Greetings, friends!
As I’m writing this, it’s a gray,
chilly fall day and it’s pouring outside. PERFECT weather. I love it. *all the
summer/sunshine lovers start throwing tomatoes at me so I catch them and turn
them into tomato soup which is perfect for this perfect fall day* *thank you*
I can’t believe September is over??
The fall months I look forward to so excitedly always go by so quickly and it
makes me sad. But it’s been quite a warm fall here so far, so I’m hoping with
October will come some cooler temperatures. ANYWAY. I thought I’d do a little
September wrapup. (My first monthly wrapup in… like two years, I think??) So,
I’ll go ahead and proceed into that before I keep rambling about the weather.
XD
you don’t get any cute section headers in this post because they’re all saved on my old laptop and I don’t feel like getting them right now XD plus my internet is really bad right now so no photos of the things I'm talking about either hahahaha
READING
So, uh… I kind of went
reading-crazy this month. Like, every time I told my sister I’d started a new
book she responded with “you already finished *insert title of whatever book
I’d just been reading*????” I set a goal of reading 50 books this year, then
when September came, I was very, very far behind. And I don’t know if it was
that, or the reading bug randomly biting me again, or the fact that I was
reading really good books, or what, but I read six books this month. Which is
more than I’ve done in a whiiiile. (it’s almost as many as I read all last
year. XD)
FROM DARKNESS WON by Jill
Williamson // 5
stars // I read the first two books a while back and was kind of dreading
this one just because of the SIZE of it and the fact that I’d been reading so
slowly and didn’t want to get hung up again. But I think I read it in three
days. XD I really enjoyed this final book of the Blood of Kings trilogy.
MORTAL QUEENS and LETHAL KINGS by
Victoria McCombs
// 4 stars // I received an eARC of Lethal Kings, so I read Mortal
Queens to prepare. And I ended up loving these books!! They were the first
I’ve read from this author, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but I
really loved her writing style and all the characters. I genuinely enjoyed and
got invested in these books more than any books I’d read in a while. (Book 2
broke my heart and shattered my soul, though, so. There’s that. I would have
thrown it across the room if I hadn’t been reading on my Kindle*.) I had a few
issues with some things toward the end, but overall I just really loved the
world, the characters, the stakes, and I would definitely read these again.
LYDIA GREEN OF MULBERRY GLEN by
Millie Florence //
3.5 stars // I’ve had this book on my shelf for a while, but what
perfect timing to pick it up because it was a lovely fallish book! I actually
didn’t know this was a fantasy until I started reading, so that was a pleasant
little treat. I loved this book and so related to Lydia’s struggles with
change. It was a very cute story, but also deeper than I expected it to be.
Definitely recommend for a quick fall read!
LIGHTSHED by Crystal D. Grant // 5 stars // The FEELS.
It’s always hard to top first books in a series, but I think this one beat book 1 for me. I wish I could tell you about a certain scene that just
absolutely stole my heart, but alas… spoilers. (So… you need to read book 1 and
then book 2 so we can talk about it. Okay? Okay.)
PRINCESS ACADEMY by Shannon Hale // 3.5 stars // This was another
cute, cozy story that was perfect for
fall! Side note: have any of you guys seen the movie Courage Mountain?
Because there were some uncanny similarities in this book that I’m curious if
anyone else noticed. :P
*I got a
Kindle!! I’ve been thinking about getting one for a while, mainly for the
purpose of reading eARCS because trying to read on my laptop or my phone is
really annoying. So, I did the thing and bought the Kindle, and though I haven’t
used it much yet, I have no regrets. (I also found that I seemed to read much
faster on it than I do with a physical book?? I’d read like 50 pages and it
felt like nothing. Not sure of the science behind this. XD)
WRITING
In terms of writing, I did no
writing. *whoops*
But honestly, I think this break was
needed. I felt a little guilty at the beginning of the month for reading so
ravenously and neglecting my own book, but I think my creative well needed
filled back up. I was overwhelmed with some changes and different things in my
WIP and kind of dreading getting back to it because of that (kinda still am,
oopsies), so I just let myself forget about it for a while and fill myself with
stories. And after reading so little for… well, heck, the past couple of years,
it was really refreshing.
But now, I’m just about ready to
get back to work, and I’m hoping to jump back into Look for the Flares
full-force in October.* There’s still a looot of work to be done to tighten
this story up, which became obvious in July when so many people at Realm Makers
asked what I was working on and I realized that in terms of being able to
describe it in a quick pitch, I really didn’t know what this book was about. XD
(Flashback to when I was having a conversation with Sara Ella and she asked me
about my book and I nervously laughed and rambled on for I don’t know how long
while she just smiled and nodded… God bless you, Sara, because I know that was
painful to listen to. XD)
*At least… I think I am. The other
day I randomly started missing the craziness of writing a new book every
November and kinda sorta considering putting aside my current WIP to write an
idea that I’ve had for a couple years… so, yeah. We’ll see where I go from here.
*smiles nervously*)
LIFE
So, this actually happened a few
months ago, but I haven’t mentioned it here yet: I joined the Havok hive!
AKA, the volunteer team behind the epic Havok Publishing. It’s been a little
nerve-wracking and overwhelming at times—starting new things is not my strong
point and I’ve definitely been tempted to throw in the towel already—but it
feels good knowing I’m pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and getting
some experience in different things.
~~
I saw for King & Country live, and it was AMAZING.
I’ve been to a few concerts now,
and this one just MIGHT have been my favorite. Those guys put on a heck of a
show, and they’re so talented, but my main takeaway was the HEART behind it.
Their music is so uplifting and encouraging, and their love for people and
Jesus is so clear. And being in a room with thousands of other believers, seeing
people all around the venue with their hands raised to praise God, hearing the
songs written to glorify Him… it was unmatched.
One of the absolutely best parts: I
got to hear Fix My Eyes live. I talked a few years ago about how I fell in
love with that song and how important it is to me, and I almost cried hearing
it live. Oh, I’d love to go back and experience that moment again because it was
just incredible.
I hope to see them in concert again
in the future, because this was definitely one of my favorite memories ever. I
was already feeling nostalgic for it the next morning. XD
I hit a full year of reading my
Bible every day without missing. This
is a little random, but it’s something I’m proud of. For years I’d been
slacking off on my Bible reading. Like, REALLY slacking off. I’d go days,
weeks, sometimes a month or more without opening it. So, last fall I decided
that no matter what, I was going to read at least something every day,
and write down what I read. Sometimes I’d fill up several pages with notes, and
sometimes I’d just zombie-read a chapter before bed to get it in. But every day
for a year, in some form or another, I picked it up and read it. Some days I
didn’t retain a single word, but I was building a habit. And I’m glad I did.
I think a year I was in 2 Kings; currently
I’m going through Ezekiel! Because I struggle to focus and comprehend, I’ve been
using the commentaries on the Enduring Word website to help me soak in what I’m
reading, and taking notes as I go. It’s really helped me to feel like I’m
actually learning and not just skimming over chapters. (It’s crazy how you can read
the same stories your whole life, maybe multiple times, and still not really
know what you’re even reading until you take the time to study it.)
BLOGGING
Well, nothing happened (XD), except
my blog turned five years old! I was going to do something to celebrate,
but, alas, time got away from me once again so the anniversary passed quietly.
But I still want to THANK YOU, my lovely readers, for being here, whether from
day one or you just discovered my little corner of the Internet. The
blogosphere truly changed my life (and writing that sentence really made me
realize just how MUCH), and I’m forever grateful that God allowed me to stumble
across it. Thank you for reading my thoughts and rambles, even when they’re few
and far between. I love you all and this community so dearly. < 3
So… that’s it! I hope you all are
having a lovely fall so far, and I look forward to catching up in the comments.
(I have several ideas for posts that I really want to write, so hopefully it
won’t be as long between posts this time!) Happy October!
