Some Things Never Change

I realized something today. I have pretty much been the same person from the day I was born to the millisecond in time I spend finding the words to mean "right now."

I will still look at you funny if I don't know you.

I will still make a fuss if I'm hungry, but be totally silent if upset.

I still love stories and the people who tell them.

I still want to travel, learn languages, hit the lottery (and my backup plan is still to become an even more professional bum).

I'm still writing. I write stuff. But there's a pattern, you know, to what happens when I decide to be brave and share.

When I start sharing my words, I write more and more. I write chapter after chapter, notes upon notes, and I even want to blog.

I've been writing and sharing some stories. If you're interested in those stories, join me over at Storybird where I'm sharing something old that I keep going back to and something new, but bittersweet. Although I can't exactly say I'm "back from the dead," I am writing again. So you might hear from me more often than you have in the past year. That's for sure. Exciting things are happening for me. I'm moving to another country for a year, learning languages, and old enough to play the lotto. Plan A might be working out for me after all.

Plan B don't sound too bad, though, to be honest.

Soez.

Just keep swimming,
Deserae

An Announcement, A Challenge, and Another Thing Too

THE ANNOUNCEMENT
You know how My Ticket Elsewhere has been "under construction" for a billion years? Well, I just figured out what I want to do with it--- I've made it a book blog! If you're interested in being part of an online "book club," please check out this post like, now! We're going to start reading together in March, but I'm announcing the March Reading List this Sunday, so why not get a head start?

THE CHALLENGE
On Sonal's blog (hey, hey, sexy thang! Seriously, have you seen her blog? It's adorable. It made me want to start playing around with blog templates so go! Go check it out!) there's this twenty question survey and I've decided to take part in it. If you want to take part in it, too, do so! Then, leave the link to your responses in the comments so I can see what you guys said, too!

1. What was the first book you remember reading?
I know there were SEVERAL before this, but the book I equate to my being a "reader" is called URSULA'S UMBRELLA, so I'm going to have to go with that.

2. What book do you regret reading?
I am SO cool, I have yet to read a book (recreationally) that I didn't like. Because seriously, ya'll. If you don't like a book here's what you do:
Step 1: Decide you don't like it.
Step 2: Close the book and give it to someone who lives far, far away.
End of!

3. What's your favourite genre?
My favorite age group to read and write for is middle-grade, but my favorite genre is comedy and, while middle grade comedy is great, don't get me wrong!, YA humor is much easier to relate to know since my recent turn into adulthood (*dies*). 

4. If you could be any literary character, who would it be?
Elizabeth Bennett. Darcy? You are MINE.

5. What's your favourite series of books?
Because I live and BREATHE series, I will give you my top five in a very particular order.
5. The Mysterious Benedict Society.
4. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
3. The Series of Unfortunate Events.
2. The Chronicles of Narnia.
1. The Harry Potter Series.
*Note: Only one out of five of those are found in the YA section. WORD.

6. What book do you most want to read?
Right now? PERSUASION by Jane Austen. Everybody y sus madres has PERSUASION in their possession. What am I missing?! I CAN'T BE LEFT OUT, YA'LL!!!

7. What was your favourite book when you were younger?
How young? When I was a toddler, young, it was ARE YOU MY MOTHER? by Dr. Seuss. Then, when I started getting older, Narnia and Hogwarts fought desperately for my attention. 

8. Are there any books that you'd like to see made into movies?
I agree with Sonal that SISTERS RED would make a pretty intense flick. But the one book I've been dying to see made into a film is THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW which is the FIRST book of the Narnia series. Filmmakers everywhere continue to skip over this one. Why?! It's my favorite of the collection!

9. If you could date a literary character, who would it be?
Augustus Waters. Read THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and you will know why. 

10. Where's your favourite place to read?
The car. Yuuuupppp... Because I'm cool like that.

11. Do you have any signed books?
Lots.

12. What was the last book you read?
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS which I highly recommend as I'm reading it again this March.

13. What are you currently reading?
MAZEL for my Jewish Lit. class.

14. What fictional place do you wish was real?
Hogwarts. That's a given.

15. Have you ever disliked a book that a friend recommended to you?
Cop out answer: *shakes fist at sky* I don't HAVE friends! 

16. Are there any things that you're fussy about when it comes to books?
Too many to count, but as these are personal things I can't change, I find comfort in being able to whinge about them to my sister via email (and then in a blog post if it's REALLY bad). 

17. Are you fussy about book covers?
Yes. I am one of those uppity schoolgirls who likes her book to look pretty (and have a connection to the material inside!). 

18. Do you read reviews on a book that you want to read before reading it?
Not purposely because I read reviews in order to see what I MIGHT want to read (rather than reading a review on a book I KNOW I want to read, which is different). I like to keep an open-ish mind about books, and I like to know what's out there. So I read reviews with the intention of staying informed.

19. What's the longest book you've read?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

20. Are there any books you own that you haven't got around to reading yet?
Have you seen my bookshelves?! I have a problem. I mean, sometimes I trick myself into THINKING I read some of the books, just to make myself feel less like a book hoarder.


THE OTHER THING
I've been having problems with Blogger today. I apologize, in advance, if there are links that take you to weird places or if some of the posts appear multiple times. Know that I'm not trying to spam you or anything--- honestly, I love you guys. It's Blogger that needs a severe scolding. 

Have a wonderful three-day weekend!
Deserae

Commenting on Comments

Sonal- You're right! It's never too late. Thank you for being my Valentine, Dear, and I am so glad you're going to read TFiOS soon! It's actually going to be the first book featured on the new Ticket Elsewhere. Perhaps, if you read it by March 5th, you could talk about it conmigo! :] And it's true!!! I DO like grandmas!!!! I just don't like LOOKING like one, that's the trouble. You should definitely feel comfy in your cute specks because mine--- oi vey! Glad to be of service, Love! And thanks for the survey! I enjoyed reading your responses and posting some of my own. :)

Monday Mayhem #4: Good Things are Happening

Do you ever wake up (especially on a Monday) thinking that today is going to be the worst day in the world, but when you actually get through it, you realize it wasn't as bad as it could've been?

Yeah. That's me today. In fact, I'm going to go as far as to say that today was actually nice. And that's mayhem! Especially since (as you can see) it's a Monday!

Aren't Mondays supposed to be horrible? Aren't they supposed to be like evil creatures from the heavens above?  Mondays, though, have been very kind to me lately. So maybe this is a sign that I shouldn't assume things are going to be horrible before I even give them a try. This goes for people, foods, events, and, now, Mondays.

But I also think this is a sign that good things are happening. I'm really big on signs, because they're fun to look for and meant to keep us hopeful or aware. So I feel like this the Lord's way of telling me that things are never as bad as they seem. And that maybe, they're getting better. And that maybe, they're getting--- good!

I feel like things are getting gooder than good. Real great-like, even. So now I want to spread some goodness to you guys. I'm going to gabble about a giveaway I heard about! And if I remember to, I'll do this more often.

Today's giveaway gabble is featured at PJ Hoover's blog Roots in Myth for a book called Glow.

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.


PJ Hoover is an Indie author who is being represented by the Andrea Brown Literary Agency's Laura Rennert. Her newest e-book, Solstice, is an ecclectic mix of dystopian and mythology so be sure to check her out, too, while you're over there. 

   

If you guys like the giveaway gabble, let me know and I'll keep doing it. Until later (because I might post again today! Yay for maybes and mights!)...

Love,

Deserae