Hello everybody! As the second and shortest month of the year draws to an end, I figured that this week’s post could be a wrap-up, consisting of all that happened this month. I had a pretty good (but busy) month, and hope you did as well!
Books I Read
Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch was a sweet, yet meaningful contemporary novel. I love the sibling aspects of it, and it made me want to visit Ireland as well! I don’t know if I enjoyed it as much as its companion novel, Love and Gelato, but it was still really good!
The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson was a very wild ride of different emotions and surprises! I think that it was a good ending for the series, yet the final book of a series is always a bit sad to read, knowing it’s the end.
Holy Moments by Matthew Kelly was a very good book! It was one of those books to me that really made me think a lot, and I would definitely recommend it to you!
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was a book I was assigned to read for my English class. I liked it quite a bit, and I enjoyed the overall meaning and message of the novel.
Lovely War by Julie Berry was a reread, and it is one of my all-time favorite books, something I realized even further as I read through this amazingly well-written, sweet historical fiction novel. I love almost all of the aspects of this book, from the characters and relationships, to the writing, and the themes. Definitely check it out if you haven’t yet!
Crochet Projects
I am starting on some Easter and spring-themed projects (and, hopefully, the patterns will be released soon). I also finished a few smaller projects.
Go through clothes and get rid of stuff. I did go through all of my clothes, and I have lots of things to get rid of. I haven’t gotten rid of anything yet, but they’re all ready to go!
Keep consistent with running and run atleast 20 miles. My consistency was sort of nonexistent throughout the beginning of the month, but toward the end, I found a training plan and have been following that. I did not run 20 miles.
Start biking again. I did not. 😕
Start making a playlist for my book. Again, I did not get around to this one.
Read at least four books. Yup!
Post at least once on my other blog. I did! Check it out here if you want. It was a collab I did with my sister covering a few ideas for Lent, if you’re interested!
Post once a week on here. I did stay consistent with this!
March’s Goals
Organize my closet shelving. 😬 It’s very messy! The shelf I’m speaking of is basically just the place I store anything random without a specific home: coloring books, old notebooks, games and puzzles, etc. It definitely needs to be cleaned up, and it’s a spot I’ve been dreading for a while now.
Design and post a spring-themed crochet pattern. I sort of have one designed, but I’ve yet to write down the pattern and share it with y’all. Keep an eye out for that!
Continue with my running plan, and add biking in as cross-training. The new running plan I’m using is one I found online to improve 5k time, because I hope to do a race in the spring. I’m liking it so far, but sometimes, creating the consistency is difficult. I also want to start biking more this month!
Try out some new recipes. I’ve been baking a lot lately, and I’ve saved a few really yummy-looking recipes, so I’m going to try them out soon!
Start practicing piano again. Because I haven’t in…a while.
Spend more time outside. I’ve been trying to do this more lately, and the lovely upcoming weather is for sure helping me to get outdoors more often!
Buy some books on ThriftBooks and do a haul. I have a gift card for ThriftBooks from Christmas, and I haven’t used it yet. In March, I hope to buy a few books from their website, and do book haul post.
Photos from February
My sister’s dog! 🥰The daffodils are blooming! They are definitely one of my favorite flowers.One crochet project this month: a little bear!My little sister made a yummy chocolate cake!I took this photo after I organized my yarn shelf. I wish I had a before photo, because it was pretty bad!Some homemade bread!On Valentine’s day, we got donuts!😋They were pretty good!Reading Lovely War by Julie Berry.I used a melt and pour soap making kit to make soaps with my sister!I love how all of the soaps turned out!My cat, Luna! ❤️Just doing some writing outside!One of my running buddies!
What Happened in February?
February seemed to pass by very quickly! That’s probably partly due to the fact that it was a few days shorter than most months, but I feel like in general, I was pretty busy throughout the month.
I signed up for soccer again this spring! Practices haven’t started yet, but I am excited to start playing again in March!
I spent a lot of time outside and started trying to run consistently again. It’s always hard after taking a break like I did during the majority of winter, but I’m starting to get back into it!
I started experimenting and baking a lot more this month, especially bread!
What have you been up to this month?
That’s it! How was your February? What plans do you have for March? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
I hope that you enjoyed today’s post! I also hope that you are having an amazing Monday, and I’ll see y’all back here next week!
Hello and happy Monday! How is the start to your week?
So, today’s post is going to be very very fun. I will be using the “What’s your WIP (work in progress) Writing Tag” to introduce y’all to the newest book I’ve started to write. The book is called A Songwriter’s Summer for now, as I decided to name it, so I don’t get caught talking about it as “My Contemporary Book” or something to that nature, like I did with “My Dystopian Book”.
Speaking of my dystopian book, I used this tag once before to give y’all a little peek into that book. Here it is if you are interested!
This book is the newest one I’ve been writing and is the main writing project I’ve been working on lately. It is a contemporary YA book. I will leave the rest of the explanation and summary for this book to the tag!
The Rules
Thank the person who tagged you & link to their blog.
Tag as many or as few people as you wish & let them know they’re tagged.
Add a clean copy of the questions at the end of your post for the “tagged.”
Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?
As I said earlier, A Songwriter’s Summer is the name I’ve given my book for the time being. It probably won’t stick, but I decided to at least come up with a name for now, so I had something to call it. I think that this name sort of explains the story to some extent (it follows the main character, who is a songwriter, and it takes place during the summer) but the title also sounds like some sort of songwriting camp or something, so I’ll probably change it sometime down the road. It works for now, though!
Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?
I don’t have a synopsis written, so I will just explain the story a bit.
This book follows seventeen-year-old Breena West, who loves writing songs, and secretly dreams of becoming a songwriter. The problem? Her parents don’t consider that a career and they are pushing her to go to college and pursue a more stable career that she can support herself with. When one of Breena’s favorite songwriters announces that she’s hosting a songwriting contest that has the potential to grant the winners recognition and fame, Breena sees this as her chance to show her parents that this passion for songwriting doesn’t have to be only a hobby.
Many things happen that summer. Her parents become concerned with Breena’s grades. Fynn Cooper, a fellow eleventh grader, begins helping Breena with her classes. Breena’s older, perfect-seeming sister comes home from college for the summer, and her brother shortly after. Through this period of months, Breena will discover many things, learn to understand the views of others, and to be more compassionate.
I understand that this is not a very good synopsis, but I had to write it real quick. I was just finishing this post up (because, of course, I waited until the last minute) so I am writing this just before posting.
Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?
I actually do! Here it is:
This is a very basic cover design that I created on Canva. I like how it turned out, and just the simplicity of it!
How did you get the idea for this story?
I honestly don’t remember! I have recently been wanting to write a contemporary book with the main character being a songwriter, as I have become more interested in song and poem writing. I remember having the sort of idea for this book in my mind for a while, and after a while, I wrote it all down and planned the story further.
How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?
I am only a few chapters in, but I have the whole book planned out. I believe it will be just about the length of an average novel, maybe a bit shorter, but I guess we’ll see!
Who’s your favourite character so far?
I love all of my characters! One of my favorite things about this book so far is that I can relate to each of the characters in some way, and see where they are coming from. Up to this point, I like Fynn a lot, as well as Breena’s best friend, Lea.
What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP?
Probably when I was in the planning phase! After I got the idea for this novel, I bought a special notebook and began planning it all out, writing every little thing down, and coming up with ideas as to where the story would go. I love looking back at those pages now, and seeing how the first ideas have been formed into the whole story that it is now!
Any special person(s) who helped create it?
My older sister! She mostly just listens to me ranting about the characters or talking about the plot. I also let her read it as I write, and she gives me helpful advice and constructive criticism. Thank you!
What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?
Hmmm…🤔 I’m not sure. There is a scene that I’m excited to write that will be at the end of the book, but I can’t describe it without giving away most of the story. So far, I have enjoyed writing the first few interactions between Breena and Fynn, and I am looking forward to the introduction of a new character that I will be writing in soon!
Can you give us a snippet?
Sorry, I can’t yet. I just don’t feel like there is anything I’ve written yet worthy of sharing as a snippet. Stay tuned, though, because I plan to share more about this book in the future!
Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curveballs?
It’s definitely got a different ending than what I planned at first! Besides that, though, not a lot of changes have taken place yet. I am, as I said, only a few chapters in, so I’m sure that there will be some changes that I decide on as I write and get to know my characters better.
Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?
Not that I can think of at the moment.
When and where have you done most of the writing so far?
I am writing the first draft of this book in a notebook, and I’ve written a lot of it outside, actually!
Where do you get inspiration for this story?
I take a lot of inspiration from my daily life and add it to the book like I do with the other books I’ve worked on. Conversations, traits in my characters, the observations of those around me, and certain situations are all incorporated.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I am a big planner! I mentioned earlier that I bought a notebook to brainstorm and plan the book, and that was in the summer. I believe I just started writing this book in January, so that was about six months of planning out this book! I worked out all of the characters and basically everything that happens because I hate going into the book without a clear knowledge of the story and how it progresses!
Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?
I like to have music, usually, as well as something to drink while I’m writing. Other than that, not really. I just get my notebook out and begin writing!
Are you thinking of publishing this story?
Probably not, but you never know!
What things have you learned while writing this story?
To have fun with it! Sometimes I have to force myself to write to get through a rough patch, but I have also found ways to work on this story without writing, such as developing characters further, finding songs for each character, or writing about it like I am with this post. I do love writing, but sometimes, doing something related to the story is just as important if I don’t feel like writing.
I’m not going to tag anyone to do this tag, because I don’t know who is working on writing a book at the moment. However, if you do have a current WIP, I’d love to see you use this tag! Here is a list of the questions for anyone who plans on doing the tag:
Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?
Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?
Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?
How did you get the idea for this story?
How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?
Who’s your favourite character so far?
What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP?
Any special person(s) who helped create it?
What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?
Can you give us a snippet?
Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curveballs?
Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?
When and where have you done most of the writing so far?
Where do you get inspiration for this story?
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?
Are you thinking of publishing this story?
What things have you learned while writing this story?
That will be all for today! I hope that you all enjoyed getting a little more information on my WIP, A Songwriter’s Summer. How did you like this post? Do you have any more questions about my book? I’d love to hear from you in the comments! Also, if you guys have any more post ideas that I can write to share more about this book, I’d love to hear them! Maybe an aesthetic or playlist?
I hope that everyone has a lovely week, and I’ll see y’all next Monday!
Hello everyone! So, I didn’t get around to posting yesterday, but then I thought that this post might work better for today, with it being Valentine’s day and all!
As you have read in the title of this post, I will be listing a few of my favorite book couples! There were definitely a lot of cute couples I wanted to include in this post, so I decided to narrow the list down to five, which I didn’t technically accomplish, as you’ll see reading the list. 😄
Before reading this post, beware that it may contain spoilers for certain books that contain the couples I am going to be talking about, so proceed with caution!
Okay, here are my top five bookish couples! (They are listed in no particular order.)
Katniss and Peetafrom the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
Starting off strong is Katniss and Peeta from the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, one of my favorite book series of all time. I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain this one much. Peeta is just such a good person in general, and he and Katniss just work. They’ve been through so much, but I love that they sort of got their happy ending. There is a certain quote at the end of Mockingjay about how Katniss needed Peeta, who was like a dandelion in the spring, and it’s just so sweet. I am, and will be, team Peeta forever! Here’s the quote:
“That what I need to survive is not Gale’s fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that.”
Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
James and Hazelfrom Lovely War by Julie Berry
I am actually currently re-reading this amazing book now. James and Hazel are such a cute couple! I love their cute little moments, and all of their slightly cringey interactions in the beginning. They go through so much, and I definitely got annoyed at both of them at different points in the book, but they are an amazing couple, and I would really recommend this book to anyone who hasn’t yet read it!
Lily and Cadefrom P.S. I Like You by Kasie West
P.S. I Like You is probably my favorite book by Kasie West. I like the sort of rivals-to-lover trope, and I just think that Cade and Lily are such a cute couple! One thing, though, about Kasie West’s books is that her couples come together at the last minute in all of her books, it seems. Anyways, I love Cade and Lily, and they make such a cute couple in the end.
Elias and Laiafrom the Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir
I love couples in series because then, they have more time together and I have more time to get attached to them. This is no different for Elias and Laia in the Ember in the Ashes quartet. I love their relationship, how they eventually end up together, and how Laia doesn’t give up on Elias, especially during the middle/end of the series.
All of the couples in Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott
Okay…this is where I couldn’t narrow down the list to just five couples! Little Women is one of my favorite books, and I love who each of the March sisters ends up with. Meg and Mr. Brookes are a lovely couple, and I really like their story and reading about the start of their life together. I like Jo and Mr. Bhaer (I don’t know if that’s spelled correctly), and how Mr. Bhaer kind of comes along at the right time for Jo. Amy and Laurie also just work so well together, and I couldn’t see it being any other way!
So, that’s it: my seven favorite book couples! Who are your favorite book couples? Do you disagree with any of my picks? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Well, thank you all for reading! I hope that your week is going well, and I hope that you have an amazing day. I will see you back here next week! Bye until then! ❤
Hello and happy Monday, everyone! Thanks for clicking on this post of mine today. I got tagged by both Diamond and Sawyer, so thank you both! This post has been sitting in my drafts for quite a while now, and I figured I’d get it posted today. 😃
The rules for this tag are simply to thank the person who tagged you, write your seven word story, and tag 3 people.
My story:
“Time has passed, yet the memories linger.”
This tag was actually harder than I thought it would be! I really struggled with narrowing it down to just seven words. I very much wanted to write a longer story from this sentence, but I guess that this will have to be it. How do you like it?
I will tag: Selina, BetsyJane, and AnnaKate. Looking forward to reading y’all’s short stories if you end up doing this tag!
Thanks for reading! I will be back with a new post next week, so goodbye until then!
Books and Hooks 