A month of revision

I am making a public statement that March is all about revision for me! By making this public announcement I am hoping to keep myself accountable to this plan. I want to use March to revise so that I can enter the writing contest in April but also for submission for hopeful publication. It is a matter of continuing to move forward as far as I am concerned. I am convinced that if I just keep at the process my publication goals will come to fruition. So, starting tomorrow I will be devoting the thirty-one days in March to novel revision. Then I am thinking about doing Camp NaNoWriMo in April. In fact, maybe I will alternate between writing and revising every month this year and see how that goes. Focus one month on writing and the next on revising. I'm intrigued by the idea of doing it that way.

The Sound of Music

My daughter and many of her friends and school mates put on a gorgeous rendition of The Sound of Music! I am so proud of her and all of them!

Wordless Wednesday: The Sun Shines Through

Teaser Tuesdays: The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from Nook page 314 of Suzanne Brockmann's The Unsung Hero:

"I'm not so sure about that anymore. In fact, if this thing goes off without a hitch, if I've been wrong about the Merchant from the start, I want you and Starrett and Locke to leave town immediately. I don't want you getting hammered for helping me."

Musing Mondays: How I choose what book to read.

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: How do you choose which books you read?

I choose the books I want to read based on my mood more than anything else! I have a huge to-be-read shelf on GoodReads. I also have several books here at home that I still want to read. And yet I choose based on my mood and what genre I feel like reading. For example, right now I am reading The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann. I am really enjoying this book and it is the first in a series. It is quite likely that I will read the second book in the series next because I like this one so much!

Writing Contest

I have decided that I am going to enter a writing contest - perhaps even more than one. However, I know of one that is local to me that I am going to have a go at. I have until mid-April to submit my novel for consideration. That shouldn't be a problem since I have more than one to choose from. I am having trouble deciding what I want to enter. The thing is, I need to hurry up and make a decision because I will want (and need) to spend the time over the next eight weeks revising and cleaning up the story. I know eight weeks sounds like a lot of time but when it comes to revisions and submission I know that it will go by in a flash. So yes, I am going to enter a writing contest but I don't know what I want to submit yet.

Wordless Wednesday: Winter Tree

Teaser Tuesdays: Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from page 36 of Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis:

"Lily? Tell me you didn't stay away all this time because you think you're responsible."

She opened her mouth then shut it.

Musing Mondays: More than one book at once

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you read more than one book at once? Why, or why not?

I do read more than one book at a time! I have been known to read three or four books at a time. People have often asked me how I can do that but I just can. For example, right now I am reading three books. I am reading Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis and enjoying it quite a bit. I am also reading the second Land of Stories book called The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer. I'm reading this one with my kids. I am also reading a book by Pema Chodron called Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears.

So they're all quite different from one another and I read each of them at different parts of my day. The Chodron book I read at lunchtime, the Colfer book I read with my kids at their bedtime and the Shalvis book I read in bed at night when it is nice and quiet. Of course, I also read it today at the park while my kids were running around and playing with their friends.

Happy Valentine's Day

So true

Container Gardening

I am not a gardener. Anyone who has known me for any length of time can tell you that I do not possess a green thumb. However, my mother-in-law does. She seems to have passed some of that green thumb onto my husband and our daughters both have amazing green thumbs and gardening skills!

So, we have taken the leap into container gardening. This is something we have discussed several times and a couple of days ago my husband brought home stuff to start it. I am so excited about this adventure. I am really hopeful that with my husband and our daughters at the helm of this we will be successful in our gardening attempts. That's not to say I won't do any of it but I am definitely leaving the majority of the plant care to them. That way they'll make it and we'll have fresh, organic, homegrown vegetables and herbs!

Wordless Wednesday: Valentine's crochet garland

Valentine's Day crochet ball garland.

Teaser Tuesdays: Brotherhood in Death by J.D. Robb

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from page 103 of J.D. Robb's Brotherhood in Death:

"A promise to a man I loved deeply is important, even sacred. I didn't have to hurt Edward to keep it; I simply had to continue to keep it. I'm not a violent man."

A heart square

This was a fun square to crochet! 

Yarn Ball Centerpiece

I took some bits of leftover yarn I had from various projects and rolled them into balls. Then I put them in a Mason jar to create a slightly rustic centerpiece. I really like it and so does my family. I like all the colors displayed together like this.

Teaser Tuesdays: Carnal Innocence by Nora Roberts (2)

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from page 362 of Carnal Innocence by Nora Roberts:

"I wouldn't mind a joke right now."

He laid his brow on the back of her head. Wasn't it a damn shame he couldn't think of one, he mused, or of anything except what was hurting her. "Talk to me, Caroline."

Musing Mondays: Getting a Copy of -

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

Tomorrow, February 2, 2016, the new JD. Robb book comes out. It is called Brotherhood in Death and it is the 42nd book in her ever-popular In Death series. I can not wait to get it! I can not wait to read it! Besides the fact that I love this series, the mystery/murder/suspense this time relates to one of my favorite minor characters in the series. I am looking forward to learning more about this beloved character and seeing how Eve and Roarke deal with having someone they both care so deeply for tangled up in such a mess.