Ladies of the Steam Theatre

What are you prepared to pay the Dollmaker?

Meet the Ladies of the Steam Theatre—each with a tale, a bargain, and a price.

🕸 Steamerella – A twisted Cinderella tale. Cassandra was wronged, but with the Phantom as her Fairy Godfather, she becomes a spider weaving silk threads of seduction and revenge.

👠 Agnes – The Shoemaker's Daughter. A shoemaker in her own right. She traded time for fingers. Read how her craft became her curse.

⚙️ Lady Gears – Bold, scandalous, and mysterious. With wings of gears, she captivates a baron—until a machine monster kidnaps her. But who’s really in control?

🎶 Eileen – In The Steam Singer, Eileen sings not for fame but for survival. With a house full of siblings and no protector, the Phantom offers her a stage—and a dangerous deal.

✨ Available now on Amazon.com/author/maitarue

 

Unlocking Reading Skills: Create a Cozy Reading Area

 In a previous post, I wrote about creating exciting activities to get your appetites wet for the books. This is especially true for books in a series.

Before all this, some of you would be fidgeting in your seat at the thought of sitting for hours to read. This is because your area isn't conducive to reading.

Before we can expect ourselves or our child/students to enjoy reading, we must foster an environment conducive to reading. Create an inviting reading nook in the classroom or school library by incorporating comfortable seating, adequate illumination, and a variety of books on exhibit. I am already making a pinterst board to create my home library. I want a home library that is versatile but decorated to every genre I hold dear. Decorations can encourage students to investigate various genres and topics.

Teachers and parents, you can adorn shelves for your children or involve them in the process. They say children who grew up with a home library tend to be smarter. I don't mean to brag but I did graduate Cum Laude in college. And yes, I want to thank my mother for always making sure we had a couple of shelves of books. It wasn't quite a home library but she was very encouraging when it came to books.

Unlocking Reading Skills: Create Book Activities

Before you can write, you're going to have to learn to read. Whether it is you, your child or your student, I hope these tips could help!

From immersive storytelling experiences to inventive writing prompts, this is an enchanting portal for young minds to realize their full potential. Discover the power of reading as a voyage of awe and writing as a path of self-expression, bridging the distance between the love of stories and the pleasure of creating them. 

Let us start by finding out what tickles your or their fancy. Genres and themes would be the best place to start. When I was pre-teens, my sister and I loved horror and myth stories. We devoured books like crazy. Recess? Who cares! I have to read in the library. Maximo D. Ramos? I have to find his most obscure books in other sources. Then we progressed to RL Stein and Goosebumps. We also had a collection of Nancy Drew and Enid Blyton at home, not to mention those Time Life Encyclopedias. Dinosaurs? I'd name them like Pokemons.

Now, choose a topic or genre. Then read something along those. You know, Amazon suggests you books based on your searches and purchases.

Now, let's make things fun. After reading, let's do some fun activities.

In the age before TikTok, I did scrapbooks and collage boards for fun. The height was during my Harry Potter Phase. I also created games based on Harry Potter. Note, this was before the merch and the movies. 

For books that had a good concept but I did not enjoy the ending, I wanted to rewrite my own ending. It was an activity that my high School English teacher made us do. We were given a story and asked to change the ending however we wanted.

Now, it is the age of technology, there's so much more we can do like make a BookTok or TikTok about the book. You can make trailers. you can even redesign the covers. All this can be done with various tools, especially with AI. (Don't be afraid to experiment!)

You know what else you can do? Create challenges! Challenge other readers. Challenge your friends on Social Media! Challenge your kids! Ignite the competitive spirit!

I hope you enjoyed these tips.

I want to impart my knowledge as a writer and hope to learn from other writers as well. 

Never stop learning! I'll never be the best writer but I know I'll forever continue to improve. Reading is a way to help improve. You cannot be a writer unless you are also a reader. So, unlock those reading skills!