Let’s Talk Hunger Games

Why do we love The Hunger Games? Why do we crave to read stories in which children, even as young as 12, are pitted against one another in an arena and forced to kill each other on live television? Do we truly fear this reality in our own lives?

Or rather, is it all about control? Do we read these stories and embrace how every individual character from the main protagonist Katniss Everdeen to little “Eddie” of the District 8 bombing desire control in their lives? In a society where our words are monitored, our actions judged, and even our thoughts persecuted, is it any wonder that what we desire is the ability to control our actions and what determines those actions? Indeed, what else are we searching for so eagerly than agency itself.

Being the main character, Katniss finds agency in multi-faceted ways. She must first overcome the restrictions placed on her body by reclaiming her physicality. Her agency then flourishes when she focus on morality and care of others. However, when trauma strikes, her agency is shattered and only vocalization of the pain can restore her ability to know and control her actions.

Readers around the world find strength in Katniss’ brokenness. Similarly, readers find a multitude of other examples of how to attain, reclaim, loose, battle for, and strive after agency through other characters such as Peeta, Gale, Cinna, Haymitch, Prim, Beetee, Mags, Joanna, and many others.

In the comments below, let me know, what determines your agency? What character do you relate to the most?

Check them all out in Agency in the Hunger Games!

You can win your own free copy (but you only have three more days to participate in the Giveaway!)

Hope to see you all at the Launch Party for the costume contest, Hunger Games trivia, and Giveaway!

Agency in the Hunger Games BOOK GIVEAWAY! ($40 Value)

Have you read Suzanne Collins famous trilogy The Hunger Games? Have you perhaps only seen the movies? Have you rooted for Katniss, argued over Peeta vs. Gales, fallen in love with Finnick? Have you often drawn parallels between the society of Panem and our own in which you feel unable to exercise your own sense of agency?

If you answered, “yes!” to any of the above questions, then you will enjoy reading my newly released book, Agency in The Hunger Games: Desire, Intent, and Action in the Novels.

You can win your very own free copy by participating today in my Book Giveaway!

Read the rules below:

1. First, like this blog post and leave a comment telling me your favorite Hunger Games character and why!

2. Second, reblog and share this Giveaway opportunity with your own readers. Maybe they like The Hunger Games too!

3. You can share this post on various social medias (WordPress, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc.) to earn more entries!

4. That’s it, so simple! May the odds be ever in your favor!

WINNER will be announced on a LIVE Feed the day of my Book Release Party (February 23rd)

For 21st-century young adults struggling for personal autonomy in a society that often demands compliance, the bestselling trilogy, The Hunger Games remains palpably relevant despite its futuristic setting. For Suzanne Collins’ characters, personal agency involves not only the physical battle of controlling one’s body but also one’s response to such influences as morality, trauma, power and hope.
The author explores personal agency through in-depth examinations of the lives of Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, Cinna, Primrose, and others, and through an analysis of themes like the overabundance of bodily imagery, social expectations in the Capitol, and problem parental figures.
Readers will discover their own “dandelion of hope” through the examples set out by Collins’ characters, who prove over and over that human agency is always attainable.

 

 

Agency in The Hunger Games – Available for Pre-Order!

I was scrolling through my Facebook yesterday when I came upon this . . .

Yup! It’s “Facebook Official!” My book, Agency in The Hunger Games, three years in the making is finally going to be released to the public this Spring 2020! You can even pre-order your copy now!

It’s been a long road and I know there is still one last stretch before I hit that finish line, but I can already see it in the distance.

Thank you to all of you who have encouraged and supported me the past three years!

Hunger Games Friday: The Curiously Short Life & Death of Primrose Everdeen

Primrose Everdeen (Prim) is the younger sister to Katniss Everdeen and the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen. She is twelve years old when the series begins and she is only fourteen when she dies in the infamous two-timed bombing of the Capitol.

Because of her youth and her feminine appearance of a young, naive, helpful, little girl, many scholars skirt over her importance to The Hunger Games trilogy. However, most fans of the trilogy would instantly state that Prim is crucial to the entire series.

In a poll, 62% of participants voted that Primrose Everdeen was crucial to the story line.

After all, if Prim had never been reaped, Katniss would never have volunteered. If Katniss had not gone into the Games with Peeta and defied the Capitol, the revolution would never have ignited. If the revolution had never begun, the Games would continue on with President Snow in charge of Panem. In one of my last chapters, I discuss how every action that Katniss takes is in protection of her sister Prim, primarily because Prim represents hope. It is this hope, intimately connected with agency, that draws readers into the world of Panem.

Read more about Prim and Katniss, and the rest of the amazing characters from The Hunger Games in my upcoming book The Agency Games!

If you are interested in receiving updates when the book is released, please leave a comment on the post: “The Agency Games — Sign Up!”

©KaylaAnnAuthor

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The Agency Games: Update on the Third Reader (Blogmas: “It’s a Holiday Gift!)

Hello Everyone!

Today, I am taking a break from our regularly scheduled Blogmas posts to keep you updated on the publishing process for my book The Agency Games. For those of you who are new to my blog (Welcome!), The Agency Games is a nonfiction analysis of the popular Hunger Games series where I investigate human agency and how it affects primary characters such as Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, Cinna, Prim, Rue, Finnick, Mags, Joanna, Beetee, and more!

Anyhow, as many of you might remember, I am currently in the “Peer Review” stage of the publishing process. I have two readers who reviewed my book back in August. One of them loved it and the other was not impressed. So the publication house sent out my book to a third reader to be the tie breaker. However, back in November, when I was supposed to receive my feedback, my third reader backed out due to health reasons and so the clock was set back once again as I waited for the publication house to locate a new third reader.

I am happy to announce that as of this past weekend, the editors have located a new third reader and I should be receiving my feedback sometime toward the end of January in the new year!

Additionally, the editors have gone ahead and scheduled me a final due date for the revised and improved final draft of my book for April of 2019! It has been a long road, but one that I am so grateful to have the opportunity to walk!

Thank you all for sticking alongside me, encouraging me and supporting me. I sometimes wonder if this book will forever be in limbo (something that will one day happen but not today) and then other days, like today, I can imagine holding that physical representation of all my hard work in my hands. This book has become more than just my “first” book. Some of you may remember that my grandfather is currently dying from cancer and it’s hard, and sometimes, he is not all there. But other days, he is. The other day he asked me when I was going to start publishing my books because he always knew that I would succeed. My entire life, he has pushed me to reach for the stars and I am so grateful for that. He inspired me to work hard and to persevere. In a way, finishing this book has now become a testament to his influence on my life.

Excitement does not begin to describe how I feel. I am one step forward to becoming an official “published” author and I know that I would not be where I am today without the support of my family and friends!

Gale: Powerless or Powerful

Gale Hawthorne – a Seam-born resident of the poorest district and also a famous and brutal soldier for District 13 during the Mockingjay Rebellion.

Gale Hawthorne, from Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy, is one of those characters that readers cannot help but to love. Even after Gale’s actions become questionable, readers still defend him. Gale’s physical and mental capabilities are often unmatched. He is brave enough to hunt in the woods, strong enough to endure work in the mines, and  smart enough to design and create snares and traps. Gale is powerful in many ways and yet, in others he is extremely powerless. He cannot stop Katniss from volunteering, he cannot provide for his family without his brother taking out tesserae, he cannot even start a revolution until Katniss clears the way.

In an Instagram survey with 23 participants, 15 said that Gale was Powerless as opposed to Powerful by the end of the trilogy.

Throughout The Hunger Games, Gale struggles between enacting power and having power exercised over him. While he starts as a strong protagonist, he eventually fades away at the end of the trilogy, working in District 2.

What do you think about Gale’s character?

Love him? Hate him? Let me know your thoughts! Is he powerful or powerless? Why?

Read more about Gale, and the rest of the amazing characters from The Hunger Games in my upcoming book The Agency Games! If you are interested in receiving updates when the book is released, please leave a comment on the post: “The Agency Games — Sign Up!”

©KaylaAnnAuthor

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The Agency Games: An Update (4)

Well it’s that time of the month again, time for my monthly update on my work in progress:

The Agency Games

(a working title)

The Agency Games is a nonfiction book which analyzes human agency within the popular Hunger Games trilogy. I will be doing in-depth character analyses of individuals such as: Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Haymitch Abernathy, Cinna, Primrose Everdeen, and more in trying to understand how human agency is discovered, maintained, tested, lost, and regained in a dystopian society and how that relates to us as readers.

The goal is to write approximately 500 words per day so that I can meet my goal of 75,000 wordsby May 31st to send to the publishers.

• On January 22nd, 2018, I posted by first update. I was at a total of 22,000 words.
• On February 22nd (after a VERY productive month having written 19,000 words), I was at a total of 41,000 words having written 3,500 words more than my original goal.
• On March 22nd, I surprised even myself at being able to meet by quota and had a total of 55,200 words.

In sticking with my original plan to write 500 words a day, I needed to write 15,500 words by April 22nd (meaning I should be at a total of 70,700).

Well, let’s see how I did . . .

On April 4th, 2018, I finished the last chapter of my book and I was at only 62,000 words. Not quite my goal.

So, I decided to take my own advice. Remember when I encouraged you to NOT edit, but to RE-WRITE instead?

Well, that is exactly what I did and am still doing. I pulled up a blank word document, set it next to my current manuscript, and I started over, re-writing every single line. And along the way, I found places that naturally needed expansion. Sometimes, it was a single word or a single sentence. But sometimes, it was a whole paragraph. So after two weeks of rewriting, I have re-written the introduction, the first six chapters and started working on my appendixes.

I have a total word count of . . .

70,000 words!

I didn’t quite hit my goal of 70,700 words, but I’m pretty proud of what I have accomplished! Plus, it’s a little slow going with re-writing everything.

I still need to finish re-writing the last six chapters and the appendixes which should push me to the 75,000 goal!

I’m getting closer to completing the fourth draft of this manuscript and then I plan to print it out and double check errors before sending it out. I won’t lie, some days I really feel like this . . .

But I am going to push forward and I really hope to get this manuscript sent out within the next three weeks!

Thank you to everyone for your continued support! I can’t believe this is almost over!

Meanwhile, I’ll just be over here like . . .

Haymitch Abernathy

Haymitch Abernathy is known by every single person in Panem as the Drunk Mentor for District 12. One of his most infamous moments is when he took a head-dive off the stage during the reaping for the 74th-Hunger Games. To most he is a fool, a drunk, and a blubbering, staggering idiot. But is that all he is?

If you love Haymitch, you will want to read my chapter on his character titled, “It’s All a Big Show” to learn the truth behind Haymitch’s clandestine motives and hidden agency in a society of “un-reality”!

BONUS: This is one of the GREATEST FAN-MADE videos of content from The Hunger Games. MainstayPro portrayed the Second Quarter Quell in which Haymitch is the winner and let me tell you, it does not disappoint. All images and content from the below video are property of MainstayPro, I am just sharing their magnificent work.

WARNING: Graphic images for young or sensitive viewers.

Haymitch Approves this Post!

©KaylaAnnAuthor

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The Agency Games: An Update (3)

Well it’s that time of the month again, time for my monthly update on my work in progress:

The Agency Games

(a working title)

The Agency Games is a nonfiction book which analyzes human agency within the popular Hunger Games trilogy. I will be doing in-depth character analyses of individuals such as: Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Haymitch Abernathy, Cinna, Primrose Everdeen, and more in trying to understand how human agency is discovered, maintained, tested, lost, and regained in a dystopian society and how that relates to us as readers.

The goal is to write approximately 500 words per day so that I can meet my goal of 75,000 words by May 31st to send to the publishers.

• On January 22nd, 2018, I posted by first update. I was at a total of 22,000 words.
• On February 22nd (after a VERY productive month having written 19,000 words), I was at a total of 41,000 words having written 3,500 words more than my original goal.

There were 28 days between February 22nd and March 22nd, and at 500 words per day, my goal was to write 14,000 words. Meaning, that I should be at 55,000 words.

Let’s see how I did . . .

(Drum roll Please)

55,200 words!

Okay, I won’t lie, I am totally surprised by that number! There have been some days this past month where I have been unable to write at all because I was so busy with work and wedding planning.

I knew that I was behind so these past few days I have been cranking out 1,000 words a day in an effort to catch up and man, am I happy to know that I was able to catch up!

While my most productive month was the time between January 22nd and February 22nd, I am pretty dang happy that I was able to meet my quota for this month!

The closer I get to the end, the harder it gets. I can feel myself burning out just a bit, but I will continue pushing forward. I am really hoping to finish all 75,000 words by April 22nd so that I can spend a couple weeks looking it over one last time before I send it out.

That means that I need to write approximately 20,000 words in 31 days which is approximately 665 words a day. It might not happen but I sure am going to push myself as hard as I can!

Thank you again to everyone who is offering their support and encouragement! I appreciate you guys more than you know!

 

 

 

 

 

Cinna: Friend or Foe?

Sweet Cinna, beloved by so many…

“I’m sorry that this happened to you but I’m here to help you in any way that I can.”

But are you really sorry, Cinna? Do you really want to help Katniss? Or are you simply using her to form a figurehead for the rebellion?

Did you know that several scholars claim that Cinna manipulates Katniss for the rebellion just as much as other stylist manipulate their tributes for the Capitol?

After all, he constantly pushes the Mockingjay aspect of her wardrobe, he creates the rebel image.

And yet . . .

He seems so supportive of Katniss! And Katniss truly loves him and sees him as one of her only true friends. He protects her and strengthens her with his design choices.

In my book, The Agency Games (working title), I will explore the relationship between Cinna and Katniss and decide once and for all if Cinna is friend or foe!

What do you think about Cinna? Was he helping Katniss or was he simply using her as the face of the rebellion? Leave your comments below!