Lazarus and Death in Sin

Today's Gospel reading is the bittersweet, and well known, story of Jesus' raising of Lazarus. I say bittersweet because, although the miracle itself is important, we are shown a side of Jesus' humanity that not often comes to light in The Bible: his empathy and his pain. The mere tears of Mary drive Jesus to …

From Darkness, Light

This time last year, I was a bridesmaid at the wedding of one of my best friends. It was a happy and glorious occasion indeed, but it had certainly not been a smooth ride. They had originally planned to have a longer engagement, but pushed the wedding forward due to an unexpected gift of another …

7 Quick Takes – Death, Work, and Lipstick

Look at that Oxford comma usage. Alex is happy. ^_^ I guess it’s time to formally resume my weekly posting, though my university work is a precedent. So maybe you’ll see me, maybe you won’t. 😛 ~1~ It was a shocking week for culture this week as both David Bowie and Alan Rickman were defeated …

On the Death of a Genius

On Write, Edit, Repeat, Lara aptly talks about how not everybody finds success at an early age, even if, like Rickman, they become celebrated legends by their work. Keep going, keep the mind from making comparisons, and aim for your best contribution to the world, regardless of when that may be. Purpose will come.

Lara Willard

A writer friend texted me the news this morning.

Immediately I wished I was in a courtyard with wand-wielders. As a poor substitute, I watched a scene from Half-Blood Prince and made this.

This afternoon I was swiping through old photos of me (which my aunt texted a few weeks ago).

I guess with Alan Rickman’s death, I’m getting all “I open at the close”—trying to decide how to live more truly to my child self. The silly, creative girl who didn’t limit herself, didn’t compare herself to others, didn’t fear failure:

Rickman didn’t get his big break until his forties. He gave us almost thirty years of brilliance—of character immersion so great, people are mourning not only him, but also the various fictional characters he loaned his soul to.

On Tolkien’s birthday, I posted about how long it took him to find success. Earlier this week, I retweeted this from…

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Photo of the Week: Dying Flowers

Sometimes I choose weird decorations. I have to say, these are not the weirdest of mine. I've had this half-bunch of flowers for several months - their dried petals perfume my room just a little bit. They were hanging about in shoeboxes and off my wardrobe, before I finally found a vase for them - …

Photo of the Week: Moments

A small flower I was keeping in my room, but, cut from the plant, it was never going to last. Yet, in morning light, as I went to throw it away, I noticed the interplay of colours in the dying carnation. (I know nothing of biology, so I couldn't say what's happening here, but death …

My life revolves around backseat driving and half-hearted love letters

And that would be the start of a poem a lot better than the one you're about to read, but the summer saps my creativity and soul, and I end up writing vapid nonsense to prompts for which I ought to be wittier. It's kind of creepy. Last month, The Scribblers creative writing society launched …

Beta/CP Match-Up

To cap off the summer long Ready. Set. Write! initiative, hosted by Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, Jaime Morrow, and Erin Funk, a mixer for potential critique partners and beta readers is being held. Today we’ve been invited to talk about our WIP and MSs, so without further ado… OF JACKETS AND PHONES Genre: YA Mystery (contemporary) Approx. wordcount: 55,000 …

Death, Derangement and Film Projects

I’m not sure when I’ll next be able to post, due to the craziness of one event following another (in quick succession in terms of working the Open Days in departments and Swing demonstration), so I’ll leave you with one of the other sides of me: some acting. As part of a second-year Film and …

Review of Vicious (by VE Schwab)

Okay, everything about this review is unusual. The review is long (sorry! I had a lot to discuss, on both sides of the spoiler warning). The novel is an adult novel, though a lot of the flashback is set in a uni with the characters aged only two or three years older than me. And …