New Friends, College Life, and a Book Giveaway!

Hello, wonderful people!

I am currently writing this while waiting for my laundry to complete its drying process… And the coldness of this room is distracting me greatly. *Sigh*
Okay, so let’s begin with some news! Firstly, Mark of the Corripian is currently available for purchase in paperback format! It’s available through Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and Books A Million. Get your copy today! And if you are a book reviewer and would like a review copy, shoot me an email and I would be happy to send you one.
So, I’m in college now. It’s definitely different living in a dorm, but so far I haven’t been homesick…like, at all. Sorry parents, but living away from home is fun. I can stay up past my bedtime and be crazy and yell and scream and blast my music and no one cares. (Okay, let’s be real, I still go to bed at or around 10pm, and I typically like to be quiet because that way I can observe people around me.) So, unfortunately(?), coming to college has not forced me to become your typical exciting, sleep-deprived, coffee-drinking college student. I wake up before 7am even though my first class doesn’t start till 9, and I like to finish my homework BEFORE the day it’s due. I am allergic to procrastination. *shudders*
Before you think I have led an incredibly dull life as a college student (I mean, dude, you haven’t lived until you’ve stayed up all night!), I’d like to inform you that over the past couple of weeks I have befriended ten of the most awesome human beings ever.

This is a group of students from Korea Christian University who visited Freed-Hardeman University for three weeks (my dorm mom is standing in the back, and there I am in the front left!). I cannot even begin to describe how these wonderful people have encouraged me and brightened my day on multiple occasions. They are so welcoming and loving, and I am so blessed to have met them, even if I only got to hang out with them for a short while. They introduced me to many different aspects of their Korean culture, including some really spicy food (check out my Instagram for pictures!), a Korean movie where a bunch of people died (no English subtitles–I was lost the entire time), and a bunch of random Korean words that I love to say at random times (which always cracks up my new friends). I felt like a little kid at times after I’d learn a new word…for instance, I learned the word for “cold,” and, conveniently, it has been cold nearly every day here! So, of course, every time I was walking with them outside, I would proudly utter the Korean word for cold, and they would all get really excited, saying I was a “genius” for remembering. I would mentally pat myself on the back and continue on enjoying their company.

These girls have been especially special (especially special?) to me. In merely three weeks they’ve shown me what it means to be a true friend, and I will never forget them! We’ve shopped at the local mall, gone bowling, played at the arcade, shared six different flavors of ice cream at Baskin Robins, watched a few movies with Korean subtitles, and eaten a couple different Korean meals together, not to mention the many other meals in the university’s cafeteria.
These wonderful people left for New York today, and later will return back to Korea. I am so excited for them to continue their journey, but I am also sad to see them go. I happily stayed up past my bedtime on various nights just to spend time with them, and I would gladly do it again. This experience has been quite an adventure, and so I give a shout-out to each of you: MJ, Ssoo, Ann, Jenny, Sodam, Kong, Hee, Kim, JK, and Shim! Thanks for being awesome friends and I wish you the best of luck in the future. God bless.

Now, onto other book news. I’ve been writing periodically on Book 2–I typically try to work on it a little each day, even if it’s just to read over what I’ve written and brainstorm for the future. So far, I’ve made it to around 40,000 words while keeping up with my homework, so I’d say that’s a plus. My roommate is certainly enjoying my little writing spurts, as I’ve occasionally asked her for her help on words I cannot think of (I usually figure them out after a minute or so of intense thinking, so her help typically goes unused), and on a few occasions I have flopped over groaning because my darn characters just won’t do what I want them to. Gosh, Xavier. Quit being so annoying.
So shout-out to Michal, also, for putting up with my writing shenanigans and for being cool enough to tell people that I’ve written a book.
Since I’ve been in college, I’ve had this crazy thing called free time, and I decided to make a video of pronunciations from Mark of the Corripian. You can check it out here:

Aside from that, I attended the B’ham Local Authors Expo and met some pretty cool people! One of them also thought I was cool, and she was so awesome as to host me on her blog! Check it out here and also take a look at her novel, Heir to the Lamp! Oh, and if you look at the before mentioned blogpost, there is a giveaway for Mark of the Corripian, so don’t miss out! You must enter before 28 February!

That’s all the craziness of my life that I can think of to share with you right now. I hope you all have a safe and blessed weekend.

Farewell to all,

B.H. Parker

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” -C.S. Lewis