#s.p.e.l.l.

[olivieblake]

Hey olivie! I don't have a tumblr, but I do follow all the Not Writing videos and SPELL discussions. I don't know if you accept suggestions, but I have a few books to suggest for SPELL: 

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See 

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover 

Much love to you this new year xx 

I’m on hiatus for now but I’ll take the recs!!

[olivieblake]

Hello! I don’t think this question has been asked - I checked your FAQ! How do you pick each months selection of book/s for S.P.E.L.L? Glad to be part of it by the way, thank you for the tag!

hello, glad to have you! nobody ever asks lol but it varies, so each book of the month post describes how and why I chose that particular book. people can send me suggestions, but the vague prerequisites are 1) female identifying author, 2) feminist themes/exploration of the female experience, 3) generally sex positive. I try to vary genre/author origin as much as possible and I try to make the release dates varied so it's not all recent books (though those are often the easiest to dig up, especially titles by bipoc authors) and can be rented from the library etc for readers who can't necessarily buy brand new books

[olivieblake]

Thanks to you, I devoured "The House of Mirth." I was struck by the sheer subtext Wharton cloaked all of Lily's "sins" in. Even the ending had me carefully zooming in to decipher what became of my favorite characters' fates. It made me think of "Modern Romance," its detached, gloomy, yet deeply romantic tones, and the characters' subtle motivations. Do you think Wharton inspired "Modern Romance" 's writing style?

here is our HOUSE OF MIRTH discussion, if you need it! as I recall nobody joined in at the time, so I’m delighted to hear you enjoyed the book 

as for the question of inspiration, Modern Romance was primarily written in 2017-2018 and the epilogical diaries concluded in april 2020, whereas I read HOUSE OF MIRTH in november 2020, so... no, there is definitely no overlap in style, lol. but I’m certainly flattered to hear my work holds the same weight as wharton’s!

[olivieblake]

I, my dagger, and my new identity return to chat in reply to asks/reviews/comments in a series of boldly shameless rambles wherein I, Olivie Blake, am not writing. Today's topics include a brief recap of this month's S.P.E.L.L. discussion and an update on what I'll be posting for my birthday this weekend.

[olivieblake]

I, my dagger, and the future home of my workplace proximity associate return to chat in reply to asks/reviews/comments in a series of boldly shameless rambles wherein I, Olivie Blake, am not writing. Today's topics include this month's S.P.E.L.L. discussion (1:27), a note to my future self (4:30), and what to do when your mom can't accept something you love about yourself (9:10).

( + a little light pining is now complete )

[olivieblake]

I, my dagger, and my enormous sense of relief return to chat in reply to asks/reviews/comments in a series of boldly shameless rambles wherein I, Olivie Blake, am not writing. Today's topics include this month's S.P.E.L.L. read, last week's complete lack of productivity, and a brief recap of my discussions from Galloween and The Department of Fandom AMA.

( + the house of mirth, my rebecca (2020) spiel )

[olivieblake]

I, my dagger, and my seasonal denial return to chat in reply to asks/reviews/comments in a series of boldly shameless rambles wherein I, Olivie Blake, am not writing. Today's topics include a discussion about recent books I've read (1:03), October's S.P.E.L.L. read, MEXICAN GOTHIC (4:13) and how to translate scenes you've visualized in your head onto the page (6:59).

( + the writing process, part II: drafting )

[olivieblake]

book recommendations?

here, and also I recently finished and recommend:

THE VANISHING HALF by brit bennett

IF I HAD YOUR FACE by frances cha

THE TWO LIVES OF LYDIA BIRD by josie silver

FAMILY TRUST by kathy wang

DAISY JONES & THE SIX by taylor jenkins reid 

A LOVE STORY FOR BEWILDERED GIRLS by emma morgan

and don’t forget this month’s S.P.E.L.L. read, SUCH A FUN AGE by kiley reid, and last month’s, AMERICANAH by chimamanda ngozi adichie