We all love books. At least, I assume that’s why you’re here. Do you remember the first book that opened up your heart, made itself cozy, and then immediately invited new friends to join them? Do you remember the one that unlocked your imagination, opening up an entirely new world for you?
How are we already a month into 2019?! December flew by faster than I would have thought possible and now January is almost over! I’ve been busy planning out my year, breaking down my goals into manageable tasks, and building habits in preparation for everything that I need to do. I may have added more to my list than I’ll be able to accomplish but I’m dreaming big this year. However it turns out, here are the goals that I’m going to be prioritizing in 2019.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I can’t believe we’re already at the end of 2018… Does anyone else feel like we just did all of this a few weeks ago? I swear that time keeps going faster and faster. In the spirit of the season, I’m taking a break from holiday preparations and doing the Ho Ho Ho Writing Tag by Kim Chance and Melissa Hope. Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year, so I’m really excited to participate in this particular tag! (Indirectly tagged by Maverick Moses!)
It’s December, which means that NaNoWriMo is over! (Two weeks ago by now but, hey, life got a little busy.) So how did I do? Well, we had to visit the doctor for a small accident on the 1st and it took a couple days for things to get back to normal, setting my word count back a little bit. I had initially planned on writing 2,000 words per day, with one day a week for a break, and I figured there would be a few days where I didn’t hit my goals. I wasn’t too worried about a little hiccup at the start. At least, not until I got sick in the second week and fell even further behind.
November is officially here and I am participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time. This is not to be confused with Camp Nano, which I did for the first time this summer. (And won!) In July, I set a personal goal of 30k words and nearly finished the first draft of my novel. This month, I’m joining thousands of other writers in the goal of writing 50k words and, ideally, finishing an entire draft of a new novel.
In honor of Halloween, I decided to do the Hocus Pocus Writing Tag by Kim Chance and Destiny Murtaugh! This is my first time doing a writing tag and, since this one came from YouTube and I don’t have a channel there, I’m sharing my answers here on my new website.
Kim Chance has spun a fantastic story about a young woman coming of age into a world filled with danger and magic in her debut novel, Keeper. The characters are real, the plot is engaging, and I am eagerly awaiting the sequel, Seeker!
I was given a copy of Breaking Order by the author in exchange for a review. The following is my honest opinion of the book. First, I’d like to say that this book is meant for a younger audience, although it does contain some darker elements. I don’t typically read MG or young YA books but I thought the story was intriguing and there was a surprising turn that I wasn’t expecting which gives this dystopian a unique twist.
I absolutely LOVED this book! I love dystopian novels, and the premise of Evalene’s Number drew me in right away. I actually found it to be a little bit more unique due to the Christian/religious elements that ran through it because I haven’t come across many books like this in the Christian market. And, while there is a focus on these elements in the story, Bethany Atazadeh does a wonderful job of presenting without preaching. It was quite interesting to see her take on what happens when men claim to speak for God as a measure of control over others, and how the characters responded with their own faith or lack thereof.
WOW. If there was one word to sum up my feelings toward The Savior’s Champion by Jenna Moreci, “wow” would be it. I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of this story. It had my heart pounding through its entirety, the characters were well developed, including those that had little page time, and I found myself highly invested in multiple characters that WEREN’T the MC. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a book that made me care about more than just one or two people, and I really appreciate Jenna’s effort in creating 3-dimensional characters.
