The Crooked Pen

Author: The Author

  • My 7th Bloggiversary

    I was checking my blog stats the other day when I saw a little message pop up informing me that it was my 7th Bloggiversary Now, as someone who still thinks 2019 was a couple of months ago, this came as a real shock. Have I really been blogging for almost 10 years? What can […]

  • WWW Wednesday- May 11, 2022

    I’ve never done a WWW before so I thought I might give it a go. What are you currently reading? Dead Lake by Darcy Coates. Summary: Sam is excited to spend a week at her uncle’s remote lake cabin. It’s a chance for her to focus on her art without distractions: no neighbors, no phone, […]

  • Thoughts on “A Natural History Dragons” by Marie Brennan (Spoiler-Free)

    Summary: All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the […]

  • BLOG UPDATE, Or The Author Changes Her Mind

    In the year of our Lord 2022, I decided in March to start writing two blog posts a week; one on Tuesday and another on Thursday. Since then I’ve been relatively consistent about posting and have become more disciplined in the art of, you know, doing what I said I would do. However, I’ve decided […]

  • My TBR For 2022

    I failed miserably by not uploading a blog post last week, but I resolve to make up for it with a small one until I’m able to crank out this monster I’ve been meditating on all weekend. Summary: Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; […]

  • I Stopped Caring About Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Post

    In my middle-school and high school days, I was a huge fan of bands like Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco. Not only were the beats catchy and the lead singers ridiculously talented, the lyrics for the songs themselves were like puzzle-boxes to open. I spent an embarrassingly long time going over each […]

  • I Owe E-Reader Users An Apology

    I have a confession to make. As someone who is vocal about my opposition to literary snobbery—making fun of adult YA readers, claiming only certain genres are “literary”, etc—I must be honest. I am guilty of the same sort of pretentious douch-baggery that I so often criticize. For the longest time, I was incredibly snooty […]

  • W.I.P Novel Draft 2- Electric Avenue: The Emotional Stakes Are Higher

    Writing the first draft for a novel is hard. Writing the second draft is harder. As a notorious quitter with a graveyard of W.I.P.s on her laptop, I was surprised when I actually wound up completing the first draft of my passion project. Considering how often I become overwhelmed by the prospect of cramming all […]

  • POV: You’re The Bad Guy

    In our day-to day lives we play a role—small or large—in each other’s stories. Sometimes we are the comic relief, the best friend, the loving mother/father figure that espouses wisdom. Other times we have a less flattering role: We are the bad guy. To be the bad guy in someone’s narrative, you don’t necessarily need […]

  • Most Writing Advice is Bad

    I have had this blog several years and, in the early days of its evolution, I wrote “writing advice.” Yes, the girl who had yet to be published or showcase her writing on any sort of platform thought she would grace the world with her wisdom on writing. Since then, however, I’ve mostly shied away […]

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