Tag Archives: life

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.

Birthday Week

20 Monday Aug 2018

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It almost doesn’t seem like it should be Monday yet. However, here we are. Not only is it Monday, but it’s almost the end of Monday before I’m getting to this post. Mondays are always the worst at work, coming back from the weekend and all the fires. So it’s always slower to get to non-work things even during lunch.

I was able to get my current WIP typed up and ready for working on, however, Saturday I had my cousin’s engagement party to go to and that pretty much took the day. And Sunday I ended up with a super bad migraine and sleeping a third of my afternoon away. I’m just glad that I’m feeling better now.

This week, and the rest of this month, I plan to work on my WIP and see about finishing the story so that it can be edited. I was able to do some edits while I was typing up the two chapters I already had written. That felt good too. Soon. Soon it will be finished and out in the world.

And if you can’t tell by the title of my blog, it’s also my birthday week. My birthday is on Friday. I’ve taken the day off work so I can enjoy it because I almost always have to work it and I wanted to not have to worry about that this year. Just take some me time. I might write, I might play video games – I’ve fallen back into World of Warcraft recently so I’m trying to catch up on all my questing before I get the newest expansion pack. Just so I’m not overwhelmed with the new content before I really finish the content I already have. Yes, I’m on Legion currently, if you know WoW. And no, I don’t have a side for which I like better. I have a human rogue and a blood elf rogue. Though, I do play my human a lot more than any other character I have.

Aside from just having a good day, I don’t have any real plans for my birthday. Just something quiet I guess. At some point we’ll do family birthdays so I can celebrate with the family as a whole, and I may see if Mom wants to go out to dinner with me Friday or this weekend, but yeah.

Do you have any birthday traditions you always do on your birthday? Anything special foods you eat? Let me know down in the comments.

Clinging to Health

14 Tuesday Aug 2018

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So my immune system pretty much handed my ass to me a day after I got back from my vacation. There’s nothing a boss loves more than having someone come back from vacation for a day before being out for two more due to sick, believe me.

So first, my vacation. I went camping. A week, Sunday – Sunday, of camping. Tents, air mattresses, limited to no cell service, camping. The first couple days weather wise were good. Then it rained. Then it got ungodly hot. And I was able to come home.

This trip has fully made me realize that while I used to love camping, I can’t do it anymore. I have hip and back problems – and I paid a pretty penny for a mattress at home to help with these problems. So sleeping on an air mattress just doesn’t cut it for my body anymore. I also have problems with the heat – I tend to get heat stroke super easily and so I can’t take prolonged exposure to heavy heat. The last two days of the trip the weather was close to 100 in the shade and I felt like I was going to die. And! And. The chigger bites. I looked like I had chicken pox from the knees down on both my legs. It wasn’t fun. And while I love the people I saw on this vacation, I feel like there’s a better way to see them that won’t leave me in itchy hell after.

Last week I was pretty quiet because after coming back and spending two days in my bed, I got sick. Not sure what it was but it had me going home Wednesday with a half day from work and home Thursday to try and sleep it away. I’m still not a 100% right now, mostly phlem in my throat and fatigue that I’m trying to shake. So trying to be productive has been difficult.

I’m drinking lots of fluids, I’m taking some over the counter meds that help to clear up the issues, and mostly I’m getting to bed at a reasonable time to try and get as much rest as I can so my body will get better faster. However, a couple nights ago I couldn’t get my body tired enough to sleep, but my brain was shot so I spent until Midnight on a video game because I just couldn’t get to sleep. It’s up and down, overall. I’m working on it though.

While I was camping, I brought a WIP that needs to be finished. My plan, because it’s been in progress for a while, had been to read and edit it and then be in the right headspace to finish it. It’s literally only a couple chapters from being done. That worked until I got to about chapter 5.

Then, I woke up at 4am one day and my brain refused to let me go back to sleep until I wrote what it wanted. An hour later I had about half a chapter of a brand new WIP. The rest of the week was spent writing on the new WIP. I finished two chapters before I got in the car to come home. My game plan this week is to get it typed up into a document (because with 100-degree weather this was all written in a notebook) and then continue to finish it. I know it’s going to be a short. And thanks to my friend that I discussed it with while I was writing it, I already know that it will have a sequel. I’m not sure if I’ll try to lengthen it past a mini duology set or not. Depends on how I feel after I get the second short done, I think. But yay! I’m hoping to get that short finished by the end of the month and get it out early September, with the second one to follow shortly after.

My WIP list grows every steady as I go. But I’m excited about this short and it’s sequel.

I’m also currently reading an ARC that will have a review posted soon! Super squeeing about that too. So excited to both read it and share my thoughts!

For now, back to the grind of getting everything set up. I can’t believe summer is almost over, the school year is almost back, and everything is zomg.

Are you ready for the school year? Are you ready for Fall? What’s your favorite Fall activity? Leave your answers in the comments below.

Breath, Just Breath

23 Monday Jul 2018

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Life needs more naps, so we can all look and relaxed and stressfree as the kitten on this post. I’m just sayin’ that right off the bat. I might be a little biased toward naps right now because I’m currently running around like a chicken with no head while I try to get everything done for the camping festival I’ll be on next week.

I’m not sure how it’s next week, but then I’m not exactly sure how we’re almost done with July either. I don’t feel like I’m getting a lot out of my months in general. Though, stress does tend to do that with things in general.

I was going to say July has been better than June, but I’ve published shorts in both and read a decent amount in both. Though I have read a tad bit more this month than last, almost doubling my read count this July.

With camping next week, I’m not looking to take my laptop with me. Which means all writing will have to be done by hand, in a notebook. I’m thinking of bringing my Festival story with me to see if I can hammer out the last couple chapters to get it a finished draft instead of a WIP. What’s possibly worse is that I’ve got edits on the current twenty chapters that are sitting in a binder on my desk waiting for me to roll through them. But I’d love to finish this one and then roll through edits of both my faerie story and this festival story. So thinking of bringing a printed out copy of it with me camping, and my trusty notebook so I can do a quick read through of what I have and then wrap it up.

I have a couple shorts in the back of my head too but I think I want to try and back burner them for the week and really push to finish this story. It’s been sitting for more than a few months unfinished and I’d love to get it to a point where I can just worry about the edits of it.

I’m just kind of behind on everything and I’m slowly crawling toward catching up with it all. My plan, honestly, is to get caught up on everything by the time I’m back from the camping trip. I know you’re probably blinking and going, but that’s like two weeks away, but honestly, I think with some elbow grease I can do it. I’ve already made a list of what I need to do, and ideally when I’d like it to post so it’s just a matter of sticking to my new schedule to get caught up with everything.

I can do it!

And if you’re behind on anything, just take a piece of paper, breath for a second, and jot down what you’re behind on and what needs to be done to catch up. After that give yourself dates for some of those tasks.

I felt better after writing out and giving myself dates for everything that I felt needed to be done. Because it gives me a plan to work with, and deadlines to know when everything should be done by.

And at the end of the day, just take one day at a time. After all, there are only so many hours in the day but I’m starting to learn – after a lot of being told so by some really good friends – that it’s more manageable when you have a plan and a schedule to live it by. (It just took a while to sink into my stubborn brain)

I’ve been MIA – opps

19 Thursday Jul 2018

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[Screenshot provided by both Sea of Thieves for a spectacular game (that’s my character) and my friend Cassandra for her superior screenshot skills]

Ahoy hoy, fair readers!

So I’ve been completely MIA. I didn’t realize I’ve gone and not blogging for so long until I signed on and went wow. It’s been a month. Life has been… life. 

I coordinate and run a festival that is two weeks away, so trying to stay on top of everything for that has kept me super both busy and stressed because unfortunately, I don’t get the help that I really need. I’m not going to go into a sob story regarding what that actually entails or means – partially because I don’t want to dwell on it, partially because I don’t want any pity or sympathy, and partially because I’m trying to continue to move forward despite it and hashing it out would only cause me to backtrack in my thinking.

Though, I will say I had a minor meltdown last Saturday where I basically threatened (to the empty room) that if I don’t get more help for next year that I’m going to resign from being the Coordinator. This came after misplacing 20 registrations and having a minor panic attack of what happens if I never find them because I don’t remember who exactly was in that pack of registrations. The good is I DID find that packet, but the stress of losing them in the first place is still fairly fresh in my head despite being nearly a week after.

I’ve also been writing. I finished a couple books which I completely blanked on totting here, my blog, for all you lovely people to know about. I want to let them have their own posts so watch for those in the next couple days. I’m pretty proud of both, not gonna lie. I also have a slew of reviews I still need to get scheduled and posted, so those should be coming soon too!

June didn’t see me read too much. July has seen more reading – not that it’s been anything on my list which is still active for July. I’ve still got about a week and a half for getting things read and finished. Maybe I’ll see some of my Reading list completed so I can add new books to it. Also on a plus, I finally found my copy of Stalking Jack the Ripper, so definitely looking to get that book read soon.

Aside from writing, I’ve been playing a couple video games in my time away from my blog. Stress relief mostly. What games, I’m sure you’re asking?

Moonlighter is a single player dungeon crawler game where you play the last Moonlighter, the owner of a store in town and one of the only people that the dungeons will open for. So the point is to open the fifth dungeon door, learn about your past, and sell all the crap you get from killing things in your dungeon to better your shop. It’s available for PC/Mac/Xbox One – I’ve been playing it on Xbox One because I can play it from bed. No shame.

Sea of Thieves is a pirate game. The screenshot above is from the game, taken while I was sailing with some friends. You pick your pirate, and then pick your ship and set sail. Will you quest for gold, quest for skulls, or help the merchants collect animals for sale? Well, that’s up to you. The game is stunning, the developers are constantly updating and adding to the game – currently, there’s a two-week event that ends on the 25th to find mermaid statues and destroy them. And on the 31st, the Cursed Sails event is going live. You can sail alone – though you may/will run into other real-life players, or with a crew of up to four people. Cursed Sails will bring skeleton crews (npc’s) to the seas to watch for too and you have no idea how excited I am for the release. It’s available on PC/Xbox One (It’s a Microsoft game so nothing else) and it’s cross-platform. I am constantly playing with my friend on PC from my Xbox.

*Not sponsored, just honest opinions here. But I’d totally recommend trying both if you’re a gamer.

I think that’s in for me for today’s update. New book announcements to come. New reviews to come. I read a slew of shorts that I will probably review altogether in one post – for reasons that will make sense when I post it. And new posts despite me being on vacation in two weeks.

God help me it’s a week of camping. I’m praying to any god that will listen to be kind as far as the weather goes – not too hot and not rainy. *crosses fingers and toes while at it*

Are we melting yet?

18 Monday Jun 2018

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How cute are these bunnies? I came out of my house the other day and they were just chillin’ out.

Of course, that was before the air turned molten and stifling. It’s gotten rather hot around here recently – so hot I ran out to the store to grab a new A.C. unit for my house because the old one, it wasn’t good.

I know I missed last week for a blog post. I have been caught up writing a new story. Several amazing writers have gotten together to write some dragon center stories. To see all the progress and chit chat about it, feel free to check out the hashtag #CockyDragonSlayer on Twitter. It’s been super fun to write, and keep each other pumped and of course the dragon gifs.

I’m working on getting a few reviews written and scheduled. So definitely watch for those!

I don’t mean to be quiet in the grand scheme of everything, but I’m really enjoying the writing of this new story, and I have two other shorts – a wolf and a witch – on the back burner that are being begged tow rite soon as well. All the writing and all the words for me!

There’s not too much else going on with me, past just continuing to try and survive this heat that’s hit the Midwest. Hopefully that cuts out some.

Stay cool, everyone! And make sure to stay hydrated in this heat! And wear sunscreen!

June Is When…? Now?!

05 Tuesday Jun 2018

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Can you believe it’s June? I know I can’t! Somehow I’ve missed pretty much life in the last couple weeks. I know I missed my weekly blog last week – and nearly missed it this week though at least I’ve caught it on Tuesday!

This week we cover what I’ve been doing with myself, what stage my TBR pile is in, and where my attention has been in general.

For the first part, I think part of missing last week was because I was prepping for, and then attended a trip to St. Louis. Making sure all is right with the house before I leave, all is right with the fur babies while I’m gone, and that all is packed in my bag so I won’t forget anything before I leave the city for my trip.

My best friend lives out in the St. Louis area, so getting to spend some quality time together, in person and not just over the interwebs means the world to me, and I was glad I was able to make the trip.

The weather was hot. Very hot. But that’s okay. We managed. With lemonade, chicken on a stick, and the shade of a large tree – we managed it.

I also had my Writer’s Group the Thursday before I left so I was rushing to get my submission to them last week too. Not the best, rushing. I’ve already started working on the submission for June’s meeting so I’m hopefully not rushing come the end of the month this time.

Reading wise, it was a little slacked in May. Because of that, I’m moving my May TBR forward to June. What are those books?

  • The Elite by Kiera Cass
  • Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
  • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
  • Chosen by Harlow Thomas & Anastasia James
  • Daughter of Persephone by Helen Scott
  • Doppelganger by Alyssa Drake

The books above will be some of my focus to read this month. I’ve also slurged and bought an anthology. It’s huge. Like, 40 authors submitted shorts to the anthology huge. The anthology in question is Cocktales, an anthology that is only running for a limited release (until August).

Why is Cocktales a thing? Well, for the long answer I’d say check out #cockygate on Twitter for the answer to that – just be prepared for the long and deep rabbit hole. But the short answer is an indie Romance author decided to trademark the word Cocky. The result, aside from the anthology, is that a lot of authors – indie and traditional, romance and other genres, have banded together to learn trademark law the best they/we can without being lawyers our selves, to better combat this trademark of a very commonly used word, but also to hopefully stop any other trademark that may surface that is too common in the words department. As an author, words are our bread and butter, our music, our paint. We need them as deeply as the air we breathe. And if you’re wondering, the whole thing started May 4th, or thereabouts and has been going on for the last month (so there’s a lot to dig through), and is currently still ongoing. There’s a Cancelation that’s been filed in the hopes of getting the trademark canceled. But the author in question has also sued two (it was three until the Judge removed one of them from the case) people over this. The case is ongoing – the preliminary hearing was June 1st – and to keep up with how everything is going if this interests you, I’d recommend reading up on #cockygate on Twitter. All new information is being posted there.

And if you’re wondering my stance on the issue? I don’t think the trademark should have been granted. I don’t think the trademark should hold up in court. I do think that this was the overreaching of someone who thought she’d be able to corner the market of a very well used word and has gotten burned in the process. I also think that instead of backing up after being burned, she committed herself to it full flames and stepped into the fire to try and defend her actions – which is only making things worse in the grand scheme of everything.

I will say, well I do not wish the author in question ill, I in no way am under any sort of illusion that she won’t get what she has weaved for herself in this. She’s built herself a house of cards, and while it will be sad, that house is doomed to eventually tumble on top of her.

There’s also that age-old saying, Karma’s a bitch.

Authors have been sharing similar covers (in any genre you’ll likely find a theme that works well for a lot of authors), as well as not only words in titles but words in series or whole series titles. And up until now, no one has ever sued or tried to claim mine over any of it. At the end of the day, you could give the same prompt or title to 50 authors and tell them to write the story they saw for that prompt or title and you would get 50 different stories. Because even if there are surface similarities, we all interpret prompts in a different light, we all have different ideas in our head, different characters in our head, and sometimes completely different worlds in our head. No two stories would come out the same, despite sharing origins or a title. And that’s the beauty of writing. We’re all unique.

There’s a reason why retellings of fairy tales are so popular. Everyone has their own take on it.

But enough on that. I have more editing to do. And more writing. The creative life is never done, merely put on hold! Be magical, my readers. Because every little creative spark you share lights up someone else’s life for the better. And that’s a beautiful thing.

May Pain – The Joys of Chronic Head Issues

23 Wednesday May 2018

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May has not been a completely great month for me. I completely missed posting a blog post last week. And I nearly missed posting one this week. In my area, we’ve had serious storms in and out – which has caused havoc for my basement, but also for my head.

I spent most of last week wearing a hat at work to save my head from the fluorescent lights, ingesting pain meds like candy (pain meds are not candy and do not recommend unless you actually need said pain meds for pain), and trying to focus on keeping myself going. It was a long week, one that had been cut a day short because I actually called in sick one day and stayed burrowed in a blanket cave in a dark room sleeping most of the day.

Chronic head issues? No fun. It’s something I’ve always worked and pushed through but I’ve never had one issue stretch on for over a week. Work was slow, writing and reading were even slower. And sadly I missed my blog last week. But I was able to catch it this week, thankfully. I’m still alive. I’ve got tomorrow off for a small business expo thing – which may only take the morning so I can hopefully spend the afternoon enjoying the warm 70’s and maybe actually get some writing done now that my head has started to clear up.

I will say despite my head, I have been able to crawl along in the short fiction workshop I’ve been participating in. I’ve gotten two of the shorts done so far, and am working on the third. Little 500 word snippets. It’s interesting to sit there and try to concisely say what you want, get the point across, bring compelling characters, and get everything wrapped up decently in 500 words. And when you find yourself like ten words over, trying to figure out where you can cut? Totally not easy, but it really makes you think about your word choices better. It’s been an interesting experience.

An experience I should get back to. That and editing my current WIP!

How is your May going? Hopefully well! Until next time!

May Naps

08 Tuesday May 2018

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Can you believe we’re a week into May!? MAY! May first came, and I don’t know about your area but in my Chicagoland area, we went from 40 degree weather to 80 degree weather. The change was insanely fast, and it’s left me wondering where Spring went because the weather has been so warm and beautiful. I honestly love being able to have my windows open, getting fresh air into the house.

Of course, living in an eighty-year-old house with no central air does mean nights are slept with a fan on to help keep me cool enough to sleep. but I manage. And I’ll take it for the warmer weather.

May is also the month where I’m participating in a Flash Fiction Workshop that’s run by an online writer’s community I’m part of. The goal is to help us write better flash fiction – 500 words or less. For me, 500 words feels like a drop in the bucket. My best friend would say it’s because I’m wordy, and she’s totally not wrong. I love my words, and I will admit to using too many to get a point across. So I felt like participating would help me try to trim down the fat in my WIPs overall. After all, if I can get a story out in 500 words after this month-long workshop, it means that I can hopefully get my descriptions in my full length novel to be more concise without losing that punch of being well said. At least, that’s my hope and goal. We’ll see how this turns out. By the end of May I should have four shorts, good or bad – but hopefully good!

This also on top of editing my drafted novel. Which means May is a super busy month for me. With the warm weather though, I’m feeling a little more motivated all around to get things done.

How is your May going so far? Are you motivated to keep working on everything? Have you hit a snag in your plans? Let me know in the comments below!

April Wrap-Up/May TBR

01 Tuesday May 2018

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It’s growing warmer by the day here, and I truly appreciate the growing warmth. I need it. I always miss it. But come summer, I’ll also be the first person wishing the heat would quit it. Perfect temperature for me tends to range right about 70 degrees. Not too hot, especially with a light breeze, but also not too cold. Just chilly enough you might need a light couch throw or a sweater but can get away with shorts or a skirt without risking frostbite on the skin. It’s not QUITE there yet, but it is slowly getting there. And with that warmer swing of weather, there’s a slightly more productive me sitting behind a computer.

At the beginning of the month, I had to report that March was a no read zone for me. Work and life just didn’t flow well, and I didn’t end up reading much of anything past what had been submitted to my writers’ group.

Thankfully that is not the case with April. I have read! Not as much as I wanted to read, as per my TBR list for the month that had been carried over from March, but I did read. Small steps toward fixing the disaster that was March.

April Wrap Up

So because I didn’t read anything, I literally just shoved March’s TBR list over into April. I didn’t even make a post about it on its own because truthfully, besides the potential books I’d bought there had been nothing to report. This month is, thankfully, much different.

The books I finished:

  • Null and Void by Susan Copperfield
  • Shadow Queen by Harlow Thomas & Anastasia James
  • Message of the Crow by Ellen Dugan

The books I didn’t finish:

  • The Elite by Kiera Cass
  • Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
  • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

I will be shuffling the books I haven’t finished over to my May TBR list, but I’m also going to add new books to replace the ones I have read. I like keeping my list around six books long because when I get the time, I can plow through them. It’s just always that dreaded time restraint.

May TBR

Like I said, I’m keeping the books I didn’t read from March/April. I do want to read them. Stalking jack the Ripper has mysteriously disappeared – it is the only book on my list that is not an ebook right now. What I need the check is if my mom finked it to read herself, which is a high possibility. That or it got put somewhere ‘safe’ on a shelf and I’ve missed walking past it. With the sheer number of books in my house, it’s a complete possibility.

Onto the list though!

  • The Elite by Kiera Cass
  • Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
  • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
  • Chosen by Harlow Thomas & Anastasia James
  • Daughter of Persephone by Helen Scott
  • Doppelganger by Alyssa Drake

The Shadow Queen does have a sequel, and I am looking to read it before I post my review of the Shadow Queen – because there are only two of them I want to post a review of them together. But I don’t want to promise that I’m going to read it this month. Those, with the way I get with continuing books, I might. Just don’t be surprised if you end up seeing Dark Ember on my read list in May – but there are enough other books I want to read, that I don’t want to promise one more either. And I want to push myself to read more authors as a whole, not just one author’s entire catalog. Granted, I do have another of their books on my list for May.

What are you planning to read this month? Leave it in the comments below!