Simone Shirazi's Blog, page 3

Vacation Diaries: Vancouver 2019

I can hardly believe we’re in the last month of 2019. This year went by so quickly and yet so slowly at the same time. Some months felt like eternities, and some were over before I could even blink. But I guess that’s life, right? I’m literally describing every year. Time isn’t real!!! It’s all just a Jeremy Bearimy!!!

Existential crisis aside, there were so many things this year that I meant to do but just never got around to. Blogging about the adventures I had was one of those things that...

Simone Read What? – October & November ’19

Well folks, fall has drawn to a close and winter has arrived here in D.C. What a perfect time to snuggle up with a great book.

My library apparently thought the same, because all 10 of the library holds I submitted in September became available at the exact same time in November. Fun! Overwhelming! So much to read! Ahh!!!

So here we go, my reads from October and November!

(all summaries and covers from Goodreads)

1. Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward

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Rehvenge has always kept his distance from the...

The Fairytale Continues – Why I Decided to Add More to the Fairytale Series (And How to Read It)

If you’ve been keeping up with what I’ve been posting on Wattpad and Radish, you may have noticed something interesting… there are new chapters of Once Upon a One Night Stand.

To some of you, this might seem a little odd.Simone, you say.Hasn’t that story been complete on Wattpad since 2015? And my answer is: yes, you are correct! That story, Book #1 of The Fairytale Series has been complete for nearly 5 years now. I’ve even written three more books in the Fairytale Series since then! So why...

What is NaNoWriMo and Why Do I Torture Myself Every November?

It’s almost that time of year again, folks. That’s right, it’s nearly National Novel Writing Month! What is National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo, as it’s more commonly known), you ask? Well, it’s this:

National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November.

Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand-new...

Simone Read What? – September ’19

As of the end of September, I’m finally back on track with my Goodreads goal! Phew. For a while there I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever have the time and desire to read a book again.

I did quite a bit of traveling in September, which meant I had lots of uninterrupted reading time. Thank goodness for my library’s collection of ebooks, because I breezed through a few of them during those plane and train rides.

So here’s what I read in September!

(all covers and summaries from Goodreads)

1....

Written in the Stars: Character Astrology, Part 1

I’ll be the first to admit that I love astrology.

Do I truly believe in it? Uhhh… we’ll get back to that. Can your entire life and personality be boiled down to what a bunch of planets supposedly represent? No comment. Is it fun as heck to read about yourself and say, “Oh my God, that is so me,” to the vaguest descriptions? YES.

I know I’m not alone in that, which is probably why a common question I get about my characters is what’s their sign?

To all of those who have asked, I’m finally goin...

Simone Read What? – June, July & August ’19

Hello reading slump, my old friend.

I’ve been so busy in the past three months that I, once again, haven’t had time to read as much as I wanted to. But you know what? Books will always be there, but the opportunities that arose during these months won’t. So I can’t be mad at myself for picking the more time-sensitive option.

Here’s what I read during June, July, and August!

(all summaries and covers from goodreads)

1. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

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Once Upon a One Night Stand, the Interactive Story!

Boy, do I have some exciting news to share!

You probably already guessed what it is based on the banner above, but Once Upon a One Night Stand is being turned into a game on the Chapters Interactive Stories app!

Starting July 25th, you’ll be able to play as Taliana and experience the classic enemies-to-lovers scenario with your very own Sebastian. You get to choose how you look, what you wear, and, best of all, how the story progresses. As someone who has played plenty of stories on the app a...

Simone Read What? – May ’19

Back atcha with another month of book reviews!

Last month I managed to read five books, which isn’t too shabby considering I didn’t read as much in the two months prior. I’m finally starting to feel like I’m getting back into the swing of reading, which is definitely a relief. As much as I hate writing slumps, reading slumps sometimes feel even worse.

Click on if you’re interested in seeing what I read during the month of May!

(all summaries and covers from Goodreads)

1. Beautiful Stranger b...

Origin Stories: Arabian Nights

We’re back for another episode of Origin Stories, where I—you guessed it—talk about the origins of my stories! And today we’re going to be talking about Book #2 in the Fairytale Series, Arabian Nights.

I suggest checking out the post on Once Upon a One Night Stand, Book #1 in the Fairytale Series, before heading into this one so you have a little more background. And timeline wise, we’ve finally moved fully into the Wattpad days…

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Acronym: AN
Genre(s): YA/NA, Romance, Drama
Series: The Fairy...