Reading, Writing, and Me

I haven't shared much of my fiction work on the blog recently. I love the chance to share my work, but trying to submit to contests and get published makes for tricky timing for sharing here. This piece is a flash fiction that I wrote to share with as many people as possible. It's about bullying and the vicious rumors that swirl both in school and life. I don't want to ramble on, so I'll just say: I wrote this piece because I wanted others to understand how it feels if it has never happened to them, and I wanted other victims of bullying to know they're not alone in how they feel, and their emotions are very valid and very real. Rumors In through your nose, out through your mouth, that’s how you’re supposed to breathe. Really, it comes in through your nose in a rush of oxygen and exits your lips in strangled shakes, trying to push the bad out. At least this is true when there are also tears hysterically streaming down your cheeks. I can feel the wet on t...

Meet Cute  by Jennifer L. Armentarout, Dhonielle Clayton, Katie Cotugno, Jocelyn Davies, Huntley Fitzpatrick, Nina LaCour, Emery Lord, Katharine McGee, Kass Morgan, Julie Murphy, Meredith Russo, Sara Shepard, Nicola Yoon, and Ibi Zoboi (310 pages) Overall: 4 I'm going to write this review a bit differently than normal because this book is a collection of independent works. As a whole, I thought this was an awesome, fun read for any fans of contemporary romance. It also offers great diversity in ethnic background, body type, income, and sexuality. While there were a few stories set in alternative worlds, on the whole, it is mainly contemporary stories. They seemed to get stronger and stronger as the anthology progressed. While there were a few that drug on, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book, and I would definitely read more YA anthologies in the future. It is a fun and inventive format. It's a great way to sample the work of some of the biggest nam...