Quarterly wrap: April – June 2024
Is time dragging at the moment, or is it passing in the blink of an eye? Once again, I’ve had a bit going on—including some exciting things in my personal life—and continued inching closer to my writing and reading goals. Find out what I’ve been up to in my second quarterly wrap of 2024!! →
What’s new in my life
I’m not sure if the last few months have gone on forever or passed in the blink of an eye. What do you think? Alas, the time has come for my second quarterly update of 2024, and boy has there been a lot going on behind the scenes. I’ve been trying to live life to the fullest, but here’s a quick rundown of the highlights from April, May, and June:
Started going to the gym. Remember when I talked about my vision for the year, I said I wanted to diversify my exercise routine? Well, the ball is well and truly rolling on that front. I’ve started going to the gym to improve my strength, and I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s nice to feel fit and healthy again!
Preparing for my new furbaby. Yes, you read that right: I’m getting my very own furbaby! In less than a week, I get to bring her home, so keep an eye on my socials. But there’s been a LOT to run around and prepare over the last few weeks, and excitement has sapped much of my emotional energy. 😅
Keeping busy at my day job. On top of all that, things have been pretty hectic at work. I did a stint filling in for my manager (fun times), and there has generally been a lot going on. So it’s taken a bit of effort to manage my mental fatigue and make sure I don’t burn out. None of us like being burnt out!
Platform updates
Over the past three months, I’ve published another 2x new blog posts—not counting today’s update. I shared my personal process for collating feedback from beta readers and also released the penultimate post in my serious on the indie publishing journey. Check either of these out below!
Otherwise, there hasn’t been a whole lot happening on my author platforms. It can be a lot of work to keep these going, but despite how busy I’ve been, I’ve managed to churn out my monthly newsletter and keep the posts coming on Instagram. I even ran a little ebook sale for my contemporary YA novel Holding Up the Sky during Pride Month!! 🌈
Writing progress
Blood of Old (Graceborn #1)
Status: Writing 4th draft
Word count: 107,343 (56.5%)
What’s new: I continue to chip away at the 4th draft of book 1 in the Graceborn series. 23 of the 43 chapters have now been written, and while I’m behind where I wanted to be, I still think I’m in with a chance of finishing this “final” draft by the end of the year. We’ll see how the next few months go. I’m pretty pleased with the tweaks I’ve been able to make in response to my beta readers’ feedback. Even if I wish I could work faster, I hope the wait will be worth it!!
Graceborn #3
Status: Writing 1st draft
Word count: 65,057 (29.6%)
What’s new: It’s been such a thrill to finally write some scenes I’ve been thinking and dreaming about for years! Work on the first draft of book 3 in the Graceborn series continues apace, and 13 of 52 planned chapters have now been drafted. There’s so much change and character development in this book, which is fun. I’ve also reverted to drafting chapters out of order, instead working on one particular POV sequence before I move on to the next.
Books I’ve read
I’m still on a roll with my reading at the moment and can’t quite believe I’ve almost reached my 2024 Goodreads challenge goal when we’re not only halfway through the year! In the last quarter, I’ve finished a total of 8 books, almost all of which, I’m proud to say, were indie books. This is what I’ve read:
What have you been up to over the last three months? How is your writing and/or reading progress going? Has anything exciting happened in your life?
Rebecca Alasdair
I'm an Australian indie author who hoards books, loves dogs and coffee, and has a tendency of staying up all night!
4 Comments
Andrew McDowell
Mystical Greenwood’s sequel Beneath the Deep Wave is now two months away from being released! The eBook is available for preorder.
Energyflux2012
Good to hear you’re going to the gym. Looking forward to the Graceborn release!
alexwriter25
Hi Rebecca!
How are you? That’s great how you’re enjoying going to the gym 🙂 I’m happy for you 🙂
I’m excited to hear that you’ll be able to bring your puppy home soon but I hope you can get some rest (especially since work has been hectic). Hope you can have a vacation soon as well.
You have my support.
Your blog rocks. That’s awesome how you had an ebook sale for your book 🙂 Go Rebecca 😀
Great progress with your books! Kudos, my friend! You got this :). Go Rebecca!
Wonderful job with your reading progress and being so close to your goal! 🙂 I’m happy for you :D.
I’ve been taking painting classes and going to book clubs. I’m also drawing. I’ve been reading a ton, though I might be getting some burn out from reading (sometimes I push myself too much with that). I’m doing well though. I took a mini-vacation earlier this month too.
Take care. Have a great week! You rock, Rebecca!!!
Tomas
Good luck with starting a gym routine – something I was considering myself but have yet to get to it. Partially because of some more pressing concerns in my life and partially because of some inner fears of being out of place and embarrasing myself. And I can’t wait to see the progress on your story, whether it’s the final version of book one or the beta draft of book three.