Rachael Arsenault's Blog - Posts Tagged "recs"
May Wrap-Up: A Monstrous Comic, Purple Poetry, and Feminist Dissection
Sunshine! It’s finally starting to feel like summer, which makes me wish I could sit out and read on a breezy day. Alas, our yard doesn’t really have any nice reading spots, and I’m not healed enough to push the baby all the way to the park yet. But the dream is alive! For now, I’ll settle for pulling back the curtains and opening the windows.
What I’ve Enjoyed
Books
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
This book is such a gem. Great characters with incredible chemistry, A+ humour, and so much heart. I loved the disability rep, the male abuse victim rep, and the fact that both were still portrayed as whole, complex, and ultimately joyful people in spite of their hardships. Definitely a book I recommend checking out, though be aware that it does have smutty content.
Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening, Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood, Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
I’ve been devouring this comic and absolutely loving it. Maika is powerful and broken and badass and I love her dynamic with all the other characters. Kippa is so precious and adorable. Master Ren is a magical talking cat, which, I mean, what else does a book really need? And I just love, love, love the world-building and atmosphere and the very sinister, foreboding direction the story has been taking so far.
Articles
Mount Grace Priory
Super informative little article that gives me something to add to my list of places to visit if I ever go to Europe.
What Did the Ancient Egyptians Eat?
An informative piece about the food and drinks available to the people of Ancient Egypt. It’s especially interesting to see what has and hasn’t carried on into modern times.
Other
Violet Times
A beautiful poem about the author’s experience coming out as asexual.
What I’ve Created
Books/Short Stories
Those Who Fall
It’s finally out in paperback! I had hoped to get this sorted out earlier in the year, but having a C-section and some other personal life chaos threw me back several steps. But now it’s here and I’ve held it in my hands and it’s amazing to see TWO OF MY OWN BOOKS in physical form.
Just like when She Who Rises released in paperback, you can order this book to your local bookstore or library (or from Amazon, if that’s your thing). For easier ordering, the ISBNs are:
She Who Rises: 9781777160609
Those Who Fall: 9781777160616
If you get a copy of either of these books, please take a photo and tag me in it on Insta or Twitter! I would love to see where my stories end up in the world. My handle is @RachaellaWrites
Articles
What It Takes to Photograph the Family Pet for the Last Time
A piece I wrote about the old family cat, Olive. It was nice to look back on photos of her and reminisce about the life she got to spend with us.
Part honey, part whore: Sex shaming and internalized misogyny in the House of Night and She chose vengeance and anger: Sex shaming and internalized misogyny in the House of Night [Part 2]
This essay has been in the works for months, and ended up so long that I had to split it into two parts. And that’s after I cut parts from it! Needless to say, I had a looot of thoughts on this subject. Always feels good to flex my sociology muscles a bit!
You may have noticed, across all these wrap-ups, that a lot of the pieces I share or create are hosted by a site called Vocal. It’s a platform I’ve been using since 2019, and I’ve always really enjoyed it. It’s free, you can earn a little bit of money here and there off story reads or tips, and it’s a great way for me to step outside my comfort zone and experiment with writing about different topics without worrying too much about what that work will do for me in the long term.
The site is free to use, as I said, but there is the option to sign up for a Vocal+ membership. This allows you to enter more contests, plus you earn more from story reads and can withdraw money from your wallet in lesser quantities.
If all of this sounds interesting to you, then I highly recommend checking Vocal out. And if you decide to sign up with Vocal+, please do so with my Ambassador link. I earn a small commission if you do.
What I’ve Enjoyed
Books
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
This book is such a gem. Great characters with incredible chemistry, A+ humour, and so much heart. I loved the disability rep, the male abuse victim rep, and the fact that both were still portrayed as whole, complex, and ultimately joyful people in spite of their hardships. Definitely a book I recommend checking out, though be aware that it does have smutty content.
Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening, Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood, Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
I’ve been devouring this comic and absolutely loving it. Maika is powerful and broken and badass and I love her dynamic with all the other characters. Kippa is so precious and adorable. Master Ren is a magical talking cat, which, I mean, what else does a book really need? And I just love, love, love the world-building and atmosphere and the very sinister, foreboding direction the story has been taking so far.
Articles
Mount Grace Priory
Super informative little article that gives me something to add to my list of places to visit if I ever go to Europe.
What Did the Ancient Egyptians Eat?
An informative piece about the food and drinks available to the people of Ancient Egypt. It’s especially interesting to see what has and hasn’t carried on into modern times.
Other
Violet Times
A beautiful poem about the author’s experience coming out as asexual.
What I’ve Created
Books/Short Stories
Those Who Fall
It’s finally out in paperback! I had hoped to get this sorted out earlier in the year, but having a C-section and some other personal life chaos threw me back several steps. But now it’s here and I’ve held it in my hands and it’s amazing to see TWO OF MY OWN BOOKS in physical form.
Just like when She Who Rises released in paperback, you can order this book to your local bookstore or library (or from Amazon, if that’s your thing). For easier ordering, the ISBNs are:
She Who Rises: 9781777160609
Those Who Fall: 9781777160616
If you get a copy of either of these books, please take a photo and tag me in it on Insta or Twitter! I would love to see where my stories end up in the world. My handle is @RachaellaWrites
Articles
What It Takes to Photograph the Family Pet for the Last Time
A piece I wrote about the old family cat, Olive. It was nice to look back on photos of her and reminisce about the life she got to spend with us.
Part honey, part whore: Sex shaming and internalized misogyny in the House of Night and She chose vengeance and anger: Sex shaming and internalized misogyny in the House of Night [Part 2]
This essay has been in the works for months, and ended up so long that I had to split it into two parts. And that’s after I cut parts from it! Needless to say, I had a looot of thoughts on this subject. Always feels good to flex my sociology muscles a bit!
You may have noticed, across all these wrap-ups, that a lot of the pieces I share or create are hosted by a site called Vocal. It’s a platform I’ve been using since 2019, and I’ve always really enjoyed it. It’s free, you can earn a little bit of money here and there off story reads or tips, and it’s a great way for me to step outside my comfort zone and experiment with writing about different topics without worrying too much about what that work will do for me in the long term.
The site is free to use, as I said, but there is the option to sign up for a Vocal+ membership. This allows you to enter more contests, plus you earn more from story reads and can withdraw money from your wallet in lesser quantities.
If all of this sounds interesting to you, then I highly recommend checking Vocal out. And if you decide to sign up with Vocal+, please do so with my Ambassador link. I earn a small commission if you do.
