Tag Archives: updates

March Wrap Up Post (2018)

Posted on by under Monthly Wrap Ups

Wow this post is late…

Hello, everyone! Sorry I haven’t been able to get last month’s wrap up post out until now. March just sort of bled right into April and I didn’t even realize it! But here’s a quick rundown on what I’ve been up to in the last month, and what’s coming up.

March Wrap Up

Highlights:

  • My next writing project is moving forward. It’s very tempting for me to say that I got nothing done in March, but now that I really think about it, I have done some work on what will hopefully be my next book. I’m really trying to get back into the habit of writing something everyday, even if I don’t feel like it (which it seems like I never do). I’ve been really out of the loop recently, which may be why this post is so late, and I’m still struggling with motivation and finding the will power to just sit down and write something. But I’ve made some progress, which is fantastic, so there was at least one thing I accomplished this March.
  • I watched The Greatest Showman! All of Twitter has been raving about this musical for the past few months, and I finally got around to watching it. The soundtrack is amazing, and I wrote a review of the film, which you can find in the ‘Posts from February’ section below.
  • I’m getting more comfortable behind the wheel. While I may never be entirely comfortable with piloting a large, heavy object through narrow streets and around sharp corners, I am definitely improving. I was actually able to drive all the way home from the parking lot where we practice a few days ago, and I didn’t almost drive into a ditch like I did the first time, so I’ll take that as a good sign…

Posts from March 2018:

Looking Forward:

There are a lot of things happening this month. First of all, you should be seeing my review of the new season of A Series of Unfortunate Events on Friday. It technically should have been posted last Friday, but procrastination and health problems happened, so… yeah. There’s my excuse.

I’m going to be away for the rest of this week, starting tomorrow, because I’m going to the Great Homeschool Convention with some friends. I may be posting some photos/updates to my Twitter and Instagram, so if you’re interested, please go check those out.

I’m helping my lovely friend Daley Downing with the bookiversary of her debut novel! I’m going to be hosting a super special giveaway, starting on the 16th, so make sure you subscribe to my blog if you want to hear about that and get a chance to win some cool stuff.

There’s also one other exciting thing happening this April/May, but unfortunately I’m going to have to keep that a secret for now… 😉

Thanks for reading my March wrap up post! How was your March? Did you get to see any cool movies or shows? Is there anything exciting coming up in April for you? Let’s chat in the comments!

See you again soon.

🙂

February Wrap Up Post (2018)

Posted on by under Monthly Wrap Ups

Heyo, friends! Wow. I can hardly believe February is already over! January felt at least a year long, but February 2018 went by in seconds, and suddenly we’re five days into March and I hadn’t yet posted my monthly wrap up post because I didn’t even realize the month had ended. Well, no more waiting! Let’s jump right in to what’s been happening this month…

February Monthly Wrap Up

Highlights:

  • I published a new story! It’s set in the same world as Behind Her Mask was Death, and takes place about ten years prior. The story is a novelette called Empty Little Heart: Esmeralda’s Story and has some backstory on everyone’s favorite Princess Esmeralda. You can pick up an ebook copy over on Amazon (it’s currently available exclusively on Kindle), and take a glance at the gorgeous cover art created by Jenna Paddey:

Empty Little Heart (Cover)

  • I became the co-creator of the dankest meme on the internet. Well, maybe not really, but it is a pretty great meme! The meme is called “John Green Red” and was created in honor of my YouTuber/author/awesome-creative-person friend Hannah Marie. I’ve mentioned Hannah a few times here on the blog, and if you’re interested in learning more about her, make sure to check out her Twitter, her YouTube channel, and visit her Fandom Wiki page! To learn more about the meme I helped create, and what it means, you can visit this page.
jOHN GREEN RED MEME

The original “John Green Red” meme created by yours truly. *dabs unironically*

  • I completely quit YouTube and have decided to focus more on blogging and writing. In the January Wrap Up Post, I said that I was going to try and make some more YouTube videos for my channel. But I realized, after several fruitless attempts at filming, that this was just a total drain on my mental health and creativity, and I’ve decided to drop that idea and focus on doing what I really enjoy. I’m going to try to do a lot more original, interesting blog posts on here, including recommendations, essay-type-things, more poetry (maybe?), and more reviews.
  • I’ve started learning to drive! I actually got my permit back in January I believe, but what with sickness and crazy schedules and work and what not, I wasn’t actually able to start learning to drive until Saturday of last week. Let’s just say that I still need a lot of practice before I’ll be driving anywhere except empty parking lots…

Posts from February 2018:

Looking Forward:

I have a couple of fun posts planned for March, and I’m going to try to finally finish up Season 1 of Marvel’s The Gifted and write a review of that as well. I’m playing through the 2017 rage game Getting Over It, and if I ever do, in fact, get over it, I’ll be reviewing the game on here. I’m making some progress on a couple of writing projects, which is good, as I haven’t written anything at all in the past few weeks (Yes, I know, I’m the worst…) and I’ll be sure to keep you updated if I have any breakthroughs with that.

I’m toying with the idea of doing some Instagram livestreams sometime in the future, just super casual, chat-about-your-day kind of stuff. If anyone would be interested, please let me know! (You can follow me on Instagram here, if you like.)

Thanks for reading my February wrap up post! How was your February? Are you as baffled as I am at how short it seemed??? Did any cool things happen to you this month? Let’s chat in the comments!

See you again soon.

🙂

Esmeralda’s Story is Out Today! (Plus Hiatus Announcement)

Posted on by under My Books

Finally, after months of teasing and promising this release, it’s finally here! Empty Little Heart: Esmeralda’s Story is live on Amazon right now! You can buy it here, or add it to your shelf on Goodreads. I’ve been working super hard on this story, and I’m so glad that you can finally get to read it! If you do give it a read, please consider leaving a review on Goodreads or Amazon, wherever you review your books. I would be very grateful! 🙂

 

Esmeralda

Empty Little Heart is available only as an ebook, but if you don’t have an e-reader like me, you can read it on your phone or computer with the Kindle app! ^_^

Hiatus Announcement

As you may have gathered from the title of this post, I’m going to be on a short social media and blogging hiatus over the next week, starting Sunday. There’s been a lot going on lately, and I haven’t been getting nearly as much work done as I’d like to, and next week I have to finish up a bunch of school before our break, so I think stepping back from social media and letting go of the pressure to blog for a week will be a good change. But don’t you worry! I’ll be back starting the 25th, and hopefully have a lot more awesome stuff for you guys. If you do need to contact me for anything, please feel free to send me an email through my Contact page.

Well, that about wraps it up for this post! I hope you have an amazing day.

Thanks so much for reading, and I’ll see you again soon.

🙂

Esmeralda’s Story is Almost Here!

Posted on by under My Books

Hey, everyone! You probably forgot all about the Behind Her Mask was Death novelette I’ve been working on and teasing for a while now, but I’m finally ready to actually release it this week! This novelette is called Empty Little Heart: Esmeralda’s Story, and I do finally have a cover and blurb to show you guys. This amazing cover art was created by Jenna Paddey. Definitely make sure to check out her other beautiful art on her Tumblr or her Instagram page.

Empty Little Heart (Cover)

Ten years before the events of Behind Her Mask was Death, Princess Esmeralda discovers another life beyond the high walls of her father’s palace. Her governess is bent on keeping her under control and acting like a proper princess, but Esmeralda wants nothing more than to escape the confines of her stuffy little world. Only William, her brother and best friend, can keep her sane. But she would still do anything to be free…

 

 

This novelette will be available on Kindle starting this Saturday, and you can preorder it over on Amazon, if you like! And, in case you’re wondering, you can read Esmeralda’s Story before or after reading Behind Her Mask was Death. It doesn’t really matter which. I’m always working on more stories about these characters and their world, so if you have enjoyed Behind Her Mask was Death, or if you read and enjoy this novelette, don’t worry! You’ll definitely be hearing more about Esmeralda and her friends in the future. ^_^

Thanks for reading this little announcement. I’ll see you again very soon!

🙂

January Monthly Wrap Up Post (2018)

Posted on by under Monthly Wrap Ups

“Aria???? Where in the world have you been????” you cry furiously at your computer screen, as you smack your desk repeatedly with the palm of your hand, “You promised that this year you were going to actually write more blog posts, and then you just… disappear into thin air! What’s up with that??? Are you lying to us to our faces???????“

Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m sorry. One month into the year and I’ve already failed one of my goals, which was to post at least one blog post a week. I got off to a pretty good start and then… stuff happened. School. Work. Dare I say… procrastination? But that should have only been for last week! I was all geared up to try and get some posts out this week, and then disaster struck, in the form of a very nasty strain of the flu.

For multiple days I have been laid up in bed, basically unable to move, much less to write a riveting blog post. But, at last, I have returned. I’m still a bit sick, but I think I’m well enough to recount all the stuff that happened this month. Hopefully…

January Monthly Wrap Up

(Yes, I am making new banners without the year on them. I figure it’s way more efficient than making a whole new set of banners every single year!)

Highlights:

  • I went to see Secret Midnight Press on tour with indie musicians Tessa Violet and GiveMeMotion, and it was amazing! There were more people there than I expected, but I thoroughly enjoyed both parts of the show (they had the musicians do their sets first, and then Jesse and Ashley from Secret Midnight Press came and read their poetry). It was at a smaller venue, which was nice, and the atmosphere and ambiance they created was very cool. I even got to talk to Ashley a bit after the show, and she signed my copy of Smoke Signals! 10 out of 10 would see a Secret Midnight Press show again. I had an awesome time.
  • I discovered some amazing small YouTubers during this month/the end of last year, and I wanted to give them a little shout out because they’re all super cool, and you should go check out some of their videos. I don’t normally watch smaller YouTubers, because it’s difficult to find ones with good quality content, but a while back a couple of my internet friends started YouTube channels, and they are through-the-roof-amazing. So make sure you check out That Girl with a Blog (My friend Hannah Marie’s channel. She does vlogs, storytimes, and is just generally hilarious and relateable) and also Jeneca Zody, Bethany Stevenson (they’re both amazing artists) and MasterEth (he makes hilarious clean comedy videos and is a friend of Hannah’s)
  • I started listening to Welcome to Night Vale! You may have heard of it at some point or another on your journey through the internets. It’s a fiction podcast about a tiny desert town somewhere in America where really weird and random paranormal stuff happens. The podcast is super bizarre and a little creepy, but I actually find it quite funny, mostly because of just how random it is. I’m almost finished season 1, and I’m loving it so far! The creators of Night Vale have also made another podcast called Within the Wires, which has a totally different vibe and is super suspenseful and exciting. I listened to the first season, and highly enjoyed it. Until recently I didn’t really know fiction podcasts were a thing, but Aimee Meester’s Bright Eyes Project sort of introduced me to the format, and I love finding new podcasts to enjoy. ^_^

Posts from January 2018:

Looking Forward:

Yes, I am going to try to do better about actually making blog posts in the future. But, I mean, hopefully I won’t have any more surprise attacks of the flu, so we should be good. I’m also hoping to make a YouTube comeback as soon as my voice doesn’t sound like a dying rat! I made a channel a while back and posted like one video… and then I never posted anything again. I have a couple of super cool ideas, though, and I’m hoping to make at least a few more videos very soon! I let you know if/when that happens.

Thanks so much for reading my January wrap up post! How has your January been? Have you discovered any cool new YouTubers, podcasts, TV shows, books yet this year? Do you have any favorite small YouTubers? Let’s chat in the comments below!

See you again soon.

🙂

August Monthly Wrap Up

Posted on by under Monthly Wrap Ups

Hey, guys! I know that this wrap up post is about four days late, but there are very good reasons! Well, I assume that my reasons are good… Anyway, if you were wondering where in the world I’ve been for the past two weeks, wonder no more. Just read my recap of this month’s shenanigans!

Highlights:

  • I traveled more than two thousand miles this month (by car!) and visited tons of people that I haven’t seen for more than ten years. Yep, I went to Canada, where literally all of my extended family lives. But instead of just staying around Ontario at my grandparents’ house, which is what usually happens, we took a crazy road-trip across eastern Canada!
  • I visited Ottawa (the capital of Canada), Quebec city (where I kind of failed to speak French very well at all), then we treked through the vast wilds of New Brunswick to Truro, Nova Scotia, where we met up with my Grammie and my dad’s sister and then spent a couple of days down in the valley. Then, we went back to Truro and spent a couple of days there, before heading back towards the dear old USA and driving through Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts (where we visited Boston and saw some of the Freedom Trail) and finally State College, Pennsylvania, where we hung out with some of my dad’s friends from way back when. Aaaand, now I’m home! Yay.
  • I read some books on the trip (This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab, mostly) and I also signed a copy of my book that one of our extended family members owns!
  • I got super stressed out.
  • I got my parents to put on some Twenty One Pilots music in the car! I’m not sure that they care for it very much, but we listened to both Blurryface (multiple times, due to the insistent requests from my youngest brother) and Vessel (once, all the way through). I think we may have a few new members of the Skeleton Clique to welcome in, namely my brothers, who were all very enthusiastic about the music.

Posts from August 2017:

Looking Forward:

There is a TON of exciting stuff that’s going to be happening this month. I’m back for good, so you can expect at least a few more blog posts from my corner of the internet to hit your inbox during September. I will also be officially announcing the release date and details of my next novel, The Tangle, so be sure to stay tuned for that as well. I will also (hopefully) have another super special announcement for your tomorrow, so make sure you subscribe by email to make sure you hear about it! If you like to listen to electronic music, you won’t want to miss this one.

Thanks so much for reading my August wrap up! Have you been on any crazy long trips recently? Have you ever been to Canada? My family and I go about three times a year, and I love visiting there! Let me know in the comments.

🙂

August Wrap Up

Chapter 8 of The Tangle is Live!

Posted on by under My Books

the-tangle

Hey everyone! Just a super quick post to let you guys know that ‘Black and Blue, Chapter 8 of The Tangle is live on Channillo.com today! You can check it out here.

Is anyone here following me on Twitter? I’m participating in #WIPTruthOrDare this month, so every day I answer a new question about my current WIP or take a dare to add something to the story! You can check out my tweets here.

Chapter 6 of The Tangle is Live!

Posted on by under My Books

the-tangleHey, everyone! Just a super quick update to let you know that ‘Fugitive’, Chapter 6 of The Tangle, is now live on Channillo! Click here to check it out.

Sorry I haven’t been posting in a while… Last week was my break week from school, and I may have been a bit lazy and watched a lot of Sherlock instead of actually doing anything, so… And this past week I had been trying to cram about a week’s worth of school into three days so that I could go to the Great Homeschool Convention on Thursday, so there’s another excuse… 😛 I’ll try to get back on track next week!

That’s all for now. See you soon. 🙂

Chapter 4 of The Tangle is Live! (Plus Updates)

Posted on by under My Books

the-tangleHello, everyone! Just wanted to let you know that Disappearing Trick, chapter 4 of The Tangle, is live on Channillo.com. You can check out the series here.

Quick update: I know on Wednesday with Words this week I hinted that there might be one (or two, or three) special posts going up this week. However, it turned out that I didn’t finish them until yesterday evening, so those will be posted next week, starting Monday and continuing through Wednesday. It will be a series of three connected posts (i. e., Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), and if you happen to be a geek/gamer, or you’re in to geeky DIY projects, you are not going to want to miss them! I am super excited about these posts. They might be a bit out-of-the-ordinary for this blog (so far, at least), but hopefully I can showcase another side of my personality that doesn’t really show up much on here (the geeky, DIY side 😛 ), and hopefully there’ll be at least some people out there who really enjoy them. So, if you’re interested, just follow the blog to be notified when those posts go up next week!

Anyway, that’s it for me today. Bye for now.

🙂