Check out this new tool: Archivos Created by: David Robison Nerd Blast & GIVEAWAY

Archivos Nerd Blast Banner

Please visit all stops on this nerd blast tour: http://www.jeanbooknerd.com/2018/09/nerd-blast-archivos-by-dave-robison.html

Archivos Logo

With ARCHIVOS, storytellers are empowered to be the architects of their stories. Through an interactive visual representation of an entire story world, storytellers and fans can examine the interconnections between characters, places, and events. Produced by Wonderthing Studios, ARCHIVOS provides – at a glance – a deep appreciation and comprehension of the interaction between story elements composition, superior to any wiki or blog.
 

DESCRIPTION
ARCHIVOS is story mapping and presentation application developed by Wonderthing Studios, designed to support storytellers in the creation and promotion of their story worlds.

HISTORY
Wonderthing Studios LLC was founded in January 2015 by David Robison to celebrate and foster the storytelling community in all its forms and facets. The studio develops multiple channels of engagement – from podcasts to board games to software – in order to support storytellers and provide tangible opportunities for the creative community to interact and share wisdom and experience.

ARCHIVOS has been in development for over a decade, built upon the idea of a visual representation of the network of interaction between story elements. It’s creator, David Robison, conceived a framework of documentation and relationship that would articulate the dynamics of a story setting more effectively than any wiki or blog. The application serves as both a development tool for narratives as well as a presentation framework for sharing those narratives.

THE STORY WEB
Explore the associations and connections between story elements with The Story Web. This interactive display allows you to analyze the networks of association in your story setting and navigate its length and breadth with a few clicks of the mouse!

THE LIVING MAP
Highlight the significant events and locations of your story world in the Living Map. Geography, city maps, floor plans can be showcased in this interactive and searchable display.

THE TIMELINE
Chronicle the significant events of your story world – from deep history to current events – and then explore the entire continuum on the Timeline! Zoom in to see days or zoom out encompass decades, ensuring continuity and consistency across your story setting.

Archivos Icon

Praise for ARCHIVOS

I am very excited by the potential of Archivos for authors and storytellers of all stripes. I am truly enjoying watching Archivos evolve! ―Mary Layton, Author

There’s no better way to get a visual recap of any story than there will be when ARCHIVOS hits the streets. Watch out. ―Jay Swanson, Author, Vlogger, and Chronic Transient

Archivos provides individuals and organizations with an extraordinary tool, one where the structure and breadth of a narrative can be deftly visualized, shared, and explored. My team of creators is delighted to be working with Archivos and making use of their fantastic system! ―A. David Lewis, Comics for Youth Refugees Incorporated Collective

Dave Robison

ABOUT THE CREATOR
 

Dave Robison is a storyteller who has been captivated by tales and legends his entire life.

He’s contributed vocal fabulousity to dozens of audio drama and fiction productions for EscapePod, Pseudopod, Cast of Wonders, and Podcastle, as well as The Drabblecast, StarShipSofa, Tales to Terrify. He has narrated several audio books for Tantor Media, J. Daniel Sawyer, Scott Roche, and John Meirau and appeared in audio dramas by Jay Smith and Bryan Lincoln.

As a child, he wrote Curious George and Paddington Bear fan fiction to the indulgent delight of his family. He was drawn to the immersive storytelling of live theater at an early age, participating in community workshops and school productions, a passion that continued through high school and college. He was also drawn to role-playing games which led to a deep appreciation of speculative fiction, cutting his genre teeth on Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, and JRR Tolkien.

He attended the University of Michigan, majoring in Theater and Dance but transferred to the University of Wyoming when tuition costs got too expensive. Securing his Theater degree, Dave pursued a degree in Graphic Design and, in the years that followed, worked at dinner theaters, design studios, and ran a used bookstore. When he was hired teach computer classes at New Horizons Computer Learning Center, it began a decade-long exploration of programming, education, and web development.

In 2012, Dave launched The Roundtable Podcast with friend and colleague Brion Humphrey. The podcast gave writers the opportunity to brainstorm their story ideas with established authors and editors like Lou Anders, Cat Rambo, Kameron Hurley, and Hugh Howey. The unique format combined with Dave’s over-the-top delivery and enthusiasm earned the podcast a small but dedicated following.

In 2015, Dave formed Wonderthing Studios, LLC and brought the Roundtable Podcast under its banner. The studio is the launching point for several creative endeavors including Vex Mosaic, a monthly review of essays inspired by speculative fiction media, and Manifest, a board game combining the positional strategy of chess with the fantastical diversity of Magic: The Gathering.

In 2016, Dave was honored to be invited to help lead The Ed Greenwood Group (TEGG) as its Vice-President assisting in the initialization of the diverse processes required to execute a massive shared world collaborative storytelling publishing venture. Later that year, he was appointed Executive producer of Onder Media Group (OMG) overseeing the development of multiple media channels that celebrate speculative fiction culture in all its forms and facets.

In 2017, Dave released Archivos, a story mapping and presentation tool, through Wonderthing Studios.

 
PHOTO CONTENT FROM DAVE ROBISON

WEBSITE: https://archivos.digital/
TWITTER: 
@ArchivosStories  
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ArchivosStories/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/archivos.stories/

Giveaway Banner (23)
GIVEAWAY:
Giveaway is open Internationally | Must be 13+ to Enter
 

– 1 Winner will receive an Exclusive 1-year free of ARCHIVOS (at any level) service. 

 1 Winner will receive a $25 Dollar PayPal/Amazon Gift Card.
ENDS: NOVEMBER 12, 2018
This is an amazing tool for Authors and readers alike.  Check out the YouTube video:
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Exciting Announcement: I’m Co-hosting a READ-A-THON!!!

Rereadathon2018March_18-24

It’s a Re- read-a-thon to be exact.  I, along with 20 other book lovers, will be getting online to chat about and encourage you to re-read some books.  This is the brain child of Merphy Napeir on booktube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FW6FYqPLeQIXMSulBfOLw 

For each day of the read-a-thon there will be 3 hosts across different platforms: Youtube, Instagram and our blogs.  The main twitter handle for us is @ReReadAThon2018

Do you want more awesome news????

On each day of the Re-read-a-thon, there will be 3 separate GIVEAWAYS!  For those of you that haven’t had a cup of coffee yet…that means a grand total of 21 GIVEAWAYS- 24 hour flash giveaways, to be exact, that week and you can enter them all!!!!

During the week, there will be optional challenges to help you set your TBR along with photo challenges for those of you who are all about Books and Pictures!

Here are the Hosts:

Sunday March 18

Bookstagramer: Margoe – A quick read

BookBlogger: Jess – Quick Read

Booktuber: Merphy from Merphy Napier
Featured Blog:

http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com

Featured Instagram: @little_dragon_pants

Featured Booktube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FW6FYqPLeQIXMSulBfOLw/videos

 

Monday March 19

BookBlogger wastepaperprose Childhood Favorite

Booktuber Elle from Elliot Brooks

Bookstagram: Shaegeeksout – Childhood Classics

Featured Blog: Wastepaperprose.com

Featured Instagram: @shaegeeksout

Featured Booktube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiflcKnh5cZiRWK7jlYKwxA/videos

 

 

Tuesday March 20

Bookstagramer:: Callmesensei14 – Greatest Hits: Books that define you

BookBlogger: Sophie K. -How Re-reading helped me love a book more; Sophie K.

Booktuber: Vanessa from PaperFaerie

Featured Blog: bookslikewolves.wixsite.com/blog

Featured Instagram: @callmesensei14

Featured Booktube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUGKYqBc2vdai5VNQdyahw/videos

 

 

Wednesday March 21

Bookstagramer: Merphy Napier – Favorite Genre

BookBlogger: Nadja – Re-Read from your favorite Genre (thriller)

Booktuber: Roya from Royaevereads

Featured Blog: fit-and-beautiful-heart-reads.blogspot.de

Featured Instagram: @merphynapier

Featured Booktube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvvtQYFehxl0oIWCk9EYSWw/videos

 

 

Thursday March 22

Bookstagramer: Andreasbookss- Favorite Author

BookBlogger: Amylou88 -Re-reading to break a slump

Booktuber: Jo from NotSoAverageJoe

Featured Blog: burstingwithbooks.com

Featured Instagram: @Andreasbookss

Featured Booktube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTFt-4PZgfHrUpanE0-gfBg

 

 

Friday March 23

Bookstagramer:: Bookgoil – First Reread

BookBlogger: wonderlandiansbooks – Old Fave New Edition (re-reading different editions of faves)

Booktuber: Kira from shollyday

Featured Blog: www.wonderlandiansbooks.wordpress.com

Featured Instagram: @bookgoil

Featured Booktube: https://www.youtube.com/user/shollydays/videos

 

 

Saturday March 24

Bookstagramer: CircusofDamned the first book you ever fell in love with

BookBlogger: Candice – Relistening to favorites

Booktuber: Dustin from BookBabble

Featured Blog: https://bookqueenreviews.wordpress.com

Featured Instagram: @circus_of_damned

Featured Booktube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwmOwm8RDzKo6PKe7CJvNzQ/videos

 

So, I have the honor of closing out the week by relistening to favorites.  If you have been here a while, you know I have a fairly long commute to and from work and I utilize that time by listening to Audio books.

My TBR for the week should be up fairly soon but this post should have been up two days ago!

Either way, let me know if you are participating and what your TBR looks like!

We are all so excited!

 

A Love Letter to Jay by: May Lee

When an unusual love letter arrives nearly 22 years late, in the form of a book, the man who receives it discovers a memoir filled with passion, wit and sensitivity. He also discovers that the book is about him…
Outskirts Press Announces the Release of a New Memoir, A Love Letter to Jay by May Le.
May Le’s debut novel, A Love Letter to Jay: A Memoir, is a unique and compelling love story that chronicles the life of a Chinese immigrant— one of six children from Vietnam—who faces one obstacle, one tragedy after another. One Amazon reviewer describes the memoir as “an Amy Tan novel with Horatio Alger undertones. An engrossing story filled with life at its bittersweet best.”
In A Love Letter to Jay, a memoir arrives in the mail one day, and the man to whom it’s addressed tears it open and begins to read. He quickly realizes the book is about him. It is about her. It is an astounding history of things he never knew. Deeply felt letters of devotion he’d never received fill the pages of the book, containing passionate remembrances of their lovemaking, confessions of secrets never shared, and painful details about the chasm that developed between her and her mother as they clashed over archaic cultural traditions from the old country. And now, reading her words, he begins to piece together the last 22 years.
Jay devours the book, especially the details about a son he still believes is his. When he reads about how she was raped and abused by her husband, his heart breaks, and he begins to understand why he and she were always like two ships passing in a densefoggy night, experiencing only occasional trysts punctuated by long periods of silence. He had always known of her success in business and how she’d overcome so much. After all, he had been her mentor and confidant before he was her lover. He was always proud of her. And he has always been in love with her. Putting the book down on the desk, Jay covers his eyes and begins to cry for what could have been.
May Le’s story jumps off the pages with a direct, raw, insightful wit as she recounts her life beginning as a Chinese immigrant to America from Vietnam in 1985. From the death of her father and brother while her mother struggled to support the family of five, to two decades of poverty followed by a brutal rape and coerced marriage to the rapist, a series of misfortunes propels May Le to rise above her circumstances. Ultimately she becomes a successful restaurateur and philanthropist, eventually rediscovering her long lost love, the real subject of May Le’s story: A Love Letter to Jay.
My Review:
I was expecting this book to be a bit different.  I thought that it would be the story of Jay opening up this package and reading these letters that May had wrote him.  It wasn’t really like that.  This was more of a first account of May’s story as it was happening.  It was missing Jay’s perspective.  It is a memoir of a young woman who struggles between her Chinese heritage/culture and growing up in America.
I think that this book needed additional editing and I found it to be a bit boring.  Some parts were intriguing but others just fell flat for me.  It didn’t match the description like I thought it would.
I gave this book 2 crowns.
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Nourished by: Lia Huber

Nourished

 

Yoga Girl by: Rachel Brathen

Yoga Girl

This was a fairly short book about how Rachel came to the yoga lifestyle.  She had gone through some things in her childhood that made her act out in her teenage years.  She does talk about that time and then how she came to find yoga and what it did for her life.

This book is interspersed with photographs of poses, instructions, and recipes.  Rachel began posting her photos on Instagram @Yoga_girl and earned a huge following of people.  She not only posted photos of her doing yoga but she also wrote a lot about her life struggles.

This was a good read and I gave it 4 crowns.

4_crowns

What We Have: A Family’s Inspiring Story About Love, Loss, and Survival by: Amy Boesky

What We Have

I picked this book up at the Dollar Tree and then found it on Overdrive to listen to in my car.  I had no expectations going into this book since I had no real idea of what it was about.

This is a story about a woman who grew up in a household in which all of the past generations of women on her maternal side have dies early due to cancer.  Amy has always known that she was a high risk for ovarian cancer and had a plan to have children and remove her ovaries by a specific time in her life.

This sounds like a morbid book but it really was more about the familial bond and the love and survival skills that each woman in Amy’s family have.  Yes, it was heartbreaking but it was also empowering because each woman could decide for herself what the best thing for their family would be.

I liked this book and it was well written and entertaining.  I know that sounds weird to say that a book about living with a cancer risk is entertaining but it wasn’t all about that.  It was about life.

I gave this book 4 crowns.

4_crowns

May I Be Happy by: Cyndi Lee

May I Be Happy

So technically, I did not finish this book with less than 100 pages left to read but she made me so mad that I don’t care. I don’t understand how someone who is supposedly such a wonderful yoga instructor could be such a down right mean person. She is into fat shaming others and her own beliefs about her body image are so poor. Like I mentioned in my update, she mentioned the name of her yoga studio 3 times in the first 50 pages and the constant name dropping of celebrities pissed me off.
What made me give up on finishing this book is when she was talking about her mother’s caretaker. When she says that she never saw her eat, “and we all know that is usually a sign of secret bingeing” I was done. How does she know what is going on in this woman’s life. She reinforced a stereotype on this woman who spends 12 hours a day caring for her ailing mother. I am just so mad at this woman.
To me, she should be ashamed of herself and I would never support her as a yoga instructor. 

I did not give this any crowns but wanted to put it on my blog because I wanted to warn my readers as to the crap that is this book.

Yoga Bitch by: Suzanne Morrison

Yoga Bitch

This was a fun read.  Suzanne has a way of bringing the reader along with her on her journey.  I could imagine the scenes that take place in Bali and I can feel the tension and then release of it after a good yoga session.

It reminded me a bit of Eat, Pray, Love but had more humor and less food.  This was a good read but to be completely honest, I don’t remember too much about it and I finished reading it exactly 1 week ago.

I gave this book 3 crowns.

3_crowns

Drinking at the Movies by: Julia Wertz

Drinking at the Movies

It has been a few weeks since I read this graphic novel and I am sorry to say that I can’t remember anything about it.  It was not memorable in any way.  I think while I was reading it , I was just trying to get through it.

I am struggling with finding graphic novels that I enjoy.  Maybe this genre isn’t for me but I will keep trying to see if anything clicks.

Any suggestions?

I gave this book 1 crown.

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Nowhere to Lay My Head by: Craig Daliessio

Nowhere to Lay My Head

Craig suffered a major blow to his life when the economy collapsed in 2008.  He lost everything; his job, his house, his ability to truly care for his daughter…gone.  He lived in his car for 6 years trying to get some version of his life back.  He didn’t move to another state because he wanted to be close to his daughter.  He needed to be a phone call and a short drive away.

I thought Craig’s story was a sad one.  I can’t imagine not having a place to sleep at night.  What I didn’t like was the political rage that was exhibited in this book.  I am not saying that I was a supporter of the Obama presidency but I was a bit surprised at the blatant resentment shown.  I get that Craig was hurt by the policies and procedures of those terms but I didn’t really want to hear about it.  I was also angered about the way he spoke of government assistance programs.  They were designed to be used in situations like his.  I do not believe that if he accept support that he would become lazy and not continue on his path to a better life.  Yes, the system itself is a mess and it allows for people to take advantage of it.  However, for those who honestly need it, it is a blessing.

What this book needed was a good editor.  There were many parts of this book that were repeated and revisited using the same words.  I was wondering if I had flipped back in the book accidentally.  I found a lot of grammatical errors and that just made me feel as if this was rushed to publication.

All in all, I understand the therapeutic process of writing about these years.  Craig did suffer and his daughter did as well.  I just had a hard time relating some of the decisions that were made.

I gave this book 2 crowns.

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I received this book in exchange for an honest review.