June Doings

Hello, everyone! June has been quite the interesting month: half tradition, half new experiences. As such, it's also been a very busy month . . . Honestly, I have a feeling that I'll never have a non-busy month again unless I get really lucky sometime next summer. Oh well- at least I don't have time to really get bored.

Writing!

• Most of my writing time this month has been dedicated to one thing: rewriting several chapters of Destinies and Decisions- ones I'd already edited. Back in March, a friend made several suggestions on how to increase the tension in the story, which I really liked . . . but implementing them meant making fairly significant changes to certain events. Thus, I haven't covered any new ground this month, but I am much happier with the story overall.
• I'm doing this rewriting in connection with Go Teen Writers' 100-4-100 challenge. For those unaware, this is a challenge to write 100 words a day for 100 days, allowing one grace day per week. The challenge has, as always, been super helpful in making sure that I do indeed write every day- if I weren't participating in it, I probably wouldn't have gotten half as much done as I actually did. Even with the challenge, the last two weeks my average has probably only been about 200-300 words a day, which is really slow for rewriting/editing. However, at the beginning of the month I averaged closer to 500-700 words per day (some days I even made up to a thousand words), so I'm not stressing much about it.
• I've also been doing a bit of very informal planning for Camp NaNoWrimo next month . . . And by "very informal" I mean that said planning largely consists of talking over my ideas with a friend (not the same one who gave me the rewriting suggestions) and some notes on powers, plot, and characters quickly scribbled down when I wasn't busy with work or editing. Yeah. I might be winging it a lot more than usual this July . . .

Reading!

• Reading, like writing, varied greatly throughout the month. All in all, I read 10.1 books, all of which were new-to-me reads. 7 of those books were read during the first twelve days of the month; 3.01 were read during the other eighteen.
• The highlights of the month were undoubtedly A Branch of Silver, a Branch of Gold and Shiloh, both of which I raved about in my recent Best of 2016 post. They're both absolutely gorgeous and a touch dark (more so in Shiloh than A Branch of Silver, a Branch of Gold) and mysterious and a little sad and wonderful. Go read them.
• I also enjoyed King's Folly (though not as much as I hoped, due to certain content), The Night Circus (which was slow, but absolutely enchanting and wonderfully dream-like), and Fahrenheit 451 (which my youth leader told me I needed to read this summer, and so I did.) In addition, I finally started on my adventure into the Star Wars EU . . . and was not terribly impressed, but I've only managed two books so far, and I'm under the impression that the next sub-series on my reading list should be pretty good. And Crosscurrent was, in any case, not a bad read.  (I was more disappointed with Deceived, but oh well.)
• The other disappointment of the month- though not a serious one- was Keeper of the Lost Cities. Don't get me wrong; I did enjoy it quite a bit. But considering how many people seem to greatly recommend it, I wasn't terribly impressed. One problem is that the book tasted suspiciously similar to Harry Potter in certain respects . . . and I haven't even read that series. Another two problem- one shared, interestingly enough, by Brandon Sanderson's Alcatraz series- is world. Now, I love the idea of other worlds, and I also like the idea of a secret world within our own. However, what I don't like is how the inhabitants of the secret worlds in both these books tend to look down on people in the "ordinary" world, acting as if they're perfect and do everything better and all that, while normal humans are useless and untrustworthy and so on. And in some cases, yes, the people in the secret world do in some cases have their stuff together more than the ordinary humans do. But that doesn't mean they have to keep rubbing it in my face. Those issues aside, however, Keeper of the Lost Cities was a fun read, and I might try the next book if I have time.
• Not pictured is the book I'm currently reading: The Shadow Rising, book 4 in the Wheel of Time series. I'm maybe a tenth of the way through and currently feel like I'll be lucky to finish the whole thing by mid-July. As for my thoughts on the story . . . Well, it's too early to really tell.

Life! 

Last year's picture because I didn't have time to edit any of this year's. Sadness.

• The first week and a half of June, my family enjoyed our annual vacation in the Pennsylvania mountains. As usual, we did a lot of hiking, a good bit of shooting, some marshmallow-roasting, and generally had a good time. I didn't take as many pictures as I sometimes do . . . but as previously mentioned, I did a lot of writing and reading, so that's good. I'm also rather pleased with how well I shot, considering I haven't really picked up a gun since last summer. (You'd think that, since we live in a more rural area now than we did in Virginia, I'd be able to shoot more, but no . . .)
• When I got back, however, I had only a day before I started the internship I mentioned in last month's Doings post. I'm working in the communications department, doing a variety of writing and graphic design-type projects. I was rather happy that my tasks have been less "Sarah, get me coffee" and "Sarah, do this busywork-but-educational-for-you task" (which my dad warned me that they might be) and more "Sarah, rewrite this article so it sounds better and is up to date" and "Sarah, make a poster (including trimming and mounting it) about this person to go in the lobby!" I've also been learning InDesign as part of this internship (well, not as a formal part, more as a "A lot of projects I'm supposed to work on are in InDesign so if I don't learn I'm not going to have much to do" part), which has been interesting. It seems to have a lot of similarities to both Photoshop and Word- programs I'm quite familiar with- so I've been able to pick it up pretty well.
• Having run out of knitting projects to work on, I decided to re-learn crocheting. Like knitting, I learned once when I was relatively young (eight or nine-ish, I think), but then lost interest until now. So far, I'm not sure which I like better, since I've only completed a few projects. (Crocheting does seem to be a lot faster than knitting, though . . . I'm not sure why, since it's actually more motions per stitch.)
• I'm sure I did something else this month, but what it is I can't recall. Probably it was something to procrastinate on something else, sadly . . .

July Plans!

• How the pumpernickel is it July already?
• Obviously I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo. I'm writing a superhero/mystery-ish novellette, about 10K words, set in the world of the Teenage Superhero Society, which should be fun. There will be character cameos. And my main character may end up spending a fair amount of the novel wondering if she's crazy. Or she might not- it's hard to say. But her goal is to find justice for a three-year-old murder, which only she knows was a murder, and it should be fun to write. And once I get it edited, I plan to post it here on the blog.
• Obviously my internship will be continuing for most of the month. Between that and Camp NaNoWriMo, it should be . . . interesting.
• Plus our church is having a summer carnival/festival/mini-VBS-type-thing midway through the month . . . which I volunteered to help at. (Or possibly someone volunteered me. I'm not sure which. And it doesn't really matter at this point.) Of course, when I signed on for this, I didn't realize that I'd be put in charge of a game booth by myself . . . without any real backup . . .  Yeah. If I get through the day with no calamities and my sanity mostly intact, I'll be happy.
• All the busyness should slow down at the end of the month, though . . . when I'll be taking another hiatus. Yes, my second one this summer. No, it won't be another sort-of-hiatus where I actually do get on the internet at least once every couple days. I will not have internet access, period. Yes, it will be because I'm traveling. Yes, I will miss you all very much.
• And I would like to actually get some reading done sometime this month; we'll see how much of that happens. The last week or so I should have a fair shot at getting through a few books; other than that . . . well, like I said earlier, I might be lucky just to get through The Shadow Rising.

How's your June been? Have any plans for July? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade) 

Beautiful People: Childhood Edition

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So I'm cutting it a bit close with this post, yes. But it's still June, and anyway, like Gandalf, this post isn't late- it arrived exactly when I meant it to. (Mostly.) LOTR references aside, this month's questions focus on the character's childhood, which should be fun. I'll be answering with Emma Alyron, and, like last month, we'll be doing this proper interview style.

(Emma: A-are you s-sure about th-this? M-maybe you sh-should ask G-Gwen or s-someone e-else instead.
  
Me: Yes, I'm sure. I told you earlier: all you have to do is answer the questions.

Emma: I d-don't know . . .

Me: You'll be fine. Velone, back me up. 

Emma: *after some nudging from Velone, a purple, kitten-sized dragon sitting on Emma's shoulder* W-well . . . a-all r-right. I g-guess I can t-try to answer . . .)  

1. What is your first childhood memory?
Emma: Um . . . I r-remember Mama s-singing to me. She w-was a-always singing, or h-humming, or s-something. And I'd t-try to s-sing with her s-sometimes . . . but m-mostly I just l-listened.


2. What was your best and worst childhood experiences?
Emma: . . . C-Can I p-please answer a d-different question?

3. Fine. We'll come back to that one. What was your childhood home like?
Emma: D-do you m-mean Alyron Village? O-or my h-house?

Whichever you prefer to tell us about. 
Emma: I d-don't r-really want to t-talk about the V-Village . . . but I l-liked our c-cottage . . . it looked m-mostly like the other cottages, b-but Mama had l-lots of flowers p-planted outside instead of j-just f-food plants. A-and she k-kept white c-curtains on the w-windows, a-and a l-loom and sh-shelves full of yarn and f-fabric in the f-front room. I think we h-had the p-prettiest cottage in the V-Village. 

4. What’s something that scared you as a child?
Emma: *whispering* L-l-lots of th-th-things sc-scared me . . . m-most of th-th-them s-still d-do.
*Velone gives Emma an intent look and seems to be silently saying something which makes Emma perk up a little* 

5. Who did you look up to most?
Emma: Mama and Gwen.

6. Favorite and least favorite childhood foods?  
Emma: My f-favorite food was- s-still is- fresh berries and cream. L-least f-favorite . . . I d-don't know. I r-remember that I w-wouldn't eat rabbit for a w-while, but I d-didn't n-not like it . . . I j-just felt sorry f-for the b-bunnies.

7. If you had your childhood again, would you change anything?
Emma: Y-yes . . .


*waits*

Emma: Wh-what?

Are you going to elaborate? 

Emma: I-I . . . I g-guess I'd j-just try to b-be b-braver . . . or s-something l-like th-that . . .
  
8. What kind of child were you? Curious? Wild? Quiet? Devious?
Emma: I w-was quiet. O-obedient. Sc-scared of e-everything, l-like I s-said . . .  I l-liked st-staying inside a-and w-working with Mama a-and s-singing. N-Nightshade c-called me d-dull as a d-dishrag. I th-think she m-might've been r-right, b-but . . . I l-liked w-what I did .  .

9. What was your relationship to your parents and siblings like?
Emma: *halfhearted smile* W-which o-ones? I h-had l-lots . . . I loved Mama. Loved her m-more than anyone. I d-didn't s-see much of F-Father . . . I d-don't think he r-really n-noticed me, I was so q-quiet. And I w-was in awe of G-Gwen and Jake and Dea . . . and s-scared of N-Nightshade and J-Jared . . . Th-there w-were a f-few siblings I l-liked, but n-not many . . . only the ones who were q-quiet l-like m-me.

10. What did you want to be when they grew up, and what did you actually become?
Emma: I d-don't know w-what I wanted to be . . . but I kn-know w-who I w-wanted to b-be: Mama. Or m-maybe G-Gwen. I'm n-not either of th-them . . . I'm s-still just me . . . b-but I'm n-not r-really grown up yet ei-either.


Great. Now, remember, we still have one question left: best and worst childhood experiences.

Emma: Oh-h-h . . . D-do I h-have to a-answer?

I'd like it if you did. You can at least do the best experience, right?

Emma: W-well . . . I l-liked l-lessons with Mama, when she taught me t-to s-sew and kn-knit and c-crochet and a-all th-those k-kinds of things . . . And w-when I made my first sk-skirt a-all by m-myself.


See, that wasn't so hard. What about the second half of the question? Do you think you can answer that?

Emma: I g-guess . . . *looks down and whispers* The w-worst experience of m-my ch-childhood . . . I g-guess when m-my ch-childhood sort of e-ended . . . w-when Mama d-d- *chokes out the word, trying not to cry* Died.
*Velone nuzzles Emma's cheek comfortingly, humming to her, and glares at me for upsetting his Emma*

Aaaand that's where the questions end. I think I shall back slowly away from the angry dragon now . . . Thanks, Emma, for answering, and thanks to everyone else for reading. I hope you enjoyed that!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade) 

Summer Anytime Reads

Hey'a, everyone! I'm officially back from my hiatus! And just in time for summer too . . . well, sort of. Y'know, since unofficially, summer's been here over two weeks, but officially it starts in a few days. Either way, it's the perfect time to talk about summer reads- but not in the sense of books releasing during summer. Instead, today's post is all about the books I'd recommend for reading during the summer for one reason or another.

Summer Anytime Reads

 

1. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall. If there's one book that I'd say contains the essence of a wonderful summer, it's The Penderwicks. It's lighthearted and fun, yet touching, and the Penderwick sisters are each wonderful, both in their own rights and in terms of their relationship with each other and their father. The style, too, is lovely, giving this story the feel of a classic despite being set in our modern day and age. On the whole, the story is sweet without being fluffy, playful without becoming meaningless, and entirely perfect as a companion on a warm summer afternoon.  
If you liked The Penderwicks, try: Entwined (for the sweet sisterly relationships) or The Summer of Cotton Candy (for a lighthearted contemporary story set in summertime).

2. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. Howl is, of course, a good book to read at any time of the year. But it does feel like a very summertime book to me: lighthearted, amusing, classic. Pick it up on a sunshine-y morning and enjoy meeting Sophie, Howl, Calcifer, and the rest (whether for the first or hundred and first time), or save it for a rainy day and let Howl's antics and Sophie's misadventures in dealing with him make you forget all about the gloomy weather.  
If you like Howl's Moving Castle, try: Jackaby (for the, how shall we say, eccentric? male lead and amusingly bickering main pair), The Chrestomanci Chronicles (for more Diana Wynne Jones and the closest character to Howl I've found so far), or The Hollow Kingdom (for the feel of the book).

3. The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. Sometimes, though, you don't want something lighthearted. Summer's the most free time any of us have, usually, and we might as well make the most of it by tackling something big. And The Stormlight Archive contains two of the biggest and best books I've ever read in my life- and if you're reading it for the first time, you'd better make it during the summer. Try it during the school year and you'll need a great deal of self-discipline to keep it from taking over your life. Summertime, though? No worries- you won't need to put it down, which is good, because you won't want to.
If you like The Stormlight Archive, try: The Blood of Kings trilogy (for epic adventures and a pretty awesome world), The Wheel of Time series* (for massive books and lore-rich worldbuilding), or the Queen's Thief series (for incredibly twisty plots).

4. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. Basically, anything Discworld is probably a good choice for the summer- they're hilarious, if not quite lighthearted, but still fairly substantial. (Not as substantial as The Stormlight Archive, no, but what is?) But if I'm going to pick just one book to recommend from the series for the summer, Going Postal is the obvious choice. It's a bit less outright weird than some of them, while maintaining all the Discworld charm, and Moist van Lipwig is definitely a summertime sort of character.   
If you like Going Postal, try: The League of Princes series (for unlikely heroes and fantasy send-ups) or The Tough Guide to Fantasyland (for fun fantasy send-up; read it straight through or flip around at will).

5. The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale. These books are neither lighthearted nor especially substantial, but they still feel like a quiet summer afternoon, especially The Goose Girl and River Secrets (first and third, respectively, in the series). The romance is sweet, the stories are both classic and original, and the writing style is the sort you want to take the time to savor.
If you like The Books of Bayern, try: Wildwood Dancing or Five Glass Slippers (for fairy-tale retellings), The Merchant's Daughter (for a romance without too much fluff), or Orphan's Song (for fairly short books worth reading slowly).

What are some of your favorite summer reads? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade) 

*Note: I have only read the first three Wheel of Time books. Those three books, I can recommend as being good, especially the third one- mostly because Rand ceases to be an idiot and Mat gets to be awesome. I can't vouch for the rest, but I have a friend with excellent taste in reading material who says they're good.

May Doings!

May is (almost) at an end, and summer has (unofficially) begun! Which is why this post is going up a few days early . . . but more on that later.

Writing!

• I finished Mechanical Heart fairly early in the month, as I expected to do. Overall, I’m fairly pleased with how the ending worked out. It’ll take a bit of editing, yes, but not as much as some stories I could name.
• A friend and I also did our own NaPoWriMo event during May. I’ve never before tried NaPoWriMo, which is a challenge to write a poem every day for a month. I quite enjoyed it, and it was a bit easier than I expected. Usually, I only write poetry when the mood takes me, so I thought thinking of something to write about every day might be a considerable challenge. But since I was actively seeking ideas, they came more readily, and overall I’m pleased with what I wrote.
• And a good thing too, because I basically did no other creative writing this month. (Well, unless you count roleplays.) Once I finished Mechanical Heart, I didn’t have another story to work on, and I didn’t have any strong enough ideas to start one. Granted, I probably should’ve been working on editing and rewrites . . . but I didn’t. And, to be honest, I don’t entirely regret that decision. I pushed myself pretty hard January through April; I can afford a month off.

Reading!

• Again, I had a really good reading month- perhaps not quite as good as April, but still excellent. All thirteen books I read are pictured above.
• The highlights of the month should be pretty easy to guess. I finally read Mistborn: Secret History, and well, wow. It’s hard to say anything at all without giving away spoilers, but basically, there were several questions answered, more questions raised, and I got to see one of my favorite characters again.
• The other highlights were The Raven King (final book in the Raven Cycle, which gives just enough closure to say “Ok, yeah, the series is over” but leaves enough loose threads that you’re certain the adventures aren’t done by any means), Lady’s Pursuit (not my favorite in the Knight and Rogue series, but a fitting end, and I kind of want to write a Knight and Rogue fanfic now), and The Dragon Reborn (my monthly visitation to the Wheel of Time series and a significant improvement over the other two- perhaps because there’s less of Rand being an idiot and trying to escape his fate and more of Mat being awesome).
• In addition, I finally reread The Phantom Menace as my little Star Wars Day celebration. I remember liking it more the first time around, but it was still enjoyable. And I finally read Stasis, an anthology by J. Tobias Buller (known on the Underground as Jake of the Sadaar), which was very enjoyable. It was also set largely in Africa, which was an interesting change from the usual.
• The main disappointment of the month was, surprisingly, The Princess Bride. It wasn’t bad, exactly, but for once I think the movie was better. You get all the best bits of humor, and if you miss a few plot pieces, I don’t think the story suffers for it. Inigo’s backstory was fun, but overall, I wasn’t impressed. (Of course, the three introductions to the story didn’t help matters, nor did the “excerpt” from Buttercup’s Baby.)

Life!

• Things I learned this month: how to take a halfway decent video; where to find free, legal stock photos and music; how to use Windows Movie Maker; how to not throw the computer containing Windows Movie Maker out a literal window when the program keeps vanishing bits and pieces of my audio and shutting down when I try to trim sections of video; and how to improvise a rolling camera stand out of a tripod and a rollerblade.
•  (For those curious: the stand works pretty well, though you have to be careful to keep the rollerblade moving in a straight line. And I was doing all this for a scholarship project. I probably won’t win, but it was good experience. And if I end up needing to do a lot of video work later in life, I’m definitely going to invest in a good post-production software. Windows Movie Maker may be simple to use, but it’s a real headache at times.)
• About halfway through the month, I got to meet Lalaithiel in person! She and her family were passing near my town, so we were able to meet up for breakfast at a little diner near my house. She’s just as awesome in real life as she is online, and I really enjoyed our meeting.
• My family went down to White Sulphur Springs for a retreat with our old Bible Study group. I got to see a lot of my friends and we played Mafia and Murder Murder (which is like Mafia, except not, and I swear we’re all very nice people). Because there was a wedding going on at the new hotel the weekend we were there, we stayed at the old hotel, which was a lot of fun. We had the whole place pretty much to ourselves, and I got to do some exploring in the bits I’d never seen before.
• Being in the old hotel did mean that we had to do our own cooking most meals, though . . . which was a task that got handed off to the teens because we didn’t have anything better to do. As most of the other teens in the study are better in the kitchen than I am, this worked out pretty well- they cooked or grilled or baked what needed to be cooked or grilled or baked; I cracked eggs and made lemonade and fetched things and helped set things out on tables; and everyone was happy.
•  I officially finished with school on the 20^th. For all practical purposes, I was done a week or so before then, but whatever. I’m done. Yay!
• I’m trying to do more walking now that we finally have nice weather on a regular basis. I didn’t exercise quite as much over the winter as I perhaps should have, so . . . yeah. I miss the walking paths in Virginia, but at least here I can walk to the library if I want to.

June Plans!

• Some of you may have noticed that every year, I take an internet hiatus around the beginning of June. Surprise, that’s happening again this year and starts on Monday. Thus why the post is going up early.
• Those of you who’ve noticed the yearly hiatus may also have a guess about what I’ll be doing during that hiatus. If you do, good for you. If not . . . well, I’ll tell you when I get back.
• Also after the hiatus, I’m starting an internship at the same place my dad works. I honestly didn’t expect to get said internship when I applied back in February, but there was a communications position open and I got it. I’m excited, but mostly I’m scared . . . Prayers would be appreciated.
•  On the writing front, I don’t plan on doing a ton, but I am joining in Go Teen Writers’ 100-4-100 Challenge. I’m not 100% certain what I’ll be doing for it, but I’ve been informed that rewriting and short stories both qualify. So I may use it to get back into reworking Destinies and Decisions, since the next bit I need to work on is actual rewriting as opposed to just editing. Or I may end up writing short stories and fanfiction until July.
• With all that, I probably wouldn’t do a ton of reading . . . but there are some books I’m looking forward to, as I mentioned in a recent post. Besides that, I want to read Fahrenheit 451, a recommendation from my former youth leader, as well as the next Wheel of Time book and some of the pile of Star Wars Expanded Universe books a friend supplied to me. So, yes, I’ll have plenty to keep me busy.

How’s your month been? What plans do you have for June? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)  

Random Fridays: Summer 2016 Reads

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Hello, everyone! I'm joining up with Random Fridays for the first time in a while to tell you all about my summer 2016 reads. There isn't a ton coming out this summer that I'm really excited about . . . but there are a few things, as you'll soon see.

Summer 2016 Reads

1. The Ghostfaces by John Flanagan (June 14).  

Ok, so this one sounds like it'll be pretty hit-or-miss for me. I mean, the four reviews it has on Goodreads all say it's really good, but the premise . . . I don't know. It sounds like the Heron band will find themselves in the fantasy equivalent of North America, which could be pretty cool. I think a lot of how much I like this book will depend on how the author handles the Mawagansett tribe, but I could be wrong. (It's also possible that part of my uncertainty about the book is the fact that I really don't like the U.S. cover for the book- thus why I have some other country's cover here on the blog.) 

2. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (June 14).  

Libraries are, of course, awesome. And an invisible library sounds even better, except that it might be a little hard to read the books in it. Jokey-ness aside, the blurb for this book promises an inter-world library (which is apparently powerful enough to have its own spies; why can't real libraries be that awesome?), alternate realities, potentially a mystery-suspense vibe, and a whole lot of awesome. So, I'm definitely excited!

3. White Sand by Brandon Sanderson (June 21).

So I usually don't read graphic novels . . . but it's Brandon Sanderson and Cosmere and, seriously, I need it now please. I'm especially excited since this'll give us some background on Khriss, at least, and possibly Hoid as well if I'm remembering correctly. So that should be awesome. 

4. Age of Myth by Michael Sullivan (June 28).  

So I honestly have no idea what to expect from this one- I've never read anything by this author, though I have heard a little bit about his other books. But the premise of the book sounds pretty cool, and it's marketed as being for fans of Brandon Sanderson, so I'm willing to give it a try if I get the chance.

5. Five Magic Spindles (Sometime in summer? Probably July? I can't find a release date at all.). 

 The previous two Five Something-Somethings collections have both been amazing, and I'm sure Five Magic Spindles will be no exception. I'm not completely certain which of the stories I'm most excited for; the previous two books both surprised me with which I liked most and least. But Out of the Tomb sounds the most unique, and The Ghose of Briardale sounds quite intriguing as well.

6. Ghostly Echoes by William Ritter (August 23).  

Ahhhhhh! I'm sosososo excited for this one! Sadly, I'm going to be away from my library when it comes out (nooooooooo!), but I'm going to make sure to get my hands on it somehow. Storms, I'll buy it unread if I have to. That's how excited I am about more Jackaby and Abigail and mysteries- and also hearing more about Jenny's past, which should be awesome. And can we all agree that the cover is absolutely gorgeous? I mean, all the books in the series have wonderful covers, but this is the best yet.

 What books are you looking forward to this summer? Please tell me in the comments!

Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)  

Beautiful People May 2016

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Hey'a, everyone! Beautiful People is back after an April hiatus! Like back in March, there's no particular theme to these questions. I'll be answering with Josiah, from Mechanical Heart. And, because I'm experimenting with the format of these a bit, you'll get the answers in his voice- not mine.

1. How often do they smile? Would they smile at a stranger?
Josiah: I would say that I smile most of the time, unless I’m sitting in on a Senate meeting or other political event. As far as smiling at strangers goes, well, I’m a prince and a politician. I believe you can draw your own conclusions.

2. What is the cruelest thing they’ve ever been told? And what was their reaction?
Josiah: I suppose it was not meant cruelly, but when I was about fifteen, a gentleman- a senator and a member of the nobility- informed me in a respectfully roundabout way that my dreams of changing my country for the better were folly and that in this modern era, the royal family’s position is mostly ceremonial. In the moment, I almost wished I had been born two centuries previously so I could challenge the man to a duel without recrimination. As it is a more civilized era, I instead informed the man in a much more direct- though, I believe, still respectful- way that I intended to prove him wrong. And then I set about doing just that.

3. What is the kindest thing they’ve ever been told? And what was their reaction?
Josiah: The kindest thing? I can’t recall for sure. I expect it was something one of my parents said, trying to cheer me up . . . but one comment I recall best was from a friend of mine, Luis. It was not long after the incident I just mentioned, and I was feeling a bit despondent, wondering if the gentleman had been right after all. I told Luis, as he’s a fine listener as long as you don’t mind his working on some invention while he listens, and, well . . . He told me to stop being ridiculous, which might not sound kind, but was what I needed to hear. Then he said that if anyone could make a difference despite the law, I could and would- and as it was him who said it, I believed him. 

4. What is one strong memory that has stuck with your character from childhood? Why is it so powerful and lasting?
Josiah: There are quite a few memories I could mention, but one in particular . . . My father teaching me to play chess and backgammon when I was . . . seven or eight, perhaps? It is a small thing, yes, but every Wednesday evening after that, no matter how busy he was, my father would set aside royal duties, excuse himself from any guests, and he and I would play games until my mother finally came in to say my bedtime had long since passed and I ought to go to sleep now. As I said, it is a small thing in a sense, but significant in others- I know many children were largely ignored by their parents save when necessary. And yet my father would set aside a kingdom’s worth of affairs to spend time with me. 

5. What book (a real actual published book!) do you think your character would benefit from reading?
Me: Josiah really can’t answer this question, so  . . . I’m not sure if it’d help him or drive him crazy, but I wish he could read the Queen’s Thief series, particularly the third and fourth books. 

6. Have they ever been seriously injured? How severely? How did they react?
Josiah: I’m informed that I came within an inch of death rather recently, and given what I remember shortly before the incident, I’m inclined to believe it. However, as I was unconscious for the actual event and by the time I woke up, I was mostly healed and had other things to think about, it didn’t affect me a great deal. Later on, once I had a moment to myself, I tried to wrap my mind about the fact that I nearly died and found I couldn’t manage it.

7. Do they like and get along with their neighbors?
Josiah: I don’t have neighbors in the standard sense, but regarding the people who I interact with most often outside my family: I either like or respect a fair number of them, and do my best to tolerate even those I dislike- as my position requires me to do. 

8. On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being easy and 10 being difficult) how easy are they to get along with?
Me: Another question I’m answering for Josiah, as I can probably rate this better than he can. Josiah is about a 3 or 4 (when you look at the scale the right way, rather than 1 being impossible to get along with and 10 being everyone-loves-him). He genuinely likes and cares about most people, whoever they happen to be and takes an interest in their lives. But he’s very passionate about politics and the changes he wants to make in the country, often to the point of distraction, which can be a bit trying for those close to him. 

9. If they could travel anywhere in the world, where would they go?
Josiah: I can and have visited most of the countries of the known world at some point in my life. By now, I’d much rather stay home.

10. Who was the last person they held hands with?

Josiah: I fail to see how this is something you need to know.

Me: Just answer the question.

Josiah: Well, I suppose it won’t hurt . . . the last person whose hand I held was Miss Breen, but I did so very briefly.

What do you think of Josiah now? Have any other questions you'd like to ask him? If so, just leave them in the comments.
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)  

Why I'm Not Self-Publishing

Over the last few years, getting published has become easier than ever through the growing popularity and ease of self-publication. Many authors have chosen to pursue this path in some fashion, including some of my favorites, like Wayne Thomas Batson, Christopher Hopper, and Anne Elisabeth Stengl. However, despite its popularity, I still hope to go the traditional publishing route once I have something worth putting out there. . . and here's why.

Why I'm Not Self-Publishing

1. Even my best works need polishing. Can I edit my books on my own and through the help of family, friends, and proofies/beta-readers? Of course I can. Others have (and I've been a proofie/beta-reader for more than one of them). But even a lot of self-published authors agree that a professional editor is a must- and having read self-published books that definitely didn't have a professional edit, I tend to agree. And, yes, a self-published author can hire a professional editor to look over her book, but they're expensive. On the other hand, traditional publishing puts my novel in the hands of a team of editors who, unlike friends, family, and beta readers, don't have any reason to go easy on me but do have a good reason to help me make my book the best it can be- and who I don't have to pay out of pocket.
2. On a similar note, people judge books by their covers. Should they? No, of course they shouldn't. But they do anyway. I do it to some degree, you probably do it too. And, like editing, cover design is something that I could probably do myself (I do have a certain amount of skill with Photoshop) or could hire someone else (for example, Laura Hollingsworth, creator of one of the best and most beautiful webcomics I've ever read) to do for me. But the problem with the former is that what I can come up with is primarily dependent on what I can cobble together from my own photography and stock images, and the problem with the latter is that, again, it costs money out of pocket. But, also like editing, if I publish traditionally there's a professional cover designer there to handle it for me. True, I don't get to decide myself what the cover looks like . . . but I think I can live with that.
3. However, the most beautiful possible prose and the most gorgeous cover imaginable won't do me any good if no one knows my book exists. Which brings me to my third point: traditional publishing means my book will reach more people. I am not good at marketing and advertising and promoting products and all that sort of thing (which may prove to be a problem later in my career, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it). And while I hope that a lot of you who read my blog will buy my book, not all of you will. (And I will totally understand when you don't, because I have friends who've published books and I haven't bought their books because there's three billion and one books that I want to buy and limited funds to buy them with. So, yeah, I get it.) But if I connect with a publishing house, they have a great deal of interest in making sure that as many people as possible hear about my book, which means more people will buy it (and, I hope, enjoy it).
4. This next reason may come as a surprise, given some of what I've said so far, but: I don't plan on making a lot of money through novels, no matter how I publish them. Don't take that to mean I don't want to make any money on my novels, because if that were the case I'd probably just post the lot of them to my blog, then bind them up nicely and self-publish each one once it had been been posted in full. But I think that one of the two biggest draws of self-publishing is that the authors get to pocket more of the proceeds than they would in traditional publishing, which is pretty important if you're trying to make a living off of being an author. However, I don't plan on my creative writing providing my main income, so the advantages of traditional publishing- namely, the support in editing, design, and promotion- are, in my opinion, worth the trade-off in profits.
5. My final reason for choosing traditional publishing is similar to my first, but not completely: traditional publishing forces me to constantly push to be better. If I have to impress no one but myself and perhaps my beta-readers and editors in order to publish, I will always be tempted to say "Eh, this is good enough" and not ask "Is there a way I can make this better?" However, if simply starting the process is reliant on my impressing someone else- someone who sees a lot of stories go across his desk and whose job it is to pick the very best of them- I will always be asking "Can I change something to make this better?" And if I'm going to put my stories out there as the best they can be, that motivation is something I very desperately need.

Now, I'm not saying that there aren't advantages to self-publishing. There definitely are, and I can understand why another author might choose to go that route. And I'm also not saying that my opinions might not change eventually, that I might not decide that self-publishing is the better option for me personally after all. What I am saying is that for me, personally, in the place that I'm in, traditional publishing has enough advantages, enough areas where they fill in for my weaknesses, that it's worth the disadvantages.

What are your thoughts on traditional versus self-publishing? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)