Rin Navarro's Blog, page 3

Book Series Highlight #3

[image error] Beautiful Creatures by Stohl/Garcia

Here is another book series highlight from one of my favorites! Now this one is a little different for me. You know when you read a book when you’re younger and then you read it again a few years later, one of two things happen: You either fall in love with it more and appreciate more than just the story or you’re like, “Whaaaaaaat did I see in this?” I was the Whaaaaaaat option, but I still love the series. It’s a good read no matter what. It’s that Dark, gothic kind of story with spells and curses alike! Let’s dive right in!

Beautiful Creatures starts off in a small Southern town called Gatlin. Now we all know or have heard of these towns with the nosy neighbors, strong religious folk, natural southern charm and where everybody knows everybody’s business. This is what Gatlin is. Ethan Wate is not like the others. He dreams of going to New York after high school or somewhere far away as long as it’s not in Gatlin. Then here comes Lena Duchannes, a weird girl who’s uncle is the town shut-in. Immediately Ethan is intrigued, but not because she’s different. No, he’s interested because she’s the girl of his dreams. Literally! Lena tries to keep her secrets tied down, but nothing can stay a secret in this small town.

The books that follow pull Ethan down into a Supernatural world with dark enemies, old foes and new loves. I don’t want to get too much into detail about them because I feel like I’m going to be giving away too many spoilers. It just keeps you hooked where you’re not able to put the book down.

I love how it was an urban, gothic tale and the setting that Garcia and Stohl created made it feel like you were really in the book. This was an interesting read that I immediately fell in love with when I first read it when I was sixteen. Now that I read it ten years later, there is some stuff where I’m like, “Eh…teenagers…” but that was to be expected, right?

I think this series would be a great read for the summer if you’re looking to get lost into a supernatural read!

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Competition…Bad?

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First off, I want to start off this post with an apology. I’m sorry I haven’t been posting a lot or doing more book reviews, but it’s summer. I’ve been busy on vacation, promoting my own book and working on some new projects. My book reviews are coming. I promise!

Now, let’s talk about competition. Good or bad? For me, I am a very competitive person, I even compete against people who have no idea that I’m competing against them. I don’t really see it as a bad thing because it what drives me to do better. I even compete against myself.

For example, I paint. I used to draw with colored pencils, but I told myself that I could do better so I started getting into acrylic painting. Did okay for my first few pictures, but I still wanted to top my last art piece. My paintings became more detailed, more bigger, more full of life. I’ve learned and I adapted each time, harnessing my skills. And guess what, each painting was better than the last.

I’m the same way with my writing. I’m getting into the writer’s community and starting to see how other people are becoming successful or how others are flopping on their work. I want to be at the top. That’s my goal. So I make these little goals for myself like, “Okay, they have 800 likes. What are they doing? What do I need to do? My goal is now 850.” It’s weird, but that competition helps me to do better and to get where I need to be. It helps with my promotions and thinking of new ideas to get my work out there more.

Now I will say that there have been times where I do tend to get a little carried away and I need to take a step back and relax. I end up frying my brain from trying to do too much and that’s where it gets to be a little unhealthy. I know when I reach past my limits.

Anyways, I think competition is good to keep you on track. Set goals. Stay motivated. Try to achieve some work on your projects each day, even if it is little by little. If that’s what pushes you to do better than go for it! Only you are the one who can get you to where you want to be.

Writing Tip #5

I can’t stress this enough….DON’T LET ANYONE MAKE YOU FEEL LOUSY ABOUT YOUR ART!

Okay, I’m glad I got that out of the way, now, here is a little writing advice: If you love to write, then write. There are always going to be haters, people who say that your work sucks or that it’s just not good enough. Don’t let that discourage you. Brush that hater dust off, pick up your pen and keep going. And this is for all artists out there! If you love to sing or paint or dance, then do it!

I have gotten some feedback about my book, A Devil’s Deal, especially when I promote it on social media. People have commented saying, “What in the hell would I gain from reading that?” or, my favorite, “That doesn’t sound good at all.” You know what I do?

Nothing.

It’s your art. I understand you wanting to defend it, but news flash! The haters are always going to be there. There is always going to be some negative person who will try to bring you down. Don’t even give these people the time of day. You’re better than that. If you feed into that negative energy, it will take you away from what really matters. Your art.

So brush those haters away and focus on the ones who do love your work, who appreciate what you do. In the end, those who truly matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter.

Inspiring in Another Way

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Continuing on with my whole rant of inspiration this week, I’ve realized that there are two people out there who have inspired me greatly. My parents. Before you throw an “Awww” fest, it’s not inspiring in the way you may think.

I was the first who gave my mom a role in motherhood when she was sixteen. Since then I’ve gained four new siblings and watched my mom struggle with mundane jobs, broken hearts and drama from friends, family and guys. Her life was never easy, but it was filled with good times and memories that could never be replaced.

My dad was another teenager when I came around and I was his only one. I guess one kid was enough strain on the financial responsibilities. He was kind of like a chameleon from bartending in Las Vegas to working at a radio station. But just like my mother, his jobs became common from working for a furniture company to settling down at a factory. He goes on trips and does what he loves on occasion, making his own memories.

These two people are big influencers in my life because they inspire me to be nothing like them. And I don’t mean that in a mean way, but I mean that in a way that I want to be better than them. I don’t want to work to make a living. I want to live for my work. I want to have passion and love for my work, my writing, my stories. I don’t want a life filled with drama being stuck in a black hole town where nothing ever changes. I don’t want to work till I die with only having a few vacations here and there. I don’t want my life to fly right before my eyes where I’m laying in a bed full of regrets.

I know what I want, and I had to leave the comforts of my hometown to get it. I’m still working towards it. So my biggest inspiration, the people who pushed me to do greater things than just being a nurse or settling down into a normal job, would be my parents. Because that’s the thing about parents, they sacrifice so much of their lives for their children in hopes that their kids have a better future. Maybe that’s why I’m not one yet. I’m too selfish to sacrifice my time and freedom. I want to be able to leave whenever I want and not have anyone depend on me. At least for right now. So thank you to my parents for pushing me towards a better future for myself.

Is Depression Inspiration?

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When I hate my reality, I write. When I feel like I’m stuck, I write. When I hate where I’m at, I write. When I think back to when I was a teenager, I created the most beautiful art pieces, the most captivating stories when I was lost in a dark hole. Now I realize that I was able to create such beautiful work because I wanted a way out. Nobody was going to get me out of there. I had to be my own savior.

You see, when I’m happy, I don’t create life. I’m out there enjoying it instead. But when I feel lost again, trapped, I create my way out. I create a door into another world where I’m someone else with different people to love and fall in love with.

This isn’t just writers or painters, this is with anybody who creates anything. Musicians, origami makers, comedians, violin players, dancers, magicians, anybody who is looking for that way out. Creators love to see other people smile, to make them happy because we know how it feels like to be trapped and we don’t want anyone to feel the same way.

This is why I think artists are the most loneliest types of people. We suffer for our art. We can’t create unless we want a way out. I can’t create unless I’m lost, or trapped or feel stuck. I need that sadness and pain to make something beautiful in life. It’s a constant battle and keeping that balance is hard. But to see the joy it brings to others…it’s all worth it.

Inspiration!

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Okay, so I’m a little on the fence about Inspiration. In fact, most of my posts for this week are going to be about Inspiration. Why? Well, because…I don’t really believe in it. Hear me out! I know most writers, artists, musicians out there need that muse, that thing that helps them create. I think I’m an anomaly. I don’t need any of that to create. I just sit in front of my laptop and type what’s in my mind.

At first, I thought I was weird, defected, broken or something. Like what kind of writer doesn’t need inspiration? But when I thought about the stories I wrote down, I realize that there was no inspiration behind them. They just popped into my head at random moments. Even the great Stephen King said, “…good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky…”

If you have your muse then that is awesome! Keep going on with it! Everybody is different and everybody has their different ways that they are able to create. Mine is just….weird. I can guarantee you that my next story idea is going to hit me when I least expect it. Maybe I’ll be driving, maybe I’ll be in the store deciding which apples to buy. Who knows?

All I know is this: My greatest ideas ALWAYS come when I least expect it.

Book Review #4

[image error] Tangled Webs by Lee Bross

I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did. I give it a 3.5 stars. It’s all about trying to run away from a life of crime and live on the straight and narrow path.

Arista is a 16yr old girl who goes by Lady A during the night in London during the 1700s. Lady A is a notorious blackmailer who trades in secrets. During the night time, she lives and breathes Lady A’s life of crime, but during the day, she’s at the mercy of her abusive master, Bones. When Bones is ready to dispose of her for good, an unsuspected rival comes to her rescue. Jonathan Wild, the Thief Taker General who is in the elite circles of the criminal underground. She partners with him in hopes of getting safe passage out of London and away from Bones for good.

However, things gets messy when she meets Graeden Sinclair, someone who comes from wealth, loves her for who she is and gives her something that she lost long ago: hope. He promises to take her away from her life of crime, but can anybody really escape their past?

Tangled Webs was the perfect title for this book. You would think you know who the hero is and then this new person shows up. Of course with any good crime book, you have no idea who you can trust. There comes double crossing, lies and people who would do anything to put themselves on top.

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Writing Tip #4

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Writer’s Block.

We all get it.

The feeling of being stuck. Lost. Don’t know what to write next. It sucks. I am stuck in a rut right now myself. I am working on my second novel and have an idea traffic jam stuck in my head. It’s awful. I feel like the more time I step away from my work, the more damage it does. A break is fine, but if you’re like me and have your breaks turn into days, you start to not want to go back to work on your project at all.

So what do we do?

Well, everyone’s different. Some people suggest lighting up a creative candle, take a breath and meditate on that scene. That is awesome…but it does not work for me. Someone else suggested to do something else creative like coloring or painting out the scene you are working on. Again, doesn’t work for me. However I did find my solution. Buy a book of writing prompts, pick a prompt and write about your characters.

Example: I have tons of books filled with writing prompts. I picked one at random that said, “Write a one page mystery of someone robbing a jewelry store.” So I put my characters of the project I was working on in my prompt. That way, it feels like I am still working on my book, but I’m stepping away from the scene that I was stuck on. It helps with getting me back on track.

Everybody is different and everybody has their own tricks on how to defeat writer’s block. It doesn’t matter what you do to defeat it, as long as you defeat it. Why? Because as a writer, you’re going to run into it eventually and you don’t want to get stuck on it for too long. Just think of it as another obstacle for you to jump over!

Book Series Highlight #2

[image error] The Cruel Prince series by Holly Black

I have loved Holly Black since her Curse Workers series and am a big fan of faerie books, so I was excited to get into this series. However, after reading the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa, I was expecting to hear about the Summer and Winter courts. This book was a different twist, but I still enjoyed it so I give it just three stars.

It revolves around Jude and her sisters who were stolen to be taken to live in the High Court of Faerie after their parents were brutally murdered. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong in Faerie despite her being mortal. Also despite the fact that the faeries cant stand mortals. Throughout the series, she works her way up within the court and gets involved with politics, war and the cruel prince Cardan who especially has it out for her.

I don’t want to get too much into the other books because I feel like it’s the same thing going on. Politics. War. Revenge. Betrayal. Sigh….

I think the reason why I didn’t really like this series that much was because Jude wanted to be a part of Faerie. Most faerie books I read is where the mortal doesn’t want to have anything to do with the wicked creatures. They are just dragged to their world for a challenge or are trapped. Jude was turning into a character I couldn’t really relate to. Throughout the books, I kept thinking, “God! You’re so stupid! Why would you want that?” But then again, she was raised in that world. I was on the fence with this one. Still a big fan of Holly Black though!

Side note: The Cruel Prince is the first book in the series and then the Wicked King. Sorry for that mix up!

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Book Review #3

[image error] Becoming Darkness by Lindsay Francis Brambles

Five stars all the way! I love love love this book! This has everything that I love! First off, I am a big fan of dark history and kind of a nerd when it comes to one of the darkest chapters of history, The Holocaust. How one man was able to create so much hate was unbelievable. I love learning about it, mainly about the heroes during that time who stood up among the rest when hate and fear was all around. Anyways, any books that have to deal with during that time, you can sign me up for!

The second thing is that it’s about vampires…Now, if you’re like me, Twilight has probably got you off of vampires and it’s just so overrated. I’m talking about eye rolls, snooze fest, BORING! However, Brambles took two ideas and smashed them together so cleverly that this is not a typical vampire novel.

The book revolves around Sophie Harkness, an Immune, who lives in Haven, the only safe place that is protected from the virus that Hitler unleashed upon the world so many years ago. A virus that killed half of humanity and you guessed it, turned the others into vampires. Before I continue on, I thought about this and vampires…Hitler…It should’ve been obvious. I mean, he was trying to create the perfect race so why not mess with genetic mutations?

Anyways, moving along…Sophie is content with her world and her life, until her best friend is brutally murdered. She starts to question things and find answers for a conspiracy that goes back generations. It seems like her whole world around her is a lie, even the small community that keeps her protected.

This book is many things and turns into many things while you’re reading. You think it’s a mystery case of finding the killer, but then it turns into a love story and then it turns into another family mystery. I couldn’t guess what was going to happen next. It’s one of those that grabs the reader, keeps them hooked, throws them around in a hurricane and then spits them out thinking, “What in the world did I just go through?” One of my favorites for sure!

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