It was my birthday this month and I don’t usually pay much attention, age has never bothered me. Not a lot I can do about it, but I am hurtling towards 60! My darling Simon, pulled out all the stops and cooked a wonderful three course meal. Having him in my life means I have Valentines every day of the year . . .
And we had snow this month, whoopee! But for poor Nell that meant ice balls all over and she wasn’t best pleased. She was booked in for a haircut a few days later.
Books Read This Month
I’m so happy to have my reading mojo back! Here are the titles I’ve read this month, a good mix of fiction and non-fiction. Any recommendations are welcome!
- Kingdom – Jo Nesbo
- Successful Self-Publishing – Joanna Penn
- Deathmaker – Lesley Buroker
- Ninja Newsletters –
- Revision and Self Editing -James Scott Bell
- The Smudger – Angeline Travena
Stories Published
I’ve been publishing a weekly short story/flash over at My Writer Within for some time now. I’m not sure that I will continue on that level. Perhaps a couple a month. I may consider putting these in my newsletter… I don’t know.
- The Knot of Isis
- Angels of War
- Summer Hat
- 9 Weeks and Counting – A Good(Expat) Life story
Goals Update
I continued to make great progress with my goals using the HB90 system. It really has changed the way I work and think. All for the good!
Goal 1 Writing and Editing
- First Draft of The Fire Walker book 2 in the series Luna Legends – 30,000 words transcribed onto Scrivener, printed. The editing process starts today!
- 2000 words written or edited for micro fiction, shorts and blog
- Edited short story (5,000 words) for initial ‘cookie’ to offer readers
Goal 2 Publishing and Promotion
- Completed three modules of Publish and Thrive Course – which is fabulous!
- Reviewing and Revising Newsletter for subscribers – if you’re not already, sign up here!
Goal 3 Healthy Writing Habits
- I stopped monitoring my mood but I may start again as the black dog is never far away. Twelve months of lockdown in some form or other, rising numbers and rollout of the vaccine is slow. But I keep telling myself I have so much to be thankful for!
- Completed the #vss365 challenge for full 28 days – I’m really enjoyed doing these, they help to warm up my writing muscle and as I’m a very visual writer, I’ve started using images.
- Purchased a raiser for my laptop and blue tooth keyboard which has helped with my posture
- I’ve also started listening to podcasts when I’m on the treadmill – it’s such a boring activity but I mix it with yoga, dog walking and getting out on our bikes. At least two activities per day.
Still happy with my progress although I did find this month a little more difficult. I think, finishing a draft can leave you a little empty, if you know what I mean. At least that’s how it felt for me, a mixture of elation and sadness. But the hard work now starts with the editing and re-writing. I’ve given my self some time in between to help things mull.
I would love to hear what you’ve been up to this month, reading, activities, eating… the whole shebang.
Ciao