Sunday, January 7, 2024
Not Just Gal Pals - My First Book for the I Heart SapphFic Book Challenge.
Saturday, January 6, 2024
The Sunday Post Oh, No! Back To Work Tuesday
The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme
All good things must come to an end, right? My break was nice, but I spent all of it recuperating from surgery, so it might have been more enjoyable if not for that. This weekend we finally got a little snow, just about all of December it was too warm for snow. Now that I'll be returning to school, it will probably get really cold and we will have snow!
This week I began drafting the second book in my Marley Creek series! Next weekend I am planning to go to a new brewery in my area for research purposes. The main male lead in this book owns a craft brewery and I'd like to be able to write good descriptive scenes.
Speaking of reading, I find myself in the midst of reading two books that have main female characters who are pastry chefs. I"ll be sharing my thoughts on those two books this week as well as Not Just Gal Pals my first finished read of the year.
How was your first week of 2024?
Thursday, January 4, 2024
This Year My Goal is To Do Better
For the third year in a row, I'm participating in the COYER challenge. My goal this year is to be a more active member throughout the year because the COYER community is an exceptional group. Not only do you get to connect via online posts and enter to win prizes, but there are also monthly video chats. This year I'm working on building friendships in the reading and writing community. In general, I need more friendships in my life. Covid really did a number on my relationships.
Would you like to talk to people about books this year? Click here to find out more and join us!
Lastly, in case you missed it! You can preorder my book No Gouda Without You via Amazon! It's the first book in my Steamy Marley Creek Romance series! It will also be available as a KU book if you use KU and after 1/23/2024 you can also order it in paperback!
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
What I'll be Taking into 2024
Have you heard of choosing a word of the year? Some people do that as a resolution or goal to focus on the attributes of the word they choose. This isn't a tradition I follow, but now that 2023 is in the rearview window, I can see that last year was a year of experimentation for me. I can't even say it was a conscious effort on my part!
Here are things I tried in 2023 that I'll be taking with me into the new year. These aren't in any particular order.
1. I started watching K-dramas. Turns out I love Kdramas. They are like watching a book come to life. Part of the enjoyment is not only the storytelling but learning about a different culture. It's interesting to see the difference in social norms. I enjoy the dramas so much that I joined the Afternoona Delight Podcast Patreon. I even managed to attend a group Zoom in December. So fun!
Sunday, December 31, 2023
Goals For 2024! And a delicious and easy Red Lentil Soup Recipe.
It was so easy to make and surprisingly tasty. I will certainly make this soup again!
If you've read this blog before you know that I do like to set goals for the New Year. Over the years I've posted goals on this blog many a time, and this year won't be an exception. Let's see how I do with these goals!
Author Goals:
* Write Books Two, Three and Four in my Marley Creek series.
*Figure out how to use Canva to make fun posts about my books
*Attend a Romance Author Conference.
*Be on a podcast! (dream big right?)
Bookish /Blogger Goals
* 75 Books Read Goal
* Participate in COYER
*Attend 4 in-person book signings.
*Write my 1,000th blog post! (I'm at 903 with this post)
And for Personal Goals:
TBD I need to think about this one some more.
Happy New Year! I hope you are having a wonderful first day of the new year!
The Sunday Post - Year End Wrap Up!
The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme
I hope you had a wonderful 2023 and that 2024 is a good year for all of us! When setting and reaching goals this year, I had some successes and some epic failures. My bookish goals included:
1. 60 books for my Goodreads Challenge. I did reach that goal.
2. I also had a goal to track my reading throughout the year, and in that, I completely failed! I had to use my history on the Libby, Hoopla and Audible app to figure out how many books I read and added most of them to the Goodreads challenge this afternoon! I read more than 60 books, but once I got to 60 I stopped updating Goodreads.
Will 2024 be the year I update my reading log consistently? (Hope springs eternal)
Would it be better if I used a paper log? (Most likely)
3. I had a goal to read one non-fiction book per month. I read 5. I need to remember that if it's not an audio non-fiction, I won't finish it.
4. Read and review one Netgalley book per month. Boy, I think I only did 3 Netgalley books.
5. Post all my reviews here and on Goodreads. LOL did not happen.
6. Go to at least one in-person book signing--I did this !!! I went to Kelly Farmer's It's a Fabulous Life signing.
Going over my bookish resolutions now makes me want to do some for 2024. Stay tuned!
Now on to the most exciting thing I did in 2023...
I wrote a whole book! And it's up on Amazon for preorder! It's coming out on January 23! I've only been wanting to write a book since I was a wee child. If you like to read romance, I hope you'll consider giving my book a read. A little blurb about the book and the link to Amazon are under the picture-
She survived cancer. Can she survive risking her heart?Having survived cancer, Nicole Garrett is determined to take care of herself by eating well, exercising, and avoiding stress. She’s got a stable job, good friends, and her own house, and that’s enough for her. Most importantly, Nicole isn’t going to take any risks that could leave her heartbroken again. But when she meets a handsome chef with the cutest dimples she’s ever seen, she begins to question if playing it safe is still working for her.
Sean Harper is the optimistic chef and owner of Jesse’s Pub. After two years of constant devotion, his restaurant is hitting its stride. He’s put every dollar and every hour he’s had into making it a success. Beyond the now positive balance sheet, it’s a way for him to distance himself from his own broken family, who’ve never seen his worth. Then one Sunday, he meets the attractive woman who dismisses his omelet culinary masterpiece, and he can't get her out of his mind, so much so that he starts questioning if he can make room for her in his kitchen.
She’s got plenty of reasons to be grumpy, and, frankly, relationships with men never end well for her, especially given the wounds she’s still healing from. Even though sparks fly between Nicole and Sean, he only has time for his farm-to-table restaurant. If he’s willing to change his view of marriage, can he convince her to open her heart and trust him in return?
No Gouda Without You is a small-town, life after cancer, grumpy-sunshine, steamy romance, featuring a chef who loves a good food pun and a school secretary who’s just trying to survive. Part of the Marley Creek Romance Series, this standalone story includes adventures at a local brewery, Hallmark movie vibes, and a guaranteed HEA.
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving- and an Audiobook if You Are Ready For Christmas Time!
Sunday, November 19, 2023
The Sunday Post - Is Your Turkey Defrosting?
The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme
Holy Smokes this week is Thanksgiving! This year I've gotten everyone on board with a Blue Apron Thanksgiving Box. It's scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday and then on Thursday after I run the annual Pie Run --it's 3.14 miles, I'll be delgating some of the prepping and cooking to my middle kiddo. I did an information survey of everyone's favorite side dish on my Facebook and the winner hands down is stuffing.
Do you have any Thanksgiving Traditions? My own personal tradition is watching Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. What a fantastic buddy comedy. A true Bromance! Some of the best romance tropes make this film sing-
*Enemies to Besties
*Road Trip bonding
*One Bed
*Third Act Breakup
It's so fun and check out the romance book John Candy is reading when he sees Steve Martin on the plane! What a book title! The Canadian Mounted
Oh, I almost forgot another trope! Steve Martin's Grumpy to John Candy's Sunshine!
Happy Thanksgiving!Sunday, October 29, 2023
Venice, Actually a Holiday Novella
Saturday, October 28, 2023
The Sunday Post, Lots of Writing, Not Too Much Reading
The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme