The Anxious Author

   Episode 4: Beast Boy (Teen Titans), Kami Garcia Star Rating: 4,  Genre: Graphic Novel (chosen for hat color) and Science Fiction,  Age Level: YA... This was a pretty solid read and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, since Beast Boy is one of my least favorite characters. I like this take on him, though. Seeing a fresh makeover of his origin story is nice and I hope we get to see Tank and Stella in future stories. I’m also eager to see what Wilson an H.I.V.E. are up to.   Episode 5: Mismatch, Lovematch, Megan Derr Star Rating: 5,  Genre: Urban Fantasy, brief High Fantasy elements, and LGBTQ romance,  Age Level: YA... I went into this book expecting a cozy paranormal romance...what I found was much more. This went beyond that. Though it does have paranormal romance elements, this is an urban fantasy story with a high fantasy base. The author has had experience in multiple fantasy genres, including RPGs. I'm hoping she writes more books like this, because if so I'm about

 Shop Small Saturday: Episode 2 (It's late...sorry!!!!) Store: South Shore Scents Owner/Consultant: Beckie Logan Products purchased: Scentsy wax, buddies, scent circles, scent paks, Wall fans, Scentsy pods, travel tins, and car bars  Products Sold: All things Scentsy. Wax, warmers, fans, diffusers, buddies, clips, travel accessories, car accessories, and more. Video Website

  Episode 3: Girl Squads: 20 Female Friendships That Changed History Star Rating: 4,  Genre: Nonfiction/Women's Literature,  Age Level: YA+ (Most likely would be enjoyed by adults but suitable for anyone middle-grade and up)... This book is more of a 3.5 but I’ll round up. It’s easy to forget how far we’ve come as women when you’re a white woman in America. This book is a reminder of not only how far women as a whole have come but how far we still need to go. My favorite portion was the story about Ann Bonny and Mary Reed, but I weep for my Middle Eastern sisters. I knew from a former student that some women across the sea still have little rites, but I wasn’t aware just how bad it still is. I mean, when Trump was being elected President a woman was fighting for her right to play music? Wtf! That is sooo wrong.

  Shop Small Saturday: Episode 1 Store: Generation Apothecary Owner: C.J. Rose Products purchased: 2 Oil Rollers (cough and headache) and Palo Santo Incense.  Products Sold:  Herbs, Oils, Jewelry, Sage Bundles, Incense, Candles, Lip Balm, Roll -Ons and more Video   Website

 Hello, Souls, it's been a while. I apologize for that. I got out of the blogging mood but I'm trying to get back into it. My goals for this year (2024) include more blog posts, more nonfiction reading, and being mindful of my emotional state BEFORE I go into a spiral.      I've teamed up with two other authors - Patricia Bates and Brandi Gillilan - to bring you a unique book review experience. We're all crafters. We knit or crochet and for every book we read we will create an item (hat, scarf, etc...) to be donated to our local food banks. In December, all items will be donated in hopes of helping cloth those in need.      I will be doing mainly hats, but I'll do random scarves, dish rags, and scrubbers with my scrap yarn. All hats will be color-coded and I'll attach a "Handmade with Love" tag, as seen in the picture below:  I'll also do a video review of each book, which can be found on my TikTok and in the Soul Squad reader group. My plan is t

 Every author dreams of writing the next great novel. We want to write a story that stays with the reader long after it's over. We want it to crawl into their skin, seep into their bones, and completely penetrate their being, leaving their soul acheing for more and their mind blown wide open. We want to destroy our readers. All of us crave to see a five-star review pop up on our pages saying, "This book utterly wrecked me", but writing them is difficult.  As a writer, you cannot fully predict how your work will affect your reader. Sure, you have a general idea and you put a lot of work into picking the language you think will cause your reader to feel what you want them to, but ultimately what the reader feels isn't up to you. Readers will feel differently about books because of their personal lives. That's why we have trigger warnings and banned books. As a reader, in life, you will read many books- hundreds of books. Out of those hundreds, you will five-star rat