Weekly Check-in #45

What I've Been Writing:

Defectors and Queens: After making so many developmental changes to book one of my True Heir Duology, I am now altering what I have so far of book two's manuscript to match it. So this week has been all about deleting chapters one and two and then writing an entirely new chapter one. Then, the old chapter five is now chapter two with some revisions, and that's about as far as I've gotten. The whole thing is currently at 62,000 words.

What I've Been Reading: 

I don't know why Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas took me so long to gag my way through, but golly. I had to force myself to keep going. Maybe it was because I saw some spoilers on social media and knew the MC's endgame love interest wouldn't even be introduced until the next book. That's probably it. I finally hit an interested grove in the last eighth (maybe the last tenth) of the story, though, so yay! I know my kiddo wants me to read The Assassin's Blade next, but dude! I'm ready to meet me some Rowan already, so I'll probably head into Heir of Fire next. 

What's Being Stocked on my Shelf:

This week was very pink with my book haul. I received When He Was Wicked, Dire Bound, and Twilight. This Twilight edition is the first novel I've owned where I can change the picture on the edges by shifting them around. Very cool. Nice trophy piece. 

Weekly Check-in #44

 What I've Been Writing:

Impostors and Thieves - My time has been so consumed with fixing up this story that I didn't even pause to give an update last week, sorry!  But chapters have moves, scenes created, scenes erased, and focus switched a bit, but I have gotten through the changes! This story is at 146K right now.

Here's a sneak peek of a new scene I added to the manuscript:

 “I told you I can’t get you free until after I’m on the throne. And this girl right here is the proof I need to get there.”

I nod along with his lie, ready to tell these bloodsuckers anything to get them to leave me alone.

Hear that, assholes? I’m proof, so ha! Fangs off.

What I've Been Reading:

No reading done. I've been all about the writing.

What I've been Shelving:

A couple of books arrived at my house these past two weeks. I now have a 3D-vdged version of Court of Wings and Ruin.  And Heir of Illusion showed up. 

Weekly Check-in #43

Hey! Last week was so crazy-busy (at the day job AND at home--getting ready for my kiddo's birthday party, where she invited all her friends to OUR house. Yes, picture fourteen teenagers in your living room, eating tacos, making homemade iced coffees, and watching Dirty Dancing together. It was quite an experience.) that I didn't get anything posted, sorry.

 What I've Been Writing:

So I got some feedback on Impostors and Thieves that made me put aside Book 2 (because it'll change) and do an overhaul on Book 1 in the hopes of making it more marketable. I've been deleting chapters, adding new chapters, moving chapters from later in the story and others to earlier in the story, just all kinds of changes. I have almost all the major moving finished. Then, I'll go through it again (and probably again and again a few more times) to work on the sentence level next! It's at 146,000 words right now.

What I've Been Reading:

So in the past two weeks, I've read three books. I finished off the Meledition series by Danielle Jensen with Hidden Huntress and Warrior Witch. And then my sixteen-year-old (yes, she's sixteen now!) commanded me to start the Throne of Glass series. I really wasn't in the mood to commit myself to an eight-book series just now, but the girl spoke, so I obeyed. Which means I finished Book One, Throne of Glass, this week. And, oh yes, and the child also said I must read them in HER order, so I was not allowed to begin with The Assassin's Blade. But I've heard it can go either way, so that part really didn't matter to me. And it made my kid happy, so I'm happy!

What I've Been Putting on my Shelves:

My husband's Christmas present to me, The Throne of Glass series, came in last week, as did:

• To Sir Phillip, With Love
• The Things We Leave Unfinished (signed!)
• Half City (from Allurial Book Box Sub)
• Metal Slinger and
• Story of my Life.

Then this week, I received The Night Prince.