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Awesome book, in case you were looking for a good read! 

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This Girl's Secret: A Terrifying Supernatural Thriller by Gregger My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a novel I read in its original format on Wattpad; after the author released it in hardcopy format, I was eager to get my hands on it. This Girl's Secret really is a book for people who like a variety of genres, with its primary genre resting in supernatural/thriller. There were a few bumpy spots in this one; I won't lie, in some places, it glossed over some important details that left me asking some important questions, but overall, this was an excellent work that was well-formatted and well-delivered. It's definitely more of the "serialized, divided" type rather than a book devised of longer chapters that spell on and on and on. But, I knew this going in given its history, where it came from, and the type of story it was destined to be from when I saw the first few chapters launch a while back. If you like a suspenseful murder story that's not overly in-depth to where you can't enjoy it, something with myriad plot twists and something that is certainly a conversation piece, this book might be for you. I'd caution you to the style of narrative weaving. Again, I can only stress how important it is to know how it was originally crafted and its intended audience; however, I don't think that detracts from the story it all. If anything, it provides a unique sort of lens with which to approach the enjoyment of stories. I was enamored with it when I first read it and am pleased as punch that I own a physical copy of the work now. It's also available in ebook format; since Goodreads didn't have the formats listed yet, I had to enter this lovely work manually, but I do want to let other readers know that there are other options available to them should they choose their ereader vs. paper format. View all my reviews

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Apologies

I’m so sorry for the static silence, guys. 

I’ve hit some major roadblocks in my creative process. 

It looks like I won’t be writing for a while. That does not mean a suspension forever, it just means that I’m going to be taking my time. 

My writing/account on Wattpad has been deleted as per my need to be more solitary in my pursuits. It’s gonna be a long time before I have anything out there, y’all. 

I’m still open to commissions if anyone asks; if things change, I’ll be sure to post more updates about my progress. 

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Sorry for the lack of updates. College is killing me. Have an excerpt ^^

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My co-MC, Death.

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Flashing cameras and tearful smiles slid past a red-curtained pathway of handshakes and soundless applause.

Eris Marriott, In the Light of Death

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My latest post on writing is more for those looking on how to understand the market in today’s creative world. Check it out! 

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Review of Shatter by Katlyn DeRouen

Shatter by Katlyn Derouen My rating: 4 of 5 stars Okay, my first instinct here is to be honest, as it's what I value in critiques/feedback I receive on my own work. Shatter is the first in a duology centering around a girl named Katherine who is living in the wake of her brother and best friend's death. The implications of tragedy and its ability to alter our ability to think logically, especially considering the first person narrative, are laid out very clearly and are certainly done justice for at least the first half of the book. I'll swipe aside the fact that I was irked by quite a few formatting/editing errors in there. If you're willing to look past those issues for a story that has some good substance to it, then it's a good read. The author could probably have spent more time wrapping things up in the end; it felt rather rushed and the logic is sort of thrust to the side at the conclusion of this story, which I won't spoil. I understand the intended effect that was supposed to be impressed upon the reader, but it still felt like much-needed exposition and clarification were brushed under the rug at the very end here. I do realize that there is more to come and a second book is in the works, but this was a bit more jarring in the tone that it ended. It left me with more questions than I was comfortable walking away with. That being said, I still give it four stars for the fact that it portrays a moving narrative of what it means to lose in the face of sudden, tragic death and how we talk ourselves into accepting abuse just for the sake of finding that sense of "normal" we've lost. That's hard to do, no less in first person, without getting caught up in emotional babble. It is for that reason, and the fact that the story still follows an understandable line of progression, that I offer it four stars. Could it have been better? Sure. But I also know this is the author's debut work (beyond her Wattpad experience) and that she put a lot of effort into creating something meaningful. For the fact that this was her first venture into publishing (self/traditional/otherwise) says a lot in the quality she was able to put forward alone. And it's certainly a story that got me thinking. There were gripping lines everywhere that, wait for the pun, shattered me just reading it. And what good is a story if it can't at least get you to feel something like that, which it did. I eagerly await the sequel to this one. It was a fun read and one that I snapped up once I found the time for it. Perhaps not the next Harry Potter, but something definitely worthwhile and meaningful. View all my reviews

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Read my latest post about how important it is for authors to build up their community network.

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Book Review #4

The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur My rating: 5 of 5 stars Rupi Kaur has done it again--this collection of poems is a breathtaking way of conveying the beauty and tragedy of life and the sacrifices of those before us that make us who we are today. The homages to her parents and ancestors are heartwarming and earth-shattering all in one. Making me cry is an easy feat, but stating things that leave me in a daze is something of note. I don't really have the time to read whole books in a day and, yet, this had me begging to come back page after page after page. The celebration of femininity and the focus on the importance and process of healing after a deep tragedy or even set of tragedies is a message that all can identify with, whether you're a female or not. I'm not one that reads poetry often, but this is a set of poems that tell stories beyond the few sentences Kaur pens to recount experience after experience and blinds you with the beauty of the way she pens them. I haven't much to say beyond this except that, if you haven't read this piece or Kaur's other critically acclaimed work Milk and Honey that you need to, or you'll be missing out. The messages in here are so important and have a powerful impact upon anyone who graces them. I feel blessed having walked away from this life with her works in my head and her reassurances of the importance of femininity, healing and self-care carefully stitched into my every thought. Like I said, whether your female or not or suffering or not, do yourself a favor and add this to your "To Read" list. You won't be disappointed. View all my reviews

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Excerpt from chapter 2 of In the Light of Death.

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Book Review #3

In Gray by Sara J Bernhardt My rating: 2 of 5 stars Okay, alright, I'll be frank here: I hate giving negative reviews. I despise the devil out of crushing dreams and pulling apart a craft that I hold near and dear to my heart. It tears me in half to have to do this, but it would be incorrect to give a false review that glorified something that I despised (and not for the content type, either. I am a lover of fantasy: high, urban or otherwise). In Gray is set up about the premise of a woman surviving a car crash to find that she is monochromatic colorblind and that her newfound premonitions can aid her in saving lives of those soon to be subjected to mortal peril. I was fine with this and was intrigued to see what the author could do with such a concept. But, from the beginning, I was turned off by a number of things. First off: sentence variety. Every sentence reads in a monotonous, textbook-style voice. I read it aloud to a friend to ensure it wasn't just me being tired or unfair in my determination of such a fact; she, unfortunately, agreed with me. Fantasy should not read like a "how to" technical book; I must say, this one was far more tiresome to read than a variety of the books that I've read throughout my educational career. And I study economics and find pleasure in reading case law. These supposedly boring fields with their even more "boring" language are more gripping to me and easy to immerse myself in than this book. Never you mind that the publisher opted to keep the font in Arial. I thought the first rule of novel formatting was to use a serif font--like Times New Roman or something to the effect. Whatever the actual standard, the font and sentence structure alone made for a painful read. That doesn't even begin to cover my issues with this book. From the beginning, you have plot point after plot point thrown at you without proper context. I don't mind first-person narratives (in fact, I often prefer them, depending on the style of novel), but this book also lacks any verifiable character motivation or proper contextual set up required to become invested in a character. There is only one real relationship of value in the beginning, and while I don't think relationships are vital to a story plot, this story needed something to make it substantive beyond some woman/author's stream of conscious review of what could have been a wonderful story. And, don't get me wrong, there is a good story beyond the awful coat of poor developmental, line or even copy editing. It's true--I found numerous grammatical and formatting issues everywhere, beyond total plot chaos. Stray apostrophes, periods, excess quotations, and errors of the like were completely missed by the author and editors in the case of this novel. Paired with the multiple plot points not being given proper introduction, the world-building was significantly lacking in this work. Now, granted, this would be urban fantasy so it's not quite as crucial to world build as in high fantasy; yet, giving the reader some idea of what the town the character lives in is like beyond "small" and "where everyone knows each other" is necessary. We only really get exposition about surroundings in a few scenes. In some places it's rushed and in other places, the book lags on and often over things that aren't important. It's review of emotional contexts and how they should be approached in response to tragedy are mediocre at best. Now, this isn't to say that this person who wrote this is a bad author. I don't want this review to shine negatively on the quality of their person or future works; in fact, this work (despite what the awful cover may denote) is traditionally published. The editors and formatters in this equation clearly gave no cares in the world as to the quality of the work they put out, nor the author's reputation. This book had a logical procession, but it really needed to be more than one book or fleshed out in a lot of places. Like, a lot a lot. I found myself tearing up with fear at what it might be if I were to be left in the hands of a publisher like this who did not give a darn about my work, but rather if they could put anything and everything on the market at all. This book needs a serious overhaul. The story is redeemable for many qualities and I feel I would have enjoyed it under different circumstances. I really do. But, when your book reads like a stream of conscious textbook with no emotional connection, it makes it very hard to continue or validate reading a work of this nature. Very, very hard. And I say that with much dismay. I don't think I ever want to open this book again, let alone dare to venture into a second book, as apparently, this is the first in a series. I am saddened while I write this. This was a book I wanted to hurl across several rooms. It left me hanging in places where it should have given more (quite often, and not in the good sense at all) and dying for the reprieve of a later chapter in several other places. It's not to say that others won't enjoy this novel; I'm sure many will. Its reviews on Amazon indicate that many did. But, like, I can't help but feel that those few reviews might be overshadowed by a cacophony of bad ones if the author or publisher doesn't take steps to do some serious edits to make this book better. Like, seriously. It makes me so sad writing this and I feel so bad. I don't like ragging on a book; I often like many books that others don't--even the ones that sound boring. I found Charles Dickens to be enthralling when many of my book-loving friends despised him. Other "boring" authors of the like have enticed me as well, both from a classical and modern sense. But, this book here was utterly disappointing. I could not immerse myself in it for the myriad errors and poor editing (all types in question) and that's saying something. And I hope the author won't take this the wrong way. Like I said, the story behind the massive confusion and formatting chaos was beautiful; had it been handled much differently this would have been a gushing review. The author's voice and prose, however, was completely drowned out by the fact that there was too much going on and then not enough. The worst part was that not even the appearance of the novel could make up for at least half of the mental torture I endured while trying and eventually succeeding at reading through this novel. I sincerely hope that future small-published books don't disappoint me like this. Is it worth a read? Maybe. But don't go into it with high expectations of a piece of literature to remember or cherish. Then again, you might find something entirely different about this work and might feel differently; I hope that you do. I hope that my assessment is completely off in its regard of what is actually a good novel, but sharing it with friends and asking them their opinions of passages or plot points that confused or irritated me corroborated my now sorely given opinion. I'm sorry I couldn't come back with a better review. Can the story be saved? Sure. But at this point, it is damned, in my mind, from the first sentence. View all my reviews

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You are More Important Than Your Goals

Hi friends, 

Sorry for the delay, but I just released my fifth “writing tip” blog post, though I must admit: this has more application than to just those who write. It is for anyone with a set of goals that they might feel like they failed to achieve. 

Check out my post on dealing with failure here. 

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An example of my writing: first paragraph of my WIP

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Reading Review #2

Hi all, 

I just finished reading my second book for 2018 (shocker I know) and I wanted to share with you the link to my second reading review so you all could get a sense of my thoughts on such a beautiful piece. Unsaid by Neil Abramson is a tear jerker worth every drop, and it certainly warranted the five stars I gave it.

Read my review here. 

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Now Open for Commissions

Hi all, 

I’ve decided to open myself up to commissions. Additionally, I have started a Patreon for those of you who might not know what to ask to commission me for but would be kind enough to support me in my creative endeavors. 

Also, ignore my goals ;-; They are definitely long term and asking for too much. The tiers are more accurate, they just asked that you put in so many goals and I want to make clear that I am in no way expecting that much and am grateful for any support. Whether you donate $1 or $200 a month, I appreciate you. 

Thank you all so much for any feedback and support that you offer. There will still be free excerpts and such associated with this account and there, I’m just trying to build up a savings account that will support me in my self-publishing endeavors as well as allow me to continue to write. 

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Reading Review #1

So, alongside my writing help, my blog will also include book reivews.

To start off, I figured I’d read The Golden Compass as a part of my goal to read 50 books in a year. Check it out and feel free to leave comments on what you think of my take away from the book.

 Read the first one here: http://erismarriott.blogspot.com/2018/01/review-golden-compass.html