Update

I'll be at the Pasadena Loves YA book festival THIS SATURDAY, May 23rd. More info here: http://www.pasadenateenbookfestival.com/ There will be panels and signings!

*GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS*

*GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS*

*GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS*

*GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS*

And I personally think *that scene* from last night's Game of Thrones was kind of garbage. I was willing to roll with the Sansa in Winterfell story change, and thought it was going well. And yes, there were so many other avenues the writers could have pursued in the Winterfell arcs, so many I can't even list them. First off, Sansa's rape did not happen and, based on GRRM's "if you want to see where Sansa's story is going in the books, check out the new chapter" response, she probably won't end up spending her wedding night with the absolute worst character in a pantheon of sociopaths.

But we knew a bedding would happen as soon as they married. We knew it would not be pretty. I was ready for another not-great stop on the Sansa Train to Queen in the North Station. But reducing the scene to Theon's pain and Theon's character shift was downright bullshit. Westeros is a brutal, cruel place, and nothing is sunshine and roses. But would it kill us to show a little agency on Sansa's part? The show seemed to be setting up her shift from pawn to player, and last night was so many steps back, in my opinion. As evidenced by the Cersei/Jaime debacle, the show is developing a serious problem with women and sexual agency. I'm not advocating for Sansa to go full on seductress, because she's not there yet (in the show, at least. Her new TWOW chapter is another story). But come on. One shot of determination, resolve. One shot of her drawing strength from the stones of Winterfell like Daenerys drew strength from her dragon eggs.

Instead we get Reek crying, beginning his shift back to Theon, because a woman was brutalized in front of him. I don't doubt this moment is also a catalyst for Sansa's character, and will be part of her arc later on, but the scene didn't play that way. It was Theon's scene. Somehow the show managed to take Sansa's rape away from her and it's very, very off-putting. And we're starting to see the seams in Game of Thrones. Setpieces are choreographed poorly. Storylines are getting shaky. The train is rattling on its rails. I'm hoping as things tighten up and characters find their way back together, things will improve. Or, we might be going the way of Sons of Anarchy, a terrific show that ended not well. It developed a reputation for violence and brutality, like Game of Thrones, and in an attempt to improve, I think, it leaned too far into its wheelhouse, giving us a mess in an attempt to be a bloodbath. Here's hoping Game of Thrones won't become the same bloated caricature of itself.

It's an odd day when Reign handles a storyline better than Game of Thrones, but here we are.

All hail Stannis Baratheon, the One True King of Westeros.

Back At It

So it's been almost a year since I last posted here. A fair bit has happened since then, including but not limited to:

-saying my last good-bye to my childhood home
-saying my last good-bye to my grandmother
-lots of traveling, from Scotland to Lake Tahoe to Seattle to Texas to Harry Potter World
-finishing the second novel in the Red Queen series
-releasing the first novel in the Red Queen series
-somehow debuting at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller and subsequently gaining an epitaph for my future tombstone
-making some real writer friends/realizing I don't have to be friends with everyone
-meeting more people than I ever thought would read something I wrote, let alone pay to do it
-and I learned a whole hell of a lot about myself, the publishing industry, and how I fit into it

*I also spent and will continue to spend the majority of my time freaking out over Star Wars VII*

I'm hoping to keep up with this blog a bit more than I have in the past (how many times have I said that). I think the best way to do so is to keep to short blogs, little updates about me and whatever I'm obsessing over at the time. Feel free to ask any questions here, Twitter, or Tumblr, and if they require long answers or it's a common question, maybe I'll do a post. I say maybe because I'm a flake and I don't want to misrepresent.

Currently: hungry, recovering from Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones. RIP Barry.

Reading: just finished Winter of the World by Ken Follett. Will be starting the sequel Edge of Eternity.

Working on: copy edits for book #2 submitted, drafting novella #1, fiddling with things

*there will be spoilers for Game of Thrones (the show)*

Summary: thank you thank you thank you for tolerating me, reading Red Queen, and loving it the way so many of you have!