Marathon of the Mind and Fingers

I’ve done it! I have signed up for my very first NaNoWriMo!! Woot!!

What is a NaNoWriMo?
In short, NaNoWriMo is a marathon of a writers mind and fingers. For the month of November, writers from all over the world sign their souls over for a month of literary writing. The goal of each writer is to complete 50,000 words of a novel. The authors can choose whether the novel is finished or if they will add more to the story at the end of the month. They do not have to worry about editing, rewriting, or any such polishing of the novel. The point is quantity. Reach the 50,000 word mark, and you will have accomplished your goal. You can find out more on the main website or on the wiki page.

Now that you know what NaNoWriMo is, you are probably wondering if I will be able to pull off this ambitious undertaking. To be quite honest, I am not sure I will be able to myself. However, I am ready to at least put forth a very gallant effort to accomplish this momentous word marker.

Even as I type, my mind is whirring with excitement, and I can feel my imagination gearing up in anticipation of plaiting a new story from the depths of my mind.

I am sure that in a few days I will be crying in frustration, swearing at my keyboard, or berating my exhausted, yet inadequate, creativity. It is that upcoming day during which you can encourage me to continue, yell at me for even thinking of giving up, laugh at my ridiculous undertaking, or whatever combination that might suite you.

I shall leave you at this point and foray into the writing world.

Happy Writing!

Passion Blue by Victoria Strauss

Something I love about writing a blog and being involved in social media is that you are able to communicate with people who would be otherwise unreachable. This capability has made itself most evident by my opportunities to connect with some of my favorite authors, as well as discovering some new authors.

One author whom I have met through social media is Victoria Strauss, an accomplished writer of both adult and young adult books. I came across her twitter feed when another author re-tweeted one of Victoria’s posts. As fate would have it, we messaged back and forth a little, and she accepted my offer to review her book Passion Blue.

Summary:
Passion Blue is set in Renaissance Italy and tells the story of Guilia, a precocious young woman who sketches constantly and dreams of having a family. Growing up as the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy nobleman, Guilia received the distant care of her father and the scorn of the rest of the household. When her father dies unexpectedly, the lingering security he provided quickly falls apart, and his widow forces her to join a convent. Desperate to escape, Guilia seeks out a sorcerer with the power to create a talisman that fulfills desires. The talisman seems to work as she begins life at the convent, but Guilia must discover if it is directing her toward marriage or something completely different.

Thoughts on Passion Blue:
I was in the perfect mood when I picked up Passion Blue from the top of my to-read stack. I had just finished a very lengthy book and was ready for a story that did not have to force an extreme level of epic to be an accomplished, complete book. Passion Blue was a wonderful, relaxing read that ended with a flourish and left me with a positive thought.

Within the first paragraph, Victoria Strauss’s depiction of Italy, painting, and color drew me into the story. I love how she described the sensation of Guilia becoming thoroughly absorbed in her drawings. It was so accurate that I started having flashbacks to times when I have become enthralled with my own projects.

My favorite character was Maestra Humilita, who oversaw the painting workshop. While Guilia is an accurate character for a teenage heroine, I found that I was able to relate more to the Maestra, who had already discovered herself but still struggled against the limitations of a biased world.

The overall message of the book, that no one should settle for a life that does not match their true passion and talent, was fantastic. In my opinion, this is an idea that can never be over taught, especially when there are still so many women (even in modern places of the world) who have been raised to believe that a successful life is only accomplished when you meet someone else’s ideal.

To summarize my thoughts, I found Passion Blue to be a delightful, fun read. It is the perfect book to bring on vacation or to curl up with on a rainy weekend. I would recommend this book for pre-teen or young adult readers, as well as for those who enjoy historical fiction or works involving drawing and painting.

A special thanks to Victoria Strauss for responding to my message and giving me the chance to read and review her book!!

Must Read Books by Jacqueline Carey

Last year, while wandering the shelves of my local library, I came across an unforgettable set of books by an author named Jacqueline Carey. As usual, the covers and titles first caught my attention. However, after reading the description of her first book “Kushiel’s Dart”, I instantly grabbed the first couple books and have just finished reading one of her most recent books “Naamah’s Blessing”.

Because there are too many books to give individual reviews of each, I will give you a brief description of each of Jacqueline Carey’s series and review the qualities that make her writing so unforgettable. You can pick which book you read first, but I would recommend reading them in order (except for the Saints books, because they are a different series).

Kushiel’s Legacy Series:
Jacqueline’s first set of books are the Kushiel's Legacy series. In this series, you follow two main characters who are pressed into unlikely situations because they are the chosen tools of the god Kushiel, the god of punishment.

In the first books of the series, you are introduced to Phedre no Delaunay, a remarkable woman whose eye is marked by the scarlet moat of Kushiel’s Dart. Raised in the arts of Naamah (a goddess of love and pleasure) and the arts of covertsy, Phedre finds herself surrounded by traitors and intrigue fighting for control of Terre d’ange. It will take all her skills and trust in the gods of Terre d’ange to protect those she loves and bring the guilty to justice.

The second half of the series introduces you to Imriel de la Courcel, who is both a prince and a son to the nation’s worst traitor. Struggling to understand his past, Imriel must accept his inheritance as a scion of Kushiel and learn that running from choices will not overcome them.

Naamah Series:
In the Naamah series, Jacqueline Carey takes you a few generations into the future and introduces you Moirin, a young girl born from multiple royal lines but raised in the wild traditions of her mother’s people, the Maghuin Dhonn. While forever wanting to be a child of the Mahuin Dhonn, Moirin feels driven to follow an elusive destiny given to her by her people’s goddess.

In the third book,“Naamah’s Blessing,” Moirin finds herself back in her father’s homeland of Terre d’ange. Faced once again with accusations of being a witch, Moirin struggles to protect the future of young Desiree, the daughter of Queen Jehanne. A cruel twist of the gods forces her to travel across the ocean to Terra Nova, seeking the lost Prince Thierry and his companions. The journey to find the prince could very well kill her, but she knows she will face more than just oceans and jungles. To return the prince to Terre d’ange and be free of her driving destiny, Moirin must face both her childhood mistakes and the cruelty of her past lover, Raphael.

Saints Series:
This series has nothing to do with the previous stories, but they are still amazing books.

The Saints series starts in a town called Santa Olivia, which exists but does not exists between Texas and Mexico. In the town, the locals are basically quarantined from the rest of the world. Their only real sources of entertainment are gang-run bars and boxing championships that are held by the soldiers who guard Santa Olivia. Born into this world by accident is Loup, an incredibly strong girl whose father was not quite human. The books trace Loup’s childhood and early adulthood, watching as she uses her strength to secretly improve the lives of the Santa Olivia residents.

Why I LOVE These Books:
Now that I have given you brief descriptions of Jacqueline Carey’s books, here are some of the reasons why I LOVE her writing:

• Her books have fantastic plot twists and intrigue. The battles of wits are intense and entertaining.
• The characters can be exceptionally complex, growing and changing with the series. Readers are able to get a unique insight into the experiences of each character, both good and bad.
• The stories have some fun spicy scenes, and let’s be honest – everyone enjoys a little spice in their books.
• On a more personal note, I think there is a lot that readers can learn and take away from these books. Many of the books deal with difficult questions about love, loyalty, culture, and tradition. While I know that there will always be close-minded people, I think that Jacqueline’s characters provide us with a brilliant example of how to remain loyal to your own beliefs while maintaining the ability to learn from and respect other people’s beliefs.

If you have not read these books yet, I HIGHLY recommend that you do! I have enjoyed every single one of them, and that rarely happens. If you do not have time to read the books, the audio books are another good option. The audio readers do a great job and are not the slightest bit boring. Especially if you drive a lot to and from work/school, audio books are a great option!

Enjoy!