Celebrate the Small Things 14/4/17

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?

Holiday!

Yes, it's a four-day weekend because of Easter, and on top of that, I have an extra two days off to hang with the kids because they are on vacation for two weeks.  It's been a crazy-busy week at work, so I am looking forward to having a little time off to relax and re-charge.

Although of course we still have open-homes and viewings to deal with, so I can't relax TOO much…

But I'm kind of hoping we might at least get through today without anyone wanting to look through the house.  There's a big storm supposed to be tearing the country apart, so fingers crossed everyone is at home, hunkered down to keep dry.  It doesn't look too bad yet, but who knows what will happen later on.

I made some good progress on the ghostwriting proposal this week and will send the next sections off to the subject this weekend.  Hopefully we'll get together in the next few weeks to get some real interviews happening and I can start writing the first sample chapters.

Have a wonderful Easter, everyone!

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Read: A List of Cages

After having had a bad run with my library choices, this week has brought me two books I really liked, so picking which one to review today was hard!  So I picked the one I finished last night because I'm still reeling from it.

This is not an easy book to read.  It deals with some horrific abuse in a very realistic and graphic way.  But essentially it is a book about friendship and if you read this blog regularly, you know I love books that deal with friendships in a real way.

And this friendship is unusual because the two boys are four years apart in age.  And they were once foster brothers, so they have a history that could have been messy.

Adam is a fantastic character.  He's ADHD, but has found ways to manage it without chemical medication.  He's one of those people others are drawn to and has a big circle of friends who hang on his every word and would follow him to the end of the earth.

By contrast, Julian is quiet and finds ways and places to hide himself away.  But once Adam finds him, he won't allow Julian to hide and brings him into the circle of friends that surround him.  And Julian blossoms with the affection and attention he gets, even when it makes him uncomfortable at times.

As Adam and Julian grow closer, Adam realizes there's something wrong in Julian's life.  But as he gets close to what it is, things become more dangerous for both boys.

The second half of this book becomes particularly harrowing, but I couldn't put it down.  I had to know what was going to happen next, even if the bath was cold and it was getting close to midnight…

I'd recommend this one, but be aware it isn't easy to read in places. I had tears in my eyes a few times while I read.  But if you can make it though the horror, it's well worth it.

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

When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he’s got it made. Sure, it means a lot of sitting around, which isn’t easy for a guy with ADHD, but he can’t complain, since he gets to spend the period texting all his friends. Then the doctor asks him to track down the troubled freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is Julian—the foster brother he hasn’t seen in five years.

Adam is ecstatic to be reunited. At first, Julian seems like the boy he once knew. He’s still kindhearted. He still writes stories and loves picture books meant for little kids. But as they spend more time together, Adam realizes that Julian is keeping secrets, like where he hides during the middle of the day, and what’s really going on inside his house. Adam is determined to help him, but his involvement could cost both boys their lives…

Weekly Goals 10-4-17

Once again, I'm going to keep things very low key this week in terms of goals.  The house is still on the market and keeping it show-room ready is taking more time and energy than I thought possible.  Plus, I sent some material off to the woman I'm ghostwriting for, and until I get her notes back, I don't want to move forward with the project.  Just in case I'm heading in the wrong direction.

In between ghostwriting, I've been finishing off the revision I was working on before the opportunity arose.  I'm in the annoying stage of just going through and removing all the unneeded filter words and over-used crutch words.  It's amazing how many words you can cut just by going through and searching out those pesky little 'thinks' and 'sees' and 'justs'.

Hopefully I'll finish that task in the next day or so and can get on to the other, bigger piece of the revision: toning down the sex scene.

Then I can do a final read-through to make sure I'm happy with the book overall.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 7-4-17

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?

It's Friday!  It has felt like a very long week, so I'm glad the weekend is almost here.  And next week is a short one because of Easter.

Out house is for sale, so even though it's the weekend and I really want to just relax, there is cleaning to do, and we have our first open home on Sunday.  A few people have already been through to look, so there is definitely interest in the property.  Unfortunately this week has been wet and windy and cold, so the garden hasn't had a chance to show itself off in all its glory.

Fingers crossed we get some serious interest out of the open home and maybe even some offers next week.  I'd really like to get this place sold so I can focus on getting ready to move into the new house.

I sent my first little pieces of the ghostwriting book proposal to the subject this week, and she seems to be happy with it.  Which is great.  I really want to get to the fun part of actually writing the thing.  But I know I need to be patient and work through the process.

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Read: The Inside of Out

I didn't love this one, but there are some things about it, I really liked, so I thought it was a good book to review here today.

Privilege is a word that gets bandied about a lot, but many times, I feel like the person brandishing doesn't truly understand what the word truly means.  This book explores privilege and how it can be abused.

Daisy is a great main character - impulsive, headstrong, determined and… well….totally clueless.  She's one of those people who throws themselves into any cause with all her heart, never considering the consequences or even if she has a right to champion that cause, let alone if she's qualified to do so.

In this case, it's misguided solidarity and love for her best friend that leads her to throw all her energy and enthusiasm into a cause - allowing same-sex partners at school dances (sound familiar?  Yes, I wrote a book about this too….)  Daisy is so passionate about the cause, she doesn't even pause to notice her best friend isn't joining in the protest, or even that she appears not to want it to happen.

As a result, friendships are strained, romances burn and sizzle out, and Daisy learns some valuable lessons about herself and her place in the world.

The lessons come across a little heavy-handedly and I felt a little like the book's message was being beaten over my head.  But it's an important message, and maybe it needs to be pounded into some peoples' skulls.

It wasn't a bad book.  In fact I really enjoyed parts of it.  Maybe you will too…

But to help you decide, here's the blurb:

Meg Cabot meets Glee in this breezy, hilarious, deceptively smart YA about privilege, pretense, and realizing that every story needs a hero. Sometimes it's just not you.

When her best friend Hannah comes out the day before junior year, Daisy is so ready to let her ally flag fly that even a second, way more blindsiding confession can't derail her smiling determination to fight for gay rights.

Before you can spell LGBTQIA, Daisy's leading the charge to end their school’s antiquated ban on same-sex dates at dances—starting with homecoming. And if people assume Daisy herself is gay? Meh, so what. It's all for the cause.

What Daisy doesn't expect is for "the cause” to blow up—starting with Adam, the cute college journalist whose interview with Daisy for his university paper goes viral, catching fire in the national media. #Holy #cats.

With the story spinning out of control, protesters gathering, Hannah left in the dust of Daisy’s good intentions, and Daisy's mad attraction to Adam feeling like an inconvenient truth, Daisy finds herself caught between her bold plans, her bad decisions, and her big fat mouth.

Weekly Goals 3-4-17

I have been 100% hopeless when it comes to writing in the last week.  I have barely touched the ghostwriting project.  I did do some copy-editing on another MS I've been working on, but really, I've been far too distracted by house stuff to do any real work.

But now we've found a new house, I just need to worry about selling this one (which is a pretty big worry when I think about how much the new house costs).  But I'm trying not to get too wound up about it (fat chance).

So this week, I plan to get back into the ghostwriting project.  My subject has given me a timeline of key events in her life, so I will use that as the backbone of the outline I'm working on and try to fit the stories she's shared into the timeline.

It's not a lot, but I think I need to keep my goals small for the next few weeks.

What are your goals this week?