Fantasy Author Jodi Perkins |
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Combining mindless chatter with writing updates since 1982. (That might be a slight hyperbole.) |
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WITH VALENTINE'S Day right around the corner, I wracked my brain trying to think of a sweet, love-dovey topic to commemorate the holiday. I didn't really come up with anything. But -- as a teacher of seventh-graders, I do love my students. That counts as Valentiney, right? Not many people love this age group. Probably because...well, you know. Middle-schoolers are crazy. It's like an alien hijacks their brain from the age of 12 to 14. But that craziness is what draws me to this age group. Seventh graders are sweet and emotional and overdramatic and funny and quirky and unpredictable and the most UN-boring group of hormonal psychopaths you'll ever teach. (<-- Massive run-on in case you're keeping tabs). This month's feature article is presented to you by one of my awesome seventh-graders, who I will refer to by the penname Mitchell Strohm. Some time ago my students were required to make an advertisement incorporating ten vocabulary words: remedy, venture, evidence, specimen, session, effect, invest, destiny, delicate, and pressure. Below is Mitchell's response to that assignment. Note how flawlessly Mitchell blends the vocabulary words into his advertisement. And bonus: His product is sure to help anyone who's suffering from the Valentine's Day blues. |
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Feature Article by Mitchell StrohmMyQuil |
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Depression hurts. Don't let it affect you. MyQuil. Helps cure depression. You should try MyQuil because it's the perfect remedy. You'll be so unsick you can venture out all day. Doctors have evidence that it works (maybe). We've tried it out on many specimens. If you don't believe us, go to one of our informational sessions. You won't get every side-effect (yes you will). So you should invest in MyQuil to help you. It's your destiny to take this medicine. But be careful with this very delicate bottle. |
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*Side effects may include bleeding, crying, depression, suicide, diarrhea, internal bleeding, giving into peer pressure, explosive diarrhea, and pooping uncontrollably. ---- Ugh, I just hate it when my meds make me succumb to peer pressure, don't you? But I'm glad that Mitchell mentioned diarrhea and explosive diarrhea, not to mention pooping uncontrollably, as we all know those three are very different things. Seventh graders. *sighs* Gotta love 'em. I hope you all have a Mitchell in your life who brings you laughter and warm feelings this Valentine's Day! 💝 |
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There's that moment during a marathon when you crest the corner and you see it. The finish line. Your heart goes into overdrive and you ignore your screaming muscles to sprint toward it. You tune out the noisy world around you and keep your eyes trained on the prize. |
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Yeah, this isn't me. I moved up to the 96% mark this month and finally reached 70,000 words. Amazing! I should be so excited! However (you knew this was coming)...I'm so distracted by life right now, finishing this final sprint feels brutal. I can't seem to see the prize. All I see are blurry words on a screen. Someone write the end for me. I'll pay you. |
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I'm not sure why, but some characters in Chasing Echoes have middle names, and others don't. Taz's middle name is Aurora. Her mother gave her that middle name due to her love for the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights). In Spring of Crows, Taz lies and tells a serial killer that Aurora is her first name because she doesn't want to give her real name to a psychopath. Phee's middle name is Racine (pronounced "ray-seen"), for no reason at all. Stryder's middle name is Orion, after the constellation Orion's Belt. In the original draft of Chasing Echoes, Taz was delighted to learn that Stryder's full name was Stryder Orion Black, telling him she always knew he was an "SOB." The chapter containing that conversation was deleted in the editing process. Krystal and Aviva have no middle names. Maybe I'll have readers submit suggestions. |
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I combined these two categories this month because the following video is both my soundtrack pick for the month and fan art. This song was composed by a songwriter who I now fondly refer to as Hal, but is otherwise known as Halloween Hopes. Hal emailed me several months ago telling me that the lockdowns here in California had put him into an artistic rut, and he had lost all inspiration to create music. But then he read Chasing Echoes, and his fire was relit. He used quotes and themes from the book as inspiration to compose a new song. My favorite lyric is in the main chorus: "The time I kill...is killing me." Not only is this quote used in Chasing Echoes, but it's very relatable when you're stuck at home self-quarantining. Anyway, without further ado, here's "Killing Time," inspired by Chasing Echoes. |
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Check out more music from Halloween Hopes! |
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Is there a song that reminds you of a scene from the Chasing Echoes series? Email it to me and I'll feature it in a future newsletter. |
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Hope you enjoyed this month's tidbits. See you again next month! |
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Missed last month's newsletter? Click HERE to catch up and read about my [not so interesting] experience being sick with the 'Rona. |
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