__pleasure, gratification, & solid cash

Tags

horatio bridge, letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, quote, writing

I thought this was an interesting quote. Even though I don’t think a writer’s purpose should be to earn money, earning money is a form of success in our society. And being able to be paid for what you love to do, so you can do more of it, is a lovely thought. Not sure if these are the ‘only sensible ends of literature’ but… it made me think for a moment so I thought I’d share. What do you think about Nathaniel Hawthorne’s quote?

– Ermisenda

__your absence has gone through me

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break up, great writing quotes, inspiration, love, quote, romance, romantic, sadness, thread needle, w.s. merwin, writing

“Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle.
Everything I do is stitched with its color.”
—  W. S. Merwin, “Separation”

This was a beautiful piece of writing I found on Tumblr. Stunning, right? Are you inspired?

– Ermisenda Alvarez

Is there more love in sweat than in laughter?

Tags

book, Jefferey Deaver, love, quote, quotes, XO

 

The following is a quote from XO by Jeffery Deaver. My first reaction was a complicated blend, which is why I wanted to take a chance to write a full blog post on it.

Book Review: XO by Jeffery Deaver

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best seller, book review, book reviews, books, contemporary. book, country music, crime, fiction, Jeffery Deaver, Kathryn Dance, love, mystery, quote, quotes, review, reviews, thriller, XO

XO

Kathryn Dance #3

by Jeffery Deaver

genre: mystery, thriller, contemporary

Vivid descriptions that will haunt your dreams. Without being too gory, Deaver manages to paint horrifying pictures. To those of you who know Deaver in person, be careful not to piss him off. His methods of killing people (in XO) are creative and disturbing. The amount of effort put into this publication is astounding. I’ve seen authors create jewelry from their books, Ermisenda and I have created t-shirts, and some authors have created playlists, but XO has had a singer record all of the main character’s songs. Supposedly, Deaver has even hidden clues in the music. I haven’t listened to them except the main song which you can download for free. Beautiful vocals, but wasn’t interested in the full collection. But enough about that, back to the book!

Synopsis from Goodreads

Deaver sets his heroine Kathryn Dance on a quest to stop an obsessive stalker from destroying a beautiful young country singer.     Kayleigh Towne is gorgeous with a voice that is taking her to the heights of the country pop charts. Her hit single “Your Shadow” puts her happily in the spotlight, until an innocent exchange with one of her fans leads Kayleigh into a dark and terrifying realm. The fan warns, “I’m coming for you,” and soon accidents happen and people close to Kayleigh die. Special Agent Kathryn Dance must use her considerable skills at investigation and body language analysis to stop the stalker—but before long she learns that, like many celebrities, Kayleigh has more than just one fan with a mission. A former folksinger, Deaver has written the actual song, “Your Shadow.” Readers will be able to download it from his website, JefferyDeaver.com.

__raw stories, heard in their native tongue

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authenticity of voice, books, english, erin moira ohara, ermisenda interview, graphic, language single shade of colour, languages, learning languages, lost in translation, native tongue, perceive world through, quote, raw language, spanish, stories, writing

I was lucky enough to be interviewed by the lovely Erin Moira O’Hara on her blog yesterday (which is separate to the Blind Sight blog tour that just finished). One of her questions was what would I learn if I could learn anything. I replied with learning more languages. I already have English and Spanish, and learning Dutch on the side. So, why more? Well to read and listen to more stories of course!

Here’s an excerpt of my answer: One thing that I have always wanted to learn more of is languages. I would love to learn them more than just chit-chat with native speakers. I want to learn so many languages inside out, to the point I could translate my novels and re-read them from fresh eyes. I find that with every language (and different dialects) there are histories enveloped in the words. My love of words stretches further than English, and even Spanish. I always think of language as a single shade of colour we perceive the world through. While it may be a tad dramatic, I definitely believe that my experience of knowing more than one language has influenced me and my interactions. I can read literature and legends from Spain and even Latin America in its purest form. Nothing lost to translation.

When you learn a new language you are suddenly open to millions and possibly billions of more people whom you can interact with, whose stories you can read and share. It often saddens me to think there are so many stories I cannot know in their original, raw form simply because of language. I would love to be able to absorb and share the world’s history of stories in their full rainbow shades.

What do you think? Do you agree? Am I just being silly and dramatic? Check out the rest of the interview HERE.

– Ermisenda Alvarez

Judging People by Bookshelves

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book shelves, quote

Agree! I’ve found some very interesting things on book shelves. I raise an eyebrow at raunchy titles, snort when it’s obvious someone is trying too hard to make the right first impression. I thought you’d enjoy a peek at one of my book shelves.

When you walk into someone’s house, what’s the first thing you check out?

-Eliabeth

__villain or victim?

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batman, characters, evil, good, joker, life, quote, stories, story, victim, villain, writing

I found this quote on tumblr:

A villain is just a victim whose story hasn’t been told.
– The Land Of Stories: The Wishing Spell

The Jokerby ~DookieAdz

I don’t know who it belongs to, if anyone does, please let me know so I can provide the appropriate credit. But it got me thinking…what story have I read whereby this could apply? Everyone has a story, even the villains. I remember watching Wicked, the musical, two years ago and it was based on telling the untold story of the “wicked” witch, Elphaba. And often times, especially in movies for me personally, the villain’s story is more interesting than the main characters (e.g. The Joker in The Dark Night).

What’s your perspective on villains? Are they evil or merely victims of evil, or maybe a bit of both?

– Ermisenda Alvarez

__quote: mortal enemies

Tags

cow, inspiration, photography, quote, stories, writing

Ink and paper are sometimes passionate lovers, oftentimes brother and sister, and occasionally mortal enemies. ~Terri Guillemets

My writing relationship between blank page and typeface is one of friendship. Although, I would prefer them to be even friendlier, such as passionate lovers. Maybe I need to dim the lights and grab some candles next time I write… What’s the relationship between your words and your page at the moment?

– Ermisenda Alvarez

Cow Fightby ~sinnyfreak

__quote: I would die for you

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breath, death, inspiration, life, photography, quote, stories, writing

“I would die for you. But I won’t live for you”
-The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Have you ever written a scene where this would be an appropriate piece of dialogue that one character would say to the other?  I thought it was a powerful quote that might stir some of the sleeping muses out there.

– Ermisenda Alvarez

life breath.by *M0THart

__the difference between Harry Potter and the Hunger Games fans

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books, fans, fantasy, funny, halfblood camp, Harry Potter, hogwarts, hunger games, i want to go to hogwarts, inspiration, joke, joy, life, narnia, percy jackson, quote, reading, writing, YA

I found this on my Tumblr dashboard. It was too funny not to share with us fellow readers and writers! I’m guilty of wishing to want to go to Hogwarts, constantly. But I don’t recall ever wishing to be in the Hunger Games… go figure. 😛

– Ermisenda Alvarez