AmiMaxine

First Friday Rec: The Nineties

Title: The NinetiesAuthor: Chuck KlostermanGenre: Nonfiction, essays, HistoryPages: 384Publication Date: January 31, 2023StoryGraph* Moods: Informative, Reflective, FunnyHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: Wandering around B&NOther Books by Klosterman: But What if We’re Wrong?, Chuck Klosterman X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the Early 21st Century, Raised in Captivity*StoryGraph also offers content warnings. Description:Continue reading “First Friday Rec: The Nineties”

Writing as a Process

There are so many writers out there who are adamant that a writer must do this or a writer must do that. That someone isn’t a writer unless they XYZ. The most common one I hear is that to be a writer, you must write every day. When I hear things like that, I can’tContinue reading “Writing as a Process”

Travel Map

I’m the sort of organizational geek that has themes to the rooms of her house regarding what is hanging on the walls. My living room, for example, is “the Ashley room” – all art by my dear friend Ashley Megal that I’ve collected over the years. For a while now, I’ve been wanting to makeContinue reading “Travel Map”

Cloud Pictures

When I was a kid, I remember how any time my papa (material grandfather) returned from a trip, he would have a stack of photos from his adventure. I loved flipping through them with him and hearing all his stories (he is still, to this day, my favorite storyteller). Whenever his adventure involved a plane,Continue reading “Cloud Pictures”

First Friday Rec: Babel

Title: BabelAuthor: R.F. KuangGenre: Fiction, Fantasy, HistoricalPages: 560Publication Date: August 29, 2023StoryGraph* Moods: Dark, Emotional, ChallengingHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: Book ClubOther Books by Kuang: The Poppy War Trilogy, Yellowface*StoryGraph also offers content warnings. Description: A young orphan boy is taken from his home of China and brought to England to study translation (whichContinue reading “First Friday Rec: Babel”

Musicals to Be Buried With, Part Two

Here are the answers to the second six questions Goldstein asks on his podcast. To read the first six, see last week’s post. What is the sexiest musical? — I guess I would have to say Cabaret. I first saw this (film, not in person) when I was a kid and remember thinking, I don’t knowContinue reading “Musicals to Be Buried With, Part Two”

Musicals to Be Buried With, Part One

Previously, I’ve answered the questions Brett Goldstein poses on his podcast Films to Be Buried With. First, I kept to the premise – movies. Then I answered the questions about TV shows and books. This time, my answers will all be musicals. I’ve loved theater ever since I was a kid. There’s something about the butterfliesContinue reading “Musicals to Be Buried With, Part One”

My Cubbies

I’ve been a cubs fan since birth, meaning that I come from a Chicago Cubs family. Some things, like being a fan of a team, you are because you’ve just always been. Hopefully, the older you get, the more you find your own reasons to remain a fan, which has been the case for meContinue reading “My Cubbies”

First Friday Rec: Solito

Title: SolitoAuthor: Javier ZamoraGenre: MemoirPages: 384Publication Date: October 11, 2022StoryGraph” Moods: Emotional, Tense, SadHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: Book ClubOther Books by Zamora: Unaccompanied*StoryGraph also offers content warnings. Description: A nine-year-old boy takes a three-thousand-mile journey from El Salvador to join his parents in the U.S. – traveling through Guatemala, Mexico, and the SonoraContinue reading “First Friday Rec: Solito”

Kickstarter Update

Back when I did the Kickstarter for Wherever Would I Be, one of the ‘add ons’ was to have a character named after them in my work in progress (a murder mystery). Because writing and publishing books takes a long time, I thought I’d give an update on how that’s going. I should note –Continue reading “Kickstarter Update”