Guest Post: How Doing What Made Me Happy Turned Into Sparrow by Mary Cecilia Jackson

My sweet father is eighty-seven now and was a scientist in his working life. (He’d be so tickled to know I was writing about him.) He has a Ph.D in physics (which honestly makes my brain hurt) and has always approached the world from a place of logic and reason and proof. When I was five, he explained surface tension – in excruciating detail – when I made the mistake of asking about the ripples in my bathwater. But he has always been so much more than a scientist. He adores classical music, especially opera, and was an avid fiction reader. He could quote the first lines of all his favorite books, among them Rebecca and Scaramouche. My dad understood his bookish daughter.

Guest Post: Wicked as You Wish Official Dream Cast by Rin Chupeco + Giveaway!

Huge thank you to Rin Chupeco for being here today sharing the official dream cast for her new book, Wicked as You Wish!

Tala Warnock: Ylona Garcia

She is everything how I imagined Tala to look! Small and seemingly harmless, but very much kickass!

Alexei Tsarevich: George Shelley

I really believe that he has the range to pull off someone who’s both angry that the world has turned its back on him, and terrified that he might not be the good king people expect him to be, at the same time!

Meet the Characters of Below by Alexandria Warwick + Giveaway!

Welcome to my stop on the Below blog tour! The author, Alexandria Warwick, is here to share an inside look at the characters before you read the story.

Apaay

Apaay is a young Analak woman who wants nothing more than to earn the respect of her people and to lead the summer hunt. Apaay’s steadfast, determined nature allows her to face impossible odds in the quest to find her sister’s stolen face. There is nothing more important to her than family. Let it be known that her dad jokes are terrible.

Guest Post: A Guide to the Yokai in Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda + Giveaway!

Hi everyone! Courtney Alameda, co-author of SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS and monster enthusiast here! I’ve long said that the Japanese are among the best storytellers in the world; not only do they have the richest folklore, but they have an extensive monster bestiary that includes some of the most interesting creatures on Earth. SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS features a mere fraction of Japanese yokai, or monsters, and I’m here to introduce you to a few of my favorites.

Unlike many western monsters, Japanese yokai aren’t necessarily “good” nor “evil;” some, like kitsune, can even be benevolent. So break out your moral alignment charts, because here we go!

NEKOMATA: Of course I’m including a monster cat in this list! Nekomata like Oni-chan, Kira’s cat companion in SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS, are regular housecats for the most part . . . except these cats have two tails tipped in blue flames. When these cats transform from ordinary animals into supernatural yokai, their tails split down the center. Oh, and did I mention they can grow larger than tigers and occasionally like to eat human beings? No? (Art by MonMon Cats)

Force Me to Read… Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

After forcing me to read Scythe by Neal Shusterman in November, y’all sent me in a completey different direction in January with Daisy Jones & The Six. I was actually supposed to read it in December but thanks to both a reading and blogging slump it just didn’t happen.

Honestly, I was kind of hoping that any book except Daisy Jones would get picked because historical fiction is not my thing. When I said I would read whatever y’all told me to, though, I was serious – so I picked it up from my local library.

It’s time to force me to read another book! Elliott randomly chose these four from your suggestions. Now it’s time to vote for which one I’ll read in December!

See attached tweet for the books’ covers if you’re not sure what the titles are!

— mari 🤦🏻‍♀️ (@MusingsOfAGirl) November 23, 2019

I was apprehensive to say the least, but I tried to go into it with an open mind.