a june full of new stories!
join the cool kids this summer:
they're all in the summer sticker club!!
this past month, i shut down the halthegal etsy shoppe.
(all the "gory" details here in the last blog post, if you're curious!)
i don't regret it, but the only thing i do miss is sending you happy mail!
so you can join the summer sticker club and let me send you that missing happy mail!
if you join the crayon box fun this summer, in addition to all the usual monthly perks for my patreons, for your pledge $5 or more (the cost of a sticker anyway!) i'll also mail you brand new exclusive stickers every month! (art by me, of course; complete with handwritten glitter notes and that ubiquitous paper confetti i love so much, too.) ;)
click the button below to see everything coming your way in june!!
and while i shan't say any MORe about it here, you gotta join this month to get something DOUBLY rad (& adorable) in july to make sure we *hint hint* get enough printed!! eep!!) ;D
and since my halthegal etsy shop is gone, if at any time you need to add to your faerie tale feet collection, just email me and we can arrange a purchase! :)
last month was fantastic.
thanks for helping me celebrate!
we had a full week of birthday month giveaways over on my instagram
i celebrated my 7th wedding anniversary with nathan (fancy rooftop dinner above!)
i took myself on a bookish road trip to asheville (shopped for books at malaprop's & got to celebrate kristin dwyer's debut novel at her signing!!)
sent out bonus birthday goodies to the crayon box and painted june's summer sticker club sticker (still available if you join my patreon today!!)
and i'm getting my pages ready for highlights camp next month! so stay tuned for more author road trip adventures!!
here's to more june stories and art!
here's to the books.
^ my favorite reads of may.
k-pop confidential, by stephan lee: so good, i immediately downloaded the sequel, K-Pop Revolution, and listened to it while painting in my studio! it's YA contemporary fiction; behind the scenes in a korean k-pop boarding school where "idols" (k-pop stars) are trained to become well-mannered singing, dancing pop icons. the author used to write for entertainment weekly, so it covered all the things i'm fascinated by: behind the scenes, celebrity culture, rigorous training, creativity, and the dangers of social media and its fandoms. (also, the narrator was terrific if you're an audiobook fan! & stephan's podcast interview with marissa meyer was a must-listen!!)
an arrow to the moon, by emily x.r. pan: a romeo + juliet retelling mixed with chinese mythology by the author of the astonishing color of after. this one is YA, and does come with its fair share of language and adult/family drama and situations. (i re-read it on audio while painting's may's alternate cover artfor my patreons over in the crayon box!)
when women were dragons, by kelly barnhill: this book is adult fiction, but "heightened reality" bordering on fantasy. or is it?? ;D the author nearly had me convinced that there WAS a "mass dragoning" in the 1950's that our government successfully covered up. a feminist alternate reality where we can come into our powers if we choose. a fascinating read full of great ideas for bringing down the patriarchy. you know, if you're secretly a dragon. also, i need something to name helen after The Best Librarian i've ever read in a book. :D
5 worlds, the emerald gate, by mark siegel & team: the conclusion to this 5-book young readers graphic novel series. the art is gorgeous, the characters diverse and colourful, the friendships powerful. i mostly love this series because it's just so pretty. (appropriate for all ages.)
^ my birthday month signed indie pre*orders!
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! i pre*ordered a couple more than usual in may (because, birthday!) so here's what i just read/am currently reading!!
rise of the school for good and evil, by soman chainani: it's the beginning of a school for good and evil prequel duology! my copy from books of wonder in NYC arrived monday, and i took a couple extra hours off this week so i could read it immediately! :D
we'll talk about it in this upcoming monday's weekly reading book review over on my instagram, but soman has once again outdone himself. the prose was sparse and punchy (probably a side effect of his elegantly written beasts & beauty fairy tale retellings last year); and the plot twists and surprising literary character appearances were of course fantastic, too.
also this week, netflix released the movie poster for the september release of THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL (the first book in the series; see soman sign my first edition at y'all fest last year!!) and then on tuesday, there was netflix geeked week panel with soman and the two actresses playing sophie and agatha. my fangirl heart is exploding with all the fairy tale news! :D
some mistakes were made, by kristin dwyer: i got to go to malaprop's last month for kristin's launch event in asheville, and picked up a fresh, personalized copy!! while i did already read an advanced reader's copy of this contemporary YA romance last year, i'm looking forward to re-reading this "if taylor swift songs were a sexy-sad book." it's childhood best friends-to-enemies-to-lovers full of complicated family dynamics and kissing. also, it's purple. yay!! ;)
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!
this week's reason to boycott the mega-website-that-must-not-be-named? it was revealed that as readers "return" e-books in exchange for new e-books, the authors themselves end up having to pay this-gross-website for those returns. so please respect authors' rights to their art and livelihood. please support a different merchant if you can. (or use the library!)
please email me with any questions or comments, reading suggestions, or otherwise! 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. thanks for all of your support!
here's to many more story-filled, creative adventures for us all!
with peace, love, and many colourful reads to you,
*hallie :)
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