Sorting, Sorting & More Sorting

Hi! How are you today? Even though the world is currently a bizarre mess, I hope you're able to find good vibes and happiness to make your days better.

I swear this timeline is the most ridiculous timeslip ever. It's like people had a chance to turn their backs on evil fucks, and instead decided to vote them in to screw everything up for the rest of us. Don't get me started on the anger I have for the ones responsible for a lot of what's going on at the moment.

Better not to fall down that rabbit hole.

So, my knee is almost fully healed. No more open wounds/scratches, and the irritation the constant band-aid wearing caused is almost gone too. It's still a bit messy to look at, but I don't care about that.

My husband went back to work this week (😢) and on Monday, I completed the final read-thru of the three stories I added to my Paperwhite the other day. All three are under 2k, so that's why it didn't take long to read each one and fix the final tweaks/changes. Didn't find too many things this time, but they're all finalised now.

As I've mentioned before, I'm having a lot of fun writing these stories set during different time periods, and featuring a variety of secondary characters. Another thing that I love about this world is how the ideas and characters are challenging me to write all sorts of different styles. Whatever suits the character/s.

I actually started another story midweek, but I'm taking my time with it. This one is going to be a bit longer. It's up to 3k so far, and nowhere near done. I'll keep writing until this guy's tale is out of my head. This is a tricky character because he's quite an asshole. Either way, I'm having a cool time visualising everything because the idea came to me in such a visual way that it keeps playing inside my head like a movie.

Asides from the above, I spent ALL week organising the two Kallax bookshelves we bought/built last weekend. The problem is that it's not a matter of just adding books and walking away. Nope. I had to go through every single bookshelf in the house, as well as the random piles I have everywhere.

It's a LOT of books, but I'm having a great time finding some titles I didn't remember I had! 😳

Asides from the books, I also have to go through the cute toys/figurines. Not to mention my stationery, because I'm trying to put things in easily-accessible places. I'm tired of never having a sticky note, notepad or pen available when I need it even though I have hundreds of all of them. LOL.

It's mentally and physically exhausting. Carrying books from one room to another and back again, while also packing Drönas full of stuff, is super tiring. My arms hurt as much as my legs. I mean, I'm still going for long daily walks, so yeah. SO TIRED. But you know what? It's definitely worth it. I'm so happy to have more places to display my books and cute things.

Unfortunately, going through all my books means that I've found some with foxing. It's so disappointing because I keep them in nice, clean shelves. And a bunch of them are from my Stephen King collection. 😫

Plus, once I find this, I get rid of the book. From what I read, it's not contagious, but I just can't keep them next to other crisp books.

That's what I've been doing lately. It turned out to be a very busy week! I packed as much writing/sorting/organising into every minute as I could. Great progress but still not fully done.

Only thing I didn't have time for was reading.

Well, have an awesome weekend!!

 

Taking a Break

Hey! How are you today?

We've been enjoying a fantastic week. My husband had an RDO last Friday that led into a week off, and we made the most of our time off.

We went on a lot of shopping trips to different shopping centres we don't usually visit, which always leads to cool walking adventures. As well as finding bargains and trying out new places to eat. Very cool and a lot of fun.

There was also quite a bit of lounging around and watching movies, catching up on shows, plus playing ACNH every day.

Sometimes, we watch YouTube to keep up with the crap that's going on in the world, but there's only so much I can take, so I usually end up grabbing my phone and start sorting my writing files. Or pics, maybe a bit of research. I ended up writing two new pieces, and finished the story in verse I mentioned last week. I even revised all three and added them to my Paperwhite for the final read-thru next week.

The stories that I'm writing are set in the VampNovel1 and VampNovel2 world. The characters just won't shut up, and since I'm having a lot of fun telling their stories, I reckon I'll probably end up with enough shorties for a short story collection.

Oh, we finally watched POSSESSION. An 80s movie that I've wanted to watch for years. And wow, what an intense trip that turned out to be. The characters were over the top and their marriage was totally broken. Not to mention how their son got lost in the insanity, and how these two wanted to change each other completely. There was a lot of insanity, but I mostly enjoyed it. Glad we finally watched it.

The other movie we watched was THE GORGE. This one hooked me in because I found the whole Gorge secret intriguing. It was cool to get the answers hidden within such eerie imagery. And the connection between the two characters was great, but the ending could've been better, to make more of an impact.

Anyway, we're finishing up the week with a whirlwind of buying more bookshelves from IKEA, donating some furniture to Salvos, and now sorting everything out. Yikes! It's been a crazy 24 hours and we're both sore and super tired, but getting more shelves is always an awesome thing!

Well, that's it for now. Catch you later.

Have a great weekend!

Writing, Watching, Reading...

Hey!

How are you today? What did you get up to this week?

We started ours with a public holiday, so that was great. What isn't great is how cold it is. As soon as June started, the temperature has dropped dramatically and I'm already over it.

Well, we finally watched SINNERS and absolutely LOVED IT. What an amazing movie. I'm a vampire fan from way back and never get tired of new vamp tales, and this one was original, gory and visually stunning. Not to mention the cool music.

We also finished watching S4 of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING. This is a show we started years after everyone else, but I'm SO glad we caught up because it's fantastic! Addictive and cozy. Has a great cast and twisty mysteries. Plus it's very funny. I miss it already.

In my last post, I mentioned that I slipped during a rainy walk last week and skinned my knee. Well, it's still scraped and the big band-aid has become a permanent fixture. I mean, it's definitely getting better, but the healing process is slow. Not to mention that the band-aid protecting the wound has kinda irritated the skin around it. 😫

Anyway, let's talk about writing.

Last weekend, while taking it easy on the couch with my husband, I wrote a new short story on my phone. I challenged myself to write it in a style I've never tried before, and had a lot of fun! I even revised it on my laptop on Tuesday, so it's done. Yay.

Final word count is: 1,834.

I then spent a couple of days reading a book called SLAGS. You can read my review below, but spoiler: I really enjoyed it. ☺️

And on Thursday night, after I wrote and posted my review, I ended up writing another story on my phone. It's currently under 1,000 words. To be honest, it's more like a shortie told in verse. Not sure when I'll finalise this one, but I've already started revising and read it to my husband.

I know I've mentioned this before, but the stories keep coming so... Although VampNovel1 and VampNovel2 are done, the secondary characters who live in this world with the two main characters aren't done with me yet. They keep whispering in my ear, pound my brain with ideas, and the words keep coming.

I'm not complaining because I'm having a great time. Writing these tales is fun and exciting, plus I'm doing a lot of research about the twentieth century, which is actually very cool and insightful.

Okay, that's it for today. We've got a week off because my husband has annual leave, and I can't wait.

Have a great weekend!

SLAGS by Emma Jane Unsworth

Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When my husband saw this book on Amazon we both had a good laugh at the title and the cover. And I instantly knew that I had to check it out.

Sarah and Juliette are sisters who decide to go on a campervan road-trip across Scotland. After all, it's Juliette’s birthday and she's about to enter her 40s. The only problem is that they both packed too much baggage from their shared past...

Well, I devoured this book in 24 hours because it totally grabbed me. I had a hard time putting this down. I'm really not surprised because I love reading honest and raw stories about what some might call unlikeable women/girls written by women, but I call interesting and realistic.

The story unfolds in the POV of Sarah, during two separate timelines. Present day, while she's in her 40s. She's a workaholic who loves her job and her close friends, while engaging in a string of sexual conquests. The past focuses on 15-year-old Sarah. A teenager who isn't afraid to get involved in sexual relationships, but is secretly in love with her English teacher.

I enjoyed both timelines. The 90s part is full of nostalgia and the reality of what it's like to be a girl dreaming about love, while also falling into unsatisfying sexual situations. The other shows a grown woman who is content where she is in her life, surrounded by close friends and a job she enjoys, but has quite a few problems with her family. As well as serious issues with alcohol and drugs.

But at the heart of the story is the sisterly love and connection these two women have. I enjoyed how Sarah and Juliette's interactions unravelled the farther they went from home. How the distance, denial, secrets and so many unspoken words come out in the most unexpected ways. Drawing them closer, while also alienating them. The dynamics of their relationship is written really well. It's funny to see them connect with cigarettes, whisky, and 80s movie quotes.

Plus the conversations in this book are a lot of fun to read.

Yeah, I really enjoyed this!


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