After the meal of....
BLACK DEPTHS: YA Books, YA book reviews, crafts and creativity
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Monday, February 22, 2016
What I'm Reading: Apple and Rain
A YA Book Review
Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan
This is on I borrowed from my ebook Library. I liked the simple cover and the refreshing title but didn't really know what it was about. I was guessing love story, but that was more or less wrong (though there was a little bit of love). Mostly it's about Apple finding her place in the world when her Mom returns after abandoning her as a child.
I really liked this book. I thought the character of Apple was well done, and that of the Mother and Rain. I did think that the Grandmother could have been given a bit more motivation. But overall, a caring and heartwarming coming of age story. Beautifully written and very entertaining. The main character is only 14, so it falls into a bit of a lower age category, but I think any teen would really enjoy living through this characters struggle with self.
4/5 Stars (I really need to come up with some cool pictures for my rating system).
Have you read this book? What did you think?
Other Book Reviews:
J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, and Black Depths, the first two books of the series can be found on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The third book, Dark Shores, will be released March 28th, 2016. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series will be released by the end of 2016.
Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan
This is on I borrowed from my ebook Library. I liked the simple cover and the refreshing title but didn't really know what it was about. I was guessing love story, but that was more or less wrong (though there was a little bit of love). Mostly it's about Apple finding her place in the world when her Mom returns after abandoning her as a child.
I really liked this book. I thought the character of Apple was well done, and that of the Mother and Rain. I did think that the Grandmother could have been given a bit more motivation. But overall, a caring and heartwarming coming of age story. Beautifully written and very entertaining. The main character is only 14, so it falls into a bit of a lower age category, but I think any teen would really enjoy living through this characters struggle with self.
4/5 Stars (I really need to come up with some cool pictures for my rating system).
Have you read this book? What did you think?
Other Book Reviews:
J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, and Black Depths, the first two books of the series can be found on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The third book, Dark Shores, will be released March 28th, 2016. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series will be released by the end of 2016.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Upcycled Notebooks - Design Your Own
So last week I did a post about making your own bookmarks. Following up on that, and using the same skill and cheap materials, I though I would do a post about covering your own notebooks.
It's no secret that I love fancy journals. I own more than I'm currently using. There are stacks of blank journals on the shelves of my office and a list in my notebook of the ones I want to buy when I have money. But what I used to do, back when I was poor high school student, was design my own. And since this is the year of being frugal, I decided to go back to this. Not only does it save me some much needed cash, which I will need if I ever want to quit my job and write full time, it's fun and a great outlet for my creativity.
To get started, you need some cheap notebooks. You can pick them up at the dollar store or Walmart or your corner store. They are ugly - don't worry about that part cause we're going to rectify it. You also need the same materials we used last week: gluestick, scissors, packing tape, and old magazines or newspapers.
The first step is to find an image you like. Cut the size and shape to add that of your notebook. Secure it by using a glue stick, and then put stripes across the front to protect the image and make your notebook cover somewhat water/coffee proof (this is also a bonus).
You can also take a plain piece of paper and write some inspirational words or poems and attach that to your notebook, as I did on the back side of the notebook. in the picture below, you can see come of my older designs. Including one I did a couple years of ago to make a travellers notebook for my trip to Iceland. I loved having this themed notebook with me on my travels. The one on the left was my first reading log—the notebook I used to keep track of all the books I read before GoodReads became a big thing. I still keep track of all the books I read in a notebook, even though I also use GoodReads. It's a bit of double entry, but what can I say, I love writing. Happy notebook making!
J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, and Black Depths, the first two books of the series can be found on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The third book, Dark Shores, will be release March 28th, 2016. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series will be release by the end of 2016.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Thursday, February 11, 2016
What I'm Reading: Undertow by Michael Buckley
YA Book Review: Undertow by Michael Buckley
My latest read was Undertow by Michael Buckley. This young-adult distopian adventure reminded me of my own book, Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, in the sense that it revolves around sea-creatures.
Undertow follows the story of Lyric Walker, who lives on a Coney Island in a future where a bunch of sea-creature refugees have moved onto the beach. This book was very well written, and very action-adventurey, as I'm pretty sure everyone has come to expect from a teen distopian novel. Now, what I loved about this book was the writing, the pacing, and the friendship between Lyric and Bex, I thought that was marvellously done. What I didn't like, was the all the despair.
This is a distopian world where everyone seems to hate the refugees. There seems to be very little sympathy, understanding, or even curiosity about the new arrivals. Everyone just wants them gone. This got me a little down, because I don't want to think that humans are like this. I would like to think that if a bunch of sea-creatures suddenly walked out of the ocean that people would try to make friends with them. I'm that kind of person.
The other thing I really wanted this book to have that it didn't was pictures. The creatures in this book were just out there, in terms of description, and at times I was confused about what creature looks like what, as the majority of them don't look particularly human. Plus, I just love books with pictures. (Miss. Peregrine's anyone?)
Still, even with the despair and hatred and violence, which there was a lot of in this book, it was a good, solid read. I'm not obsessed with it, but I really liked it, and I will read the next book.
4/5 Stars.
Other Book Reviews:
J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, and Black Depths, the first two books of the series can be found on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The third book, Dark Shores, will be release March 28th, 2016. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series will be release by the end of 2016.
My latest read was Undertow by Michael Buckley. This young-adult distopian adventure reminded me of my own book, Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, in the sense that it revolves around sea-creatures.
Undertow follows the story of Lyric Walker, who lives on a Coney Island in a future where a bunch of sea-creature refugees have moved onto the beach. This book was very well written, and very action-adventurey, as I'm pretty sure everyone has come to expect from a teen distopian novel. Now, what I loved about this book was the writing, the pacing, and the friendship between Lyric and Bex, I thought that was marvellously done. What I didn't like, was the all the despair.
This is a distopian world where everyone seems to hate the refugees. There seems to be very little sympathy, understanding, or even curiosity about the new arrivals. Everyone just wants them gone. This got me a little down, because I don't want to think that humans are like this. I would like to think that if a bunch of sea-creatures suddenly walked out of the ocean that people would try to make friends with them. I'm that kind of person.
The other thing I really wanted this book to have that it didn't was pictures. The creatures in this book were just out there, in terms of description, and at times I was confused about what creature looks like what, as the majority of them don't look particularly human. Plus, I just love books with pictures. (Miss. Peregrine's anyone?)
Still, even with the despair and hatred and violence, which there was a lot of in this book, it was a good, solid read. I'm not obsessed with it, but I really liked it, and I will read the next book.
4/5 Stars.
Other Book Reviews:
J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, and Black Depths, the first two books of the series can be found on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The third book, Dark Shores, will be release March 28th, 2016. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series will be release by the end of 2016.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
What's Up Wednesday
I haven't updated in a while, and today feels like a good day to do that. I've been working hard on getting Dark Shores together. The first draft is done and now I'm working on a rewrite. There are some great things happening for Nessa, and some not so great things (but great for the reader!). Dark Shores, the third book in my Black Depths series is going to be full of adventure and very fast moving. Look for it March 28th!
Meanwhile, I'm reading a lot, and should have some reviews up for you soon. My reading list is over a hundred books long right now. I've set my Goodreads goal this year at 40 books, and the app is telling me I'm currently one book behind. Good thing I booked a vacation to Vancouver in April then!
I've got a few more reviews for Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch on Amazon. Thanks to everyone who put the time in to let me and others know what you think of my book. Reviews are always welcome, even bad ones as that's one of the best ways to improve.
I've started a few new regular type features on the blog, mainly the picture quotes, which I've been having fun making. Do you have a favourite quote from Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch? If you do, let me know, and maybe I will feature it.
Meanwhile, here's a special bit of book spine poetry I composed for a contest a while back, and forget to enter. Oh well.
A tree grows in Brooklyn, in falling snow. Inside, the girl at midnight entwined the mist in the mirror, and the birds rained down.
Happy Reading.
J. E. Hunter
J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, and Black Depths, the first two books of the series can be found on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The third book, Dark Shores, will be release March 28th, 2016. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series will be release by the end of 2016.
Meanwhile, I'm reading a lot, and should have some reviews up for you soon. My reading list is over a hundred books long right now. I've set my Goodreads goal this year at 40 books, and the app is telling me I'm currently one book behind. Good thing I booked a vacation to Vancouver in April then!
I've got a few more reviews for Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch on Amazon. Thanks to everyone who put the time in to let me and others know what you think of my book. Reviews are always welcome, even bad ones as that's one of the best ways to improve.
I've started a few new regular type features on the blog, mainly the picture quotes, which I've been having fun making. Do you have a favourite quote from Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch? If you do, let me know, and maybe I will feature it.
Meanwhile, here's a special bit of book spine poetry I composed for a contest a while back, and forget to enter. Oh well.
A tree grows in Brooklyn, in falling snow. Inside, the girl at midnight entwined the mist in the mirror, and the birds rained down.
Happy Reading.
J. E. Hunter
J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, and Black Depths, the first two books of the series can be found on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The third book, Dark Shores, will be release March 28th, 2016. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series will be release by the end of 2016.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Upcycling - Make Your Own Bookmarks
I have a goal to be frugal this year. And I'm hoping that goal will spur my creativity. One of the first projects I've done is to make my own bookmarks. If you've been reading my posts for awhile, you will have seen the Bookmark Shadowbox post I did last year. Well, I happen to love bookmarks, but at 3-5 dollars a pop, I can't afford them in my new frugal life.
Step 3 - Glueing and Taping
First glue the pictures to the cardboard to keep them in black. Then cover with a single piece of packing tape, making care to carry the tape over the edge of the bookmark. Press the tape firmly to the bookmark. Flip the bookmark over and tape the other side so that the bookmark is fully encapsulated in the tape.
So I decided to make some. Not only is it a good up cycle project - something you can make for gifts, thank you's, and to even carry personnel messages - it's fun.
Step One - Supplies
For my bookmarks, I used a movie magazine - the ones you get free when you go to the theatre. You will also need clue, thin cardboard (like a used waffle box), scissors, and packing tape.
This is my cat 'helping'.
Step 2 - Cutting
Cut the cardboard to the size you want. Then cut pictures - or draw your own - that match the size of the cardboard.
Step 3 - Glueing and Taping
First glue the pictures to the cardboard to keep them in black. Then cover with a single piece of packing tape, making care to carry the tape over the edge of the bookmark. Press the tape firmly to the bookmark. Flip the bookmark over and tape the other side so that the bookmark is fully encapsulated in the tape.
Step 4 - Trimming
Trim the overhanging tape so that only a millimetre or two is left bordering the bookmark. Ta Da - you're done!
Here are some pictures of the fronts and backs of some bookmarks I made last week (fronts and backs). All of them already in use!
Join me next week when we upcycle notebooks!
Friday, February 5, 2016
Thursday, February 4, 2016
What I'm Doing: Colouring - Lost Ocean
Today I thought I would talk a bit about what I've been doing lately: colouring.
I bought this new colouring book, Lost Ocean. I thought it was a great idea to use it to get in the mood for working on my sea-themed Black Depths series. Instead, I've been colouring in bed while listening to season two of Serial.
It's been fun.
What I didn't realize about this book is that there are hidden objects, so as a bonus to colouring, you get to look for things like diamond rings, potion bottles, keys, and magic lamps. Here are a couple pictures of my book so far. It's taking me about an hour to colour a whole page. Maybe even longer depending how many colours I choose to use. By that time, my hands pretty sore, but my mind has had a nice, long break. And then I'm ready to write, or go to sleep, or both.
I bought this new colouring book, Lost Ocean. I thought it was a great idea to use it to get in the mood for working on my sea-themed Black Depths series. Instead, I've been colouring in bed while listening to season two of Serial.
It's been fun.
What I didn't realize about this book is that there are hidden objects, so as a bonus to colouring, you get to look for things like diamond rings, potion bottles, keys, and magic lamps. Here are a couple pictures of my book so far. It's taking me about an hour to colour a whole page. Maybe even longer depending how many colours I choose to use. By that time, my hands pretty sore, but my mind has had a nice, long break. And then I'm ready to write, or go to sleep, or both.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
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