A Little PSA (I'm going on hiatus)!

Hi, everyone! 

So, I’ve come to a decision. I’m going to be momentarily suspending my blog until my book is done. I feel as though the original purpose of this blog has kind of disappeared, so I want to refocus this blog on my book. But I have to finish writing it first! Once I’ve written “The End” at the bottom of my book, I’ll continue blogging away, but this time about things in my book. I originally created this blog to market my book, but with no finished book, it’s a little hard to do so. By suspending my blog temporarily, I’ll be able to focus more on finishing writing. Thank you to everyone who’s followed and read my blog posts thus far! And definitely keep an eye out for new posts!

Until next time!

-Emiliana Maye 

A Little Life Update!

I am writing this in the cutest coffee shop I’ve ever been in ever. It’s a little shop in Brown County, and I am currently drinking Butterbeer. You could say I’m pretty much in Heaven right now.

Anyway, I thought I’d just give you guys an update on what’s been going on with me! Remember when I said I was almost done with my book? Yeah…I overlooked a HUGE part of my book and am frantically researching how to fix this humongous plot hole. Agghh, it’s so stressful! After I overcome this little snag, I’ll be back! Hopefully, I won’t run into any other problems (who am I kidding? Of course, I will; it’s just part of writing, I’ve learned). I’ll be coming up on a year writing my book this coming December, but I’m hoping (praying!) to be finished with the first draft by then. Of course, having all these midterm exams slapping me in the face has not helped with my writing schedule. I have to face the unfortunate truth that my classes have to be priority over my book (for now, mwahaha). Luckily, I only have one exam left, and then it’s back to focusing on my book!

If any of you are aspiring or accomplished writers, I’d love to hear any advice! I kind of have no idea what I’m doing in terms of what to do after I’ve finished editing my drafts and could really use some advice. Sometimes, Google just doesn’t cut it. Especially when it comes to what publishers to pursue and how to find your genre. So, I’m very open to anything you think I should know!

I wanted to say thank you, yet again, to those who have been following and reading my blog thus far. I wish I could start writing about my book in here--I created this blog for that sole purpose--but I've told myself I can't until I finish the first draft. Too many things change, and I'd like to have the whole story written out before I write about it. So, thank you for sticking by anyway! 

That's all that's been going on with me lately! Please comment below if you have advice for me, or feel free to message me via my Facebook page.

Until next time!

-Emiliana Maye 

5 DIY Halloween Costumes

It’s finally October! Which I automatically associate with carving pumpkins, eating candy corn, and starting to plan out my Halloween costumes! Costumes can be really expensive, especially in Bloomington, where you need to have three different costumes for each night of the weekend! I’ve put together a list of DIY costumes that are easy to make and won’t drain your bank account!

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1) Dancing Girls Emoji

What you Need:

-Black leotard

-Black ribbon

-Headband

-Tights

This one is super easy to do; all you need to do is find someone to be the other dancing girl! And, of course, you have to take the iconic pic.

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2) Greek Goddess

What you Need:

-White dress or bedsheet

-Tons of gold jewelry

I’m not sure how this would fair at the bars (wearing white is already scary), but it would be perfect for a Halloween party! You can either make a toga out of a bed sheet or wear a long white dress! All you have to do is accessorize with lots of gold jewelry and make sure to do a huge cat eye!

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3) Hogwarts Student

What you Need:

-Grey skirt

-White collared shirt

-Sweater vest (opt)

-Wand

-Tie

This one may be a little harder to execute, but I’ve found many tutorials on how to make wands out of kabob sticks, hot glue, and paint. As for the tie, all you need is to find a tie with red and gold, yellow and black, blue and silver, or green and silver, depending on what house you’re in!

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4) Rosie the Riveter

What you Need:

-Red bandana

-Red lipstick

-Denim shirt

Probably one of the easiest (and cutest) costumes! Throw your hair into a quick messy bun or chignon, tie a bandana on top, wear red lipstick, roll up your sleeve, and take the pic! Easy, classy, and cute!

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5) A Spy

What you Need:
-All black clothing
-Tall black boots

All you have to do for this costume is raid your closet of all your black clothes! Extra points if you can find some type of earpiece. And leather, of course.

That’s all for this week! Let me know in the comments if you plan on trying any of these costumes for Halloween! Happy costuming!

Until next time!

-Emiliana Maye 

Five Must-Try Restaurants in Bloomington

Get out your forks and knives; this week’s post is all about my top five favorite restaurants in Bloomington!

1) Feast

This place is amazing. My roommate and I come here all the time for brunch. This place serves a lot of organic foods and vegan options, if you are interested in that sort of thing. I strongly recommend their white chocolate mochas and macarons. SO GOOD. 

2) Scholar’s Inn 

Another brunch place! Can you tell what my favorite meal of the day is? I usually get their special with the traditional breakfast things: eggs, sausage, HASH BROWNS--

Let’s just pause a moment and talk about how much I love hash browns. They’re my favorite food. They really are. Hash browns are my raison d'être.

It's dancing! (Source)

 Hash browns make life worth living. Hash browns. I don't know what I would do without them. Mmm. Okay, now back to the list.

3) Cheddar’s

Cheddar’s is one of those places where you have to go at least once before leaving Bloomington. Of course, my hometown, Greenwood, has one now, but that’s besides the point! Cheddar’s drinks are really good; my roommate and I always get peach bellinis here. Also, their fish tacos are amazing!

4) Buffalouie’s

I feel like everyone who lives in Bloomington has been to Buffalouie’s at least once. Me? I’ve been many, many times just because of how good it is. Their wings are THE BEST. I think that Buffalouie’s was actually ranked as one of the top five best wings places in the country!

5) The Tap

A recent discovery! I just went here with my friends earlier in the week, and, wow, it was really good. I recommend the firecracker shrimp tacos (unless you’re my roommate or are allergic to fish and shellfish)!

And that’s it! Comment below if you’ve been to these places or plan to, and let me know what you think!

Until next time!

-Emiliana Maye 

Books = The Best Weapons in the World

Yet another nerdy post from Emiliana! But this one, I'd like to think, makes sense, since I'm an aspiring author. If you were looking for a new book to read, look no further! I've compiled a list of my very favorite books for this week's post! Let's take a look:

1) Dante’s Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

As I’ve said before, I took a class last semester over Dante’s Divine Comedy and fell in love. Dante’s version of Hell was the first of its kind; no one had written about Hell so in depth before. He transformed the world with his masterpiece. I especially love how he put people from his time into Hell while they were still living. Imagine reading that an author put you in the Eighth Circle of Hell for simony! Oh, Dante.

2) The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald

I read this when I was a sophomore in high school, and I’m still in love with it. The ending is so beautifully tragic--so much drama!

3) The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling

I feel like this is pretty obvious. So…if you haven’t read these, do it now. That is all. 

4) A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I’ve read this book so many times, and it still makes me laugh out loud. The Improbability Drive is my favorite thing ever (though it may be tied with Deep Thought...42).

5) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

My brother’s favorite book! He got me to read it over the summer, and wow. It’s the best revenge story I’ve ever read, for sure. Romance, mystery, revenge, what more could you want?

6) The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I put this one last because this book is currently my favorite book of all time ever. EVER. It’s safe to say that Paula Hawkins is my new author role model. I bought this book on a Friday night around 7 pm, intending to read a little bit before getting ready for bed. Yeah, that didn’t go as planned. I read the entire thing in one sitting. THAT’S HOW GOOD IT IS. Everyone please please please read this!!!! You won’t regret it, I promise (Plus the movie adaptation comes out on October 7th, and it’s going to be amazing)!!!

                                                                                                                 

That concludes my list! I would apologize for my aggression when talking about The Girl on the Train, but I'm actually not sorry at all. I can't tell you how much I loved that novel. It's my new goal in life to get as many people as I can to read it.

I know I've said this nearly every week, but I am still so close to the end of writing my book! It's a very bittersweet feeling...actually, no. There's nothing sweet about it; I'm going to be devastated when it's done! I know that I'll still have a lot of work to do afterwards, like editing, editing, editing...more editing. But it still makes me sad.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading this week's post! Let me know in the comments what you think of these books or if you plan on reading one of them!

Until next time!

-Emiliana Maye 

5 Haunted Places at Indiana University

In honor of going to a Horror Movie night this weekend, I thought it’d be fun to share some stories about various haunted places on Indiana University’s campus! I took a Supernatural Folklore class last semester and learned all about local haunts. I’m sure I’m not the only one fascinated with the idea of ghosts, so have fun reading and maybe even visiting some of these places (I’ve yet to see a real ghost, myself)!

1. Indiana Memorial Union

There are three known ghosts haunting the IMU. The first is this old janitor who used to clean around the Tree Suites. It’s said that you can find an old man cleaning away at night if you go into the Tree Suite hallway. 

The second ghost is a dog which roams the IMU grounds. I have no idea where it came from, but supposedly it runs around the Union. Reminds me of the Nancy Drew game, Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake.

The third isn’t really one ghost; it’s more of a bad feeling. Before IU offered counseling services, a lot of students used to commit suicide by jumping off the roof of the Union. Since then, IU offered CAPS and closed access to the roof. Supposedly, the roof is now haunted by all the poor students who took their lives up there.

2. Career Development Center

The old Career Development Center is also haunted. The building is now used for Folklore, I think. Girls used to go to the man who worked there to get illegal abortions. The man would abort the baby and then hide it in the wall (I’m kind of skeptical about the hiding babies in the walls part). Now, you can hear babies crying and scratching sounds coming from inside the walls. No thank you.

3. Read Dorm

This is the most confirmed and seen ghost at IU, for sure. Nearly everyone here has at least heard of the Read ghost. The story goes that she and her boyfriend were having an argument one night when he lost his temper and stabbed her to death. Now she haunts the floor in her blood-stained yellow dress, crying. I’ve read some stories of encounters with this ghost, and all of them are terrifying. I'm forever thankful that I lived in McNutt.

4. House on Walnut

During my folklore class, we got to go into the archives of the library and read accounts of different legends and hauntings around campus. The one I read involved a house on Walnut Street. A family used to live in that house: a mother, father, and little boy. One day, the little boy was playing with a red ball. It tumbled down the stairs, and he ran to chase after it. But he tripped and fell down the stairs, hitting his head and dying. Now, it’s said that the red ball still appears at the bottom of the stairs along with the sounds of someone falling down and crying. One can also hear and see the boy running around the house laughing. The house is now owned by a law firm and is used as their office. If I worked there, I would not work after dark.

5. IU Auditorium

It seems like most auditoriums are haunted; maybe there’s something “Phantom of the Opera” about having a theater ghost. Anyway, the story goes that there was this construction worker working on the lights above the stage. He fell off the scaffolding and plummeted to his death. Now, there’s a blood stain in the middle of the stage that never seems to go away, no matter how many times they’ve repainted or refinished the stage. I’m excited to say that I performed with my dance team on said haunted stage. I’m not going to lie; throughout the routine, I definitely watched the ground, trying to find that blood stain.

That’s all! If you want to read more about some of the stories listed here and more, here’s a cool article describing other legends: http://inside.indiana.edu/features/stories/2014-10-30-urban-legends.shtml. 
In other news, this is my tenth post! Which means I've posted every week for ten weeks now! When I started this blog, I had no idea that I'd actually post every single week. I'm usually pretty bad at staying consistent with things like this. But somehow, I've managed to update every week! I just want to thank you all again for reading! Also, I just finished writing Chapter 40 earlier this week! I am so close to finishing; it's actually making me really sad. But once I finish, I'll finally post a summary of my novel, so everyone will finally know what it's about! 

Until next time!

-Emiliana Maye 

Better be...GRYFFINDOR!!!

The Myers-Briggs Test. You know, the one with all the different letters? You answer so many questions and get a four letter answer at the end that supposedly explains your personality? That test. For this post, I thought it’d be fun if I took the Myers-Briggs Test personalities and showed how they related to Hogwarts houses and Divergent factions! So, if you haven’t taken the Myers-Briggs Test, you can do it here: http://16personalities.com. The test doesn’t take long, and it’s worth taking! At the end, it will provide a profile with descriptions of how you handle certain aspects of life like, relationships, friends, work, etc. Be sure to take it before going on! Or if you already know your type, go ahead and read on! 

There are 16 personality types in all. The first letter, I or E, represents Introverted or Extraverted. The second letter, N or S, represents Intuition or Sensing. The third, T or F, represents Thinking or Feeling. And the fourth, J or P, represents Judging or Perceiving. For example, my type is INFJ, which stands for Introverted, Intuition, Feeling, and Judging.

Now, comes the fun part. Click the gif below to be taken to a really cool post stating which MBTI personality type goes in which Hogwarts house!

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If you’re not convinced this is your house, click the next gif to be taken to an in-depth quiz to find your Hogwarts house!

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I’m a Ravenclaw, but my test results showed that I was 72% Slytherin and 64% Ravenclaw (Not quite sure how those percentages add up, but oh well!)! I’m not very surprised; sometimes I wonder if I could have been a Slytherin. But remember! The Sorting Hat takes what you want into account!

That’s all for this week! I’m super close to finishing my book; once I do, I’ll be posting a summary! I’m really excited to share what I’ve been working on since December, and I can’t wait to start on the editing/publishing process!

Until next time!

-Emiliana Maye