Weekly Check-In #49

 What I’ve Been Writing:

Defectors and Queens - It was a productive writing week for me in Book 2 of the True Heir Duology.  We fought off some new monsters, got a little bloody and muddy, found a lost person, had a fun, steamy shower and—eek—experienced a first kiss. The first 30 chapters are fleshed out, and a total of 93,000 words have been written. 

What I’ve Been Reading:

I’m still working my way through tandem reading Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn. EoS is more exciting for me so I have to push my way through the ToD chapters, and then I have to make myself slow down so I can more fully savor the EoS chapters.  Manon and Dorian scenes are definitely my favorites. 

What I’ve Been Stacking on my Shelves:

Got five newbies added to the collection this week! 

1. Hollow by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti 
2. Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
3. When Life Happened (signed) by Jewell E. Ann
4. Terms and Conditionsc by Lauren Asher
5. Starside by Alex Aster

Weekly Check-in #48

 What I Wrote This Week:

Defectors and Queens - I got some words on the page! This is good. Words can be fixed and prettied up. But the absence of words just means no progress. I'm good with this progress. So far, I have completed the first 24 chapters.  And word count is at 80,000. 

What I Read This Week:

I finally finished Assassin's Blade. Hooray! But whew, I never thought I was going to get through this book. It wasn't bad. I just...I don't know why I dragged my way through it.  But we got 'er done.  And then I sped through Queen of Shadows like it was a novella, even though it's easily three times the length of Assassin's Blade.  To say the least, this series is finally gaining my interest. And now, my daughter has asked me to tandem read the next two books in the series together because apparently, they happen at the same time. This is going to be my first attempt to read two intertwined stories at once. I have already marked the chapters so that I know when to switch back and forth between stories, but I foresee it taking me quite a bit of time to finish them because they're both massive.  Pray for me!

What I Bought This Week:

This is the first week in quite a while that I actually read more books than I bought. Shock!  Anyway, I got a signed special edition of The Traitor Queen because I'm a massive Danielle Jensen fan now. And I love it. Hope you enjoy World Theatre Day. See you again next week. 

Weekly Check-in #47

 What I've Been Writing:

Defectors and Queens - You'll never guess what! I actually wrote MORE words than I deleted this week.  I know, shocking. But I think this story is actually moving forward again! And I'm beginning to really enjoy my main man, too. After the flashy, cocky flair of my Book One guy, I was worried my dark, brooding, tortured Book Two boy would just come across as boring. But I gotta admit, his dry sarcasm is selling me. I love him. I love progress. I love this duology. This was a good week. Word Count - 72,000.

What I've Been Reading:

So my first must-read of the year arrived at my house on Wednesday, meaning I was forced--yes, forced--to set aside The Assassin's Blade and plow my way through Love Song by Elle Kennedy. It has all the feels: Laughter, steamy angst, heartbreak, redemption, family drama, ghost stories, everything. I stayed up late reading last night and then woke at 4:30 this morning so I could finish it before I had to get ready for work.  And it was worth it. Love, love, love me a good Elle Kennedy book, and OGM, did y'all see the trailer yesterday for the Off Campus series coming out May 13 on Amazon Prime? That line: "You looking for someone?"  Why, yes. Yes, I am. Eek. I cannot wait for it.  So excited. 

What I've Been Stacking on My Shelves:

Got some goodies to show off this week.  Last May, I ordered the Lunar Chronicles book series by Marissa Meyer from the Bookish Box, and they came in yesterday. (I'm still too afraid to take the plastic off them yet, but I'm sure I will...someday. LOL). Then, of course, Love Song came in. The cover of Mayhem and the Mortal sold me, so I got a copy of that too. And finally, after months of seeing bookstagram posts about Given by Elayna Gallea, I broke down and got that as well. So I would say this week rated the triple-star of greatness in my shelfish world.