February began as a “maintenance month” for me — I had to read several books for contest judging, so that left less time for knocking books off my personal TBR — but I rallied in the last two weeks of the month, rewarding myself with titles like Angie Thomas’ stunning follow-up to The Hate U… Read More Mala’s February 2019 Hot Reads
They say everyone loves a bad boy, but judging by the pop culture zeitgeist, bad boys might just be getting worse. We have serial killers as romantic heroes on Days of our Lives and General Hospital. Former Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley has had to push back against fans gushing over his murderous protagonist on Netflix’s You.… Read More Mad, Bad, and Way Too Dangerous to Know
I started out the month, and the year, SO strong—ready to make up for losing steam in December—but then found myself fumbling once again. The Polar Vortex struggle is real. I DNFed a few things, read a book for the RWA RITA Awards that I can’t name for obvious reasons (I still have six more… Read More Mala’s January 2019 Hot Reads
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about characterization and plotting on soaps—as kind of an expansion on a Twitter thread I wrote back in 2017. When it comes to most kinds of fiction writing, there are “plotters” and there are “pantsers.” A plotter outlines and diagrams every beat, every decision, that goes into creating a… Read More Soap Writing 101: Plotting, Pantsing, and Pretty Little Liars
A few months before my birthday last year, I composed a lofty post with 40 Things To Do When I Turn 40. Now, here I am facing down 41 and realizing that I never completed that list. There were 14 things undone! So, this year, I’m giving myself another challenge: Knock out those 14 items AND complete… Read More New Year, New-ish Goals
I finished 121 books in 2018. A few rereads, but mostly new-to-me titles—and not counting stuff I may have forgotten to log. That is 15 down from 2017. Boo! It’s no wonder I lost my steam in December, going several days without reading anything at all (I know, I know…a terrible place to be!). Luckily,… Read More Mala’s December 2018 Hot Reads
2018 has felt approximately 224 years long, so I honestly don’t remember a lot of the pop culture I consumed and/or enjoyed. It’s like a blur. And that’s funny, because I feel like I immersed myself in film, TV, and books even more deeply than I did in 2017. It’s probably the most productive thing… Read More Mala’s Best of 2018 Pop Culture Round-Up
