Carve the Mark Deleted Scenes and Divergent Annotations

Do you guys make resolutions?  I used to be pretty resistant to the idea (it's an arbitrary date, nothing ever sticks, blah blah blah), but apparently it's not as hopeless as it seems. Did I read The Power of Habit last year and immediately start inserting it into every conversation as if I was some kind of habit-changing expert? Yes, reader. Yes I did.

My resolution this year is to be more consistent about engaging with my readers-- as you may have noticed, I occasionally just...don't send newsletters for a few months at a time because I'm on deadline or distracted by something shiny, and I'd rather be more reliable than that. I also intend to read more books. Maybe that's an odd goal for an author, because we're supposed to read all the time, right? Well, let me tell you, sometimes after a day of wordswordswords all I want to do is stare at a TV show until my brain oozes out my ears. Which is a decent excuse some of the time, but really, come on V. Books.

I started strong by reading Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, which is a beautiful book and the exact opposite of what I write most of the time-- perfect, in other words, because I was able to fully get out of work mode while I was reading it. I hope your 2019 has started off well, too, guys.

Maybe this will help-- I have some behind-the-scenes stuff to show you guys from both Divergent and Carve the Mark!

Carve the Mark Deleted Scenes!

If your favorite thing about the Divergent books (or one of your favorite things) was the relationship between Tris and Four, you might particularly like these deleted scenes from Carve the Mark involving Cyra and Akos. Not that the two couples are the same-- far from it!-- but I promise they are a duo you can get behind. With Cyra and Akos (Cyrakos?), Cyra's the one with the combat skills and the hardened exterior, but Akos is no Tris-- he's got a soft underbelly and his own aims that have nothing to do with saving the world. Get to know them both a little, whether you've read Carve already or not. <3

*Note: Just because it caused some confusion on Instagram (I'm not sure why? But I'd like to avoid it again if possible!), this isn't a new book or anything, just a graphic for these two deleted scenes!

Divergent Annotations!

I took some of the most highlighted passages from Divergent, as well as some of my personal favorites, and wrote up some of my insights about them for your enjoyment. Such insights include: how I keep starting books about boy characters and then rewriting them to be about girl characters, what my favorite lines are, and whether I still believe some of the principles I incorporated into the world of Divergent. Check it out over on Goodreads!

WRITING MODE is where I have been living lately, so honestly I have nothing else to report, but remember that Avi loves you and is soft.

<4,

V