A Year In the Life of an Author - Day 1

Today, my third book was published. Naturally, I thought “This is the perfect time to start blogging again!”

I was never known for having the best or most thought through ideas.

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Some history:

It’s been years since I’ve blogged, and even longer since I blogged regularly. When first started blogging, (I’m talking with an actual website and thought out posts, not just my emotional ramblings on Xanga in my college days. Did I just age myself? Yes, I did.) it was back in my early 20s when I was living on my own for the first time and navigating the world in all of the glory only a recent college grad can have. Thankfully, I found on the internet a bunch of other people who also were in their early 20s and blogging.

Honestly? It was a blast. Maybe this is my nostalgia talking, but we had a ton of fun writing about whatever we felt like and sharing all of our random stories and thoughts. Then, as time went on and social media grew, so did our relationships with the internet. Blogging wasn’t just for fun anymore, it was branding and marketing and having a certain vibe to your Instagram photos and finding sponsors.

It was exhausting, and while it made me some wonderful friends and I learned so much about the publishing industry and ultimately led to my own books being published, by the time that happened I was running out of ideas of things to write about on the blog all of the time. Besides, I wanted to conserve my writing energy for my novels. I think it has done me well to be quite honest.

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And now here we are. Three books deep into my romantic fantasy fairy tale retelling series (I really need to find a way to shorten that), The Cursed Queens, and seemingly out of nowhere I’m back!

For awhile now, Instagram has been my main “home” on the Internet for all things books and writing. Twitter has fallen by the wayside, and while I have a Facebook page and group for my writing, that platform is mostly me asking for recommendations from friends and family on various things I want and need to buy, and my Youtube channel is collecting dust. TikTok… well… that’s an adventure. But I feel like the people who are thriving on there have the same feelings I did when I first started blogging and exploring the Internet and it makes me happy for them.

But I’ve wanted to expand more. It hasn’t felt “right” to stay in my one tiny corner. Not just for my own marketing and books, but for myself too.

Last night I was talking with my therapist, (about something entirely different but it’s what got me on this ridiculous train:, and she told me “You’re writer! Just write!” Which… makes sense. She knows it’s what I want to do and what makes me happy. I’m not a photographer or graphic designer or video editor or director. I’m a writer. It sounds so simple, but oddly, harder than you’d think.

But, also oddly feels write. I like sharing my thoughts and putting them into words. There’s so many avenues I’m in love with for telling stories and sharing my heart. Music, theatre, and sometimes the occasional fuzzy photo on Instagram. But words on the page (or screen as the case may be) has always been my defualt, and always will be.

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There you have it. I want to talk about my life now. As an author with three books out and still feels like she’s beginning and figuring out how to navigate this.

So, a year in the life of an author. In an ideal world, I’d post every day. But… I also don’t want to set expectations too high. I will try to post and share this journey as often as I can. Likely, I’ll talk about writing and books the most. But I’d like to talk about other things too. We’ll see where this goes.

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Oh… and I guess you should read my books too. Because you know, marketing.

When Writing is A Battle

I’m in high school and trying to think of a book idea.

I’d played around with novels in the past and always said I wanted to be an author, but I wanted to sit down and really do it. I mean… I was fourteen years old for crying out loud. SE Hinton had her first book written when she was 15 and published when she was 18. Clearly, I had to get going.

There was the age old advice of “write what you know” and I always rolled my eyes at it. What I knew was so boring. Until my sister points out “you know the story of Snow White better than anyone. Why don’t you just write about that?”

Well… now there’s an idea.

It’s a few years post college and I have an incredibly rough draft complete of this old idea about Snow White I once had.

Having put my writing aspirations aside as a hobby and only participating in NaNoWriMo and toying with edits in exchange for focusing on a different career path, I realize I’m tired of keeping my writing on the side. I have so many other ideas. More characters and worlds to explore. I can’t not write anymore.

But… this book is not good.

For someone who played around with it periodically in high school in college it’s just fine. As an actual publishable novel? Not at all.

And I’m okay with this.

I set the book aside and work on something brand new.

It’s a couple years later.

I’ve completed and revised a book and queried it out to agents. Nothing happened with it. While I’m sad and disappointed, as I look through the manuscript I know there’s so much work to be done on it and to be frank - there wasn’t a market for this genre at the moment. Maybe I can return to it someday.

Yet, I don’t have anything else to work on.

As I sit in my living room watching TV an idea hits me like a lightning bolt. It has to do with Snow White. But… different.

No. NO WAY. I can’t go back to my terrible terrible book from high school. BAD IDEA.

But…

The same skeleton of the Snow White tale is there (obviously) and the same with the love interest. Yet… there’s more. A completely new turn. A new story. Sure, use the same character names if they still work. But this isn’t just revising a terrible old draft. It’s something new.

It’s August of 2018 and there’s two weeks to go until the PitchWars deadline.

My Snow White novel isn’t complete. It’s close, but, there’s so many more words to write than I’m used to in such a short period of time.

Yet… maybe I could do it.

Would it be hard?

For sure.

Is it possible though? Am I crazy enough to go for it?

I set a schedule for myself where I wake up early each morning before my 7am clock in time for work. When I get home, I write even more. Sometimes from the moment I get home to the moment I go to bed only to start it all over again the next morning. I cancel plans with friends and have to back out of meetings. I talk to my supervisor about my goal and they’re kind enough to let me leave early the day before my deadline and have the whole next day off so I can get it done.

With a few hours to spare - the book is done. The last half isn’t perfect. The last quarter is a hot mess. But it’s done. I’m completely and utterly exhausted and I never want to look at a computer screen ever again. I also have never been more proud of myself regardless of the outcome.

Submit.

It’s April 2019 and I’m still revising.

I didn’t get picked for PitchWars - but I later learned I did get attention. Someone helps guide me through how to revise. I read a book about plotting. I outline, write and edit, reoutline then rewrite and reedit. I get started, then there’s times for weeks I can barely look at the page.

Each time I have a break through a roadblock appears. Even if it’s just one I’ve created in my own head. I think I have it all though through then when I go to write my mind completely blanks out.

I’ve cut so many words and added even more words only to have them cut again.

I know this is how the revision process goes, but it doesn’t feel like I’m making any. I know it’s being made, but my heart won’t accept this fact.

Other novel ideas are floating around in my head and it’s so tempting to just say “well… I tried that time for something else.” I want to dig through those stories and characters. I want to take all that I’ve learned and maybe, just maybe, this time around it’ll be better.

It’ll be easier.

But if I stopped one book and started a new one every time it got hard I would never have anything complete. So, I keep going.

Then I doubt myself. “What if this wasn’t such a brilliant idea in the first place? What if there isn’t really anything to salvage out of this? Do I really want to waste my time on a book that’s never going to be great? Maybe you were never meant to publish a book. You’ve been talking about this literally your entire life and you still can’t even get revisions on this one book done.”

There’s a literary agent/writer I follow on Twitter, Eric Smith, and he tweeted several weeks ago “The book of your heart is worth fighting for.”

In case you're a writer who needs to hear this...

The book of your heart is worth fighting for.

— Eric Smith (@ericsmithrocks) March 16, 2019

Is this Snow White novel the book of my heart? It might be. Although, I wonder if there is even a single “book of your heart.” I think you might have a few. They all just each explore a different part of your heart. I think this book is one of the books of my heart.

I keep trying to remind myself that if this is the case, it’s worth the fight and the battle. The days of self-doubt and frustration. All of it will be worth it.

Maybe I should shoot for only 100 words a day. Even if it’s not much progress, it’s at least something on days when my brain can’t work any more. Maybe I should set another hard and fast goal to force myself to get it done and stop making excuses. Maybe if I make one more outline it’ll work itself out.

Maybe this

Maybe that

Try this

Try that

Yet… it’s still not done.

Why isn’t it done?

I know I don’t have a timeline and I can’t compare myself to the routines of other people because every has their own process. In spite of knowing this, I can’t help but keep asking myself “Why can’t I just figure it out and get it done?”

There’s something that’s going to be special and unique about this book. There has to be. Something in me says to keep going and keep digging through the muck and I’ll find something special. For some reason, it’s not coming out yet.

I know writing and revising is hard. Most of us writers know this. But when we’re actually in the middle of it, we (or at least I) start to wonder “Is it supposed to be this hard?”

The book of your heart is worth fighting for.

So, I’m trying. And I’m fighting. Even if I don’t hit my word count goal each day. Even if end up deleting all of the scenes that I’ve already written and I have to start some of them (or all of them) over. Camp NaNoWriMo and spring arriving with it’s sunshine helps. Talking with other writers and my CPs helps. But it’s hard right now. It’s been hard for several months now.

But I can’t stop fighting for this book.

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Like what you read? Consider buying me a coffee.

February Round-Up

We’re going to do something a little different this month for my wrap-up! As much as I love talking about all of the books I’ve read, I also want to share more of what else I’m enjoying lately. On top of it, I want to get away from doing book reviews.

I’ll be dedicating a whole blog post to this in a couple of weeks, but there’s a couple of reasons for it. 1) To be honest, I’m not great at reviewing books. There are some people who are amazing book reviewers and can do some wonderful critical commentary on them. I’m not one of those people. 2) As I’m working on pursuing my writing career, it’s usually recommended that you don’t have public book reviews anywhere. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, and I agree. Even if I’m being professional in my review if it happens to be a bit negative, why should I be publicly posting something that’s negative about a potential co-worker? It doesn’t make sense.

I’m of course not going to stop talking about books. There’s going to be a ton of blog posts in the future talking about books so don’t worry about that. I think I’m physically incapable of not talking about books. But, I’m going to be cutting out actual reviews.

So… here’s what I’ve been enjoying in Feburary!

Reading

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

I read the first book in this duology, Strange the Dreamer last year and it was one of my favorites! This book was a lovely follow-up. Her writing is so full of wonder and magic.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

What an ADORABLE debut! This was a book chosen for PitchWars a year or two ago, and her mentor was Brighton Walsh whose books I’ve read. From what I can tell, it was a fantastic pairing because I loved this book. With our delightful and autistic heroine and the charming hero in a gender-swapped Pretty Woman type of story - you won’t be disappointed.

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner

If you want a quieter fantasy filled with wonder, sisters, and romance, this is for you! It has so many fairy tale influences and it’s steeped in Jewish culture. Then it has this interesting dual point of view chapter format where one sister’s POV is done in verse. I’m not usually one for poetry, but this was lovely.

A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole

The first book in this series, An Extraordinary Union, was another favorite of mine last year. This one was just as good! If you want historical romance, but it’s not all balls and carriage rides and everything, you’ll love this series set during the Civil War.

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith

It took me months, but I finally finished this book! It took me far longer than it usually does, and I listened to the audio book which worked better for me than reading the physical book. The ending makes it worth it.

Currently Reading:

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

I’m re-reading this one because I’d re-read the first two in the trilogy not too long ago, and with the release of the follow-up duology being released, I needed to revisit Annith’s story. I’m listing to the audio book this time and really been enjoying it. This book features one of my OTPs and knowing what I know, I can’t stop giggling as I listen.

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyon

This is a debut epic fantasy novel and one of my most anticipated of the year. It’s taking me longer than I anticipated, but this world and story are so rich.

Listening

Wonder Women Podcast - Carrie Hope Fletcher and Celinde Shoenmaker

I’ve been a fan of Carrie’s YouTube channel for some time and when I saw her announce she was starting a podcast with one of her friends I thought I’d give it a shot! They mostly talk about general women’s issues and history. It’s really fun and it’s like sitting in on two friends having coffee. It’s a little scattered and their episodes could be a bit more organized, but that will come with time as they go. There’s only been a couple episodes so far!

Snark Squad Pod - Emma & Romantic Comedies

I’ve been loving the Snark Squad Pod ever since it was released last year, and this past month I particularly loved their episodes on Emma and Romantic Comedies. As a Jane Austen fan, it was fun to hear them talk about their histories with the story of Emma, thoughts on the books, and comparing all of the adaptations. Then to celebrate Valentines Day they talked about romantic comedies which was also ridiculously fun and I ended up binging all of my favorites once I finished the episodes.

How to Train Your Dragon Soundtrack

I recently went on a writing retreat with some friends and I was looking for some new music to listen to while I got work done. One of them suggested the How To Train Your Dragon soundtrack (to be honest - I’ve only seen the movie once so I never would have thought of it!) and it was wonderful! Especially for fantasy and some more battle/action-y type scenes. I’ve really been into instrumental music while I’ve been writing lately and this was exactly what I needed.

Smash Cast

I recently discovered that I can rewatch old episodes of the short-lived musical TV show a few weeks ago and… it created a monster. I basically have the music from the show playing non-stop now and it makes me far happier than it should.

Watching

The Bachelor

Yes, I fully admit that I watch this show and I get SO INTO IT. Especially this week! Ever since they showed that at one point Colton jumped the fence because he was tired of it all I was completely hooked this season and have been waiting for this moment. I’ll be honest - I was hoping it was a little earlier in the season because how great would it be if the Bachelor left the show but they kept on filming and we just got to see all of the women become BFFs and travel the world together? I’d watch the crap out of that show.

But, the drama this week has been legitimate. I think for once Chris Harrison has been honest about this being “the most dramatic episode ever.” I mean, it’s worse than when Rachel cried her tears off with Peter.

Smash

As I said earlier, it’s taken me forever but I finally realized how I can stream old episodes of Smash on the NBC app and it’s made my musical theatre loving heart incredibly happy. Also - when can this Marylin Monroe musical be a real life thing? I’d totally fly out to NYC to go see it.

Brooklyn 99

I’m late to the party on this one, but I finally have started watching Brooklyn 99. I’m only in season two and it’s ridiculously fun. I think Sergeant Terry Jeffords is my favorite. But all of them are pretty fantastic.

A Million Little Things

We’ve already had the season finale for this new show and why is it over???? I don’t understand! I don’t care about the other new shows coming in for the spring/remainder of the winter season. I wasn’t sure about this show at first because it seemed like ABC just wanted their own version of This Is Us. Which… it kind of is. But, I for sure got into the mystery and loved the different characters. Especially Maggie and Gary. They’re my OTP of the show.

This is Us

Of course I’m still totally into This is Us. But I’ll be completely honest - I’m getting really bad at Randall this season. His wife Beth is the actual best ever and they’re so perfect together but RANDALL IS MESSING EVERYTHING UP and if he continues on this path I’m not sure if I’ll still believe in true love.

Deadly Class

A friend of mine recommended this new SyFy show to me a few weeks ago so when I had a couple of days off I binged the episodes which were already out and have been trying to keep up with the new releases each week. I don’t read graphic novels, so I’m not familiar with the ones this show is based off of. However, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything by not reading them. I typically enjoy stories about assassins for some reason and stories about boarding schools - this is the perfect combination of both! It’s this odd cross between a “typical” high school/coming of age TV show (they have an episode that is a throwback to The Breakfast Club and one about a prank war) but you know… the stakes are a tad big higher. As in, they’re all murdering each other. So you know, good times.

Also, it stars our sweet girl who played Laura Jean in To All the Boys I Loved Before but now she’s this awesome fierce assassin and I couldn’t be more proud.

Miracle Workers

Being the over the top Harry Potter fan I am, as outrageous and odd as some of Daniel Radcliffe’s other acting projects have been, I still have to at least test out each one of them. I have to admit - this one is one of my favorites so far. He works in the “answered prayers” department of heaven and he along with a small team have to help two people on Earth find love in order to save the world. If you take off your theology hat - it’s hilarious and endearing. It’s a great cross between The Good Place and a workplace comedy.

Favorite Things

Flavored Water

I’m ridiculously unhealthy and I’m attempting to drink more water. Usually all I drink through the day is coffee, tea, and pop. Which… isn’t good. I have a nice little water intake tracker in my bullet journal and while I haven’t gotten my whole 8 cups of water a day in yet, I’m well on my way. It was particularly helpful when I found out that flavored sparkling water counts toward your daily intake. My favorite brand is Ice Mountain, and because I don’t particularly enjoy water on it’s own, I’ve been keeping fruit in my freezer and putting it into my water bottle each day. Pineapple, strawberry, and mango is a lovely combination.

Not Your Mother’s Dry Shampoo & Hair Straightening Spray

I swear by dry shampoo and this brand has been fantastic. It’s affordable, doesn’t leave a weird texture in my hair, and actually helps to liven it up. Then, the same line has a hair straightening spray and it is the ACTUAL BEST I’ve ever tried. You just spritz it on your hair before blow drying and it leaves my hair so silky and smooth. It’s the closest I’ve gotten to having it as smooth as it is after I go to the salon and I’m in love.

UGG Boots

Yes… I realize that I’m like 30 years behind the game. (Okay… more like 10ish years but you get the idea.) When I was in high school and college and everyone else in the world was wearing these boots I just never understood it and wore whatever I could afford. Well, this winter has been brutal here in Chicago. It. Is. Cold. On top of the ridiculous cold, we also had a couple of weeks where we were slammed with ice and snow and sleet and basically every combination of winter weather you could think of. My tall fake leather boots I was wearing every day just weren’t going to cut it.

I found a pair of discounted boots online and thought I’d give them a shot. Thankfully, I tried them on in the store and they were too small. So, I perused the shelves and there were a pair of UGGs in my size. I tried them on because I was curious. “Surely they’re not SO GREAT that they’re worth how much more expensive they are than the ones I’d already picked.”

Well… I was wrong. They were amazing. They’re so much warmer than my other boots and the tread has been great on the ice and snow. So, I splurged and now I live in them.

My Bullet Journal

I’ve tried bullet journaling on and off but was never able to to fully keep up with it. I’m terrible at drawing and i wanted my journal to look as cute as everyone else’s that I saw on Pinterest. So, I switched to a planner which already looked pretty and I could add stickers. But, I still wanted a journal to jot down notes, work on brainstorming, and organize other elements of my life. I kind of half-assed my journal and it wasn’t super organized.

When a friend of mine started a bullet journal she kept on sharing all of her cute layouts and designs and it made me wish I’d given it a fair try. I found some simple ways to make mine look cute and put more thought into the layouts I’d actually use. Now, I love it! I still use my planner and my journal might not look as elaborate and cute as some others, but it’s still pretty fantastic. I might do a separate blog post on how I’ve been using it at a later date.

How was everyone else’s February? Read, watch, or listen to anything you truly loved? Any recs for me? Do you bullet journal?

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Like what you read? Consider buying me a coffee.

2017 Year in Review and Looking Ahead

It's the first week of January and I'm already breaking my posting routine by blogging on Wednesday and not Tuesday. But, when I saw that one of my favorite bloggers, Helene in Between, was hosting a year in review and 2018 goals for January 3 link up, I had to join in on the fun. I was already planning a blog post on this topic anyway, so why not. Right? 

Right.

Click on the photo below to go to Helene's blog and find others who are linking up too!

2017 in Review

Life

At first, I didn't think 2017 had much going on, and for so many people 2017 was a terrible terrible year with politics, hurricanes, Nazis... just to name a few things. But, when I thought about it, there were a few big moments at least for myself and my family!

My sister and her husband had their first baby! All year my family and I were preparing, organizing the baby shower, and general excitement for the new arrival! She was born in November and we couldn't be happier!

I got a new job at another hotel. The same position at the front desk and same company as the hotel where I was previously, but this one is much closer to home. At my old job, I was driving an hour each way and when I looked at the cost of the commute, it just wasn't worth it. I'm really enjoying my new hotel which is also smaller than the previous one, and makes for a much more relaxing work environment. 

My parents and I moved to a new condo. It's smaller than our old place, but we really like it! It's cozy and perfect for us and the animals. 

I was in a friends wedding in Orlando, and while I was there I decided to spend a couple extra days to visit Disney World and Universal Studios. It was a blast! The best part was meeting Snow White (along with Elsa, Anna, Aurora, Mickey Mouse, Mary Poppins, Alice, Ariel...). Which, I know that makes a total dork! But I love Disney, and Snow White has been my favorite character ever since I was a toddler. I've gone to Disney World a few times, but never got to meet her before now, so it was definitely exciting for me.

Me at the wedding in July. The venue had an awesome library!

Blog

I finally bit the bullet and got my new blog started up! My old blog, Love Woke Me Up This Morning, had it's domain expire and I couldn't get it back up again. I took it as a sign to officially close that one down and get this one set up. I'm loving Square Space, and I'm really proud of the design and layout, and my blog posts and topics are much more intentional than they used to be.

Meeting Snow White in Epcot!

Reading

I read 113 books in 2017! In 2016 I had read 124, and I wanted to read less so I had more life/reading balance. Technically, I did read less. So... mission accomplished? Although, I'm not sure if I've nailed the life/reading balance yet - haha. 

Here's the genres I read (many books overlap into several genres and categories):

• 56 adult 
• 49 young adult
• 25 contemporary
• 59 fantasy
• 19 historical
• 2 graphic novels
• 6 sci-fi
• 3 classics
• 5 non-fiction
• 1 action
• 3 horror/thriller
• 32 romance
• 18 own voices
• 51 books which featured main characters from marginalized groups

I'll be posting about my top 17 books of 2017 next week, and if you want to see a full list and more stats, click here. 

One of the pretty trees at our new condo!

Writing

2017 was the year I finally began querying my urban fantasy novel to literary agents! It was terrifying.

After sending out 47 queries, I had exactly one agent request more pages, and all 47 ultimately said no. Sometimes through an email back, sometimes by not responding at all. Which, was a bummer. But, this was a big and important step for me in my writing career. 

Sending out queries helped me learn how to handle rejection. I learned what agents are looking for in a good query and opening pages. I learned how to get over the fear of putting myself and my work out there. Now that I've overcome the hurdle of starting the querying process, I know I can continue to do it.

I got started on a new project, which I've nicknamed "Vampire Snow White." It's exactly as it sounds. What if Snow White was a vampire? I'm obsessed with this project and these characters. It's been so much fun!

I joined the summer writing contest through The Write Practice, which was my first venture into short fiction and writing contests. I learned that I'm not very good at short fiction, but it's something I want to continue to work on. Thus, I created Flash Fiction Fridays here on my blog. It's a series I'm already loving, even though there's only been four stories so far. I hope you all have been loving them too!

Finally, I gained more writer friends and critique partners. There's a trio of myself and two friends from college where we've made our own little writing group and it's been a blast reading their pages and getting their feedback on mine too. Even beyond the writing elements, I'm living for our ongoing Facebook chat. 

Me and my niece, Elsie, the day after she was born! Isn't she the cutest?

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2018 Goals

I know that in all reality, the start of a new year is just another day. We don't need to count down to midnight and turn the page in our calendar to get started on our goals and what we want to accomplish. But, I love the symbolism behind it, and I like having that set time to start fresh. It doesn't erase or change anything from the year before, but it has the feeling of something fresh and new. 

Here are a few of the things I'd like to happen in 2018.

Life

It sounds a little sad, but I had a hard time thinking of goals for myself that are simply for myself and not the blog, reading, or writing. I'm not one to say "This year I'll go to the gym every day!" or "I'm going to eat healthier!" 

We all know that neither of these things will ever happen. 

But, I did think of a couple things in life I know I need to work on.

• Spend time with friends. Now that I have a semi-normal work schedule, I don't have an excuse to not see them anymore. I get off work around 3pm nearly every day, which means I have plenty of time in the afternoons to hang out and have a social life. I'm always happier when I'm out and about, but I let some anxiety get in the way.
• Go on actual dates. A friend and I were talking about this the other night and how we moan and groan about being "forever single." Then we turn around, talk to a guy for a bit, then ignore him, and never go out. It doesn't make sense. (We also joked about making a podcast about our crazy online dating stories just for comedy's sake because wow - we have some funny ones.) 
• Make a plan to go on a vacation. I've been doing better about this the last couple of years. I love to travel and see new places and experience new things, but I have a hard time making it a reality. My mom and I were discussing this not long ago and how we need to pick a place to go that we've always wanted to see, and figure out how we'll get there. 

Blog

I'm pretty proud of myself as it is with being able to keep up with blogging as much as I have been already. But there is always room for improvement and growth!

• Build up my email list. From what I've read for aspiring authors, I always hear how the email list is super important. Already I have it set up so people receive an email with each blog post, and a monthly newsletter. I'd love to have a freebie to include though when people sign up like an exclusive short story you can only get as an email subscriber. Keep an eye out!
• Post more often. So far, I've been posting once a week. Twice when I have a Flash Fiction Friday or a special occasion. I'd love it though if I could bump it up to twice a week.
• Include guest bloggers. Yes! I want guest bloggers! My email list was already informed, so they have first dibs. But I would love to include other writers, readers, and friends on this blog with guest posts and interviews. If you would like to write a guest post or be interviewed, send me an email! (eehornburg [at] gmail [dot] com)

Blog posts about planning for the new year means showing off your new planner, right? Right.

Reading

Usually, I try to go easy on the reading goals. Reading is a fun escape for me, and I hate it when I feel as though I "have" to read a certain book, vs. wanting to read it. But, I did notice that I wasn't reading as intentionally this past year, and there are a few things I'd like to accomplish.

• Read less. It sounds weird, and this was a goal last year (I read 124 in 2016 and 113 in 2017), and it's one I want to keep up. I love reading a ton of books every year. But, I know I need to be better at life/reading balance. I don't want to wake up one morning realizing I missed a ton of life opportunities and experiences because I had my nose stuck in a book.
• Read more own voices. I definitely have been reading own voices books, and reading books where the main characters are from marginalized groups. But, when I look at the numbers, I can do way better. Especially with own voices and books for adults. Not that I don't want to read YA own voices - I absolutely do! But, I'm familiar with that market and know where to find them. I want to work on finding authors for adults who are also own voices. All books need to be diverse and have representation from everyone in them. But, we need to be sure the own voices are being raised up. 
• Read books I already own. This is a big one. Of the physical books I already, I have roughly 35 I haven't read. Which isn't a bad number. But of my ebooks... that's a whole other story. I have a severe ebook downloading problem. They come so inexpensive, I feel like a fool NOT downloading them! Then here I am... with over 130 unread books sitting on my Kindle app. When I think about it too much, I get ridiculously overwhelmed.

Writing

My writing goals at this point in my life are some of my most important. Mainly because I'm impatient and I just want to have an agent and a book deal RIGHT NOW. 

I know this is not realistic, and even after an author signs with an agent, there's a ton more waiting and work to be done. But, my impatience helps to keep me motivated.

• Have a full rough draft done for Vampire Snow White and ready to send to my critique partners by the end of February. I got a big chunk of it done during NaNoWriMo, took a much  needed break in December, and now I'm ready to get back to it. This means writing about another 50,000 words. Considering I wrote 50k in one month, I can totally get another 50k done in two.
• Work on revisions and rewrites for my urban fantasy, Guardians of the City. This one is much more tentative, because I do think I need to take a step back from it for a bit. But, I'd like to think at some point this year, I'll be ready to tackle it again.
• Get back to work on fairy-tale mash-up. This is a project I was in the very beginning stages of before VSW took over my life. I didn't intend to cast it to the side, because I think it has a lot of potential. But, I'm so excited for VSW that I knew I needed to put all of my focus on that. I think while I'm waiting for readers to send me feedback on VSW I'll play around with this one a bit. Get some brainstorming and outlining done. I'd love it to be my 2018 NaNoWriMo project!

Apparently, I need to use pencil when I use my planner because I'm always crossing things out and rewriting it!

How's that for a list of goals and resolutions for 2018? I feel like such an overachiever when I look over these lists. But, I also know in reality, I most likely won't be able to accomplish all of them, and I'm okay with that. Which doesn't make me such an overachiever after all. 

How was 2017 for you? Any favorite memories for the year? Do you have any New Years Resolutions, Goals, or Plans?

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Merry Christmas!

Considering yesterday was Christmas, I don't have much of a post for today. You can't expect me to think about blogging when there's presents to give and receive, food to eat, and cheesy movies to watch! (All the while, getting baby snuggles from my niece who is now just over a month old.) 

I do hope that you are having a wonderful holiday season and it is filled with peace, love, and happiness! 

An extra blog post will be up on Thursday with my December reading round-up to make up for the lack of one today, and if you're wanting something fun and sweet and fast to read to get you into the holiday spirit, check out my Flash Fiction Friday from December 22. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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12 Days of Love Letters

Who doesn't love getting a letter in the mail? Not just an email. But a real letter in your mailbox. It's one of the things I like about the holiday season. For once, I'm not just getting random bills and advertisements. Here and there I'll get a nice card or a letter from a friend. Yes, I see their life updates on Facebook and everything. But getting that card or letter in the mail is extra special. 

I saw a friend tweet about 12 Days of Love Letters a few weeks ago, and it intrigued me so I clicked on the link. 

The World Needs More Love Letters gets requests for letters to be sent in bundles all year around, but in December they do a big campaign for 12 days of sending letters to people who need it. How awesome is that? It reminded me of the days of LoveBomb and LoveDrop that I used to participate in a few years ago. (Not familiar with those? Ask me or seek out @NateStPierre sometime.) Naturally, I signed up. 

Also, I love having an excuse to use my stationary. I don't get to use it enough.

It started this year on December 4 and is going through the 15th. I looked at my blogging calendar, picked a day, and today is the day!

Today, we're rallying around Emma. Here's her story:

Tuesday, December 12

A friend of Emma’s requested a bundle for her + shared with us some of her story. She wrote:

“Emma is struggling a lot. She is currently recovering from an eating disorder, but struggles immensely with it. She also struggles with suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and has had to be hospitalized for several weeks. She has a hard time believing in herself and her abilities, and she tells herself constantly that no one cares about her and that she's not worth anything. I've tried so much to help her and to remind her of her potential and how much I love her, but she won't listen to anyone who knows her because she feels that they're lying to her. I really feel like she needs some reminders from people and some encouragement. Messages of hope, encouragement, and love from strangers might be all she needs to find herself again. She is only thirteen years old and has her whole life ahead of her. Her family is trying so hard to keep her alive, and would appreciate help from others. I miss her happy, sweet self and would love to see her like that again.”

My heart breaks for this girl and her loved ones. I've had a lot of friends and family who've struggled with depression, anxiety, body image, self-harm, etc. When you see someone you care about struggling and pieces of themselves disappearing, you feel so helpless no matter what you do. You try to help and encourage them, but it never feels like it's enough.

Then I think about Emma herself, and how hard this time must be for her. I get overwhelmed thinking about what must have happened or the mindset someone must be in at such a young age to have these thoughts and feelings. She needs that love and encouragement to show her that things get better and there is so much more out there in the world. 

When I sat down to write the letter, I almost was at a loss for what to say. I wished I knew more about her and what she liked. Her favorite colors, her fandoms, the music she listens to, etc. But, once I got going, the words came easily. 

Grab your pens and join us as we write some love letters to Emma!

PLEASE MAIL ALL LOVE LETTERS BY DECEMBER 20 TO:

Emma’s bundle

℅ Natalie S.

5033 N Kilt Ave

Meridian, ID 83646

USA

Here's more information about We Need More Love Letters and the 12 day campaign:

Homepage:  www.moreloveletters.com

12 Days Landing Page  http://www.moreloveletters.com/12days (where action will take place!)

Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.moreloveletters.com/diary/2017/11/29/frequently-asked-questions

I'm An Aunt!

Well, my friends, I'm sure you've seen this all over my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and everywhere else, but I'm just going to continue to gush because it's all I can think about and focus on and... sometimes you just need an easy blog post.

I'm an aunt!

Okay... technically I've been an aunt my entire life. But that's another story for another blog post.

My sister had her first baby on Thursday, November 9 at 9:38pm. Her name is Elsie and is by far the cutest baby I've ever seen.

Not that I'm partial or anything.

(YES, I'M SURE YOUR BABY IS THE CUTEST TOO.)

Originally, she was scheduled to have her c-section on Friday morning. So, you can imagine my surprise when I was at work Thursday evening and got a text saying that her BP was high and was going in at 9:30pm that night. 

Naturally, I started to freak out. Did I need to find someone to cover my shift? Was my sister okay? Did they need anything? Was this an emergency?

Thankfully, some friends who know far more about these things than I do, talked me down and I realized by the time all was said and done I probably wouldn't even be considered allowed to visit until at least midnight and my sister was going to be just fine. (They even had to explain to me that BP = blood pressure. Duh. You'd think I would have been able to figure that one out on my own.) So, my mom and I went over to the hospital right at noon the next day when they would let us in.

Elsie is adorable, happy, sweet, and sleeps a lot. My sister and brother-in-law are doing great, and everyone is ridiculously happy. 

So, if anyone asks me what's new in my life they'll be shown a bazillion photos of the baby that all look exactly like the other but I SWEAR THEY'RE DIFFERENT BECAUSE SHE'S CLEARLY MAKING A DIFFERENT FACIAL EXPRESSION IN EACH ONE. 

Yup. I'm that aunt and I don't care. 

Also, since we can nick-name her "Elle" you know I'll be buying her a stuffed chihuahua named Bruiser and a pink Harvard Law shirt because... obviously. 

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