Tag Archives: books

Happy New Year!

02 Thursday Jan 2020

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It’s not only a New Year, but a New Decade.

I’m personally hoping that 2020 is a fantastic year. It’s only the second, but I’m being hopeful. There were a lot of things that kind of fell to the wayside in 2019 and I want to make sure that they don’t continue to be sidelined this year.

Namely, my writing and reading. Everything kind of stalled after that fall I took in May where my wrist ended up in a cast, well that and gaining more responsibility with my work about the same time. But I’m finding a balance with my work, which means that reading and writing balance is coming very soon.

If you’re wondering about the picture, my aunt gifted mom and I tickets to the Morton Arboretum’s Illumination show and that’s one of the shots I was able to take during it. It’s an evening walk along some paths and they light up all the trees in really cool and interesting ways.

Anyway, back to the important topic at hand, as is the habit with new years, I also have some resolutions, or goals if you will.

  1. Publish a minimum of 2 short stories this year. I have one that I was hoping to get done and out before the new year came to an end, and unfortunately, it just didn’t happen. But, I’m hoping to not only get that one out but a second one. The second one isn’t written but I have several that are stetch outlined out to pull from and write.
  2. Finalize and publish at least one full-length novel. I have several that are in various states of completion and my goal is to finish one and get it out into the world.
  3. Read 50 books in 2020. I didn’t hit this goal in 2019, I only read/listened to 32 books. But just like my writing things kind of derailed in May and I didn’t really touch a book either. But my goal is to see that not happen this year.
  4. Relaunch and run my jewelry shop. This kind of ended up on hiatus in 2018 due to too much on my plate with mom and I so we stepped back to focus on things that were a little more important. But both of us feel better and ready to get the shop back up and out there.
  5. I’m also making stickers for my planners, because I find that I don’t use a lot of the stickers that happen to be in the packs other people sell. And since I’m making them for myself, I thought why not offer them, for sale, to others. So my goal this year is to launch a sticker shop as well.

Those are my goals, or resolutions if you want to call them that. Do you have any of your own? Leave them in the comments below.

Almost the end

19 Thursday Dec 2019

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We’re more than halfway through December and because I was on a Conference trip for the beginning of the month, I’m not entirely sure where the month went.

From Dec. 6 through Dec. 13th I was in Las Vegas. The photo above is one of the sunrises from Vegas while I was on my trip. Vegas is a beautiful city, but it’s also hella expensive. You’re hard-pressed to find any lunch or dinner options that are under $20.

And if you’re wondering, did you gamble? Did you see a show? The answer is no. I don’t gamble. My dad was a big gambler and it got ugly sometimes so it kind of put me off gambling as a whole. And color me cheap, but I can’t justify a $200 ticket to a show, no matter how amazing it is. I just can’t. Especially not around the Holidays when I’m trying to spend on others instead of myself.

I did go to the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay though.

It was fun to see all the life there. And they have a couple ‘diver view’ tunnels with sharks swimming around above you that were pretty cool. Plus, the stingrays were adorable, they have several in a little touch pool that so long as you’re gentle you can pet them. And the jellyfish *points up at blacklight picture* were so pretty to watch. Having them under the blacklight made them look incredibly magical.

I didn’t get a lot of writing done because with working 9 hour days at the Conference, all I did was grab dinner on the way back to my hotel room and then crash by 8pm after I was finished eating.

Though, on the plane, I was able to listen to some audiobooks during the flight. Though I will say that I fell asleep in a couple places and had to go back and relisten to them while awake.

The view from the plane was pretty incredible as well.

Overall it was an incredible trip. And for some of the downtime, I did have fun. And for the work portion of it, I was told I made everything run incredibly smooth and they were very thankful for it.

If you’re interested in seeing more photos from my trip, I did post several on my Instagram. You can find me @meriscorner over there

As the year slowly crawls to an end, it’s made me realize that I’ve been seriously slacking the last half of the year on my reading goal. I marked that I wanted to read 50 books this year, and currently, I’m sitting at 31 books.

This means that I have 19 books to read in the last two weeks of the year! Can I do it? We’ll see. You’ll have to stay tuned!

NaNo ’19 – Day Fourteen

14 Thursday Nov 2019

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So yesterday, the 13th, was interesting. We had a gen contractor over at the house to fix a few things, and of course, the few things took a lot longer than expected. What was supposed to be a small fix became taking the old pipes of our shower out and putting new pipes, new fixture, and new tile in and took until about 10pm last night.

Which also meant that I spent a lot of time after getting home from work listening to banging, cutting, and overall contractor work being done in our only bathroom.

Which meant I didn’t really get anything done. Well, unless you count getting two episodes of Riverdale and an episode of Nancy Drew watched something. I’m still working out which of the many panels I want to go to this weekend, everything starts tomorrow! I’ve still got a lot of work on my words to do, but I haven’t actually given up hope either. I’m still hoping I can get caught up on things.

Queen of Nothing releases on Tuesday, so I’m also hoping to finish Wicked King this weekend. If you haven’t read The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King by Holly Black yet, definitely should give it a try. I recommend them. They’re sold as YA, but do be aware that there are some dark themes in them, as an FYI. I’m bouncing and waiting and chomping at the bit for the Owl Crate edition of the new book because they’ve been doing exclusive covers for the books that are a stark difference between the mass market covers and I love them and can’t wait to see how everything looks and what they do for this new release.

I’m going to try to update my blog while I’m at the con, maybe after everything settles from the day before bed. But that’s completely dependant on how the internet works at the hotel. More and more hotels are being super stupid with charging for internet these days, and I refuse to pay for it. If I remember correctly from last year though, this hotel gives complimentary internet just for staying at their hotel. We shall see.

NaNo count, still the same as it was when I first got a little written. Here’s hoping by Monday that number goes up though.

March – Thanks for the -3 this morning

04 Monday Mar 2019

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So Feb wasn’t a good month. I had too much going on at work and it kind of killed my brain a lot. That and with the weather shift, my mood has kind of tanked. And with my mood tanking, my will to write, read, or really do anything productive goes with it. weekends have been some cleaning, some crocheting but not much else.

We had cold in Feb, like in the negatives cold, and we had warm in Feb, like 50’s and all the snow and ice are melted and flooding any rivers and houses near the rivers (mine). I had flooding in the basement again due to the spike in temperature to deal with.

It’s been a month.

I think my mood is also toeing the depression line, so I’m trying to keep myself at least moving forward to not fall to that completely. (No one particular thing in my life, no real rhythm or reason, just that way) And there’s not anything particular I’ve found that helps in the grand scheme, just time and keeping myself moving forward. But it means that most of my focus and forced motivation goes to the job that is currently paying the bills and there’s limited left over for the creativity and authorly of me. It means my authorly stuff is falling behind my hopes and plans right now, but I’m trying not to let that weigh too hard on me, or I’ll fall over with it. Right now, I’m taking it day by day and not punishing myself for the things that have to be left on the cart, as it were.

March’s goals are pretty much what Feb’s goals were: there’s a short that needs editing, there’s a short that needs finishing, and there’s a cover reveal that I signed up to be a part of for another author. All good things, all good goals. And all currently in my hopeful list. Here’s hoping March is kind to me.

Also, the one time I felt up to writing, I had to wrangle a cat (picture above). He decided I needed more rest, less work apparently. Because that’s my laptop he decided to sit on.

Hello 2019

08 Tuesday Jan 2019

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Can you believe it’s 2019. Not just 2019, but we’re already eight days in! Is the new year treating you well? Are you well on your way to exactly how you want to work, what you want to work on, and what all you’re doing?

I hope so.

I have a few things on my personal list to accomplish for this year, but also a good bit of wants for my blog, writing, & reading portions of my life.

For My Blog

Updates: 2018 saw me increase my posting much more than in the past. I want to stick with that momentum and continue doing better until this blog is getting a post a minimum of once a week – on Mondays for updates. (You’ll note that today is Tuesday…)

Reviews: I did some reviews in 2018, but I’ll be honest – especially for the amount I read last year – not enough. I want to be sure this year that if I liked a book, that I’m writing a review for it – and then leaving it on Goodreads and Amazon where I can too. Far too many of my Goodreads stuff right now has a star rating but no actual review – which while better than nothing is still not where I want to leave it for the future. For my blog, reviews are posted on Wednesdays – not in lue of an update post.

For My Writing

In general, I wrote more and published more last year (and mostly in the last six months of 2018) than I did in the past. In this I don’t just want to stick with the momentum, but increase it. I want to write more often, plot when I’m not writing, and get more of a catalog up on Amazon.

I also want to see my first draft edited so I can decide if I want to shop it around to publishers or really give it the push it needs marketing wise to indie publish it. It’s my baby, and I want to do right by it.

For My Reading

Last year I read 50 books. Which considering in 2016 & 2017 I read less than that combined, is a great accomplishment for me. My original goal for 2018 was 24 books, and I was pushing to read five to six books a month overall.

This year, however, because I want to focus a little more on writing. I’ve left the my Reading Challenge at 50 books. I’ve also decided to stop focusing so much on having a long TBR pile. I may decide at the beginning of the month to definitely read one or two titles, but the rest for the month will be titles that just hit my fancy and call to me to read.

I’m not really doing resolutions this year, but more goals to keep myself to month to month, to gradually improve myself and my life. I think goals will do me better this year. We shall see if I’m right.

Are you doing resolutions this year? If so, what are they?

Goodbye 2018

31 Monday Dec 2018

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Can you believe we say goodbye to 2018 tonight? I’m not always sure where the year has gone, how it’s already going to be January again, a new start, a fresh year with millions of possibilities.

I think part of my problem right now is that it doesn’t FEEL like it’s the end of the year outside. I live in the Midwest, where we normally have snow from December to March. But this winter has been so weird, very off because we’ve had a lot of rain and almost no snow. I keep waiting for it to feel like it should be winter, like it’s ready to be a new year or the Holidays, but it just hasn’t happened.

Overall, I still feel like I’m not ready for the year to be over. There are a few things I’d wanted to have finished before 2018 ended and a new year had taken its place, but sometimes life just happens that way, right?

This year has seen my health and Mom’s health get a little better. I’ve been part of a writer’s group for a little over a year and I’m loving the connection it’s given me. I published three shorts this year as well, and have finished writing two others that need to be edited. I’ve also made some headway on editing a finished manuscript, and editing one that still needs the last couple chapters added to it to be considered finished.

I’m hoping I can keep the momentum up for 2019, keep the writing up, and keep up the editing. I’d love to be finished editing the manuscript by the end of next year.

I also read 50 books this year. My original goal for 2018 was 24 books. So 2019’s goal will be 75, I think. It takes into account how much I have read, and pushes me to read a little more. I didn’t always keep to my reading TBRs that were set for the month, and there were some months I didn’t read at all which is why I’m looking to add to my goal for 2019 as well. Because I know where I can improve already.  I do think I’ll keep my monthly TBR lists to three books a month, and that way I leave some space for some non-list books that fall my way as well.

I did better this year with my blog as well, posting more than I did in 2017, but again there’s still some room for improvement. I mean, I can just look at this month to see that. I missed the Mondays between the first and last of the month. I don’t spend a lot of time on the computer when I’m not at work, but because I’m pushing to work more on my writing that’s changing and it’s a good thing overall. Leads me to be more productive when I’m at home, or on vacation from work.

So yes, lots of hopeful plans this year. If you’re interested in the shorts I published, please check out the My Books section here.

I hope you have a Safe New Year’s Eve, and that 2019 brings great things for all of us!

Hello December – When Did You Arrive?

05 Wednesday Dec 2018

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So November is over. We saw it off with a fond farewell, a glass of Strongbow (my drink of choice), and a yippe!

Why?

Because National Novel Writing Month is over! And whether you achieved 50 words or 50,000 words, pat yourself on the back. Because you wrote, or you plotted and planned and honed your craft or business another way. There are many reasons for you to pat yourself on the back for what you did in November I’m sure.

I had good intentions of posting my stats throughout November as I went, weekly check-ins, but that kind of went down the tube.

With the year wrapping up, and finals arriving, a Holiday Party to plan, decorate and orchestrate mostly on my own for my department, things tend to ramp up here at work. Not only that, but applications for Fall are in full incoming mode as well, and I work closely with the DGS for ensuring materials are in, applications are reviewed, and questions are answered during this season – something that won’t officially end until February.

For me, my NaNo was kind of all over the place. I went through slumps, I wrote on several different stories to get my words, but I did achieve my word count.

And now December is here! With ice, snow, and darker mornings that make it difficult to want to get up for work. And I have two weeks before I am off for the Christmas Holiday. I get a little under two weeks of paid vacation off between Christmas and New Years – in which I’m hoping to both get a lot of writing done, reading done, and cleaning done.

Mom and I are hoping to move in a couple years. Somewhere maybe a little smaller, with a smaller yard that won’t take too much to manage. Ideally, I’m hoping for a three bedroom, two bath house. So we can have a guest room/library/office room, which we don’t really have now. We have a studio/office now but I guess part of the problem is it’s where everything from the living room goes when we have company – and the stuff from their last visit is still sitting in there being piled upon. So one of the goals this break is to get the living room and office cleaned out.

I’m trying to hand make some of my Christmas stuff this year. Though, that’s partially dependant on the stores shipping me the items I need make them. I’m just sitting here watching the order tracking information, waiting for them to be out for delivery. After I’m sure people have opened their presents, I’ll see about posting a picture of the final products on here. Not before.

I only have three books on my TBR this month, partially because I’m still working on writing things and with the Holidays, I’m crafting Holiday presents, and the last week of December is pretty much all Family stuff.

What books would those be?

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince is a serious need for me to read with The Wicked King coming out in January. I have the Owl Crate covered edition of The Cruel Prince, and last month they released the sales for a special edition box for the release of The Wicked King – with a special cover to make their The Cruel Prince cover. So I’m kind of super excited to see what the cover will look like when I get the box. So that’s a hard must read before the month is over.

What are you planning to read this Month? Did you reach your reading goal for 2018? Let me know down in the comments!

September Wrap-Up / October TBR

02 Tuesday Oct 2018

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So, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these. I went through a stage where I hadn’t been reading as much, and when I was it tended to be absolutely nothing off my TBR list. And so doing the lists fell by the wayside for a while.

But.

and I do mean BUT!

I’m picking them back up again. Dusting them off gently. And refreshing them so they are 100% doing well again.

Now, not to date my poor TBR list, but back in May *coughs softly* I had set myself a list to read. And SOME of it ended up being read. About 50% of it if we’re being honest.

The books I finished in August and September are:

  • Twisted gifts by Jessi Elliott
  • The Elite by Kiera Cass
  • Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau
  • Doppelganger by Alyssa Drake
  • Daughter of Persephone by Helen Scott
  • Vicious by VE Schwab
  • Tasting Gretel by Lidiya Foxglove
  • Prisoner of Silk by Lidiya Foxglove

Three of those books were on my May TBR list. But overall seven books is nothing to shake a stick at for reading purposes and all. And to be fair to me, Stalking Jack the Ripper would have been read if I could have found the book. I remember finding it when I was cleaning, but I was reading something else so I put it aside for later. After finishing the book, I went back to grab Stalking and it was gone. -_-

So, the May TBR that was not complete was:

  • Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
  • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
  • Chosen by Harlow Thomas & Anastasia Jones

For An Ember in the Ashes, it was less I didn’t want to read it and more, my Mother has a kindle that’s attached to my library and she’s currently reading it (63% done with it) so I’m going to wait until she’s done before I try and read it. If that happens in October and I am doing good on my TBR list I may dive into it. Otherwise, it will be back on my list in November.

For October I only have five books on it officially, and then there are two that are on it, if I finish my list early and still have some October left.

  • Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
  • Hope in Paris by Donnalyn Vojta
  • Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart
  • The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
  • Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

The two maybe’s are:

  • Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
  • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaar Tahir

For Stalking, I’m planning to borrow it from the library so I can read it if I can’t find my hard copy. I don’t want to have to buy it again if I don’t need to, and I already know that the moment – and I do mean the moment – that I purchase a new copy and get three chapters in the original copy will magically appear and be all ‘what, I was just chillin’ next to this chair you checked by seventy times’. Because that’s always how it goes. The dragons and/or the ghost of my dad – or both teaming up together – have a very twisted sense of humor.

Writing wise, I have two shorts that I’d like to get finished, one a dragon story and one a werewolf story. As well, I have my Prep’Tober work to do so I’m ready and Prepared for NaNoWrioMo in *checks calendar* 30 days.

Currently, my NaNo project has the main characters name, nickname, minor description, her two brothers have names, and the town has a name and the center of town has a layout. oh! and the series itself (it’s a collection of 12-13 shorts) has a name!

I have a vague idea of where I’m going to start for plot and the like for each short, but nothing concrete, nothing set in stone, and nothing that will make sure I can get myself through the month with actual words on the page. But, I have a few weeks to get it there. I have goals! And they shall nay be ignored! =)

What are you reading for this October season? Are you participating in NaNo next month? Are you ready for NaNo next month? Leave me an answer in the comments below!

Feelin’ Accomplished

18 Tuesday Sep 2018

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I just updated my little bookshelf with the books I’ve read this year and realized that to last the rest of the year I’m going to have to extend the little drawn bookshelf to the next page. It’s lucky that I left it blank just in case. I had enough books on the shelf for my GoodRead’s challenge of 24 books, but I’ve surpassed that this month. And I have high hopes and goals for the remaining months of the year to get through lots more books.

My writing has been slow the last month or so. I’ve been feeling under the weather, so I’ve been focusing on reading and resting versus plotting and writing. Though lots of plotting needs to start because I fully intend to participate in NaNoWriMo this year.

I have started some of my planning for NaNo. As I mentioned before, I’m going to be a rebel and do a collection of shorts instead of one Novel. I finally figured out the overall theme of each of the shorts in the collection. Now I just need to work out the plot for each of the individual shorts. I’m getting there and I should be done in plenty of time to settle into November and my massive word demands. =)

I know this has been a short update, but I don’t have too much to report past plotting for NaNo and my reading. I was under the weather, but I’m getting better and so there’s not too much to report there. Work has been super stressful as well, which hasn’t helped me to keep up on everything. I have a backlog of reviews I want to get up and out, so I’m hoping to work on those this week and see if I can get them scheduled.

I have a review coming out tomorrow, super excited for it. So definitely be sure to come back for that!

New Fall, who dis?

06 Thursday Sep 2018

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Can you believe that it’s Fall?

I mean, ignore the fact that it’s been like 80/90 degrees – way too warm for the sweater weather it’s supposed to be. Though it’s started to rain a lot this week, so that may be slowly settling where it should be.

September means school is back in session. There are no Holidays from work until Thanksgiving in November. I have two months to finish planning for NaNoWriMo. And at some point, when the trees stop believing it’s summer, there will be pretty colors all around before they fall to the ground. Though, my poor Maple Trees already have that fungus that grows on them when it’s too wet in the season. Hopefully, it will clear up so I can get some good photos of the color change though.

With school back in session, I’m busier than ever at my job. Especially because the day I intended to write this blog post and get it up, the entire University had a power surge that took out the computers for a bit, took out the internet for a couple hours, and has left a string of issues in its wake. A brand new phone, it was legit installed last week new, is now dead because of it and needs to be replaced. One of my graduate student’s computers hard drive is now dead because of it – and this computer was bought in August. Thankfully because both are brand new, they’re both under warranty to have replaced.

It’s left a lot of running to fix problems the last couple days. I’m finally winding down enough to think straight and focus on a few things other than work.

I’m currently working out a series of shorts that I plan to get a jump start on during NaNo. That’s right, I’m going to be a rebel! I’m looking to do three 20K shorts during NaNo instead of one 50K novel. It does, though, mean that my goal for NaNo will be approximately 10K longer than the official goal though, so in a way I’m paying for being a rebel by having to work a little harder to get there. But I think, with a solid plan on what I’m doing and where I’m going, that it’s completely doable.

I’m also thinking of participating in PenTober.

What is PenTober? Well, if you’ve ever been on Instagram or Twitter, you’ll probably know of the InkTober event where artists are given a list of prompts, one for every day in October, and they draw something related to that prompt. PenTober is similar, except we’re not drawing – we’re writing.

The goal is to write 500 words or less, every day. Ideally incorporating the prompt for the day, but the organizer’s main goal is to just get everyone writing every day.

For more information, you can check out their website here.

Labor day weekend I wandered around and hit two used bookstores. The books I scored copies of are in the photo above. Overall, I think it’s a pretty awesome haul of new things. And, I’m sure you’re going, but you haven’t updated your TBR list since May, but have no fear. I’m slowly working on that list now. I’m halfway through The Elite as I type this. So while the current May TBR stands for September, there WILL be a new TBR for October.

Speaking of October and TBRs. If you have any creepy horror novel suggestions for me to give a try during the spooky month, please be sure to drop them in the comments! I’d love some more haunting reads for the upcoming month.