Camp NaNoWriMo 2019

It is that time where every April, I participate in Camp NaNoWriMo and usually I spend the time revising a novel but for the last two years I have been writing new novels. So I am going to continue that trend and start a fresh novel that I have been toying with. It was inspired by a prompt and then I was reading old stories my friends wrote. They inspired me to write this new story focusing on real life drama and away from fantasy. 

Here is the usual info about the “Camp”

Camp NaNoWriMo is your virtual writing retreat. Every April and July, take four weeks to embrace your creativity and dive into your next great writing project.

At Camp, you can:

1.     Tackle any writing project, novel or not. Are you revising your next draft? Preparing to write the next great musical, a la Lin Manuel Miranda? Penning a collection of poems? Camp is fertile ground.

2.     Set your own writing goal. Warm up for 50K by setting a word-count goal of 25,000. Or track hours, lines, or pages… whatever works for you.

3.     Find your own, personal writing group. At Camp NaNoWriMo, you can be sorted into a public cabin with writers according to your preferences, or create a private cabin for you and your already-established writing buddies.

You can message me anytime! Name is Kimmyax3 and I will be checking in from time to time. 

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This year I hope people venture out of their comfort zone and do something different. Also read something new that you haven't before to inspire you. Other than that here is to a good April!

Happy Writings!

Story Excerpt: WIP

I groaned as I could hear muffled yelling from outside my bedroom door. I tried to ignore it but the voices stumbled in front of my door. Of course they had to do it right now. My hands fumbled to grab my phone from the charger and whines when I saw it was six in the morning.

Light tried to peek through my thick curtains and I tossed over my comforter. I stumbled across the floor and threw open the door. The yells did not desist at my appearance and instead I got pulled it in to it.

“Mackenzie tell your psychotic roommate that she does not have the right to eat my shit!”

I glanced at Riley who had her hands on her hips staring daggers at Mariluz.


“Mari don’t eat Riley’s shit,” I groaned and leaned my head against the doorway.

“Well tell Riley she has no right stealing my makeup,” Mariluz spat.

“Bitch were not the same skin tone, why the fuck would you even think I would want to be like you anyway!” Riley spat and I rubbed my temple in annoyance.

Once upon a time the three of us were the tightest crew to ever exist now we could barely be in the room with one another/

“Mackenzie she needs to move out!” Mariluz yelled and threw her hands up in frustration.

As I rolled my eyes I slammed the door in both of their faces. Trotted over to my bed and collapsed back onto my bed with my hands cover my face. The door flung open and slam shut once more. I peeked through my hands and saw Riley with her hands on her hip with an annoyed look on her face.

Representations Matters

It broke my heart to find out one of my favorite shows was cancelled. I have mentioned One Day At a Time, before I love me some Lupita but today I mention it in a different way. I do not think Netflix understands the importance of having representation of television. This show touched on so many topics in the three seasons that it was on. It touched on immigration, LGBTQ+, racism, depression, family values, religion. It went there and I feel like it is one of the reason's it was pulled. A few people felt that it might have been too political but it wasn't, it was real, it was raw and they had so many funny moments. I really hope that another network picks them up or does something but #SaveODAAT needs to trend. 

International Women's Day 2019

© Credit to Lauren Carney

Two years ago, I wrote about the various diverse leading women in my stories. They were complex, they did not fit the mold. This year one of my novels focuses simply on a group of teen girls and friendship. Of course, it has drama but not the romantic kind, or bullying kind. It is a new take on everything. 

So this year I wanted to write about some powerful women on television especially from some of my favorite shows. 

Jane Villanueva

I did not know about Jane the Virgin until it was about three seasons in but I binged it one weekend and your girl was hooked. Jane is a sweet bubbly overly-cautious bundle of craziness. I see myself in her because she too is a writer, and I think that is one of the reasons I was drawn to the show. Jane is a Latina woman who is a writer, and her passion for it is a mirror of my own. She ends up falling in love with two different guys and we join her on her romantic journey. She is not perfect, and I love it. 

 Elizabeth 'Beth' Boland

I binged Good Girls when it came out on Netflix. Beth is not your average housewife, she turns out to have a slight dark side. After Beth founds out her husband has been having an affair, completely ruined both of their credit, she decides she will do something crazy. It turns out her sister and best friend, had a crazy idea to rob her sister's supermarket. This leads to many crazy mishaps but Beth does not let one inch of golden blonde hair get frazzled. She does have moments where I want to smack her because she goes too far but Bethie is amazing. 

Penelope 'Lupe' Alvarez

One Day At a Time is such an underrated show, I stumbled upon this show and I was obsessed. Penelope is a Cuban single mom, who was in the army and is currently a nurse trying to finish school. Lupe is my all time fave this year because I relate so much to her as a Latina who suffers from depression as well. Penelope can be a lot to handle and has her walls up but when we get to see the softer side you just want to hold her tight. 

Monse Finne

The itty-bitty of my faves come in the form of fourteen year old Monse from On My Block. Monse is being raised by her single dad and is in a crew of boys. Monse is not an average girly girl but she is tough, no bullshit loud mouth loveable girl. Monse can be too bossy against her friends and has a no filter mouth that makes you sigh. Yet, Monse is an amazing writer and when she loves, she loves hard!

So to all my ladies out there, keep being you!

Social Media Tags

For a long time, I wanted to re-brand Inksoaked Page, not because it needs a change but for it to expand to the other sides of the social media sphere. It took a bit longer than I wanted to (life, motherhood, career) but I needed to put this as a priority if I truly wanted this to be a major aspect of my life. 

During my small break from school (small in an understatement), I really took the time to focus on what I want my brand to be and what I want to come out of all this. Fame is definitely not one of the aspects, but I do want to grow a community of writers in my world. Although, I do have friends that write stories they do not have the same passion and drive I do about it. They like it and I love it, they do it when they want to and I do it because it wakes up my soul. Now, this is not an insult to my friends, I love them with all my heart but I need to find a community where they share the same feelings towards writing, especially when it comes to the good, bad and ugly. 

So I started to branch in different social media such as Twitter, Instagram, and even Youtube. 

So come and join me in this adventure, and grow with me. 


Instagram

Twitter

Youtube

😊

Thank you, guys, for the support, love, and friendships!

Book Review: The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder by Emmanuella Hristova

The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder by Emmanuella Hristova

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Synopsis:  It is a short collection of poems that explores a tumultuous year of love, heartbreak and unimaginable loss. It documents the birth and death of a relationship, and the death of my sister. Each poem is an emotional time-stamp that plunges the reader into the depths of my feelings as they burgeon and wane. The book reads like a diary and chronicles the boundaries of the things that we all feel: passion, heartache, and pain that gives way to hope. 

Want to feel the raw intensity of a woman trying to find herself through the throngs of trauma, passion, and suffering, then this book is for you. Emmanuella Hristova pens gut-wrenching poems in the style of entries in a journal to allow the readers into her world. When she sent an email asking if I wanted to read it I was a bit hesitant, I mean I studied prose mostly but I said sure why not?  It did help a bit that her nickname is my daughter's nickname Emmy. Yet it wasn't the sheer coincidence that happened it was the work that sucked me in. It was as if I was peeking through a stained glass window that was covered in agony and light. You're automatically pulled into this work and you want the voice to find her way to happiness, to escape the hands of the men who harmed her and the grief she experiences with the death of a family member. 

However, the work is not just detailing trauma and suffering, you get poems that remind yourself of when you first fall in love. These reminded me of any relationship I  have been, the honeymoon stage, where every new thing is wonderful and what could go wrong? Well, Emmanuella eventually takes off those rose-colored glasses and shows you. I enjoyed reading this work, and it was not a long read which is great for a person like who doesn't read poetry often. I give this book a 4.5-star rating and hope that others enjoy this piece as well. 

Emmanuella thank you for writing such an intimate revealing piece of work and allowing me to peek inside your world. 

 I recommend this book for any reader of poetry, heartbreak, and growth. 

The book can be purchased at Amazon or Barnes & Noble

Book Review: Colour Me Father: An Open Letter To My Son by Paolo Hewitt

Colour Me Father: An Open Letter To My Son by Paolo Hewitt

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Synopsis: On August 21st 2015 at 10.30 pm in an Archway hospital, my son Rafi Supino Arif came into my life. It was of course a momentous occasion, filled with all kinds of emotions. But as he started to grow, one thought kept repeating itself in my mind. Would I write about him or the experience of raising a son? The answer was always no. There was no handle for me to grab onto so I put it to one side. Until his first birthday. It was there that Rafi first heard applause and the look on his face hit something inside of me. Within a week I had begun writing Colour Me Father. 

One of the first memoirs I read this year and it intrigued me right from the first page. The book is written as a long letter from the author to his son Rafi. What wows me is the intimate insight into the father-son dynamic that Paolo writes with. The stylizing of the writing although not my favorite fits perfectly with this story.  As the story progressed we learn more about Paolo's background, his relationships with other people in Rafi's life, and just the growth of Paolo turning into a father. Not everything is sunshine and roses (as a parent I know this) but it is raw and real. The shining star of this is that right, the rawness, and reality of the story. 

Memoirs have a boxy sense to them, here we are pulled into the world and becoming a new parent right along with Paolo. So what stopped this from being a five star in my book. While the whole story is written in as an epistolary, the length of it was a bit too long. At the time I felt driven a bit away from the story as there is nothing to break the story so it is continuous. You can't exactly just stop it or you will lose your place. Other than that the story is a great piece of work. One of my favorite lines is towards the end of the novel 

"And you, my darling young son, will look up at me - and you will smile" 

 I recommend this book for any reader of Memoirs and Family Dynamics 

This book can be purchased at Paolo's personal website