Bleeding Ink's Anniversary of Existence + First Spam Comment!

Greetings, my friends,


Last November through December was a very busy time, so much so I nearly forgot December marked this blog's birthday (only remembered it while in a conversation with another blogger, R.M. Archer, who has released a short story collection you should go check out), and I was unable to post anything special.

But here we are, a year and almost three months old. And have we grown much? No, not really. And that is most likely thanks to a very inactive year, at my own fault.
But Bleeding Ink is still here, and I'm still here, and posts are still here.
So I count the past year as a win.

Have I gathered other bloggers to help celebrate? No.

Have I prepared a funny story to share? No.

Have I prepared any kind of creative content in honor of it? No, I have not.


So let the day go on, and if you can find a spare moment, think of this humble page and use it to remember and appreciate all the writers and authors who started small, and all the writers authors who are, now, still small.
One day, they will blossom and finally be recognized as the literary artists that they are.


Now you may be wondering about the second part of the title, "First Spam Comment".
That's right, I've finally hit that milestone. And a strange, yet joyous milestone that is. I have finally reached the ears of random companies and bots.
Surely, I'm only one step away from being noticed by some wealthy, kind-hearted publisher in search of hidden talent, which I totally have.

What was the comment, you may be asking?
Don't go searching for it, you won't find it. Because I deleted it. Because it was spam.

But this was the comment:

What it says, in case you can't read it: "What a lovely and interesting blog. I have read many blogs on the internet but I like your post the most. Thank you for sharing it to our readers", and then there is a list of links, all having to do with Vietnam.

Well, Viet Nguyen, from the bottom of my heart let me say thank you for your kind words. I am honored that, out of the millions and millions of blogs that you've read, I have the humble honor to have written your most liked post.

I also apologize that I didn't respond to your comment in the comment section, that I did not click any of your links, and that I deleted it, but it is spam after all.



So there you have it, a missed blog anniversary and a first spam comment that happened two months ago.
I give you such quality content, don't I?


 Have any thoughts, spam comments, critiques, ideas, or questions, please feel free to reply below (however if you make a spam comment, expect it to be deleted).


  Wishing you well,


                         ~ Edna Pellen  (author of Bleeding Ink for one uneventful year)

R.M. Archer's Blog Tour! Story Review ~ Escape Room

Greeting once again, dear readers!


Happy first day of February! To start off the month, I give you...

 My Escape Room story review!

Let the strenuous act of restraining myself from spoiling the story commence.


I loved this story, much like I said in my *Silence story review*, this has a very quick fish hook beginning. In the graphic above you see the beginning paragraphs of Escape Room, which give just the briefest of looks into the story.
That first paragraph drops you in the story, the second causes curiosity, and the third (which is not in the graphic) keeps you there.

And then it just keeps going, and going, and going, and then- what's this?? It's... it's over??? Already???

I would greatly appreciate a sequel, if you can't tell.


Here's a brief run down...

The Characters:

They are smart. They are really smart. They get stuff done, and move quickly. Which, though it may be a common trait for short stories in general, is so refreshing in comparison to stories where characters mosey along and bicker and add to their pile of problems.
These characters have their priorities straight.
And, each one has something unique to them, that sets them apart, which isn't something I'd usually expect from a short story, but really added to this one.

The Plot:

If you can't tell, it's about a boy trapped in a room that he has to escape.

But wait- there's more! Which I won't tell you because I don't want to spoil it!

So, you best just go read it for yourself (it's worth it, and I mean come on, it'll take you maybe a half hour to read, or a hour at most if you're a very slow reader).


Do I like it more then Silence? That is a tough question.
There were several elements in Silence that I simply adored, and because I know pre-orders aren't arriving yet, I know you haven't read it yet, and I know I still can't spoil it.
So I can't tell you about all of those elements.
But I'll brush over it.

Silence had very powerful moments in it. It was a roller coaster of doubts and excitement.
Escape Room didn't have those same powerful moments, but it did have more character interaction and was faster paced.
So, I like them both for very different reasons.


To quote myself in my previous review, the door of potential is wide open with this story and I would love to see it continue on.
Go buy the collection, read Silence and Escape Room (and the others, of course), then come back and tell me what you thought about them, and if you have a favorite out of the collection (also, tell R.M. Archer on her blog!).


Maybe, on the anniversary of the release of this story collection, I'll come back and give a completely spoil-filled review, that way I can explain more and show specifically what I did and didn't like.
But I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

Find "Escape Room", "Carnival of Hearts", "Silence", and "Caithan" here: **Link**

Follow the blog tour here: **Link**

To learn more about her and her stories, as well as get wonderful writing advice, find and follow Ms. Archer herself here: **Link**



So, now that that's all done, I can disappear again, this time for a complete decade!
I'll try to post more here and there then I have of late. I've fallen into a creative rut, and am still limited in my posting abilities.
I also need to figure out what's up with the email notifications, as the words are too lightly colored to be seen.
Lots of construction and confusion.

Until we meet again, 

                           
                                               ~ Edna 


               

R.M. Archer's Blog Tour! Story Review ~ Silence

Hello there,


Today's the day! I get to share my review of  R.M. Archer's "Silence", one of the four stories from her new Short Story Collection Vol. 1, 2nd Edition.

As I said in my previous post, Archer is holding a blog tour to help promote it, and I have the pleasure of reviewing two of the stories. Today's is "Silence", the second story review will be on February 1st.

Now, on to the actual review.



It took me a while to find out where to begin with this review, because there is so much I want to say, without spoiling it. But, as it is a short story, that's rather difficult as I've not had much practice.
So bear with me and my vague descriptions.
If you're a writer, or even just a dedicated reader, you've probably heard a lot about the fish-hook beginnings, where the author starts you off with something so good you get hooked and keep reading.

"Silence" is a great example of that. And, because of it's length and pace, it succeeded in keeping my interest all the way through (which, I admit, isn't the easiest thing to do).

In so many ways, this story wasn't what I was expecting, but in all of those ways, it was even better. R.M. Archer has the "author" mind, through and through.
And by that, I mean that she not only understands the mastery of words, but the mindset of readers as well.
This story offers much in the areas of her general writing career, and leaves the door of potential wide open. I would absolutely love to see more of this story and its characters one day.



While lovers of intense description and rabbit trail-esque plot lines may not enjoy short stories in general, because of the different scale it offers compared to a novel's, I highly recommend they give this one a shot. I did, and I'm glad.
There seems like there is so much more to this then meets the eye, like my eyes were just seeing the surface words of the story and a vast sea was hidden beneath them.
But even that surface was good itself.


In short, "Silence" was a great story, one that I do recommend, and will be reading again soon. 
Please, go and pre-order this volume! Show some support to a young author.


Find "Silence", "Carnival of Hearts", "Escape Room", and "Caithan" here: **Link**

Follow the blog tour here: **Link**

To learn more about her and her stories, as well as get wonderful writing advice, find and follow Ms. Archer herself here: **Link**


Make sure you go read the two author interviews done for this tour (you'll find the links on the blog tour post I linked to), they're wonderful!


Come back February 1st for a review of "Escape Room"!



Yours,


                             ~ Edna Pellen

I Live!

Hi everyone!

Yeah yeah, I was gone for a long time again because <insert the same reasons as before>.
I missed NaNo, Christmas, and New Year's. My device has been finicky again, and so I haven't really been able to keep up with Bleeding Ink.

And, I am still not "back".


I am here because of this:

R.M. Archer is releasing more short stories!
When I was told, I didn't want to miss out on helping with a blog tour. 
So I asked, and a family member has graciously let me borrow their computer.
Which means, I get to participate!

(And then I'll probably vanish again, but we'll have to wait and see.)


So keep a weather eye on the horizon for story reviews, coming the 14th and February 1st!


Stick with me, I'm working towards a better schedule and more material.


Until we meet again, I remain, most humbly yours,

- Edna Pellen

Goodbye October & Hello November

Dear Reader,


On a day generally known for being frightful and fun, I have found this Halloween to be very slow and beautiful.
Snow is dancing outside my window with the leaves. What dance they are doing I cannot say, though it appears to be some kind of ballet, judging from the way they twirl around each other and leap across the wind.
It's beautiful for sure, and the gray hue is like a stage curtain for the beautiful little ballerinas to complete their dance.

The snow isn't sticking. Not covering the fall leaves' bed with a white blanket, just stopping by for a kiss goodnight to October as it waves farewell and November swiftly approaches.


And you do know what that means, don't you?

That's right, my friends. NaNoWriMo.


While generally a planster at heart, today I truly am riding by the seat of my pants and pushing through piles of excuses (which would namely be not having time).
I am looking forward to seeing how far I will get, breaking away so dramatically from my usual NaNo habits.

I'll keep you informed of this as I go, and check in around once a week to inform you how it's going and what my word count is and so on.

I'll also try to better inform you of why I've broken away from my own tradition. But for now, I am very very tired and will have no brain at all if I don't get some sleep.


I wish you the best,


                                      ~ Edna