WHERE IN THE WORLD DID MAY GO? HOW IS IT THE DREADED JUNE ALREADY?!?!?!
I have a bone to pick with you, Father Time.
As much as I’d like to sit here and complain about how busy and quick and stressful May was...I honestly don’t have the energy for even that. *falls asleep on her laptop*
Speaking of laptop, though, I lost a whole week of my life over this thing. It pert near about died on me thanks to a durned corrupted file, and once I wiped it (don’t worry, I saved all my precious files, thank the good Lord!) and restored everything, my web browser was being so slow that it took me four days to send one email. One. Email.
I FINALLY got that figured out, only for my mom to get seriously sick for a half week...as soon as she got better, we had a lot of garden work to do (five hours of weed-pulling in 98 degree weather over two days). Then I spent two days baking for the Georgia Blueberry Festival (hosted in my hometown for all 45+ years!) and worked my nana’s festival booth on Friday (which, believe it or not, is tomorrow when I’m writing this...yes, I can see the future).
AND NOW VBS is tomorrow (your tomorrow, the real tomorrow, Sunday, June 5th), so I’ll be busy every evening with that…and I STILL haven’t taken my driving course.
*sobs*
I ended up complaining anyway, didn’t I?
The only bright spot in my month, y’all, has been Hallmark’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Now, most Hallmark shows/movies are (pardon my language) crap. BUT NOT SSD!!! It is literal perfection. Tender but realistic romances...perfectly developed, unique characters...expert continuity and intriguing facts...exciting plots...SPOT-ON dialogue and acting...just. Pure wonderfulness, you guys. I’ve even changed my phone ringtone to the show’s theme song! (Anyone wanna guess which song it is?)
When we finish the last of the TV movies (it’s a film series and series series), I’ll probably do a blog review, because WHY NOT?!
Anyway. Enough about all that. (Unless y’all wanna hear *coughs* read me fangirl over Oliver O’Toole…)
Time for the monthly wrapup!
what i did last month
My goals were supposed to be simple: two rounds of BAD edits; polish TMYLM; post on all my blogs; catch up on reviews; grow my Instagram; plan the BAD cover reveal; prep the next issue of Sky’s the Limit Literary Journal…
But, despite all of that, I completed none of it. I mean, I finished the first round of BAD edits and started the second round, finished my line edits for all the TMYLM stories (on to proofreads now), reviewed a couple books, posted on IG at least thrice a week, and posted a time or two on STLP and BN. AND my designer has started work on BAD’s cover, so hopefully I’ll have more to share about that in the coming weeks!
Accomplishment-wise, I did edit a couple projects through my editing business, S&J Editors! E.K. Seaver and I worked with Alison Propps to do a line and copy edit combo for her Christian nonfiction book, and then I tackled Kellyn Roth’s upcoming novel, After Our Castle, with quick line edit! (In fact, Kell’s also tasked me with doing some specific developmental edits on a secret-ish project of hers that I’m super excited about! I finished the first readthrough + analysis about a week ago!)
If you’re interested in working with E.K. and me, check out our website HERE! Or, if you have something specific or unique you’d like me personally to work with you on, feel free to contact me through the form on the homepage! I’d love to help you edit and polish your writing!
Speaking of working with me, y’all make sure to stick around ‘til the end! I’ve got something fun to share with you guys!
this month’s goals
Survive. That’s literally where I’m at right now. Technically, though, I’m just gonna commit to and focus on Bound and Determined—editing it and preparing for the launch (already got some book swag in!)—and Tell Me You Love Me—editing it and getting it out to betas! Sure, there are a TON of other things I wanna do, but I know if I write them out here, I’ll feel disappointed and less accomplished if I don’t get them done. Plus, I’d like to make room for anything else that comes my way—like those last-minute editing projects I had in May!
monthly progress
Again, I have not been writing. I have been plotting/brainstorming (which, believe it or not, I actually do *gasps*) and editing my butt off, but no writing apart from blog posts, a poem or two, and one flash fiction piece. (Flash fiction is awesome. Like, I thought it would be torture for my loquacious self, but it’s actually super fun and is really satisfying. I can write a whole story in a sitting, even if it’s only 1k words!)
If you wanna read a couple of March’s flash fiction stories, then consider becoming a patron! All members get access to my exclusive flash fiction pieces and short stories! You can learn more HERE!
reading highlights
*gulps* This is honesty time. I only read four books in May. I feel like a fraud, but it’s true. And since I only read four, I thought I might as well highlight them all!
Deceived by Madisyn Carlin. An intriguing allegorical fantasy! Review here.
To Bring You Back by Emily Conrad. A sweet and inspiring contemporary romance! Review here.
Boulevard of Confusion by Sandra Merville Hart. A subtly romantic Civil War espionage novel! Review here.
Shadowed Loyalty by Roseanna M. White. A thought-provoking Mafia romance! Review here.
top blog posts
guest appearances
I’ve written a few guest posts last month, so I though it’d be fun to throw in a short section with the links to all my guest posts/author interviews! (I have such a hard time remembering to share the links.)
In honor of the release of With Fear and Trembling, I was featured on Sword of the Penmaiden early last month! You can read my post debunking one of the least-preached-on Scriptures in the Bible and how it’s relevant to us today HERE!
Also in honor of WFAT’s release, I did a slightly more outside-the-box post for Lilacs & Reveries about how romance is a relationship and not a genre, and how writers can write their romances as such! You can read that (and rant with me in the comments) HERE!
I got to join Alyssa @ Seeking the Timeless Anchor’s Memorial Day Countdown, and shared some of my thoughts on remembering the sacrifice so many men and women have made for our country HERE!
Lastly, I wrote a SUPER fun article all about Pride and Prejudice for Kingdom Pen that you’ll definitely wanna check out...especially if you don’t like P&P! You can read that HERE!
And I think that sums it up!
BUT WAIT. THERE’S MORE.
I’m seriously considering becoming an author coach (and not because Jenna Terese is becoming a book coach; trust me, I may be a pirate, but I don’t steal ideas...only tags), because so many of y’all have emailed me with tons of different questions, from “How do I focus on one story at a time?” to “How do I self-publish?” and I think it’s time I made it official!
If this sounds like something you’d be interested in learning more about, then I would greatly welcome your feedback! Just click the button below and answer whatever questions you want! I appreciate it!
Aaaaand, now we're done! *wipes sweat from brow* Thank y'all for sticking with me through all this! Y'all are the. best.
Have a fabulous summer, my lovelies, and enjoy your break from school! And don't forget - here, we HUMBLE ourselves, turn away from our wickedness, and seek God's face! I recommend subscribing to my newsletter (next issue comes out Monday!) to learn more about Humility Month and walking in true love during a time where sin is celebrated!