Helen Power

Scribbler & Scholar

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Tag: Canada 150

Futuristic Canada
June 29, 2019July 1, 2019 Helen

Futuristic Canada Anthology released

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New Book Review: Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer, which comes out next week. Thanks to #netgalley for the arc to review. . Synopsis This book is marketed as a dark thriller. I mean, look at that cover (Which, by the way, is not the cover it had when I requested it through NetGalley. That cover had cute cyber-kitties on it). Doesn’t this cover make the book look dark and spooky? Even the description and the initial reviews made it sound like a dark thriller about an AI that goes off its rocker. On the contrary, this is a light book about a girl who’s always been on the run with her mother. They always have to move to different towns, so Stephanie doesn’t have any friends–in the real world. She has friends in CatNet, a chat room where pictures of cats and other adorable animals are like currency. It’s quickly revealed that one of these friends is an artificial intelligence, and this AI wants to come out of the closet. Meanwhile, Stephanie will do whatever it takes to keep from having to move to another town, because there’s a girl in her class who she isn’t ready to leave. Plot This book has a lot of great ideas, but I was disappointed in the execution. I’ll start with one of my favourite parts. In school, the students are expected to learn sex education from a robot, because adults find that topic uncomfortable. This part had me laughing (and a little angry, because it’s so darn accurate), and every time students would ask an unsanctioned question (about LGBTQ+ issues, for instance) the robot would tell them to ask their parents. This was a hilarious and interesting projection of the current political climate, and I do wish this book had had more of these types of funny (yet upsetting) insights. I absolutely loved the metaphor of the AI coming out as an artificial intelligence. However, for a book that is very Social Justice Warrior-y, the characters were often insensitive, and a lot of the metaphors really didn’t work. Stephanie should not have been running around telling everyone that [spoiler] was an AI, because that ruins the metaphor. It was the AI’s choice to tell people, not Stephanie’s. *Sigh* . Read the full review at (link in bio) - ht
Day 14: Word Count Update . Thanks to last weekend, I've been on a roll! My word count is now at 27000. I have some exciting scenes coming up, and I'm excited that I get to write them on the weekend and take my time with them. . Work at my job has been going really well! I've had so many meetings this past week, but things are going to let up (a little) next week. There are still a lot of people to meet and things to learn, but I'm loving every minute of it! . . . #nanoornot19 #nanowrimo #nanowrimo2019 #amwriting #keepwriting #wip #writer #writersofinstagram #writersofig #author #shelfie #authorsofinstagram #tbr #update #writerscommunity #writingcommunity #bookphotography #bookstagram #bookstagram #fiction #fantasy #booksbooksbooks
Day 13: #NaNoOrNot19 Traditional or Indie publishing? . I can't speak to traditional publishing (or what it's like to publish a full-length novel--someday soon, I hope!), but I've been involved with some really great independent publishers for my short stories. They work so hard to make the story the best it can be, and they really genuinely care about quality over just profit margins. . As for a Nanowrimo update, I wrote a lot this weekend and I'm elbows deep into the story now. I often struggle to write during the week (especially since I have a new job!), but last night, despite working through lunch and being *exhausted* when I got home, I still wrote 1600 words! I officially introduced Ember to her love interest. She's definitely intrigued by his bad-boy vibe and his love of literature! But nothing is as it seems, and I can't wait for things to continue to go downhill for poor Ember. (Mwahahaha) I mean, I have to give her some ups so I can tear her back down, right? It's only good writing. . . . . . . #amwriting #nanowrimo #nanowrimo2019 #writer #author #writersofinstagram #authorsofinstagram #amreading #shelfie #typewriter #goodreads #ampublished #canadianauthor #whattoread #anthology #shortstories #keepwriting #wip #writingcommunity #writersofig #writerscommunity #writenow #writing #amwritingfantasy #authorsofinsta
Today's prompt for #nanoornot19 is "Morning or night writing?" I generally write at night, but I'm much more productive first thing in the morning. I'm going to try to shift to morning writing, but that means getting up earlier, which is a challenge. . This is a picture of the sunrise from my reading nook. Isn't it gorgeous? . QOTD: When are you most productive? In the morning, in the dead of night, or somwhere in between? . . . . . #amwriting #writersofinstagram #nanowrimo #nanowrimo2019 #cozy #sunrise #writersofig #keepwriting #readingnook #authorsofinstagram #author #writer #writenow #writerscommunity #writingcommunity #amwritingfantasy #saskatoon #saskatchewan #canada #winteriscoming
Today's prompt for #NaNoOrNot19 is "Introduce your world". The world in my book is very similar to our world, except for where we have technology, they have magic. the magic in this world has many limitations, and it's very scientific. There are two types of magic - alchemy and thaumaturgy. Anyone can use either type of magic, although thaumaturgy takes much more training, skill, and kills you a lot faster 😱😜 . Ember Voss is 16 years old and she works part time in a bookstore. I mentioned before that she's obsessed with finding her best friend who's gone missing, and the bookstore she works in has many books on both illegal and dangerous magics. Of course she's desperte enough to dabble in these, and of course she'll end up getting hurt. Can't wait! (I love being mean to my main characters)😈 . I got a lot of words on the page yesterday (~6000)! I'm hoping to match that today! . . . . #amwriting #nanowrimo2019 #nanowrimo #booklover #bookstore #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writingcommunity #writerscommunity #wip #keepwriting #booknerdigans #authorsofinstagram #shelfie #author #writer #booklover #Bibliophile #bookstagram
Today's #NaNoOrNot19 prompt is: Tell us about your writing journey. I kind of already did that in my bio last week, but I want to share this gem. I wrote this short story about a princess and a vampire when I was in Grade 2. It’s hilarious 😂 and actually a little scary. I wrote a couple of things since then, but nothing from the time I was 12 to when I was 25. Then I suddenly got the need to write stories. I've included a picture of my most recent short story publication, as well as my notebook for the novel I'm working on this November. . Today I'm doing a virtual write-in with my friend. We're going to catch up in our word counts! Then I might go to Staples and pick up a big corkboard. I'm thinking of putting it above my new desk and littering its surface with inspirational writing quotes (kind of like what I did in my office at UWindsor). Wish me luck! . QOTD: Did you have a moment in your formative years that made you who you are today? (I'm getting deep with today's question!) . . . . . #amwriting #authorsofinstagram #nanowrimo #nanowrimo2019 #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writingcommunity #writerscommunity #writer #author #keepwriting #wip #socksunday #sunday #cozy #bookstagram #canlit #canadianauthor #booklover #booknerdigans #bookworm #dreams #journey
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