Melanie Surani's Blog, page 46
February 10, 2018
She went shopping today
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#barbiefashionistas #barbiesanrio...
She went shopping today
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#barbiefashionistas #barbiesanrio #barbielook #sweetteabarbie #karlmold #barbiekarl #fashion #barbiefashion #sanrio #littletwinstars #dollstagram #barbie
February 9, 2018
10. Bookish bucket list
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Hmm… I don’t have any...
10. Bookish bucket list
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Hmm… I don’t have any pictures of me rolling in a pool of money, so this sort of sums it up: me writing in my pajamas in the middle of a weekday because I earn enough writing that I don’t have to go to work. And constantly shoo-ing my cat off my dolls. And traveling all the time. I mean, that’s an attainable lifestyle, right? With book income? So far, I’ve made -$400.
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#authorlifemonth #authorlife #author #writersofinstagram #writer #books #dreams #bucketlist #money #pajamas #amwriting #agig #americangirlbrand #dollsandbooks #behindthescenes #wip #daydreaming #deluded
Molly’s new outfit! Took me forever to finish because...
Molly’s new outfit! Took me forever to finish because first I didn’t have snaps, and then the back of the skirt didn’t come together the way it should… And the sleeve bands were too tight… But it turned out pretty nice. I think she might go to school in this. There’s a Nancy Drew book in her satchel, tho.
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#mollymcintire #agmolly #40sfashion #dollclothes #handmade #agig #dollstagram #vintage #pleasantcompany #americangirlbrand #schoolclothes #vintageclothing #vintagedoll #dollsofinstagram #doll
9. Reader love
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This is a nice one. My readership might be...
9. Reader love
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This is a nice one. My readership might be small, but it’s there and it includes 2 cats.
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#authorlifemonth #books #writer #authorlife #authorsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #awake #thesilenttreatment #novels #readerlove #readers #amreading #fans #fanlove #appreciation #thankful #catsandbooks #cats_of_instagram #catsofinstagram
February 8, 2018
8. Writer friends .
I’m struggling with today’s...
8. Writer friends .
I’m struggling with today’s prompt, and I’m gonna say something controversial: I don’t have any in-person friends, writers or otherwise. A person is supposed to keep this information to themselves, lest they come across as a loser and nullify any future attempts at friend making. But I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one like this. .
Social interactions are something I enjoy, but it takes me years to attach to a person, and by that time I usually leave the city. I’m a traveler, so I guess it comes with the territory. I’m also quiet and private… a perfect storm for having no friends. .
But I’ve met several people online who I’ve become friends with, and I’m so thankful for you! I have a husband who keeps me company in person, a cat (pictured) who regularly interrupts my work for snuggles, and those are wonderful things to have. My mom visits when she can, my sister writes all the time (and we share the same dorky hobbies), and my in-laws actually love me! .
And to those of you who have been my friends over the years and stuck with me even though I left the country, I’m so grateful for you
Swirls
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#edinburgh #scotland #explore #neighbourhood #westend...
Swirls
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#edinburgh #scotland #explore #neighbourhood #westend #edinburghscotland #thisisedinburgh #edinburghlife #outside #wander #wanderlust #travel #residential #edwardianarchitecture #newtown #swirls #stone #balcony
80s slouch
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#sneakpeek #wip #graphicnovel #comicbook...
80s slouch
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#sneakpeek #wip #graphicnovel #comicbook #comicbookart #books #fiction #timetravel #drawing #amdrawing #art #artistofinstagram #writersofinstagram #authorlife #authorsofinstagram #murdermystery #suspensenovel #thriller #sneakers
February 5, 2018
Chapter 11.1They’d found the door: the main one that would take...
Chapter 11.1
They’d found the door: the main one that would take them home. But even after taking turns hacking for hours with the ax, the thick metal didn’t budge.
Sophia would have stayed for a turn with the ax, to be out the moment they broke through if Demetri hadn’t been staring at her from the wall. No one expected him to help because of his admittedly superficial injury, but he didn’t make it easy for anyone else to work either.
For a while, Demetri’s attention was on Ajay, fanboying about the star’s behind the scenes stories of his favorite movies. The actor played along and cleaned Demetri up in the men’s room, but once Demetri caught on that Ajay was more interested in getting free than connecting with a diehard fan, the mood soured.
He told the story leading up to his capture, which for a while kept everyone’s attention because he mentioned both Blair and Ajay.
Read more on www.melaniesurani.com
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February 3, 2018
4. A shelfie
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Since I moved overseas, I had to jettison TONS of...
4. A shelfie
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Since I moved overseas, I had to jettison TONS of books (don’t worry, they’re on my Kindle). The ones I saved are one of a kind (one my mom made about my family history), antique (my Nancy Drew books from the 30s that belonged to my gramma), or illustration-heavy (which doesn’t translate well to Kindle).
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My Pleasant Company/American Girl shelf represents a lifetime of collecting. Sure, I wish I’d kept all the parchment paperbacks I amassed in my childhood (my sister got them when I “grew up”), but the gist of it is there. My biggest gripe about the company in the present is that they removed the illustrations from the stories. Yes, I loved the characters and still do, but those pictures made the series special.
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The comic book shelf came together when I discovered a series called The Unwritten, about a man who discovers he’s a book character and has to save the world. I fell in love with the medium after that, checking out graphic novels from the library, picking up single issues here and there, and finally getting hooked on Jem and the Holograms. As with the books from my childhood, the artwork makes these books magical. Also, the thrill of the hunt, getting every missing issue, is a lot of fun.
Book review: The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish...
Book review: The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
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I’ve gotta be honest, I didn’t know who Tiffany Haddish was until she hosted Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago. After a few lines of the monologue, I liked her. I felt like I knew her.
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Her book is called The Last Black Unicorn, which was a huge draw for me because I loved The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. I knew when I started reading that Haddish’s Unicorn would be nothing like Beagle’s, but she had my attention.
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From the beginning, she got me with her voice, which reads just like the SNL monologue. The narrative is conversational and intimate about her difficult life. Her stories are hilarious, heartbreaking, and vulnerable, and I couldn’t help but love her at the end.
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While I’ve read meatier books, or ones that make a stronger point, as a matter of character, this is one of the better memoirs I’ve read.
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Four stars
