The other day, Justine and I were sitting in a Starbucks near our house enjoying some time just the two of us, no kids! We were scheduling the next week or so of posts here at the blog and brainstorming for some new creative ideas. We really enjoy branching out and trying to find another way other than the traditional review to share books.
While we were throwing around idea I immediately thought of my friend Rhiannon. She’s absolutely beautiful and has some great book-inspired tattoos. Justine loved the idea and I immediately texted her to see if she’d be interested in us meeting with her to take pictures and interview her. I was so glad when she loved the idea, too. We met last night at The Coffee Shop is Gilbert (one of Justine’s favorite spots) and it was perfect. The sunset was almost as beautiful as Rhiannon and her gorgeous tattoos! Here are the pictures we snapped:
This is the stunning Rhiannon!
- These are the pretty grape vine arches outside The Coffee Shop
She was so wonderful and open about how the book inspired her to get these images. She told us that because she knew she was seeing us today, she hurried and got her Golden Snitch tattoo just that day!
The Golden Snitch. Rhiannon poses with her favorite Harry Potter book: The Prisoner of Azkaban
Rhiannon: I started reading Harry Potter when a boy that I liked needed to read it for school. Then I thought, “Wow this book is AMAZING!” It’s so special to met because they’re the first books I really fell in love with. Then I got married and my husband and I started fighting over them, we’d get copies and fight over who got to read it first! When he started there were only 4 out and he read them all so quickly and that I couldn’t keep up! (So he didn’t read The Hunger Games before me
) We had separate bookmarks in each book.
When I first met Rhiannon, it was right before The Hunger Games movie was in theaters and she had just gotten this amazing Mockingjay tattoo. It’s one of my favorite tattoos I’ve ever seen, I love the text because you don’t often see typewriter text in tattoos:
Rhiannon shows off her Mockingjay tattoo with the book the passage came from, Catching Fire.
A close up of the text, it’s so beautiful!
Rhiannon: I took a picture from the first book because The Hunger Games is so amazing! A lot of my love for The Hunger Games had to do with my frustration with Bella [from Twilight]! As a mom, I wanted my kids to be able to read a story about a strong woman, and finally here’s a girl who doesn’t let boys push her around and protects her family and shoots arrows! That’s my overall love for the The Hunger Games, the story and the great female character. The quote is from Catching Fire which is my favorite book. It actually says “I am the Mockingjay” I am the one that survives the Capitol’s plan, it’s such a great powerful quote about realizing that she’s a warrior and the symbol of the freedom their rebellion.
And finally, her Divergent tattoo. The meaning of this one was so beautiful to me:
“Becoming fearless isn’t the point”
Rhiannon: I think that I would fit into Dauntless because of that tattoos and the adventure. The birdcage would be my tattoo if I were Dauntless, just like how Tris got the birds on her shoulder. It represents my theme of the book: overcoming fear, especially the fear of being Divergent. The birds represent Four and Tris. One is trapped and one is free. The birds represent freedom, freedom from fear. Overcoming fear is a huge theme in my life. I’ve dealt with a lot of fear in general, especially in dreams. To the point of waking in the middle of the night and freezing, thinking that someone must be in my house. When I shut my eyes everything is real and I can’t tell myself that it’s not. I was terrified! When I got pregnant with my first child I told myself that I can’t do this anymore, I’m going to be a mom! I can’t have any fear, I have to be the protector now! I went to a youth camp as a sponsor and I was fully delivered from my fear. Obviously, Satan can still reach people and can still try to reach my heart with fear but I have overcome it. Four is constantly telling Tris that it’s not about becoming fearless, it’s about confronting fear. And that’s why I have this on my arm: it’s not about being fearless it’s that I’m going to confront my fears and overcome this.
See what I mean about gorgeous?! Thank you so much for sharing your stories with us, Rhiannon! We had so much fun and we love your taste in books 
The Mockingjay and the Birdcage!
Those are awesome!
I know, I’m so jealous. I don’t have any tattoos but man she made me want some!
Yay Amanda!!! Thanks so much!!! I LOVE it:) you and Justine are absolutely amazing women!! I’m honored to be called a friend!!!
No thank YOU! You are so awesome and we had so much fun!! I hope I got all your thoughts right in the interview
Not that I didn’t before, but now I REALLY want a literary tattoo!
Ok you have to spill, what books do you want to represent?
That’s the thing–I’m not quite sure! I’ve wanted a Hunger Games tattoo. I’ve also wanted something that represents books in general. I’ve kinda wanted “Once Upon A Time” somewhere. I want to read books, preferably classics, and find a line that just sticks with me and get it inked. And because I’m a Twihard (no shame!) and Twilight made me want to read and be a writer, I want a Twilight tattoo of sorts, too. I’m sure I have more ideas, but I just can’t think of them. Have you heard of Contrariwise?
I haven’t! But I’m a Twihard too, so definitely fly that flag high here
What’s Contrawise about?
contrariwise.org is a literary tattoo blog. All their posts are tattoos and it’s pretty awesome, if I may say so myself.
Okay we are definitely checking that out! Thanks for the heads up!!!
Those are gorgeous. I love literary tattoos – way too indecisive to get one myself – but I love seeing other peoples. I think it’s cool to love something so passionately that you want to share your love to the world in a permanent fashion. And they’re so pretty too
I’m in the same boat! I love tattoos but I can’t ever take the leap to get one… I think my foot would be the first place I’d get one though. It’d be easy to cover for a job interview or something, if I had to. What books inspire you?
Coolest tattoos ever!!
I got this on my lower back:
http://weknowmemes.com/2012/07/im-just-a-poe-boy-nobody-loves-me/
Well a pun inside a literary tattoo may be the best thing ever!
One of the most beautiful women I have ever known…as beautiful on the inside as the out (:
That Rhiannon is simply AMAZING…and her tattoos reflect your courageous heart
I agree, she’s beautiful inside and out!
Please tell Rhiannon about Tamora Pierce’s series for kids: Song of the Lioness, Daughter of the Lioness, Protector of the Small, and Immortals (more appealing to young teens) series. They’re great stories with strong young girl characters.