First Post of 2022 - Falling Down the Rabbit Hole

 Dear Reader,

Happy Old Year!

 By the time you get this message, the year will be half over. (I started to say that it will be the month of June, but it's now July, and, at this rate, summer autumn might be over, so maybe you should just disregard that first sentence or interpret it to mean that "an unknown but extremely large amount of time has passed.") I can't tell you how many times I have tried to start a post, but it didn't work out. So, I'll try to cover what I've been up and try not to ramble too much, although I do really enjoy a good rabbit trail.

The Book Two Posts: Episode 12: Magic Moments and Changing Characters

Dear Readers,

First, I finally finished the EverMerge Gnome challenge, so here is my "Duck Duck Gnome"!  I felt that the Gnome challenge was very fitting since I'm still writing the Gnome Sweet Gnome series. I realize that not everyone will be impressed. 😸

It has been a strange time since I published my last book. There has been every type of distraction you can think of (a pandemic, for Pete's sake!), and I'm an easily distractible person. I had a lot of things tripping me up about the current work in progress, but I finally determined that I want it finished! Don't get me wrong. I'm actually really enjoying the writing at this point. My brain is really happy with the task and living in this other world. I mean, of course, we could ALL use a vacation from the real world right now, right? So this is the best possible scenario at this point! 

The Book Two Posts: Ep. 9: Over 100,000 Words and Counting

I managed to nail down the beginning of the first chapter. For months, I wasn't entirely thrilled with it. I would take it apart and rewrite it, and still didn't feel like it was right. I started deconstructing again and added another paragraph that I feel is somewhat foreboding and sufficiently sets the tone for the story. I finally had that moment where I felt like this is it.

March Madness: 7 Favorite Middle Grade Books

(Video mashup by Ridiculous Chicken)

In a previous blog post, The Binge Review, Ep. 2: Netflix and Books, I mentioned that I was reading 100 Cupboards for the second time. Interestingly, author Shannon Kaper talked about the same book on her YouTube channel in a vlog about Middle Grade March. I can promise you I was nearly finished with the book when I saw her video because I can't read that fast! 😹