My Goings On in February:
- I finished my (second) edit of my MG book! It feels good to have it done. I’m still waiting to hear about the workshop I applied for, but if that one doesn’t pan out, I might just go for it and try sending queries out to some agents without workshopping it (at least a few—to see what kind of response I get).
- I celebrated my 5th blogoversary (technically on January 31st, but I don’t think I mentioned it in my last wrap-up) and my 44th birthday. Yikes! (I literally had my age wrong at first and had to sit and recalculate it in my head. I truly am getting old.)
- I went to Anderson’s Children’s Literature Breakfast (watch for a recap, coming next week).
- I finished Season 2 of Stranger Things and started watching The Goldbergs (which is super hilarious and reminds me of my childhood).
- I went to see Hamilton!!! It was as amazing as everyone says. But it made me realize how screwed up our political system (or maybe just humanity?) has always been. And some of the parallels I could draw to modern day issues just made me sad.
Instagram:
I spent WAY too much time trying to figure out how to get these two pictures to show up side-by-side instead of one under the other. I finally got them to show up centered, at least, so I just made them a little bigger and kept them this way. But if anyone knows how to make them show up next to each other, please let me know in the comments and I’ll love you forever. Sometimes I feel like a technological dolt.
Features & Discussions:
February Discussion Challenge Link-Up & Giveaway
Fun with SPAM!
January 2018 Wrap-Up Round-Up Giveaway
A Valentine’s Post Featuring the Macmillan Collector’s Library (& a Giveaway!)
Great Reasons to Get to Know Your Bookish Friends Better
February 2018 Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up
My 2018 Reading Progress:
I barely read anything in February, so it’s a good thing I lowered my goal. Still doing great on my goal of reading less, I guess. I’m five books ahead, according to Goodreads.
February 2018 Reviews
- American Panda by Gloria Chao | Review | Rating: 4.5/5
- Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski | Review | Rating: 3.5/5
- Welcome Home by Eric Smith | Review | Rating: 4/5
- By a Charm and a Curse by Jaime Questell | Review | Rating: 4/5
- The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton | Review | Rating: 4/5
- The Ambrose Deception by Emily Ecton | Review | Rating: 5/5
February Best of the Bunch:
(Best of the Bunch is hosted over at Cocoon of Books. We link up our favorite reads of the month!)
The Ambrose Deception takes the prize this month as my only 5-star read, but American Panda was close behind!
2018 Reading Challenges/Goals Progress:
Status: 6/31-40 Discussions Posted
I really only wrote one discussion this month. Writing is definitely taking a toll on my blogging time, but that’s okay.
Great Reasons to Get to Know Your Bookish Friends Better
Top 10 of 2017: Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2018
2017 End of Year Book Survey
My Writing & Reading Goals for 2018
My Book Outlet Weakness (& Why My Latest Haul Is All Your Fault)
Which Types of Reviews Are Most Effective? Let’s Discuss!
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Feed Your Fiction Addiction & It Starts at Midnight
Status: 48/365 Blogs Commented On
I’m still a bit behind on this challenge, but catching up. I need to remember to be consistent with it, and that hasn’t happened so far! (For my own keeping-track purposes: I should be at 59 right now.)
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Read Write Love 28
Status: ??/365 Chapters Read
I know I’m really behind on this, and I honestly didn’t feel like taking the time to figure out how behind. Turns out, I’m not great at reading a chapter a day. I’m not quite sure why. I might still be able to catch up?
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – One Catholic Life
Status: 9 Books Read/5 Reviews Posted
Our team was really behind this month, and I wasn’t much help. Here’s hoping March is better!
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Novel Knight
Status: 9/61-100 books read (New Release Veteran)
Did a little better on this challenge this month, but I still don’t think I can possibly achieve my goal for the year.
Here’s what applied to the challenge this month:
American Panda by Gloria Chao, By a Charm and a Curse by Jaime Questell, The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton, The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert, The Ambrose Deception by Emily Ecton and The Altered History of Willow Sparks by Tara O’Connor
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – (un)Conventional Book Views
Status: 8/12 TBR Books Read
Here’s what counted for this challenge from my reviews this month:
Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski, The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart by Lauren DeStefano, The List by Patricia Forde, Welcome Home by Eric Smith
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Roof Beam Reader
My 2018 Goals Progress:
- Complete a second edit of my MG novel. Done!
- Attend a writing workshop. We’ll see what happens with the one I applied for. I did do WriteOnCon, and I’m still reading through all the materials.
- Read more writing craft books/materials. I’m working on this. WriteOnCon definitely counts for this.
- Finish the first draft of YA novel. This needs to get going, since I finished the MG edit.
- Read one review book for every one that I request/receive. ) I only read 5 review books this month and received 14!! Wow! That’s a major fail. (So far for the year, I’ve received 19 and read 15, so I’m definitely behind, but it’s not as bad as it seems.)
- Read more middle grade. I barely read in February, but one of the books was MG, so I guess that’s good (Read 3 so far)
- Work out! No. Same as last month—I worked out like twice. Sigh.
Wrap-Up Round-Up!
Don’t forget to link your February wrap-up posts up to the Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up! And check out the giveaway, which will be posted here on Feed Your Fiction Addiction right around the 7th!
I remember that pic in Instagram! I commented you looked SO HAPPY! 🙂 Glad to confirm you had a great time! I also remember being very happy because you finished editing felt like heaven! So proud if you Nicole! KEEP WRITING!
I’m not going to give up on writing. I’m fired up about it now. I know that I could have a LONG road ahead of me, but there’s no reason I have to rush. I’ve got time!
Congrats on finishing the latest edit! And I’ve still got my fingers crossed for that workshop for you. Those editions of Mansfield Park are beautiful.
I’m still hoping for the workshop. I’m trying not to be too antsy while waiting, but it’s hard!!
Congrats on your edit! Also happy blogoversary and birthday to you as well (even though I’m 99.9% sure I’m very late, haha).
As for the Instagram issue I think the only way I can think of is posting the pictures in a college and linking them? ??♀️
It’s never too late! I think you’re right about the Instagram photos—that’s what I was doing before, so I thought I’d try this. If I posted more to Instagram, this wouldn’t really work, though.
Great job on your manuscript! I can’t wait to read Ambrose Deception! That and American Panda are must reads for me.
I hope you love both of them!!
Reading your post again today I now have American Panda and was reminded I need to get Ambrose Deception. Making a note right now.
Hope you enjoy it!!
Yay on finally getting to see Hamilton!! I hear it’s hard (and expensive) to get tickets to that show. I am not a fan of musicals, but I am intrigued about Hamilton.
Congrats on being 5 books ahead on your reading goals!!! Goodreads let me know that I am 1 book ahead, which made me feel really great because it took me FOREVER to finish my last book.
It was definitely expensive—I couldn’t justify the cost to just go, so I was super excited that my husband thought of it for my birthday!
I’m so happy you saw Hamilton and loved it – I’d LOVE to see it someday. I have no clue how to get photos side by side; I always try and it never works! LOL If you figure it out, let me know. 😉
Yay for your manuscript edits. I hope you get into the workshop but if not, you should definitely try and query some agents. You never know, right?
I didn’t exercise much this month either and I really need to do better with that. In March, I DO plan on joining a gym (it’s month to month so I don’t have to commit if I don’t like it, which is nice) and I should have more dance classes in March too.
-Lauren
I tried and tried with those pictures, but I just couldn’t make it happen. I can do it with regular pictures but not these Insta embeds. Oh well.
Already finished your second edit!? You’re a superhero, Nicole!!! Belated happy birthday an blogoversary, you lovely lady! <3 Good luck with the rest of your goals. You'll definitely slay them! <3
Well, it took me a very long time to get through this edit, so I don’t feel very superhero-like, but I’ll take all the praise I can get. LOl!
My team Novel Knights seems to be doing pretty well in BTB.
Also I am terrible with html and the sort on the blog too so don’t feel bad. 😉
Yes, Novel Knights are killing it! Who knows, maybe next month we’ll do better.
You had a great month! I am totally interested in Ambrose, seeing you loved it so much. I have been having great luck with MG lately. I giggled when I saw your Les Miz challenge, because for some odd reason, I couldn’t stop singing the songs from that play yesterday.
I LOVE the Les Mis musical. I could sing those songs all day, every day.
Happy birthday and blogiversary! I’m glad you liked Hamilton. I think I’m the only person in the world who knows basically nothing about that play. Have a great March!
I didn’t know much about it for a long time, but Shannon raved about the soundtrack, so she got me to check it out.
What a fun month for you! In regards to your Instagram troubles, I don’t use their Embed feature anymore because it’s so hard to control. I just upload my own photos to WordPress now and remind people I’m on Instagram. Lol.
That’s how I was doing Instagram before. Maybe I’ll go back to that. For now, this works since I don’t post all that much to Instagram.
Wow, February was a great month for you! Hamilton! And I can’t wait to hear about the Anderson breakfast. I still need to watch the second season of Stranger Things. And I have to say how awesome that you finished your second round of edits! I can even get through a first round. 🙁 I need to go back and look at my challenges and see how I’m doing. Maybe over my spring break in a couple weeks I’ll have time.
Submitting to that editor (via an auction) really motivated me because she was so encouraging. It made me feel like an “author” instead of just like a person who writes stuff. 🙂
You had a pretty good reading month! And yay for the 2nd edits being done! That has got to feel good. 🙂
YES! Progress is always a great thing.
You’re doing pretty good on your challenges!! I was so excited to learn our blogs are both 5! I hope you had a great birthday. I have to calculate my age too. Ever since I turned 23 I don’t know how old I am anymore.
Glad I’m not the only one who forgets my age. It’s a little crazy!
Well I feel like writing progress always trumps all other kinds of book goals! How inspiring that you are progressing along… I tried this last month to read a chapter a day and it just didn’t work either… I guess I like to sit and read and get into a story! Happy March for you ♥️ So exciting you got to see Hamilton!
Yeah, I think reading one chapter a day just feels like an interruption to my other reading instead of something I want to do each night.
Congrats on finishing the edit, that’s a big thing to do 🙂 and congrats about the (belated) blogiversary! And the birthday 🙂 I have got my age wrong once too, haha 😀 happens. After that, I am often “trying on” the new age a couple of months before my birthday to just get used to it already xD been working for the past couple of years 😀
And tell me about it. Instagram embeds are annoying! They never work right xD
I always say I was 36 for two years because I totally thought I was 36 for a long time before I actually turned it. I apparently can’t keep track!!
Looks like you had a good February, Nicole! I am not good about reading a chapter a day either, but I do find myself able to read multiple chapters of Les Miserables at a time without realizing it, and so have managed to stay caught up somehow. I can’t say the same for War and Peace. I need to spend some quality reading time with that one . . . The Ambrose Deception sounds like a good one! I am sorry though you didn’t like The Hazel Wood. I have been wanting to read that one, but after reading your review, it’s moved a few notches down in my TBR pile.
I hope your March is a fantastic one!
I just need to read a bunch of chapters so I can catch back up. I’m enjoying it, but I’m just getting overwhelmed with other stuff lately and I don’t want to take the time away from my other reading for this. I do want to read it, though.
HA! I’m not the only one who gets my age wrong, I love it lol! Last year I kept telling everyone I was 36 and Andy would side eye me and be like uhhh did you forget your birthday this year?! You’re 37. Whoops. It just wouldn’t stick ?.
And the way I get multiple pictures in a row is by using tables. I have a plugin for tables that I use all the time and I haven’t found another way to make it work. But there may be another way, I just didn’t figure it out…..
I’ve managed to get pictures in a row, but not these Instagram embeds. The more people who’ve commented, I think it just might be impossible.
I love that you’re unsure of your age too! I can reel off that I was born in 1976, but then have to think about just how old that would make me. I’m not good with big numbers!!
Yeah, I totally have to calculate it every time. Apparently, keeping track is tough!
Oh I love the Goldberg’s. Suck a great show. Especially if your are an 80s child. I need to go check out some of your reviews. Also add your new site to Bloglovin. I have been missing your posts.
I literally just finished watching an episode a minute ago—so funny!
I don’t have the patience for Instagram, so you’re already doing better than me! 😉
Instagram is one of those social media sites that I just can’t quite get right. But I still post occasionally.
Good news about THE AMBROSE DECEPTION!! My son and I are going to read that together soon, so it’s nice to hear that you liked it 🙂 Also, what’s your MG book about?? I’m super curious!! It’s okay if you aren’t sharing that yet– and if not, then good luck with your edits!!
You’ll have to let me know what you think of The Ambrose Deception. Hope you and your son enjoyed it!
And I’m happy to share about my MG!! It has a working title of Meet Me in Convinerimus, and it’s about a girl whose best friends both move away and she struggles to deal with that and to let anyone new into her life—until she finds her way to a magical world where she and her friends can meet. We shall see what happens with it!! 🙂