2020 Quarterly Update #1
Well, the first quarter of 2020 has passed us by and honestly? I'm not that sad to see it go. There wasn't a ton of redeeming qualities about the first 4 months of this decade, at least not for most of the world. Fingers crossed for a better year ahead!
Writing is one of the few things that has been going reasonably well this quarter. As most of you probably know by now, I published Faithless at the end of March and I am floored by the beautiful reception the novel has had! Thank you AGAIN from the bottom of my heart to those that read, reviewed, and shared/interacted with social media posts. It all means a lot!
If you haven't had the chance to check out Faithless for yourself yet, PLEASE do so. My sales have taken an incredible hit due to this pandemic and Amazon's current shipping priorities. If you are interested in a short, action-packed read, you will certainly enjoy Faithless and it would so much to me if you bought it. *heart eyes*
Read the rave reviews on GOODREADS
And purchase directly from AMAZON
Aside from wrapping up Faithless entirely and setting it out into the world, I have been working steady since February on The Promise, which is the third book in my fantasy series, The War of the Three Crowns. I am currently on chapter 10 with my goal being to write 4 chapters per month for the majority of the year to get to the half-way mark by Christmas. So far so good!
I have been doing less good at continuing The Snow Dragon, in which my muse absolutely REFUSES to cooperate for unknown reasons. I am hoping to have the first draft of this MG fantasy finished in 2020, but it's doing its very best to thwart me.
I've also been tinkering on a NEW project, another fantasy (this time YA) called Don't Insult the Witch. It's a plot bunny I've had for awhile now and will hopefully be the NEW MANUSCRIPT goal I have for the year. We'll see how that comes along, I'm not doing great with it either, haha.
More info on my WIPs can be found on my UPCOMING PROJECTS page. :DD
My reading life is slow lately, which is a huge problem I need to rectify. I've started off the year a little ahead on my Goodreads goal of 25 (lame, I know), but so far I haven't found any series to really sink my teeth into like last year (Harry Potter) or the year before (Series of Unfortunate Events). Any recommendations for something along those lines?
There are a couple of books being released this year that I am ACHING to read, including Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth, and The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by VE Schwab. They literally cannot come fast enough.
I've gotten a lot of new music recently and Alec Benjamin is quickly becoming a new favorite. Others that I have really been enjoying lately include: Billie Eilish, AJR, the Frozen 2 soundtrack, FINNEAS, and Panic! At the Disco.
Before the pandemic, I had the chance to see Little Women in theaters and OH MY WORD YOU GUYS. I will never not stop gushing about this film, so perfectly shot, acted, directed, ugh. Truly a masterpiece, if you can, get your hands on it and add it to your watch-list. Saoirse Ronan (Jo) is a literal goddess and deserved her Oscar - I will never get over it. Also, Timothee Chalamet and Florence Pugh! *all the heart eyes* Is it considered essential to go out and buy the DVD right now??
Jonathan and I have also binged through the entirety of Gravity Falls (something I should have watched a long time ago), and just finished The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The fact that COVID-19 is a thing goes without saying, and like most of the world over, it's also thrown me for a loop. We've been on a social distancing/stay home order since March 17th here, and while I am thankfully not entirely trapped at home, I have not seen friends or done any extracurriculars since that time, which I truly miss. The world is very different and a little scary, and I'm praying for things to change before summer rolls around, but I'm thankful for the chance to still work and be with my family.
ABRAHAM LAKE. Before the world went to hell in a handbasket for 2020, I was spending a lot of time with friends, including a trip a bunch of us girls took out to Abraham Lake (cleverly designed by me to get a particular portrait done for a portrait series I'm doing this year, which you can follow me on INSTAGRAM to see). It was very windy, very chilly, but very pretty and it was really nice to spend time with some awesome young people. I'm really thankful we got the chance to do it before everything shut down for who knows how long. I got some pretty great photos too which I'm always happy to have. ;)
HORSES. Lots of horsey stuff this year, as that's one of 2 facets of my life that's remained completely normal and busy. I'm still working regularly 3-4 times per week at my barn as an assistant trainer. We've had an influx of new client horses recently, and it's finally warming up and *beginning* to melt, so we've been able to take longer days and it's really nice. My own 2 young horses (Arthur and Phoebe) went to my barn to be started undersaddle this month, which I'm pretty excited about. Indie, my senior horse, went to hang out with his senior buddy for probably most of the rest of the year, so for a bit I was down to just 2 horses and our donkey at home. But, since I have a lot of empty time and less work, at least until seeding season starts, I brought in a few training horses of my own to work with, bringing my numbers back to 6 (I have a problem). I've also been trimming, at work, at camp, and my own horses, and hopefully will start working with camp horses soon (and hopefully we will even have camp this summer).
NEW PUPPY. The best and, dare I say, ONLY good thing to come from this pandemic was the opportunity for me and Jonathan to bring home our very first dog together as a married couple! Blogosphere, meet Percy! He is a Heeler x Border Collie and is just 11 weeks old today. We've had him for 3 weeks now and he is very sweet, very smart, and a little bit bad, but I think that's just a puppy thing. I am super excited about him, even though he has very much cut into our sleep schedule and house-training is a struggle, lol. But those new puppy snuggles though! Well worth it when he can melt your heart with just a look.
2019 Quarterly Update #3
How was your first quarter of 2020? It seems to be a hard year for most people the world over, even on top of the pandemic stuff going on. It's definitely been rocky on my end. How are you dealing with coronavirus in your life? Hopefully this post finds you and your family safe and healthy in this difficult time. Hang in there, guys!
WRITING
Writing is one of the few things that has been going reasonably well this quarter. As most of you probably know by now, I published Faithless at the end of March and I am floored by the beautiful reception the novel has had! Thank you AGAIN from the bottom of my heart to those that read, reviewed, and shared/interacted with social media posts. It all means a lot!
If you haven't had the chance to check out Faithless for yourself yet, PLEASE do so. My sales have taken an incredible hit due to this pandemic and Amazon's current shipping priorities. If you are interested in a short, action-packed read, you will certainly enjoy Faithless and it would so much to me if you bought it. *heart eyes*
Read the rave reviews on GOODREADS
And purchase directly from AMAZON
Aside from wrapping up Faithless entirely and setting it out into the world, I have been working steady since February on The Promise, which is the third book in my fantasy series, The War of the Three Crowns. I am currently on chapter 10 with my goal being to write 4 chapters per month for the majority of the year to get to the half-way mark by Christmas. So far so good!
I have been doing less good at continuing The Snow Dragon, in which my muse absolutely REFUSES to cooperate for unknown reasons. I am hoping to have the first draft of this MG fantasy finished in 2020, but it's doing its very best to thwart me.
I've also been tinkering on a NEW project, another fantasy (this time YA) called Don't Insult the Witch. It's a plot bunny I've had for awhile now and will hopefully be the NEW MANUSCRIPT goal I have for the year. We'll see how that comes along, I'm not doing great with it either, haha.
More info on my WIPs can be found on my UPCOMING PROJECTS page. :DD
MEDIA
My reading life is slow lately, which is a huge problem I need to rectify. I've started off the year a little ahead on my Goodreads goal of 25 (lame, I know), but so far I haven't found any series to really sink my teeth into like last year (Harry Potter) or the year before (Series of Unfortunate Events). Any recommendations for something along those lines?
There are a couple of books being released this year that I am ACHING to read, including Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth, and The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by VE Schwab. They literally cannot come fast enough.
I've gotten a lot of new music recently and Alec Benjamin is quickly becoming a new favorite. Others that I have really been enjoying lately include: Billie Eilish, AJR, the Frozen 2 soundtrack, FINNEAS, and Panic! At the Disco.
Before the pandemic, I had the chance to see Little Women in theaters and OH MY WORD YOU GUYS. I will never not stop gushing about this film, so perfectly shot, acted, directed, ugh. Truly a masterpiece, if you can, get your hands on it and add it to your watch-list. Saoirse Ronan (Jo) is a literal goddess and deserved her Oscar - I will never get over it. Also, Timothee Chalamet and Florence Pugh! *all the heart eyes* Is it considered essential to go out and buy the DVD right now??
Jonathan and I have also binged through the entirety of Gravity Falls (something I should have watched a long time ago), and just finished The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
LIFE
The fact that COVID-19 is a thing goes without saying, and like most of the world over, it's also thrown me for a loop. We've been on a social distancing/stay home order since March 17th here, and while I am thankfully not entirely trapped at home, I have not seen friends or done any extracurriculars since that time, which I truly miss. The world is very different and a little scary, and I'm praying for things to change before summer rolls around, but I'm thankful for the chance to still work and be with my family.
ABRAHAM LAKE. Before the world went to hell in a handbasket for 2020, I was spending a lot of time with friends, including a trip a bunch of us girls took out to Abraham Lake (cleverly designed by me to get a particular portrait done for a portrait series I'm doing this year, which you can follow me on INSTAGRAM to see). It was very windy, very chilly, but very pretty and it was really nice to spend time with some awesome young people. I'm really thankful we got the chance to do it before everything shut down for who knows how long. I got some pretty great photos too which I'm always happy to have. ;)
HORSES. Lots of horsey stuff this year, as that's one of 2 facets of my life that's remained completely normal and busy. I'm still working regularly 3-4 times per week at my barn as an assistant trainer. We've had an influx of new client horses recently, and it's finally warming up and *beginning* to melt, so we've been able to take longer days and it's really nice. My own 2 young horses (Arthur and Phoebe) went to my barn to be started undersaddle this month, which I'm pretty excited about. Indie, my senior horse, went to hang out with his senior buddy for probably most of the rest of the year, so for a bit I was down to just 2 horses and our donkey at home. But, since I have a lot of empty time and less work, at least until seeding season starts, I brought in a few training horses of my own to work with, bringing my numbers back to 6 (I have a problem). I've also been trimming, at work, at camp, and my own horses, and hopefully will start working with camp horses soon (and hopefully we will even have camp this summer).
 |
| this was april 1st - minus 25 w/ windchill |
NEW PUPPY. The best and, dare I say, ONLY good thing to come from this pandemic was the opportunity for me and Jonathan to bring home our very first dog together as a married couple! Blogosphere, meet Percy! He is a Heeler x Border Collie and is just 11 weeks old today. We've had him for 3 weeks now and he is very sweet, very smart, and a little bit bad, but I think that's just a puppy thing. I am super excited about him, even though he has very much cut into our sleep schedule and house-training is a struggle, lol. But those new puppy snuggles though! Well worth it when he can melt your heart with just a look.
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2019 Quarterly Update #3
LET'S TALK.
How was your first quarter of 2020? It seems to be a hard year for most people the world over, even on top of the pandemic stuff going on. It's definitely been rocky on my end. How are you dealing with coronavirus in your life? Hopefully this post finds you and your family safe and healthy in this difficult time. Hang in there, guys!
"Don't Insult the Witch" is giving me quirky fairytale vibes, somewhat like TSATS's "I annoyed the sorceress and she turned me into a squid", so... I want to hear more. :D
ReplyDeleteFor reading, I'm on Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library series - it's portal fantasy, I guess? and I've found it such a fun read. Have you read it, Emily?
And Percy is SO SO CUTE pls give him a scratch behind the ears for me because I can tell he is a GOOD PUPPER.
I think it's going to be similar for sure! Except I'm planning to write it more for a YA age group, so I can go a bit darker. ;)
DeleteI have not read that! I will have to go look it up, I've never even heard of it.
I will do that! He is very cute, right now he is completely passed out after a hard day of playing at the farm.
I'm sorry that the C-word has made your release difficult. That's just really frustrating.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I've actually been rereading The Series of Unfortunate Events in part because of your read through! I was so inspired, that I decided I'd prioritize it this year. I'm also working on reading through The Chronicles of Narnia right now. I might follow it up with Percy Jackson, if I'm still in my reread mood.
I hope May treats you well!
Oooohhh, all those series are amazing! Particularly Narnia. ;) I'm glad I could be of inspiration.
DeleteThank you! I hope your May is amazing as well. :D