Background

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

100th Post!




Hello all. I am pleased to announce that this is my 100th post on this blog! Whoo! I figured 100 posts is a good opportunity to look back at where I've been and where I want to go. I can honestly say that this blog has turned out nothing like what I originally planned for it to be. It was supposed to really be a place for for me to pretend to be a philosopher (you know, as practice for the real world), and to occasionally post reviews for books and stuff. It's really become a modge-podge of random different things, and that's ok!

I am so glad it's finally summer and I'll have time to devote to this thing now (No really, I know I complain after every semester, but this one was the worst. I have never been that close to getting a B in a class in my life. No more 19 hour semesters with two jobs, that was insane. Next semester will be better....). I do plan to focus this blog a bit more. This past year I've had to think a lot about where I am in life and what I want to do. I've made the huge decision that I don't actually want to be a professor - which is huge for me, since I thought that's what I've wanted to be for the past five or six years. I'm leaning more toward behind the scenes academic work. I want to write, I want to develop curriculum, I want to help teachers know what students actually need to know, and I want to do this all within the context of Christian Apologetics. How am I going to accomplish all this? That's an excellent question - one which I'm going to have to think and pray about this year (especially since this will be my last year in undergrad!). I've decided that this blog will be a help to me in practicing apologetics on a cultural level (not the scientific arguments, but more the analyzing culture and helping people think through worldviews in the arts).

That being said, I have some posts planned for this summer. I'll still be posting book.movie.T.V. reviews, but I'll also be doing some more intellectual posts. Among these I'll be posting on some controversial topics, so be warned (for example: I've been wanting to do a post for a long time on why it's ok for Christians to read books with magic in them). Also, since I'm going to Oxford this summer I'll be doing a series of posts on all the things I do there. One last thing I'll be doing - since I want to be an apologist, I figure I might as well extend that to things I love that I get judged for (my non-Christian apologetics), mostly referring to my love of all things foreign and strange. Like, I will step a toe outside the anime closet and tell you why you should at least give the style a shot (and I'll review shows too).

Anyways, all that just to say, this summer will be great. I'll actually post things. Woohoo 100 posts and all that jazz. Thanks for sticking with me so far. Here's to the next 100.  

Friday, May 9, 2014

Story Girl's Hidden Pearls Cover Reveal


Hayden Wand over at Story Girl has been working on her novel Hidden Pearls for a long time and is finally ready to reveal her cover! I know how hard it is to pour your soul into something like that, so it must feel great to finally be ready to reveal a super important aspect of a book. Please support her and give her some love!


And so, without further ado: The cover reveal of Hidden Pearls! 


Book Synopsis:

For the wealthy and privileged in Regency England, life is filled with balls, beaux, and tea- and that’s no exception for Constance Steele and her large, unusual family.  But when an unexpected letter sends her on a voyage across the Atlantic, her experiences affect more people than she ever could have realized. From the love lives of her sister Margaret and cousin Jack, to the family dynamics of the prestigious Breckenridge clan to a band of notorious pirates, no one could have guessed how her adventure would change them all…

Author Bio:

Hayden Wand is a Christian and homeschool graduate whose love of both Jane Austen and adventure stories inspired her to write Hidden Pearls. When she’s not writing, reading, or bribing her siblings to read the classics, you can find her baking, crafting  or watching her favorite shows on the BBC. She lives in South Carolina with her parents and four energetic younger siblings.