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Friday, May 31, 2013

My Future

Lately I've been getting hints from the universe that maybe editing isn't the field for me. I still really want to go into publishing, but this is making me look around to see what other aspects of publishing interests me. Right now I am thinking of doing more research into marketing, pr, and becoming a lit agent. These are all areas that intrigued me before, but now I may put more emphasis on researching those.

I also have been looking into the NYU Publishing Institute and the Columbia Publishing Center. Both of those programs are prestigious and hard to get into, but from what I understand, if you do get in, it is well worth the money. I have read so many interviews where people give those two programs the credit of helping them get a career in the field. This makes me want to apply to the program so bad. The problem is it is a year away and do I spend that time twiddling my thumbs then participate in the program or keep trying to get a job and maybe getting a job and not able to go to the program that (if accepted) I would have already paid a few hundred dollars for.

On the bright side of things, yesterday I started my second internship and it seems like I will be getting so much hands on experience. The skills I will be learning there will be invaluable to my future. I can't wait to really sink my teeth into this program. I already love the job and my boss.

For now though, I am going to try and network more and get my feet wet in the industry a little more.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Tackle It Tuesday: Another Week Gone

These past few weeks have seemed so busy for me. I've had finals, then my graduation ceremony, then the starting of my final summer classes. I feel like there has barely been time for me to rest my head. I have missed writing these posts. They are something I enjoy and I definitely need to make more time to devote to it, even when my plate is full.

Some good news though, I am starting a second internship this week. I was supposed to start today, but my manager e-mailed me saying she was going out of town last minute for business and needed to reschedule my training for Thursday.

Unlike my first internship, this one is in an academic setting. I will be working with the South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA). I will be helping to put together, then run the annual conference and helping with the copyediting of the program. I am really looking forward to it. There should be many skills that I will be learning first hand through this work.

On the topic of learning first hand, I have seen on a lot of job postings that knowledge of InDesign by Adobe is preferred. So in an effort to better myself (and increase my marketability) I am now teaching myself the software. It is surprisingly fun and if I was more artistically inclined, I would love to continue making book covers. As of now though, I am just making mockups of covers and the inside of books. I've already learned a lot.

I am still working on writing up reviews of books I've read and want to post them sometime soon. I'm not sure when exactly they will start showing up more, though. Speaking of which, I've started wondering and worrying that if I get an editing job I will no longer be able to review books, because it may seem like competition or something. I really enjoy reading and reviewing books and would hate to have to stop eventually. Does anyone know if my fears are legit? Or am I just being a worrywart?

I can't wait to talk to you guys through comments and my next post.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Nothing Much

I realize that right after I said I shouldn't be disappearing again, I disappeared. In my defense I have been in an intense class where I am stuffing a semester's worth of learning into one month. That month is coming to a close soon, but I do have two more classes and another internship that I am starting. I refuse to let that get in the way of my blogging though.

I actually really miss this. There are so many things happening that I have wanted to talk about. Amazon making fanfiction legit and my new internship with the South Atlantic Modern Language Association starting tomorrow.

I would tell you more about what is going on in my life, but I will save that for tomorrow's Tackle It Tuesday (which I am likely to write right now). And as soon as I get off my lazy but I am going to finish up several reviews I have in the works. I have read several great books in the past few months, so I look forward to sharing them with you.

Here is a gif just because I love you all:


Friday, May 10, 2013

Graduation

By time you read this, I will be sitting bored out of my mind at my major's graduation ceremony. That's right, I am having my major college graduation today. Though, truth be told, I will not technically be done with school. The way my school works is spring and summer graduates both walk in May. So while I do walk across the stage today, I will not be done with school until August. Also, today is just for my major. My official graduation will be tomorrow afternoon, before I celebrate by going to see The Great Gatsby and have dinner with my family and my best friend.

This is really exciting, yet nerve wracking. Only three more classes before I am a college graduate. I am searching high and low for a job in editing, but nothing is panning out so far. There is an annoying catch-22 with finding a job: no one want to hire you without experience, and no one wants to give you experience. So this leads me to applying for jobs that the advert says I am not qualified for. I am hoping that someone will over look the fact that I don't have much experience and hire me.

Until then I will be working away at school and searching high and low for a job, while spending my evening writing away at my (not-so) Great American Novel and doing these blog posts.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Tackle It Tuesday: So Very Busy

My goodness. It feels like it has been forever since I last wrote a blog post. Thankfully for now I have a few days of freedom before "graduation" and the start of summer classes. Why haven't I been around lately? Well first I was out of town with not internet service, then out of country with no internet service, plus during all that up until yesterday, I've been dealing with end-of-the-semster issues like papers and finals. I was so busy I ended up not having the time to finish Camp Nano or the April blogging challenge, though there were some great people I met from other blogs.

I am looking forward to this week of freedom; I have great plans for it. There are a few books I want to finish reading, some reviews I need to write, and working on my novels. Not sure when I am going to get all this done. It's Tuesday and I'm busy all day today, then I have my major's recognition ceremony Friday and the school wide graduation Saturday. Between then I need to buy my books for this Maymester. Oh goodness.

But I can almost promise I won't disappear for so long again. I have a huge TBR list so there should be some reviews coming soonish. These classes for the summer are reading intensive, but it's not four reading intensive classes like I had this semester (the pains of being an English major).

Thanks for bearing with me you guys.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Review: Forty Days






Title: Forty Days
Author: Stephanie Parent
Series: Neima's Ark (Book #1)
Pages: 128 (ebook)
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: February 10, 2013
Source: From author
Where to Buy: Barnes and Noble Amazon

Synopsis:  
The entire village knows Neima’s grandfather is a madman. For years the old man has prophesied that a great flood is coming, a flood disastrous enough to blot out the entire earth. He’s even built an enormous ark that he claims will allow his family to survive the deluge. But no one believes the ravings of a lunatic…

…until the rain starts. And doesn’t stop. Soon sixteen-year-old Neima finds her entire world transformed, her life and those of the people she loves in peril. Trapped on the ark with her grandfather Noah, the rest of her family, and a noisy, filthy, and hungry assortment of wild animals, will Neima find a way to survive?

With lions, tigers, and bears oh my, elephants and flamingos too, along with rivalries and betrayals, a mysterious stowaway, and perhaps even an unexpected romance, FORTY DAYS is not your grandfather’s Noah’s Ark story.

FORTY DAYS is approximately 45000 words, the length of a shorter novel, and is the first installment in a two-part epic story. It does contain a cliffhanger ending.

Readers looking for a traditional, religiously oriented version of the Noah’s Ark story should be warned that FORTY DAYS may not appeal to them. The novel will, however, appeal to lovers of apocalyptic fiction, historical fiction, and romance, as well as anyone who’s ever dreamed of having a baby elephant as a pet.


What I Thought:
Can I just say I LOVED this book. I saw the author ask for honest reviews on Twitter and I was intrigued by the novel's premise. To be honest, I was not sure I would enjoy the book. At one point, after having difficulty getting the book on my tablet (all my fault, nothing to do with the book or author), I entertained thoughts of giving up and not reading it. Boy am I glad I didn't do that. I actually ended up reading this entire novel in one sitting late one night even though I was bone tired and needed to get up the next morning.

Neima is the granddaughter of Noah, a firm believer in God in a world where there is no single god. Her and the rest of the family are shamed by Noah's crazy ideas of building an ark and filling it with animals in time for a great storm.

Stephanie Parent does a great job of pointing of things you may have never thought about before reading this book and weaving it interestingly into the story. Like how Noah is most likely going to only bring animals that he knows of from his part of the world. She also clearly did a lot of research into where the Noah's ark story likely happened and around what time period. That helped to make the story even more real to me.

The side characters are all unique and entertaining and I was sad when some of them, of course, died in the flood. There was one or two characters I hoped some how made it on the ark, though I knew how improbable that was.

This book if full of remarkable details and unforgettable characters. My only complaint is that I have to wait till later this summer for the next book in the duology. The book is short and, until I see the length of the next book, I am going to believe that they could have been combined. This is the only reason I am not giving the book a 5/5.


Rating: 4/5