Graduate School Post: Solidarity
Hey all!
Thought it was time for some actual content! LOL. Don’t worry, no more giveaways… this week.
I’m writing because I promised in my blog description that I’d post about graduate school, and you know what? I don’t think I’ve done that yet. Not a dedicated post, anyway. I’ve been inspired recently to sit down and write about this wonderful thing called solidarity. Why? Because I think it’s awesome.
Last year I had a class team-taught by the illustrious Susan Straight and the hilarious Chuck Evered. Susan gave us a lot of different blurbs of advice during the course of the ten weeks, but one particular adage to live by was this: “Find your Holly.” By “Holly” she meant someone who you have a good writing relationship with, who reads your writing and gives you feedback on it, and for whom you do the same. I actually had a couple of Hollys before I started grad school, but by a slow process, I’ve found not only lifelong grad school friends, but also a grad school Holly.
Yes! I am in a Creative Writing MFA program and there is another student who writes and reads YA fantasy! You have no idea how lucky we are to have found each other. This wouldn’t happen at every MFA program, let me tell you.
My Holly and I have only just begun working together, but I think it’s going to be a very good partnership of reading and commenting on each others’ work. We already get along pretty well, and my new Holly has helped me immensely. I cannot even tell you guys how much she’s helped me. I would be in dire straights if it were not for her. I only hope I can be as helpful in return.
So there’s one example of solidarity. Another example would be my nonfiction friend who has given me great comments on a piece of writing I am hoping to get published. He doesn’t have to give helpful comments, but he does. Why? Because he is coming from the same place of wanting to get published, and needing that extra eye to help with that goal.
So this solidarity thing… I think is pretty important. If you’re in any sort of cohort, whether it be graduate school or undergrad, or even have friends who are interested in the same activities as you–it pays to get to know and be active with the people around you. You never know what kind of friendships might bloom, or what kind of opportunities might come up just because you know a person who knows a person, or at least has talked to a person who can make things happen.
I think this is especially relevant in creative industries. You never know when someone who knows your writing will meet up with someone else who is looking for just that kind of story. Unsolicited recommendations are huge. I won’t say much, but there is someone in our cohort who already has an agent. All because another writer took an interest in her story.
And I’m not going to ignore my library peeps. Let me say, I’ve had a lot of opportunities opened to me because I’m so tight with my coworkers.
Bottom line: It can never hurt to be active in the community you want to join.
Go solidarity!
Zompacolypse 2011 Trick-Or-Treat Giveaway Hop
Thanks for stopping by!
This blog hop is hosted by Paranormal Wastelands.
Some rules:
-Must be over 13 years old. If you are under 18, you must have parent/guardian permission.
-Giveaway is international as long as The Book Depository ships to you. Check here.
-Giveaway ends on October 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST.
-One winner will be chosen by random.org.
-You contact information provided on THIS FORM counts as your entry.
-You are not required to re-post or follow me to enter this giveaway, but it is appreciated.
I will send an email to the winner after the giveaway ends.
The winner must respond within 72 hours or a new winner will be chosen.
Now, what do you get?
I’m offering up to $15 (US) worth of books that involve
Zombies, Ghouls, Ghost, Vampires, Weres, Mages, Witches,
Wicked Fae, Changelings, Demons, Things that have no name but terrify you…
either from Amazon or The Book Depository.
I will be asking for some choices on the form. These can change.
CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT THE ENTRY FORM
But wait! Don’t leave yet!
My blog happens to be one of the hidden bonus stops!
That means by visiting my blog, you’ve earned one entry for a special giveaway for
an Amazon giftcard.
Click on the image or click HERE to enter!
To earn more entries for this bonus giveaway, simply find the other blogs with this image.
Good luck everyone!
Thanks for stopping by!
Remember to visit Paranormal Wastelands and these other blogs
for more spooky giveaway action!
Beg, Borrow, and Steal (014)
Hi everyone, welcome to this week’s Beg, Borrow, & Steal!
These posts are my take on the In My Mailbox meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Just a way to showcase the books in my life, because not all of them will be reviewed. 
This week’s batch is small, but I’m VERY excited about it. Let’s see why…
Begged
Books I absolutely had to buy.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
SIGNED!
Went to a reading event tonight where Laini was so gracious to sign two copies!
That’s right, I’m saving one for you guys! Thanks Barnes & Noble in HB for hosting!
I read a few chapters while I was waiting for the reading to start, and this book is so good!
Really, really happy I found out about it at the last minute via Twitter and managed to go!
Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor
When I saw that this was a National Book Award Finalist, I had to have it.
Added bonus when I was going to get books signed anyway!
Can’t wait to dig into this one!
Borrowed
Book borrowed from the library.
Help for Writers by Roy Peter Clark
My coworker saw this book and gave it to me for perusal.
It’s a great aid for helping writers get their lives together so they can focus on writing.
Steals
Free swag from an event.
The Barnes and Noble people at tonight’s Laini Taylor reading were handing out masks…
So I grabbed one! I love how it matches the cover, and it’s pretty good quality.
They gave me the tattoos when I went to get the book signed.
I love literary swag!
Well, that’s it for this week!
Thanks for stopping by!
Feel free to stick around to enter my Spooktacular Giveaway
and my 200 Subscriber Giveaway,
and read my review of Bridger by Megan Curd and enter to win an ebook copy.
And be on the lookout for yet one more Halloween giveaway!
200 Subscriber Giveaway [New Entry Form]
Note: I had some issues with the form after I originally posted this contest. If you entered information before 11:30 PM PST on October 23rd, 2011, please enter your information again to get full credit for your entry. The correct entry form title should be “200 Subscriber Giveaway [Again].” Sorry for the trouble and thank you for participating!
Hello everyone! I know, I just posted a giveaway, but there’s another one coming later this week, and I figured since I’m going to be giving stuff away, might as well squeeze this little prize in as well. 
Here’s the deal: I’ve got more than 200 email subscribers! Woohoo! Thank you all!
To celebrate, I secured 2 signed copies of a book I’ve been anticipating for some time.
That’s right, Maureen Johnson’s The Name of the Star!
Some rules:
-Must be over 13 years old. If under 18, you must have parent/guardian permission.
-Giveaway is international as long as the US Postal Service ships to you. Check here.
-Giveaway ends on November 21, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST.
-Winners will be chosen by random.org.
I will send an email to the winners after the giveaway ends.
The winners have 72 hours to respond or new winners will be chosen.
You contact information provided on THIS FORM counts as your main entry.
Additional entries are possible through:
-confirmed subscription for email updates (subscribe button is on the sidebar) +2
-following my Twitter account (@mavieenprose) +2
-spreading the word (tweet, post, blog, etc.) +2 each
Example tweet:
“200 Subscriber Giveaway: Enter to win a signed copy of The Name of the Star by @MaureenJohnson http://wp.me/p1CDw8-fo via @mavieenprose”
If anything, make sure you @mavieenprose and provide a link in the tweet.
CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY
Thanks for following, subscribing, or even just stopping by!
Looking forward to hitting more milestones with you all!
Good luck everyone!
Stick around for my Spooktacular Giveaway Hop!
Spooktacular Giveaway Hop 2011
Thanks for stopping by!
This blog hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Diary of a Bookworm.
Some rules:
-Must be over 13 years old. If you are under 18, you must have parent/guardian permission.
-Giveaway is international as long as The Book Depository ships to you. Check here.
-Giveaway ends on October 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST.
-One winner will be chosen by random.org.
-You contact information provided on THIS FORM counts as your entry.
-You are not required to re-post or follow me to enter this giveaway, but it is appreciated.
I will send an email to the winner after the giveaway ends.
The winner must respond within 72 hours or a new winner will be chosen.
Now, what do you get?
I’m offering up to $15 (US) worth of fantasy or paranormal books
either from Amazon or The Book Depository.
Yes, this is a huge range of books.
Feel free to go with older classics (Edgar Allan Poe, anyone?)
or maybe something recently released (maybe Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood?)
I will be asking for some choices on the form. These can change.
CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT THE ENTRY FORM
Good luck everyone!
Thanks for stopping by!
Remember to visit I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Diary of a Bookworm
to access the linky and find hundreds more great blogs and giveaways!
Beg, Borrow, and Steal (013)
Hi everyone, welcome to this week’s Beg, Borrow, & Steal!
These posts are my take on the In My Mailbox meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Just a way to showcase the books in my life, because not all of them will be reviewed.
Small haul this week, but it’s something!
Begged:
Purchased book that I absolutely had to have.
Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson
A short story collection by a new professor in my graduate program.
I’ve read a couple of stories so far, and I’m really digging it.
She does fantasy/magical realism, and she does it so well!
Borrowed:
Checked out from the library.
Tighter by Adele Griffin
Saw this cover on a blog somewhere and got curious.
After reading the cover copy, I decided I’d take it home and try it out!
And no steals this week!
Makes me a bit sad, but as you know I’ve got plenty to read!
If you haven’t yet, check out my review of Bridger by Megan Curd.
And also enter to win a free ebook copy of Bridger.
Be on the lookout for giveaways over the next couple of weeks!
I’m participating in two Halloween Hops
and I finally got my prize in for my 200 Subscriber Giveaway!
Thanks for stopping by!
Toaster Tuesday (005)
Wow, so it’s been a while since I’ve done a Toaster Tuesday! Many apologies, but hopefully I’ll be on task now that I’m (sort of) getting used to my new school schedule.
Toaster Tuesday is a series of posts about ereaders, specifically my experiences as a new Nook owner. The concept was partially inspired by a show called Battlestar Galactica. Basically the antagonists in the story are the Cylons, who are robots. The humans like to call them Toasters. I figured since there is a dichotomy between organic and electronic in the book world as well, I’d play with the idea and (affectionately) refer to my Nook as a Toaster. (Her real name is Ariadne, though, thank you very much.)
That’s me hanging with Audrey Hepburn and the Bronte sisters in my friend’s cubicle.
Today’s brief post highlights a neat advantage to owning my Nook. It ties directly into my life as a graduate student, especially as someone who studies Creative Writing. You see, sometimes the need arises to get my hands on a book immediately for reading or reference. This happened to me just the other day, and after checking the university library and my usual library systems, and realizing that I didn’t have time to trek to farther libraries or wait to have a book delivered, I made the decision to purchase the book I needed. But purchasing a paper copy would still cost me in time–even with Amazon’s miraculous two-day shipping for students, that’s two days lost. After feeling despondent that I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on the book in time, I remembered that I had my Nook on me and decided on a whim to see if the book was available through the online store. In fact, it was. So after a couple of clicks, I had the book I needed without even having to leave my seat.
Sure, it cost me in money, but you all know I’m not shy about adding to my collection. It was an investment, and I have the book in a format that makes reading easier for me, and I am now at an advantage (I hope) in my academic career. I’d say it was well worth it.
So another point goes to the Nook and Barnes and Noble’s huge selection!
Follow Friday (004)
Many thanks to Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read for hosting Follow Friday!
Q: If you could have characters from a book meet and form an epic storyline with characters from a TV series, which characters would you choose and why?
Couldn’t resist tackling this question. I’ve been pondering it all day, and I thought I had my answer a second ago, but now I’ve been struck by inspiration! I’d want the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy peeps to meet up with the Colonial Fleet and their Cylon friends from the revamped Battlestar Galactica series. I really, really need to see Kara Thrace cope with Marvin the Paranoid Android, and vice-versa. The accidental replication of Marvin would definitely have to be in the storyline… 
I’m pretty sure this crossover would be beyond epic!
Blog Tour/Book Review: Bridger by Megan Curd + Giveaway
Wow, many apologies everyone! The lateness of this post is a fail on my part. It was my mom’s birthday today and I haven’t really had a chance to hit up the computer until now. Anyway, here’s my review!
Bridger by Megan Curd
Ashlyn McVean’s life will never be the same after her father’s sudden death. But unlike most people who have to deal with loss, she also suddenly has to deal with faeries and centuries-old grudges and a grandmother, Memaw, who has always kept her at a distance. Until now. Why has her grandmother been hiding any sense of emotion from her all these years? Or what has Memaw been hiding from Ashlyn?
To be honest, I wasn’t sure about Bridger when I first started reading it. There seemed to be a lot of hedging around oddities that happen to or around Ashlyn, but nothing really gets explained for a while. From a writer’s standpoint it seems that some of the weird things that come up get pointed out by Ashlyn, who is our narrator, and narrative attention is paid but then Ashlyn simply pushes these interesting things aside to get on with the story. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It definitely shows that Megan Curd has a good handle on her protagonist’s voice and thoughts. Just, sometimes it was a bit frustrating to become invested in a strange event and then have the narrator brush off this investment. One thing that bugs me is the necklace. You’ll know what I’m talking about if you read the book. I know it’s there to lay ground for future books, but I’m just so curious about it!
But the hedging is only problematic until the story starts to really pick up. There is a definitely pivotal moment in the story that anyone who reads this novel will notice, and once I reached that point, I was hooked. I wasn’t paying so much attention to the writing anymore, unless I thought there was something good about it. For instance, I love Ashlyn’s funny thoughts. I grinned a lot at the playful way she thinks, and also at the funny lines other characters had to say. That was cool.
Also, Curd has a great sense of worldbuilding. During exposition and backstory passages, I was impressed by how much thought went into creating this situation, its history, and its possibilities. I’m not an expert on faerie/changeling lore but there’s a lot of cool stuff going on that seems original to me. Sometimes there’s so much cool stuff that it’s kind of complicated and confusing–I will admit, I was confused about a few things even at the end–but this is a good problem to have. It’s so much better to know the author has been thinking about all these different details and imbuing this world with them.
Okay, I should address the love story. You all know I’m more conservative when it comes to the romance parts of the books I read. There was a good chunk of romance here, kind of a love triangle… and at one point a love square, I think. It was all right, maybe a touch overbearing in a couple of spots, but it wasn’t the absolute main focus of the story so it was fine. The main couple got together kind of quickly for my taste, but I was down with it because there is a whole other side to their relationship that crops up and causes complications for them. Which is great. Always nice to have some dimension to these relationships, I say.
So there you have it. The deeper I got into this book, the better it got. One downside is that it’s definitely the first in a series. I could tell by the way the action ramped up and that things were getting cooler and cooler as the end approached to culminate in a pseudo-cliffhanger. Yikes! If the second book, Traitor, is anything like the second half of Bridger, I am so there.
Ashlyn can’t help who she is, heck she is still discovering who–and what–she is, but she rises to the occasion to fight a fight that wasn’t originally hers to begin with. I know how that situation feels, even though I don’t have faeries in my life. Despite all the fantastic things going on, I could really connect emotionally with Ashlyn and the others, especially Memaw and Reese. I just hope that as much as Curd explored the power Ashlyn is capable of in this book, she draws up some limits to her nature in the next book for balance.
That said, this series has some definite promise!
Thanks to A Tale of Many Reviews for organizing this blog tour and providing the review copy.
So there’s my review! To read other posts having to do with Bridger and Megan Curd, check out the other blogs on the tour via the list at A Tale of Many Reviews.
And now for the giveaway! If you’d like to enter to win an ebook copy of Bridger by Megan Curd, please leave a comment with your name and email address.
And don’t forget to follow the tour to the end at A Tale of Many Reviews for the grand prize giveaway! You can win a signed print copy of Bridger, and swag! Who doesn’t love swag? I personally love swag.
Good luck everyone!
Thanks for stopping by!
Beg, Borrow, and Steal (012)
Well look who’s alive! (Sort of.) Hello everyone! Let’s get back to blogging with a new Beg, Borrow, & Steal post!
These posts are my take on the In My Mailbox meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Just a way to showcase the books in my life, because not all of them will be reviewed.
It’s been a couple of weeks since my list BBS, but I think I’ve managed to get some nice books in that time. Let’s see what we’ve got!
Begged:
Books I absolutely had to have and ones I found at good prices.
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
I pre-ordered this in July when I first heard it would be a signed copy.
It felt like it took FOREVER to get here!
Look at the cool #YAsaves swag they packed with it!
AUGH so excited!
Borrowed:
Checked out from the library.
Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake
I have been waiting for this for SO LONG.
Seriously, I ordered it from the library months and months ago!
So glad it finally came.
Steals:
Books I snagged for free.
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
I got these books from a free book pile at the hospital.
I’ve watched a few episodes of the Dresden Files TV series, and they were cool.
I’m really looking forward to reading Storm Front!
Well, that’s it for now. Thanks for stopping by!
Stay tuned for my review of Bridger by Megan Curd tomorrow, along with a giveaway!
And watch out later this month for a 200 Subscriber giveaway!
