(November 1) On Sunday, November 1, 2020, at approximately 9:00 a.m., Aurora police officers responded to a single vehicle rollover crash involving a gray 2003 Ford Expedition containing six total occupants.
The driver of the Expedition exited eastbound Interstate 70 (I-70) onto northbound Pena Boulevard failing to safely negotiate the curve on the Pena Boulevard flyover above I-70. This caused the Expedition to leave the roadway rolling down an embankment ejecting five of the six passengers. The expedition came to a final resting place south of I-70 near a drainage canal.
All six occupants were transported to area hospitals where a 56-year-old male passenger was pronounced deceased. The identity of the deceased will be released by the Adams County Coroner’s Office after positive identification and next-of-kin notifications have been made.
At this time investigators believe alcohol and drugs contributed to this fatal crash. This investigation is still active and on-going, and appropriate charges will be filed against the driver at the conclusion of the fatal traffic crash investigation. Until then, the identity of the driver will not be released.
We are asking anyone who may have witnessed this crash, has dash cam footage, or if you have any information about this incident, please contact the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720.913.STOP (7867).
Officer Crystal McCoy
Public Information Officer
Aurora Police Department
720.432.5095
by Megan
If you stop by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library (MLK), you’ll see a special Dia de los Muertos ofrenda created by our staff. In Latinx tradition, Dia de los Muertos, observed Nov. 1 - 2, celebrates the life, memories and experiences of those who have passed away. The ofrenda is a richly colored altar steeped in symbolism, including personal touches from our MLK staff.
The ofrenda symbolizes a journey for the spirits of the dead. Some ofrendas will have a pathway of marigold petals leading up to its base, forming a pathway for the spirits, so they can find their way to their family’s altar. Each tier of the MLK ofrenda represents a step on the spiritual journey, beginning with Purgatory at the bottom. On the next step you’ll find images of various saints that had special meaning in life to those have passed. You’ll also find sweet treats and favorite foods or drinks of the deceased on the steps of the ofrenda. Our staff member Marta shared that she places chicken noodle soup on her ofrenda at home in honor and celebration of many wonderful memories with her grandmother.
On a step above the food you’ll find photos and pictures of the family members remembered each year. You may also find favorite toys or other items that held special meaning to those who have died. In this way, the living can honor the memories of those who have gone before and celebrate the times they shared together in life. The MLK ofrenda holds photographs of our staff member Israel’s parents and his wife’s uncle, and we’re honored that Israel and his wife have shared their family with us.
Throughout the ofrenda you may also notice salt, candles and fantastical creatures called alebrijes. The salt is sprinkled to purify the spirit on its journey, while the candles light the way, and alebrijes (spirit animals) help guide the souls of the departed back to heaven. The final tier, at the top of the ofrenda, is the Virgin Mary, who guides the departed through the arch and back to heaven after their journey to visit their living families.
To learn more about Dia de los Muertos, stop by the MLK library to see the beautiful ofrenda and ask staff your questions. Or, if you’re unable to visit, Ask a Librarian, and we can find just the right books for you!
Purple flames reveal tiny creatures, but what are they? Shadows in the Neighborhood.
"Shadows in the Neighborhood" was submitted by Mattix, Harry, Rachel and Dain, who wrote the story together as a family, each taking turns to add what came next. Congratulations to our winning Scary Stories in the Stacks submission!
Get in the spooky spirit and watch all Scary Stories in the Stacks here.
What happens when the storyteller is forced into the story? When fate doesn’t follow a script. Well today fate has found Brandon. It’s almost here.
Leave the comfort of your book covers this Halloween as we share haunted tales right here on your computer screen. Come back tomorrow, Oct. 30 for a spine-tingling tale submitted by patrons!
by Stacy
"I'm writing a first draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles." – Shannon Hale
Alright – you know what NaNoWriMo is, you’re game for the challenge, there’s only a few days until November 1…. now what?
While November is the month of writing, September and October are really the months for prepping! If you aren’t like me, you probably have a pretty good sense of time and maybe you’ve already started prepping for NaNoWriMo – which is totally awesome and I’m jealous! Maybe you didn’t know what NaNoWriMo was until now and wish you had a few more weeks to prepare? NaNoWriMo’s official website has their own preparation guideline you can follow as early as September 2021.
However, maybe you are like me. Maybe life is pretty busy and you probably don’t even know when November is – let alone that it’s in two months, or one month, or even three days. Aha – then this is the blog for you! Not official by any means except to me, I am going to share with you how I prep for NaNoWriMo before November!
Create Goals
First and foremost – Create. Your. Goals.
(Trust me, this is so important.)
You know your end goal is 50,000 words by November 30. Now it’s time to create mini-goals to last you from now until November 1 to get you as prepared as possible to start writing. I will share with you my personal NaNoWriMo 2020 mini-goals and a bit about each one – maybe your mini-goals aren’t exactly the same and that’s perfectly okay! There’s no one correct way to write a novel and that’s what this month long challenge is all about!
My NaNoWriMo Mini-Goals:
- Develop an Idea
- Plot/Characters/Setting/World Building
- Outline, outline, outline!
Develop an Idea
Yeah, okay, maybe this one sounds like a no-brainer, but unless you’re already flowing with creativity (which I am not) this is a really difficult first step.
Luckily there are a lot of ways to generate story ideas! Listening to music, watching movies, reading books are all classic ways of getting ideas. All you need is that one line or that one piece of imagery to move you in the right direction – sometimes the whole work can move you. I’m pretty notorious for writing adaptations of my favorite older movies and books like “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carol and “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman.
Another thing I like to do when I feel stuck on an idea, or lack thereof, is use random word, story or sentence generators online such as Plot Generator. This website gives you random generators for story ideas, opening lines, etc. A lot of times this can sparks new ideas that you wouldn’t be exposed to in your day to day life! This tool is actually one I use a lot when I write – not only is it good for creating ideas, it’s a really great daily writing practice I use before I pick up my NaNoWriMo novel for the day.
Character/Setting/World Building
Okay you have your idea – now on to the hard stuff.
I find it impossible whether I’m writing a novel for NaNoWriMo or writing a novel for an entire year to have all three of these things figured out in detail. So absolutely do not stress about having all of this set in stone. I guarantee you it will all change as you are writing and discover new paths and developments for your story and characters.
Character: I like to start with a few characters – namely, my protagonist. Really, my only goal with characters before November is to get some names down for my primary characters, a few names for my secondary characters and any important information that will make starting the story easier. For me, I prefer to let my characters come out as I write.
Setting: I know it’s difficult – who wants to write about the state and town that you grew up in? It seems so boring and dull, where’s the excitement? It doesn’t seem as glamorous as Hollywood or New York City. Real life isn’t glamorous. I grew up in a small farm town where my middle school graduating class was maybe 500 kids, essentially the exact opposite of glamorous. But that’s what I know – that’s where my childhood is rooted, it’s where I learned the fundamentals of who I am. Is it glamorous? No. Is it pleasant and fun to write about? It can be. Do I confidently feel that I could believably write my hometown in a way that will create a strong setting for my characters? Yes!
World Building: World building can be soooooo much work. It doesn’t have to be though. If you decide that you want your world set in our real modern day Earth, your fictional world will likely follow our same rules and laws. World building can be as easy as modern day Aurora, Colorado or as extensive as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. If you’re like to me and like to create fantasy and sci-fi stories, world building is crucial. You’ll most likely start a whole world entirely by scratch. This can include maps and landscape, lore, currency, religion, laws, government, etc. Trust me, it sounds like a lot because it is. I personally lovelovelove world building and taking the time to create a fictional world can be such a blast.
Again; I guarantee that you will change you character/setting/world as you are writing and discover new paths and developments for your story and characters. This is super common and expected, especially for NaNoWriMo.
Outlining
I understand that not everyone outlines. Outlining can be tedious and it can be slow, especially when you’re in a dry spell for ideas. I know a lot of writers who don’t outline at all – they just begin writing and create an outline/story path as they go! For me though, honestly, sometimes I get so invested with outlining, I forget to actually write my stories. Outlining is always what I spend the most time on when I write novels.
I create two documents; one is my general/overall outline and another I call “chapter/idea outlines.” The general overall outline is my story from start to finish. The likelihood of me getting an outline completely finished before November 1 will never happen, even if I started it the previous November. A lot of this time this outline will start in the middle of my story or at the climax, and I will outline my way to the end before going back and outlining backwards to the beginning. My “chapter/idea” outline is when I have something specific that I know I want to happen, but not sure where to fit in yet. This document allows me to express and flesh out all of my ideas, while giving me the time to fit it in rather than force it in.
Conclusion
Come into NaNoWriMo on November 1 as prepared or unprepared as you want to be! My favorite part of novel writing is the research, planning, and world building so I spent a lot portion of my time catering to these expectations. If you haven’t tried preparing for your stories before, 2020 might be a good year to try it out! Normally over plan like me? Forgo it! Wing it – see how your story comes out!
Welcome to Create It: Pets! Each month, in partnership with the Aurora Animal Shelter, we will be sharing a fun, easy DIY to make for furry friends!
In this video, librarian Tessy shares a tutorial for how to make a DIY bow tie for a furry friend. Bow ties are cool!
Make these fun projects for your own pets, or consider donating to the Aurora Animal Shelter! For more information about the Aurora Animal Shelter and donations, visit their website here.
Welcome to Make & Learn! In this program, our librarians will be sharing easy-to-make games and activities that support cognitive development and practicing early literacy skills.
In this video, Miss Karen discusses counting and conservation of numbers and shares a fun activity for little ones to practice one-to-one correspondence when counting.
Create It! Haunted House
by Karen
It's Make It Monday with just a few days before Halloween!
What's Halloween without a haunted house? Karen shares a fun DIY that lets you get creative and is sure to put you in the spooky spirit!
Game reviews by Elizabeth, Kristin and Stacy.
Hello everyone! To celebrate fall and the season of all things spooky, we hope you’ll enjoy these reviews of our favorite horror video games!
Games that intend to frighten, scare or disgust – if we’re lucky, maybe all three!
We Were Here
Available on PC
“Now, I don’t mean to rush you. Take your time. I might be dying, but it’s fine.”
We Were Here is an escape room that taps into that truest of horrors: trusting other people. Do you want to survive a room filling with water, get out of a locked tomb, or avoid freezing to death in the bitter cold? You’d better communicate with your friends! One of you is locked in a series of dangerous rooms; the other is locked in a room with clues. However, the clues are cryptic – even more than the typical escape room, and I say that as a fan. As you progress through the puzzles, new rooms unlock for each of you, until (hopefully) you’re standing in the entrance hall, looking out at the snow and freedom once more.
Most of this game isn’t horror. Spooks lurk at the edges of this escape room. You walk past old tombs and rattling chains, hear faint shrieks from the walls. Most of the time, you’re far too focused on surviving the next puzzle to worry TOO much about the terrible Things out there that might get you. But I promise, there is an intensely spooky scene. During one puzzle, a horrifying monster with glowing eyes inches closer and closer to the player while tinkling bells play in the background. Will you survive? That depends entirely on your partner, who is probably stammering over how to direct you as the lights flicker on and off. During my first time through the escape room, the terrifying creature definitely did catch up with the puzzle-solver: a shriek over the mic let everyone know exactly what had happened.
We Were Here is free to play on PC. If you like it, it’s the first of a series. - Elizabeth
The Open House
A browser-based game available
This quick browser-based horror game went low-key viral in March of 2020 when a handful of streamers played it live. The game starts by masquerading as a generic real estate listing that offers a 3D tour, but don't be fooled--the home has a gory history bleeding through the seams. The Open House depends on atmosphere, ambient noise, and some jump scares to entertain, but it's still a fun ride. All said, the game takes about 20 minutes to complete, and that's factoring me getting lost at the end trying to figure out how to progress (hint: hit tab).
While not the scariest game on the planet, this game is above all free and browser-based, so if you're looking for a quick scare to get you in the Halloween spirit, give this a try. It's especially great to play in the dark with friends for some good laughs. – Kristin
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Available on Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4 & Xbox One
New to Resident Evil? Haven't played games 1 through 6? Worried you won’t know what's going on? No worries! Resident Evil 7 is almost entirely unrelated and unlike the previous games in this series. For new players, this is great news! This self-contained story makes it fairly easy to just pick up and learn the story as you go. There aren’t any repeat or important main characters you’re supposed to know that randomly show up to move the story along. Honestly, the only benefit I could see to having played the previous games beforehand is that it might make you a little bit more prepared for what the overarching storyline is.
If you are a returning player to the Resident Evil series and want a game more similar to the first few games – this might not be for you. However, if you are looking for something scary, intense, and appetite losing, than look no further! This is the first and only Resident Evil game to play through a first person perspective rather than an over the shoulder 3rd person perspective, making it feel more similar to games such as Outlast. Rather than focusing on solely horror, this game focuses a lot of its attention on world exploration. This is also one of the few games that doesn’t reference the previous games and characters, making it truly an outlier in the Resident Evil series.
I highly highly highly recommend this game to fans of first person horror video games. This game is both interesting in story and plot, the game mechanics are so smooth, the exploration never feels tedious – and for those of you with VR, you can even experience the horrors of Biohazard as if you were actually there! Well, for those who are brave enough to go through THAT ordeal. - Stacy
Played one of these games we listed? Know of another horror game we missed? Let us know in the comments!
APL Reader's Corner
with Tessy & Elizabeth
Welcome to Reader's Corner! This month we're exploring fantasy/science fiction with the book "Gideon the Ninth" by Tamsyn Muir.Available with your library card from our OverDrive & Hoopla collections here.
GIDEON THE NINTH: The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines and no more time for undead nonsense.
Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead.
Discussion Questions
- What did you love about this book?
- Who is your favorite minor character?
- Which of Gideon the Ninth's nine houses would you be assigned to?
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