Jennifer M. Baldwin's Blog, page 12

Swords, Dragons, and the Iconography of Fantasy

I am in the midst of reforging my relationship with fantasy literature. As a youngster, I read a lot of fantasy but fell out of the habit until I hit college. In college, I rediscovered Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, as well as myth and folklore, but it wasn’t until I read G.R.R.M.’s Game of Thrones and […]

Work Is Hard When You’re in the First Trimester

Good news: I’m pregnant. Due in October. Bad news: I feel nauseated ALL THE TIME. The term “morning sickness” is very misleading. Very misleading indeed. I feel the worst in the evenings, actually. But mornings, afternoons, evenings — they all suck. Just constant stomach churning. It’s like being seasick 24/7, but without a way to […]

I Will Be Bad at Marketing

In my twenties, I used to belong to a forum called Tolkien Online. This was when the Peter Jackson LOTR movies were going strong. I had read LOTR twice while in college and became a total fangirl. My love for fantasy literature had been rekindled (see my life’s story for more on that). I loved […]

Revision Process, Phase 1

I’m in the midst of revising my second draft of The Thirteen Treasures of Britain. Confession time: I’m not going to pay a professional editor. The reason I’m not is because I can’t afford it. Perhaps in time, once I’m selling oodles of books a day, then I can hire a professional copy editor. For […]

2016: The Year of Re-Reads

I firmly believe that a good book is one you can read again and again. But unfortunately, I haven’t re-read any of my favorites for quite some time. I blame Goodreads, mostly, because it has me all caught up in its “Reading Challenge” thing, so I’ve only been reading new books for the past two […]

The Force Awakens Retells A New Hope (and that’s a good thing)

SPOILERS AHEAD First of all, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is good. I needed a second viewing to tell if it was truly good, or if it was just my Star Wars excitement that made it seem good. My second viewing confirmed it: the movie is very good. I was entertained and emotionally invested in […]

“Lightning in the Black Bottle” Conclusion (Post-NaNo)

This story was originally written as part of NaNoWriMo 2015. To read the complete story, go to the MISCELLANY section of this website. The Heron said nothing, and Jack had a wicked feeling that the stories weren’t true. This bird wasn’t anything special, just a strange creature that lived alone in an old forest. But […]

“Avalon Summer” Part 2 (Post-NaNo)

“You okay?” he asked. “I’m fine.” “You’re bleeding.” He looked really concerned, like he knew me and cared. “It doesn’t really hurt.” I wasn’t interested in letting him see me all bloodied and bruised. I wasn’t interested in letting him see me at all. What happened to just being able to forget about him? I […]