Celebrate the Small Things 23-9-16

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

So what am I celebrating this week?

I finished my revisions!  Well, close enough anyway.  I now need to print out the MS and read the whole thing through to check for continuity and timeline glitches, and to see if it flows together as a whole.  I'm still a little nervous about two chapters just before the halfway mark, and I want to see if I can shift some of their work into other places, but we'll see…

But while I'm here, does anyone want to beta read for me?  I'd love some fresh eyes on this one toward the end of next week.

I'm going to a conference in Auckland tomorrow morning for the weekend, so I don't really get a break from work.  But when it finishes on Sunday afternoon, I'm going to spend a couple of days with my bestie who lives up there.  She's been going through a hard time recently, so I'm looking forward to seeing her and doing what I can to lighten her load.

It's the last day of school for my kids today, so I have two weeks of vacation to try and fill up for them. Luckily their grandparents are around this time, although busy as they always are.  But I've only had to put them into the hated school holiday program for 3 days this time around.

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Read: Noggin

I read this a while ago and I loved it.  I adore books and films that have at their core a preposterous conceit that they manage to make work.  And this is exactly that.  The preposterous conceit?  A guy has his head transplanted onto a new body after he dies.

Okay.  So science fiction.  Well…  Not so much.

You see, the fun thing about this book is that the future Travis emerges into isn't that different.  Because only five years have passed.  Medical technology moved much more quickly than anyone expected, so suddenly Travis is back, still 16 and living with his parents.

Yet the rest of the world has moved on five years.

It doesn't feel like a lot, but imagine how different it is to be 16 and to be 21.  And that's what Travis has to contend with.  The girlfriend he still adores has grown up and doesn't want to feel like she's babysitting or cradle-snatching when she hangs out with him.  His best friend no longer shares the same interests.

I loved the way this book so vividly evoked how much you grow and change in such a short period of time, and how it feels to be left behind.  I laughed in placed; I cried in others.  But overall, I loved this book and its inventiveness.

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

Listen — Travis Coates was alive once and then he wasn’t.

Now he’s alive again.

Simple as that.

The in between part is still a little fuzzy, but he can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, it was reattached to some other guy’s body, and well, here he is. Despite all logic, he’s still 16 and everything and everyone around him has changed. That includes his bedroom, his parents, his best friend, and his girlfriend. Or maybe she’s not his girlfriend anymore? That’s a bit fuzzy too.

Looks like if the new Travis and the old Travis are ever going to find a way to exist together, then there are going to be a few more scars.

Oh well, you only live twice.

Weekly Goals 19-9-16

Still revising this week.  I slacked off a little last week for some reason, so now I have a bit to catch up on.  Ideally I'd like to finish with this round by the end of the week because I'm going to a conference over the weekend and then staying in Auckland a couple of days with a friend.

I have 7 chapters to go, but I know they're the ones that need the most work because the ending doesn't really work as it stands now.  It's do-able, but it might be a bit of a struggle.  Especially since I know this week at work could be challenging too.

But anyway.  It's a goal.  If I don't meet it, so be it…

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 16-9-16

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

So what am I celebrating this week?

The weekend!

Although it is going to be a busy one.  It was my son's 12th birthday on Thursday so we have a party on Saturday afternoon.  It's at a little private cinema a few blocks from our house and the kids are going to watch Back to the Future.  I just have to finish off the birthday cake and make up some lolly bags for the kids to eat in the cinema.

On Sunday we're going to visit my parents who just got back from what sounds like an amazing trip through Sri Lanka and India.  I'm looking forward to hewing more about it and seeing some photos.

I have to try and get some writing done.  I've revised another four or five chapters this week, but am definitely slacking a little.  I'd like to get another two or three done over the weekend if possible.  Then I'll only have eight or so to get through before I'm done.  Which is definitely do-able next week.

Or I hope it is…

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Read: Out On Good Behavior

I'm a huge fan of f/f romance and probably just as big a fan of Dahlia Adler. She's an auto-buy for me. But somehow, something about this book just didn't click 100% for me. I enjoyed it, and I liked the characters, and I was happy that Frankie and Samara got their happy ever after, but something jut didn't gel for me. And I can't quite figure out what…

It could be the fact that Frankie identifies as pan-sexual, yet I never got any real sense of what that meant to her other than the ability to crush on anyone and everyone. I don't think that's what pan-sexual means. Or it could be the whole 'test' thing going on, where to confirm they actually liked one another, they had to keep their hands off each other for a month. That doesn't ring true to me. I mean, what happens if they do it at the end of the month and discover their sexual needs/desires are totally different? And Samara is a virgin, so she doesn't even know what she likes or needs in a partner. Plus, no one has great sex the first time. It's like everything: it takes practice.

Maybe I didn't love this as much as Dahl's other books because I read it in fits and starts over quite a long period of time where usually I read them in a single sitting. But whatever the reason, I didn't adore this one as much as I wanted to.

That said, I did still enjoy it and I feel a little sad that the Radleigh girls aren't going to be a part of my life anymore. I hope they have great lives and stay best friends forever. They deserve it.

But don't just believe me; here's the blurb.

Frankie Bellisario knows she can get anyone she sets her sights on, but just because she can doesn't mean she should—not when the person she's eyeing is Samara Kazarian, the daughter of a southern Republican mayor. No matter how badly Frankie wants to test her powers of persuasion, even she recognizes some lines aren't meant to be crossed.

But when Frankie learns she's been on Samara's mind too, the idea of hooking up with her grows too strong to resist. Only Sam's not looking for a hookup; she wants—needs—the real thing, and she's afraid she'll never find it as long as Frankie's in her head.

Forced to choose between her first relationship and losing the girl who's been clawing her way under her skin, Frankie opts to try monogamy...under her own condition: 30 days of keeping things on the down low and remaining abstinent. If she fails as hard at girlfriending as she's afraid she might, she doesn't want to throw Samara's life into upheaval for nothing. But when neither the month nor Frankie's heart go according to plan, she may be the one stuck fighting for the happily ever after she never knew she wanted.

Weekly Goals 12-9-16

It's still all about revising.

I have about 12 chapters left to revise in Sam and Amy (and hopefully a title will come to me in that time because I hate calling this book Sam and Amy).  I don't think I'll get through all 12 this week because I'm getting toward the part I raced to finish and I know there are some issues with the ending.

But I should finish by the end of September, which is what I was aiming for.  That gives me October to get beta-reads and do more tweaking and polishing.

I hope to get this sent off to my agents before NaNo begins so I can write something new (or maybe finish the book I started in the June Camp NaNo).

What are your goals this week?