My Soapbox Moment -- Think Before You Tweet!

So perhaps you have heard the recent news story were a certain professional athlete spontaneously Tweeted his thoughts about another professional athlete not once but twice, and then deleted said Tweets and re-Tweeted a different edited comment to correct what he meant to say.  My thoughts on this?  Well, I don’t want to discuss on the actual content of this Tweet specifically, because the actual comment is not my point, but what I have is a more general observation . . . .  People, think before you Tweet!  Some thoughts should be kept to yourself.  Words are powerful and can hurt.  We now live in a society that uses social media as a voice.  The problem with this huge voice that we have all been given is that instead of a comment that you casually say to a friend or group of friends, you are now commenting to an entire world of listeners (same goes here for posting photos).  With this privilege comes responsibility.  (And yes, I do believe it is a privilege.  Take a hard look at how some other countries live and then tell me that it is not.)  You have certainly heard the saying “Think before you act”, well I implore you to please think before you act, Tweet, Facebook, Blog, email, Pin, or whatever other public avenue you use to get your point across.  You might just say something you really didn't mean to.  Who here hasn't said something they instantly regretted because it did not come out right and represent what they really meant to say? 

To quote the immortal Poo Bear, “Think, Think, Think!”

"Constellations" Went Live

Here it is!  "Constellations" went live on The Story Shack this morning.

"Constellations" Goes Live Today!

Friends,

My next story, "Constellations" goes live today on The Story Shack.  As soon as it appears, I will put a direct link on my blog so that everyone may access it.

Thanks for reading!

Christina

Book Review Time - "Light on Snow" by Anita Shreve

Anita's writing is simple and easy to read.  Yet when these simple, clear sentences are woven together, you are presented with surprisingly poetic paragraphs and a story that grabs you and pulls you into its web.  

With this book, Anita Shreve presents you with a interesting moral dilemma resulting from a shocking discovery.  She allows you to taste and savor the story's events and subsequent emotions while never letting your attention go.  The story takes place over a time span of only a couple days and because of this, I won't reveal to you what the story is about.  What I will say is that I have read three Anita Shreve books now (Body Surfing, Testimony and Light on Snow), and I think this one was perhaps my favorite.  

Well done.  I give this one a thumbs up.   

Illustration Completed for "Constellations"

I am happy to report that the illustrator, Sue Pownall, has completed her drawing for my next piece, "Constellations".  This story will go live on The Story Shack on April 26th.  I hope you tune in to see the completed project!

Quote of the Day

“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” 

― John Lennon

Book Review Time - "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

So, I'm having trouble trying to put into words my feelings about this book.  Therefore, here is a rambling of my thoughts.

Yes, it was good.  However, I have a "but" lingering in the background and I'm not sure why.  Here's what I can tell you.  The jacket comments are accurate, such as, "Powerful", "Unforgettable", "Haunting", "Moving".  It is by no means a light read, and as one critic said, it is a story that stays with you.  Then I read a full pendulum of reviews from readers both hailing it as the best book ever written and others not liking it at all.  While the majority opinion falls on the positive side, I am somewhere closer to the middle.

So what is it about?  Well, I personally can't describe this as a feelgood story, although redemption does come toward the very end.  It is a story about two boys who grew up in Afghanistan and follows the life of one boy in particular through his immigration to the United States.  It describes the difficulty, hardships and challenges in their lives from the 1970's to post-9/11, and there are many sad occurrences throughout this story that may leave you with a heavy heart.  I did greatly appreciate the insight into Afghan life, and found it is a good reminder to everyone that you cannot define the people of a country solely upon the acts of their leader(s).  However I did find this book a bit depressing and don't think that it would be for everyone.

Therefore, to sum it up I'll say this:  Yes, it was good.  Yes, I'm glad that I read it.  And yes, I'm ready to move on to something else now.  Oh, and no, I won't forget it.

Publishing Date for "Constellations" - April 26th

A publishing date of April 26th has been set for my next piece, "Constellations".  On this collaboration I have been paired with a very talented illustrator originally from the UK, but currently based in Oman, Sue Pownall.  Check out her site to see examples of her beautiful work, and stay tuned to see the results of our pairing.

New Story Went Live - "Meandering in Silence"

The new story is out!  A huge thank you to Grace Gao for the beautiful illustration.  Check out The Story Shack to read "Meandering in Silence".