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Newsletter-The Merry Mischief

I am starting up a weekly newsletter for this blog and it is called the Merry Mischief, and is centered around reading and writing. It will be published through email every Monday, and anyone is allowed to get it. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please submit your email in the contact forms or just email it to litoasisreese@gmail.com.

Here is our very first edition of The Merry Mischief, though it is not in as good form as the email version:

The Merry Mischief
April 30th, 2015


Greetings to all you Mischief Makers! I’m Mary Mischief, here to give you the inside scoop on all things book related, with some assistance from the Oasis of Literature <liteartureoasis.blogspot.com>.


NEW RELEASES:
* Dream A Little Dream, by Kerstin Gier, Anthea Bell (translation)
Mysterious doors with lizard-head knobs. Talking stone statues. A crazy girl with a hatchet. Yes, Liv’s dreams have been pretty weird lately. Especially this one where she’s in a graveyard at night, watching four boys conduct dark magic rituals.


The strangest part is that Liv recognizes the boys in her dream. They’re classmates from her new school in London, the school where she’s starting over because her mom has moved them to a new country (again). But what’s really scaring Liv is that the dream boys seem to know things about her in real life, things they couldn’t possibly know—unless they actually are in her dreams? Luckily, Liv could never resist a good mystery, and all four of those boys are pretty cute…


* An Ember In The Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir
AN EMBER IN THE ASHES is a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching and pulse-pounding read. Set in a rich, high-fantasy world with echoes of ancient Rome, it tells the story of a slave fighting for her family and a young soldier fighting for his freedom.


Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.


* Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli
This book has so much buzz it should be a bumblebee. Okay, but really, lame jokes aside Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda has been hitting every “Anticipated” list since January, and with good reason. The story is about 16-year-old Simon Spier, a gay teen with good grammar and a crush on a mysterious pen pal called Blue. However, Simon isn’t exactly out yet, and when a fellow classmate blackmails him, Simon has to figure out what to do before his emails with Blue are published for all to see. This story has got a lot of heart, and a real character that anyone could relate to.
No Current Contests.


Upcoming Events:
* Theme Week May 4-9
   * Mon. Star Wars
   * Tues. Harry Potter
   * Wed. Mystery
   * Thurs. Super Hero
   * Fri. Mythical Creatures
   * Sat. Picture
* Fable Fest May 11-22




Weeklys:


Poem
Open A Book
(from Google Images)
Open a book
And you will find,
People and places of every kind;
Open a book
And you can be,
Anything you want to be;
Open a book
And you can share,
Wondrous word you find in there;
Open a book
And I will too,
You read to me,
And I’ll read to you!


Writing Tip
Write every single thing that pops into your head, somewhere. It might come in handy later.


Book Trailer Link
Clockwork Angel
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SOxzLY2OpA


Joke
I’m reading a book about anti-gravity, it’s impossible to put down.


Ten Post Summaries:
* Brainstorm: People Description Game
   * A game to help authors decide what their character looks like, including hair color, length, eye color, height.
   * http://literatureoasis.blogspot.com/2015/04/brainstorm-people-descriptions-game.html
* Favorite Pick Up Lines
   * A lot of nerdy and geeky pick up lines, including ones from Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Doctor Who.
   * http://literatureoasis.blogspot.com/2015/04/favorite-pick-up-lines.html
* Creating Love Triangles
   * Have you ever read one of those books where you just cannot decide which side of the love triangle you support because both are just perfect? Well, now you can learn to create one of those very same kind of love triangles, letting your readers anguish over which side they want to support.
   * http://literatureoasis.blogspot.com/2015/04/creating-love-triangles.html
* Challenge Time: Adding the Five Senses
   * People keep telling you that your stories are great, but they just cannot form a good connection with the character. If you don’t put the five senses of the world in your stories, then you should try it out, because the five senses can turn the most boring of characters, into characters readers love to read about.
   * http://literatureoasis.blogspot.com/2015/04/challenge-time-add-five-senses.html
* Part 3: Quest for Characters
   * This is the third part of a 7 part blog series: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet to Writing Stories. This is about looking for the right characters for your story, and it shows how to know whether they will be able to work well in your story.
   * http://literatureoasis.blogspot.com/2015/04/part-3-quest-for-characters.html
* Legend of the Sheep Dragon
   * What is the fantastical tale behind the legendary creature, the Sheep Dragon? Never heard of this incredible creature, well go find out more about it. This is the Legend of the Sheep Dragon.
   * http://literatureoasis.blogspot.com/2015/04/legend-of-sheep-dragon.html
* Peep Killer
   * You know those candy easter peeps? Well, here is where we get the inside story of an ordinary man gone mass murderer on them. Pictures as well.
   * http://literatureoasis.blogspot.com/2015/04/peep-killer.html
* No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie
   * Pie. Peanut butter. Two very loved things in this world, and now they are combined together into one being of immense deliciousness. Learn how to make it yourself as well.
   * http://literatureoasis.blogspot.com/2015/04/no-bake-peanut-butter-pie.html
* Real to Fictional
   * Out of story ideas? Well, look no further than the world around you. You can get so much out of so little, and you’ll learn how in one of my favorite posts: Real to Ficitonal.
   * http://literatureoasis.blogspot.com/2015/04/real-to-fictional.html
Our first contest was a hit with all of you guys, we got 7 entries, which was more than we thought we would get. And here are the results of that contest:
1. Memories, by Ethan M. Find it on the Winners Page.
2. Broken Balls, by Kaylyn F. and Light and Dark, by Michael H. Find them on the Page of Awesomeness.


RESULTS of the 1000 View Reward:
1. Collage, with four votes
2. Playing the Piano and Singing, both with two votes
3. Drawing, with one vote.
Which means that I will be posting a collage of myself, sometime in the next couple days, or hours.

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