M.L. Desir's Blog, page 10

JuNoWriMo 2020 Day 3

I wrote 1,663 words today, in addition to, revising my query letter and redoing the first five pages. Lol. I know that I should . . .

. . .  but I just had this burning desire to make it better.

Red Sofa

This is a cautionary tale and must-read for authors. Fiduciary is the kind of relationship where an emphasis on a greater level of trust is essential between authors and their agents. And that is why authors and agents should be able to share their experiences. No one should suffer in silence. Thank you, Foz, for sharing your story. I’m so sorry this happened to you and hope that your work is picked up by loving, supportive hands.

shattersnipe: malcontent & rainbows

This is not a post I ever tho...

JuNoWriMo 2020 – Day 2

I completed 1009 words.

JuNoWriMo 2020 – Day 1

I completed 1826 words.

Arnold Lobel’s Picture Book, FABLES, Has Aged Well

Arnold Lobel’s illustrations have always been charming and the stories centered on anthropomorphic animal characters consistently possessed a quirky kind of wonderful. In 1980, his book FABLES, had won the Caldecott Medal as the best illustrated book. As a child, I was a voracious reader and a Master Bedtime Story Demander (thanks, Mom!) that I grew up to be a former elementary school teacher (2nd, 4th, and 5th grade)  and present-day middle school reading teacher. So, I guess it was inevitable ...

Remembering Kathy Change

Hello everyone. May blooms with many celebrations and remembrances. May is not only Mental Health Awareness Month, it also includes World Goth Day (May 22nd), Cinco de Mayo. Asian American and Pacific Islander Awareness Month also takes place in this month named for the Greek goddess Maia (Geek Show and Tell over).

My mother and I love sharing books. She recently gifted me with a copy of MELUS Ethnic Women Writers VI: The Journal of The Society for the Study of Mult-Ethnic Literature of the Uni...

Am I Your Beard?

This post is long, but it still didn’t sufficiently cover everything that needs to be said. Just needed to get some things off my chest.

NaNoWriMo in June is Coming Soon!

I’ve been a fan of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo abbreviation) for as long as I can remember. While exploring my local library in my early twenties, I had spotted Chris Baty’s guide to crafting a novel in 30 days, perfectly titled No Plot? No Problem? Intrigued and mildly skeptical, (30 days! — wow!) I checked out the book. I read his author biography and learned that he was the creator of November’s NaNoWriMo.

Since the early 2000s I have participated. Some years I have been successfu...

“Born Ya” by Judy Ann MacMillan: A Jamaican Painter’s Restless Life

An Analysis of The Many Faces of Ito

Netflix’s The Many Faces of Ito is based on a novel by Japanese author Asako Yuzuki called “Ito-Kun A to E”. To be fair, I believe that both male and female writers are capable of writing characters outside of their own experiences, provided that they put in the blood, sweat, and tears to write these kind of stories with empathy. That said, there are certain literary works — whether they be movies, novels, or graphic novels — that certain individuals write with such poignancy and intimacy that ...