Return of The Beyond the Surface Book Club

I am very proud and excited to announce the return of the Beyond the Surface Book Club! Getting a full re-launch in May! I’ve found my passion for discussing openly about mental health and reading books that dip beyond the surface of who we are. We may see someone on the outside and assume all kinds of things, but we never truly know what someone is going through on the inside. In this book club we read books that get into the things that we go through on the inside of our personal lives and how it effects us and how we deal with it.

Book of the Month Announcement

More Happy than Not by Adam Silvera (deluxe edition)

Description:

A special Deluxe Edition of Adam Silvera’s groundbreaking debut featuring an introduction by Angie Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give, a new final chapter, and an afterword about where it all began.

In his twisty, heartbreaking, profoundly moving New York Times bestselling-debut, Adam Silvera brings to life a charged, dangerous near-future summer in the Bronx.

In the months following his father’s suicide, sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto can’t seem to find happiness again, despite the support of his girlfriend, Genevieve, and his overworked mom. Grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist won’t let him forget the pain. But when Aaron meets Thomas, a new kid in the neighborhood, something starts to shift inside him. Aaron can’t deny his unexpected feelings for Thomas despite the tensions their friendship has created with Genevieve and his tight-knit crew. Since Aaron can’t stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound happiness, he considers taking drastic actions. The Leteo Institute’s revolutionary memory-altering procedure will straighten him out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is. 

Why does happiness have to be so hard?

I plan to have a discussion post up on this blog on every Saturday of the month of May:

Week 1 read the first 10 chapters by May 6th

Week 2 finish part 1 and part 2 by May 13th

Week 3 part zero to chapter 9 of part 3 by May 20th

Week 4 finish the book plus bonus chapter by May 27th

I hope that reading this book along with you all will help us understand an aspect of mental health and we will all find something good to take away from it. Can’t wait to discuss the first 10 chapters with you all on Saturday!

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING! 

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My friend started Live Streaming so check them out HERE!!

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Streaming Stray: The Best Cat Game Ever Made

My partner got me Stray for my birthday/ Christmas this year. So of course I immediately put it into my ps5 and started to play. I have to say even from the 30 minutes of gameplay I got to enjoy I can already say it is the best cat game out there. The world and atmosphere is so visually stunning. The love and understanding of cat behavior. It is so beautiful.

So it is no surprise that I will be streaming and getting the platinum for Stray starting tomorrow morning at https://www.twitch.tv/starswolfe ! I have taken a look at a little guide and I hope to explore everything I can on my first run and hopefully at the end of that be able to set up my two hour speed run as the final trophy. If you miss out on any of my streams you can catch up on my YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@Starswolfe It will be a week or so cat nap kind of break before I continue on streaming God of War Ragnorök on Give Me God of War Mode once more.

After I get the platinum I am planning on sharing a full story analysis and discussing all of my favorite parts of the game as well as what it is like to get the platinum for stray. I hope you all enjoy tuning in and being a part of one of the cutest little journeys I’ll ever embark on. It’ll be full of love, humor, robots, and of course cats. This is going to be the best boost to my mental health there could be yet!

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below! 

Check out my INSTAGRAM and TWITTER! 

If you’d like a quality candle check out THE SISTERS OF TWILIGHT WEBSITE.

If you would like to support me directly here’s a link to BUY ME A KOFI! 

My friend started Live Streaming so check them out HERE!!

Becoming StarsWolfe

One of my favorite things to do for many years to get myself feeling more positive has always been to watch people stream and play video games. For a long time it felt like a pipe dream. I was very aware of the things I didn’t have that would make streaming in the first place impossible. Things like a camera or a good computer I could edit on or even simply the time to stream at all.

However, after many life issues popping up I decided to myself to focus on what I do have. I have a ps5 and a tv I can play it on. I don’t need to have the rest of the supplies just yet to rig a character I can start vtubing as. To start, when I have the time in the mornings to play I can stream it. Over time it can build up on its own.

I have plenty of games I want to play and try to platinum. On my own I’ve been playing and working on getting the platinum for God of War Ragnorok on Give me God of War mode. Streaming the rest of that journey will be so much fun.

Currently I am 18% of the way to getting the platinum for it and there’s plenty more to go. My goal is that every morning for 2 hours or so I’ll be able to stream. Sometimes I’ll stream alone playing single player games and sometimes I’ll be playing with my best friend whatever game she’s excited about playing.

I know I have to take it day by day. However, everyday when I get up now I feel the excitement of doing something that feels so good. Doing something I always wanted to do. Something that had always been a comfort to me when I’d watch videos online. Starting to be able to do that for others and giving people something positive and fun to attach themselves to is a joy to me.

Come have fun with me and watch me stream!

https://twitch.tv/starswolfe

And here’s a link to my current streaming schedule: https://m.twitch.tv/starswolfe/schedule

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below! 

Check out my INSTAGRAM and TWITTER! 

If you’d like a quality candle check out THE SISTERS OF TWILIGHT WEBSITE.

If you would like to support me directly here’s a link to BUY ME A KOFI! 

My friend started Live Streaming so check them out HERE!!

I’m Back Officially

At the moment I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Everything is working out for me. Things I thought were issues are no longer issues. I’ve essentially been graced with a brand new beginning and I’m mentally in a very good place and I’m excited to move forward.

This means I’m going to be posting every day again. Yep, I’m back in full. This both feels long overdue, but also at the same time I’m coming back to things just at the time I need to. It’s just been time for me. Time for me to be myself, but the me that I’ve become and not just who I’ve always been.

I can’t believe that I’m standing here from where I once was. Someone that felt so lost so confused so hopeless. I built myself up again and suddenly everything fell back into place. I feel like I’ve been on a hell of a ride well for my whole life really. Now things will show up and I feel so much better because I know I can deal. I know I can make it through.

Being where I am now I know I can handle being productive again. I know I can create without worrying anymore. I know I have people in my life I can count on. I know that I’m going to be ok. That everything is going to turn out beautiful. It’s been so long since I’ve felt that way. Truly felt that way. Especially now that I have so much more knowing of what was then I ever have before.

I’m so appreciative of all of you that have been following this blog. Truly, so much of my life would be different without it. It’s changed my life. Been my strength when I needed it. My outlet when I didn’t know where to go or what else to do. It’s about time I’m truly back. I have so much that I want to create with this blog. I can’t wait to continue moving forward with it.

Thank you all so much for staying with me. I have so much more life to live and I can’t wait to share my journey with all of you. It’s gonna be a good one. I feel it in my bones.

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below! 

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Checkout The Book Raven Poetry Instagramand Twitter! 

Check out the Sisters of Twilight website.

What’s Coming Up!

As some of you may have noticed, I hadn’t posted in the last couple of days or so. This is because I was crazy tired because I’ve been working extra hours to cover for a coworker who got an injury. This put my job-hunting plans on hold for a while. But, in the meantime I have been working on a post that I’m really proud of that will go up at the end of the month!

My main focus in general recently has been to focus on myself. To take care of my mind and body and to be happy no matter what. I have this deep feeling that I’m on the precipice of some major change and I’m not afraid of it.

The way I approach life has changed drastically. I have no need of everything to be figured out all at once. So long as I’m doing the best I can everyday, whatever that looks like, everything is good. I’m better at being fully accepting of what’s going on around me. I’m better at not stressing about things that haven’t happened yet. I am better at appreciating all that life has gifted to me.

So even taking this break didn’t bother me. I don’t feel guilty about doing what I needed and taking extra rest time.

I’m excited for the fall season! I’m excited for the spookiness. I’m excited for every blessing that is to come. I have a feeling that it’s going to be a beautiful fall season!

I have a post on a tv show I watched and on a movie I went to see coming up. As well as finally finishing up Escaping From Houdini (which is amazing btw) and getting back into reading and writing!

All this was going to come sooner, but again work through me off and I won’t have a day off till the 29th. I’m going to take everything one day at a time, but hopefully I get everything I want to accomplish done.

I wish you all a wonderful next couple of weeks!

Thank you all for reading! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Yesterday’s Wordcount: 0

Marvel Phase 4 Timeline!!!

At this years Comic Con Marvel announced its Phase 4 timeline and I am so ready for some more great films to enter the MCU!

1st up May 1st, 2020 is Black Widow!

I’m so excited for this! After the events of Endgame I’m so curious about how they are going to go about Black Widow’s storyline.

November 6th, 2020 Eternals

I don’t know much of anything about the Eternals, but I am very intrigued by any films in the MCU having more of a space setting and I’m excited to watch it!

February 12th, 2021 Shang-Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings

I love seeing martial arts fights and I’m very excited to see a diverse character coming into the marvel mix.

May 7th, 2021 Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness

I loved the first Doctor Strange movie! It was inceptionesque, but in a way I enjoyed so much more then inception. I am excited to see what they do with his second film!

November 5th, 2021 Thor: Love and Thunder

They are having Natalie Portman play a female version of Thor and not necessarily the role of Jane Foster which is… interesting. I’m very intrigued by this film and will probably be a little hesitant about it Till I see it, but I’m excited for it all the same!

As, for the rest of the titles shown here, they are all the new TV shows that will be airing as a part of the marvel universe, however, I’m not sure when I will watch these or if I’ll be able to as they are all streaming on Disney+ which I may or may not have in the future. But, I’m really excited for Loki and Wanda Vision! If I get the chance to see those I think I’m going to really love them.

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.

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Check out the Wolfe Creek Candle website!

-Till next time!

Wolfe Creek Candles

Last month my sister changed her business name from The Candle Caffe to Wolfe Creek Candles. It’s a bit long overdue, but I wanted to write a post about it, because well.. she named it after me.

I don’t know what it is with me, but sometimes I think I fear success. I haven’t involved myself in our business like I should and I am taking the time now to change that.

She even added a new ‘Library’ fragrance scented candle that I absolutely love.

If you are interested in high quality great smelling candles, I highly recommend checking out our stuff. My sister puts her heart into making these candles and they smell incredible. I’m not just saying this, I’ve sold her stuff at enough craft fairs to see that everyone who stops by can’t get enough of their favorite fragrances. Dragon’s Blood, Sea salt and Orchid, and Orange Chili Pepper especially. If you love candles you’ll adore ours. They are long lasting, highly fragrant, and worth every penny.

From now on I’ll be including the website on all my posts and will do more posts about our fragrances in the future. For now, I just want to say how proud I am to be a part of this business. It means a lot to me and I hope you guys enjoy our product as much as I do.

Check out our website @ Wolfecreekcandles.com

–Thank you all for reading! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!

Check out my Twitter and Instagram! Check out Wolfe Creek Candles Instagram here!

-Till next time!

A Book a Day.. Till I Catch Up

I have been quiet for a while. I’ve mostly been focused on taking care to ground myself and take care of my mental health. Most of the time, I’d be very open about what I’m going through and the mental hurtles I have been facing, but I realized I needed time in my own head without worrying about others for a while. But, that also meant that I have been taking a lot of time to rest and stay stagnant for a while. Instead of reading I’ve been watching movies and YouTube videos and I’ve let myself move forward at my own pace.

I’ve had to learn to be ok without making forward progress for a while. It seemed every time I tried to move forward at the same pace as I have before, and I end up burning myself out really easily. So, I’ve just been as gentle with myself as I could and let myself heal as much as I needed to.

However, that meant that every once in a while I’d want to move forward and I’d think I had the strength to and a new obstacle would appear. Now, I think I’m finally in a strong enough mental state to move forward and to not let any sort of obstacle bring me down.

But, I am working from being behind. I have quite a few books that I have for review and I want to complete reading them before taking on any sort of writing or other projects. So I’m going to do something I did for a while in 2017. Which was to read a book a day. I know this can be something that burns me out, but I only plan on doing this till I catch up and can start reading the books on my shelves that I’ve been wanting to read for ages and haven’t been able to due to the books I need to read for review.

So I’m going to do this till all my review copies have been read and reviewed so that I can move forward fresh and with ability to read and do things at my own pace after. That way I won’t get to where I build up too many review copies to read again.

I know that means my marvel series is going to have to wait for a little bit, but I need to feel like I’m back in action and steadily progressing once more. So that’s what I’m going to do.

Thank you all for reading! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.

-Till next time!

My Journey Through the Marvel Universe

For many years, I would see superhero films being released one after the other and a majority of the time I felt like I couldn’t watch them because I knew they had an order and I had no idea what that order was supposed to be.

Not too long ago I expressed this desire to watch the films of the marvel universe on Twitter and I was surprised to receive an answer from a friend I went to high school with. He was nice enough to share a watch order with me of which I followed through on only skipping the movies I had already seen.

Here is the order he gave me:

Iron Man (2008)

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Iron Man 2

Thor

Captain America: The First Avenger

Marvel’s The Avengers

Iron Man 3

Thor: The Dark World

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Guardians of the Galaxy

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Ant Man

Captain Ameica: Civil War

Doctor Strange

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Thor: Ragnarok

Black Panther

Avengers: Infinity War

Ant Man and the Wasp

Thanks to him I watched through all the marvel films when I was sick for a long while and very much enjoyed all of them. I do have my favorites and I have a lot to say about each individually and so for a while this blog is going to showcase a full blown marvel appreciation series. So for now I’m going to give my basic thoughts.

Iron Man/ Iron Man 2: two of the movies I had already watched multiple times. My sister really enjoys Iron Man so these movies are ones that she will put on every once in a while. I always enjoy watching them when it’s on because I like the balance between Stark’s witty sarcasm and the very real danger that he gets himself into.

The Hulk: I didn’t rewatch this film, but I remember the first time I watched it I really enjoyed the love story of it. I remember this movie as being quite sweet.

Thor: I rewatched Thor because I wasn’t sure if I had seen it or not and realized I had. Rewatching made me realize that I love Loki more then I love Thor and I have a lot of very specific feelings about this movie and the Thor v. Loki dynamic so writing a full post on it will be a lot of fun.

Captain America: The First Avenger: This movie hit me hard emotionally. It made me dream of recreating the scene of him saying he had been looking for the right partner to dance with. Captain America is so wholesome and he comes from a place of knowing what it’s like to be beaten. Yet he sacrifices so much all the time. I can’t wait to share my full thoughts on this movie. This one is my favorite of the Captain America Films.

The Avengers: The first time the gang gets assembled. This movie made me laugh again and again and it is home to my favorite marvel scene ever that just can’t be beat. Hulk smashing Loki like a dummy doll. I can’t wait to rewatch this movie sometime soon. It’s a feel good movie for me.

Iron Man 3: I feel like this is the movie that got me to finally understand Iron Man as a man. To me he’s the most human of the Avengers because he is the most flawed and yet behind the wit and the liquor he truly cares about people to the point that it brings him to make some terrible choices. Iron man 3 made me appreciate Iron Man in a whole new way.

Thor: The Dark World: My favorite part of this movie was getting to see Loki and Thor work together. Something about their dynamic is magnetizing to me. Plus, the sprinkles of humor they create is always appreciated.

Captain America: The Winter Solider: What I love about Captain America’s films are how they tend to highlight some sort of insider corruption. He’s always the one to try and fight for the right thing and for justice and seeing him choose and always do his best is incredible. Plus, the opening scene to this film was awesome.. seeing cap jumping out of a aircraft with no parachute was so cool.

Guardians of the Galaxy: this is a movie I had already seen before I decided to go on this marvel quest and I always loved it. The humor is amazing. Groot is amazing. The space stuff is amazing. This movie is just amazing.

Avengers: Age of Ultron: I appreciate this movie much more now then I did when I first watched it.. mostly because I was at the lowest point of my sickness when I set out to watch this movie so I rewatched it the next day and enjoyed it so much more. This movie went a little darker then it’s predecessors. I appreciate it. I love how this felt like a stark film because it highlighted a lot of his darkness that comes out when he’s trying to do good. Plus, Ultron was a cool villain because of how much he was like stark. I have so many thoughts on how they decided to portray Ultron and how it affected the overall theme of this incredible film.

Ant Man: this is my favorite marvel movie. It’s odd. It’s funny. It has the most incredible perspectives ever and I was torn between taking it seriously and laughing at the absurdity of it the entire time. Also I want a pet dog sized ant. I love this movie.

Captain America: Civil War: I love how often the hero’s I’ve grown to love fight each other. I wish they wouldn’t, but it makes me think of them like one big family that continues to grow. The way the two sides split up surprised me, but overall it was cool to see.

Doctor Strange: All I can seem to say about this movie is how cool it is. The magic is amazing. The visuals are amazing. I felt like I was watching inception, but with fighting spiritualists instead of people with guns in suits. The humor in the movie was spot on and I had a blast watching it.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: I watched this one before I went on this journey and still I have only two words: Baby Groot.

Spider-Man: Homecoming: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. I’m so ingrained in the image of the original spider man that seeing this much younger version felt weird, but also really great at the same time.

Thor: Ragnarok: This film was one of the most memorable. It had a great balance of light comedy with a very real danger adding intensity. Plus, it was hilarious in a great way. I had a lot of fun watching it.

Black Panther: I tried watching this when it first came out, but I didn’t understand enough about the world then to get into it. But, I gave it a second chance and greatly enjoyed it especially after having a much better understanding of the Marvel universe in general. Plus the shots of Wakanda in general were absolutely gorgeous.

Ant Man and the Wasp: I didn’t love this film as much as I loved Ant Man, but there is a lot to be said about Ant man being under house arrest and doing all he can to be the best version of himself for his daughter. It had a very different vibe from the first Ant Man film.

Avengers: Infinity War: I HAVE WORDS FOR THIS FILM. It destroyed me. It made me a mess. It made me question so many things. I was angry after watching. I was distraught after watching. I wanted to kick thanos’s ass after watching. I just have so much to say about this film.

All this having been said. I have to say I’m so excited for the many Marvel films of the future.. both known and unknown. I’m proud to finally be a part of this franchises fandom in appreciation of its entirety. Captain Marvel will be in theaters March 8th. Endgame is coming to ruin my life on April 26th. Far from home is coming July 5th. Plus, I’m about to set off on a journey through the X-men films (of which I’ve seen a few, but can’t for the life of me recall which ones except for X-men and Logan (which was incredible in every way). Superheroes are adventurous and symbols of people going beyond the call of duty to protect the innocent and do some good. I’ve always loved superhero movies and finally I feel like I’ve entered into the cinematic universe in the way I’ve always meant to do. We have many posts ahead and I have lots to say so, buckle up it’s going to be a journey all on its own.

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.

-Till next time!

I Have Returned to Bookstagram!!!

I don’t think I ever talked much about bookstagram on my blog. I have always had a love for it, but never the means to be dedicated to it. Honestly, for a while even thinking about it was exhausting, but something author Gae Polisner said to me when I got a chance to speak with her stuck with me (well a lot of somethings, but those are for other posts).

When Gae first found my review of In Sight of Stars and thanked me for it on Twitter I was incredibly happy. When she went so far as to let me interview her and offer to let me Giveaway a signed copy of In Sight of Stars on here I was blown away, but it was in the conversation I had with her about returning her generosity by one day sending out her books to others when I could afford to, but her reply that what I am doing now and what she appreciated most made my heart feel full.

She told me that by blogging and sharing my love for books was already enough. That just by speaking about the books I love brought more people to discover authors works and that was invaluable. This re-sparked my love for Instagram, because it was the place where I would most repeatedly share the books of my heart. It made me realize that repeatedly sharing my favorite titles wasn’t a bad thing.

Every single time a new person sees your favorite titles it generates some form of interest. It invites a reader to learn more and as everyone knows for the most popular of books that form of ‘advertisement’ really works! It’s why we see books like the ACOTAR series and Illuminae everywhere on bookstagram. Individual interest sparked mass interest that fed upon itself. If I could help be a part of that for some of the lesser known books I have fallen in love with or even the popular ones I feel like I would be a success in what I want my instagram to achieve.

I may never be a huge bookstagramer. I may never have thousands of likes like some bookstagramers seem to generate, but I would be sharing the books I own and love and giving them a little boost from the love in my heart and I think that makes the whole thing worthwhile.

It goes for any book you love. Share it! At the end of the day it shows excitement for that book and it collectively influences the success of that book. So take pictures! Scream out your bookworm love on twitter. Blog your top 10’s again and again. For the sake of supporting the people who have inspired me I know I won’t be giving up on instagram any time soon.

Our voices matter! Even in places you would never expect.

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!

Enter the giveaway for In Sight of Stars! https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/92adb0f42/?

Check me out on Twitter and Instagram!

-Till next time!