MONTHLY UPDATE: November 2018

~ LIFE IN GENERAL ~

*Yawns*…so my November was no less busy or exhausting than my October was, and I can’t believe we’re already heading into the last month of 2018 (how did that happen?). Anyway, my highlights and key milestones from the last 30 days include:

finishing my university exams for what is (hopefully) my penultimate semester at said university—and, no jokes, these were at least exams #41-43

participating in, and SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING my goal for, NaNoWriMo (more information below)!!!!!!!!!

reaching (beyond) 800 followers on Twitter (thank you SO MUCH everyone!! 😍)

also…I don’t have a “Quote of the Month” this months because I am simply too exhausted to go searching for one 😜

~ WRITING PROGRESS ~

Holding Up the Sky

My goal for NaNoWriMo 2018 was to finish the last ~45k words of the 3rd draft of my contemporary YA novel Holding Up the Sky. And guess what—I DID IT!! After 43,863 words rewritten and edited in one month, I am utterly, utterly exhausted, but IT IS DONE. Next week I intend to post in more detail about exactly how NaNoWriMo unfolded for me, what my plans for this WIP are from here, and treat you to a few little celebratory excerpts—so keep your eyes out for it! In the meantime, you can read Chapter 1 here!!

STATUS: draft #3 completed

WORD COUNT: 84,203 (100%)

Blood of Old (Graceborn #1)

I made literally zero progress on my WIP fantasy series Graceborn this month, but I was expecting that because of NaNoWriMo. Over the last 6-8 months I have been conducting extensive world-building to ensure everything is good to go when I start on the second draft of the first book, Blood of Old. However, during November, I put together a post on how to make a fantasy map with GIMP based off the map I made for Graceborn, so check it out!! You can also read a few excerpts from Blood of Old here and here.

STATUS: conducting first-round edits

WORD COUNT: 166,000

~ NEW BLOG POSTS ~

~ BOOKS I READ ~

Fence Vol. 11 by C.S. Pacat

Nicholas Cox is determined to prove himself in the world of competitive fencing and earn his place on the Kings Row fencing team. Now it all comes down to this—the final match that will determine who makes the team, and who gets left behind.

MY THOUGHTS: Aw man! Sometimes I wish I’d waited to read this comic series until more of them were out because I just can’t STAND the waiting! At the same time, I just can’t make myself wait 😂 Another excellent installment!

GENRE: comic| YA

SERIES: Fence #11

Home and Away by Samantha Wayland

Rupert is a quiet, thoughtful business man and, sadly, a total wimp. Maybe not the ideal candidate to run a professional hockey team, but he signed on to do it anyway. And when Callum, the hockey star who just bought the team, shows up in all his bossy glory, well, things get even worse. Or do they get better…?

MY THOUGHTS: This book was just what I needed! I’m a bit of a sucker for the opposites-attract / enemies-to-lovers tropes, and given I was familiar with both these characters from Samantha’s other books, I adored it. Sweet, but powerful!

GENRE: contemporary | LGBT+

SERIES: (stand alone)

A Merry Little (Hat Trick) Christmas by Samantha Wayland

Something is bothering Rhian, and his friends and family want to know what that is. His lovers, Garrick and Savannah, think they have an idea, his teammates haven’t any clue, and his grandfather and sister just want him to know that he is loved. Rhian Savage does know he’s loved. He just wishes everyone else knew it, too.

MY THOUGHTS: I most definitely enjoyed revisiting these characters and reminding myself how much I love Rhian Savage. I need more! Also, there were a bunch of awesome new characters introduced and I want to read their stories too!

GENRE: contemporary | LGBT+

SERIES: Hat Trick #3.5

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

Cassa, the daughter of rebels, is determined to fight back against the high council, which governs Eldra from behind the walls of the citadel. But she struggles to come to terms with the legacy of rebellion her parents left her, and by the time she and her friends uncover the last infallible prophecy, it may be too late to save the city—or themselves.

MY THOUGHTS: It took me a while to get into this, but I think that was due to my sporadic reading over the last several weeks. Once I DID get into it, I really enjoyed it! A great stand alone fantasy with an enthralling magic system.

GENRE: high fantasy | YA

SERIES: (stand alone)

Out of Her League by Samantha Wayland

Lachlan’s family likes to tell people that he’s shy, but he knows perfectly well he’s a social disaster and works hard to humiliate himself as infrequently as possible. Then Michaela Price, his brother’s BFF and the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid eyes on, moves to town…and she needs a friend. It’s too bad he can’t speak in her presence.

MY THOUGHTS: Awwwww. I really enjoyed this one. In amongst the main romance storyline were actually some fairly spot-on messages about the modern media. Also, Lachlan and Michaela were both engaging characters and I loved their respect for each other.

GENRE: contemporary

SERIES: (stand alone)