Category: Best of the Bunch

  My Goings On in July & August: At the very beginning of July I won the opportunity to get editorial feedback on my MG manuscript from a Penguin UK Children’s editor (via the Authors for Grenfell Tower auction). Then, at the end of August, I got that feedback back, and it was incredibly positive! (Click the links to read more since I’ve already gushed about both of these things.) I took my kids to various camps and the swim season ended. My oldest decided he doesn’t want to swim anymore. Sigh. My oldest started drivers’ ed, which is incredibly scary to me. Both on an emotional level and literally—you forget how nerve-wracking it can be when you first start driving!  We had a Japanese exchange student stay with us for a month. He spoke the least English out of any of the exchange students we’ve had in the past,… Read more »

My Goings On in June: I went to ALA Annual! (Click the link for my recap.) We’re dog-sitting my sister-in-law’s cute pup, so my dogs have been having a ball with their new playmate. My son and I finished up chemistry, so the kids and I are now on very little school mode (my son is actually at Japanese immersion camp until the 1st). Instagram: Most Popular Posts: Ten Books I’ve Most Recently Added to My TBR May Wrap-Up Round-Up Giveaway June Discussion Challenge Link-Up & Giveaway Other Features & Discussions: This or That Bookish Edition Sign-Ups for Series in a Month and COYER Summer Reading Challenges Top Ten Series I Haven’t Started (But Totally Plan To) The Disorganized Blogger’s Guide to Book Conferences (AKA an Example You Should NOT Follow) June 2017 Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up ALA Annual Event Recap (& Giveaway!) My 2017 Reading Progress: I’ve stayed steady at 5 books ahead… Read more »

My Goings On in May: My daughter turned 13. Another teenager in the house. Yikes! I volunteered at the Scholastic warehouse sale and earned LOTS of free books! The new swim season has started, so my two older kids (and I) are busy with practices and meets. Our house got robbed! My daughter won a writing competition for her cute short story! I finished the first draft of that new editing project that I’ve been working on. I finally started working out again, and watched 13 Reasons Why and The 100 while doing it. (I’ve also been watching Master of None with my mom and my husband, and I watched the first season of The Santa Clarita Diet with my mom.) On Instagram: Most Popular Posts: (From here on out, just assume that A Spoiler-Filled Discussion of Three Dark Crowns is my top post unless I say otherwise.) The April Wrap-Up Round-Up… Read more »

My Goings On in April: Things around here have been pretty up and down when it comes to that curveball that I mentioned last month. Just when I’ll think we’re moving along swimmingly, things will go south. Have I ever mentioned that parenting a teenager is hard? Parenting a teenager is very hard. (Actually, I take that back—all parenting is just really freaking hard.) Our homeschool co-op year is just about over, giving me a little bit more free time, which is good because … I have a new editing project that I’ve been working on. 🙂 I also went to a Strange the Dreamer event and met Lainie Taylor. The kids started a new swimming season and we just had our first meet yesterday. On Instragram: Most Popular Posts: My #1 post was still A Spoiler-Filled Discussion of Three Dark Crowns. I was excited to see that my second most visited… Read more »

My Goings On in November: I won NaNoWriMo!!! I got really depressed over certain events toward the beginning of the month (that I won’t rehash now). But I won NaNoWriMo!! I started reading two new manga series, and I’m loving both of them. I probably did some other things, but the real news is … I won NaNoWriMo!! (And my first draft of my book is nearly done.) Most Popular Posts: This month was really weird for traffic. My number one post was A Spoiler-Filled Discussion of Three Dark Crowns, which was posted at the end of September, but it was my most popular post of October AND November. I actually kind of love this because I had so much fun writing this post! I want to see everyone’s thoughts on the book!! (I’m still getting comments on that post too, so it’s fun!) Then I had a weird nonexistent page (/sharebutton.to) that I’ve never… Read more »

My Goings On in September: September turned out to be crazily busy for me because of co-op classes starting. I’m teaching a writing class, an acting class, and a blogging class AND my kids’ classes are just generally more challenging (and time-consuming!) this year. It doesn’t help that I stress about my son’s schoolwork more than I probably should. He’s a freshman this year, and he would prefer it if I were completely hands-off (all of his classes are taught through co-op, the local college, or online), but I have a hard time not at least keeping tabs on him– he’s proven in the past that he lets things go if I’m not on top of him). Sigh. I’m working on a new editing project. Nothing else. Literally. I’m barely keeping my head above water with just those two things. Yikes! On Instagram: Most Popular Posts: Blogging 101: What Do You… Read more »

My Goings On in August: I completed my first course for my copyediting certificate through UC San Diego. Happy to report that I got a very solid A (which I would kind of hope since I’ve already been copyediting for a few years!). Now I need to decide if I jump right into the next course – I think that’s the plan. School is back in session. My older two each started two classes at our homeschool co-op (pre-algebra and Spanish for my daughter, algebra and government for my son) and my son started taking a beginning Japanese class at our local community college. (He also went to a Japanese immersion camp at the beginning of the month.) After Labor Day, the rest of our co-op classes start, including the ones I’m teaching. My youngest son has special needs, so he goes to public school, and his classes started last… Read more »

  My Goings On in June: June was a month of subtle changes. Since the school year technically ended in June, my kids and I are doing less school, BUT we don’t actually stop altogether – and in some ways I feel busier since I have to be pretty hands-on with the stuff we’re continuing (math for my daughter and a special reading program for my son who has learning disabilities). I started the copyediting certificate program at UC San Diego. I took on a new volunteer leadership role in the children’s ministry at our church that means a bit more time and attention. I started my first manga series (Death Note) and watched my first anime series (Blue Spring Ride). Really enjoyed both of these! We also started watching the anime version of Death Note, but decided we weren’t interested enough to watch the whole thing since we’re already reading… Read more »