link while I was fangirling - the info link for Love Fortunes and Other Disasters is right here. And OH MY GOODNESS but Swoon Reads decided to quote me in the "Praise" section. Look for the gushing of a certain Christina near the bottom of the page.)

Read More

Woohoo! Out of my blogging slump! So sorry for that unintended hiatus, but I'm back.

Oh my goodness - thanks to the lovely Adelyn Belsterling (doesn't she have a fabulous name?), I've been given another Liebster Award, and yet another excuse to tell everyone more about myself!

However, this is a slightly different version of the award, which involves modified rules:

• Post eleven facts about yourself.
• Answer the eleven questions provided by the person who nominated you and then create an eleven-question set for the next group of nominees.
• Choose eleven people to nominate and link them in the post.
• Let your nominees know they've been tagged - and no tag-backs!

I love the Liebster Award because it's a great way for us smaller bloggers to build community, and without further ado, I'll be building some community of my own by answering Adelyn's questions!

1. Who was your first book crush?

Oh, dang. That's hard. My first? Well, I've had too many to number, so let's see. I only really started having genuine book crushes when I started reading young adult literature just a couple years ago. The first books I had genuine fangirl attacks over were the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. So I suppose my first actual book crush was Will Herondale. However, before the fangirl era (which has stretched on into the present, by the way), I read Pride and Prejudice, which of course meant that I was unknowingly crushing REALLY HARD on Mr. Darcy. So I'll say Mr. Darcy as well, because who wouldn't?

2. If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?

This is quite possibly even harder. Elizabeth Bennet, though, probably - because her story has one of the happiest endings ever. She gets Mr. Darcy (+ escape from Mr. Collins), Pemberley, financial security for herself, financial security for her family, and a happily married Jane. It's kind of difficult to not want to be her.

3. If you could live in any fictional universe which would you choose?

The country of Herran, in The Winner's Curse, before the Valorian conquest. (Not a spoiler, don't worry.) It sounds like such an educated, enlightened, artistic country with a very rich culture - a place I would love to live in, intellectual and creative in equal measures. (Since it's based on Ancient Greece and all, woohoo ~) But really, the descriptions of Herran in The Winner's Curse make me ache to go there and be a part of that civilization.

4. Which author would you let take control of your life?

I was going to say Maggie Stiefvater, but then I reflected that this might not be the best idea. (Although she might turn me into Puck Connolly, which would be beyond amazing, she might also turn me into Joseph Kavinsky. Or *shudders* his girlfriend. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, read this book and this series, respectively. You may or may not regret it - feels warning in advance.) So I guess I'll say Kimberly Karalius instead. I know, I know - Kim is one of the other lovely people nominated by Adelyn in her original Liebster post, and not a traditionally published author (though I'm confident she will be soon!). And I might not be totally objective about this, since Kimberly is one of my Figment friends/acquaintances/general brilliant people who are supportive of me despite their obvious brilliance. But honestly, I'd love to think about how much magic my life would suddenly contain if it were one of Kim's stories. I could defy love fortunes, tell stories with flour, and even get a host of bees to do my bidding. (CLICK THE LINKS. GO.) Best of all, I would be the true heroine of my own fairy tale - complete with, no lie, a ship-worthy ship. *squee*

5. Which book has had the most impact on your life?

Though it's not one of my favorites in and of itself, Swordbird by Nancy Yi Fan has really affected my life because it was the first book I read by a young author (twelve years old HOW) and it got me thinking about writing. I figured that if she could do it, there was no reason I couldn't, and this is what helped me develop my interest and eventual passion for building stories as well as reading them. Although this push into writing may have contributed to what seems like my mental instability, too.

Yeah, we'll just gloss over all of that.

6. What was the last place you traveled to?

In terms of, you know, actually far from home, that would be New York City, New York. I went for the National Awards Ceremony of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards (remember when I screamed about that?), so that I could receive my gold medal and silver medal. And oh. OH. OH. It was glorious. We went to see Wicked where I nearly cried of happy/sad feelings, to the New York Public Library where there was an amazing children's lit exhibit that had me mesmerized while the entire rest of my family seemed mildly bored, to a brunch place that served the most perfect slices of toast I've ever seen, to the Empire State Building because duh, and so many other places. Not to mention - CARNEGIE. FLIPPING. HALL. That had to be emphasized. I have no shame. That building, the emotions and high ceilings that have built it, it's all a work of art. Just thinking of it makes my heart swell with joy.

7. Which fictional character would you want to be stranded on an island with?

Definitely Elisa from the Fire and Thorns trilogy. She's resourceful, powerful, and totally kick-butt - plus maybe we could have a heart-to-heart talk while we're stranded. Elisa is just so good at life that I would love to get her opinion on things. And her intelligence would ensure that we got off the island once we were done.

I'm hoping we could become, like, best friends Hopefully we'd enjoy each other's company, you know? And I admire her so much as a ruler and person. I might just spend the first few minutes squealing, who knows.

Probably my most likely reaction, actually.

(I would've said Haku from the Ghibli film Spirited Away, but he doesn't talk much. I'd probably drive myself insane.)

8. Which book is your favorite guilty pleasure?

I'm pretty assertive about almost all of the books I read, so I guess there aren't any books I'm genuinely "guilty" about. However, if I had to choose one series, it would be the Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare - split up into the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices, of course. I sometimes get criticized for loving these so much because of their occasionally overt drama and their kissing scenes. (Those are so steamy it makes me a tiny bit uncomfortable, to be honest.) But I think they have genuine merit, and besides, I will fight to the death for the Herondales. So. (But please no City of Heavenly Fire spoilers! I haven't read that one yet!)

9. What book made you fall in love with reading?

Probably one of the more clichéd, light middle grade series I started in first grade, the kinds that never seem to end. I distinctly remember loving the Junie B. Jones series and the Magic Tree House series, though now I can't possibly fathom what I saw in them. I do owe those books my gratitude all the same, because without them, I wouldn't have made the leap to the wide, wonderful world of YA literature and classics that I love so much today.

10. If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?

Hands down, I would choose to have a photographic memory. Yes, this would be extremely painful because I wouldn't be able to forget traumatic sights and the like, but I could a) ace all my tests, b) throw exact literary quotes at people whenever I feel like it, c) REREAD BOOKS IN MY HEAD WHAT, and d) identify criminals accurately if I ever witness one. (Well, that got dark.)

11. What is the best book you have read this year?

Oh, that's excruciating. There's The Archived, The Winner's Curse, and The Scorpio Races, which I think were the big YA stunners for me so far. But keep up with me at my collaborative book blog, Literoses, where I'll be covering other great and not-so-great books!

Oh, and now eleven random facts pertaining to yours truly!

• I'm that one terrible person who never roots for the USA in any international sports events. Things like the Olympics, the World Cup (ahem)... I'm never cheering for America. What is this patriotism you speak of?
• I hate tomatoes but like salsa. Go on, judge me.
• I once ate raspberry and cucumber sorbet. It was awesome beyond belief.
• I have no idea why I'm talking so much about food, so I'll do a completely unrelated one: I watch two animes, Fairy Tail and Kuroko no Basuke. You are welcome to speak with me about either of these. Because I love them both.
• On a side note, the only team sports I actually like watching are soccer/football and basketball.
• But my favorite sport to watch is figure skating. (Sorry, but duh.)
• I'm a second-degree black belt in taekwondo. But I probably can't beat you or anyone else up, because...
• I'm short.
• I also have terrible reflexes.
• I have terrible eyesight to boot. My glasses actually make people feel sick when they try them on.
• I won a state-level spelling bee once. (Yeah, really.)

My nominations are:

• Ryanne (We spoke on Figment recently and you're so kind that I couldn't not include you.)
• Willa (I read your posts and Lit Up Review and just recently started following your personal blog. You're a great blogger.)
• Paola (I adore your thoughtfully written posts, your photography, your Tumblr, and your gorgeous voice! So basically a lot of things about you. Hopefully that doesn't sound as odd as I think it might.)
• Bethan (I only started following your blog recently, but I love the effort you put into posting and being nice to all of your readers.)
• Rose (Um, obviously. Your blog design is pages upon pages of pure genius, and your posts are always very thought-provoking.)
• Kristianna (You're one of the most hilarious bloggers I know, in the most positive way. Your gaming series had me cracking up so hard I was in tears.)
• Emily (I love meeting fellow teen writers, plus your blog is procrastination-inducing thoroughly entertaining. Congratulations on your awesomeness.)
• Mackenzie (So much beauty is contained in your wonderful blog, seriously. Plus I love your infectious positivity and creativity.)
• Kate (Another teen writer like me! I really admire how personable and involved you are on your blog and around the Internet.)
• Kara (Yet another teen writer! I just found your blog and Wattpad account, and your blog posts are so well-written and engaging. I have yet to really get into one of your Wattpad stories, but I hope to do so soon!
• Temple (I know, technically an author so it's a little odd of me, but I so wanted to nominate you! I've seen you around on YouTube and Goodreads and just started reading the blog, but I think you're super cool and can't wait to read Velvet.)

Also, there were some people on Adelyn's list that I would love to nominate but didn't in the interest of spreading the Liebster love as far as possible. So here's a short shoutout to AnQi, Cassie, and Kim.

Oh, and the nominees' questions:

1. What's your favorite breakfast?
2. What "unattainable" person (i.e., celebrity, fictional character, etc.) do you have a crush on?
3. What's a movie (an adaptation, an original movie, whatever!) that you really want to see made, and who would be in the cast?
4. If you could collaborate on a book with any author, who would it be?
5. If you could live in any time in history, where would you go? (Or would you stay in the twenty-first century?)
6. Do you have a nickname? If you don't, is there a nickname you wish people would call you by?
7. Describe yourself in a haiku.
8. Do you have any strange skills that not many people know about?
9. How good are you at keeping secrets?
10. What's the most valuable thing you've ever learned from a book?
11. Who is your favorite fictional villain?

Many thanks again to Adelyn for the nomination, and I hope you all find this as fun as I do!

Read More

This week's Fiction Friday is an example of Twitter fiction - innovative storytelling done through Twitter in 140-character segments.

This particular story, written by Andrea Corbin, follows a "spacewitch" named Em in a short, fantastical journey. The prose is sharp, succinct, and evocative - really a treat to read. It's quite surprising how effectively this medium works to convey the story, working with and around the boundaries of typical writing pieces.

I feel there's no need for the excerpt I typically include, as the whole thing (having been Storified) is embedded below:



Hopefully you enjoyed that little bit of your Friday, and maybe... maybe you'll be trying some Twitter fiction of your own soon? (I know I want to.)

- Christina

Read More

A quick note of credit before we begin - this Fiction Friday pick was generously recommended by the lovely Kim Karalius, who is, incidentally, an amazing writer herself.

Tor.com, where this week's story was published, is one of the most highly regarded speculative short fiction markets out there. I've read and enjoyed some stories on the site in the past (some of which will probably pop up on future Fiction Fridays).

This gorgeous illustration for the story was done by Lars Leetaru.

Written by Maria Dahvana Headley, "The Tallest Doll in New York City" is a quirky, cute, magical story about what happens when the Chrysler Building, tired of admiring the Empire State from afar, decides to pay him a little visit on Valentine's Day. The narration is full of personality - I could almost say spunky - and it's richly flecked with details of the time period and setting. The writing style itself, despite being in first-person, is sort of cinematic, so it feels like you're reading the sweeping climax of a film. And the tiny threads of subplots are wonderfully woven in, making sure that everything is a backdrop for everything else, and every part of the story coexists with every other one, just like it does in a real city.

But really, don't take my word for it. Here's the requisite excerpt:

We joke about working in the body of the best broad in New York City, but no one on the waitstaff ever thinks that the Chrysler might have a will of her own. She’s beautiful, what with her multistory crown, her skin pale blue in daylight and rose-colored with city lights at night. Her gown’s printed with arcs and swoops, and beaded with tiny drops of General Electric.

"The Tallest Doll in New York City" is available to read here.

Despite the fact that I discovered it over three months late (it was a Valentine's Day story, after all), it's still a great story to read any time, and I do hope it makes your heart soar as much as it did for mine. Happy reading and happy Friday!

- Christina

Read More

The Diversity in Books Series, or DIBS, is my resolution and effort to add my voice to those who are spearheading the effort to diversify the publishing world. I may not know everything there is to know about this topic, but hopefully I can provide an introduction to the issue for readers and others who are interested and broaden everyone's horizons!

So today you might ask, why this new blog series? Why should you care about it?

Why is diversity in books important?

Here's your short answer: because people are still feeling compelled to write posts and articles like these. Frankly, that's kind of an embarrassment to the publishing industry.

Of course, it's a lot more complicated than that. It's an issue that has spanned generations of both little and large examples of struggle in our society, and most of all, it's an issue that needs to be talked about in this field and numerous others.

This post will cover diversity as a personal issue - I'm hoping to cover statistics in more detailed, specific posts in the future. Additionally, it's an issue that I can ramble about for a while, so bear with me.

First, let's define diversity as it's being used here. Diversity is the inclusion of elements, particularly characters, from different backgrounds - whether that means disabilities (I loathe that word, by the way), different races, different sexual orientations, different body types, or anything that I've missed, it denotes anything that's different from what's considered "mainstream". It also includes authors and settings that are diverse.

No, scratch that. I think a better definition of diversity is anything that seeks to eliminate the concept of "mainstream" by celebrating differences.

I'm Korean, and as a girl of color growing up in the United States with an unending love for literature, it's such a source of joy to me whenever I come across a new book with a Korean protagonist - or even a Korean side character. Stories like Slant by Laura E. Williams make my day pretty much because I can finally read about a Korean girl like me. Finding out about authors like Ellen Oh is unbelievably cool, because I have a precedent who tells me that I can be an author, too. I feel lucky just to have one character or author once in a while who is of my racial background. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who feels this way, and I'm definitely not the only one who feels this is unfair to minority readers. It's a feeling that's very difficult to articulate in this almost-xenophobic literary environment, especially for young people like me.

I understand that I'm lucky. I live in a neighborhood with a fairly high Asian population, so racist comments certainly aren't as severe as they might be in other places. I can honestly say that I've never wanted to be anything other than Korean. I love being bilingual, celebrating the holidays of my culture, and being proud about my country. But I've never been able to shake the lingering feeling that even books, some of my favorite parts of life, are biased against me.

That needs to change. I can't stress it enough. Readers can't stress it enough.

The thing is, the landscape of the book world is lagging pretty far behind that of the wider one. I hate to say it. Shocker - the world has been changing very, very fast. And a significant part of a generation is growing up thinking that stories should only revolve around one or two types of people. Thankfully, with these rapid changes, it's becoming more and more okay to be vocal about issues people are passionate about.

Lately, there's been a lot of positive discussion on how Caucasian, cisgender, heterosexual, etc. etc. characters are dominating literature, especially young adult fiction. We're starting to face the fact that we live in a world with people of all forms, and books that only portray a small fraction of those forms are a disservice to that world. This certainly isn't a new topic of debate, but it's finally being recognized, bit by bit, by mainstream outlets, and that's a wonderful start.

The recent #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign, which you may have spotted around social media, brought what is hopefully a powerful spotlight on diverse literature and authors. Please see what that was all about here, because although the social medial campaign may be over, the discussion is most definitely not.

In the coming weeks, I hope to spread awareness about the issue even further with the DIBS initiative. Please don't hesitate to correct me or share your thoughts (kindly, though), because this is an endeavor to support anyone and everyone.

And remember:

What are books if not a reflection of reality?

What is our reality if our books marginalize diverse people?

And, really, is that a reality we want to live in?

Read More

(I know it's Saturday, but please do bear with me. You won't be sorry, I promise.)

Flavorwire has just announced their 2014 Short Fiction Contest, and I'm planning on entering. In preparation, I read the 2013 winner, and dang, it's awesome.

"The Art and Science of Growing Back Your Arm", by Kim Winternheimer, is a powerful, haunting short story that puts a speculative twist on what you think might be reality. The premise is just strange enough to make you look twice at it, but not overbearing. The writing style is deceptively simple yet meaningful - sort of like the best contemporary novels. And the ending - I won't give anything away, but it hit me like a punch to the gut.

Here's an excerpt, because I might as well let the prose speak for itself:

I think about the world pockmarked with kids who have growth problems I won’t ever see. I think about the boy in our building at home, who cries and wails even though he’s easily two years older than me, and the girl on the news who cut up a bunch of animals in our neighborhood. Is that something they could grow into fixing? Or is it worse than that? I wonder if we all have a little bit of growing to do on the inside and why there aren’t any adults at camp doing any growing. I wonder what Mr. Bobby would say my mother needs to grow back, or if she’s fully whole, and why, to me, that seems so much more difficult to understand.

"The Art and Science of Growing Back Your Arm" is available to read here.

You're welcome for the link (if you haven't clicked it yet go go go), and happy not-really-Friday!

Read More