Weekly Goals 1- 4-19

I have another somewhat nutty week ahead of me at work, so writing time will be limited (again).

I will attempt to get back into the book I was working on before I got distracted, but in case of more distractions, I plan to try and write some short fiction in lieu of working on my book.  At least that way I'll be keeping that creative muscle moving.

The public library in my city was closed suddenly a couple of weeks back because of fears the building might be unsafe in an earthquake, so my supply of new books is dwindling fast.  Time to start catching up on all those un-read books on my shelves that people have given me over the years...

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 29-3-19

This post is part of Lexa Cain's bloghop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up!

What am I celebrating this week?

It's Friday!

it has been another crazy busy week and I'm looking forward to a weekend of doing very little.

I'm also celebrating a new bike.  My partner surprised me with one the other day.  I went out to get my son's bike to ride to the gym and discovered a new bike in the garage.  I've ridden to work a couple of times this week (when the weather allowed me to) and it doesn't take any longer than taking the bus.  Plus I get exercise, so it's a win - win!

I haven't done any writing this week, except blog posts for the A-Z.  But I'm caught up on those now, so maybe next week I'll get back to the book I'm actually supposed to be finishing.  Maybe...

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Read: Eight Lives

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this in advance.

The premise of this book was interesting - a promising young doctor makes a discovery that might change the world, only to have everything go terribly wrong at the trail period. Unfortunately the book's structure made it difficult to enjoy what should have been a cracking medical thriller.

There are eight different POVs in this book, and while a couple of them were distinctive, the others blurred into one another, making it difficult to remember who each character was and what role they played in the story. And it took so long to actually get into the story because each of these people had to introduce themselves before anything actually happened.

The other thing that bugged me was the amount of jargon used. Yes, I know this is a medical thriller, and there is a certain amount of information that a reader needs to understand the facts, but there was far too much here. It started feeling like the author wanted us to know she's an expert in this field.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. It took me quite a long time to read, which is unlike me, and I think that didn't help with keeping up with what was going on and who was doing what. But if you like slow-burning thrillers, it might be your cup of tea.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

A brilliant young doctor is dead ... and someone has to take the blame.

Former refugee David Tran becomes the Golden Boy of Australian medical research and invents a drug that could transform immunology. Eight volunteers are recruited for the first human trial, a crucial step on the path to global fame for David and windfall gains for his investors. But when David dies in baffling circumstances, motives are put under the microscope.

With its origins in a real-life drug trial that ended in tragedy, EIGHT LIVES is told from the perspectives of David’s friends, family and business associates, who all played a role in his downfall.

Weekly Goals 25-3-19

How remiss of me...  I forgot to do my goals post yesterday!

But anyway, better late than never, right?

This week my goals are around blogging because I realized that Monday is the first of April and on my group blog, Operation Awesome, we're doing the A- Z challenge.  I've written about half my A- Z posts, but still have half to do.  And stupidly, I wrote the ones at the end of the alphabet first.  So I need to get my A into G.

I have a completely insane week ahead of me at work too, so am not going to push myself too hard to write at home since I have two big government documents to finish, a speech and briefing notes for a government minister to write, an introduction to another document and various sets of guidelines,

So yeah...  It's a busy one.  No wonder I forgot to write my goals.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 22-3-19

This post is part of Lexa Cain's bloghop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up!

What am I celebrating this week?

Several things to be honest.

It has been a crazy week in which everyone has been trying to come to terms with what happened in Christchurch and how to live in a country that has been scarred by an event like this.

Our prime minister has been a real leader through it all, and I'm celebrating her this week.  She has shown that leadership can be compassionate and kind.  In the face of horror, she has been decisive, and I'm grateful that less than a week after the shooting, military-grade firearms have been made illegal in this country.  

In the face of all this, I've struggled to keep going with my grim little story about abused children, so I've been playing around with a romance novel I wrote a few years back just for fun.  I don't read romance novels so I have no idea if I've hit the mark with this at all, but I've certainly been enjoying working on something so very different from what I usually choose to write.  

If anyone out there does read romance and has time to read for me, I'd love some feedback.  It should be ready for eyes sometime next week.

And what are you celebrating this week?