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As most people know, Taylor Swift is influenced by the events in her life—breakups, negative celebrities and more when it comes to songwriting so I couldn’t help but imagine how T-Swift’s songs would change if she participated in NaNoWriMo.

Here are some ideas, revised lyrics written to go along with the original songs:

Winnie the Pooh changed my life. Not in a he’s-an-adorable-bear-and-was-my-childhood kind of way but in my-major-was-influenced-by-a-fat-yellow-bear-wearing-a-red-shirt kind of way.

Yay! My Hello Kitty Crochet Author Showcase and Signing appearance at Kinokuniya, Suria KLCC was a tremendous success! My books were all sold out that day, and I got to meet so many new friends, and also had a mini reunion with some of my relatives, ex-colleagues and high school mates (and even my bosses from work)!

Here’s a snapshot of my mom, sis and little niece before the people started streaming in! The event was supposed to start at 2pm, but when I began setting up at 12:45pm, I suddenly had Hello Kitty enthusiasts coming up to the table to enquire about the book! Some tiny fans even took to “re-arranging” my dolls for me!

Autumn is my favorite season. The crisp air, the sweaters, the butterbeer, the colorful leaves, and… NaNoWriMo.

For those of you who haven't heard of it… November is National Novel Writing Month.

What started as a personal quest of the creator Chris Baty, and has now turned into a worldwide phenomenon. Each year tens of thousands of participants sit down at their keyboards, their notebooks, and their typewriters with one thing in common. They set out to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

The challenge is to get the words down, despite your inner editor telling you they're not perfect yet, to get words on the page and move on. Once you have a draft you can edit it, but if you keep rewriting the first paragraph you'll never reach the end.

I first discovered NaNoWriMo (NaNo for short) in high school. While the other girls attended football games I sat at my desktop computer tapping away at the keys until I reached 50k. The best part of NaNo, for me at least, is the community. Having that sense of togetherness with other writers scattered across the world is inspiring. Connecting with those other writers on the NaNo forums is both my greatest strength and greatest source of procrastination during November. NaNo novelists come from different walks of life, but have one thing in common… the love of storytelling and the commitment to write.

If you've ever dreamed of writing your own novel join us!

Here at Quirk Books, we put lots of time and thought into our book covers. And that's why they've won awards and accolades all around the world and in space. But I think we can all agree that one thing would make our amazing covers even better: Me. So here's a glimpse into an alternate universe which is the same as our own, except I appear on every Quirk book cover!

Most curious bookadelphians! You well-read librariquarians! Your bookish events for the week include afrofuturism, prize money, and erotic nonagenarians. Yep, only Philadelphia could offer you all of those in one sentence. 

On Saturday, November 15, the Afrofuturist Affair presents Black Holographic Memory at the A-Space on Baltimore Ave.,  offering experimental workshop and reading experiences to take you time-traveling, Sun-Ra style. The afrofuturist literary movement in Philly is offering some of the most creative and liberatory education and inspiration in the city, so go check it out! 7-10 p.m.

The 15th of November is also the deadline for the Sandy Crimmins Poetry Prize, hosted by Philadelphia Stories magazine, with $1000 going to the first prize poem! Visit their website to learn more.