Updates

~And Here We Go Again…

by // // 3 Comments

– – –

I know, I know… I always come back after an absence of posting, with renewed resolves to become the blogger I once was… and I always seem to fail. I was doing pretty good about a year and a half ago. I even had more than one or two readers. (I’m thinking Ashton, you might be the only one around now…) Then, we moved. Yes, that was my excuse. I can’t use it anymore though. My family  has moved three times in the last two and a half years. It’s been crazy. But we’ve now been in this house for six months… I think we’re settled. Hopefully, LORD willing, the crazy moving spree is over and we’ll stay put for awhile – and free of sickness. I have no idea how people manage to keep up their blog through sickness and household upheaval. I do, however, want to try. I really miss my blog. I miss sharing my posts with readers, interacting with fellow bloggers, doing an in-depth review of the newest book I’ve read… I miss it. So, settled or not, I hope to begin again, here and now, to blog regularly.

I need to move a few things around on here… and update my About Me page… I already redesigned my header! Bethany drew me the feather and I did the rest. Doesn’t it look neat?

As for new posts, I have some books to review – hopefully, I’ll go back to reviewing a book every Wednesday – a few poems to share, and I’m working on a serial story to start putting up. Not sure what day I’ll do for that one. I also have plenty of updates to share about my upcoming books, Grandmother’s Letters and The Tale of a Say’s Phoebe. (The first is Christian Contemporary Fiction for young adults, the second is a children’s picture book.)

I’m off to work on getting some of these ready… Oh, and in case anyone wants to know, windmills make me think of the passage of time… hence the picture at the head of this post.

To the KING be all the glory!

~At Last…

by // // 2 Comments

So at last, I have returned. And this time, I’m serious. I have several posts planned; even a few are already typed out. So, what have I been up to?

First of all, my blog has obviously had a makeover. I was reluctant to get rid of my lovely brown background, but now that it’s done, I really like it. I might tweak one or two things still… nothing big. Like the shade of gray down on the entry link box. It seems a little dark to me. I can’t come up with a better color though, so it will have to stay for now. Overall though, I really like it. Many thanks to my Mom who helped me come up with the idea for the header. And thanks to my sister who lent me her quill and ink stand. My stand was too big! I also added a new “About Me” page at the top for those who are interested.

Next… I’ve been reading quite a lot when I haven’t been on the computer. I’ll try to have a list of what I’m reading up soon too. That and a list of what I have read, so you all can get an idea of the books I’ll be reviewing soon. (I already have two written up: Red Rain and The Phantom of the Opera should both be posted quite soon!)

Lastly… and I saved the best for last. At least I think it’s the best. I have officially decided to self-publish A Year with the Potters. LORD willing, I’ll be able to release it in the next several weeks. I finally have a book cover. I am so excited! I had some help in the designing of it, but it still seemed to take me forever. I’m sure I’ll get better at it with practice. This, of course, is the cover:

– – –

I would love to hear what you think of everything. I’m excited to be back to blogging. I’ve missed posting and my readers comments. :)

To the KING be all the glory!

~Checking In!

by // // 3 Comments

And, was, passive sentence, active voice, comma here, comma there, capitalize this, italicize that… My brain is about to be fried and turn to ashes. Maybe I’m too much of a perfectionist for a first time author. Maybe my original manuscript was terrible. I’m not sure. I do know that I had no idea how much work I was getting into when I started this revision! None. I’m hoping that I’ll be done very soon… I just hope I still have brain enough left when I’m done!

My characters are better for the rewrite. Almost non-existent minor characters have been brought out. Problems with major characters are fixed. I’ve changed a few names and revised a few timeline issues.

I’m still working on my cover idea. I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing with it yet, but I have a picture in my head. I’m working on ideas for marketing and trying to write loglines.

I promise to have a more interesting post soon. I seriously do have a few poems started and plenty of book reviews in my mental queue. Until then, back to my keyboard and Word documents…

 
To the KING be all the glory!

~Changes and Check-in

by // // 2 Comments

– – –

My book rewrite is coming along well. My tentative deadline was June 15th, but the LORD didn’t see a need for it to be done so fast. Instead, I got sick and produced very little writing of any kind for a couple of weeks. Thankfully, I’m still about halfway through. My sister says the rewrite is a vast improvement, so that’s good. I have cut scenes, improved descriptions, changed sentences and toyed with nicknames for my characters. The result, I must confess, painful as it is, really is better. Passive sentences are probably what I’m fixing the most. That and extraneous material. I never knew how much better it would be if I changed those two. Especially passive sentences. LORD willing, I’ll have  this stage of writing done by the end of June. All of this leaves me in a state excitement and expectation, as well as fighting a bit of apprehension. :)

As to the changes mentioned in the title. I’m planning to start posting again. I have quite a few book reviews coming up, if the LORD wills, a poem or two and I don’t know what else. The Phantom of the Opera and Red Rain are two books I hope to review in the coming weeks. I also plan to be putting up a few pages at the top of the site soon. The biggest change would be, however, that I am planning to redesign the blog. It might take some experimentation, but I hope to do it soon. As much as I love the way it looks now, it really is a bit out of place with Summer almost here. I don’t plan to make it seasonal this time. I think I’m ready for a “steady look”. We’ll see what I come up with! I suppose I better get brainstorming…

To the KING be all the glory!

~ “A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That…”

by // // 3 Comments

I’ve been rather neglectful of our blog lately. Doesn’t it look dusty and forgotten? (Post wise that is, I still like the layout for now.)

 

This Summer has been busy, in several ways. I have been rediscovering the joys of reading over the last several months and I have “devoured” several books this Summer. I plan to start posting my reviews soon, LORD willing. Classics such as A Tale of Two Cities, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Jane Eyre, as well as newer books, Princess Paisley being one of them, are on my review list. Some of the books I loved, some I simply liked and others I didn’t really care for. I’m enjoying studying the writing style and voice of the different authors that I am reading from. It’s been quite the interesting study. Perhaps I’ll put some of my observations into my reviews.

 

As for my own books, I confess I have done very little writing this Summer. I’m working on a short story but my larger books haven’t really been touched. I’m kind of stuck actually. Grandmother’s Letters, my most active book, is moving so slowly that it’s difficult to say what’s happening next. Hopefully I’ll figure it out soon. I’m also working on a small project related to my writing and I’m still editing A Year with the Potters for (LORD willing) publication before too long. I do also have a few poems that I would like to post and a few more fermenting in my head,  requesting that I write them down. Hopefully I’ll do a post about my writing fairly soon.

 

Besides reading, I’ve been studying the piano a lot, working on practicing the harder and less “fun” things relating to my instrument. It’s been fun and a lot of hard work at the same time. I’m also working on my Herbology/Nutrition studies slowly right now, but trying to get more time put into it. I’ve been gardening, cataloging our library, trying to keep the kitchen clean, celebrating birthdays, doing a deep cleaning of the entire house (still working on that one!) and having company over. Overall, the Summer has been fun and adventuresome in many ways, though in others it has been very difficult. Praise the LORD that He is in control of it all!

 

So, there is my mishmash of a post. Hopefully I’ll get a proper post up soon. Until then…

 

To the KING be all the glory!