Author L.K. Hill's Musings on Fantasia: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

How to Create a Manuscript that is So Clean, Editors Have Nothing to Edit!

Over the past few weeks, I've been paying a lot of attention to crutch words. They first came to my attention based on something another writer in my critique group said (See full post here.).

I got a second look at them when a second wave of edits showed up in my inbox a few days ago. These were edits for Citadels of Fire, my historical fiction novel set in Russia in the middle ages, which will be out in October. These edits didn't say anything specifically about crutch words, but as I went through the manuscript, I saw the same words edited out over and over again, and recognized that they were words I not only over-used, but that were weakening my writing. (In other words, crutch words.)

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Teaser Tuesday: The Passage

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teasers are from The Passage. And yes, I already did teasers from this book once, but what can I say? It's a long book and I'm still reading it. Hoping to finish this week, though. (It's fantastic, btw!) Wish me luck!

His heart was thumping in his chest. He paused to quickly scan the scene; Doyle was nowhere. "Straight out the exit," he told Amy. "Don't even look up.""Yo, Chief!"Wolgast froze. Doyle came jogging up behind them, pointing at his watch. "I thought we said an hour, boss."Wolgast looked at him, his bland midwestern face. "Thought we'd lost you," he said. "We were just coming to look for you...Phil--""Don't." His voice was quiet--not menacing, merely stating the facts. "Don't even say the words. We're partners, Brad. IT's time to go."All Wolgast's hopefulness collapsed inside him. Amy's hand was still in his; he couldn't bear to look at her. I'm sorry, he thought, sending her this message through his hand. I'm sorry. And together, Doyle following five paces behind them, they moved through the exit toward the parking lot.

What are you reading this week?

Monday, July 29, 2013

Portrait of a Adolf Hitler: 9 Way s to Make Your Villains More Unbalanced (and Creepier!)

A while ago, I was looking for information on Hilter's "carpet chewing" fits and came across a document about Hitler's temperament, based on reports of people who knew and worked with him. (All quotes from this source.) There are some really interesting aspects of his personality. None of them are at all admirable, but I think they could be great things to incorporate into a villain's character sketch.

1. Not forward-thinking or hard working.

"He is unable to maintain any kind of a working schedule...In later years the hours tended to get later and it was unusual, just before the war, for him to go to bed before daybreak. The night, however, was not spent in working as his propaganda agents allege, but in viewing one or two feature movies, endless newsreels, listening to music, entertaining film stars or just sitting around chatting with his staff."

2. Afraid of the dark.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

The Shadow Rising Read-Along, Week 9

Lanfear--Run for your life!
Source

1. It seems to me that the evidence is mounting that Keille is definitely Lanfear. How long do you think she will endure Isendre’s incessant flirting with Rand and rudeness to ‘Keille’ herself? What revenge do you think Isendre will suffer?

Lanfear strikes me as a boiling bottle waiting to explode. So my guess is: not for long. Being one of the Forsaken--one of the most evil people ever and very powerful with the One Power, her revenge will probably be cringe-worthy.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Thoughts for Thursday: Fearlessness

Thoughts for Thursday is a new feature hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill. In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!

This week's theme is fearlessness. (For more quotes, check out my other blog.)

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

How to Create Characters like Frodo and Sam that Readers Will Get Behind for Years to Come

So today is Pioneer Day in Utah, the day we celebrate the settlement of our state. Back in 1847, the Mormon Pioneers crossed the Great Plains in handcarts and covered wagons, and settled in an arid, desert territory that no one else wanted, so that they would be free from religious persecution.

In preparation for this holiday, I heard someone read the lyrics of a primary song that is relevant to the holiday. This is a very simplistic song that we teach our young children to sing. It's called To Be a Pioneer. It goes like this:

1. You don’t have to push a handcart, Leave your fam’ly dear,Or walk a thousand miles or more To be a pioneer!

2. You do need to have great courage, Faith to conquer fear,And work with might for a cause that’s right To be a pioneer!

We are marching, ever marching.We are marching, ever marching,Marching onward, ever onward.We are pioneers;

Monday, July 22, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday--Topics I Won't Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Words/Topics that will make me NOT pick up a book.

Not many of those, actually.

The Surefire Way to Recognize "Real" Dystopia Amist the Sea of Wannabes

This Wednesday is a state holiday in Utah known as Pioneer Day. The 24th of July is the day we celebrate the settling of our great state and the pioneer heritage that got us here. (Visit both my blogs on Wednesday for more discussion about pioneers.)

I got to thinking about pioneers and characters, pioneers in stories, etc., and I realized something: Pioneers are a HUGE part of the dystopian genre! It just never occurred to me in those terms before.

Pioneer:

1. A person who is among those who first enter or settle a region, thus opening it for occupation and development by others.
2. One who is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or progress.
3. An organism that successfully establishes itself in a barren area... (Source for definitions.)

Sunday, July 21, 2013

The Shadow Rising, Week 8

Welcome to Week 8 of The Shadow Rising Read-Along. Remember this post may be chalk-full of spoilers from this section (chapterss 43-48) as well as everything that's come before. Read at your own risk! :D

Verin and Alanna
Source

1. Perrin believes Verin and possibly Alanna are trying to use and/or manipulate him in some way. What do you think their agenda is?

Being that they're Aes Sedai, it's obviously hard to say for sure what they're up to. Given what we already seen of both these women, I think it's safe to say they have designs on Rand, and they know that Perrin is not only Rand's friend but ta'veren himself. Probably they want to gain his trust so they can use him to get close to and/or reign in Rand.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Mermaid Lit Reviews, Week 10 + Follow Friday

Welcome to Week 10 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)

Thoughts for Thursday: Pioneers and Risk-Takers

Thoughts for Thursday is a new meme hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill. In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!

This week's theme is pioneers and risk-taking. (For more quotes, check out my other blog.)

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Lessons from the Critique Group

*"I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because slamming your head against the wall when you publish a post with mistakes in it is bad for your health."*

Like most writers who know what they're about, I have an awesome critique group that I meet with regularly. We're all writers and we critique each other's stuff, giving one another support, encouragement, and constructive criticism on our writing. We cover small things like grammar, word choice, and sentence structure, as well as bigger things like characterization, story arc, and plot.

This past week, we met as we usually do, and I got some excellent reminders about my writing. Nothing I didn't already know, but this is why critique groups are so great! They remind us of things we may be slacking on.

Three major things I was told to look out for in my writing:

1. Gender Voice
2. Crutch Words
3. Sensory Details

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Teaser Tuesday--The Passage by Justin Cronin

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teasers come from The Passage by Justin Cronin.

"Two nights ago, we were attacked--not by drug traffickers, but bats. They came a few hours after sunset while most of us were out of our tents doing evening chores, scattered about the campsite. I was lucky: I had walked a few hundred yards upriver, away from the trees, to find a good signal on the GPS. I heard shouts and then gunfire, but by the time I made it back the swarm had moved downstream. Four people died that night, including Claudia. The bats simply engulfed her.

Paul, whatever happens, whatever I decide, I want you to know that you have been a great friend to me. More than a friend: a brother. How strange to write that sentence, sitting on a riverbank in the jungles of Bolivia, four thousand miles away from everything and everyone I've ever known and loved. I feel as if I've entered a new era of my life. What strange places our lives can carry us to, what dark passages."

Monday, July 15, 2013

George Zimmerman Trial--Sign of the Apocalypse? You Decide.

I don't know about all of you, but I write as many of my blog posts for the coming week over the weekend as I can. Today I thought I'd talk about something that's been so heavily prevalent in the news: the George Zimmerman trial.

Originally, I was going to write about how this sensationalized trial might be indicative of how our society is headed toward dystopia.

There are a lot of polarizing elements to this case. Whether or not you believe Zimmerman should have been brought to trial, the fact remains that he wouldn't have been, based on what happened, if a liberal in sheep's clothing hadn't cried racist. This was a textbook case of self-defense and the fact that charges were even filed is farcical.

There were a lot of things that disturbed me about how this case was handled. In terms of a possible dystopia on the horizon, the thing that bothered me most was the role the media played in it. Does it bother anyone else that the media, an entity responsible for reporting the news, whether judicial, political, or criminal, actually managed to change how the case was handled, tried, perceived, and even the normal protocol that should have been followed? That's a whole lot of power for an entity that cannot be easily defined, specified, or made accountable for their actions.

Sounds a whole lot like the beginnings of a dystopian government to me.

Let's talk about dystopian literature for a minute. What is the one common thread that runs through every dystopian story, tying it together as a genre? It's the presence of a government, state, or entity that denies basic freedoms to its citizens.

Most of us can define basic freedoms fairly easily, but I'd like to point something out.

When drafting the Declaration of Independence, our forefathers laid out a list of grievances they had and rights they wanted. These were the reasons they were revolting and had decided to put together their own constitution for our great country. They close it as follows:

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

In the Constitution, they state that all men have unalienable, god-given rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In Joseph Conrad's immortal Heart of Darkness, he goes into a discussion about how dispassionate apathy is. He makes the point--in a roundabout way--that fighting to live is the most passionate act we as human beings can be part of. Without passion, we wouldn't care enough to fight, but all of us fight back when we are attacked, don't we?

Seeing a pattern here? Fighting for the right to live, to keep breathing, is our first and most basic right. It's an act that makes us human; that makes us free. It's also the act that Zimmerman was put on trial for.

I'm sorry for the doomsday feel of this post. Originally it was going to be all kinds of gloomy as I illustrated the ways in which this case shows how quickly we're heading for dystopia. But then, just as I was preparing to write it on Saturday night, the verdict came back: Not guilty on all counts.

While I am EXTREMELY happy on Zimmerman's behalf, it did kind of take the wind out of my post.

Now, I am well aware that plenty of people will disagree with me about this trial. It's a very polarizing issue and that's okay. I respect every person's right to their own opinions. But the fact remains that Zimmerman killed another man defending himself, and was put on trial and dragged through the mud for it. That's terrifying to me. If we cannot take a stance in defense of our own lives, how can we defend our families or our other freedoms?

So many of us in the bookish, business, and academic communities preach forward thinking, overcoming our fears, taking risks and positive actions, and standing out in the crowd. Zimmerman could have stayed in his house that night, but when he saw what he thought might possibly be a threat to the neighborhood it was his job to patrol, he took positive action to keep his neighbors and community safe. And he was punished for it. Of course it ended in a situation that was terribly tragic all around, one that ideally should be avoided. But we don't live in an ideal world, and to punish people for taking action to protect what they hold sacred is to encourage fear of the world around us. Do we, as a society, really want to risk living like that?

Perhaps we ought to consider the possibility that dystopia may consist as much of ethical things being punished as it will of unethical things being allowed.

The tagline of my dystopian series is: Stand out or fade away... This case is an awesome example of encouraging fear, silence and non-action, and the only thing that can lead to is mediocrity. These are not the principles America--or any freedom, for that matter--was founded on.

Thank goodness our justice system is still functioning at it's core, even if it did take a while to get there. Maybe we're not standing over the chasm of dystopia quite yet.

What are your feelings about the Zimmerman verdict?

(I fully realize that this is a potentially divisive and polarizing post, and that many people may disagree with what I've said. Please feel free to leave your feelings here, even they are in opposition to mine. I will not discriminate against you for your opinions. I may disagree with you, but I believe in fighting like hell for our god-given rights, including freedom of speech.)

In a world where collective hives are enslaving the population and individuals have been hunted to the verge of extinction, Maggie Harper, and independent 21st Century woman, must find the strength to preserve the freedom of the future, but without the aid of her memories.

After experiencing a traumatic time loss, Maggie is plagued by a barrage of images she can't explain. When she's attacked by a creep with a spider's web tattoo, she is saved by Marcus, a man she's never met, but somehow remembers. He tells her that both he and her creepy attacker are from a future in which individuals are being murdered by collectives, and Marcus is part of the rebellion. The collectives have acquired time travel and they plan to enslave the human race throughout all of history. The flashes Maggie has been seeing are echoes of lost memories, and the information buried deep within them is instrumental in defeating the collective hives.

In order to preserve the individuality of mankind, Maggie must try to re-discover stolen memories, re-kindle friendships she has no recollection of, and wade through her feelings for the mysterious Marcus, all while dodging the tattooed assassins the collectives keep sending her way.

If Maggie can't fill the holes in her memory and find the answers to stop the collectives, the world both in her time and in all ages past and future will be doomed to enslavement in the grey, mediocre collectives. As the danger swirls around her and the collectives close in, Maggie realizes she must make a choice: stand out or fade away...

Sunday, July 14, 2013

The Shadow Rising Read-Along, Week 7

Welcome to Week 7 of The Shadow Rising Read-Along! This week we read pages 595-698. Remember that everything in this section as well as anything that came before is fair game for spoilers, so read at your own risk!

Isendre
Source

1) Rand and his entourage make a stop in Tardaad land because there is water, and apparently, goats. There is also a dwelling full of the signs of a slaughter. The red veiled woman Isendre had to take a peak. Why? If you know the answer, you can speculate on what will become of the goats.

Ah, Isendre of the seductive smiles. I don't remember the specifics of why, but it seemed to me that she was just putting on a show. Rand noted how fake her reactions were. Obviously she wants to see, but also be seen. It's also interesting to see her on Kadere's arm. Let's just say (from what I do remember, she's got a whole thing cooked up. The questions are, what is it and how will it affect Rand?

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Follow Friday: Book Photobombs

A couple of Announcements:

1) First of all, my apologies but I don't have a Mermaid Challenge Review this week. I'll put a linky below so if anyone did do one, they can link up and I'll be happy to visit you post. For me, it's been one of those weeks. You know, the kind where you have a million things to do (including wedding planning for your sister who's getting married in a month) plus unexpected things that come up, family drama, a busy weekend ahead you haven't even begun to prepare for, and you don't feel very well on top of it? Yeah, needless to say I haven't gotten as much reading or writing done as I'd like. I haven't even cracked open the mermaid book I was going to read this week. BUT...the mermaid reviews will be back next week. :D

2) I have a book signing for Persistence of Vision at the Salt Lake City Barnes and Noble on Saturday for 1-4 pm. Address: 1104 E. 2100 S. Salt Lake City, Utah. If anyone is in the Salt Lake area on Saturday afternoon, I'd love to see you! (And who passes up an excuse to visit Barnes and Noble, right? :D)

3) Yesterday on Love Hate Poetry, I was interviewed by Ira Poet. Check out the interview HERE.

4) Finally, I just got an email from my publisher a few days ago. He told me they're finally working on the Citadels of Fire cover and will be releasing it soon! Yea! :D

Follow Friday

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Activity: PHOTOBOMB!!!! Photobomb a picture with your favorite book. Share it of course.

So here I was, trying to take a picture of my sister and my adorable niece Cheveya playing ring-around-the-rosy one afternoon, and all of a sudden my book, and extremely worn out copy of The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, just suddenly jumped into the picture. (As if I'm not already giving it enough love!) ;D You totally knew it would be a Wheel of Time book, right? Guess I'm not technically in the pic, but oh well. It was fun anyway. :D

How'd your book bomb picture come about?

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Examining Myths and Legends to Create Back Story

Most of you know that I'm writing a high fantasy series called Dragon Magic (Amazon link for prequel HERE). I've got all the major stuff figured out, and am just fleshing out details as I go along. It's slow going because I'm only writing about a chapter a week. I use the weekdays to work on other projects, but I hope to have book 1 finished by the end of the year.

There is one major part of the overall back story/mythology for the series I was stuck on. Well, not so much stuck on as I just knew it wasn't completely fleshed out and wasn't sure where to go with it.

I'm participating in a Wheel of Time read-along right now. Robert Jordan's epic fantasy is pretty much my favorite series of all time and has been an unending inspiration to me as a writer. Jordan had not only an epic plot, but he fleshed his characters and settings out so well that no one can really compare to him.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday--Movie Adaptations

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Best/Worst Movie Adaptations

Worst Adaptions:

Why Dystopians Make Real Life Seem Boring

So book 2 of Interchron, Entitled Quantum Entanglement is written and has been for several weeks. Now I'm working on editing and cover design, but I hope to have it out in the next month or two.

Meanwhile, I've given the manuscript to several beta readers, many of whom are family members. (My true beta readers are my critique group but I give it to the fam to make them feel important. :D)

My younger sister works in a doctor's office in the evenings and can't usually read at work. Whenever supervisors are there, they aren't allowed to get on their computers, but every once in a while she can. She asked me to send her a PDF of book 2 so she could read in her spare time. She read a few chapters, and then promptly forgot about it for several weeks. When she remembered, she started again and read it more quickly.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Dragon Reborn Read-Along, Week 6

Padan Fain/Ordeith
Source

1. Wow, Fain seems to have taken crazy to a whole new level. What on earth could he want with a Myrdraal?

Who knows? He strikes me as the kind of dude whose motives wouldn't make much sense even if we knew them. Maybe he's trying to blackmail the Dark One or something. It's not like a fade--who is also trying to kill Rand, just in general--would have tons of information about our kids.

2. Lord Luc, selfless heroic noble with only the best interests of the locals at heart. Or so he would have you think - Perrin doesn't appear to agree. What do you make of this bloke?

Ti--uh, I mean Shaiel. ;D
Source

It's perhaps a little convenient that he showed up to take charge right when the White Cloaks and Trollocs showed up. Besides, Perrin's advice was pretty common sense. For an educated lord, why wouldn't he have told them this earlier. It's also interesting that he doesn't contradict Perrin or try to talk everyone out of taking Perrin's advice. If Lord Luc hadn't given them Perrin's advice earlier, the only reason not to would be to keep them vulnerable and dependent on them. But if that was the case, you'd think he would fight for his position of authority. But he doesn't. To me, that says his motives are more sinister. Or, perhaps he recognizes the influence of ta'veren when he sees it, which makes him an even more interesting character. Either way, he's one to keep an eye on (as if Perrin didn't already have enough stress!).

3. We finally learn about the Aiel side of Rand's parentage. Was this about what you expected? Who might Shaiel have been? (If you have been paying attention, you should be able to work out who Rand's half brother is.)

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Mermaid Challenge Reviews, Week 8 + Follow Friday

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day! To view Patriotic stories I've been posting all week, view earlier posts on both my blogs!

Welcome to Week 8 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)

This week, I read Mirage by Jenn Reese. I read Above World a few weeks ago and so when I saw that my library had the sequel, I jumped at the chance to read it. :D

First of all, I should note that this really isn't much of a mermaid book. The kids in it are merekids, but in book 1 they got the chance to come Above World (get it?) and have an adventure on land. Mirage continues that adventure, but there's really no part of it that takes place under the ocean.

The only real mermaid element we deal with is the fact that Aluna *mild spoilers from book 1* swallowed a seed that perpetuates the growing of her mermaid tail fin and is trying to keep it from slowing her down the entire novel. *end of spoilers*

That said, it's still a great read! It continues the adventures of Hoki and Aluna, but we get to see a lot of Dash's homeland while the kids try to get their three peoples (Merepeople, Fliers, and Equians) to forge an alliance.

Thoughts for Thursday: Freedom

Happy Independence Day!!!

So this is the ~~week~~ day we will celebrate the birth of our country and the glory it has been since its inception. I come from a very patriotic family. My great-grandfathers on both sides fought on World War II and I have had lots of family in the military since then as well. So, in celebration, many of my posts this week will have a patriotic bent, and I may start out each one with a true story about the patriots in my family, or just a patriotic story in general.

I'll forego any stories today in favor of just really great freedom quotes. See earlier blog entries (over this past week) for Patriotic stories!!!

Thoughts for Thursday is a new meme hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill. In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!

This week's theme is freedom. There are so many great ones, I could never even begin to scratch the surface, but here are a few to start out. (For more freedom quotes, check out my other blog.)

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Review: Insurgent +The Origin of Taps

So this is the week we will celebrate the birth of our country and the glory it has been since its inception. I come from a very patriotic family. My great-grandfathers on both sides fought on World War II and I have had lots of family in the military since then as well. So, in celebration, many of my posts this week will have a patriotic bent, and I may start out each one with a true story about the patriots in my family, or just a patriotic story in general.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Intimidating Books

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Most Intimidating Books (because of size, content, pressure to like them, etc.) All covers courtesy of goodreads.com unless otherwise posted.

Stand Out or Fade Away: Patriotism in a Dystopian World

So this is the week we will celebrate the birth of our country and the glory it has been since its inception. I come from a very patriotic family. My great-grandfathers on both sides fought on World War II and I have had lots of family in the military since then as well. So, in celebration, many of my posts this week will have a patriotic bent, and I may start out each one with a true story about the patriots in my family, or just a patriotic story in general.

For today, I'll just integrate the story into the dystopian post.

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