The Story Hunter by Lindsay A. Franklin // cover reveal

My friends, today I have something amazing to share with you! One of my favorite Christian fantasy writers, Lindsay A. Franklin, will be releasing The Story Hunter on May 19, 2020. This book is the third in her Weaver Trilogy.

I am so excited! I first read The Story Peddler (book one) this summer and was left in awe of Lindsay’s skill and style. It’s a beautiful, adventurous tale about a girl whose stories become glass sculptures as she tells them. She follows the rules about which stories are the right ones for as long as she can, but eventually the truth breaks free – and so begins a journey where she discovers that there are others like her.

Book two, The Story Raider, came out this year. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I plan to as soon as possible! The first one left me with many unanswered questions and set itself up very well for a great second installment.

And now, I’m privileged to reveal to you the cover for the third and final book in the Weaver Trilogy:

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(this is actually rather fun)

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(now I see why people do this when they do cover reveals)

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(but I won’t make you wait much longer, I promise)

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seven things // a tag, book recommendations, and more

Salvete, amici! (That’s Latin for “hello, friends.”) I’m here today to share seven things that I’d love you to know about.

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1 // why seven?

Because it’s my favorite number, so I picked it (:

2 // my tag is making people happy

As you may know, I created a tag here. It was lots of fun, but the best thing about it is that people are doing it! Here are some people who did it:

Mary // Wild Writing Dreams

Jenna // Jenna Terese

Kassie // Soldier Girl Stories

Weez // Caught Daydreaming

Clara // Clara & Co.

Jo // Pananaw

The Story Sponge

Audrey Kate // The Junebug Blog

Kenechi // Well… Go Read!

Laura // Beautiful Things

Eden // The Happy Hedgehog

I love seeing people’s lists of ten things that make them happy, but what makes me happier is that people keep commenting and saying that the lists of happy things also make them happy! (I know that’s confusing. But it was the point of the tag, and I’m glad it’s working.) If you haven’t done the tag yet, please do. I tag you. Go and do it and spread the happiness.

(Side note: I intentionally didn’t put “link back to the creator of the tag” in the rules for this tag. Because the point is not to make my blog popular – it’s to make people remember the simple things that make them joyful. Therefore, I may have missed it if you or someone you know did this tag. If you’re not on the above list but wish you were, feel free to comment your link so other people can read your list as well.)

3 // some books I’ve read recently

I’ve been wanting to post reviews of these books for a while, but since I haven’t really had time, I’ll be sharing them here.

know the novel, part two: within the WIP // a writers linkup

My friends, I’m doing another November post (which I somehow made time for), and this time it’s the second half of Christine’s NaNo Writers Linkup! I did the first half here, and I was so happy that some of you did it too. If you didn’t, but want to participate (even if you’re not doing NaNo!), then head on over to Christine’s blog for an explanation of how to do so and a handy place to add your link.

On to answering the questions!

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1: How’s the writing going overall?

Well, considering that (at the time I’m writing this) I’m 4.5 days in, it’s going very well! I’m handwriting, which I thought would be awful, but it turns out that I can do 1.5-2k per day without panicking or feeling too drained. It’s amazing.

I need your help! + a music blog tag

Hello there, friend!

I haven’t been posting much lately. That’s mostly because of NaNoWriMo (I have discovered that I’m able to write 2k words a day, by hand, without panicking, and it’s amazing) and because I lack motivation to actually write blog posts right now.

That being said, I haven’t forgotten my blog (you may have noticed the new header, which I randomly designed a few days ago). I have lots of posts planned for the future, including an awesome blog tour, several book reviews, some tags, and a post about writing. Most of those will probably show up in December or January, though.

But here I am, posting, because I need your help.

Firstly, I need some feedback on the title of my blog. I don’t like “Wandering Wordsmith” that much (and it’s already the name of someone else’s blog and url), but it was the best thing I could come up with on the spot after deciding I didn’t like “maya’s magic musings” anymore.

What do you think of my new blog name? Do you have any ideas for a better one? Do you like the header design? If you ran my blog, what would you change about the layout? I want to make my website the best it can be for you, so I would love your feedback on it.

Secondly, do you have any post ideas – things you would like to see me write about?

Please comment below with any ideas you have for my blog!

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Next, I’m going to be doing a blog tag I’ve wanted to do for a while. It’s called THE MUSIC TAG, and I’m so excited for it!

subscriber spotlight // I was featured on Project Inspire!

Hello, friends!

This week I was featured at Project Inspire, Jenna Terese’s amazing blog for writers and artists. If you want to learn more about why I write and get my best advice for my fellow creators, check out her post!

project inspire

i am thrilled to introduce our Subscriber Spotlight no. 2! Keep scrolling to learn more about this inspiring Project Inspire subscriber, and don’t forget to check out her blog and such to connect with another fellow artist! ❤

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|about Maya|

 Maya is a writer, dreamer, and blogger from Michigan. She loves books, the forest, hand lettering, dark chocolate, her family, and Jesus. She believes firmly in the power of stories (and of the Story), and she is passionate about sharing this hope with others through her writing, design, performing arts, and tae kwon do. Ephesians 2:8-10

|what do you create?|

I write stories, books, and poems; hand letter art; and do some graphic design.

|why do you do these forms of art?|

Ever since I was six years old, I’ve been captivated by the power of stories. My dad read Narnia and The Hobbit out loud to me, and…

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best birthday ever // a blog tag

Hey there, friends!

Today I have something different than normal, and I’m excited! It’s all thanks to Julia, who has an amazing blog. And if you tell her your birthday when you sign up for her email list (on the sidebar of her website), she sends you a lovely birthday email.

It was so much fun to see her email in my inbox on my birthday, and it included a blog tag that I’m going to share with you today!

(Side note: today may, or may not, be my actual birthday. I’ll let you guess, since I’m not in the habit of sharing that information online. *mysterious authorial grin*)

On to the tag!

know the novel, part one: introduction // a writers linkup

Hey there, friends! It’s been too long since I’ve posted, but school and other responsibilities have taken up a lot of my time lately. I’m back today, though, with a writers linkup hosted by Christine @  Christine Smith. I’m so excited!

Basically, I’ll be sharing some fun facts about one of my WIPs – specifically, the one I’m planning to do for NaNoWriMo (a November challenge in which writers worldwide try to write 50k words in 30 days).

… Yes, I’m planning to do NaNo. For the first time. I may not get 50k, and that’s all right. I’m going to be hand writing the entire novel, because I really want to get through a whole book without doing ANY edits the entire time. That’s intimidating, but it’ll be good for me, whether I write 50k words or not.

All right, here we go! (If you’re interested in doing this linkup too, scroll on down to the bottom of this post for instructions.)

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introduction to my novel

This novel, tentatively titled The New Jerusalem, is a retelling of the musical Fiddler on the Roof with a modern twist.

10 things that make me happy // a tag (created by me)

Sometimes I find that when I’m feeling anxious, stressed, or sad, thinking of things that make me happy makes me… happy. (Isn’t it strange how that works?)

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1 // My very cozy, soft sweatpants.

2 // J.R.R. Tolkien.

3 // My baby brother’s smile.

in this tale, there is no hero // a legend

Hello, everyone! Here’s a snippet from my WIP Remnant. I’ve been working on it lately and thought I should give you a taste of it. (And if you wonder later, yes, it’s supposed to start in the middle of the story.) I hope you enjoy it!

Note: this part of the story does get a bit dark and disturbing, so if you don’t like reading about death, then don’t read on. I don’t mind if you need to skip this one (:

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Once, long ago, there lived an elf who gloried in darkness. 

His name was Brasnin, and when he betrayed his kind, he was remorseless.

When he was young, he fell in love with a girl named Rene. She was beautiful and powerful, and her eyes were deep and heavy with dread and hope, for she saw the future.

They planned their lives together. She saw the shape their story would take. She saw what he would do. But she could not make herself stop loving him, and so she put her fear away and gave him her love.

One day he stood and said his vows of service. 

do I have that book? ~ a challenge

Atra esterni ono thelduin.

This is a fun challenge which I stole from Kate @ Once Upon an Ordinary (though I’d seen it on several blogs before hers reminded me that I’d like to do it).

Basically, you go through a list of twenty categories of books and see if you have one on your shelves that fits. Then you post a picture of the cover. Of course, because I’m me, I’m also making this a mini book review/recommendation post. Read on for books galore!

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1: a book with tattered edges

I’ve read this book so many times and have actually torn the cover twice! For a long time, it was my favorite of the Inheritance cycle (I think Inheritance might win now, but I still love this one). Honestly, though, I don’t like the picture of Glaedr. He has too many horns and a BEARD and the golden color, while beautiful, doesn’t go well with the brown background. I also actually own a different cover for it, but I prefer this one!

This is a really great fantasy series for ages 12+. Make sure to start with the first book (Eragon).