Summer is in full swing at my house. The weather has improved, school is out. We’re sleeping in, and getting out and about. And accomplishing some goals before the school year starts again. Things I didn’t have time for, or the weather didn’t permit. I'm aiming to write away from my house. Reading more is a priority. And I’m working on finishing up some books that have been on the back burner.
Read and Write Outside
My new house has a small patio area that I plan to use to the max this summer. My neighborhood is pretty quiet and I’ve always loved the sound of kids playing outside. I’ll get some patio furniture-a table for my laptop and a comfy chair for reading. I’ll get a healthy dose of Vitamin K and D and it will be nice to be present in my neighborhood.
I want to get out more in my community. I become quite the hermit during the winter. I'll write outside my house once a week. One good place I’ve found is my local library. I can drop my youngest off at the local pool and spend an hour or two amongst books. Our local library doesn’t allow food or drink. Our local tabletop game store, Game Haven, is a pleasant alternative when I need my Liquid Fortification and a snack. And the proprietor lets me stay as long as I want. As long as there’s not a tournament.
Utah is fantastic for its outdoor spaces. I haven’t enjoyed them much since some life-changing events in the last couple of years. We have a cute little canyon with dry riverbeds and picnic tables with fire pits. I’d have my laptop while birds chirp and the wind rustles the leaves in the trees. My kids get to go crazy running around the woods.
Read More Books
I’ve been slacking on the reading front as well. I rarely have a lot of time to sit down and read a physical book anymore. So I splurged with a Scribd* subscription this year. And I have been loving it.
My only complaint is their search feature makes it very hard to find clean romance. It will bring up some suggestions. But sometimes Scribd has books misclassified as “sweet romance” where it’s anything but. Of course, the first hint the book probably isn’t ‘sweet’ is naked chesticles hanging out right on the cover.
I’ve also wanted to find more indie authors who write clean and sweet romance. It’s important to me and to those authors that I find and support them, read their books and leave reviews. It’s so important to an author, especially indie ones, for the reviews. I’m making connections with these kinds of authors through Story Origin. You’ll see suggestions for these authors if you sign up for my monthly newsletter.
Finish More Books
The period that my life was in upheaval was the most creatively prolific I’ve ever been. I have several books already in finished first draft form that I’d love to get to in the coming years. A couple are closer to release than others. I aim to get at least two done before the end of the year.
Ophelia - Book two in the Sweetwater Saga, I’m about halfway into the restructuring editing I’d been working on the last couple of months. I can finish it for fall release now that school is done. I’m so excited for everyone to see it. If you read it on Wattpad, where I first released it, it was very rough. VERY rough. Still readable, but I’m sure it left many people feeling like something was missing. I feel I’ve fixed most of it, and you’ll fall in love with Ophelia and Justin as I have.
Zoe - Yes! There is a book three in the Sweetwater Saga. I'm a quarter of the way through the first draft. This is the story of Anna and Phillip’s daughter, Zoe, now that she’s graduated from high school. Then she discovers that college is not nearly as challenging as dealing with your love life when you’re just becoming an adult.
Daughter of Witches - I mention this one only because it’s going to take up a lot of my time over the next year. It’s a romantic fantasy set in a might-have-been Ireland and Scotland. I have a few scenes already written for the four-book series. I’m sure you can appreciate that it’s going to be a while before it’s available. But it’s what I’m working on currently, both developmentally and writing-wise, that I’m sure I’ll talk about more in the future.
I have lots to do and a small amount of time to get them done. Subscribe to my newsletter for book updates. And in return, I’ll send you a Sweetwater short story about Anna and Phillip. Here’s to the sun, summer and all the writing!
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What kinds of activities do you plan to get done this summer?
Tag me in your social media with your response!
Happy Reading!
* I am not affiliated with Scribd for this recommendation.
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