Year: 2022

My top five horror books of 2022

It’s October, and time for some ghoulishly good reading. It’s also clearly time for some bad puns. Sorry, I was raised on Tales From The Crypt and I just can’t help myself. 

In what has become a bit of a tradition around here, I’m sharing the top five best horror books I’ve read this year. I’m only including books that I read for the first time this year. So while I might have reread a few like the classic House Next Door, it won’t be included on the list. 

If you want to follow along with what I’m reading all the time, you can check me out on Goodreads and Bookbub. 

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

I think I’ve made it clear that I fell in love with Shirley Jackson this year. A huge part of this love affair was reading The Lottery or The tales of Mr. Harrington.

I was kind of expecting to slough through this, getting to the title story. But each story was honestly so entrancing that I was lost in all of them. 

End Of Watch by Stephen King

This is the final in the Mr. Mercedes trilogy. It’s the fantastic and gruesome story of a retired detective chasing a psychopath. Of course, this is a psychopath that’s physically a vegetable. For sure the whole trilogy is worth a read. 

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

I just did a whole review of this book on Haunted MTL. So I don’t want to say much here. I’ll just say that the stories found here are incredibly disturbing. 

Terrifying Tales to Tell At Night collected by Stephen Jones

I didn’t realize this was for kids when I started reading it. But that didn’t stop how much I enjoyed it. There were stories from Neil Gaiman and Stephen King in here, and they weren’t even the best ones. 

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Easily the best horror novel I read this year, The Haunting of Hill House was a pure treat. The haunting in the book was subtle until it reaches up and takes you. Even better, the language of the book is amazing. Some of the best, most haunting lines can be found in this book. And I’m still obsessed with them. 

So that’s it. Those are the five best horror books I read this year. Now I want to hear what you think. What was the best horror book you read in 2022? 

Amazon/Smashwords

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How I use Notion and bullet journaling together

Recently my favorite Youtube planner person, Catlin, made a shocking announcement. She is not going to be using a bullet journal anymore. Instead, she’s switching over to virtual planning.

This prompted me to think about my planning habits. It’s 2022, everything is expensive and everything else is digital. Maybe the time has come to switch to a fully digital planning system.

Nope, not going to happen. I’m not saying it’s never going to happen, mind you. But right now I get much-needed serotonin from my bullet journal and I’m not giving it up. 

That being said, I do use Notion for roughly half of my planning. So I thought it might be interesting to break down what I use my bullet journal for, and what I use Notion for.

Bullet journal, micro, art, and memories

My bullet journal sits open next to me most of the time. That’s because my daily task list and schedule are listed there. Anything that I have planned for this month will be in the pages of my bullet journal. Here’s a quick rundown.

-Monthly goals

-Monthly budget

-Three-month business plan

-Projects and social media plans for the current month

-My current ‘to read’ list

-Monthly habit trackers

-Shopping list

These are things I check in with daily. Things I’d like to be able to check in with by flipping a page.

Another thing that will be found on my monthly pages is a memory tracker. Here I doodle and sketch pictures that memorialize the fun events that happened that month. If we went to see a good movie if a book came out if I got a new plant. If there was a holiday, of course.

This is part of my memory keeping. I want to be able to look back at my journals and remember how my month went. That’s harder when using an app. 

It’s also harder to get creative on an app. I take great joy in drawing out borders and decorations in my bullet journal. It’s something I look forward to, every time I make a new page. 

Honestly, I just finished setting up holiday pages in my bullet journal with stickers, and it was such a joyous activity. I know I can decorate with pictures on Notion, and I do. But it’s just not the same. 

My bullet journal is for short-term planning, memory keeping, and art therapy.

Notion, macro, fluctuating, and repetitive tasks

All that being said, there are some things that a paper planner is just not useful for. Like long-term planning.

Anything that’s going to outlast my bullet journal probably isn’t going in there. So my annual plan goes into Notion. As does my OCN board. If you don’t know what that is, you’ve got to take this course by Lisa Jacobs. It’s helped me get so much more shit done, I can’t even tell you. 

I also keep a project page for each of my books in Notion. Books take a long time to write, and much longer to edit. I don’t want to rewrite a ton of information each time I switch journals. 

Then there are the things that change too often to be worth the time to write down. Things like my blog schedule, which I switch up all the time. Or my plant watering schedule which gets updated every three days. Chore charts are another big one for Notion, as they need to be updated all the damn time.

Anything in Notion is, essentially, there for too long of a time or too short of a time for it to comfortably fit in my bullet journal. 

This system works well for me. Doing things this way I’m able to keep track of managing my family, day job, and writing career. I’m also able to catch memories of my life, so I can look back and cherish them. I can build for myself a wealth of learned wisdom. I can learn from my past while giving my future plenty of room to grow.

So what about you? Do you use just a bullet journal or just a virtual planner? Let us know in the comments. 

It’s not too late to start planning for Preptober! You can get my Preptober planner now on my ko-fi shop. 

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Even Pantsers need Preptober

You likely already know that it’s the first week of Preptober for those of us getting ready for Nanowrimo next month. How it got to be this far into October already without me noticing I have no idea. But that’s another conversation for another time. 

Maybe you’re a pantser, though. Meaning, a writer who doesn’t work with outlines and instead writes by the seat of their pants. 

While I’m not a fan of this kind of writing, I get that it’s what works for some people. I’m not going to get anywhere in this life convincing people they’re making art the wrong way. 

But don’t think for a second that just because you’re not writing an outline that you should skip Preptober. Oh no, you still have some planning to do. 

Especially if you’ve never written a novel before. 

You still need to know when you’ll be writing.

This is the biggest mistake I see new Nanowrimo participants make. You go into the month with the desire to put 50,000 words on the page, but not a plan of when that’s going to actually happen. 

When are you planning to write? How much time is it going to take you to write 50,000 words? If you’re used to writing short-form work, you might know how much writing you can get done in an hour already. If you haven’t written anything for a while, try doing some writing prompts this month. See how long it takes you to get a thousand words on the page. Then you’ll know how much time you need to carve out.

You’ll still need to know how you’ll be writing.

Are you writing your novel long hand or are you typing it? If you’re typing it, what format are you using? Do you have enough writing supplied?

Don’t leave these decisions until the last minute. Figure it out now so you’re ready to hit the ground running on November first. 

You still need to know your team.

Who is your support team? Who will be helping you out at home so you can write? Who will be your writing buddies? Are you getting together in real life, or virtually? How are you going to support each other? 

You still need to plan for your life.

Listen life’s going to keep coming at you while you’re writing in November. You know your life better than me, you know what can go wrong.

Are you going to be traveling for the holidays? 

Are you a student? What is your class schedule going to look like that month?

Are you a parent? What are you going to need to do for your family? What’s going to happen in November that will take you away from writing?

For me, that’s a whole lotta cooking on Thanksgiving, and a whole lotta cleaning before and after. 

Remember, that it’s okay for life to get in the way of your writing. It’s to be expected. Not even during Nanowrimo do we want to ignore our lives. 

Remember, what doesn’t get planned doesn’t get done. So if you want to write a novel in November, even if you don’t want to outline the book itself, you still have to outline a plan. 

Don’t forget, I have a Preptober Planner to help you get ready for Nanowrimo. You can grab it right now on my ko-fi shop.

 

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What does it really meant to write what you know?

If you’ve breathed air in this world for longer than five minutes, you’ve heard this phrase. 

Write what you know.

This invariably leads every writer to have the same existential crisis when we realize that we don’t know a damned thing. And even if we do know something, it’s boring as hell and no one wants to read it. 

This realization leads many writers to treat this advice as just so much bullshit. Which is a shame, because it’s some of the best writing advice you’ll ever hear.

As I see it, there are three reasons why people get this so wrong. So today let’s talk about those reasons. And let’s talk about how you can use ‘Write what you know to help you write better.

Everyone misinterprets this phrase 

The phrase is write what you know. It is not now, nor has it ever been write only what you know. If that were the case, speculative fiction wouldn’t exist at all. 

Maybe it would help to rephrase this. Write a piece of yourself into your work. This is more honest, but not as catchy. 

As an example, I know a lot about coffee and having a complicated relationship with my hometown. I love animals and handcrafts and Fall. I am endlessly fascinated with the Mandella effect, and all things supernatural. All of that comes up in my writing. 

Everyone underestimates what they know

If you ask anyone what they know about really well, they’re probably going to tell you that there’s one, maybe two things they know about. Most people would swear they don’t know about anything but their favorite tv show. 

The same thing happened to me a few weeks ago! An icebreaker question during a writing event just floored me. “What could you talk about for an hour with no prior warning?”

My first thought was, hell I don’t know. Futurama? 

Then someone mentioned Pittsburgh, and it hit me. I could talk about George Romero and his impact on Steel City for an hour. Hell, they’d probably have to shut me up after an hour.

As I waited my turn, I thought of more and more things I could talk for an hour on. The importance of homemaking in modern times. Why it should be illegal for landlords to refuse their tenets to allow pets. Why we should abolish lawns. 

There are lots of other things that maybe couldn’t take up an hour, but I still know about them.

Here’s an exercise for you. Start making a list of things you know, big or small. Do you still think you don’t know anything? Let me help you get started. 

You know your home town.

You know what it was like to go to your high school.

You know what it was like to grow up in your family home, with your family.

Keep going

Everyone underestimates how interested other people would be in what they know

I don’t think anyone wants to hear about my childhood, but I gobble up autobiographies. I don’t think anyone cares about my hometown, but then I can’t get enough of small towns in horror novels. I don’t think anyone wants to hear about my family, but I love hearing about everyone else’s family. 

Remember your life seems boring to you because you lived it. No one else has done that. No one has the same experiences you have. No one has walked the same path. And your path is fascinating. 

That is really what we mean by writing what you know. Not that you have to have lived a fantasy life to write. But your life is fantastic, and you should share that in your work.

Preptober starts tomorrow. Don’t forget to grab your Preptober planner on my Ko-fi store

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Why would Quiet Apocalypse be banned

Including Quiet Apocalypse almost seems like cheating. It’s a horror story, it’s supposed to be offensive. It’s supposed to upset people. But after all, I included all the other books. No reason my youngest should feel left out. 

Brace yourself, folks. This might be the most offensive book I’ve ever written. But then, I never claimed it was for kids. 

Graphic animal death

I know, I wasn’t thrilled about writing it. But it did have the desired effect. Yes, there are a few horrible animal deaths in this book. 

I swear, the story called for it. 

Not as graphic but still child deaths

Some kids die in this book. I don’t go into detail. We didn’t need to read about broken bones and blood when discussing babies. But yeah, some kids die. 

Occult discussions

The main character of Quiet Apocalypse, Sadie, is a witch. I’m a witch myself, so I wrote about actual magic in this book. I even included actual spells I wrote in the book. So if you need to get rid of a ghost in your house, I got you. 

Violence

Finally, Quiet Apocalypse is violent. People are ripped apart by snowstorms. People are shredded by a staircase. At one point our heroes are attacked by toys in the attic. This isn’t a kind, friendly book. It is, gasp, a horror book. Horrifying things do happen.

So that’s it, not only for why Quiet Apocalypse would be banned but for Banned Books Week as a whole. I hope you’ve enjoyed this week of extra posts and discussions about censorship. Of course, just because Banned Books Week is over doesn’t mean we should stop reading banned books. Keep reading them, keep recommending them, keep defending them. 

One more time, I want to open the floor up to my fellow authors. Why would your book be banned? 

Banned books week might be over, but Preptober is about a week away. If you haven’t gotten your copy of the Preptober Planner yet, you still have time.

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Why would AA be banned

AA is a podcast, not a book. But of course, all mediums are subject to censorship. So even though AA hasn’t been banned, let’s talk about what it would be banned for. 

(You can listen to the whole first season for free right now by the way, on Haunted MTL.)

Substance abuse

The main character, Josey, is a recovering alcoholic. And you know I’m not one to shy away from discussions of mental illness. It’s also, spoiler, how she finds herself involved in a very different AA than she thought she was getting involved in. 

Vulgar language

I don’t use a lot of blue language here, but I sure use it in my everyday life. So of course, when writing lines that are going to be read out loud, my characters are a bit more sweary than normal. 

Homosexuality

This doesn’t come up in season one, but I’m talking about AA as a whole. Yes, there are some gay characters. That seems like enough to get it banned right there according to the top ten banned books this year. There is a culture war going on right now between conservatism and liberalism. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that. I’m also sure I don’t have to tell you that art is one of the major battlefields of this war.

Portrayal of police in a poor light

The police are pretty much useless in AA. Just like in real life. But of course, some will take this personally.

And that’s it for AA. So now it’s your turn, fellow writers. Why would your book, or podcast, be banned?

Don’t forget, Preptober is coming! Grab your copy of the Preptober Planner and plan a novel along with me all month. 

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Why would Station 86 be banned

I’m excited to bring this post to you today. Even though, sadly, Station 86 is probably the most well-behaved book series I’ve written. I need to ramp things up in the last book.

It depicts police poorly

It doesn’t start right away, but our main character Sennett does begin to realize that her police force doesn’t always have the people’s best interest at heart. It’s heartbreaking to her, and I hope it’s heartbreaking to the readers. It’s a direct example of how I feel, watching the police forces in America betray the people. 

Interracial marriages

I know this one hasn’t been an issue for a while, but it’s been a big issue in the past. 

Vulgar language

Sennett’s a police officer. She has a foul mouth. This made sense for the character. So whether it’s insulting to anyone or not, she swears. We as writers have to be honest when we’re writing our characters. We can’t worry about insulting people and lying to them as a result. 

Explicit scenes

I’m not writing 50 Shades of Grey here, but there are some sex scenes in the last Station 86 book. Again, it’s what the story needed. 

Confusing gender views

In the world of Station 86, gender roles are turned on their heads. This is something that for some reason upsets people. Remember the scene in Pleasantville, when the main antagonist is infuriated by the thought of men staying home and cooking? Yeah, this isn’t as far out of the bounds of reality as we’d like to think.

That’s it for Station 86. So now it’s your turn, my fellow writers. Why would your book be banned? Let us know in the comments. 

I made a Preptober planner! If you’re getting ready to write a novel in November, October is an essential planning time. And my planner can help. You can get it now at my Ko-fi store. 

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Why would Woven be banned?

Books are banned for some pretty ridiculous reasons. But I’m proud to say that all of my books probably could be banned. 

At least, they share many of the same traits and themes seen in commonly banned books. This is something I’m quite proud of. 

(Also, check out the Banned Books website for information and resources.)

Today I want to talk about my first series, Woven. 

No matter how many books I write, this will always be my first baby. So let’s talk about why it would totally be banned.

Homosexual activity

This is one that always trips up books. Especially young adult books. And yes, shockingly, there are gay characters in Woven. There’s even gay marriage in the first book, Broken Patterns.

I didn’t do this because I want Ally points or to be woke. I wrote gay characters, and a battle for gay rights, into my book because it’s something I’ve experienced in my life. The LGBTQ+ struggle is one Millenials have experienced since we were children. Of course, I’m going to write about it. 

Discussion of mental illness

In the second book of Woven, the main character Lenore is struggling with depression. 

I’ve struggled with anxiety. People I love deal with depression. Mental illness is a real problem and we need to be more open about it. So, when I was writing about Lenore, I wanted to write about something I was going through. I wanted to write not just about suffering from depression, but about being the partner of someone who is suffering.

Discussions of rape and abuse

I’m kind of shocked when people are surprised that bad guys in books are, ya know, bad. But Calvin, who’s the antagonist for much of the Woven series, is a bad guy. He raped people. He beat the hell out of people. He is not a good person. 

That’s made most clear, I think, in the prequel book Falling From Grace. 

We cannot be afraid to write bad guys as bad. Even Magneto, the most understandable bad guy of all time, has done horrific things. 

I’m not saying I wrote a snuff scene here. I’m saying that the antagonist in my books does bad things.

So, my fellow writers, it’s your turn. Why would your book be banned? Let us know in the comments. And please, provide links to your potentially banned books. 

Getting ready for Preptober? I have a planner for you! Check it out now on my Ko-fi store. 

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What to do if a book is banned

Books are being banned more and more often. I think it’s just one more step our society is taking toward the past instead of the future.

While it’s easy to feel discouraged in the face of censorship, we are not helpless! There are things we can do to fight against book banning. Here are five examples.

(Please check out the Banned Books website for more bookish fun and tips to fight censorship.)

Read it

This one’s pretty obvious, so let’s get it out of the way first. If you hear that a book has been banned, read it. If you’ve already read it, read it again. I did this when Maus was banned by several schools earlier this year. It’s a hard book to read, even if it is a comic. Read it twice. 

Suggest it to friends

After you read a banned book, especially if you liked it, suggest it to people. Most people pick up books because of word of mouth. It’s still the best marketing tool out there, getting people talking about a book. I know I’m more likely to read something if someone I trust recommends it. 

Buy copies as gifts

Banned books deserve all the attention. So if you can, grab a copy or two for the next gift-giving occasion. The holidays are coming up, and the top ten banned books of 2021 would probably all be great gifts for someone you love.

Donate copies

Another great thing you can do, especially if you already own your copy of a banned book, is to donate a copy to a local library. Or put a few in a mini library, if there are any in your neighborhood.

Talk about the book on social media

Finally, don’t forget to post about banned books. Write a review on Bookbub or Goodreads. Chat about it on Twitter. Post pictures of it on Instagram. The real point here is to blanket the internet with banned books. Help people find out about them. 

What I’m saying is this. People ban books because there’s something in them that makes them uncomfortable. And I would like for people who encourage censorship to be as uncomfortable as possible. So when they try to ban a book, let’s make sure it’s everywhere. Let’s make sure they can’t escape the popularity of these books. Let’s read and celebrate banned books, and help others learn about them.

Because censorship fucking sucks. 

Hey guys, don’t forget that my Preptober planner is available now on my Ko-fi shop. If you’re writing a novel in November, you want to prep in October. And my Preptober planner breaks down your tasks every week and gives you plenty of cute creative space to make it happen. 

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The top ten banned books of 2022

It’s Banned Books Week! This is always a good time. Reading books that other people consider offensive or inappropriate just makes me feel good about life, you know? And this year it’s even more important because book banning has been rampant. So it’s up to those of us who care to read out louder than ever. So let’s talk about the ten books that were most banned in 2021. Let’s read them, let’s share them, and let’s make banning books a thing of the past. 

(As always, all of this information is from the Banned Books website. Please check out their site for more information and ways you can battle censorship.)

Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin

This one was banned because of LGBTQ+ content. Spoiler, this is going to be a bit of a theme.

This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

Want to guess why this book was banned? That’s right, LGBTQ+ content and sexual education. Because why would we want to educate people about sex, one of the fundamental driving forces of our existence as a species? 

The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison

Banned for child sexual abuse scene. Maybe stick a content warning on this one. 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Banned because of sexually explicit content. I wish we protected children from guns the same way we protect them from sex scenes in books.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Banned for profanity, sexual references, and use of a derogatory term. I think this book makes the list every year.

The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas

Banned for profanity and violence. Here’s the best part. It was also banned for anti-police indoctrination. No one seems to give a damn about pro-police indoctrination. This might be the one that pisses me off the most this year. It should get a special award for this.

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

Banned for depictions of abuse. Again, I get that maybe we want to give a content warning. But don’t ban a book outright. 

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

Banned for LGBTQ+ content. As a side note, this book has one of the prettiest covers I’ve seen all year.

Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

Banned again for LGBTQ+ content. I don’t see any books getting banned for straight content. 

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Finally, banned for LGBTQ+ content. If you can read this list and tell me someone doesn’t have an agenda, I don’t know what’s the matter with you. 

This year I’ll be reading A Song Flung Up To Heaven by Maya Angelou. I’d love to hear what you’re reading for Banned Books Week. Let us know in the comments.

I made a planner! If you’re getting ready to write a novel, then you want the Preptober Planner to guide you through a month of planning. 

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