Happy Halloween

 

Happy Halloween everyone! Have fun and stay safe tonight!

Teaser Tuesday's: Unraveled by Courtney Milan

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. 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 129 of Courtney Milan's Unraveled:

"Do you... you don't want to talk, do you?" He made no effort to hide the unsubtle horror in his voice.

A Birthday and a Debut

Today is a great day for music. Well, everyday is, in my opinion, but there are a couple of things that stand out today as far as I'm concerned.

One: Happy Birthday to the front man of Duran Duran, Simon le Bon. My kids love that I still love this band and know that October 27th is his birthday. They can laugh all they want because they love Duran Duran, too. In fact, their school is having band t-shirt day tomorrow. Guess whose band t-shirts they want to borrow? That's right, my kids want to wear D2 concert shirts to school tomorrow. I'll let them but they have to let me take pictures. Anyway, in honor of Simon's birthday, enjoy their video for the fantastic All You Need is Now.

Two: There's a new singer named Sam Hunt. He is so talented and has such fun music. He currently has a Top 5 song in country radio and his debut album Montevallo is out today. It's fabulous and I highly recommend it. If you haven't heard anything by him, here's Leave the Night On, his Top 5 hit:

Teaser Tuesday's: Fast Track by Julie Garwood

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. 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 202 of Julie Garwood's Fast Track:

It looked as though a whirlwind had gone through, but it was just clutter, he told himself. And he hated clutter. Yet her clutter didn't bother him. What was that about?

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon: The Wrap-Up

Yesterday was the 24 Hour read-a-thon. I started a little late because five on a Saturday morning, is not going to happen in my house unless it’s an emergency. Thankfully though – there were no emergencies yesterday. There was a lot of reading, a lot of interruptions and a lot of bookish camaraderie, though. I didn’t make the entire twenty-four hours, either. I fell asleep sometime during the twenty-first hour. I had set my alarm when I realized I was getting tired and moving around was rejuvenating me. When the alarm went off I really thought about getting up and finishing the read-a-thon out. Guess what? I turned off my alarm and went back to sleep. I simply could not force myself to leave my warm, cozy bed and turn the light back on to read.

I did get to read a ton yesterday, though. I managed to get in over three hundred pages. Believe me when I say that is amazing considering the number of interruptions I had yesterday. I still had a ton of fun, too. My kids read with me some of the time which was nice. I think as time goes by and I continue to participate in this and other read-a-thons and challenges my kids’ involvement will grow as well. My youngest especially is quite the bookworm like her mama. I can imagine us talking about and sharing books for all of our lives. The nicest part of yesterday was when my kids and I were cuddled in bed together, reading our books and then talking about them with one another.

I was able to participate in a couple of the mini-challenges and on Twitter a little. I also really liked the addition of the group on GoodReads. That’s a great idea. All in all I consider yesterday to be a win. I will most definitely participate in Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-thon again in April 2015.

Oh, and let me share that making our dinner in the Crock Pot turned out to be a fabulous idea! For one thing, the beef stew made our home smell so good for much of yesterday. Also, dinner last night was a breeze. Another win in my opinion.

Dewey's Mid Event Survey

Here we go with the Mid Event Survey. I can't believe we're already halfway through this amazing day.

1. What are you reading right now? I’m still reading Low Pressure by Sandra Brown. It’s a good book but it’s taking me some time to get through it.

2. How many books have you read so far? Just this one.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Julie Garwood’s Fast Track.

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I’ve had so many interruptions. I’ve put out several kid squabbles and dealt with chores that should have been done but weren’t. It’s all good, though. The second half of the marathon should be smoother. My kids are having a slumber party so they’ll be entertained. Plus, my husband will be home. So even if there is stuff that they need – he can deal with it while I read.

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? I’m not surprised by anything really. I do love how this community of book lovers continues to thrive and come together, though.

 

So there you have my day so far. How is it going for you?

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon Begins

So, here we go. I didn't make my 5 a.m. start but 6:30 is fine by me for a wonderful Saturday morning in October. Before opening my current read, Sandra Brown's Low Pressure, here is an opening meme from the read-a-thon:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Southern Californin, U.S.A.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Any and all that I read. I am loving Low Pressure though, so I'm excited to get back to it.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Veggies and Ranch dip for a snack. I'm most looking forward to dinner - Beef Stew that is going to cook in the Crock Pot all day. YUM!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I am a lifelong lover of reading. I am doing my best to teach this love of reading to my kids because I think it's important but also so enjoyable. I must be succeeding to some degree because they are doing the read-a-thon with me today. Although, they're still asleep right now.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? I'm making our dinner in the Crock Pot. I think that will be a huge time saver later this evening.

So there you go - a little about me and the fun day we're going to have around here.

Read-a-thons

So, this Saturday, the 18th, is Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon. I cannot wait for this event. I am so excited to participate again. It's a twenty-four hour event devoted to books, reading and all things bookish. People from all over the world take part. In addition to the reading there are fun, book related mini challenges, cheerleading, fun videos and a wonderful camaraderie. It's a fabulous event that you can't go wrong being a part of if you love books and reading.

Today, I discovered yet another read-a-thon. This one is called the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-thon. I LOVE the name; it's so appropriate for October. This one runs from October 17th through the 27th. The idea is to read what you can during the time period and have a good time. There's no pressure, no required amount of reading; just read, check-in once in a while and have a good time. I think this sounds fabulous and definitely wish to join in on this event as well.

If either of these events sound good to you - follow the links and join in the fun.

Wordless Wednesday: Autumn in New England

Teaser Tuesday's: Deadline by Sandra Brown

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. 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 196 of Deadline by Sandra Brown:

She rejected the thought that Jeremy, the father of her children, was the son of criminals. Murderers. It simply couldn't be.

Teaser Tuesday's: Carolina Moon

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. 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 Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts:

"All because I didn't go the way most people are comfortable with, that most understand. And what people don't understand usually scares them."

Grateful

I think it’s too easy to fixate on the things that are negative in this world. At least it is for me. I consider myself a positive, optimistic person but I do allow myself to get bogged down in the stresses of life. So tonight, I’d like to take some time to focus on some people and things that I am grateful for in my life.

1.   My Husband – He is my best friend and I am grateful for him every single day. He works so hard for our family. He loves us and supports us in so many ways. I’m lucky to have him and love him more every day.

2.   My Children – My husband and I have two amazing daughters. We are so incredibly blessed with our girls. They are individuals, of course, but they are both so smart and loving and cute and funny and sweet. They crack me up and make love swell in my heart on a daily basis.

3.   Extended Family and Friends – I love, adore and appreciate our extended family and friends. Our close friends are like extended family to us and it’s wonderful. We’ve been spending a lot of time with members of our extended family and it is a blessing that I am so thankful for.

4.   Writing and Books – I have to put these together because they’re both important to me. I love writing books and will make a career out of it. However, I love reading books, too. My oldest daughter has been learning about the fact that women haven’t always been allowed to have an education and she is appalled by this. I remember feeling the same at her age. It has made me think again about how lucky we are to have the right to an education in our country. I am thankful that I can read and write books and not have to be afraid of either.

5.   Music – Just as writing and books, I can’t even begin to imagine my life without music. My daughter is learning the trumpet and it makes me smile every time I hear her practice. Of course, there are also so many talented music artists in the world that we all love to listen to. As a matter of fact we’re listening to one of the weekly music countdowns as I write this post.

So, these are a few things I am so grateful for.

Editing

Editing. For some reason this is an emotional and frustrating topic for me. I know editing is a must for me as a writer. It’s a must because I am not perfect and I make mistakes in my writing. I also have to edit because when I’m writing and don’t want to stop to research something, I will make a note to myself within the body of the story to deal with whatever it is during editing.

I’m terrible about editing, though. I will put it off and put it off. The thing is though; I’m upset with myself for letting some stories go without editing for so long. I started editing my NaNoWriMo 2013 manuscript last month. Does that tell you something about me and editing? I put it off for over nine months. Then I finally, FINALLY started editing it with the intention of finishing it during September. Did I finish editing the manuscript? Of course not! Why? WHY? I ask myself in complete frustration. Editing is a part of the process toward becoming published. I know this but I am LAZY about editing. I need to get over it and just DO IT!

I have decided to make editing a part of my daily Write Chain. In addition to my daily writing I must also edit for at least thirty minutes. I am making this commitment to myself and to my writing process. I have to implement the structure or I am going to continue to be lazy about editing. I’ll keep putting it off and that’s no longer acceptable to me. This should have help me finish editing last years NaNo manuscript before I write this year’s.

Books Set in Autumn

My October calendar picture is of a gorgeous covered bridge with a classic, cherry red pickup truck about to cross it. The picture automatically evokes images and words of a simpler time in my mind. The picture also got me to thinking of trips I used to take into Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire from Boston when I lived there.

New England is such a gorgeous part of the world and I miss it quite a bit in October (and Spring when the flowers are blooming). This got me to wishing for a really good book where the atmosphere of Autumn is very much a part of the story. Does anyone know of such a book or books? If so, please let me know. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures taken in Boston (the trees) and Vermont (the covered bridge).

ETA: For some reason I cannot attach pictures right now. I will come back and add the pictures when this feature is working again.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Recent Crochet

Five washcloths from a recent Ravelry Swap.

 



 

A close-up of the turtle because it is just so cute.

 

Crochet as art - hanging in our home.