Showing posts with label N.K. Jemisin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label N.K. Jemisin. Show all posts

Weekly Words: Women in Writing - N.K. Jemisin

 

Happy Women's History Month!


Last week, I decided to highlight some of my favorite female characters written by female characters for this month. No one knows when like women, so reading women written by women for women is always a treat.

Y'all know I wasn't going to get too far into the month without posting my queen, N.K. Jemisin! I had so many female characters to choose from, from Yeine and Oree (oh God, I loved The Broken Kingdoms so much *sob*) in the Inheritance Trilogy, to Jo in Far Sector, to the badass ladies in the Great Cities Duology. But it was a no-brainer for me to choose Essun, f.k.a. Syenite, f.k.a. Damaya from the Broken Earth trilogy.


The journey we went on with Essun, from her beginnings as a child given away by her parents to the Fulcrum to a grieving mother looking for her daughter in the middle of what seems like the world finally ending, or ending...for the last time (if you know, you know), was an emotion-filled, suspense filled wonder, and the ending was so satisfying I almost cried. Essun is a strong, determined, slightly broken woman who didn't quite know how to love her children until she loses them, and it was a joy to read such a complex character. No one writes like Norah.

If you haven't read the THREE-TIME Hugo Award-winning trilogy, what are you doing? Check it out!

Monthly Review and Weekly Words: N.K. Jemisin’s The World We Make

© Creative Commons Zero (CC0)


Happy Last Friday in February!

I've felt both conflicted and free since getting rid of my rotating schedule. A Weekly Words on the FOURTH FRIDAY, WHAT!? I suppose it's because I've been blogging for so long and had built this little system that worked for a while, getting rid of it comes with some weird sense of guilt as though they have their own feelings. I'm killing my blog-darlings, and as a writer that's hard.

But to the trash with that! The freedom means I don't have to wait until X Week to tell you all about something, and that's a good thing! It should lead to less unplanned breaks because I have nothing to say on a particular topic.

So on that note, this week I applied for an LCCN for Fractured Princess. That's exciting, because that gives it a better chance at being available in libraries. Once I receive a number, I'll be able to set up the Kindle edition for pre-sale! May will be here before I know it. 

I've also written a few more words in the new draft of Divided Princess. I do think this restart is going to help me get to the end of the book. It's on my mind more and more now that FP is on the move again.



My reading is also on the move again! I've been beta reading a friend's work the past few weeks, but this week, I was able to start N.K. Jemisin’s next book in her Great Cities series: The World We Make!

All is not well in the city that never sleeps. Even though the avatars of New York City have temporarily managed to stop the Woman in White from invading—and destroying the entire universe in the process—the mysterious capital "E" Enemy has more subtle powers at her disposal. A new candidate for mayor wielding the populist rhetoric of gentrification, xenophobia, and "law and order" may have what it takes to change the very nature of New York itself and take it down from the inside. 

In order to defeat him, and the Enemy who holds his purse strings, the avatars will have to join together with the other Great Cities of the world in order to bring her down for good and protect their world from complete destruction.


I'm almost 100 pages in, and I'm already stressed out! The action in the first book was amazing, so seeing even more magical city avatar action almost right out of the gate again is exciting! I'm sad that this will be the last book, but I can dee how weaving current events into a world of magical realism could get exhausting. I wish I loved Delaware enough to write a love letter book to it hahaha.

See you in March!

Weekly Words: I Heard My Audiobook!


Happy April Showers!

It is the 2nd Friday of the month, where I share with you what I am reading and/or writing. On the bright side, I actually read two audiobooks this past month! I finished N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season, and words can't express how much I love Nora's writing, let alone hearing it and returning to the Broken Earth trilogy. She's currently working on the film adaptation, and I keep telling my sister that I will be WEEPING in the theater when it comes out!

As you know, I am ending my contract with my publisher, and I forgot that around the time I requested to be released, they were working on the audiobook. An unabridged version is currently available on Audible, and aside from some cringeworthy name mispronunciations, hearing my book was an experience. Just like I did with The Fifth Season, I even mouthed some of the lines . . . to my own book! It was surreal. Sometimes, especially after a long time, I stop and think, "Wow, I really wrote that." You would think I couldn't surprise myself after having written for 30 years now, but I can!

So what are you reading this week?

Moving to Fridays & Listening to The Fifth Season, the Audiobook

I was supposed to post yesterday but had an interview and a routine oncology appointment, and EVERYONE on 495 wanted to get into accidents yesterday, so I had no time.

I'm going to move all posts to Fridays. I don't have anything tying me to Wednesdays anymore except for Wednesday Words, and I can change that to Weekly Words in two seconds. I just did. HA. My Tuesday nights are typically busy, so I can't schedule posts all the time, but my Thursdays aren't that bad at work or at home, so I can schedule a post easily, or easily post on Friday, which is the most available day at work.

The good thing about forgetting to post yesterday is I can tell you what I started yesterday!


I had a deal from Chirp in my inbox for N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season audiobook. As you know, 1) I LOVE Nora's work and LOVED The Broken Earth series, and 2) I want to record an audiobook for Fractured Princess, so this was a good chance for me to see how audiobook narrators sound and listen to a book I loved. And because I was stuck in an accumulative two and a half of hours of traffic added to an already three-hour round trip, I'm already a third of the way finished it.

Hearing some of my favorite lines, like, "This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends...for the last time" gave me so much life. I tweeted yesterday how my human self totally missed the biggest hint to the end of this book, and why wouldn't I have? It wasn't obvious, until you're reading the book again. The same thing happens when I'm rewatching a tv show and see hints that I couldn't have caught before (like Ronaldo telling the entire plot of the Diamond Authority in Steven Universe in the 31st episode of the 1st season, which we learn is true in the 24th episode of the 2nd season). It gets me fired up about the rest of the story.

I am on vacation the next two weeks, so I will return promptly and non-jokingly on April Fool's Day haha. Whether or not I am doing A to Z, at this point, we will certainly see. I did have something I was working on months ago, so maybe that will work??

See you in April!

Quarterly Goals - Where Am I Headed?


Oh look, a post almost 4 hours late. On brand.

We have reached another 5th Wednesday! These are the days in which I share my goals for the quarter and see how I fared with the ones from the previous quarter. It looks like in June, I mentioned that September of 2020 was also a quarterly goals post, and so I could see how I did after a year. Let's see:

My first major goal was to get back into the swing of things. Result: Eh.

Yeah, about that swing. On the bright side, I've been more active on social media to draw attention to Fractured Princess. Trying to do the whole brand thing is not really my thing, and the Instagram Promo Bots comment more than my actual followers, but I suppose it's a start. Writing-wise, I'm really excited about where The Shattered Chronicles is going, but I once again have to figure out all the letters between Point A and Point Z.

Reading-wise, I'm reading N.K. Jemisin's The City We Became right now, and I am loving it! I read "The City Born Great" when she put that out, and it starts off the book with a little twist to get the big story rolling. Here is the cool cover art and the blurb.


Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five.

But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.

This story is Nora's love letter to New York, and I wish I loved Dover that much. haha I can't wait to see what happens, and if I'm lucky, this will get me back into the reading habit! Monster Pulse, one of the web comics I've been reading for over 10 years just ended recently (sob), so I've started another one that I actually started reading years ago and forgot. So, I guess I can't say I haven't been reading; I've been consistent with the web comics. I'm actually reading 4 right now: The Undeath of MeWhite Noise, Love Not Found, and Sleepless Domain. Some others that I was reading have sadly fallen off due to either life happening or website issues, but I hope to see some of them return in the future.

My second major goal was to find a job I really want to do. Result: Eh??

So, as I was looking through LinkedIn daily and trying to sift through what were real job postings (we just can't get away from bots anywhere!), I thought to myself, "It would be nice if there was a website where we could post what we do, and people reach out to us instead of the other way around." Then, I remembered Fiverr. It was staring me in the face this whole time! I used Fiverr to get in touch with a cartographer for my book, and people post their "gigs" there to gain work. Whereas I've tried other places where you have to still look through jobs and present yourself over and over to clients, the clients come to you on Fiverr. So, I created a seller account there for proofreading and editing, which I love to do! Now, I just need clients. I also took a few weeks to proofread my Managing Editor's first book, and he said he would recommend me to the publisher for gigs. That would be a big step in the direction I want to go. I had a freelance proofreading job way back after I graduated college, and doing it again felt so good. I wish there were more jobs like that online.

All that said, I'm back in the office full-time, no telecommuting, although I probably could've asked to. I just thought if I don't have to be home, I shouldn't. Curse my work ethic (although I am posting this at work right now). Plus, there is a lot of archiving that I'm now responsible for, so I have to be here to work on filing. Blah.

My goals for the next three months are to just continue making progress on all I'm getting back into. I think starting vague can be helpful sometimes. Less chance of disappointment.

See you in October!

Wednesday Words: Finishing up Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin & Jamal Campbell

 


We are almost halfway through July! As it is the 2nd Wednesday of the month, I will be sharing what I'm reading right now. I'm going to do my best to get Wednesday Words back into a consistent rotation. I was able to read for hours in a crunch while I was reading The Shining with my sisters, so I know I just need to sit down, turn on some music, turn down my notifications, and just read.

 

I have only two more installments left of Far Sector before the series is OVER! I'm sad about it. I haven't read a regular comic book in decades now. I've read manga and graphic novels, but the last superhero comic I read was definitely one of the X-Men comics when I was in single digits. Coming into the Green Lantern universe through N.K. Jemisin's brilliant eyes has been a great ride, and I think I'll be reading more comics in the future. I have hundreds of books and ebooks I need to read, though, so maybe not the near future.

So while I haven't opened these yet, just look at the covers. I have absolutely loved the color schemes and designs Jamal Campbell created. As we're coming up to what I can imagine is the big "boss battle," both of these covers give off great energy of what's to come. I can't wait. I brought my Kindle to work, so I'm going to get started on these on my down time.


What are you reading?

January Review

 

© Creative Commons Zero (CC0)

Well, here I was thinking it was the 3rd Wednesday in January and contemplating if I wanted to put in a blog every other week instead of weekly, aaaand it's the 4th Wednesday. I've failed. But that's okay! Now I get to review the month, what I read, what I wrote, what this month has been like.


This week, I read "Emergency Skin" by N.K. Jemisin, It is Book #3 in the Forward Collection, and I forgot that it wasn't a collection by itself but part of one. That said, I need to go back and at least preview the other stories.

This one is in kind of in 2nd person? It's more like dialogue. Someone's talking to "you" as you're moving along, but then real dialogue starts. You never hear what you're saying, just the responses. It was very interesting, and in this day and age, when I realized what was actually happening in the story, it was very timely. I especially love the last few lines. Please read it.

I started writing in one of my romances. I can't remember if I've mentioned it before, but I do remember saying once that I want to revamp fan fictions I wrote but into standard contemporary fictions. I'm really excited about this one. It's emotionally charged, and I get to play with writing songs for it, which I did the first time, too.

I also started looking over my NA urban fantasy. There are some things I need to change, and it might be shorter than I expect it to be. I'll see how it goes. As for my sequel to Fractured Princess, I need to look through that again, too. FP itself is next in line for editing, so that will have to come first. I've already talked to the editor about a few things, so while the book won't totally change, there will be a couple of significant tweaks in the re-release. I'm excited about it.

This weekend, DVPit is having a virtual convention. Registration might still be open, so if you are a marginalized writer, I suggest peeking over there if you have time. The website is: https://www.dvpit.com/dvcon.

Enjoy the rest of January!

Wednesday Words: Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell

 


Happy Wednesday!

It is the second Wednesday of the month, which means I will share with you what I am reading. As I post these ahead of time, I may have reached #9 by now, but I wanted to share the awesomeness that is N.K. Jemisin's Far Sector, which comes to us from the Green Lantern Universe.


First off, the artistry by Jamal Campbell is *chef's kiss* BEAUTIFUL! I love the colors and the character models. Secondly, N.K. Jemisin continues to outdo herself with her writing! I love these comics. I don't think I've read comic-comic books since I was a kid. I've read manga and graphic novels since, but this is my first comic book since old X-Men comics my cousin had. There are tie-ins to our world, even though it takes place across the galaxy. You get to ask yourself the existential and moral questions as you read, which I never mind in writing. There's a lot of action, great character interactions, and a solid main character in Jo Mullein. I am on currently on #7 as I write this, but #9 was released over the weekend, so I will be catching up this week!


What are you reading?

IWSG: The Dinner Party Question Revamped


 HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

It's already about to be Fall, my favorite season, but it is also the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's time for another installment of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! As always, a big thank you to Alex J. Cavanaugh for all of the work he does. Visit his website to view the co-hosts for this month. You can also join us by visiting the IWSG website.

This month's optional question is: If you could choose one author, living or dead, to be your beta partner, who would it be and why?

Just one?? Eesh. Because she is still alive, and I have a small chance of meeting her one day, I won't say my favorite living author, N.K. Jemisin. I would be terrified to let her see a beta version of my work, even though I'm sure she would be really nice about it.

My official answer is my favorite author who is not living, and that is Octavia Butler. Her writing changed my life and my outlook on being a speculative fiction writer so much. She even had a similar experience with her mom about not writing "normal" fiction. I would love to pick her brain about my writing style and choices.

Though I'd still be terrified a little.


Let me hear your answers!

Wednesday Words: N.K. Jemisin's The Killing Moon


Happy Wednesday! We are at the second Wednesday of April, and that means I share with you all what I am reading.

I forgot to share last month, but I also hadn't really done much reading. I've finally consistently started reading the Dreamblood Duology like I said I would in January. Click here to refresh your memory.

The first book is The Killing Moon, and now that I'm into it, I can share a line from a random page. Random.org chose page 100. The context of the passage I want to share bleeds into page 101, so here is a line from 101.

Now Nijiri's face seemed calm, but his body was rigid, betraying feelings that perhaps even he did not yet fully understand.

I should never have allowed you to choose me as your mentor. Selfish of me, and confusing to you. Poor child.

A complicated relationship I want to see play out whichever way it goes.

What are you reading this month?

Wednesday Words: N.K. Jemisin's Dreamblood Duology


Happy Wednesday!

We are almost halfway through February, and that means it's time for another installment of Wednesday Words, where I share with you what I am reading.

So, I was planning to read N.K. Jemisin's Far Sector this week, but when I opened my Kindle, I realized I had bought the second comic and not the first, so I will get that Friday. My error gives me a chance to catch up on two books of hers I haven't read yet: The Killing Moon, and The Shadowed Sun in The Dreamblood Duology.


I think I read a page or two of The Killing Moon; I have a sample on my Kindle. Also, I absolutely love Nora's writing, so I'm ashamed to not have read this one yet! Because I have a collection of the two books, instead of sharing lines, I will provide the premise for both and hope the second doesn't spoil the first for me. Eesh. 

THE CITY BURNED BENEATH THE DREAMING MOON

In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and among the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers - the keepers of this peace. Priests of the dream-goddess, their duty is to harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to heal, soothe...and kill those judged corrupt.

But when a conspiracy blooms within Gujaareh's great temple, the Gatherer Ehiru must question everything he knows. Someone, or something, is murdering innocent dreamers in the goddess's name, and Ehiru must now protect the woman he was sent to kill - or watch the city be devoured by war and forbidden magic

---


(THE SHADOWED SUN)

Gujaareh, the city of dreams, suffers under the imperial rule of the Kisuati Protectorate. A city where the only law was peace now knows violence and oppression. A mysterious and deadly plague now haunts the citizens of Gujaareh, dooming the infected to die screaming in their sleep. Someone must show them the way.

Ooh, these sound like they'll be dark! I'm here for it.

What are you reading this week? If you haven't already, in honor of Black History Month, please pick up a book by a black author, past or present. I have one out, if you're interested. *wink*

Wednesday Words: How Long 'Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin


It is the 2nd Wednesday of what feels like a really long month already. But at least I'm starting a new book today!!



As you all might know by now, I'm a huge fan of N.K. Jemisin, so I can't wait to crack this book open some time today. How Long 'Til Black Future Month? is a collection of short stories based on modern times. I love the title, a very poignant question for today, and the cover is amazing!

How do I randomly choose a page from a short story collection? The same as I always do. There are 397 pages in this collection, and random.org chose page 245, a page in the story "Cuisine des Mémoires." That page is a little racy, so I'm gonna go ahead and hit the generate button again. 229, "Walking Awake."

And there was something about this chaos, something so subtly counter to everything she knew about the Masters, that she understood at once these were people without Masters. They had built the vehicles and they had built the roads. They had built the whole city.

They were free.

A new word came into her head, in whispers. (Revolution.)

Yeeees. And that makes me understand the title of that story as well. I can't wait!


What are you reading this week?

Wednesday Words: Shades in Shadow by N.K. Jemisin


Happy Hump Day!

Is this week dragging for anyone else?? Maybe it's just that slow so I'd remember to post. I set aside the second Wednesday of the month to share with you all what I'm reading or writing. I've written up a storm the past couple of days, and on different projects, so that's always a good thing. I'm also reading poetry at the moment, and I don't feel like sharing that.

What I will share, though, is what I read last week, and that was N.K. Jemisin's Shades in Shadow, three short stories preceding the stories in the Inheritance Trilogy.


Anything N.K. writes about Yeine, Nahadoth, Itempas, and anyone else in that world, I'm here for. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms was my first taste of her writing, and I was hooked for life. These short stories especially make me want to reread the trilogy sometime this year. I'll share a piece from "The God Without A Name," a glimpse into the life of Nahadoth's human prison after Yeine freed him and made the prison its own half-god person (Hado in The Broken Kingdoms, Ahad in The Kingdom of Gods).

"How's my other half?" he asks, to be cruel and to distract himself. "You and Nahadoth getting along? His black hole finding your balance beam with no trouble and all that?"

She chuckles. "You're very predictable. He doesn't ask about you at all, you know. Why would he?"

She takes off, running into the ocean and jumping gleefully into a wave that is cresting near the shore. He leaves while she's preoccupied so she won't she how much her words have hurt him.

I like this moment because he tries really hard to act like he hates Yeine and Nahadoth, but it's clear he doesn't.

What are you all reading this week?

Wednesday Words: A Second Look at The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin


It's the 2nd Wednesday of the month, so I do want to make sure I put something up, but I'm still reading N.K. Jemisin's The Stone Sky. It seems like my days want to get busy whenever I'm reading this series! I'll have something new to share next month.




My excitement for this book hasn't waned in the least. In fact, a few chapters ago, I realized something important, which I mentioned in the first part of my look into this book. There are chapters, Hoa's chapters to be specific, which are counting down. The only logical deduction is that Hoa is counting down to the way the world ends for the first time, when he broke the world.

There has been so much going on in his chapters, as well as Nassun's chapters, and I am chomping at the bit and foaming at the mouth in anticipation of how the imagery in this book in particular will be adapted for TV. There is SO. MUCH. I'm so excited.

I don't want to give anything away for myself, so I hit the Random.org button a few times until it took me to a spot I've read already but that was after what I already shared with you all. Funny enough, I shared page 97 last time, and this time, I'm going to share something from page 102, in the same chapter.

Is Kelenli the same? No, the conductors said she was made different in only one way. She has our powerful, complex, flexible sessapinae, which no other people in the world possess. Otherwise she's like them.

This is interesting to me because when we meet Kelenli, Hoa tells Essun that she looks like Kelenli. Back before Hoa's kind were stone eaters, they were called tuners, and were created to tune plutonic engines. What are those? Not telling, but you might be able to guess if you've read the other two books. The interesting part for me is that I am suspecting that orogenes were also created, not natural to this world until centuries of evolution. I think I'm right, but I still have about 40% to read, so I'll see.

What are you reading this week?

Wednesday Words: The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin


It's the second Wednesday of the month, where I share with you all a piece of what I'm reading, and if you haven't guessed it, I'm finally reading N.K. Jemisin's The Stone Sky, the final chapter in her Broken Earth series.



I'm super excited that this series is getting adapted into a TV series. There's so much I want to see come to life, and I hope it's everything I dream. Though I'm sure Nora hopes the same thing.

The language used so far as we go back in time to before (what it seems like) the stone eaters were stone eaters has been BEAUTIFUL, so poetic. Let's see what we can find in these 413 pages with Random.org.

Page 97....Hmm...Looks like this is the way the world ended for the first time.

The conductors explain little beyond what we must know to fulfill our roles. It is enough to know that--small, unimportant we--will help to set humanity on a new path toward an unimaginably bright future.

The hubris of man.

What are you reading this week?


Wednesday Words: The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin

 

It is time for Wednesday Words! On the 2nd Wednesday of the month, I share with you all a piece of what I'm reading.


This week I am reading N.K. Jemisin's The Obelisk Gate, the sequel to The Fifth Season. The latter won the Hugo, and this one is nominated for one this year. I'm only 80 pages in and can see why. It's already so good. Visit my thoughts about The Fifth Season in my posts below.

Wednesday Words: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Wednesday Words: A Final Look into The Fifth Season


Long story short, the world is still ending, but let's see what else I can show you and hopefully not spoil anything too major for myself. There are 391 pages of the story (I see why Goodreads says that, even though there are 434. There's an appendix and extras), and Random.org has chosen page 245. Let me brace myself for a spoiler.


"No one touch me," you say softly. "No one speak to me." Without waiting to see if they understand, you plunge into the obelisk.


Not too spoiled, and now I can't wait to see why I (Essun) am doing this again! When Syenite did it in TFS, my soul's jaw dropped.

I am on vacation next week, but I will most likely schedule Tuesday Tales early. I have an idea of what I want to share with you all. Hint: It's the opening to my next book in The Broken Chronicles (series name still pending because of this, The Broken Earth series).

What are you reading this week?

Wednesday Words: Final Look Into The Fifth Season







Happy Hump Day!

I have about 80 pages left in N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season, and what a ride it has been! For a second, I thought to myself, "I can't wait to buy this," somehow thinking it was a library book. I definitely bought this book. Anyway, it's dark and twisty, and I love it. I can't wait to read more of her books. She's awesome!

So, now that I've nearly finished the book, let me use Random.org to share a few lines from page 354. Hey, I was just there. A very poignant and currently relevant conversation happened, so here is a little of it.


She comes into the house and leans against the wall next to the door, crossing her arms and her ankles. "We aren't human."

 "Yes. We. Are." His voice turns fierce. "I don't give a shit what the something-somethingth council of big important farts decreed, or how the geomests classify things, or any of that. That we're not human is just the lie they tell themselves so they don't have to feel bad about how they treat us--"



I am so close to the end and have yet to figure out how it ends...for the last time. I'll most likely tweet about it, and a Goodreads review is coming soon!

What have you read these past few weeks?

Wednesday Words: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin




Happy Hump Day!


I'm trying to start the year off right with my reading, so I've cracked open N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season, which I bought at least six months ago now. I'm really excited to read this and have a lot of her work I still need to read. Y'all know how I feel about The Inheritance Trilogy (and just in case you don't, here you go lol 1, 2, 3 posts about the series).



The Fifth Season is the first of the Broken Earth series (I should probably change my series name now lol), and in the first 90-some pages that I've read, I'm so ready to read more. Others thought so, too--it won a Hugo! The first words you see when you open the book, an excerpt from the book itself, leaves quite an impression:

But this is way the world ends.
This is way the world ends.
This is way the world ends.
For the last time.

So, let's peek in on this book somewhere to see what else is going on. There are 498 pages, but Random.org is giving me the last pages, and I refuse to ruin this for myself, so let's go between what I've read. 1-90. Random.org gave me 7. Much better.

Lastly, he reaches up. For power.
He takes all that, the strata and the magma and the people and the power, in his imaginary hands. Everything. He holds it. He is not alone. The earth is with him.
Then he breaks it.

Reading this again, and having gotten even slightly as far as I have, I now understand what this scene entails, and I'm SO ready to pick this book back up!

What are you reading this week?