Storm By Julian Totino

Represent! #4 - “Believe You” (2021)

written by Nadira Jamerson art by Brittney Williams & Andrew Dalhouse

Next up, Day 2 of #authorlifemonth Author photos!!! If you jump to my sister's account @dos_twinjas you will learn that our pen name #gltomas is actually a shared one, since we're a team of writers so work collectively on projects we thought, oh what the hell? Why not just combine our pen name. Since I'm the first born we battled on putting L first, but mutually decided that G.L. sounded better than L.G. Since its a cell phone brand😂😂😂 I basically just screenshot her post😂cuz I'm lazy like that. But love this picture since it was our first time on the West Coast. Plus it was months before we big chopped. I think we chould get another one with our beautiful natural hair, objections? Hehe Thanks to the lovely @missdahlelama for hosting this event. Everyday I look forward to Everyone's post. Lurking on the hash tag like a stalker!👤

Ugh why don't I have cable?????I hope this will be available online the next day, I need this in my life!!!! #thewizlive #thewiz #lovingamberriley #crazedamberrileyfan

#kindlecountdown #kindlecountdowndeals #kdp #kindledailydeals #weneeddiversebooks #timetravel #youngadult #ya #portalfantasy #youngadultfantasy #yatimetravel #multiculturalfantasy #gltomas twinjabookreviews nobannative libertadaraceli

@booknerd529 asked: What does Ben Barnes smell like?

Part ll of #authorlifemonth created by that dope author you keep hearing about @missdahlelama I had two fan art posts and i almost wasn't going to but then i found these awesome photo apps and said wjat the hell? This post features the inspiration for our next messy romance #FTHS in th3 form of our main characters w/ actor Sterling Beaumon as #AsherRose and model Brittany Sky as #TheodoraKing #naturalista #afrocubana #afrolatinx #interracial #InterracialLove #weneeddiverseromance #interracialromance #bwwm #diversebooks #bookstagram #diverse #diversityjedi #booknerdigans #miami #blackgirlmagic #messyromance #naromance #bisexual #FTHS #Friendsthatstill #GLTomas #contemporaryromance #eroticromance

Dear followers, what you see here is an issue taking place in the heart of South Africa. Now, I’ve been debating for sometime now on whether to make this post or not. Time and time again, I’ve thought “but this doesn’t appeal to them. My followers are not South African”. And it finally dawned on me today that, it doesn’t matter whether you’re South African or not. This is a revolution the youth of my country are fighting for. And it’s not an issue that any other country hasn’t faced. I am sick and tired of sitting back and have CNN and world news stations send me countless updates on the Rugby World Cup and news of a single psychopath killing at least one person in Sweden when the whole youth of SA is in uproar against the corruption and apathy of our government. People around the world should be exposed to this kind of activity, regardless of where it is. If anything, I find this situation very similar to that of the #BlackLivesMatter movement in the states. So please take the time to read this and share it. You can have your own opinions on the matter, but at least don’t be ignorant to what happening around you in the world. This could be your country one day. 

All across South Africa, tertiary education systems have been shut down due to protests against tuition fees increases. Many people are in dire situations and consequently cannot afford the 10% increases of fees  every year and as a result get financially excluded, thus ending any opportunity of education that they are entitled to. Now I know that this is an economical issue that the government has to sort out and South Africa has had economical issues for quite sometime but it has taken way too long for the people of this country to realise that the government is spending BILLIONS of rands on trivial things such as nuclear deals, VIP jets, Etoll projects in addition to losses from inadequate handling of petrol and post office companies. This money could’ve been used to fund millions of students across the country and their education but yet the government continues to horde it and act like nobody notices what they’re doing with our tax money. I do not agree with the mentality that “if you cannot afford it, then don’t go to university” or even “you should work harder for what you want”. Whilst these arguments each have their own backing, I don’t believe that students should have their opportunities taken away simply because our government is run by greedy pigs exploiting the people of this country for their money. 

The pictures above are only a squint at the events taking place nationwide. Yesterday, thousands of students marched to Parliament in Cape Town city centre in order to have our voices heard. Instead, we were met with the apathetic attitude of our ministers, and even our own president refused to show face and address the crowd. The march was meant to be peaceful, but when the students furthered demanded response from government, they set the police on the crowd and chaos ensued. Rubber bullets, stun grenades, tear gas, armed forces, army brigade worth armour were all used. The level of police brutality on students was absolutely disgusting. How can they respond in such a manner when all we did was demand our voices be heard? When all we want is our right to fair and equal education? Several students were arrested and charged with ‘terrorism’ and ‘high treason’. And now the media even has the balls to go and lie about it. The South African youth is in a dire situation here. What must we do when our own government refuses to listen to us? When the ones that are supposed to be protecting us turn and attack us? 

Again, this is only a squint at what has been happening in South Africa. Please google up on what has been happening as I don’t have the capacity to cover it all in one post. There are tons of videos and articles available. Because of all this, many students have had their rights violated, they are subjected to enormous amounts of stress especially because exams are around the corner, and some are even suffering from severe trauma from this. Nobody deserves this no matter what side of the argument they are on. 

I, as a student caught in all this have been feeling overwhelmingly sad, confused, disgusted and generally frustrated in light of the events from the past week.

Started off feeling quite positive that substantive action has been taken by brave students and that a revolution away from oppression and marginalisation is finally underway. But the way in which the authorities and other people have been reacting to the movement makes me extremely upset.

I apologise for the long post and the rant, and I’ll probably lose followers for this but all I ask from you guys, is that you share this and inform others around the world of what’s happening. That you stand in solidarity with us. Don’t just like the post, reblog it too! If our own government will not listen to us, then maybe international pressure will do something. Help us have our voices heard. 

#FeesMustFall #ANCMustFall #NationalShutdown 

photo creds to Imraan Christian

With 2015 behind us, it’s time for Audrey to look ahead and see what 2016 has to offer. And by her quick survey, there are a ton of YA books by or about people of color to look forward to in the next six months. Here’s a quick list of four that caught her eye:

The Abyss Surrounds Us (The Abyss Surrounds Us #1) by Emily Skrutskie Flux || February 8, 2016

For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She’s been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas’s first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas’s dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water.

There’s no time to mourn. Waiting for her on the pirate ship is an unhatched Reckoner pup. Santa Elena wants to take back the seas with a monster of her own, and she needs a proper trainer to do it. She orders Cas to raise the pup, make sure he imprints on her ship, and, when the time comes, teach him to fight for the pirates. If Cas fails, her blood will be the next to paint the sea.

But Cas has fought pirates her entire life. And she’s not about to stop.

These Vicious Masks (These Vicious Masks#1) by Tarun Shanker Swoon Reads || February 9, 2016

Jane Austen meets X-­Men in this gripping and adventure-­filled paranormal romance set in Victorian London.

England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi St. Martin’s Griffin || May 3, 2016

Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds friendship and warmth.

But Akaran has its own secrets – thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran’s magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar’s plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk – it threatens the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.

Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.

The Star-Touched Queen is a lush, beautifully written and vividly imagined fantasy inspired by Indian mythology.

Mirror in the Sky by Aditi Khorana Razorbill || June 21, 2016

For Tara Krishnan, navigating Brierly, the academically rigorous prep school she attends on scholarship, feels overwhelming and impossible. Her junior year begins in the wake of a startling discovery: A message from an alternate Earth, light years away, is intercepted by NASA. This means that on another planet, there is another version of Tara, a Tara who could be living better, burning brighter, because of tiny differences in her choices.

As the world lights up with the knowledge of Terra Nova, the mirror planet, Tara’s life on Earth begins to change. At first, small shifts happen, like attention from Nick Osterman, the most popular guy at Brierly, and her mother playing hooky from work to watch the news all day. But eventually those small shifts swell, the discovery of Terra Nova like a black hole, bending all the light around it.

As a new era of scientific history dawns and Tara’s life at Brierly continues its orbit, only one thing is clear: Nothing on Earth–and for Tara–will ever be the same again.

What books are on your radar for the first half of 2016?

“We both are in the middle, and nobody teases us for it.”

ICYMI: Kumu Hina, an indigenous Hawaiian hula teacher who identifies as mahu (”in the middle” when it comes to gender), comforts a transgender student in the trailer for the upcoming film A Place in the Middle. (via BuzzFeed)

Mindy Kaling talks about her journey in her career as an actress in Hollywood and challenging the status quo. 

See the full video here

The journey never stops..