Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Revisions for Garrett's book are going slow. I'm cutting and writing completely new scenes and rewriting a lot of the others. I'm participating in Sarra Cannon's Rough Draft Challenge this month as a way to keep myself on track with the edits. I'd really like to have them completed by December 1st. 

Motivational Quote:  "Put the fear aside and do the basics." ~ Ingrid Betancourt (Colombian politician and activist)

What I'm Reading:  I'm currently reading The Steps: A Memoir by Sylvester Stallone. I don't usually read memoirs, but this was recommended to me and I promised the person I would read it. I should finish it either tonight or tomorrow evening.

Random Things:  We're forecasted to get our first snow of the season later this week. Can I say how much I'm hoping the meteorologists in my area are wrong? Laughs. I know we won't make it through the winter without any snow, but I'm hoping the strong El Nino will keep the snow to an absolute minimum. During a normal winter, we average about 110 inches of snow in my area. I'm hoping with El Nino's help we'll get less than 60 inches this year. We've also been spoiled with much higher than normal temperatures last week. One day it reached a high of 80 degrees and broke a record from 1883. As a person who is not a fan of the winter, I'm hoping we break a lot more of those records this winter. 

Random Photo:

                Somebody enjoying a Sunday afternoon nap. I think he had the right idea. 
 

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I went through each chapter and wrote the important plot points and what interactions the two main characters had on index cards. It made it easier to see that the emotional connection/romance between the two characters is lacking. I wrote out notes for each chapter that I hope will fix the issue. I also wrote notes to tighten up the plot and the main female character's conflict. I'll start revisions using the index cards and notes this morning.

Motivational Quote:  "Don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses. Just do the best you can. Nobody can do more than that." ~ John Wooden (American basketball coach quoting his father)

What I'm Reading:  I'm not currently reading anything. I requested The Steps (Sylvester Stallone's memoir) through our county's inter-library loan system. I received a notice that it's in transit to my local library so I'm hoping it'll be ready for me to pick it up tomorrow or Wednesday. Once I do, I'll be reading it the remainder of the week.

Random Things:  I don't really watch any sports other than the Olympics but I came across the above motivational quote a few days after I got the feedback on Garrett's book from my editor and beta readers. I wanted to whine and complain and I probably did for a few days. Laughs. But I knew if I wanted this book to be the best it could possibly be, I'd have to do the hard work of figuring out how to fix it and to do the work to make it a story people would want to read and would enjoy. Sometimes I think the universe puts these quotes in my path right when I need to see/read them the most.

Random Photo:

I bought a new planning notebook. It's the 6 ring binder type so I can reuse it instead of buying a new planning notebook or journal for each book. 
 

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I received the feedback on Garrett's book from my beta readers and editor. The good thing is they all like the story and characters. The bad thing is that every single one of them feels there's not enough romance. Considering this is a romance novel, that's a big problem. My editor in particular mentioned that the book seems to be missing the emotional connection between the main male and main female characters. I've tried not panic though I might not have been successful. I'm taking this week to go through all of the comments I received from my beta readers and all the comments and questions and suggestions from my editor. I'm hoping by reviewing all of that, I'll see a way to fix or add the missing emotional component. I really, really do not want to scrap this draft and start all over from the beginning.

Motivational Quote:  "The truth is that nothing is impossible. So, you must dream, you have to believe in yourself." ~ Halima Aden (Somali and American model)

What I'm Reading:  I'm currently reading Grim Tidings by B.K. Borison. I should finish it this evening. This is the 2nd book in her Ghosted series. I didn't read the first book in the series and am not feeling as though I missed something by not reading it. I think this book could almost be a stand alone novel.

Random Things:  I'm still working on making a decent loaf of sourdough bread. My first loaf came out okay. It didn't have that distinctive sourdough tang though. My second attempt was a complete disaster. I used a different recipe that was very labor intensive - it was a 3 day process starting with mixing the dough on the first day all the way through to baking it on the third day. The dough felt tough with all the constant handling of it (folding it once an hour for six hours on the second day alone) by the time I did the last shaping and put it on the pan to bake. It didn't really brown and the exterior crust was hard to cut through. You literally almost had to saw through it with the bread knife. But the interior was surprisingly soft and it wasn't dense at all. I'll be making my third attempt later this week. And I will be using yet another different recipe. Fingers crossed the third time will be the charm and this loaf will come out perfect.

Random Photo:

 A few of the chocolate brownie muffins I made to cheer myself up after my sourdough baking disaster. The recipe for the chocolate brownie muffins makes 12 muffins so I split them up into containers of four and froze them because they taste so good - really just like a brownie except in muffin form - that I'd probably eat the majority of them since as most of you know, homemade brownies are my weakness. 

 

  

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Not doing much writing related right now as I'm waiting for feedback on Garrett's story from my beta readers and editor. i should start hearing from them by the end of this week. I am starting to do some very basic plotting on what will be the second book in the Eden's Crossing series.

Motivational Quote:  "I used to be terrified of making mistakes and now I realize that if I make one, there's a lot of respect to be earned for throwing yourself 100 percent into something." ~ Jessica Chastain (American actor)

What I'm Reading:  I just finished reading Big Stick Energy by Sarina Bowen. This is the second book in her New York Legends series. If you enjoy hockey romance, Sarina Bowen is one of the best authors writing it right now.

Random Things:  I went to my great-niece's 2nd birthday party last weekend. How is it that nearly all of my nieces and nephews are old enough to get married and start families of their own? It seems like just a few years ago, they were toddlers or starting school. It's enough to make me start feeling old. 😄

Random Photo:  

I came across these two cuties while I was out shopping for a gift for the birthday girl mentioned above. I did buy them. Did I buy them for her? No, I bought them for myself. LOL. I guess you never outgrow the need for a cute and cuddly plushie. 
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I'm not really doing too much writing related. I'm waiting for feedback from my beta readers and editor. It will probably be another week before I hear from any of them.

Motivational Quote:  "Don't stress out thinking about what's the next step? What's the plan? What am I doing next?...I feel like sometimes I don't enjoy the present moment and what's happening in my life right now because I'm always thinking, where am I going to be? What am I going to do?" ~ Nailea Devora (American comedian)

What I'm Reading:  I just finished The Me I Used to Be by Kristan Higgins. This is a stand alone women's fiction novel. I really enjoyed this book. The end made me a bit teary which is always a sign of a good book for me. If I can identify with the character(s) so much that I get teary over what they're going through then the author has done a great job writing the story. 

Random Things:  I can't believe we're starting the first full week of October already. It seems like it was just May. While I'm looking forward to autumn and the cooler weather and changing of the leaves, I'm feeling a bit anxious that there are only about 3 months left in the year. I still have a lot of things I'd like to get accomplished by the end of 2026 and less than 90 days to get them done. 

Random Photo:

My first attempt at making sourdough chocolate chip cookies. They came out pretty well. I'd definitely make them again.. 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I'm a touch behind schedule. I wanted to send the revised draft of Garrett's story to my editor over the weekend. I'll be doing that today instead. I'm also sending it to a few of my beta readers to get their thoughts and feedback as well. 

Motivational Quote:  "Be true to who you are. Being somebody you are not is exhausting." ~ Hope Solo (American soccer player)

What I'm Reading:  I'm currently reading The Whisking Hour by Ellie Alexander but should finish it this evening. It's the 22nd  book in Ms. Alexander's Bakeshop Mystery series. If you like cozy mysteries that include recipes, this is a great series. 

Random Things:  It's finally getting cool enough to bake. The weather is supposed to be in the mid to low 60's for the majority of this week. I've pulled out all my bread and cookie recipes. Now the problem is trying to decide what to make first. One of my nieces gave me some of her sourdough starter a few months ago that I've been feeding every couple of weeks to keep it viable so I definitely want to try making sourdough bread for the first time. I also want to make chocolate Babka. Maybe some oatmeal cranberry cookies. I'm not a fan of raisins so I use dried cranberries instead. Of course, I'll be making focaccia. That goes without saying. So many things to bake and so little time. 

Random Photo:

Chocolate white chocolate  chip cookies I made last weekend despite it being in the 70's. I made them as a thank you for one of my nephews who did a huge favor for me but wouldn't let me pay him for his time and trouble. 
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Revisions and edits are finally humming along. I'm hoping to be done by the end of this week so I can send the second draft off to my editor and beta readers by September 19th, the 21st at the latest.

Motivational Quote:  "I aim to do my best, give my best, and know in my heart that I gave everything I could." ~ Francis Ngannou (Cameroonian and French mixed martial artist)

What I'm Reading: I'm currently reading Look For Me by Lisa Gardner. I didn't realize this is part of a series but despite not reading any of the prior books in the series, I'm not feeling lost at all. 

Random Things:  My oldest sister and I went shopping together Friday. She comes to my house usually once a week to have coffee and catch up. Deciding to change things up, we made plans to go shopping together. Nothing fancy, just a few stops at Bath and Body Works, a local pet store (we both have cats), and Dollar Tree to check out the fall and Halloween decorations. We had such a good time, we're going to try to do something similar every few months or so. 

Random Photo:

My great-nephew and I had an arts and crafts session when he and his grandmother came to visit on Monday. He made this Jack-O-Lantern for me. 
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I'm still working on the edits and rewrite for Garrett's story but I do feel like I'm finally making progress. I have a busy week this week so I'm not sure how much I'll get accomplished but I'm determined to squeeze in a much time working on this book as I can.

Motivational Quote:  "You may be born without any gift at all, but that doesn't mean you can't work very, very hard and get to the top." ~ John Caudwell 

What I'm Reading:   I'm currently reading The Secrets We Hide by Karin Slaughter. It's the 2nd book in her North Falls series. I am a fan of Ms. Slaughter's writing and particularly of her Will Trent series.

Random Things:  While I don't have anyone I need to buy school supplies for, I always look forward to this time of year when school supplies are on sale. I stock up on composition notebooks, index cards, single subject notebooks, and a folder here and there. I use all of these things in my writing. I will sometimes pick up one of the plastic pencil boxes because they work really well as craft containers. I have one that holds my many pairs of deckle edge scissors. 

Random Photo:

                                      I saw this t-shirt and couldn't resist buying it. 
 

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I worked on edits for Garrett's story. I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped. I found dangling plot thread that brought me to a screeching halt because I don't know how to fix it. I've been brainstorming with a fellow writing friend and think I have the problem solved. I'm hoping this week will be much more productive.

Motivational Quote: "Each day we have the opportunity to learn something new, apologize for our mistakes, and become better." ~ Lewis Howes (American entrepreneur)

What I'm Reading:  I finished Thrown for a Loop by Sarina Bowen last night. It's the first book in her New York Legends hockey romance series. If you like hockey romance books, I highly recommend her books. 

Random Things:  To continue on my post from last week about the Dunkin' in my area offering pumpkin spice drinks around August 19th, I found Halloween candy on sale in one of the local Wegman's stores. I realize Summerween is really popular right now, but I'm not at all ready to see Halloween candy for sale in early August. It reinforces the fact that summer is coming to an end and winter will be here all too soon. 

Random Photo:

                           The Halloween candy display at one of our local Wegman's.
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I made incremental progress on editing Garrett's book. It's definitely not as much as I wanted to accomplish but I'm telling myself even a little progress forward is getting me closer to finishing editing the book. 

Motivational Quote:  "I prefer writing to real life...A novel, for example, can be cleaned up, altered, trimmed, improved. Life, on the other hand, is one big messy rough draft." ~ Harlan Coben (American writer)

What I'm Reading:  I finished reading Ode to the Bones by Carolyn Haines last night. It's the 30th book in the Sarah Booth Delaney mystery series. I've enjoyed this series and was sad to hear there will only be one more book before the series comes to an end.

Random Things:   An update on my brother. He had numerous appointments last week for x-rays, an ultrasound, CT scan and with a surgeon's physician's assistant to give him his options. He has an appointment with the surgeon next week to make the decision to either see if they can repair the break with some plates and screws or if it would be better to do a shoulder replacement from the outset because if his arm doesn't heal properly with the plates and screws, then he'll have to have the shoulder replacement anyway.

Random Photo:

                                                    I swear this is so true. 😄 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I didn't get anything done on Garrett's book last week. My brother broke his arm right below the ball joint of his shoulder with fractures up into the ball joint. He's staying with me right now because it's his dominant arm/hand so he needs a lot of help doing pretty much anything. I hope to get some editing done this week. 

Motivational Quote:  "See it through. It's your story." ~ Alan Rickman (English actor and director)  

What I'm Reading:  I'm currently reading You Can Tell Me by Melinda Leigh. It's the first book in the Olivia Cruz series. If you like romantic suspense, you'd probably enjoy any of the series written by Ms. Leigh.

Random Things:  I came across the above quote while reading an article about Alan Rickman. It relates to his decision to continue acting in the Harry Potter movies after receiving his cancer diagnosis. It reminded me that despite life really taking over right now, I need to continue working on Garrett's book. It's important to me for a number of reasons so despite it taking much, much longer than I originally planned, I need to carve out time to work on it even if it's only in small pockets of time.

Random Photo:

  
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I didn't work on anything writing related the last two weeks. We had family from out of town visiting. We don't see them often so we spent as much time as possible with them. 

Motivational Quote:  "Know what you're doing. Take time." ~ Rhiannon Giddens (American musician)  I saw this quote and felt like it was talking directly to me considering how long it's taking me to edit Garrett's book. I still feel like I have a long way to go before it's ready for publication. 

What I'm Reading:  I started reading Not What It Seems by Lisa Jackson over the weekend.  This is the fifth book in the Savannah series. I would classify this book more as a mystery/thriller than romantic suspense but I'm enjoying it overall.

Random Things:  I can't believe it's practically the middle of July already. My mom will sometimes say that the older she gets, the faster the years go by. I must be getting to that age when the years start to go by faster. It seems like it was just early spring and we're already halfway through the summer. Although it does seem like summer always flies by while winter drags on for forever. Probably because we have nice, sunny weather for about four or four and a half months then it's cold, wet, and snowy for the other 7 to 8 months. 

Random Photo:

I took this picture of the sunset from our backyard while we were outside enjoying the evening.
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Writing related things have slowed to a trickle due to the drowning of my old laptop. The good news is I have a new one. It took a little longer than I expected to find a new one that I liked, had all the features I wanted, and was a price I was willing to pay. My old laptop was from 2018 so I needed to upgrade eventually. I just hadn't planned on doing it this summer.

Motivational Quote:  "I think being creative, trying new things, being ambitious means at some point along the line you are going to 'fail.' And actually, it's our job to say this is one step on a much broader journey to success." ~ Mary Bekhait (British businessperson)

What I'm Reading:  I'm currently reading The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett. It is also a long novel with 634 pages not including the Author's Note after the story ends. Ms. Stockett also wrote The Help. I didn't read that book, but I did enjoy the movie. 

Random Things:  We had my mom's 90th birthday party on June 20th. (Her actual birthday is June 30th.) It was a great success. Everyone who was invited came, even a couple of families who had to drive about 2 hours one way and one niece who flew in from Florida where she's been based for work the last few months. My mom had a great time seeing and visiting with everyone. 

Random Photo:

     Some of the cupcakes from the birthday party. Roses are my mom's favorite flower.

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I have the feedback from all of my beta readers and have compiled them into usable notes so that I can tackle the items they flagged/mentioned. I have a busy week this week so writing will have to be squeezed in around everything else going on. I try to prioritize my writing but sometimes things crop up and the universe laughs at my plans. This is one of those weeks.  

 Motivational Quote:  "Once you've a task to do, it's better to do it than live with the fear of it." ~ Joe Abercrombie (English writer and film editor)

What I'm Reading:  I started reading Mistakes Were Made by Lucy Score last Tuesday instead of one of the books I mentioned in last week's blog. I received a notice from the library Monday that Mistakes Were Made was available to borrow and knowing it was a new release and I wouldn't be able to renew it, I set the other books aside to read this one. I'm about half way through it. It's 540 pages long not including the acknowledgements and Author's Note pages. It's the second book in the Story Lake series.

Random Things:  I'm putting together party favor bags for guests coming to my mother's 90th birthday party in a couple of weeks. It's been fun picking out party favors for the children and the women but the men were a little harder. Thankfully, most of them fish and/or are into sports so I was able to find things that I could put in their bags and stay within the budget we decided on for each bag. 

Random Photo:

                                      Mrs. Green enjoying a nap on my lap.
  

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I finished the last of the edits for Garrett's story. I'm going to take this week and give it one last read through so I can fix anything I might find. I'll then format it and get it ready to send to my beta readers over the weekend.

Motivational Quote:  "I'm inspired by a person's work ethic. Hard work motivates me to keep pushing through even when I am exhausted or overwhelmed or going through things." ~ Rita Ora, (Kosovan and British singer-songwriter)  

What I'm Reading:  I started Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry yesterday afternoon.  I've had this book on my TBR list for a while and was finally able to borrow a copy from the library.

Random Things:  Now that we're slowly moving into warmer weather, I've been doing a lot of baking on the cooler days. I rarely bake in the summer but still want homemade bread, muffins, and cookies so I've been making batches of different kinds of cookies and muffins and bread and freezing them so when it's 90 degrees with high humidity and I want a muffin or a cookie, I can just pull a few out of the freezer in the morning and have them with lunch later in the day. 

Random Photo:

I made Hermit cookie bars for the first time. I found the recipe in one of my mom's old cookbooks (copyright date was 1975). They turned out pretty good but seemed more like a gingerbread brownie than a cookie. I would make them again though. 
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I still haven't finished the last of the edits on Garrett's book. I'm trying not to be disappointed but... My mom was still not feeling well so a trip to the doctor and the lab to have blood drawn for tests and then a second trip to the doctor to get the results took up three days of writing time. The good news is that the tests showed nothing drastically wrong. She's a little anemic and is already feeling much better after being on medication for a few days.  

Motivational Quote:  "I always choose to see each new week as a new opportunity." ~ Marcus Manning (American businessperson and coach)

What I'm Reading:  I'm currently reading Across the Vanishing Sky by Catherine Cowles. It's the first book in the Starlight Grove series. It's also the first book I've read by Ms. Cowles. I'm enjoying it a lot so far. I'm only about a third of the way through the book. 

Random Things:  I came across the above quote last week. It seemed to speak to me considering how this month has been going. I haven't finished the edits that I wanted to have done nearly 3 weeks ago now but this week is a new week and a new opportunity to get them done. I'm hopeful that will happen now that my mom is feeling better and I can concentrate on Garrett's book and not worry over my mom. 

Random Photo:

 Mrs. Green giving me her angry face because I wouldn't share my turkey sandwich with her. 
 

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I still haven't finished the last of the edits on Garrett's book. You know that saying that goes something like you make plans and the universe laughs? That's how last week went. I'm hoping this week will be back to normal so I can finish the edits and get this book out to my beta readers. 

Motivational Quote:  "You don't know where or what fate will bring you or when. You just have to keep going. You have to just keep the faith. You have to just get up and do what you can." ~ Joe Biden, US President

What I'm Reading:  I finished reading The Astral Library by Kate Quinn last night. I think it would fall into the fantasy category? I don't read a lot of fantasy so I could be wrong in saying this book fits that category. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Quinn and I really enjoyed it. 

Random Things:  It's supposed to be in the 70's most of this week with a bit of rain on some of the days but I'm looking forward to the warmer weather so I can have the doors and windows open and get some fresh air into the house. We have one scraggly looking hyacinth that's trying to bloom in the front yard that somehow escaped the landscaper's weed eater. (He cuts down everything in his path unless it has a decorative type fence around it.)

Random Photo:

 It was such a rough week last week that I stopped at a local bakery and treated myself to an almond danish Friday afternoon. 
 

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I didn't finish the edits on Garrett's book as I planned. My mom was under the weather for a few days so I spent extra time with her making sure she was okay. I should be able to finish the last of the edits this week. 

Motivational Quote:  "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life." ~ Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart, actor) from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

What I'm Reading:  I just finished First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong last night. It's the 4th book of the Haven's Rock series which is a spin off from her Rockton series. Both are good mystery/suspense type stories but in order to understand what's going on in the Haven's Rock series, you do need to read the Rockton series first as some of the characters from Rockton carry over to Haven's Rock.

Random Things:  We had a quiet Easter holiday with just my mom and two of my sisters over for dinner. I made a homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert. The frosting was bought from the store (Betty Crocker). I have yet to master the art of making frosting that doesn't taste like you're chewing sugar or like you just took a bite off a stick of butter.  

Random Photo:

I forgot to take a picture of my carrot cake before we cut it so here is one that I found on FreePik that looks very close to my cake except for the little carrot on top. 

 

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Good writing week last week. I should finish up the last of the first round of edits/revisions by the end of the week. I will have to go back and rewrite part of the beginning due to changes I've made to the rest of the book. I hope to get that done by the end of the first full week of April.

Motivational Quote:  "There are only so many hours in the day, so some parts of your life will be out of whack. You can try to have it all if you manage expectations and redefine what joy, protection, and safety mean to you."  ~ Gabrielle Union (American actor and activist)

What I'm Reading:  I started reading Bloodlust by Sandra Brown last Friday. I didn't realize it was the second book in a series. Despite that, I don't feel lost at all or that I needed to read the earlier book first. 

Random Things:  Like most people, I'm looking forward to spring weather. Any day that's 50 degrees or higher makes me want to put away the winter coats, boots, and gloves. Not to mention the shovel and snow brush. I haven't put away the latter yet because I'm certain that as soon as I do, we'll get one last late winter storm. The winter coats will have to stay out a bit longer because we have temperatures in the 30's more often than not.

Random Photo:

This seemed appropriate since I'm working on first draft edits and finding more things that need "fixing" than I expected.
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  It's been a busy couple of weeks but I've still managed to make progress on Garrett's book. I'd say I'm about two-thirds of the way through edits for the book, maybe a little less. I'm still on track to be finished by 4/4 unless something unexpected crops up. And given the way the last 2 weeks have gone, that's entirely possible.

Motivational Quote:  "The greatest relationship, the greatest one you will ever have is with yourself. Believe me. Have faith in yourself." ~ Sheryl Lee Ralph (American actress)

What I'm Reading:  I started reading Free Falling by Jill Shalvis Saturday evening. This is the 2nd book in her Colburn Brothers series.  

Random Things:  I made Ciambellone (an Italian citrus cake) for the first time just over a week ago now. You can make it with lemons, limes, or oranges. I used lemons. I've never made a bundt type cake from scratch before. The top of the cake cracked a bit when I tipped it out of the pan but overall I was happy with how it turned out. It had a good lemon flavor but I think it would have better with a lemon glaze. The recipe I was given calls for powdered sugar to be sifted over the top before serving. I would make it again but with a lemon icing or glaze.

Random Photo:

                                                    The Ciambellone that I made.