birthday month news: etsy shoppe closing, giveaways, a writing scholarship, and more!
happy birthday month to me!! read on for important updates, recommended reading, may pre*orders, and BIG news (& an etsy coupon!)
halthegal on etsy is CLOSING in one week!
dreams can change!
for personal reasons (to better focus on my writing and illustrating), i'll be closing my etsy shoppe for good on may 14, 2022. (that's next saturday!) thank you so much for your shopping small support over the years! (this is definitely not to disparage those still generating their income from etsy, i'm just focusing on other things.) :)
please enjoy coupon code FINALE for 15% everything in the shoppe until quantities run out! i appreciate you!!
what i'll miss most is sending you confetti*filled, glitter*noted happy mail.... so you might want to stay tuned because...
it’s time for some birthday month giveaways!!
i'm a chronic gift*giver, so to celebrate ME, i'm gonna send YOU stuff! ;D
staring monday on my instagram page, there shall be FIVE days of new posts and ways to enter my birthday month giveaway with lots of prizes for more than one winner!
so make sure you're following me, add me to your favorites/notification alerts or whatever, and be sure to enter everyday next week for more chances to win story*celebrating, bookish, artsy goodies from me!
instagram giveaways start monday!
yes, that's me as a kid. with the real theodore, our crayon box "mascot." ;)
denmark diaries: still in blissful recovery
best. trip. ever.
nathan and i got to attend an artists residency in roskilde, denmark, and it exceeded all of my wildest childhood bucket list expectations. the crayon box got to read it first, but you can read my "denmark diaries" on my last blog post, and peruse through the three (!!) saved highlight reels on my instagram.
i'm going to highlights!
oh happy day!!
the most exciting email i got while i was in denmark was that i was awarded a scholarship to attend summer camp in fiction at the highlights foundation retreat center in pennsylvania this july!!
thank you to the crayon box for sending up happy thoughts for this to happen, and of course thank you to the highlights foundation for this honor! i'll get to work on my novel with an author mentor, have peer review sessions, attend seminars and workshops, and have some peaceful writing time at the center, too. grateful. :)
here's to the books.
^ favorite reads of april.
portrait of a thief, by grade d. li: so good, i'm making my dad read it right now. ;) it's art heists and art history and international travel, the asian diaspora, intricate relationships and friendships, and a whole lot of oceans 11-vensies fun!! (adult mystery, but only a handful of cusses.)
over the moon, by natalie lloyd: a magical middle grade from one of my favorite living authors. it's stars and hope and differently-abled representation and bad guys and flying horses... i'd buy a copy for everybody if i could! (recommended for all ages!!)
refuse to be done, by matt bell: i've read a lot of great "writing craft" books, but this one was perhaps the most helpful? whether you want to write, are trying to write, or are writing and not exactly sure what you're doing at the moment, this book is for you! :D
sea of tranquility, by emily st. john mandel: a grown-up fiction title that blew me away. i'm not even sure i have any more words about it, but it's exactly the kind of book i would have loved to have studied in school. easy to read and brilliant and i won't give you comp titles for fear of giving it away. but i think you'll love it. (again, maybe just 3 cusses, no content otherwise. just pure artsy genius of the gift of literature.)
^ my birthday month signed indie pre*orders!
as you may know, every month i order a new*release book from the author's local indie so i can get it personalized and autographed! it's my way of supporting independent bookstores, usually debut authors, and growing my collection of beautiful first edition books! well, may 2022's new releases are too many to count, so i'm pretty proud of myself for only getting THREE.... ;D
we are the song, by catherine bakewell: haven't read it yet, but couldn't say no to that cover or the magical, artsy middle grade title it promises to be! ordered my copy from main street books st. charles! just came out this tuesday, 5/3
some mistakes were made, by kristin dwyer: the best way to describe her debut title is "sexy sad." ;D it's a YA contemporary filled with complicated childhood friendshipsm adoptive-family and early romances (p.s. a little steamy and cussy.) it's also by a nearly-local asheville author who's a good insta*friend and it's purple (!), and while i did read an advanced copy, i'm still collecting a signed one from malaprops! (book event with her bestie, adrienne young, may 18, too!) official release date 5/10!
rise of the school for good and evil, by soman chainani: it's the beginning of a school for good and evil prequel series and i'm much too excited about it! (i also won a 40 page sampler and did four pieces of inky art for the crayon box to celebrate!) this one comes out 5/31, and my copy is coming from the one and only books of wonder in NYC!
you can always shop my recommended reading lists by genre on my bookshop.org page and support independent bookstores across the country while you're at it. and of course tune in to my weekly reading book reviews for more recent reads and story feelings!
*oops! make that four birthday month pre*orders... one of my FAVE books i've read in 2022 so far is TOGETHER WE BURN by isabel ibañez. i read an early copy in january, and immediately pre*ordered a finished copy! it's YA fantasy/romance (with dragons! food! dancing!) and surprised me on every page. ordered my signed copy from bookmarks in winston salem, nc! comes out 5/31
i'll drop some hints in next week's giveaway posts, but PLEASE consider joining the crayon box soon as you can (like today!) for this exciting happy mail birthday month! (there's also a series of something super coming to your mailboxes everymonth this summer for my patreons, too!!)
click here to check out all the crayon box benefits!
feel free to email me with any questions or your current reads! i'll be here in my studio drinking all the coffee, revising my book, creating new art & stories for the crayon box, and working on some exciting freelance illustration projects, too. sure glad you're here.
with peace, love, and many colourful reads to you,
*hallie :)