Author Archives: Ryn PB

I’m Thinking About Moths

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Ryn PB

I accidentally killed a moth. I was sitting outside, crisscross applesauce, back against a brick wall, sweating under the late May sun; the moth saw the shadowy space underneath my legs and beelined for the shelter with inevitably misplaced trust. … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, mental health | Tagged anxiety, bookseller, change, friends, friendship, half price books, hpb, job, knives, life changes, life lessons, may, mental health, moths, nature, nebraska, outside, reading, summer, the mountain goats, work | 1 Comment

Swimmers

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Ryn PB

In the beginning, the universe was a pristine lake. The spirits of gods and creatures and angels swam in the void together, content to ride the waves and ripples created by their fellow Swimmers. The Swimmers didn’t need to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories, stories | Tagged angels, anxiety, books, creation, creation myth, creative, genesis, gods, humanity, lakes, life lessons, mental health, myth, origins, spirits, spirituality, stories, swimming, universe, water, writing | 1 Comment

April 2023: Underrated Songs and (Mostly) Underrated Books

Posted on April 30, 2023 by Ryn PB

This month has been a wild ride for me emotionally, so I haven’t set aside much time to think or write about life. However, I am determined to keep to this schedule I set for myself, so I whipped up … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, polysyllabic spree | Tagged books, LGBT+, mental health, music, queer lit, reading, writing | Leave a comment

Hidden Potatoes

Posted on April 15, 2023 by Ryn PB

Lady Southcott’s portrait stares down at anyone who enters the old kitchen. She is healthy, rich and supremely unhappy. On her cheek is a shiny purplish brown spider, translucent legs spread out to cover the side of her face. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged arachnids, black widow spiders, bugs, creepy, death, eerie, false widow spiders, family tradition, famine, historical fiction, horror, hunger, insects, ireland, irish history, irish potato famine, murder, poison, potato, potato famine, potatoes, revenge, spiders, tenant farming, the great hunger, writing | 1 Comment

What Do You See When You Read?

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Ryn PB

When you read a book, a movie plays out in your mind, a vivid moving picture created entirely by the collaboration between your mind and the author’s words. Until recently, I thought this was a total exaggeration. No way people … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era | Tagged adaptations, anxiety, aphantasia, art, book nerd, books, bookworm, education, films, hangeul, knowledge, korean, languages, learning, life lessons, linguistics, memes, mental health, movies, reader, reading, spanish, words, writer, writing, written word | 3 Comments

Less Than Before

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Ryn PB

The boy appeared on the day Pluto vanished from the sky. He stood in the middle of the town square, transfixed by the fountain. A hand shielded his eyes from the sun’s midday light. His bare feet rested flat on … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged astrology, bermuda, bermuda triangle, creative writing, dante, death, fiction, fountain, france, gondoliers, italy, LGBT, mythology, outer space, planets, pluto, queer, science, science fiction, solar system, speculative fiction, statue, town, travel, water, writing | Leave a comment

25 Quotes for 25 Years

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Ryn PB

This month, I turned 25, so I thought I would compile 25 quotes that have given me wisdom, laughter, and/or comfort throughout my life so far. Hopefully they can offer something to you too! “Life moves pretty fast. If you … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era | Tagged AJR, birthday, bob ross, bojack horseman, bts, christmas, doctor who, emily dickinson, emotions, ferris bueller, gilmore girls, green day, hank green, heartstopper, jess mariano, john green, john mulaney, karate kid, leighbardugo, LGBT+, life lessons, maggie stiefvater, mary poppins, mental health, milestone, movies, music, newsies, nick nelson, paper towns, psych, queer lit, queer rep, quotes, reading, six of crows, spider-man, spidey, stan lee, the raven boys, the raven cycle, trc, YA lit | Leave a comment

The Magician and the Sun

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Ryn PB

The 1877 Society (Omaha Public Library Fund) 2018 Prose Contest Winner Charlotte’s tethers to reality burned away as flames ravaged the two story building. Her full notebooks, her well-loved backpack, her dad’s deck of cards—disintegrating before her eyes. The familiar … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction Short Stories | Tagged arson, fiction, fire, fire breathing, LGBT+, magic, medieval, performer, queer lit, renaissance, renaissance fair, tarot, tarot cards, writing | Leave a comment

Something’s coming…

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Ryn PB

And that something is Another New Era for As Cool As Mint Ice Cream! Writing about what I’m reading, while fun, has made reading more stressful than I’d like it to be. Thinking about Maggie Stiefvater’s concept of “plot bunnies” … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era | Tagged books, creative writing, LGBT+, life lessons, maggie stiefvater, reviews, writing | Leave a comment

October 2022: How I got locked in a cemetery with the undead

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Ryn PB

What I Got: Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater Word Origins and their Romantic Origins by Wilfred Funk The Manticore by Robert Davies Men, Ships, and the Sea (National Geographic) by Capt. Alan Villiers & other … Continue reading →

Posted in polysyllabic spree, stories | Tagged books, bookworm, cemetery, colson whitehead, graphic novels, graves, gravestones, halloween, LGBT+, life lessons, one piece, pandemic, pirates, plague, reading, spooky, the maze runner, the walking dead, undead, walking dead, world war z, zombie literature, zombies | 1 Comment