It's March!

How are you today?

It's Saturday here in Oz and we're enjoying hubby's annual leave break. I love staycations. They're awesome and very relaxing. We stay up late almost every night and sleep in. It feels a bit like the vampire lifestyle. 🦇 And I have to admit that some days, it's easy to lose track of time. 😅

I can't believe so many awful things are happening in the world right now. Ugh. If only people paid attention to what's really going on and voted with empathy in mind instead of greed and selfishness.

We've been watching SEVERANCE and YELLOWJACKETS, which are both fantastic shows. SEVERANCE blows my mind and we end up having long discussions about what's going on.

Oh, and we watched COMPANION. What an awesome movie! Really enjoyed this one.

I'm currently taking a break from writing and reading, but I did revise the short story I mentioned in my last post. I actually completed the final read-thru on my Paperwhite this afternoon and just made all the changes. The final word count is: 3,191.

I'm really happy with the result. This is a post-apocalyptic story that has changed direction during every single draft, which is always an awesome surprise.

Also very excited that I've already written and revised/completed two short stories this year. Seriously, last year, I collated and revised two short story collections and even started a few shorties, but I didn't complete any new ones.

BTW, have you checked out my debut short story collection yet? It's called MELANCHOLY DELUSIONS and I'm super excited that it's out in the world. Not to mention that I'm very proud of the 17 tales included in this volume.

You already know that I still play ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS daily, but I've also been playing HELLO KITTY HAPPINESS PARADE on my Switch Lite. I absolutely LOVE this adorable game and finally unlocked all 12 characters. It took me WEEKS to get Kuromi, who happens to be my fave. Now I'm working my way through all the challenges. Very cool.

Well, that's it for now. I just wanted to drop in to post an update at the beginning of the new month.

Have a great weekend!

IN THE PALM OF HER HAND by Lauren Carter

In The Palm Of Her Hand by Lauren Carter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've had this story on my phone for a bit and decided to read it tonight.

Brennan and Sophie are siblings who recently lost their mother and suspect she was killed...

This is a great short story told entirely via text messages. I love tales written in this way because telling a story through messages really introduces a great sense of tension. It kept my attention from beginning to end, and when the twist hit: 😳!!

Great fun, but it's also a lovely book. Between how the text messages are accurately shown on the page, to the lovely illustrations, I really enjoyed this eBook.


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Halfway Through Feb!

Happy Valentine's Day! 💕

Hey, how are you today? I hope you're staying sane in this unstable world of ours. Self-care and enjoying the things you love is always very important, but right now it's absolutely essential. So I hope you're all taking care of yourselves and each other.

I've spent most of this month reading. I have a pretty big TBR pile (it's really piles), but during February I've been finding myself going through my Paperwhite and randomly starting whatever catches my fancy. So I've now read a bunch of cool books that I'd forgotten I had and have thoroughly enjoyed most of them. If you're interested, you can read my reviews below.

So, asides from that I've been going for a lot of walks, have been hanging out with my husband, and we're enjoying the hell out of SEVERANCE. It's such a great show! Very cerebral. I always love watching movies and shows that make me think and encourage me to formulate theories. 

Do you remember the short story first draft (2,400w) I mentioned in my last post? Well, I actually worked on the final read-thru last night. The word count is now: 2,747.

I'm really happy with the finished product. The subject matter isn't fun, and at its core this is definitely a horror tale, but it's also a sharp slice of feminine rage. A violent dystopian that came out of nowhere but makes sense because of certain shitty things that are going on in the world right now.

That's not all I worked on last night. I also finished writing another short story that I started on my phone earlier this week. It's an idea that came out of nowhere and I managed to write the beginning, but then had to put it aside because it was missing something... So I couldn't move on until the answer came to me in the form of Joey Tempest.

After this missing piece of the puzzle landed in my head via a dream, and then came together during my afternoon walk, I was able to complete the first draft. That's 2,528 words. Who would've thought that a little Joey Tempest would help me complete this story? Well, teenage me might have. Or that I would write another apocalyptic shortie this week? Well, the state of the world could be responsible for that. 😁

Speaking of short stories, if you'd like a sample of the kinds of tales that I've written through the years, you can check out my very first short story collection HERE.

MELANCHOLY DELUSIONS already has some cool reviews on Goodreads.

OMG, another thing I've been doing is playing HELLO KITTY HAPPINESS PARADE on my Switch Lite. It's SO MUCH FUN and the songs are very catchy. Not to mention that the game is absolutely adorable. I love it!!

Well, that's it for now. I just wanted to drop in to post an update about what I've been doing lately. My husband is going to have a three-week break for the rest of the month, so I'm looking forward to hanging out with him.

Have an awesome weekend!

INK VINE by Elizabeth Broadbent

Ink Vine: A Gothic Sapphic Novella by Elizabeth Broadbent
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The weekend is almost here and I wanted to start a novella that I could read in one sitting. I'm glad that I picked this one.

Emmy Joiner lives in a trailer with her family in Lower Congaree. She works as a stripper and because of that, people like to make assumptions and throw out labels that don't apply. Besides, they don't know anything about her ambitions or what's in her heart. The day she meets Zara, her life takes an unexpected turn...

I really enjoyed this! The writing is as lush as the vegetation, and throws the reader into the middle of Emmy's life. The swampy landscape is inspiring and almost as dangerous as the people.

Emmy is such a great character with a very strong voice. A young woman who's only ever known poverty and the cruel words her mother continually spews her way. Still, she keeps going and aspires to become so much more. Yet, everyone is willing to judge her every action and call her names. But she doesn't let their opinions define her.

Another thing that I loved about this novella is the descriptions. Whether inside the strip club, in the deepest part of the swamp, or trapped within the tight walls of the trailer she calls home, I really got a sense of location and could picture everything vividly.

In many ways, this is a sad story about a woman trying to survive in a place where everyone pushes against her desire to grow. Only to find that the one part of herself she's kept secret is her real salvation.

I found the romance to be sweet and hopeful, even a little scary at times because of its intensity. The last bit is only because I suspected something otherworldly was going on, which was later confirmed.

This is a great Southern gothic tale.


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