Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I've received feedback on Coming Home from my editor and all of my beta readers. Thankfully, they all liked the book. There are a few minor tweaks I'll need to make and/or fix but overall, there won't be a lot of rewriting or editing to be done before the book is released in early January 2025.

 Motivational Quote: "To fulfill a dream...to be given the chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life." ~ Bette Davis

What I'm Reading:  I'll be starting Beach Read by Emily Henry tonight when I go to bed. I've heard good things about it so I'm looking forward to reading it.

Random Thoughts:  Cookie baking will commence today and continue throughout the week. We make 12 different kinds of cookies and about 10 dozen of each type every year. We pack them in containers and give them out to friends and family. Every year I say we're not going to cut back and not make so many different kinds, but we always end up with 12 anyway. Some recipes are tried and true that have been made for years (since I was a child) and some are newish having been made at least 3 years and some are new, new being made for the first time. It's a lot of work, but I look forward to it every year.

Random Photo: 

The frosted sugar cookies we make every year and have been making since I was a child.
 

Monday Check In

 Sorry no post this week. I'll be back next week.

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I sent out Coming Home to my editor and beta readers last Tuesday. I'm in a holding pattern until I get feedback from them so I'm taking a small break from writing right now.

 Motivational Quote: "Try not to over-think." ~ Amy Beager  I repeated the quote from last week because now I'm trying not to overthink the changes I made to the book before I sent it out for feedback. 

What I'm Reading:  I finished reading Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong last night. It was a stand alone rom-com. It was a fun, fast read.

Random Thoughts:  Like most people, I did a lot of holiday gift shopping over the weekend. I have a few small items I need to pick up from local retailers, but thankfully the majority of the shopping is done. Thank goodness for online shopping. 

Random Photo:

                     Me, trying to decide what holiday cookies to make and give away this year.
 

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I worked like crazy last week to get the editing done on Coming Home. I'll be sending it to my editor and beta readers on Tuesday. I'll have about 2 weeks to get Christmas things done before they send it back to me with their comments and suggestions. 

 Motivational Quote: "Try not to over-think." ~ Amy Beager  This is always good advice when working on edits or rewrites.

What I'm Reading:  I finished reading The Body in the Backyard by Lucy Score last night. I'm not sure what I'll start reading tonight. I have a stack of 8 books that I borrowed from the library last Wednesday. 

Random Thoughts: I hope everyone that celebrates Thanksgiving has a wonderful holiday with their friends and families. 

Random Photo:

                                            The banana bread I made last week.

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  The first draft of Coming Home is done. Whew! I wrote it in 10 weeks. That's the fastest I've ever written a first draft. I will edit it this week. I used a new plotting method which not only helped me write the first draft faster, but also helped me write cleaner so I'm hoping there won't be a lot of revisions or rewriting to be done. 

 Motivational Quote: "I'm always trying to be better. Better, better, and better...in all ways and in everything that I'm doing in my life. And it's not about [being] perfect. It's about [being] better." ~ Evgenia Medvedeva

What I'm Reading:  I started The Body in the Backyard by Lucy Score yesterday afternoon. It's the 4th book in the Riley Thorn mystery series. This isn't a typical mystery or cozy mystery series. It's like a rom-com and a cozy mystery were mixed together resulting in a fun and engaging series. 

Random Thoughts:  I tried a new recipe for chocolate orange swirl bread. It came out well. I think when I make it again, I'll add a touch of orange extract for a bit more orange flavor. The recipe only calls for orange zest and 2 tablespoons of orange juice so you can taste some orange, but it's like a subtle hint. I'm baking banana bread this afternoon because I have two bananas that are a little too ripe to eat as is. 

Random Photo:

                                Here's a photo of the chocolate orange swirl bread

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I met my weekly goal and picked up the pages I was behind so it was a good writing week. I'm pretty sure I will finish the first draft by this coming Friday. I'm don't remember if I told you all the title of this book, last book in the Echo Company series. It will be Coming Home.

 Motivational Quote:  "...We must be ambitious, and we must have the will." ~ Kailash Satyarthi

What I'm Reading:  I'll be starting On Her Watch by Melinda Leigh tonight. This is the 8th book in the Bree Taggert series. It's shelved as romantic suspense at my local library, but I consider this series to be more suspense with a dash of romance than the usual romantic suspense type books.

Random Thoughts:  I made another ginger cookie recipe yesterday. It's a molasses ginger cookie. They're good, but I think my gingerbread chocolate chip cookie recipe is still better. I think maybe I need to stop looking for a different one especially since everyone in my family loves the gingerbread one. 

Random Photo:

                                              The molasses ginger cookies