#COVERLOVE TAG // time to show some coverly love

I have returned, and with a fun little tag about book covers: the #CoverLove tag! As a book-lover, pretty book covers attract my gaze like a moth drawn to dazzling lights. On the other hand, ugly covers appall me - like when I spot a moth (or any bug) hiding in my room.

I'm waxing poetic, so let's move on to the tag before it gets out of control. :P

Rules:

- Thank the blogger who tagged you and link back to their blog (Ivie Brooks tagged me - thanks, girl!! <3)

- Answer the seven questions your nominator gave you

- Create seven new #CoverLove Tag questions

- Nominate seven other bloggers and let them know they've been tagged

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1. A cover you loved the moment you saw it.

Although Discerned by Sarah Addison-Fox isn't my favorite book in the Allegiance series, its cover is most definitely my favorite of the Allegiance series' covers (which is saying something, because ALL the Allegiance covers are gorgeous). I loved it from the moment I saw it. Not only is the sparkly, purplish-bluish color scheme a feast for the eyes, but the meaningful image of the girl - I'm assuming it's Celeste - sitting on the Words of Etra is SO COOL, and it's just... it's just so pretty. :')

2. Your least favorite book cover on a book you love

I like the steampunk-y designs on the bottom half of the cover, but I don't like those... those people. First of all, that's not how I picture Alek and Deryn. Secondly, I just don't like faces on book covers. (Wow, I sound like such a drama queen. :P)

By the way, the Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld is a REALLY good series that I 10/10 recommend! By this third installment, Goliath, I was feeling all the feels and rooting for the characters sooooo hard.

3. A cover you love on a book you hate

This Peter Pan retelling centered on the iconic Tiger Lily character was a disappointment to me when I read it... a year or two ago? I love love LOVE Jodi Lynn Anderson's enchanting writing style, and I love love LOVE so many of her other books - My Diary from the Edge of the World is probably my actual favorite book of all time - but this one was a very "meh" read for me for several reasons.

The cover, on the other hand, is super lovely?? It's aesthetically pleasing and happens to fit the mood of the novel really well. *nods*

4. A cover that makes you think of your childhood

The cover of The Forgetting Spell by Lauren Myracle only reminded me of my childhood after I started actively looking through My Books on Goodreads for a cover that might remind me of my childhood.

Anyway, when I was a young child (and didn't have any electronic devices, unlike little kids today haha) I would play in the backyard with my siblings from the moment we finished school until the sun started to go down. The setting sun and the wild-haired girl on this cover remind me of those times. *is nostalgic*

Even the story beyond the cover has a nostalgic feel to it. I distinctly remember enjoying it. <3

5. Aesthetic goals book cover

Need I say more?? The cover of this (really cool) novella is the definition of aesthetic. I get a little jolt in my heart just trying to absorb all its epicness.

I mean, you try taking in all the amazing elements of this cover and see if it doesn't make you suck in your breath! #challenge

6. A book cover with a food item you love to eat

Okay, so I admit... I've only had gelato once. (I think.) But I really liked it. It was Nutella-flavored, and I got to eat it while standing near the Caribbean Sea after dark, so that was super nice. <3

Although this is an adorable cover, with the gelato cones and little pink heart and all, Love and Gelato wasn't my favorite book? It was interesting and cute at parts, but some aspects of it were pretty darn annoying. :/

7. A book cover you love on a book you love

I love the simplicity of this cover, and I also love the darkness of it because that fits the mood of the story SO well. Heartless by Marissa Meyer is an Alice in Wonderland reimagining, and it. Is. INCREDIBLE. We're talking the "rip-your-heart-out-and-laugh-maniacally-while-you-fall-against-the-wall-and-slowly-slide-to-the-floor" sort of incredible.

I definitely recommend it. *finger guns*

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My Seven "Questions":

1. A book cover you hate that is your favorite color

2. A book cover that doesn't fit with the story

3. A book cover you wish could be your WIP's cover

4. A book cover with a design that's too simple

5. A book cover that immediately made you want to read the book

6. A book cover that is a pretty accurate depiction of your life right now

7. A book cover with a clever incorporation of the title and/or author name

I tag...

Skye @ Ink Calamities

Jem @ Jem Jones, Writer

Melissa @ Quill Pen Writer

Danielle @ Snapper

Allison @ the little bookworm

Nicole @ Wild Pennings

Well, that's almost seven other bloggers, so we're gonna roll with it. No obligation to do this if you don't want to do it or have already been nominated! :D

I hope you all enjoyed this post! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to read it - it means a lot to me. <3

The Lord's Truly,

THE BALANCING ACT CALLED LIFE // sept. 2018 general update

Won't you stay alive?

I'll take you for a ride

I will make you believe you are lovely

~ "Lovely" by Twenty One Pilots

Why did you go on an unplanned blogging hiatus? Why has editing of your novel-in-progress slowed to a crawl? Why have your comments on other blogs become so short? 

Why are you too brain-tired by the late afternoon to do anything except listen to music, watch YouTube videos, or read? Why are you always rushing out of the house to yet another out-and-about acitivity? Why are you so busy?

Yeah, well, life happened.

Because liiiiiiiiife. *headdesk*

LIFE IS CRAZY AND RUDE SOMETIMES, OKAY???

~~~

It may seem like it, but I'm not illustrating the questions I think you may be asking me (blue), then providing the answer I want to give to your questions (red). What I'm illustrating are the questions we can sometimes ask ourselves (blue) and then the answer we always give. To ourselves. (And yeah, to our blog readers too. XD)

But lately, I've been wondering about this common answer. "Life is crazy. Life is rude. LIFE HAPPENED, UGH." I know it's a joke, one I use all the time, but it still makes me wonder sometimes.

Why do we complain when life keeps us busy?

Life is an adventure. I would even argue that it's most adventure-like when it's busy and crazy. We have to make a choice: Are we going to let the craziness stress us out, or are we going to trust God that He's taking us on a ride, that He holds us in the palm of His hand and only the circumstances He allows to come in can come in? Are we going to let the busyness annoy us, or are we going to accept that God has certain priorities for us? Are we going to humbly ask Him if there's anything He wants us to let go of to make room for those priorities, or are we going to try to stubbornly hold on to everything and let ourselves crumble under the weight?

Believe me, I get stressed out. I get anxious. I get nervous when the activities of life thrust me out of my comfort zone. But God is helping me to see that amidst all its challenges, even amidst all the jump-scares and mistakes and regrets, life is an adventure. An adventure with Jesus. And every morning of this adventure, His mercies are new. His forgiveness, love, and peace are never-ending.

So, if you're feeling stressed out or annoyed by the craziness of life right now, remember that life is an adventure and Jesus is taking you on a ride.

Stay alive, my friends.

~~~

Life is an adventure, but it is also a balancing act. And we writers sometimes struggle to balance our writing with everything else, don't we?

The struggle is REAL for me right now.

Last time you heard about my progress on Dusted Red, I told you I was about to plunge into EDITS. Well, now I'm about fifty/sixty pages into said edits and it's a tedious process, especially here in the beginning where I have whole scenes and chunks of scenes I want to rewrite or write in. Or, I'll look at a scene I want to keep and think, I can execute this so much better. Hence, further rewriting. XP And I distinctly remember from my note-taking in July that I have loooooots of rewriting to do in the latter quarter of the book too. LOTS.

I have to say, it's kinda annoying. But at this point in time, what would be even more annoying is to get behind in school. So yes, I'm willing to sacrifice some of my writing time for the sake of my academic responsibilities. *nods*

Still, though... writing is my passion and I itch to devote more time to it. I hope I can get back into the swing of things soon. Editing is a lot of fun, it's just that it feels like more work to do, and after a day of school "more work" often doesn't appeal to my tired brain...? :P (And that's not counting the several evenings out of my week when I'm out running or socializing.)

In summary, progress is slow but not at a complete stand-still. ;)

~~~

Movies: Well, I watched Black Panther a few weeks ago. SO GOOD. I can't think of any others, but there are a lot of movies I have yet to watch and can't wait to! Infinity War, Incredibles 2, and Christopher Robin, to name a few. :D (Oh my gosh, that rhymesssss.)

Music: DUDE, I CAN'T WAIT FOR OCTOBER 5!!!! I was salivating over Trench's tracklist the other day, and I listen to "My Blood" ALL THE TIME, pretty much. Because it's THAT amazing. :')

I could say so much more about the Trench singles they've released, and the EPIC music videos and stuff, but not to worry - I shall restrain myself. It's hard, but... *deep breath*

Books: I'm reading several books for school, including Oliver Twist and To Kill A Mockingbird. They're both REALLY good so far! Oliver is my precious darling, and Jem is my wonderful boy. <333

I finished A Tale of Two Cities a few weeks ago. Five. Star. Read. I loved it to pieces. <3 I also just started reading Les Miserables because it turns out that I have to read it for school. Thankfully, I don't have to write anything for it - I just have to read it. And I can take the whole year to do it if that's what it takes. I'm barely into it, but it's already very interesting!

Another reading highlight is that I went to a library book sale and got Cinder, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and the entire Hunger Games trilogy for LESS THAN FIVE DOLLARS. My cheapskate heart is happy. XD

~~~

It's challenging to balance everything. School, writing, reading, and whatever else. The balancing act is all part of the adventure, though. I hope you guys are having fun on the ride Jesus is taking you on. He's got the wheel; He's in control. (I need this reminder all the time, haha...)

Your redemption won't grow stale

We are now just setting sail

~ "Lovely" by Twenty One Pilots

The Lord's Truly,

How's school going (for my fellow student readers)? How do you fit writing in amongst all the other crazy life things? Who else is pumped for the new Twenty One Pilots album???

BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENT // modified posting schedule

Hey, friends! No official post today, just a little announcement that I'm changing my posting schedule.

*sigh* I wish I had the time and motivation to write a decent post every week, but I think it would be good for me to change to every other week. Blogging would feel more fun and feasible if I had more time to put the post together, and you would probably have a leetle more coherent of a post to read. XD I have some ideas for future posts that I'm excited about, and I don't want to hastily slap together these writings simply so I'll "stay on schedule."

So... YEAH. That's all I wanted to say. Have a blessed Labor Day and rest of the week. <3 I'll see you next Monday with a real post! :D

~ Lila Kims