Man, I love documentaries!

Hello everyone! So, as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, I really love Philippa Gregory’s books. I also love all things War of the Roses/Tudor/Elizabethan era. However, there are only so many times you can watch “The White Queen/Princess” and “The Tudors.” So I was excited to see a woman named Hayley Nolan doing a web series where she discusses Anne Boleyn and the history of famous places. This led to YouTube.

Now, you can find some documentaries on Netflix or Amazon Video, but boy, are there documentaries on YouTube! I mean hundreds of documentaries. Everything from “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” to “Icons of Power,” to just name a few. They’re all very interesting and I cannot get enough of them!

If you like watching historical documentaries, especially of the Tudors, I recommend the channel allthemed docs and allthemed docs2. Together these channels have over 900 different documentaries you can watch FOR FREE. Yes, free. The magic word.

If I can recommend one documentary in particular, I would recommend the documentary where they found the body of Richard III under a carpark. I’ve watched it many times, and it’s truly amazing. The archaeology student in me cringed at one point because of their stupidity, but the rest o the documentary is very compelling. You can watch it here!

My current watch is “The Six Wives of Henry VIII.” This is my second time watching the series, and it’s amazing. I already know a lot of it from reading books and watching other documentaries and shows, but it’s still very interesting. There are 4 parts that cover all 6 of Henry’s wives. If you’re interested in this period of Tudor history, I highly recommend you start watching with this particular documentary. You can watch part one of it here.

Hopefully, this helps some of you who were interested in watching documentaries from these eras. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Amazon Video, documentaries, Elizabethan, Netflix, Philippa Gregory, tudor, videos, War of the Roses, YouTube

Judging a book by it’s cover?

One of the biggest taboos of reading is to never judge a book by its cover. Honestly, though, you know we all do it. A book that has a horrible cover is less likely to be picked up than a book with a nice cover.

For example, if I see a cover that has a woman dressed in Tudor-era clothing, I am much more likely to pick it up than if it has a castle on the cover. I like dark covers, with big, bold titles. Does this make me a bad person, because I pick the book up specifically by what I see on the cover?

This isn’t even just in bookstores. I am currently subscribed to three different email lists that send out free and discounted ebook emails each day. They are Freebooksy, Bookbub, and The Fussy Librarian. Freebooksy has completely free titles, Bookbub has both free and discounted titles, and The Fussy Librarian has two different lists: One for free, and one for discounted. I’ve loaded up my Kindle with over 1k titles thanks to these emails. When I receive the emails, I scroll through looking at the covers of the books, and if it catches my eye, I read the description. Very rarely do I read a description of a book where I don’t like the cover. For example, I rarely read covers with stereotypical romance covers, because I’m just not into that kind of thing. However, the other day a book with the title of “Loki” came up. Even though I could tell it was a romance, I read the description because I was hoping it might be a romance based on the Norse god of mischief (hint: it wasn’t). Still, the cover was a big part of my decision.

Now, am I saying you should completely ignore covers that aren’t your style, or as nice as you’d like? No. I’ve read some awesome books that had terrible covers. I’m just saying that we subconsciously decide whether or not we like a book simply by what’s on the cover.

Speaking of cover, I think it’s about time we reveal the cover for “Unmasking the Phantom”! So, here it is!

 

Keep an eye out for the first installment to be published soon!

cover, loki, norse, norse mythology, phantom of the opera, romance, unmasking the phantom

Writing Implements

When it comes to writing, everyone has their preferences. Some prefer to type on a computer, some prefer a typewriter, while others prefer pen and paper. Each has their pros and cons, but all are perfect tools for writing.

Personally, I prefer a mix of the two. When I first start writing, I prefer to use pen and paper. The particulars are usually based on whim. My favorite paper to write on is 20lb lined filler paper or “stone” paper. Which one I use depends on the pen that I feel like writing with that day.

Because of the texture and waterproofness of stone paper, it’s best to use a ballpoint pen, of which I prefer the Bic Atlantis Comfort. It writes very well with little to no skipping, and is very comfortable to hold, as it has a squishy gel grip.

If I am writing on the 20lb filler paper, my options are broader. As such, it also depends on what I feel like using that day. I do like needlepoint pens with liquid ink of which Staples has a nice pen called the “Optiflow,” however, it’s only available online. In terms of gel pens, I prefer the Pentel EnerGel Alloy pen. I have multiple colors for the refills, including black, sky blue, and purple. I recently ordered a box of sky blue refills that are needlepoint, which should be interesting. When I feel like being fancy, I pull out my favorite fountain pen which is a Jinhao Medium nib in the “shimmering sands” pattern. It writes beautifully and I have never had it leak on me. Any of these options provide a lovely writing experience on the 20lb paper.

Once I have a chapter or part written out by hand, I then turn to my computer to type it up. Of course, any computer will do. I personally use a mid-2012 MacBook Pro or my 2013 iMac (both of which I got used). As for word processor, nothing beats Microsoft Word, if you can obtain it. A handy alternative is OpenOffice, which is a free office suite and has quite a few of the same features of Microsoft Word.

I personally like to write this way because I edit while I hand-write, then I do secondary edits as I type up the piece. My very first fanfiction was written this way, mostly because most of my writing was being done during school hours, and it wasn’t as easy to get to a computer as it is today. Now, you can always have something to write with, whether or not it’s a notebook, computer, or even your phone!

Now, I am not stating that my way of writing is better. It honestly depends on the person, where they’re writing, and what they’re writing. Of course, it’s much handier to write on a computer as it provides grammar and spellcheck, but don’t forget that J.K. Rowling wrote “Harry Potter” on a napkin. Anything goes.

 

 

 

Items mentioned in this blog post:

20lb Filler Paper

“Stone” Paper Notebook

Bic Atlantis Comfort Pen

Staples OptiFlow Pen

Pentel EnerGel Alloy Pen and Refills

Jinhao Medium Nib Fountain Pen in “Shimmering Sands”

OpenOffice

computer, fountain pen, notebook, paper, pen, staples, stone paper, writing

Hey guys!

I hope you all liked the Dacre Stoker interview! I was so nervous interviewing him, but it was so much fun. I hope to have the opportunity to interview more authors in the future.

We are still working on a few chapters of “Uncovering the Phantom.” We want to have a few chapters done so that if life interferes (as it has the past few weeks), we still have content for you guys. That being said, what kind of content would you guys like to see? Do you like the blog posts and reviews? They’re always fun to write. Are there any specific reviews or blog posts you guys would like to read? We’re always up for suggestions!

Let us know what you want to see in the comments. We are always happy to oblige.

blog, content, dacre stoker, interview, Review, story, uncovering the phantom

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