...writer's fever

Writers Fever, a phrase and reference to a phase of writing that I'm fairly certain doesn't exist, and I here by coin! Allow me to explain...

WRITER'S FEVER: GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT

Writer's Fever

(phase of writer) 

the condition of being feverishly compelled to write without stopping, as though possessed by something supernatural and unearthly.

This condition should not be dismissed. It has proved itself to be highly contagious and isolation should be implemented the moment symptoms surface.

The most common diagnosis occurs in "creative types", typically after long bouts of Writer's Block (a related illness that can be read about in one of my previous blogs "writer's blockdown" - link here.)

However, those at risk now also include recent sufferers of Cabin Fever as a direct result of the recent lockdown due to the Pandemic.

If any of the above information pertains to you (and I expect it does) and you suspect you might be at risk, I advise you to proceed with caution. Abrupt overstimulation following lockdown of any length will likely increase the likelihood of you contracting Writer's Fever.

Symptoms of Writer's Fever include:

Hermit like behaviour, nocturnal waking hours, an unexplained exhaustion, the feeling of dreaming while awake, severe cramping of the hand, fervid imaginings, and of course feverish and frantic spells of writing that cannot be stopped.

Things to avoid/limit in order to prevent contracting Writer's Fever: 

- too much fresh air being allowed to reach and restore the brain and lungs after long periods indoors

- an increase in book or text reading that might inspire or excite the mind

- social interaction (distanced or otherwise) that will remind one how to articulately string a sentence together in a manor that's passably human

- access to writing materials of any kind, such as pens, paper or convenient modern alternatives such as laptops

What to do if, despite these precautions, you begin showing symptoms:

Try to remain calm. Disguise your excitement about the influx of ideas and words pouring into your brain. This is the first symptom. You can now be sure you are in the fever's grip. The key thing is to focus on breathing, and retaining all these ideas until a suitable storage facility can be reached. Proceed with care to a secure, secluded nook where you can scribble all ideas down. Take care to be detailed. This is crucial to future research into the effects of this fever. Do NOT be alarmed if you later discover what you have written to be incoherent bibble-babble. This is a further symptom of Writer's Fever, and one that I failed to mention earlier.

To date, I regret to inform you, this fever remains incurable. It is not life threatening, though you may experience many alarming quickenings of the pulse as the result of self-created drama and plot twists. 

Do NOT FEAR. No writer has ever perished or gone mad as a result of a vivid or hyperactive imagination...oh wait...perhaps they have...scratch that! BE FEARFUL.

STAY SAFE. STAY AWARE. STAY WIERD.

And there we have it folks. My unorthodox writing update for the week. Here's to hoping this writer hasn't tipped over into madness quite yet!

Apologies for this frantic, and hopefully not to disconcerting blog. I am not a medical professional, so I am not at liberty to advise you as to home remedies, drugs and/or experimental treatments for this phantasmagorical and ever-so-slightly fictional Fever.

Until next week! Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed and could comprehend my "incoherent bibble-babble".

A friendly reminder that you can find me in-between blogs @zuzuspages across social media for all things #bookish. Links as follows: Instagram Facebook Twitter and now Pinterest

...(book review) tiger lily by jodi lynn anderson

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the feather in her hair...

This is a love story unlike any you've ever heard.

Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings...until she meets Peter Pan in the forbidding woods of  Neverland. Immediately, she falls under his spell - holding him like a secret in her heart.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Reckless and brave, he both scares and enthrals her. She will risk everything - her family, her future - to be with him.

But Tiger Lily soon discovers that the most dangerous enemy can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

TIGER LILY by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Published: 2012

Genre: YA Fiction. Fantasy Fiction. Retelling.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Let me tell you something straight off. This is a love story, but not like any you've heard. The boy and the girl are far from innocent. Dear lives are lost. And good doesn't win."

These are the captivating first sentences of Tinkerbell as she begins to relay the story of Tiger Lily, whom she's observed from childhood.

The whole book is from Tinkerbell's point of view, which in an intrigue in itself since, as a fairy,  Tinkerbell is mute, and very small, and therefore unable to do much to intervene in events as they unfold. All she can do is watch and document. A silent observer. For this reason, I think a level of tension was added to the book, knowing that some things along the way were simply unpreventable.

It's a perspective of Peter Pan that's certainly never been told, but that I thoroughly enjoyed. I love it when an author finds an interesting spin on a traditional tale, and Jodi Lynn Anderson should be applauded for this one. She weaves her characters in new dimensions, seen through fairy-eyes.

Tinkerbell  follows Tiger Lily with fascination as she grows to be an awkward teenager, out of place in her village. As the adopted daughter of the chief, Tick-Tock, Tiger Lily is respected, but feared for her fierceness and for a suspicion of being cursed by crows. A suspicion she does nothing to discourage when she begins to wear a crow feather in her hair.

"Still, the longer I was around her, the more I could see the colours of her mind and recesses of her heart. There was a beast in there. But there was also a girl who was afraid of being a beast, and who wondered if other people had beast's in their hearts too."

The tribe Tiger Lily belongs to is very real in it's traditions, and it's superstitious. They fear outsiders arriving in Neverland because of the "ageing-disease" they carry, and avoid the territories of the dangerous Peter Pan and his Lost Boys.

The Lost Boys are impossible to find in the forest, but leave evidence of themselves, "carcasses of beasts and prey in their wake, and sometimes a pirate skull dangling from a tree."

I was gripped by Neverland's mysteries, magic and traditions, and by the warnings of the Lost Boys, but when Tiger Lily, and therefore Tinkerbell, encounter Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, it is obvious that their reputations has been warped by rumour. They're a group of gangly teenage boys that tugged instantly at my heart strings. Only Peter maintains the air of instability and danger that Tiger Lily is strangely drawn to.

Tiger Lily and Peter challenge each other and complement each other in a way that you don't see between Peter and Wendy in the original story. Peter is drawn to her wildness and spirit, but at the same time resents her capability and independence, because she does not need him for anything.

It's a double love story, for when Tiger Lily first begins to fall for Peter, so does Tinkerbell, though she is too small to make much impact on him. "P.S. Give my love to Tink. She was always such a funny little bug."

Tinkerbell doesn't bear the same jealousy towards Tiger Lily that she does to Wendy in the original story, and later in this one. Her loyalty to Tiger Lily remains after all the years spent watching her, and it's touching.

There's so much more I could say about this book, but I don't want to detract from the experience of reading it for the first time. This is not a recent publication, but it's impact remains, and since I've only just discovered it, I was desperate to review it.

I admit I'm bias when it comes to retellings, since it's a genre I favour and will happily get lost in, but Tiger Lily is such a brilliant concept that I couldn't resist.

Every part of this story is alluring from the cover to the conclusion.

Let me know if you've read it, and what you thought!

Zuzu 🖋

Find me in-between blogs @zuzuspages on Instagram Facebook Twitter and now Pinterest

...rain is just confetti from the sky

Indulge me for a moment in my love of words, and finish this sentence: IN ENGLAND IT'S...

~ chucking it down

~ spitting

~ a drencher

~ showering

~ raining cats and dogs out there

~ drumming on the rooftops

~ torrential

~ tipping it down

~ pouring

~ drizzling

~ raining buckets

~ coming down in sheets and torrents

~ coming down in stair rods

~ pissing it down

~ a deluge

~ plothering down around us

In short... IT'S RAINING!

Just a brief interlude from book related blogs this week, but I hope you enjoy. I'll be posting my next blog on Monday at 6pm, but remember you can find me inbetween blogs will all sorts of book related updates @zuzuspages on Instagram Facebook Twitter and now Pinterest

...dreading a storm

Rain yes. Thunder...NO!

Fun fact about me: I have a huge aversion to storms! A phobia, if you will. It's not quite a hide under the bed and tremble till it's over kind of phobia, which is exactly how our dog used to react to thunder when I was little. It's more of a get away from anything metal, stay low to the ground and turn off the lights so the lightning can't see me kind of phobia. You know, the completely rational variety.

When the temperatures spike like they have this week, and the air grows sticky and still, not only do I begin to melt under the intensity, but I begin to dread the inevitable storm that will materialise over my house to relieve it.

It just so happens that a storm is on it's way in a couple of days. Hence this blog!

I've always acknowledged my phobia, but what I hadn't realised until recently is how it has come to influence my writing over the years.

The seasons have always shaped my stories, as they shape me, so it's understandable that a magick induced storm, referred to by my characters as the 'Great Storm', became the catalyst for my story. 'Great' here meaning an extent, amount or intensity considerably above average. And not in a good way. Without the Great Storm, my characters would be living in perfect harmony...well, sort of.

Now, I can't help thinking of storms from a fantastical perspective. The eye of the storm seeking us out, watching us as it fans across the sky, rolling and raging like a sky beast rather than a tempest.

The Great Storms' description was the first chapter I perfected in my book. It was the first time I was able to read my writing back with the confidence that my story was worth publishing - (and one day I will find an agent that shares my belief.)

When I wrote THE BLOOD DRAGON, I was unconscious of my minor phobia's influence of my writing and on my characters. But now that the book is complete, and it's sequel is well underway, I'm able to reflect back and laugh at how I've created a collective Astraphobia for the people in my fictional world that mirrors my own to perfection and lingers incurably. 

However, my characters know that if you can ride out a storm a calm will follow, and personally I cannot wait for the rain and the breeze that will follow and bring cooler temperature.

Zuzu 🖋

Find me in between blogs @zuzuspages on Instagram  Facebook Twitter and now Pinterest

...summer reading recommendations

There are some books that simply give me seasonal vibes, and since it is SUMMER I wanted to share and recommend a few of my favourite books for this beautiful time of year. I'll keep the summaries brief, but I promise I thoroughly recommend them all...

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT THE WHISTLE STOP CAFE by Fannie Flag
In the 1930's, Idgie and her friend Ruth ran the Whistle Stop Café, a little place in Alabama filled with the southern charm, good food and the intrigue of murder. The story is told from the perspective of Ninny Threadgood, an elderly resident of a care home reflecting back on her life, to her unexpected but loyal friend Evelyn Couch, a lonely housewife stuck in the rut of middle age.
I love the charm of this little book, and the variant of strong female characters we're introduced to throughout the story. It's an easy but engaging read and perfect for the hot weather and summer months.

THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
"And so with the sunshine and bursts of great leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer."
It's quotes like these that give an essence of summer to this book. Of overblown parties that overflow into gardens, the glamour of 20's high society and the cool countenance of Gatbsy himself.
I think this classic is a "must read" for anyone, but perfect for summer. Unlike some classics, it's a manageable length, easily devourable over the course of a holiday.

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES by Sue Monk Kid
Bake in the hot state of South Carolina in this incredible book and find humbling insight into what it was like to be black in the southern states in 1964. The civil rights movement is underway, though segregation and racial tensions are increasing. The story is told from the perspective of Lily Owens, a 14 year old white girl, fleeing her neglectful father. Alongside her proud African-American nanny, Rosaleen, they search for a new life. In the town of Tiburon, they are taken in by three black bee keeping sisters named after the spring and the summer - April, June and August, who seem to have a mysterious connection to Lily's mother.

WHITE ORLEANDER by Janet Filch
This book is exquisite, and a perfect deep read for summer. The language is as seductive as the story. The myriad of diverse female characters woven through the story should be applauded, but the story follows the life of one in particular. Astrid is the only daughter of Ingrid, a possessive poet and artist who wields her beauty and her strength like a weapon, making her dangerous when crossed. Astrid's world is shattered when Ingrid murders her lover and is sentenced to a life in prison.
The book becomes a step by step journey of Astrid's progression through foster homes - and how, in each of them, she transforms to become part of a new world with the renewed vigour of a butterfly, however briefly it may last.

THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett
I'm devoted to the three female characters that drive the story of this brilliant book. Aibileen, a black maid, devoted to raising a white child as part of her duties for her current employer. Her own son, recently died under tragic circumstance, and the loss has triggered a strength and a demand for change.
She's approached by Skeeter, a white woman, newly graduated from Ole Miss with none of the usual desires for marriage shown by other women her age. She wants to be a writer, a profession disapproved of by those around her. She proposes a clandestine project to Aibileen - a book compiling the honest and never before told stories of The Help.
The next woman brought into their loop is Minnie, a sass mouthed maid, and Aibileen's closest friend.
I love the contrast of these three characters, the quick, engaging pace of the story and the way that it forces the reader to examine and educate on so many injustices taking place at this time in 1962, Mississippi.

MORNING GLORY ON THE VINE by Joni Mitchell
This is what I call a coffee table book. I'm sure you all know what I mean - a large, elegant book you're proud to display, and could happily pick up and flick through at any time. I'm a music lover, and a Joni Mitchel fan and this book is perfect for flicking through on a warm summer evening, with the windows and the doors flung wide to let in the air.
Songs are stories put to music and so this book compiling some of her early songs fascinates me.

HOME WORK by Julie Andrews
An autobiography. Not necessarily this one in particular, this is simply the autobiography I've most recently enjoyed. Autobiographies are what I call great sun lounger books. Easy reads in that they aren't crafting complex fantastical worlds, but regaling the tales of a singular life and those who've touch it along the way. And they're always interesting and they fit so nicely into a beach bag!

I hope these are helpful recommendations. I know there isn't much left of the summer, but these books obviously don't have to be assigned to the season.
Let me know if you read any of them on my recommendation, or if you've read any already. What did you think?

Zuzu 🖋

Find me inbetween blogs @zuzuspages on Instagram Facebook Twitter and now Pinterest