Monday, February 27, 2017

Decisions

Hello Everyone!

It’s been a total month of crazy. Well, I should say it’s been about two months of crazy. There’s been work and health issues that have popped up and I had to choose something to step away from. That thing was my blogging. I love getting my thoughts out and interacting, but there’s sometimes a need for a breather.

That being said, I’ve heard a lot of people mention that they haven’t heard from me recently.

2017 has been an interesting year for me. A year of decisions, which I guess I wasn’t expecting to start out.

Hubby and I made some important decisions regarding our infertility, and which direction we’d like to go with starting and raising a family.

Hubby is still in the midst of making a decision about schooling and graduating.

Work-wise, I made the decision to take straight night-shifts for reasons very obvious to me. They’re not so obvious to other people.

Writing wise, now that I’ve finished the entire Commissioned Series (first drafts of the later books), I’m looking at what I want to do with it. My writing partner and I founded a writing group in our area, and we’ve had to make some decisions about what direction we wanted our activities to go. We also had to decide what was too much, and what would be fun for our writers.

I’m starting to see things calm down, but that doesn’t mean that life won’t throw another curveball or two. For now, I’m writing, I’m working, and I’m staying happy.


How about the rest of you? How’s 2017 treating you so far?

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

My Favorite Books of 2016

For the past two years, I’ve made reading goals, and I still haven’t quite reached my goal. Last year, I was close. I wanted to read 45 books in the year 2016, and I read 34 published books, and 4 nonpublished. (Beta reads for other writers). Many of them were really fun reads, and I thought I’d let you know the top in my list!

Also, this is in no particular order.


Shades of Milk and Honey – Mary Robinette Kowal

I hadn’t heard of Mary Robinette Kowal. I knew of Writing Excuses, but I didn’t really listen to their podcast. Last year, I went to a writing conference with a friend, where Mary was on multiple panels. I thought she was hilarious, and I really wanted to read her book, especially since my friend highly recommended it. I loved the Austen feel with magic, and I’m pretty sure I read the whole thing in less than a day.


Ian Quicksilver – Alyson Peterson

Alyson was another writer I met at the writers’ conference. She hadn’t published Ian Quicksilver yet, but after meeting her, I was dying to read something she’d written. Let me just say, Alyson knows how to write teenage boys. Ian was a character who jumped off the page and kept me laughing through the entire book.


Healer’s Apprentice – Melanie Dickerson

I discovered Melanie Dickerson last year when one of my sisters recommended her books. Apparently, I was in the mood for a lot of historical type books last year. I actually read a lot of her books, but this was the first one that I read, and I loved her style of writing. I’m also a sucker for fairy tale retellings, so it was just the perfect balance for me.


Passenger – Alexandra Bracken

I love Alexandra Bracken. I devoured her Darkest Minds series, and when I found out that she had a new book, I just had to read it. This book was completely different, but I still loved it. She addresses so many issues in a way that made me want to keep reading. She addresses gender and race as her characters time travel to different times and different areas of the world.


The Originals – Cat Patrick

I have no idea how I discovered this book. I got a notice from the library that my reserved book was ready, and I couldn’t remember reserving it. It was definitely a happy accident though. Cat Patrick writes light science fiction, and I think she’s the reason why I tried writing science fiction last November. I read several of her books, and I loved that there was a slight mystery to everything. She’s the one who turned me on to contemporary science fiction.


Winner’s Kiss – Marie Rutkoski

This is the final book in the Winner’s Trilogy, and after several disappointing final books to series, I picked this one up with not very high expectations. But I shouldn’t have worried. Marie Rutkoski knows her characters, and she made me love them even more. It’s one of the best final books that I’ve read in a really long time.


Grave Mercy – Robin LaFevers

I had randomly downloaded this book before going on a writers’ retreat. I had spent the day writing – probably close to ten hours, and I wanted to relax before going to bed. This book wasn’t really what I would call relaxing, mostly because I had to find out what happens next! It’s such a unique idea, and I loved the execution. Plus, the romance was slow burning and just awesome.