Laura's blog

Hey, I remember when I used to do these regularly. WUW is hosted by Jaime Morrow. What I'm reading Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones is everything I hoped it would be. :) I am also reading various academic sources I need for my senior project. Next up on my TBR is, well... this post should explain it. I'm doing the #AtoZChallenge in April, but with book reviews. Which means I have 26 books to read between now and then. I still need some recommendations, so please feel free to drop off a book on that post! Also, CP's, I swear I have not forgotten you. I am working on your stuff. Very slowly. But it is happening.  What I'm writing Contracted got another 1k added to it last week. I have had almost no time to work on my non-college, non-work writing. Part of the problem is that now that there's no immediate threat to my MCs, it's harder to write. Faster-paced sections are always easier.   The Book is coming along well in re-writes. I am lazily not w...

As I said in my last post , I will be doing the #atozchallenge this April -- with a twist. I will write a book review each day.  Next step: find 26 books to review, one for each letter of the alphabet. They have to be books I haven't read yet. Also, examiner.com requires members to publish one article minimum per month to retain active status. I've recently read The Republic of Thieves, Eternity, and something else, the title of which escapes me right now. I'll review those in the months between now and April, as well as books I've read before. But for April, I need a reading list asap. *cracks knuckles* Here's what I have so far: Apollo Academy by Kimberly P. Chase Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas Double Dead by Chuck Wendig Everybody Sees the Ants by A. S. King Fragments by Dan Wells Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson H Iscariot by Tosca Lee Jack 1939 by Francine Matthews Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson The Lo...

It might seem a bit early to start planning for April's Blogging A to Z Challenge, but then again, people start planning for NaNoWriMo in August. Usually I have the same reaction to that as I do to stores putting up Christmas decorations before Halloween. Seriously? Can't they wait? But if I'm going to do this challenge, I need to start planning now. I did the #atozchallenge once before. While it was good for making me write, I didn't enjoy it very much. The novelty of seeing letter-themed blogposts in my stream also wore off pretty quickly. So I wasn't planning to do the challenge this year. BUT THEN I had a shiny new idea! What if...I did book reviews A to Z? "But Laura," you shudder, "why would you do that to yourself? You have a senior project to do, college to attend, papers to write, and a recital to prepare for -- not to mention all those wips you keep having to put off. Why? " Well...just because?   Really, though, one of my...

Tonight, I, my classmates, and people in my town participated in a candlelight march around town in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. There was chatting, some singing, some hand-shaking and meeting of new people. Many pictures were taken with phones and many candles were blown out only to be re-lit from a neighbor's. It was a relaxed atmosphere.  We had a police escort. Let me reiterate: we had a police escort. We felt safe and relaxed walking down the streets of town. No one made threats or shouted rude comments or even so much as honked their horns because of blocked traffic. It just made me realize how lucky we are. In King's day, the police didn't show up at marches to escort people. They weren't there to make people feel safe, but to make them feel afraid. To beat, discourage, shame, abuse, arrest, and silence them. It didn't work.  It didn't work, and in 2014, here we all are walking down the streets of a Southern town with the police to e...

It's that time of year again! Outrageous Fortune is a literary magazine that publishes outstanding undergraduate work from colleges all around the USA and beyond. It has twice been featured in the national anthology Plain China   for artwork.  Outrageous Fortune is student-run, a literary magazine run by undergraduates for undergraduates. And it's currently accepting submissions for publication in the Spring 2014 issue. Outrageous Fortune is accepting submissions in... Short fiction Nonfiction and essays Novel excerpts Poetry Plays and one-acts Dramatic monologues Artwork Submission guidelines here. I encourage you to submit in any category -- but since I'm the Art and Drama Editor, I especially encourage you to submit in Art and especially particularly encourage you to submit in Drama. :)  I've had the privilege of working on the magazine as an intern since my sophomore year of college. I regret having to take a semester off last year, but overal...