Riany Thoughts: NaNoWriMo 2020

Hey Everyone! It had been a while since I wrote a Rainy Thoughts. I have recently gotten into making videos on YouTube. If you haven't checked those out yet, I did a whole NaNoWriMo series, so you can check out my videos at Rainy Books With Amanda. 

Anyways, NaNoWriMo 2020. It was different. From writing in the middle of a pandemic to writing in the middle of a very intriguing election that took longer than anticipated, it was a whirlwind of stuff. I felt that this NaNoWriMo in particular was the first time I actually had time to write and go through my whole process. If I was stuck, I was able to really think about things, come up with more content, look for advice with my region group and just really focus on my writing. Time is not a luxury that I have had in the past, juggling the challenge and work and even school at one point. This year, I the unfortunate luxury to not be working and having sole focus on my writing. Blessing in disguise as they might say. 

This is the year that I also had a week's worth of writers block. I was able to get out of my writers block, because I had time to think about my subplots, what I could do to improve and getting advice from my region group. I've always been part of a region group, but this year, we had a whole discord community and besides the time, having a place of encouragement and idea bouncing is another factor in helping me get out of my rut and move on. And when I got out of my block, I rushed along in full force with new ideas.

I also filmed my experience almost everyday, which was different but also made me feel accountable. It's easy to miss a day of writing, but when you have this goal to vlog about you experience, you do have this sense of accountability to keep writing and updating and going as far as you can. Even if only 10 people watch your video. 

Overall, I think this was a great NaNoWriMo year despite of everything. I'm happy with my work and I'm excited for you all to read my next book Children of the Garden, that will be coming out sometime next year. Until then, Happy Writing and just being creative!

How was your NaNoWriMo 2020? Let me know in the comments!

Book Review: The Love Note

 

THE LOVE NOTE

by

Joanna Davidson Politano

Genre: Christian / Historical Fiction / Romance

Publisher: Revell

Publication Date: October 20, 2020

Number of Pages: 400

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Focused on a career in medicine and not on romance, Willa Duvall is thrown slightly off course during the summer of 1859 when she discovers a never-opened love letter in a crack of her old writing desk. Compelled to find the passionate soul who penned it and the person who never received it, she takes a job as a nurse at the seaside estate of Crestwicke Manor. Everyone at Crestwicke has feelings—mostly negative ones—about the man who wrote the letter, but he seems to have disappeared. With plenty of enticing clues but few answers, Willa's search becomes even more complicated when she misplaces the letter and it passes from person to person in the house, each finding a thrilling or disheartening message in its words. Laced with mysteries large and small, this romantic Victorian-era tale of love lost, love deferred, and love found is sure to delight.

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Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well and staying safe in these crazy times we are living in. I, for one, have been learning to get out of my shell and dabbling in multiple different things, such as Calligraphy and YouTube. I've also been reading different genres of books that I've never really given a chance. For instance, I am not the first person who wants to read Pride & Prejudice or watch Downton Abbey. The Victorian era, old time, love story just doesn't appeal to me in the way a true crime or mystery novel does. But I did find myself reading the same kind of stories a lot this year, so I decided to go out of my comfort zone and read a couple of books that are out of my norm with the first book being The Love Note by Joanna Davidson Politano.

So when I first saw that this book was a Christian, Historical Fiction, Romance book, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it while reading to be honest. But the synopsis did sound appealing so I went for it. I ended up loving the whole concept of this book as it focuses on a woman that is wary of finding love and being a wife because she doesn't want that to get in the way of her career and dream of being a doctor. I feel like we do get a lot of these tropes in new media, but not in the sense that the woman wants to pursue her educations, it's more of she is a superhero and that's what she wants to be. Which that is fine, but a more realistic strong, independent woman who also wants love is someone we don't see all the time.

This leads me into loving the main character, Willa Duvall. I feel like women who are career driven and focused are portrayed as these older spinsters who care about only their work and nothing else. That is not true in Politano's book. We find that the main character has a compassionate heart towards everyone around her. She admires horses, she loves her father and she is helpful. She isn't this stereotypical business woman. Willa also wants to find love, but because it's 1865 and people had pretty strict ideals of what a man and a woman's place was in this world, she did not think anyone would let her be her while still being a wife. It's interesting to see how this character deals with her wants and her needs.

"I was not like other girls, seeking shelter under some man's roof-I secretly craved a taste of deeply authentic love, but I also wanted the stars and open sky."

I also was surprised at how many twists and turns this book has to offer. Just when you find out one event in one chapter, a whole other event pops up in the next chapter. The author does a great job of putting everything together and creating an atmosphere of uncertainty at it's best.

 

The author also inputs these quotes from a scientist's observation on love in the beginning of each chapter under the chapter number. I found this to be unique and it gave a sense of what the chapter was going to touch on and where we were heading as a whole with the story. By doing this, you can really feel the great lengths the author went to put into details and make her book stand out. As a reader, I appreciate these little touches and enjoyed reading the quotes. The quote below was my favorite one.

"Love is not limited to romance, nor is happiness reserved for marriage." 

- A scientist's observation on love

The one and only complaint I have was that I kept getting two characters mixed up. That could just be me though, as I can get confused easily. But other than that, this book was an excellent read!

Overall, I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. The plot was great, the twists are enjoyable, the quotes are a great touch and as someone who doesn't really read romance novels, I enjoyed this book very much. I recommend to any romance noel lovers out there or even for people looking for something out of their norm reading routine. Until next time, Happy Reading!

You can also find a video review on my YouTube Channel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joanna Davidson Politano is the award-winning author of Lady Jayne Disappears and A Rumored Fortune. She loves tales that capture the colorful, exquisite details in ordinary lives and is eager to hear anyone's story.

She lives with her husband and their two kids in a house in the woods near Lake Michigan. You can find her at www.jdpstories.com.

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OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 6, 2020

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10/27/20	Book Trailer	Hall Ways Blog
10/27/20	Review	Jennifer Silverwood
10/28/20	Character Interview	Reading by Moonlight
10/29/20	Review	Rainy Days with Amanda
10/30/20	Top Five	Story Schmoozing Book Reviews
10/30/20	Review	Carpe Diem Chronicles
10/31/20	Excerpt 1	All the Ups and Downs
11/1/20	Excerpt 2	Book Bustle
11/2/20	Author Interview	The Adventures of a Travelers Wife
11/2/20	Review	The Clueless Gent
11/3/20	Guest Post	Max Knight
11/4/20	Top Eight List	Chapter Break Book Blog
11/4/20	Review	Missus Gonzo
11/5/20	Review	Jennie Reads
11/5/20	Review	StoreyBook Reviews

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Book Review: 6 Feet Under Texas

 

 

SIX FEET UNDER TEXAS:

 Unique, Famous, & Historic Graves in the Lone Star State

(Cemetery Tales Book 1)

by

TUI SNIDER

  

Genre: Nonfiction / Texana / History / Texas Travel

Publisher: Castle Azle Press

Date of Publication: August 15, 2020

Number of Pages: 250 pages 

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Explore the cemeteries of Texas with Tui Snider as she reveals overlooked history in these fascinating open-air museums. 

Along the way, you’ll meet fascinating characters, including a whistleblower who died in suspicious circumstances, an oilman who added a phone line to his mausoleum, and the events that caused two “frenemies” to be chained together in death.

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Unique. That is the best word to describe this book. When I first picked up this book, I thought the author was going to talk more so about unique headstones and the stories behind them. While Snider does have some chapters on special headstones, it is not the main focus. The author talks about historical graves, like Bonnie and Clyde, true crime graves that were never solved, famous graves, such as the original Chewbacca, and even an alien grave. There is a little bit of something for everyone in 6 Feet Under Texas.

 

When a book can help you learn about something, like a historical event or fun fact that you may have not heard about, it’s a beautiful thing. When a book can help you learn about more than one historical event and multiple fun facts about the place that you live, it’s an amazing thing. With Snider’s book, you’ll be learning something new with each chapter. For instance, I have lived in the San Antonio area, home of the Alamo, my whole life (for the exception of living in Dallas for a short 2.5 years) and I even had a job downtown and I never knew about we had an Alamo Cat, let alone multiple Alamo Cats! Learning can be fun and Snider does a great job teaching us with her book.

Snider also does a great job of being journalistic but also giving herself a voice. As with journalism writing and writing about facts in general, people want to remain unbiased so they make their tone very professional. The author gives us a balance of factual writing and still giving her own take and voice to her writing. As someone who loves creative writing and has taken journalism classes and done journalism writing, I can appreciate that.

This book is also a great read for those of you who like to read, but may not always have the time to sit down and read for an hour. Each chapter is short, 2-5 pages at most. It is easy to pick up, read a couple of chapters, and put down to finish doing whatever you need to do. Each chapter is about a different grave, so you also don’t need to necessarily remember the last thing you read. Definitely recommend to all my busy readers out there. 

The only critique would be that I felt that the ending kind of just ends. I feel that the author gives us a great prologue into the story, so I guess I was expecting that for the ending. This doesn’t take away from the story at all but would have been nice to hear some final thoughts and what she is hoping for her second book. But we will live.

Overall, I do give 6 Feet Under Texas a 5 out of 5 stars. It is a unique read, it’s a good one for all level readers and you get a chance to learn more about Texas history. Definitely a great one to check out, especially with October approaching. Well everyone, until next time, Happy Reading!

 

Watch my full review and more with this link to my YouTube Channel!

 

Tui Snider is an author, speaker, photographer, YouTuber, podcast host, and musician who researches historic cemeteries and symbolism, offbeat Texas travel, overlooked history, and haunted lore. As she puts it, “I used to write fiction–but then I moved to Texas!” 

Snider’s best-selling books include Understanding Cemetery Symbols, 100 Things to Do in Dallas-Fort Worth Before You Die, Paranormal Texas, and many more. Snider has several books in progress and enjoys connecting with readers all over the globe through social media, her weekly newsletter, and website: TuiSnider.com.

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  September 29-October 9, 2020

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or visit the blogs directly:

9/29/20	Review	StoreyBook Reviews
9/29/20	Review	Rainy Days with Amanda
9/30/20	Review	Momma on the Rocks
10/1/20	Review	Missus Gonzo
10/1/20	Review	The Clueless Gent
10/2/20	Review	Reading by Moonlight
10/2/20	Review	The Adventures of a Travelers Wife
10/3/20	Review	Forgotten Winds
10/4/20	Review	That's What She's Reading
10/5/20	Review	Chapter Break Book Blog
10/6/20	Review	Hall Ways Blog
10/7/20	Review	Max Knight
10/7/20	Review	All the Ups and Downs
10/8/20	Review	It's Not All Gravy
10/8/20	Review	Book Fidelity

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Book Blitz: A Vote is a Powerful Thing

 

A VOTE IS A 

POWERFUL THING

By CATHERINE STIER

Illustrated by Courtney Dawson

Children's Picture Book / American Historical Fiction / Elections and Voting 

Ages 4-7 

Publisher: Albert Whitman and Company

Date of Publication: September 1, 2020

Number of Pages: 32

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Callie knows there’s a presidential election coming up, and people will soon vote to decide the country’s leader. 

Her class is having an election too, about an issue that affects them all–the class field trip. Should they choose the cookie factory or the wilderness park? 

Join Callie as she campaigns for the wilderness park she loves and learns how people have organized, marched, and protested for the right to vote. And find out how a vote–even just one vote–can make a difference!

PRAISE FOR A VOTE IS A POWERFUL THING: 

"Gets the job done." ―Kirkus Reviews 

"A galvanizing read for children interested in politics or parents who hope to instill such interests." ―Publishers Weekly

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The Twig Book Shop ║ IndieBound ║Barnes and Noble ║ Amazon

Catherine Stier is the author of several awarding-winning children’s books. Her titles include If I Were President, If I Ran for President, If I Were a Park Ranger, and the A Dog’s Day chapter-book series. In grade school, Catherine ran a class campaign for student council with handmade signs, and, although she didn’t win, she found the process exciting! She went on to earn an MA in reading and literacy from the University of Texas at San Antonio and has conducted children’s literature research. She now resides with her husband in San Antonio and volunteers at a local wilderness park.

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ONE WINNER: Copies of each of the three election-series books; patriotic socks, button, and pencils; plus a $15 gift card to The Twig Book Shop. 

September 4-10, 2020 

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