And also, Paranatellonta

Voorleesweek

[scroll down for English]

Hallo!

Blijf voorlezen!

Van 22 tot en met 30 november is het in Vlaanderen en Brussel Voorleesweek, een initiatief van Iedereen Leest, i.s.m. Boektopia, VRT, Kind & Gezin, Boekhandels Vlaanderen en de bibliotheken. Daar sta ik natuurlijk helemaal achter en ik wilde dan ook graag iets doen om deze Voorleesweek te vieren.

Zelfgeschreven gedichten voorlezen, dat leek me wel een idee. Twee of drie filmpjes, dacht ik eerst, gespreid over de week. Maar jullie kennen mij natuurlijk al: zodra ik bezig was, vond ik toch genoeg gedichten in mijn oogst van NovemberVers 2024 die ik leuk genoeg vond om met jullie te delen en nu heb ik een filmpje gemaakt voor élke dag van de Voorleesweek. Ze zijn kort, tussen 30 seconden en 2 minuten. Echte voorleessnacks! Geniet ervan.

Linkjes: Dag 1Dag 2Dag 3Dag 4Dag 5Dag 6Dag 7 

Er volgt zowel morgen als overmorgen om 16 uur nog een nieuw filmpje! Die zullen ook toegevoegd worden aan mijn Voorleesweek-playlist op YouTube.

Vandaag was het natuurlijk ook weer tijd voor een nieuw Paranatellonta-filmpje! Jawel, meer voorleesvreugde.

Ik heb deze keer gekozen voor de meest recente Paranatellonta-editie, nummer 414: “De zonsondergang tegemoet”. Het verhaaltje werd geïnspireerd door het Finse sprookje waar ik op dit moment in de les storytelling aan werk, dat ik leerde kennen in het door Ulla Thynell geïllustreerde boek Nordic Tales. De originele titel kan vertaald worden als “De bruid van het woud: het verhaal van een muisje dat een prinses was”, maar mijn muisje is een prins geworden. Voor wie mijn storytelling-versie graag wil horen en in Hasselt geraakt, is er op 9 december om 18 uur een toonmoment in lokaal 313 van Knst. Hasselt.

Op maandag 1 december zal je de 415de editie van Paranatellonta in het Engels kunnen vinden op paranatellonta.tumblr.com!

Geniet van alle voorlees- en vertelkansen.

Liefs,

Minerva


Hi!

In Flanders and Brussels, the Week for Reading Aloud is celebrated from November 22 until November 30, so the text above announces a series of YouTube Shorts I’ve made with Dutch poems that I wrote last year for the NovemberVers challenge. An English speaker told me they loved the way it sounds in spite of not understanding the words, which I found very flattering, so if you like, you can check out the playlist here!

Of course there’s also a new Paranatellonta video in English today, which you’ll find via this link

This time I’ve chosen the most recent edition of Paranatellonta, number 414: “Into the Sunset”. The story was inspired by the Finnish fairy tale I’m currently working with in Storytelling class. I got to know this story in the book Nordic Tales illustrated by Ulla Thynell. The original fairy tale is called “The Forest Bride: the Story of a Little Mouse Who Was a Princess”. However, my little mouse became a prince.

This Monday, December 1, you’ll find the 415th edition of Paranatellonta on paranatellonta.tumblr.com!

Enjoy every opportunity to read to others and tell your stories.

Love,

Minerva

And also, Neurodiversiverse, Paranatellonta

Award for The Neurodiversiverse

Hi!

I’ll continue the quick flash update style of my previous post, since I have a lot of short messages.

1) Great news about The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters, the anthology which includes my short story “The Space Between Stitches”: it has won the Silver IBPA Book Award in the category Neurodivergent Communities!

2) In the first week of June, I’ve participated in Workshop Week for the third year in a row. It’s always so much fun to learn new techniques that I will no doubt apply to postcards soon. Here’s a tiny glance at the pieces I learned to make with teachers Type Affiliated, Mabz Brisson, Shayda Campbell, Aurelia Thomson, Lindsey Bugbee, Julie Marriott, and Terry Runyan. You can still follow my artsy explorations on my Instagram.

This image shows small versions of the results of 7 Workshop Week projects: a handlettering piece saying "wishing you a very happy father's day", 2 floral pieces, a grandmotherly character, a hummingbird with flowers, a floral cat, and a swallow filled with calligraphy.

3) Yesterday was the 15th day of the month, so of course Fie and I also posted a new edition of Paranatellontanumber 404!

4) In May, I had my Storytelling exam, allowing me to mark my third year at Knst academy as successful. I’m continuing the Storytelling course next year with great enthusiasm! If you’re in the area of Hasselt, you can start your first year in September with the same brilliant teacher, on Mondays from 19:00 until 21:00. (Mind that this course is taught in Dutch.) Info via this link, scroll down to “Storytelling 18+”.

5) Ulla Thynell, the artist who created the cover of my novella The Dragon of Ynys, will have a book out with Atthis Arts soon! Faraway Dreaming is an art book and story of forest, peace, and a calming night journey. Dragons, hills, and magic to soothe your soul. I know I’m ordering several, both to keep and as gifts. The Kickstarter is already successful, so the book is definitely happening! Rewards start from $1. Go take a look!

6) Speaking of cool artists affiliated with Atthis Arts, Dhiyanah Hassan made this amazing handdrawn dragon fairy portrait of me! I’m still so delighted with how it turned out; I really feel seen. You can commission your own portrait from Dhiyanah via this link.

Handdrawn portrait of a smiling white person with horns in the colours of the ace flag, glasses with purple tentacle details, long brown braided hair, a green t-shirt, rainbow scaled dragon wings, a couple of purple tentacles, and lots of purple flowers all around. Stars are scattered over the atmospheric green background.

7) I’m looking forward to a week in Denmark in July! I’m sure it will bring lots of inspiration and relaxation. And I’m going to see the H.C. Andersen House, which feels extra special as my first published story ever, Match Sticks, was inspired by one of his fairy tales. 

That’s all for today!

Have a wonderful summer!

Minerva

 

the dragon of ynys

Time for the Tour!

And we’re off!

The Dragon of Ynys - Book Tour and Giveaway 6/14-7/14 - Silver Dagger Book Tours

The Silver Dagger Book Tour for The Dragon of Ynys has kicked off today with an excerpt from the book and an interview with me (including a baking recipe!) on the Silver Dagger website, and will keep moving to one or two new blogs every day until July 14. I’m very excited to see what will happen!

This is the full book tour schedule below! (Mind that Silver Dagger selected these blogs – I am not aware whether all of them only post content suitable for all ages all the time, so please tread carefully if necessary.)

Jun 14
kickoff at Silver Dagger Book Tours
A Pinch of Bookdust

Jun 15
Sadie’s Spotlight
4covert2overt ☼ A Place In The Spotlight ☼

Jun 16
#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog
❧Defining Ways❧

Jun 17
Lady Hawkeye
ⒾⓃⓉⓇⓄⓈⓅⒺⒸⓉⒾⓋⒺ ⓅⓇⒺⓈⓈ

Jun 18
Writing Dreams
Books a Plenty Book Reviews

Jun 20
Don’t Judge, Read – GUEST POST

Jun 21
Girl with Pen
Inside the Insanity – GUEST POST

Jun 22
Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read
Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin’

Jun 23
Sylv.net

Jun 24
Craving Lovely Books

Jun 25
Sapphyria’s Book Reviews

Jun 28
Midnight Book Reader

Jun 29
Cover Love Book Blog

Jun 30
Scrupulous Dreams

Jul 1
eBook Addicts

Jul 2
The Bookshelf Fairy

Jul 3
A Wonderful World of Words – GUEST POST

Jul 4
Westveil Publishing – REVIEW

Jul 5
The Book Dragon

Jul 6
Insane Books

Jul 7
Bayou Book Junkie
The Sexy Nerd ‘Revue’

Jul 8
Liliyana Shadowlyn – REVIEW
Musings From An Addicted Reader

Jul 9
Bedazzled By Books
Book Corner News and Reviews

Jul 10
Chapters through life

Jul 12
Books all things paranormal and romance
Twisted Book Ramblings

Jul 13
Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author
The Faerie Review

Jul 14
Never Hollowed By The Stare
Teatime and Books

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Have fun!

Teaser image of "The Dragon of Ynys" ebook

the dragon of ynys

An Invitation to Join the Book Tour

Hello!

Last month, IQARUS Book Con had a very fun Scavenger Hunt where I managed to win the first prize: a book tour with Silver Dagger Book Tours! That means my book will be touring from blog to blog, whether it be in the shape of reviews, spotlights, guest posts, or author interviews. This will take place from June 14 until July 14, 2021. During that time, there will also be a giveaway of an Amazon gift card via Silver Dagger.

Would you like your blog to be one of the stops of this book tour? You’d be most welcome! You can sign up to become part of the tour via this link. Thank you for supporting the dragon on his long flight!

The Dragon of Ynys - Book Tour and Giveaway 6/14-7/14 - Silver Dagger Book Tours

When going on an adventure like this, I am always ready to follow baker Juniper’s advice and bring my rolling pin. Especially now that there is an actual Dragon of Ynys rolling pin! This was an item in the Rainbow Crate Book Box for April. I still can’t believe my book has a fandom item! And even better: I got my own rolling pin in the mail, so now I can make The Dragon of Ynys biscuits!

Photo of Minerva holding up the rolling pin

To see the rolling pin among the other items from the April box, check out this post from Rainbow Crate on Instagram.

I’ll be back with more exciting news soon! For now, it’s time to go prepare the tour.

Love, dragons, cupcakes, and swords,

Minerva

Projects by Friends

More awesome dragons from Atthis Arts!

Hello!

Another cute dragon project from The Dragon of Ynys publisher Atthis Arts is approaching with an impressive beating of wings! Check out a sample of the beautiful art that will be found inside the illustrated book Alia Terra – Stories from the Dragon Realm on this Kickstarter page! The stories (in English and Romanian) are written by my good friend Ava Kelly, illustrated by the incredibly talented Matthew Spencer, and edited by the wonderful E.D.E. Bell. More info about all of them can be found under the “Our Team” banner on the Kickstarter page.

What else you’ll find there? A clip where you can hear Ava talking with subtitles in 13 languages (yes, there’s also Dutch – you may want to put it on full screen to see all the languages in the subtitle menu), info on the book and on the rewards that you can add to your own dragon hoard, and of course a chance to actually make this magical project happen by pre-ordering your own copy. Please check it out and consider supporting them! And if you can’t, it would be appreciated very much if you spread the word.

Love,

Minerva