Drops of Inspira

  Hello!  It's the last couple of weeks of the semester for me. One of the re-occurring themes we've been discussing is identity. What makes us who we are?   In a discussion board, we had to answer the question: does our occupation define us? Honestly, the question made me mad. I've gone through so many different jobs since I started working at 16, and if I changed identities as many times as I changed occupations, I would be an even more insecure wreck than I am now.   I don't like the question because it places limits on who I am. It tries to stick me in a box and diagnose me. The rebel in me hates that. Before I get completely run away with the topic, let me give you this month's prompt. This month's poetry prompt is: Okay, so what does a mirror have to do with the subject of identity? Well, let me just tell you with my response to the above prompt. I tried to fit it on a nice and pretty graphic, but it wouldn't fit. How appropriate.... Broken by  J...

Hello! May is "Get Caught Reading" Month. Did you know that? I certaintly didn't until I did a bit of research last month. I think it's pretty awesome that there is a whole month dedicated to reading.  I've decided to scale my reading list back since this month is finals' month for me, but I thought I would share my TBR (to-be-read) list with you so you can see what I'm going to attempt to read this month. I've thrown some short stories, a poetry book and an ARC copy (advanced-reader-copy. I get to read it before it hits shelves.) into the mix. Dust is a re-read for me, but it's been a year since I read it and it's the book before Shadow so I thought it would be a good idea to revisit it. Do you keep a TBR list? What are you looking forward to reading this month? Until next time.... -Julia Garcia / Arysta Henry

  Hello! It's been an eventful month for me. It's the middle of my semester at college and everything seems to be piling up, conspiring together to stifle any creative juices so it's been a struggle to pull anything together.  With that being said, here is this month's prompt: In the middle of the semester, this sense of "betweenness" is a heavy feeling. I feel like I'm on the border of two very important events, but I'm not sure exactly what they are. It's not school. That is accounted for. Whatever this is, this feeling of being between things is very prominent.  My response to this prompt is a bit of poetry I actually wrote a month ago while thinking about the meeting of sand and shore. It's fictional, but the feeling of betweenness is very real, a feeling of belonging to two different worlds.                        (If you are on mobile, you might have to click  to enlarge it.)      ...

  Hello Everyone!     It's been some time since I've done a writing update on here so that's what I'll be covering this time around. I'll be dividing updates between three categories: School, Poetry, and Sirens of Fate.     So, school.... I have a poetry explication paper due April 8th. I just started writing it this past week. I've selected Bethany A. Jenning's poem, Diamonds from her book of short stories and poems, Severed Veil . If you navigate to the Reviews   section of the blog, you can read what I wrote about it. At the end of this month, I have a research paper due for my Introduction to Shakespeare class. I still need to pick the topic for that. Poetry news: I've continued to write poetry as I've gotten inspired, but I have yet to write this month's poem for Poetry 15th.  I need to ask someone in the writing community about how to go about writing/ compiling a poetry book.  Sirens of Fate: This is the first book of The Harbinger Trilo...

  Hello! One of my favorite things to do nowadays is watch the play of the sun as it hits the trees and casts shadows across the road. There's this special time of the evening where it's particularly beautiful. It's a magical moment where the world seems to hold its breath and anything can happen. It's a moment where the world seems to stop; a moment trapped in time. My response to this month's prompt came from my observations of this time of day. As always, please feel free to use the prompt below to generate your own creativity.  Here is the prompt: Last week, I took my red Lord of the Rings notebook and my red pen (I really like red. Don't know if you can tell.) and went outside. I found a place where I could watch the road by my house and just sat, observed and listened. I must have sat there for a good half an hour; it was so peaceful! Out of that time came this poem. Now, I'd like to hear from you! When was the last time you simply sat outside, observe...

     This quote has stuck in my head since my mom first read Miss Rumphius  to me when I was a child.      To me, it's a challenge to leave the world more beautiful than it was before. To leave something beautiful behind. It can be an act of kindness, coming alongside someone that needs help, making a meal for someone... Really anything.       For Miss Rumphius, it was planting lupines everywhere. For the Phoenix Fiction Writers, it's art and writing. Not familiar with this group? Let me introduce you.     The Phoenix Fiction Writers are a group of eleven speculative fiction writers dedicated to creating beautiful and meaningful stories. Their stories are not only engaging, but also challenging. These are stories that leave you thinking and chewing over what they have to say long after you finish.      If you want to know what I think about their stories, there are some reviews I've done for them under the "...

 Hello March!      I'm at the age where the months seem both to drag on forever and fly past with the speed of a jet simultaneously. I don't know if having busy months contributes to those feelings or if it just results from something else.       I like to look forward, sometimes a couple months ahead, sometimes years into the future, but last year and this past month, even, has been teaching me to slow down and take it a day at a time. I call it living at the speed of a flower. What do I mean by that?      When I was very little, I didn't keep time by a calendar. I kept time by what was going on around me. I always knew that it was March when I saw daffodils blooming. Before that, it was simply winter, but daffodils were a herald of Spring.     Flowers aren't in a hurry. They don't have to be anywhere. Their job is simply to grow. They are reliant on the rain and good soil, but they don't have a will of their own. They do...