Sunday Summary: The Askew Continues

Friday when I turned on my computer, it said Windows wanted to do an update. I figured, what the heck. I’d already put it off once. And it usually only takes a little while. Ha! 2 hours later! It finally finished. But, then when I tried to go to wordpress to read blogs I follow, a page comes up saying “A secure connection could not be established” or something like that. That was using Microsoft Edge, which I’ve used without a problem since installing Windows 10. I tried on Firefox and finally managed to get them to come up after much refreshing. Apparently this is going to become an issue(something about SSL certificates that I don’t really know anything about).

Saturday we went and got groceries, dropped the kids off at mother-in-law’s and came home so we could get ready. This was the first year our station for the motorcycle club we belong to has held a “Kickin’ Cancer” dinner/dance benefit. The ride we have in August raises funds for a local oncology center. This benefit was for the same thing but to spread it around to more than the “motorcycle crowd”. There weren’t a whole lot of people there this year, but hopefully the word will spread a bit more and that will change next year.

On our way to the benefit. And I was apparently not the only one who said #nodressesforme I counted a whole 2 dresses there 😉

This week was a bit off for me. I still made progress, just not nearly as much as I would like.

Plotting:

• Green Hills & Smoky Fields – Story Toolkit – Finished Event Brainstorm 2 & Locations. 4/9 sections On Target

Drafting:

• Primary: Write 35000 words on main projects – 11926/35000 words Off Target(about 4k below target)
  
  • Still Burning – 2390 words
    • He dropped onto the couch, not having the energy to make it all the way to his bedroom. Why bother anyway? The last time he’d been in there, Jess had been with him. And the last thing he needed right now, was reminders of that. He’d never get any sleep.
  • Whatever It Takes – 2303 words
    • And that meant keeping her distance from Carisa as well. For the best anyway, she thought. Nothing could ever come from that. It wasn’t worth the risk *Oh, Jayla, this is so not true. It will be worth the risk. Just wait and see. 😉
  • High on Loving You – 1256 words(these were written last Sunday after I posted my check-in)
  • By the Gun – haven’t touched this yet this month.
• Secondary: Write 4500 words on side projects – 2451/4500 words On Target
  • Patrick & Sarah – 131 words
  • Tavin & Haiwee – 117 words
  • Roman – 146 words
  • Dougal & Shae – 188 words
  • Jacob & Matthew – 140 words
  • Mike & Fadil – 108 words
  • Hawk – 172 words
  • Sean & Braeden – 118 words
  • Melanie & Garren – 144 words
• Stretch: Write 25 pages for Jonas & Isaac project – 15/25 pages. On Target

Editing:

• Primary: Stained Blood – Beta edits as they come in – 1/24 chapters, typed up notes for 2/2 scenes from Chapter 3, finished writing 2 new scenes, edited 2 existing scenes: 1514 words, got Chapter 4 back but it won’t open 😦 Off Target
• Secondary: Flames of Renewal – CP edits once I get them – 0/25 chapters Not even sighted in yet
• Stretch: Love Who You Love – type from Word to Scrivener – 6/11 chapters On Target

Reading:

• Listen: 5 audiobooks – 6/5 Bullseye!
  • Taming Cross(Ella James) – Started this Sunday afternoon. Finished it Wednesday afternoon. Was ok, but had some issues with it.
  • Lord of Shadows(Cassandra Clare) – Started this Thursday morning. On Chapter 11/30
• Read: 30 books – 11/30 Slightly Off Target
  • Drive(Sidney Bristol) – Started this Friday evening. Finished it Sunday night. Liked it but didn’t feel really drawn in until closer to the end. Still going to continue the series.
  • Picture Her Bound(Sidney Bristol) – Read this Monday morning. It was a shorter one, but really enjoyed it.
  • One True Pairing(Cathy Yardley) – Started this Monday morning. Finished it Monday night. Loved it.
  • One Snowy Night(Jill Shalvis) – Read this Monday night. Great novella. Loved it.
  • Accidentally on Purpose(Jill Shalvis) – Started this Tuesday morning. Finished it Tuesday night. Loved it.
  • One Dance with a Duke(Tessa Dare) – Started this Wednesday afternoon. Finished this Thursday night. Really enjoyed it.
  • Fear No Evil(Allison Brennan) – Started this Thursday night. On page 214/408

Social Media

• Primary: Post Writing Wednesday, Fiction Friday, Stream of Consciousness Saturday, Weekend Writing Warriors, & Sunday Summary each week – 10/20 posts On Target
• Secondary: Post to Patreon 4x – 1/4 Off Target

Crafting:

• Knit: GENEie Hat – Started this Tuesday. 6/6 rounds of ribbing done. 12/53 rounds of cable pattern done Target in sight
• Crochet: Dreamy Scarf –

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Writing Wednesday: Social Recovering

I had a very social weekend. On Friday, my husband dropped the dogs off at a local kennel where they could run and play, since we’d be gone all weekend. Then, we waited for the kids to get home, packed everything in the truck, and took the kids to the campground where my mom and stepdad were staying for the weekend. And we made our way to Seven Springs, a resort south of Pittsburgh. That’s where the regional rally for the motorcycle club we ride with was being held. There were people from stations of the club from all over the country(the furthest I saw was I think Wisconsin). We had pizza Friday night. We didn’t drink, though even if we were big drinkers, at $5 for a little cup of beer, I don’t think we would have anyway. Saturday morning we went on a ride out to the Flight 93 memorial and then to the site of the Quecreek Mine Rescue. Saturday night there was a nice dinner. Sunday we got up, had breakfast at our hotel(we didn’t stay at the resort, which was about 2x the price of our hotel 12 miles away), and headed home. It was a really good weekend, but I may still be recovering from all the social time.

I had a Mellow Monday, but ended up writing a little over 3000 words yesterday. I may not have gotten that if I’d pushed myself on Monday. So, I think Mellow Monday will be sticking around.

And now for WiPPet Wednesday! I’m still sharing from Jonas & Isaac’s story(probably will be for a while at least). This happens shortly after last week’s. Jonas is just getting home, feeling sore from walking to and from the bus stop and his thoughts are spiraling to a not great place. A little context on Jonas & Toby’s relationship. They’re half-brothers, Toby is about 16 years older than Jonas & his twin sister. Their father died when the twins were about 6/7. Toby stepped in to help his mother then. So, that’s what Toby refers back to at the beginning here. I have 36 sentences(9+27) for today.

Toby stepped out of the living room, Catarina on his shoulders. “Where have you been?” he asked.

“Out,” he snapped. “Don’t worry about it. You aren’t my father.”

Toby jerked back at that, but then a smile crossed his face. “Damn, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard that.”

“Fuck you,” he said and started past him.

But his good knee gave out on him, bringing him down hard on the crutch. He cried out then Toby was catching him. “What the hell did you do? Try to run a marathon?”

“Funny,” he said through clenched teeth. “Just need to lay down. Tired.”

“No, you need to take a damn pain pill. When’s the last time you took one?”

The day before, after his physical therapy session. But, he wasn’t going to tell his brother that. Toby put an arm under his shoulders. Catarina was scampering into the living room, so she must have gotten down at some point. “Come on,” he said. As he guided Jonas toward the den, he said, “I get it. I really do, Jonas. I grew up with an addict for a mother. You only got the cleaned up version of her. So, I get not wanting to risk that. But, all you’re doing is hurting yourself. And Mom, too. She sees what you’re doing and don’t think she doesn’t know why.”

Jonas cringed at that. He didn’t want to hurt her. But, there were already times he could hardly think about anything except taking the next pill. Anything to make the pain go away.

He dropped onto his bed in the den, burying his face in his pillow. “I should have just died with them.”

Oh, Jonas. Just want to dive into the notebook and hug him. Though, this is a bit of a turning point for him, when he realizes he might just need to ask for some help.

Plotting:

• Primary: Green Hills & Smoky Fields: Book 1 – Story Toolkit – finished the third character arc worksheet  8c/18
• Secondary: Plan out weekly Story a Day offerings – Plotted 20/20 so far. On target.

Writing:

• Primary: Write 45000 words on 5 main projects(one almost complete) – 24289/45000 words Off target
  • Still Burning – 1704 words
  • Whatever It Takes –
  • High on Loving You –
  • By the Gun –
• Secondary: Write 10000 words on 10 side projects – 5306/10000 words A little off target
  • Tavin & Haiwee – 52 words
  • Roman –
  • Dougal & Shae –
  • Jacob & Matthew – 185 words
    • At this rate, he wouldn’t even be able to hold the cards tonight. But, he didn’t really care.
  • Mike & Fadil–
  • Hawk –
  • Sean & Braeden –
  • Melanie & Garren –
• Stretch: Write 50 pages on Jonas & Isaac project – 23/50 pages Off target

Editing:

• Primary: Edit Stained Blood as I get chapters back – edited 3/3 scenes from Chapter 2. Found out OK has been in use since about 1839, but it wasn’t spelled out as okay until about 1929, so had to rephrase something. 🙂 Added 560 words.
• Secondary: Edit Flames of Renewal when I get it back –
• Stretch: Edit Preggers short story – Polished 9/49 items

Reading:

• Primary: Read 30 books – 24/30 Fell Off Target
  • Of Dreams and Rust(Sarah Fine) – Started this Monday(9/4) morning. At 14%. Not sure if it’s because it’s been so long since I read the first book or what, but I find myself not really caring. So setting this aside until I finish the other books on this month’s list(or at least for the week). Then, I may try to pick it back up.
  • When Skies Have Fallen(Debbie McGowan) – Started this Friday morning. Finished it Sunday morning. Loved it.
  • The Melody of You and Me(M Hollis) – Read this Sunday. It was short, and I had some issues, mostly it felt really passive, but it was a sweet, cute story, and I enjoyed it.
  • Virgin River(Robyn Carr) – Started this Sunday afternoon, finished it Sunday night. This one felt like a lot of nothing happened. I wasn’t sure about adding the next book, but I decided to anyway. Though I’m surprised my eyes didn’t roll out of my head with ever use of ‘fanny'(seriously, what is so wrong with saying butt. It’s a freaking body part), or the fact that apparently the hero has a magic penis(or magic sperm, I guess), since the heroine couldn’t get pregnant after 3 years of trying with her late husband, but magically the first time they’re together, she does. If I have similar issues with book 2, I won’t be continuing the series.
  • Into the Night(Suzanne Brockmann) – Started this Monday morning. Finished it Monday night. Enjoyed it.
  • Marian(Ella Lyons) – Started this Tuesday morning. Finished it Tuesday night. Enjoyed it.
  • Out of the Blue(Jill Shalvis) – Read this Tuesday night. This was a shorter one(category length) and older one(from 2000), so it had a few eye-rolling moments, but it was a fun, sweet read.
• Secondary: Listen to 6 books – 5/6 Close to target
  • Hold Me Close(Rosalind James) – Started this Monday morning. Finished it Tuesday afternoon. Really enjoyed it.
  • Girl in the Shadows(Gwenda Bond) – Started this Tuesday afternoon. On Chapter 5/47.
• Stretch: Read 1 craft/research book – I did read a little more of The Story of the Irish Race for GH & SF.

Social Media:

• Primary: Post weekly Writing Wednesday, Fiction Friday, SOCS, WeWriWa, & Sunday Summary posts –  On target
• Secondary: Write & Post 25 Story a Day pieces – 22/25 written. 18/25 posted On target
  • Changing History
  • Birth – takes place after the end of Jonas & Isaac’s story
  • Dazzling Sunset – a bit with Ian and Aidan, from my short story, Hang On.
  • Looking Up – a bit of a “meet cute” for 2 new characters.
  • Moving Forward – a bit of ‘after ever after’ for Jonas & Isaac(though it comes before ‘Birth’.
  • Not Twins – continuation to my Preggers story, not posted
  • Motive – More Jonas & Isaac, combined with Stream of Consciousness Saturday
  • Breaking Rules – A quick 100 words of dialogue without quotation marks(prompt was to break some rules).
  • Konner & Derek – Wrote this by hand then dictated to my phone(both methods I don’t typically use).
  • Rapunzel, Rapunzel – a bit of a gender-bent modernized version of Rapunzel, featuring Konner & Derek.
  • A Good Sign – more with Konner & Derek, something that happens off page in Jonas & Isaac’s story.
  • Like This Forever – more of Jonas & Isaac’s story, a bit emotional
  • Slanting Sunlight – continuation of Looking Up
  • Never Believe – a bit with Isaac shortly after him and Jonas break up.
  • End of the Party – more with Jonas & Isaac
  • The Monster – A really short one(125 words)
  • The News – more with Jonas & Isaac, this would be after the end of their story.
  • Protect You – Continuation of The Monster. Another attempted drabble(that went over 100 words again).
  • Aiding and Abetting – Happens either during Whatever It Takes or sometime after. Jared breaks a law, but with good reason(at least to his thinking).
  • Last Minute Sitter – Lyndi & Marika (from Preggers short story) getting ready to leave on their honeymoon. Not posted.
  • Just Sibling Stuff – more with Jonas, probably takes place during Jonas & Isaac. Toby is watching his brother’s kids and has to deal with a situation(which seems to be a common occurrence in our house).
  • Discrepancy – Anna finds her boss acting suspiciously, then a discrepancy in funds.
• Stretch: Post to Patreon 4x – 2/4 – posted a monthly writing update & posted Chapter 2 of Patrick & Sarah’s story. On target

Sunday Summary: 10th Birthday

Four more days until I have a child in the double digits. And we’re having her birthday party today. Yesterday we had to take the dogs to the vet in the morning. Then, the motorcycle club we ride with had their annual ride benefiting a local oncology clinic. So we helped with that, went on the ride, and stayed for the after party. They also do a pub crawl, but we had to come home and start getting ready for the girl’s birthday party. It was a beautiful day, if a little chilly with the wind.

She gives him belly rubs, he gives her kisses.

After we got home, I made two pans of zucchini bread and the cake starting at after 8:30 at night. This morning I need to finish cleaning things up(including putting rest of groceries away-I only worried about the cold stuff when we got home Friday night), decorate the cake, and get the rest of the food ready(which is pretty much putting out bags of chips and the fruit and veggie trays we bought the other night).
The week itself has gone pretty well for me.

Writing:

• Primary: Write 50000 words on 5 main projects – 6530/50000 words
  • Heart of Christmas – 1126 words
    • Sean and Braeden were sitting on the couch, and she caught Sean grinning. Of course, that could have just as much to do with Braeden’s hand on his thigh as it did the back and forth between her and Declan.
  • Still Burning – 1390 words
    • “What if I don’t want to talk?” she asked.
      “Then, I don’t think you would have let me up. You would have told me to fuck off and go away. You’re pretty good at that.”
  • Whatever It Takes – 1184 words
    • There just had to be something she could do. She looked over at the table again, and Jayla quickly averted her eyes.
      Carisa would have to figure it out.
  • High on Loving You – 1350 words
    • Maybe Anna should try to talk to Morgan about it. But what exactly would she say? That Kacy had been strict with her own daughter. Anna wouldn’t treat any child like that, let alone her own. But, maybe that was just her. Was it really her business to interfere?
  • By the Gun – 391 words
    • No matter what Carlos seemed to think, the ranch still needed people to run it. It was a big responsibility. If Pa had left it with her, she wouldn’t be complaining about it.
• Secondary: Write 10000 words on 10 side projects – 1412/10000 words
  • Patrick & Sarah – 138 words
    • That had been a waste of his time. But, he would ride by Sarah’s house one more time and make sure everything was well there.
  • Tavin & Haiwee – 39 words
    • “He is asleep,” Eydyami finally said. “But, he will wake again. Then, he should be on his way.”
  • Roman – 88 words
    • When he reached the house, the light in the kitchen was on, but the rest of the house was dark. It was late, but not that late. He didn’t know why almost all the lights would be off already.
  • Dougal & Shae – 150 words
    • Dougal shook his head. “It was a mistake to go. A matchmaking attempt by a new friend.”
  • Jacob & Matthew – 51 words
    • Jacob walked down the sidewalk, glad to be done with chores until tonight. He needed to get away from things for a bit. He really couldn’t wait to ride out to that game up in North Fork. He’d expected to meet Matthew up there, but now they could ride together.
  • Mike & Fadil – 381 words
    • He hurried past Fadil, needing to escape before he made a fool of himself. He thought that might be all too easy around that man.
  • Preggers – 131 words
    • And yet somehow they’d come together.
  • Hawk – 113 words
    • “Yes, he would have,” I said before he could finish that thought. “He wanted me dead eight years ago. He thought I was, or close to it, when he dumped me in that ditch. He’ll just think of it as finally finishing the job.”
  • Sean & Braeden – 230 words
    • Braeden hesitated for a moment. He really didn’t want to run into Sean again. But, he also wouldn’t leave his brother in danger because of his own troublesome heart.
  • Jared’s Stepfather(for Patreon bonus content) – 100 words
    • “Jared McDermott?” the police officer asked.
• Stretch: Write 20 pages in composition notebook on Jonas & Isaac’s story – 12/20 pages

Editing:

• Primary: Edit Stained Blood as I get chapters back – 0/25 chapters
• Secondary: Edit Flames of Renewal once I get it back – 0/25 chapters
• Stretch: Polish In the Moonlight & Staring at the Sun, post Staring at the Sun on Wattpad, Edit Midas’ Daughter – Polished 21/34 In the Moonlight

Reading:

• Primary: Read 30 books – 3/30
  • Falling for the Fake Fiance(Jennifer Blackwood) – Started this Monday night. Finished it Tuesday evening. Loved it.
  • Wrapped Together(Annabeth Albert) – Started this Tuesday evening. Finished it Wednesday evening. Really enjoyed it.
  • Hold Me(Courtney Milan) – Started this Wednesday evening. Finished it Thursday evening. Loved it.
  • Two of a Kind(Susan Mallery) – Started this Friday afternoon. On page 311/379
• Secondary: Listen to 4 audio books – 1/4
  • Timeless(Gail Carriger) – Started this Monday morning. Finished it Friday afternoon. Loved it, even if I thought I’d have to throw my phone for a while(really hate when it’s hinted and not corrected for more than a chapter that a main character died).
  • Carry Me Home(Rosalind James) – Started this Friday afternoon. On Chapter 6/56
• Stretch: Read 1 craft/research book – 0/1

Social Media:

• Primary: Post Writing Wednesday, Fiction Friday, SOCS, WeWriWa, & Sunday Summary posts each week – posted 4/5. Skipped Fiction Friday as I don’t have Staring at the Sun ready to start putting up on Wattpad yet. Posted SoCS early Saturday morning(though technically wrote it Friday. Yeah, I sort of cheated). And I got WeWriWa posted. And this one in just a moment.
• Secondary: Post to Patreon at least 1x a week – technically, I did post this week, though it was still in July. Still, you can read about Still Burning and the other stories in the Hunter Family series(all my content is currently being put at the $1 level until I build up some patrons).
• Stretch: Stay current with blog comments – currently current

RoW80 Round 2 Check-Up

So, this round I’ve started doing an evaluation of my goals for the round at the end of each month, the same time that I figure out my goals for the next month. I’m hoping this will keep me on track. Possibly not, since I keep adding new goals(such as working on 4-5 projects instead of 1 at a time). But, let’s see where I’m at.

Plotting

• Heart of Christmas(BC Security #3.5) – finish outlining – this is done & I’ve even started writing
• Still Burning(Hunter Family #4/Flames #7(?)) – Outline – done & started writing
• Jayla’s Story(Gilbert, Co #7) – Outline – not done but got through character back stories.
• High on Your Love(Kurztown #6) – Outline – not done. have 1 character back story finished.

Writing

• Playing with Fire – finish 1st draft – this is done
• Not Meant to Be – finish 1st draft – not there yet. Did add 20,681 words to it.
• By the Gun – finish 1st draft(I set this one aside a while ago, but hoping I can pick it back up) – just got back to this one. Added 3247 words to this during May.
• Side Projects – add 12000 words between all projects – added 18447 words during the last two months. Looking to add around another 9000 this month. I’ll definitely be changing this goal for the next round.

Editing

• Stained Blood – Polish and send back to CP and to beta(if anyone else wants to read, let me know) – I did this, got an email back from CP and Chapter 1 back from beta. Working on fixing that up now.
• Snow White Twist – Polish and send to readers. Hopefully submit before the end of the round – first of these done. Still waiting to hear back from 1 reader.
• Dance with the Devil – Revise and start posting to Wattpad– revised & chapter 1 is posted.
• Flames of Renewal – Apply CP edits – still waiting to get this back from CP
• In the Moonlight – Revise – got this transferred to Scrivener. Will start revisions this month.
• Demons Rising – Revise – not started yet

Blogging

• A-Z posts: Draft 13 posts, edit & format 18 posts, post 25 posts – got these all done
• Story a Day: Write 31 stories – did this too.

Reading

• Listen: 12 books – 13/12
• Read: 90 books – 62/90

Crafting

• Knit: 3 projects – 1/3
• Crochet: 3 projects – 1/3
• Loom: 3 projects – 0/3

Not too much red there, so not bad at all. Most of those I’m hoping to turn green or even blue during this month. Except the crafting goals. Those are getting set aside until at least September when it might start cooling off again.

Now, for my goals for June:

Plotting:

• High on Your Love – Back stories, Plot summaries, Story Toolkit, Outline
• Jayla & Carisa – Plot summaries, Story Toolkit, Outline

Writing:

• Heart of Christmas(BC Security #3.5) – Add 8000 words
• Still Burning(Hunter Family #4) – Add 10000 words
• Not Meant to Be(Gilbert, Co #6) – Add 10000 words
• By the Gun – Add 8000 words
• Side Projects – Add 9000 words between them

Editing:

• Stained Blood – beta edits
• Flames of Renewal – CP edits
• In the Moonlight – Revise
• Snow White Twist – Beta edits, Polish, & Submit
• Dance with the Devil – Polish

Reading:

• Listen: 5 books
• Read: 30 books

 

Writing Wednesday: Late Start

I got a late start to Monday. Woke up at 6 when husband’s phone rang. He was supposed to be to work at 6. Oops. So, the kids were already getting up for the morning by that point. The boy didn’t want to get dressed. I told him he had to anyway. “You’re such a, such a, such a, so mean” I guess I’m so mean, he couldn’t come up with a name for it. He might be an early riser, but he’s not a very happy morning person.

I got back from getting them on the bus and can’t find my mouse. It had been sitting on the arm of the couch the night before. Not there. Didn’t fall into the side of the couch. Not on the floor right beside it. Looked around for about 5 minutes before I finally found it behind the little rocker next to the couch(my guess: the cat knocked it off while jumping up or down from back of couch). Then, I go to write my Story a Day piece and see that the post I wrote on Sunday no longer appears to be on my blog. Instead it was showing an older draft of it in my draft folder. I was able to find what I’d posted in the revisions of that, not sure why it kicked back to the older version. But, I got it restored and posted again.

But, yeah, it was a day. And I usually look forward to Mondays. but, I di manage to catch up and have everything except my reading goal done by dinnertime.

Tuesday I was awake around 3:30 and at my computer around 4:15. A lot more like normal. Wednesday I slept until 5:30. So not too much done before kids got up this morning. I’m usually a lot more consistent in my waking up than this.

But, anyway, to get on with things: It’s Wednesday!! Which means WiPPet Time. *makes up a WiPPet Dance* Trust me, be glad you can’t see that. 😉 I have 7 paragraphs(5+10-1-7). You might remember from snippets of Shed Some Light(Carlos & Tereza’s story) that Adriane was Carlos’ little sister. Who was killed about 20 years before this. And Toby had some history with her, too.

“What are you going to do with me?” he asked, his voice coming out rough. “Since you’ve got me where you want me.”
“Explore,” she said on an exhale. “I’ve always wanted to explore you.”
She slid her fingers over to his side, where she could see ink scrawled from his hip to the bottom of his ribs. She shifted so she could read what it said. The first words were in Spanish and with the script she couldn’t quite make it out. But the words below it had her fingers stilling for a moment. Adriane and Edward. She glanced back up at him. “These are the people you’ve lost.”
“Yeah,” he choked out.
She traced the first name again. “You really loved her, didn’t you?”
“As much as a thirteen-year-old punk can love someone.”
She rose over him again and pressed the tips of two fingers to his lips. “Don’t talk about yourself like that. You weren’t any worse than Jared or Carlos. Yet they aren’t the ones denying themselves love or anything else.” Love? Really, Denise? You are going to send the man running again if you talk like that.

Plotting

• Still Burning – finish Story Toolkit, Outline – finished Act 3 beat sheet, Act 4 beat sheet 8/13 sections of Story Toolkit done
• Jayla’s Story(Gilbert, Co #7) – get through Story Toolkit: Supporting Characters

Writing

• Not Meant to Be – Add 53000 words/28 scenes to finish 1st draft – 9138 words/11 scenes finished this month, 4462 words/5 scenes this week
• Side Projects – Add 4400 words between all projects – 2684/4400 words, 691 words this week
  • Midas’ Daughter – 134 words – This was an unusual indulgence. To be able to move around without anyone having an eye on her. She moved straight to Ariadne’s stall. “Hey, girl,” she said as the horse huffed softly. “I know it’s early. But, I’ve missed you.”
  • Roman – 128 words – Roman would have argued away the inciting a riot charge, but Toby said he deserved it. Roman didn’t understand why. Yes, he’d done wrong, but there was more haunting him than carrying a gun he shouldn’t have and following his fellow gang members into this fight.
  • Mike & Fadil – 322 words – “You do that, Mike,” his boss said, and he was pretty sure there was laughter in the man’s voice. Mike decided to ignore that and went back out to face Fadil.
  • Dougal & Shae – 107 words – “What do you know? Not my sister. I do know her. She’s been thinking of you, whether she’ll ever admit it or not.” *Oh, Donovan, you meddler.

Editing

• Flames of Renewal – CP Edits
• In the Moonlight – Transfer from OneNote(on my Surface) to Scrivener(on my laptop) – 27 chapters(there’s actually 32, counting the epilogue, but I’d already started it before) – 7/27 chapters typed up.
• Snow White Twist – Beta edits, rename, & submit – compiled notes from 1 beta reader to the main document(so I can put them all in one place when I get them back from other reader) for 2/8 chapters(1st 2 chapters done last month). Have a potential title for it as well. Still simmering on that, though.
• Dance with the Devil – read through & make revisions – I’ve read through 10/10 chapters.
• Beta Read – Read 58 chapters(total of 73, but that’s what I have left) & return to author – 20/58,

Blogging

• Story a Day – Write 31 stories – 9/31 stories written, 2 this week
  • The Secret – some back story to “Preggers”
  • Mike – a continuation of Day 4’s Suspicions

Reading

• Listen: 5 books – 2/5 for the month, 1 this week
  • A Thousand Pieces of You(Claudia Gray) – Started this at the end of April. It’s my second time listening to it. I finally got the second book in the series, and it had been a while since I listened to this one, so decided on a re-listen before I start the next one.
  • Behind the Lies(Robin Perini) – Started this Monday. Finished it Wednesday morning. Really enjoyed it.
• Read: 31 books – 8/31, 2 this week
  • Signs of Attraction(Laura Brown) – Started this Saturday afternoon. Finished it Sunday evening. Really enjoyed it.
  • All Fired Up(Elle Kennedy & Vivian Arend) – Started this Sunday night. It was in my ‘free’ collection, so will be my ‘read after everything for the week is done’ book(I choose from my free & unlimited collections for this). I’m at 17%.
  • Managed(Kristen Callihan) – started this Monday afternoon. At 61%
  • Timekeeper(Tara Sim) – started this Tuesday morning. Finished it Tuesday night. Loved it.

Crafting

• Knit: Duo Cable Hat

Writing Wednesday: Pulling Ahead

This has been quite a week already. In a good way. My word count may not be too high since Monday I only had to finish a scene for Not Meant to Be, and I didn’t count my words for the Story a Day piece(maybe I should, but I didn’t). But, by the time I went to bed Monday night, I already had about half of Tuesday’s goals checked off, including most of the chores.

Lilacs are out(please ignore the dirty windows, it was raining out, so I couldn’t get a good picture)

On Sunday I’d finally finished moving the rest of the wood from the yard out to our wood pile. Good thing too, because it poured down rain almost all of Monday. So, I wouldn’t have gotten any of it done then.

I do not know when my name became so popular, but I’m seeing it in so many books lately.

Tuesday I looked around the living room, trying to decide if there was any surface I could use as a makeshift standing desk. Rather than sitting pretty much all day(other than when I’m doing chores or taking the dog for a walk–which it’s been raining all week and that hasn’t happened). I’m sure I’ll be plugging it back into the TV and sitting at some points during the day, either if my knee starts bothering me and probably I’ll start out there first thing in the morning. But, at least when the kids are home/awake, this set-up should work to get some more writing in. I just had to shut the touchpad off on my laptop so I’m not accidentally hitting it and moving the cursor while I’m typing. And the ‘d’ key doesn’t like to work(which is only 1 reason I’d been using the wireless keyboard and plugging it into the tv- and a different monitor when it was on my desk).

My new work area(all my yarn is inside the cabinet).

Now, for WiPPet Wednesday!!! I finished Playing with Fire last week. So, this week I’m back to working on Not Meant to Be. I hadn’t written anything on this since February, so I had to spend some time going back and reading through what I had. This is an earlier scene with Toby at his mom’s for dinner. He’s about 33, but his younger brother(and sister, but she’s not really in this scene) are only 16. Their father died about 10 years earlier, and he’s rather protective of them. I have 11 paragraphs(2+0+17-5-3)

Toby leaned back in his chair and stared across the table at the boy. He had his head turned toward Jonas, and they seemed deep into an intense conversation about…hell, Toby wasn’t even sure. But, he hadn’t often seen his brother light up so much.
The other kid seemed to be about the same age, with dark brown hair. Not the near black that his and his siblings were, but something with shades of gold through it. He blew a breath out. He didn’t know why he was being so fanciful. It was brown. His eyes, behind the glasses he kept pushing up on his nose, were somewhere between brown and gold. He seemed nice and had been perfectly polite throughout dinner. Jonas definitely could do worse.
Still, a part of Toby wanted to run a check on the kid. He wouldn’t abuse his power, or Jonas’ trust, like that, though. No matter how strong the urge was. “So, Isaac,” he said, bringing the boys’ attention to him.
“Toby,” Jonas said, “don’t. Just don’t.”
“What?” he asked innocently. “I’m not allowed to speak to my brother’s new friend?”
He saw the boy grab Jonas’ hand and squeeze, the wide bracelets around his wrists clank together. His nails were short but painted a soft blue. “It’s okay, Jo,” he said, smirking back across the table. “I think I can handle an interrogation. Especially on a full stomach. The enchiladas were delicious, Mrs. Pedera.”
Toby just barely held back a laugh. The kid was pretty charming. His mother smiled at the boys. “Thank you. I’ll clean up while you two chat. Tobias, you can help me.”
Ah, crap. That usually meant he was in trouble.
But, he stood up from the table and followed his mom into the kitchen, carrying a stack of plates with silverware thrown on top of them. he managed to set them on the counter before his mother turned to him. “You need to leave your brother’s friend alone,” she told him.
“What?” he asked, trying to look innocent. “What did I do? I was only going to ask him a couple questions.”
“He is not one of your criminals, Tobias. He’s a sweet sixteen-year-old boy who doesn’t have it all that easy at home. That’s why he spends so much time in that park where Jonas met him. He is always welcome in this house. I don’t want you to make him feel otherwise.”

Plotting

• Still Burning – finish Story Toolkit, Outline – finished Subplot sheet & event brainstorming sheets. 3/13 sections of Story Toolkit done
• Jayla’s Story(Gilbert, Co #7) – get through Story Toolkit: Supporting Characters

Writing

• Not Meant to Be – Add 53000 words/28 scenes to finish 1st draft – 1799 words/3 scenes finished this month, 1799 words/3 scenes finished for this week
• Side Projects – Add 4400 words between all projects – 658/4400 words, 658 words this week
  • Patrick & Sarah – 154 words – He brought his attention back to the path of the horses. His boss would be none too happy with a crooked row. Not that the man typically even raised his voice. Not for anything less than an atrocious misdeed. And anyone committing one of those, found himself set instantly off the farm.
  • Tavin & Haiwee – 119 words – The lad glared at Tavin as he slid his gloves off but didn’t make any attempt to get down from the saddle. “You cannot tell me what to do. You work for me.” *Tavin does not seem to be making friends. Though this little shit doesn’t deserve to be friends with him 😉
  • Mason & Lila – 251 words – “He’ll come around,” she said softly. Then added, “Eventually.”Yeah. Eventually. Like probably the day after Mason’s funeral. But, Mason didn’t say that to Lila. He didn’t like to feel like he was pulling her between him and her father. He knew he’d always come out the loser there.
  • Midas’ Daughter – 134 words – But, she wasn’t a business interest. She was his daughter. Why couldn’t he seem to understand that?

Editing

• Flames of Renewal – CP Edits
• In the Moonlight – Transfer from OneNote(on my Surface) to Scrivener(on my laptop) – 27 chapters(there’s actually 32, counting the epilogue, but I’d already started it before) – 2/27 chapters typed up. 2 this week.
• Snow White Twist – Beta edits, rename, & submit
• Dance with the Devil – read through & make revisions
• Beta Read – Read 58 chapters(total of 73, but that’s what I have left) & return to author – 6/58, 6 this week

Blogging

• Story a Day – Write 31 stories – 2/31 stories written
  • The Dead Friend
  • Ian

Reading

• Listen: 5 books – 0/5 for the month, 0 this week
  • A Thousand Pieces of You(Claudia Gray) – Started this Friday morning. It’s my second time listening to it. I finally got the second book in the series, and it had been a while since I listened to this one, so decided on a re-listen before I start the next one.
  • The Curse of the Pharaohs(Elizabeth Peters) – Started this Monday morning. On Chapter 7/17
• Read: 31 books – 2/31, 3 this week
  • Hammer of the Gods(Christina Ochs) – this is book 3 in her Desolate Empire series. I finished it Sunday night. Definitely eager to see what happens next in the series. I finished this in April, so I’m not counting it to my monthly goal, though I will for the week.
  • The Faerie Key(Denise D. Young) – Read this Monday afternoon. It was a quick read, and I enjoyed it.
  • Beyond Pain(Kit Rocha) – Started this Monday evening. Finished it Tuesday afternoon. Really enjoyed it.
  • Over the Edge(Suzanne Brockman) – Started this Tuesday evening. On page 59/395.

Crafting

• Knit: Duo Cable Hat

Sunday Summary: End of April

It’s the end of April, which means the end of Camp NaNoWriMo, the end of the A-Z challenge, and for me the end of 2 WiPs. Yep, two. I finished Playing with Fire on Friday. And I actually finished Staring at the Sun earlier in the week, though the last scene just went up on my blog today as the final post for the A-Z Challenge. I don’t really have much else to say here, so I’ll get right to it.

Plotting

• Heart of Christmas – finish Story Toolkit, Outline in scrivener –
• Still Burning – Brainstorm, Character back stories, plot summary, through Story Toolkit: Romance Arc –  Finished the protagonist sheets for both main characters, the antagonist, & supporting characters, character arc, and the romance arc. 9/22 sections for the Toolkit. I wrote another Stream of Consciousness post with these characters that gives just a hint of Jess’ issues coming into the story

Writing

• Playing with Fire – Add 73000 words/66 scenes(some of these include bits from my Just Jot It posts in January, they may be fleshed out to scenes of their own or merged into other scenes, but I’m counting them all for right now). – 53714 words/70 finished scenes for the month, 11270 words/15 scenes this week. I merged two planned scenes together then cut out the last 2 I had planned before the epilogue because it seemed like they wouldn’t really be needed, and I could accomplish what I had planned for them in that epilogue. I ended up about 20k below what I’d planned, but I may end up adding more during revisions.
  • “I don’t give a damn about the world,” Silas said. And Jeremiah was in perfect agreement about that. “Only what we think, what we feel matters. Out there we can just all be friends or however you want to pair us up. I’ll be the third wheel to them forever if that’s what it takes. Just don’t make any of us choose in here.”
• Side Projects – add 4000 words between all projects. – 5363/4000 words for the month, 1598 words this week.
  • Preggers – 264 words – But, she did go in, her gaze scanning until she found Marika again. She was smiling at another woman who had a hand resting on a rather large baby bump. Something moved through Lyndi at that. She wasn’t sure if it was the sight of what her future held for her, or that smile on Marika’s face. One a part of her wished was aimed her way.
  • Dougal & Shae – 114 words – Maybe if he figured that out, he’d be able to stop obsessing about it. And her. And maybe not, he thought as he saw the man walking toward the bar. *What could Shae’s brother want with him now?
  • Hang On – 102 words – It bothered me probably more than it should. And definitely more than I’d ever admit. Especially to him.
  • Tavin & Haiwee  – 115 words – And from the rough sounds from down below, not treating the horse in the best way. It wasn’t anything unusual. And like every time he saw it, Tavin wanted to thrash the lad the way he did the horse.
  • Mason & Lila – 211 words – Mason knew the truth without Brian saying anything. His father hadn’t allowed his mother to give Brian money, or he’d spent it all on alcohol over the weekend. Either way, his friend didn’t have it now. Mason took the cup of fruit from his tray and set it in front of Brian along with his spoon without a word. It wasn’t much, but he knew Brian wouldn’t accept more. *I already knew how bad Brian’s past was, and I still want to give him a big hug, and maybe a good meal.
  • Midas’ Daughter – 124 words – Her boots slid slightly in the wet grass, but she managed to find her footing again. She usually didn’t come out until the sun had risen enough to dry most of the dew from the grass. But, if she’d waited longer to leave her room, she’d have to miss yet one more day of riding. And she might truly start to lose her mind.
  • Patrick & Sarah – 111 words – Which meant no more trips to town until it was done. His work still wouldn’t be over, though it would be less intense then. Which would give him time for those trips. And hopefully some courting. If Sarah would have him. 
  • Roman – 177 words – “You have to,” she insisted. “He didn’t do anything. Please,” she said, her voice wavering on the word. “Please help him. He doesn’t deserve to rot in jail. He saw his sister murdered, isn’t that punishment enough?”
  • Mike & Fadil – 145 words – Fadil Asker pulled his car into the small parking lot beside the town’s pharmacy. He looked back down at the list his mother had given to him before leaving the house. He was sure this was only the first of many errands she’d have him running.  *I don’t think he’s going to mind this errand pretty soon. hehe.
  • Hawk – 128 words – He cursed to himself and turned back to his bike. He didn’t know why his father had been on his mind so much lately. The man had made his feeling about Hawk clear years ago. They hadn’t had anything to do with each other since. 
  • Jacob & Matthew – 107 words – But, he’d needed to make sure no one saw him leave the room Matthew had rented the night before. He knew Matthew would go back to sleep and leave in a couple more hours. No one should realize they’d left the same room with so much time between. 

Editing

• Stained Blood – Adjust chapters(some are really long after adding new scenes in), double-check for missing details, 50 search & destroy items, send to readers –  50/50 search & destroy items(cut 1277 words). And I got it sent out.
• Snow White Twist – rename, polish 48 search & destroy items, send to readers –I’ve already gotten it back from one of the beta readers and started going through the notes.
• Flames of Renewal – CP Edits once I get it back – Talked to CP on Sunday. She said she should have this to me this week.
• In the Moonlight – transfer from One Note to Scrivener(on two different computers) –
• Beta Read: I figured this was the best place to put this. I’ve read 15/73 chapters

Blogging

• A-Z posts: Draft 13 posts – 13/13 finished. 9500 words.
• A-Z posts: Edit 18 posts – 18/18 – All posts are scheduled to go up now!
• A-Z posts: Post 25 posts – 25/25 posted. You can find links to all current ones on my theme reveal post(I’m updating as they go live)

Reading

• Listen: 5 books – 7/5,  3 this week
  • Emperor’s Edge(Lindsay Buroker) – I’ve actually read all these books, but I’ve been wanting to do a re-read, so I decided to start getting them in audio(which are only $1.99 since I have the ebooks). I’ll listen to these when I finish my other audiobook for the week. Loved it as much as the times I’ve read it.
  • Tracks of Her Tears(Melinda Leigh) – started this Monday morning. Finished it Monday afternoon. It was a short one(part of a series of novellas). Really enjoyed it.
  • Dark Currents(Lindsay Buroker) – Started this Tuesday morning. Finished it Friday morning. This is the second book in the Emperor’s Edge series.
  • A Thousand Pieces of You(Claudia Gray) – Started this Friday morning. It’s my second time listening to it. I finally got the second book in the series, and it had been a while since I listened to this one, so decided on a re-listen before I start the next one.
• Read: 30 books – 30/30,  9 this week
  • Hammer of the Gods(Christina Ochs) – this is book 3 in her Desolate Empire series. I got the boxed set, but I’ve already read the first 2 separately, so I jumped right to this one on my phone. I’ll read it in the between moments. I’m on Chapter 106/166(If I counted right. The chapters are labeled with POV characters’ names instead of numbers).
  • A Rogue by Any Other Name(Sarah MacLean) – Started this last Tuesday afternoon. Finished it Saturday afternoon. Liked it but not sure if I’d continue the series if I hadn’t bought the next two books as well at a library sale.
  • Wild Card(Mari Carr) – Started this Sunday morning. Finished it Friday night. Enjoyed it.
  • Causing Havoc(Lori Foster) – Started this Monday morning. Finished it Thursday night. I’ve read her other MMA-inspired books that are basically spin-offs from this one, but I’m just now getting to this original series.
  • When You Got A Good Thing(Kait Nolan) – Started this Tuesday morning. Finished it Tuesday evening. Loved it so much. Think I’m going to love this series as much as I have her Wishful one.
  • The Crown’s Game(Evelyn Skye) – Started this Wednesday morning. Finished it Wednesday night. Wasn’t too sure at first, but I ended up getting really into it. And the end…gah, it just ripped  y heart out. The next book comes out in less than three weeks.
  • Out of Frame(Megan Erickson) – Started this Thursday morning. Finished it Thursday evening. Loved it so much(like the rest of the series, and pretty much everything she’s written). I bought the next book right away.
  • Going Hard(Cari Quinn) – Started this Friday afternoon. Finished it Friday evening. Enjoyed it.
  • On the Edge of Gone(Corrine Duyvis) – Read this Saturday morning. Liked it, but didn’t feel all that drawn in.
  • Dazzle Me(Juliana Haygert) – Read this one Saturday, too. Enjoyed it.

Crafting

• Knit: Duo Cable Hat – 6 rounds of decrease done, but I ran out of yarn. and still haven’t gotten more.
• Crochet: Crystal Drops Beanie –
• Loom: Newborn Loom Knit Baby Hat

And an update on how the round is going so far:

Plotting

• Heart of Christmas(BC Security #3.5) – finish outlining
• Still Burning(Hunter Family #4/Flames #7(?)) – Outline
• Jayla’s Story(Gilbert, Co #7) – Outline
• High on Your Love(Kurztown #6) – Outline

Writing

• Playing with Fire – finish 1st draft
• Not Meant to Be – finish 1st draft
• By the Gun – finish 1st draft(I set this one aside a while ago, but hoping I can pick it back up)
• Side Projects – add 12000 words between all projects.

Editing

• Stained Blood – Polish and send back to CP and to beta(if anyone else wants to read, let me know)
• Snow White Twist – Polish and sent to readers. Hopefully submit before the end of the round
• Dance with the Devil – Revise and start posting to Wattpad
• Flames of Renewal – Apply CP edits
• In the Moonlight – Revise
• Demons Rising – Revise

Blogging

• A-Z posts: Draft 13 posts, edit & format 18 posts, post 25 posts
• Story a Day: Write 31 stories

Reading

• Listen: 12 books
• Read: 90 books

Crafting

• Knit: 3 projects
• Crochet: 3 projects
• Loom: 3 projects

And for May Goals:

Plotting

• Still Burning – finish Outline
• Jayla’s Story(Gilbert, Co #7) – get through Story Toolkit Supporting Characters

Writing

• Not Meant to Be – Add 53000 words/28 scenes to finish 1st draft
• Side Projects – Add 4400 words between all projects

Editing

• Flames of Renewal – CP Edits
• In the Moonlight – Transfer from OneNote(on my Surface) to Scrivener(on my laptop)
• Snow White Twist – Beta edits, rename, & submit
• Dance with the Devil – read through & make revisions

Blogging

• Story a Day – Write 31 stories

Reading

• Listen: 5 books
• Read: 31 books

Crafting

• Knit: Duo Cable Hat