Monay Check In

I wanted to apologize for not posting my Monday check in last week. The weekend prior to Monday, 01/23/23 was so hectic and crazy that I didn't even realize that I didn't do my Monday post until Wednesday morning. 

Writing Related: Mississippi's story is humming along. I'm still a little behind where I wanted to be by the end of January, but I'm thinking I should be able to catch up in February.

Motivational Quote: "Our lives are just unfolding disasters where once in a while nice things happen." ~ Kazim Ali

What I'm Reading: I'm currently reading Under Pressure by Sara Driscoll. This is the 6th book in her FBI K-9 series.

Random Things: I usually try to post uplifting or inspiring quotes, but last week was such a miserable week all the way around - at the day job and at home - that the above quote just seemed really appropriate to how I was feeling. I'm sure this week will be better. (Fingers crossed.)

Random Photo:

                                                     Mrs. Green says "Hello."

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: I'm back to working on Mississippi's story, the 4th book in the Echo Company series. I managed to write a decent number of pages, but not as many as I'd hoped. It always takes me a couple of weeks to get back in the groove so that the words flow easier during my writing sessions. I think it's a combination of not having written in a few weeks and trying to get back into the story and the character's heads. I have a couple of appointments after work, but hope to still get about 7,500 words written this week.

Motivational Quote: "I try to expect nothing and hope that everything is possible." ~ Jia Tolentino

What I'm Reading: I started reading Triptych by Karin Slaughter yesterday afternoon. It's the first book in the Will Trent series. I decided to read the series after watching the first episode of Will Trent on ABC a couple of weeks ago. Despite a bit of a jarring reveal (see Random Things below), I'm liking the book so far - I'm about 75 pages into it.

Random Things: I realize authors have no say in casting when their books are made into movies, or in the case of Will Trent, a television series, but I do wish that the people doing the casting would make some attempt to have the actor portraying the main character look a little bit the way the character is described in the book. I love Ramon Rodriguez as Will Trent so it was a bit disconcerting to find out Will Trent is a six foot 5 inch white man with dirty blonde hair and some facial scars in the books. I had the same problem with Forrest Gump. I saw the movie when it first came out. Loved Tom Hanks as Forrest. But in the book, Forrest is described as a hulking linebacker, built like a brick wall type. No where close to how Tom Hanks is built. I had such a hard time correlating how Forrest was described in various scenes with how Tom Hanks looks that I gave up reading the book. 

Random Photo:

           Mrs. Green laying under our Christmas tree before the presents took up all the space.

New Beginnings - 2023

I thought I'd share three motivational quotes that seem really appropriate for the start of 2023. I hope they inspire and/or motivate you as much as they did me.

"Begin with that most terrifying thing of all: a clean slate. Then look, every day, at the choices you are making, and when you ask yourself why you are making them...find this answer within you: for me, for me." ~ Anna Quindlen

"If we want to transform reality, we must begin with ourselves." ~ Alejandro Jodorowsky

"So often we need a whole lifetime in order to change our life, we think a great deal, weigh things up and vacillate, then we go back to the beginning, we think and think, we displace ourselves on the tracks of time with a circular movement..." ~ Jose Saramago

(I hate to admit it, but I definitely identify with the last quote.)