#how to Add Authors in Wordpress

[anbuselvi1]

How to Add Author Box in GeneratePress Theme? (SEO Optimized)

Is it true that you are looking how to add creator confine GeneratePress subject? In this aide, I will show you bit by bit everything that expected to show the creator’s profile box on your blog. In the event that you are utilizing the GeneratePress topic in your blog, I think you have pursued an extraordinary choice. As of now, I’m likewise utilizing GeneratePress Premium Subject on this blog…

[copperbadge]

Howdy! I am considering submitting manuscripts I've written to a publisher or possibly self publishing. The publisher states on their website that authors must maintain an active social media presence. I'm not normally a social media type, Tumblr is my only one. What would you reccommend for such? Is it worth it to pay someone to make a website for me? Thanks and many virtual kisses for Dot and Deebs!

Honestly, I haven't submitted to a publisher since before a lot of modern social media existed. :D

It is my understanding, but this is secondhand information, that publishers want you to have either a twitter or a tiktok, preferably both, where you're frequently active and have a high follower count, because they want you to be able to publicize your book on it. One of many reasons I don't even consider trad publishing anymore is that I don't want to spend a significant chunk of my time filming videos for the sole purpose of hawking my books.

Now, as I said, that's an inference I've drawn; you may want to speak to someone who has been trad published recently to get the inside scoop (readers if you work in publishing or have been published recently, feel free to add commentary; remember to comment or reblogs, as I don't repost asks sent in response to other asks). I do have an author website but I built my own; I don't know what the going rate is for paying someone to build one these days but most website platforms are pretty intuitive to use -- I built mine on Wordpress and I'm building a new one on Wix currently, and at this point both are very drag-and-drop oriented. I do think a website is a good thing for an author to have, but I wouldn't pay someone to build one for you until you've taken a swing at DIY and decided it's not where you want to spend your time and energy.

In terms of self-publishing, the good news is that none of the rules apply; this is also the bad news. :D Because the thing about selfpub is that you either pay or DIY for...everything. It can be very inexpensive; when I publish a book the only direct monetary cost is what I pay for an ISBN and a proof copy of the book, which I will make back in the first 10 sales or so. However, I am "paying" in man hours in terms of typesetting, cover design, uploading the PDFs to lulu.com, proofing the initial copy, correcting the proof and reuploading (which usually involves further typesetting), and of course all the publicity -- website design and redesign, copywriting, tumblr posting. And while my profit per copy sold is well above what most authors with traditional publishers will make, that's because the publisher is doing a lot of the work for you. And, because I don't have an active twitter or tiktok or a publisher, my books are not very widely publicized. Undoubtedly I sell fewer copies than I would if I had a robust twitter following, but catch me touching that rancid wasteland without inch-thick gloves on.

So -- I think it's probably pretty important to understand that I have deliberately rejected trad publishing for good but not lucrative reasons, and I'm considered at best an iconoclast and more commonly a crank for having done so. If you can go the tradpub route, I would, but I also wouldn't put any money you're not prepared to write off as a loss into that pursuit. Definitely I would see if there's anyone in the industry you can reach out to who can answer these questions with a more thorough understanding of what publishers look for in an author and how to go about achieving that than I possess.

In any case, good luck! It's a journey regardless and I hope you enjoy your time on the path wherever you end up. And I'll give the cryptids a special cuddle for ya.

[wingsoverlagos]

Lewisohn vs. Preston

I've begun posting some additional Tune In citation comparisons on actual hellsite WordPress. I've been using it for a few days, and we have already built a deep animosity between us - it eats my posts, in whole or in part, and finding a simple, readable layout was a chore - but now there is a place to view my source comparisons without scrolling through twelve pictures of Paul McCartney circa 1974, which might be a plus to some people.

It also allows me to document many of the noteworthy but not terrifially unique Lewi-sins I've found without clogging up the dash for my dear followers. I'll continue to share highlights and anlysis here, plus an occasional round-up of anything that isn't crossposted, but this should save you some tedium.

I have brought a highlight to offer you today: Lewisohn's adaptation of Billy Preston's piece in Memories of John Lennon (2005).

Memories of John Lennon (2005) is a collection of short pieces about John Lennon, primarily by people who knew him. I say “primarily”, because Mark Lewisohn himself also has a piece in this collection! Unsatisfied with his own Lennon memorial, Lewisohn decided Billy Preston's words needed substantial edits.

Tune In 34-4 vs. Billy Preston

In Tune In:

In Memories of John Lennon (p.219-220):

This quote is altered extensively, though the meaning is more or less preserved. I’ve highlighted in yellow the parts Lewisohn quotes, and marked in red any additional changes Lewisohn made to the quotes text. There are several omissions – one a full paragraph long – that are unmarked.

The only marked change is the bracketed “[the Beatles]”, and even this isn’t done correctly. Lewisohn writes, “I made sure they [the Beatles] were well fed and watered,” indicating that “they” is the term used in the orginal source. Not so. Preston’s original piece reads, “I made sure that the soon-to-be Fab Four were well fed and watered.” There’s no “they” in the quote – Lewisohn introduces ambiguity with his own rephrasing, and then adds a bracketed “correction” as if it’s Preston’s words that lack clarity.

It’s particularly galling to me that Lewisohn found the need to extensively rephrase Billy Preston’s own recollections of a departed friend. Preston’s memories about John don’t meet whatever benchmark Lewisohn uses, so he alters them – Lewisohn never knew John Lennon himself, but he’s the authority on how his friends and colleagues should remember him.

Sources:

Lewisohn M. 2013. The Beatles: All These Years Vol. 1: Tune In. New York (NY): Crown Archetype. [ebook]

Ono Y [editor]. 2005. Memories of John Lennon. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. [ebook]

[duckprintspress]

Meet Aether Beyond the Binary Contributors Flore Picard and Alec J. Marsh

We are 57% of the way to our funding goal for AETHER BEYOND THE BINARY, with 19 days to go!! This awesome anthology featuring non-binary and genderqueer characters in aetherpunk settings has been in the works for a year, and we’re optimistic that we’ll reach our funding target so that we can publish the book as an e-book, trade paperback, and hardcover. Slow and steady, race winning, you know the deal. 😀 Things have definitely slowed down, as is normal for this stage of the campaign, so just a note that we’d always appreciate your help with spread the word about this project so that more people will know it exists! You can find our “main” posts about the campaign on different platforms using these links:

Bluesky

Dreamwidth

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Mastodon

Patreon (public post)

Pillowfort

Tiktok

Tumblr

WordPress

Thanks in advance!!

You can learn all about the campaign, the book, the merch, and the authors, by visiting our Kickstarter campaign page!

And, today we’re introducing two more contributing authors: Flore Picard and Alec J. Marsh!

The Light Organ by Flore Picard

About Flore Picard: I’m a linguist and translator who lives in France and I have been itching to write since I learned how to. I started writing (fan)fiction more regularly when I was procrastinating on my PhD dissertation, and I haven’t looked back since. I’m also an artist who loves drawing both fanart and original art, and I have a passion for patterns and systems, for the beauty at the edge of chaos and the complexity of being human. I tend to write about queer and disabled characters finding themselves and each other and learning to take up space in the world.

Links: Instagram | Twitter

This is Flore’s first publication with Duck Prints Press.

Title: The Light Organ

Tags: angst with a happy ending, capitalism is the real villain, coming out, disabled character, emotional hurt/comfort, family, fraught family dynamics, illusion, in the closet, magic use, mechanic, musician, non-binary, parenthood, present tense, science fiction with magic, teenager, third person limited point of view, transphobia (mentions of) (past)

Excerpt:

“No, no, no—the organ, the light ring—it’s all about the imagination, not the mechanics,” Kas exclaims, gesturing widely to encompass the aether pool behind the glass.

“I’m just here for the tubes,” the tech—Gilbert—says flatly.

His face betrays no emotions, not even annoyance. Kas almost wishes he would yell or be rude, if only for the sake of feeling like they’re having an actual conversation, but Gilbert has always been polite. He just never seems to care.

“Fine,” Kas gives up. “We’ve got glitches. They started about a week ago. It could be a leaking tube, I’m not sure.”

“What kind of glitches?”

“It’s as if… as if the story stops responding to me. I know how that sounds, but I swear that’s what happens. It doesn’t last more than a few seconds, but it’s getting worse. Earlier, I powered everything up to tune it and it kept flickering.”

“Flickering,” Gilbert repeats, mumbling into his neatly trimmed beard.

Kas grabs a cane in each hand and makes their way to the organ’s seat. “I can show you.”

You’re Gonna Get Older by Alec J. Marsh

About Alec J. Marsh: Alec lives in the Pacific Northwest, where they write romantic adult fantasy and self-indulgent fanfiction. They make candles inspired by their favorite characters.

Links: Etsy | Instagram | Twitter

Alec is one of the editors for Aether Beyond the Binary and has also published multiple titles with Duck Prints Press. His novella To Drive the Hundred Miles (modern, f/m, trans male lead) was recently successfully crowdfunded and orders fulfilled. His two erotica stories Heart’s Scaffold (sci-fi, m/m) and Study Hall (modern academia, m/m) are part of the Contributor Short Story Bundle add-on.

Title: You’re Gonna Get Older

Tags: arranged marriage, christian, coming of age, coming out, cults, fraught family dynamics, friends, in the closet, lesbian, midwest, misgendering, non-binary, north dakota, past tense, post-apocalyptic, relationship of convenience, religion, song fic, teenager, third person limited pov, trans man, trans woman, transphobia

Excerpt:

There was a radio in the room, an old two-way they had found on their last visit and hidden in an empty supply closet. It was still there. They slid open the battery pack and snapped in a fresh battery from their aether lantern. Chips of the meteor had been encased in metal tubing to mimic the lithium batteries of the Before, but they were precious and had to be used sparingly. Stardancer knew better than to use precious energy on something this frivolous.

They popped the battery cover in place and pressed the power button. It crackled to life. They cradled it like it was made from glass. The dials made a tak-tak-tak noise as Stardancer scrolled through channels. Music came through softly. It faded in and out, cut through with static, but it was music, and not the kind made on an acoustic guitar. They adjusted the antenna and turned up the volume.

It was like nothing they had heard before, fast paced with a heavy beat. Even over the fuzzy AM connection, it was invigorating. They wanted to dance. They wanted to sing along with words they had never heard before. The singer screamed their triumph, and Stardancer felt invincible.

There's no time like right now to become a backer and help us reach 100% funded! Check it out!

[whimsicaldragonette]

Blog Tour and Arc Review: The Lily of Ludgate Hill by Mimi Matthews

Order

Add to Goodreads

Publication Date: January 16, 2024

Welcome to The Lily of Ludgate Hill book tour with Berkley Publishing Group. (This blog tour post is also posted on my Wordpress book blog Whimsical Dragonette.)

Synopsis:

Lady Anne Deveril doesn’t spook easily. A woman of lofty social standing known for her glacial beauty and starchy opinions, she’s the unofficial leader of her small group of equestriennes. Since her mother’s devastating plunge into mourning six years ago, Anne voluntarily renounced any fanciful notions of love and marriage. And yet, when fate puts Anne back into the entirely too enticing path of Mr. Felix Hartford, she’s tempted to run…right into his arms. No one understands why Lady Anne withdrew into the shadows of society, Hart least of all. The youthful torch he once held for her has long since cooled. Or so he keeps telling himself. But now Anne needs a favor to help a friend. Hart will play along with her little ruse—on the condition that Anne attend a holiday house party at his grandfather’s country estate. No more mourning clothes. No more barriers. Only the two of them, unrequited feelings at last laid bare. Finally free to gallop out on her own, Anne makes the tantalizing discovery that beneath the roguish exterior of her not-so-white knight is a man with hidden depths, scorching passions—and a tender heart.

Author Bio:

USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning Victorian romances. Her novels have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, and Shelf Awareness, and her articles have been featured on the Victorian Web, the Journal of Victorian Culture, and in syndication at BUST Magazine. In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes a retired Andalusian dressage horse, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats. Learn more online at www.mimimatthews.com.

Author Photo Credit: Vicki Hahn

Rating: ★★★★

*My Review, Favorite Quotes, and Non-Exclusive Extract below the cut.

My Review:

I loved this. It was exactly the sort of banter-filled stubborn hero and heroine who are gone for each other but refuse to admit it story that I love. It's easily the best of the Belles of London series. Anne and Hartford are perfect for each other but it takes them a while to admit it. The only problem I had with it was that it was *extremely* predictable. I knew exactly how it was going to go from the beginning and there was no deviating from that. I actually stopped about 75% of the way through and checked goodreads to make sure I hadn't already read it before. I hadn't. And yet I had predicted every. single. thing that happened. It was like deja vu but more so. The last quarter unfolded exactly as I expected it to. I don't know if the foreshadowing was just really intense or what but that did lessen my enjoyment of the story. Aside from that, however, everything else was exactly as I like in a historical romance. I am curious about the next one, as well, after meeting who will obviously be the new wheelchair-bound, artist hero. I have high hopes because neither of those is something we typically get in a romance hero. *Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an early copy for review.

Favorite Quotes:

"I wish I were more eccentric," Anne declared, rousing her spirits to the cause. "I might have traveled to Yorkshire weeks ago and saved Julia from her fate."

Non-Exclusive Excerpt:

The twin fragrances of pipe smoke and parchment met her nose. Lemon polish, too, though there was no sign that the maids had done any recent tidying up. The library was a place of spectacular clutter. Bookcases lined three of the walls; leather-bound volumes on botany, agriculture, and natural history were pulled out at all angles as if an absent-minded researcher had wandered from shelf to shelf withdrawing tomes at random only to change his mind midway through extracting them. The fourth wall was entirely covered in framed sketches of flowers and greenery. Some images were produced in pencil and others in delicately rendered watercolor. They were-along with the teetering stacks of botanical journals and drooping maps that spilled over the sides of the earl's carved mahogany desk-evidence of his prevailing passion. Lord March's love of exotic plants was legendary. He'd spent much of his life traveling the globe, from the wilds of America to the highest peaks of the Himalayas, bringing back rare seeds to nurture into bloom. A distracted fellow at the best of times, but a kind one, too, as far as Anne recalled. It had been a long time since she'd darkened his doorstep. A lifetime, it felt like. She tugged restlessly at her black kid-leather gloves as she paced the worn carpet in front of the library's cavernous marble fireplace. She'd never excelled at waiting for unpleasantness to arrive. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long. "Hello, old thing." A familiar deep voice sounded from the library door. Anne spun around, her traitorous heart giving an involuntary leap in her breast. Mr. Felix Hartford stood in the entryway, one shoulder propped against the doorframe. Lord only knew how long he'd been observing her. She stiffened. After all these years, he still had the power to discompose her. Drat him. But she wouldn't permit her emotions to be thrown into chaos by his attractive face and figure. What cared she for his commanding height? His square-chiseled jaw? For the devilish glint in his sky-blue eyes? And devil he was. The very one she'd come here to see. "Hartford," she said. Her chin ticked up a notch in challenge. It was a reflex. There was no occasion on which they'd met during the course of the past several years that they hadn't engaged in verbal battle. This time, however, he made no attempt to engage her. He was dressed in plaid trousers and a loose-fitting black sack coat worn open to reveal the dark waistcoat beneath. A casual ensemble, made more so by the state of him. His clothes were vaguely rumpled, and so was his seal-brown hair. It fell over his brow, desperately in need of an application of pomade. There was an air of arrested preoccupation about him, as if he'd just returned from somewhere or was on his way to somewhere. As if he hadn't realized she was in the library and had come upon her quite by chance. An unnatural silence stretched between them, void of their typical barb-filled banter. Greetings dispensed with, Anne found herself at an unaccountable loss. More surprising still, so did Hartford. He remained frozen on the threshold, his usually humorous expression turned to stone on his handsome face. At length, he managed a smile. "I knew one day you'd walk through my door again. It only took you"-withdrawing his pocket watch from his waistcoat, he cast it a brief glance, brows lifting as if in astonishment at the time-"seven years to do it." She huffed. "It hasn't been seven years." "Six and half, then." Six years and five months, more like. It had been early December of 1855, during the Earl of March's holiday party. She'd been just shy of seventeen; young and naive and not formally out yet. Hartford had kissed her under a sprig of mistletoe in the gaslit servants' hallway outside the kitchens. And he'd proposed to her.

But Anne refused to think of the past. Never mind that, living in London, reminders of it were daily shoved under her nose. "You're not going to be difficult, are you?" she asked. "That depends." He strolled into the room. "To what do I owe your visit?" "Presumptuous, as always," she said. "For all you know, I'm here to see your grandfather." Hartford was the only child of the Earl of March's second son-the late (and much lamented) moralist Everett Hartford. Anne well remembered the man. He'd been as straitlaced and starchy as a vicar. Rather ironic, really, given his son's reputation for recklessness and irreverence. "My grandfather is in his greenhouse," Hartford said, "elbow deep in chicken manure. If it's him you've come to speak with, you're in for a long wait." She suppressed a grimace. There was no need for him to be crass. "Really, Hartford." "Really, my lady." He advanced into the room slowly, his genial expression doing little to mask the fact that he was a great towering male bearing down on her. "Why have you come?" Anne held her ground. She wasn't afraid of him. "I've come to ask a favor of you." His mouth curled up at one corner. "Better and better." He gestured to a stuffed settee upholstered in Gobelins tapestry. "Pray sit down."

Excerpted from The Lily of Ludgate Hill by Mimi Matthews Copyright © 2024 by Mimi Matthews. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

[ettawritesnstudies]

Stickers Masterlist!

(because I realized I didn't have a centralized version with image descriptions, big thank you to @mimzy-writing-online for reminding me to do this for accessibility and for writing most of these! All the titles in bold are also links to that sticker's purchase page on my kofi site!)

A Well Armed Author

Image ID: A glowing white cutlass sword surrounded by black swirls that almost resemble lightning, glowing old around the outline. The background is of a dark blue night sky. The sticker doesn't have any text.

Add it to the TBR

Image ID: A stack of five books with vibrant covers, and on their spines the stack reads "add it to the T B R." TBR stands for "To Be Read". The books are orange, then yellow, green, blue, and red. The background is purple and they sit on a brown wooden table.

Chekhov's Gun

Image ID: A cartoon hand holding a detailed handgun that is still smoking. The font says, "Checkov's Gun Leaves No Survivors" in black font with a background of blood spatters behind it.

"Research"

Image ID: A web browser with a purple background, as if in incognito mode. The search engine is called "Forbidden Knowledge" and in the search bar it says, "It's for 'research' I swear . . ." There are five open background tabs with different searches, listed as follows: Preserving mummies in space. Is embalming fluid flammable? Can you survive an autopsy? What if you microwave lava? How to build a trebuchet. There are bookmarks in the pinned bar for writing related websites, including: Behind The Name, Archive of Our Own, Pinterest, Tumblr, NaNoWriMo, Write or Die, and Wordpress

Figured Out and Red String Society

Image ID: Two variations on the same design. They have different black text on a white background with a pale green surrounding border covered in colorful post it notes with red string connecting them. The first one says “Don’t worry. I’ve got this whole thing figured out” The second one says "Proud Member of the Red String Society" and the last line of each is underlined in red.

Houseplants Version 1 and Houseplants Version 2

Image ID: The first sticker says "My houseplants are alive but my characters aren't" on a white square with a light brown boarder. Dainty branches of leaves are drawn around the border in different shades of green. This is Houseplants V1. The other sticker shares the same art style as the fifth but it says, "My house plants and my characters are dying." This is Houseplants V2

Editing Elixer and Plotting Potion

Image ID: The first sticker shows a bottle of red ink with a black feather quill pen dipped inside. The bottle is labeled “editing elixir." The second image is a bottle of blue ink labeled “plotting potion” with an off-white feather quill pen.

[brothersapart]

Can you give me some recommendations of g/t? I readed so much that I feel like I’m started to run out. Also I still can’t believe Oscar is older then bowman. When kiddo Sam meet kiddo Oscar and bowman. Bowman was like 5 year old or so and Oscar is like 8. I still can’t believe that.

Thx for your awesome work and how much you did for the g/t community. I Feels bad for asking a author twice

I never mind asks like this! And of course, everyone feel free to add your own recommendations, we all love some good g/t to read, whether it be old or new!

I often recommend Deanzilla and its sequel, but they also put out some short stories based in that universe that aren't as well known:

Frozen Memories

Sneezes

I find all of mamajamallama's stories to be bangers, personally.

Peacejojo is another writer from back before I started, and they had some fun supernatural g/t fics (and they were the ones who made most of the manips that got showcased in Deanzilla, an amazingly talented artist):

Trampled Underfoot

The Parting Gift

Now on to fics I found on Fanfiction.net, also mostly from before I started writing.

The Incredible Shrinking Sam (not to be confused with my own story, The Incredible Shrinking Winchester. I actually changed the name of mine so the two stories wouldn't be confused considering the nightmares I gave people)

World of Winchestercraft Do you like DND? Do you like Supernatural? How about a dash of g/t? Then this is the story for you! (Side note that this is an incomplete story and DO NOT send messages to the author begging for a continuation. Respect their decision to not continue)

WELCOME TO MY GARDEN

Control

A Supernatural Wonderland

Now we get to the Archive of Our Own fics, which definitely took me on an entire emotional rollercoaster:

A Study in Pocketlock

25c Pocket Guardian Angels (Destiel)

The Short Notice series, by story_monger:

Short Notice

Diminished Expectations

Small Victories

Coming Up Short

Big Developments

Little Angels (BIG time recommend, but there are very dark turns in the story, so beware)

Then I am, yes, the Bible that teaches you of freedom (If Supernatural had angels like NeonGenesis Evangelion)

What a list! And while going through stuff, I was a bit sad to see some other fics have been taken down, so those are lost to us.

You can also find links to all of the fanfiction people have written for Brothers Apart on my wordpress page. There's a ton of amazing stories in there as well!

As for Oscar and Bowman, I'm always entertained! Bowman is just a wee flit compared to the others in the supernatural crew, but remember Jacob is also just a wee babe in comparison as well! Sam and Dean would be doing a lot of babysitting whenever they run into the others at younger ages :)

Feel free to add any other fic recommendations to the bottom of this post!

[dkehoe]

Rue Siebert is a successful engineer at Kline, a promising bio-tech start-up. Her life is stable and secure until Kline is bought out and their very attractive front man comes in to evaluate the company. Eli Killgore and his partners want Kline, but since meeting Rue, Eli also wants her but she’s off limits, or she should be. Rue and Eli are faced with amazing chemistry and decide to have a secret affair with a deadline. The day the buy-out goes through. Ali Hazelwood’s novels typically run more towards a slow burn love story but Not In Love immediately introduces the heat and the flame just gets hotter as the story moves forward, never dimming. Not quite erotica, but the steamiest novel I’ve read in quite awhile. So, if you are leary of explicit scenes, especially in audio books, you may want to steer towards a paperback that you can skim through. This author has always done a great job at building up the tension in the two main characters, and because she’s taken away the ‘will they or won’t they’ build-up she supplies us with a really great subplot, the reason for Kline’s takeover. In an interview I read with the author, she described this novel as being full of “angst”. I’d certainly agree. Rue delves into this secret relationship with Eli, has constant regrets, and her friends don’t want her to have this relationship. Eli, too, has friends who don’t agree with his pursuit of Rue. Reading both character’s POV’s help the reader understand these characters and definitely adds to the emotional tension. I was thankful for Eli’s point of view because Rue comes off as kind of a cold character, hiding all of her wants and needs behind this cool persona. A facade she uses to protect herself from hurt. If I hadn’t been able to see how Eli viewed Rue, it may have been difficult to get past her walls and identify with her and like her. I truly enjoy these STEM romances by Hazelwood. She is now not the only one writing in this sub-sub genre, but I favor her style and look forward to seeing what aspects of real-life women she will write into her characters. Rue was a little more difficult to like, but I still appreciated her differences and loved how Eli viewed and was attracted to her character. Their love story was different, a little more antagonistic, and yes “angsty”, but I still enjoyed reading their story. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest! Click this link to purchase this book!* Not In Love Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved *Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

[meltotheany]

Goodreads | Amazon US | B&N | Blackwell’s | Bookshop “I dreamt myths larger than my girl body could hold.” such a heartfelt literary horror debut that i think i will hold inside me forever. i really did love this, and the writing is just completely out of this world. i cannot wait to see what this author does next, and just follow their career and stories forever. ren has loved mermaids and their stories for all her life, but when she is a small girl she also discovers her love and fascination for the water, and the escapism and transformation it can bring. She joins her school’s swim team and starts swimming competitively, and this story takes place in highschool when her life is consumed with being the best swimmer her body will allow her to be, despite being only human… for now. and we get to watch ren holding on to the identity of a girl, of a swimmer, of a child of immigrants, of being queer, and we get to also watch her become the mermaid she was always meant to be. chlorine is also a little bit of an epistolary novel, and we get to see letters being written to ren’s friend/love interest, cathy, where we get to see her perspective of the transformation of ren, while also being filled with longing. this just adds an extra dark tone to the novel, because the reader is reading these one sided letters of missing someone, while switching back and forth to the story and the direction of events that are playing out with Ren inside her mind. i feel like you probably shouldn’t know too much more before going in, but some other things in this novel that i really loved, despite being hard to read: talk of being a child of diaspora and how the american dream your elders came searching for can really be a nightmare. how doctors can be horrible and not actually care about their patients or their health, and how medical care you are choosing to get can still feel like a violation, and how these last two things can be so much bigger when you’re a queer nonwhite kid. how adults can push kids so far past their limits, yet still ignore all the signs that they are drowning. overall, i really did love this and sapphic asian stories about feeling like you’re from a completely different world are always going to tug on my heartstrings very hard and very deeply. (and if you need to hear it, you belong and your continuous transformation is beautiful.) i really recommend this debut if you are in a good head space with the trigger warnings. bonus: this author is army and wrote a really beautiful piece about their debut novel, inspiration, and bts (and i am very grateful to read this blue side story and gain hope.) – On BTS, Writing, and What Makes an Artist. bonus bonus: i wrote this entire review listening to come back to me by rm on repeat because bts are also one of my greatest inspirations in life. content warnings at the start of the book: racism, misogyny, self-harm, eating disorders, homophobia, depression, and sexual violence. additional trigger + content warnings i found while reading: blood, menstruation, scene getting an iud, talk of abortion, pregnancy scare, abandonment, child abuse, grooming, hospital setting, concussion, extreme headaches, car crash one sentence mention, anxiety, grief, pica, needles, talk of debt, abuse of medication, drinking, smoking, vomit, bad medical professionals and treatment, a lot of microaggressions from the love interest, and i just want to emphasize that there is a lot of talk of body image and a lot of food descriptions that are central themes in this book that go hand in hand with disordered eating. goodreads | instagram | youtube | kofi | spotify | amazon | wishlist

[heavymetalmagazine]

This is a pretty decent story with better art than writing. What’s really interesting is the monologue in the middle tier, where the man talks about how value adds meaning to things. Which is, oddly enough, sort of the point of NFTs – an attempt to commodify something that’s available to all. I mention this because Matthew Medney – the author of this work – is an avid NFT collector. And he gave…

[archivyrep]

She-Ra, Bow, and the archives: An "archivy situation," indeed

Lance and George show the Best Friend Squad (Bow, Adora, and Glimmer) First Ones artifacts

Recently, I published an article for ilovelibraries, a division of the American Library Association. In that article, I focused on the library themes in the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, noting how the season two finale of the show, "Reunion," focused around the two middle-aged Black librarians, George and Lance, who have a library in the Whispering Woods, who are the fathers of Bow. In that episode, Bow, Adora, and Glimmer work to translate a message, with Bow reluctantly revealing his true identity after Adora releases an elemental monster, with his dads accepting him for who he is. I also noted how in the season five episode, "Return to the Fright Zone," with Bow and Glimmer looking for George and Lance, who recount a rebellion against the first settlers of the planet, the First Ones, and as I noted, an "existence of a fail-safe for the superweapon in the planet’s core." This becomes important, with the information they provided helping the show's protagonists, especially Adora and Catra, setting the stage for the final episode's groundbreaking kiss between Adora and Catra, which saves the world and universe from being destroyed by the villainy of Horde Prime. Even saying this, there is a lot more going on in this episode, with some in the archival field have talked about it, noting archival themes.

Reprinted from my Wading Through the Cultural Stacks WordPress blog. Originally published on Aug. 13, 2020.

The first of these is by Metadata Specialist Kathleen Smith of Treasures from the Archives, the blog of Old Dominion University Libraries Special Collections & University Archives. She writes enthusiastically about the episode, "Reunion," stating that Adora and Glimmer find Bow "in the archives," where they learn about ancient pottery and unique artifacts. She also states that she loves this episode most of all because it features a library/archive which is "complete with artifacts and rare books." She further states that the artifacts on display inside reminds her of the ancient Cypriot pottery in ODU's Special Collections’ Dudley Cooper collection while stating that she likes seeing "libraries and archives being represented animatedly." While I appreciate her words, I don't think she is completely right here, when it comes to calling the family library that Bow's dads run an "archive." I would call it a library/museum with archival qualities, which I'll expand on in the next couple paragraphs, with Bow's dads as self-defined historians of the planet's first settlers. I know that galleries, libraries, archives, and museums are "four types of cultural institutions that share a collaborative relationship stemming from their similar missions," otherwise known as GLAM, but these are not the same. The UK National Archives explains how libraries and archives are different,

The books in a library are often secondary sources of information, whereas the records in an archive are primary sources. Archives provide first-hand information or evidence relating to historical events or figures. Library books are arranged by subject and author, whereas information in archives is arranged according to the person or organisation that created it. This means that you will probably need to look at records from more than one source, or more than one archive, as you gather information.

Additionally, the SAA adds that while librarians and archivists both preserve, collect, and make materials accessible, they differ in ways they use, arrange, and use materials in their collections, with materials in archival collections often irreplaceable and unique, while "libraries can usually obtain new copies of worn-out or lost books." The same page talks about the difference between historians and archivists:

These two professions have a longstanding partnership. The archivist identifies, preserves, and makes records accessible for use; the historian uses archival records for research.

On another page, the SAA states that libraries can be defined, generally as "collections of books and/or other print or nonprint materials organized and maintained for use," with patrons accessing materials either in person, through the internet, or checking out materials for home use, with libraries existing to "make their collections available to the people they serve." They add that while archives to make their collections accessible, they differ in the types of materials they hold and how those materials are accessed.

With this being said, I think it is clear that Bow's dads operate a library, and it is what the American Library Association (ALA) calls a special library, which serves "particular populations, such as the blind and physically handicapped, while others are dedicated to special collections." Adding to this, a special library provides specific information on a particular subject, serving a specific group, and delivering services to that group. [1] In the case of the library in She-Ra, its only patrons were George, Lance, presumably Bow, and Bow's 12 brothers, before Adora and Glimmer came along, and its collections focused specifically on artifacts of the First Ones. At the same time, this library has a museum within it, which the CLIR defines as a place that identifies, acquires, preserves, and exhibits objects, while also:

[Promoting] cultural, community, and familial identity and understanding...[providing] experiences where visitors can make connections between content and ideas...[serving] as memory institutions for a culture...support[s] formal and informal learning and research...[and serving] as focal points for communities and promote community interests

While the museum in the family library does promote identity and understanding, while allowing visitors can make connections "between content and ideas," supporting learning and research, I'm not sure it is serving as a memory institution "for a culture," or a focal point for communities, as its original patrons were very limited, as I noted earlier. As such, the situation is archivy, and I'll expand on that later.

This brings me to what Samantha Cross, the Pop Archives guru, writes about the episode, "Reunion," on her blog, POP Archives, stating that while it seems like a stretch when she first considered the episode when she "witnessed the beauty that is Bow's historian fathers," she wanted to talk about it. She began by summarizing the show, noting that Bow's fathers, historians "who have no idea that he's a soldier in the resistance against the Hoard." She adds that the home of Bow's fathers is a museum/library/archive of "documents, research, and artifacts devoted to the enigmatic ancient-yet-advanced society" of the First Ones, with these dads believing Adora and Bow are Bow's schoolmates at the Academy of Historical Enterprises (an academy Bow made up), giving them a tour of their home. She further notes that even though George and Lance are called historians automatically doesn't take them out of the archives because "there are plenty of archivists who are historians and have a degree in history or started with a history major before moving into archives." Even so, she laments that the home of George and Lance isn't defined as a "particular institution," but is less thought to be an archives when a "museum or a library presents a less complex visual representation." She closes by noting the purpose of introducing Bow's family while adding that you have to "squint and imagine George and Lance appraising, selecting, arranging, and describing their First Ones collection," although she says she would enjoy seeing their "lavish history-based home in a future episode." And see that we do!

In the show’s last season, Bow’s family library makes an appearance in the episode, “Return in the Fright Zone.” In this episode, Bow and Glimmer teleport into the library to check up on his dads. The place has been abandoned and is a wreck. Thanks to a note left behind, both teleport to the Crystal Castle ruins, and find his dads there. Both recount their discoveries: an ancient rebellion against the planet’s first settlers and the existence of a fail-safe for the superweapon in the planet’s core. This information becomes vitally important in the effort by Adora, Catra, and her friends to save the world (and universe) from destruction.

Library as first seen in the episode "Reunion"

All of this begs the question: is Bow's family home a library, archives, or a museum? The fact it is basically a combination of three, it's kinda library-archives-museum hybrid, specifically a special library with a museum within and having archival qualities. This is much better than Star Wars which badly merged a library into an archives with a good number of stereotypes. Without a doubt, it is a positive depiction of libraries in animation, beginning when Glimmer and Adora entering the library unannounced at the beginning of the episode. We know that Bow's dads are academic in a sense as they are impressed by Bow going to an academy, even though it is a made-up one, and the majors his friends supposedly had. Later in the episode, George and Lance still help Adora, Glimmer, and Bow figure out a message, using a library projector, recognize it is a constellation, and where the message is being broadcast from. Of course, they both caution them to not travel there, but you can tell that they will go there anyway (as predicted in my friend's fan fiction), which happens at the beginning of Season 3.

Apart from this, I'd like to say that one of my favorite lines of the episode is uttered by Glimmer, who tells Adora "we have to find Bow and get him out of this...uh...library?" as is Adora's line about being scholars. I thought it was interesting that Glimmer is hurt by the deception from Bow, who claims she doesn't "know him" anymore, even though she misses the hints about where he came from, as Bow tells Adora in the show's second episode, "...I'm starting to get a little freaked out. I mean, I pretty much grew up in these woods and I've never even seen this part of them. I've heard of stories about weird stuff out here." Apart from saying all this, it is clear that Bow's home is, more than anything else, a giant and beautiful library, with its introduction which is proceeded by music trying to make it seem magical. It seems to be a welcoming place, where you can be offered food and drink, and full of knowledge. I also enjoyed how Adora aids Bow’s dads in translating a message as part of their three-person “Best Research Squad,” and she accidentally releases an elemental monster, causing havoc in the library.

Finally, my good friend broached this subject in a fan fiction, "The Library of the Whispering Woods,"  noting it had the "largest collection of artifacts and writings of the First Ones in all Etheria," and described it as "open to visitors and researchers." As my good friend envisioned it, this library had an open public access catalog (OPAC) allowing users to easily find relevant items and searchable, along with having many resources available so that people could continue their "quest for knowledge." This included video archives, various exhibits and rooms, and various processes in place to review their diverse and inclusive collections. My friend envisioned that Bow's dads were interested in the "open exchange of knowledge" in this special library with features which would be "befitting of an archives," with one of them even doing an oral history interview with one of the characters. This showed that this library was a "magical space with never-ending potential and promise" while it was also "a repository of knowledge which could help them all find answers." The library gave "them enough of an answer to move on to the next part of their quest."

To conclude this article, I tend to see Bow's family home as more a library than anything else, which is why, in the first version of the article I submitted to ilovelibraries, I called it a library/museum, although that was changed to a library in the published edition. There are undoubtedly archival qualities of the family library in the Whispering Woods, so it is understandable some in the field would see it as an archives. I would end by saying, from my analysis, the home itself is a special library with a museum, meaning that there are archival elements.

© 2022 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] Shumaker, David. "Special Libraries." In Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, third edition, 4966-4974. New York: Taylor and Francis, 2011; Mount, Ellis, and Renée Massoud. Special Libraries and Information Centers: An Introductory Text. Fourth edition. Washington, DC: SLA Publishing, 1999.

[ecommerce-yourguide]

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[rppr-podcast]

What RPGs can learn from Board Games - Episode 196

Push your luck, bluffing, and auction mechanics in RPGs? Hell yeah! Guest James Wallis and I explore how these board game mechanics can add richness and risk to RPGs beyond simple dice rolls

In this episode, James Wallis, co-host of Ludonarrative Dissidents podcast and author of “Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made,” and I talk about what RPG designers can learn from board games. We talked about the history and influence of board games, the challenges of playtesting RPGs, and how incorporating board game mechanics can benefit RPG design. We also have…

[thewramblingwebcomicreview]

I'm sorry, random internet person, that's going to be a "no" from me. It is my right to criticize and critique what I want. When doing so I try to be somewhat respectful, but I'm going to call out what I don't like, or what doesn't make sense. It's nice to know my work interests people.

Thanks for the feedback! (If I could offer my own, punctuation goes a long way.)

**Edit**

I'm also going to add as a general statement I'm amused it took this long to get a "don't like it, stop reading it!" comment after three years on WordPress and a year on Tumblr. I won't be posting any more of these critical comments on this blog (unless they have something really insightful to add), but I will reply.

I can honestly say as bad as Home is, it's not the worst piece of media I've consumed. It doesn't bother me much, even with all the horrible stereotypes, the lack of a coherent plot, and characters that change personality on a dime. It's more of an amusing train wreck of a story. And I'm interested in how this mess ends. The author has a sequel planned and I won't be sticking around for that. I can only stick around for so much disappointment especially after Asmundr was so enjoyable. (Flawed, but enjoyable.)

So don't worry Kique fans, as soon as Home is done, I won't be covering any of his work again. 😉

[rajubhadra]

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[whimsicaldragonette]

Blog Tour: The Bump by Sidney Karger

Order

Add to Goodreads

Publication Date: June 1, 2024

Welcome to The Bump Blog Tour with Berkley Publishing Group. (This Blog Tour post is also posted on my Wordpress book blog Whimsical Dragonette.)

Synopsis:

Two men expecting a baby via surrogate go on the road trip of a lifetime in this hilarious and poignant novel by Sidney Karger, author of Best Men. Wyatt Wallace is a practical, super organized director of TV commercials. Biz Petterelli is a child-actor-turned-magazine-writer who thrives on spontaneity. Though polar opposites, they are fully committed to their relationship and their life in Brooklyn with their dog, Matilda. They’re also about to have a baby together. And they’re freaking out. They’ve both dreamed of becoming parents, but now that it’s happening, they’re doubting everything. Their baby is due in a few weeks and instead of flying to California just before the birth as planned, Biz has a better idea. They could use one last hurrah, along with some serious “us-time” to mend the issues they’ve been having lately—before they get tied down by fatherhood and its impending responsibilities. So the daddies-to-be load up their 1992 Volkswagen Cabriolet and embark on an epic cross-country babymoon. They attempt to recharge at the beach in Provincetown, stumble through their impromptu baby shower in Chicago, and endure a Star Wars -themed wedding in Colorado before heading west for the baby.   But when they take several unexpected detours, old wounds are reopened and secrets spill out that could change their relationship for better or for worse, forcing the couple to reexamine the meaning of family while building their own. After all, what’s a road trip without a few bumps along the way?

My Rating: ★★★

*My Review below the cut.

My Review:

This was good, if a bit over the top for me. It was campy in a way that just doesn't appeal to me because it didn't really feel authentic and I could never get behind the characters 100% even though I did find many parts amusing.

What I really did appreciate was the topic. Road trip? Been done. Two men on a save the relationship road trip to reconnect before their baby is delivered? I haven't seen that before. If it had been slightly less over-the-top and I'd found the characters more relatable, I would have absolutely loved it.

As it was clearly intended to be a humorous and somewhat campy road trip, the situations and characters encountered, including Wyatt and Biz's family members and friends, were all over the top to the point that they felt like stereotypes. But then sometimes they would break through the stereotype and feel more real, and that I did enjoy.

It was told in alternating POV style, but for some reason whenever we were in Wyatt's POV and Biz said something, the dialogue tag would be Wyatt saying how Biz felt about it. The same happened in Biz's POV when Wyatt spoke. It was really strange and kept taking me out of the story because it didn't make sense for the characters to know what the other person was thinking, so maybe it was all assumptions? But it happened just about every time anything was said.

Wyatt and Biz also argued and were resentful and childish toward one another for the entire book. I was hoping they'd work things out, and a couple times thought they might, and then they'd revert to sniping at each other. It didn't give me a whole lot of confidence about their ability to handle actually raising a child together. The way it's told it's as if seeing the baby delivered magically fixes everything, cue the adorable 6 years later epilogue.

I liked it enough to continue to read the whole book, however, and I think it will appeal to a lot of people. Especially those who enjoy campy over the top humor.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an early copy for review.