March Monthly Wrap Up

Happy Wednesday and final day of March! 

I love when the last days of the month line up with Wednesdays, so I can post a monthly wrap up literally the day before the month ends. Anyone else enjoying the warmer weather, but not enjoying the Daylight Savings? I feel like it hit me extra hard this year haha I have had such a hard time getting up in the morning, which is annoying since I feel like I got into a good rhythm of waking up at the same time every day. But anyways! Onto a writing update! 

Writing: I finished the first draft of book 5 of The Archive Series this month!! It's still crazy to think about and also so exciting! I finished it at the very end of my birthday week too! So, every book in some way, shape or form in the series is finished! That Sunday when I finished it, I literally sat at my laptop for most of the day feeling stunned and unsure what to do next because I couldn't believe I just typed The End. I also almost cried because I'm gonna miss writing about Amaya and Darren so much. They were there with me through some of the hardest parts of 2020. That whole series represents all the shifts and changes that 2020 brought into my life and I'm forever grateful to my God for giving me Golden Touch and this series when He did. His timing is so perfect. There's still lots and lots (and lots) of editing and revising ahead of me with this series, but I'm ready for it! 

As you all know, I also did the cover reveal for Golden Touch and I sent Golden Touch to beta readers this month. I'm hoping to get the feedback back soon, so I can start revisions on it! My plan is to publish Golden Touch July 13th, so I have plenty of time to get it ready and everything and put it up for pre-orders a few months in advance. 

Since I finished book 5, I wanted to work on something different and I actually have ended up going back to my 2020 Nanowrimo WIP, Valiant. The plot has stayed mostly the same, but the world has changed drastically. I'm loving it so far and am super excited to see where the story and characters go. For now, I'm keeping it more or less to myself. My own secret project and won't be talking about it a lot until it's finished. I just want it to be pressure-less and just mine for a while, especially since I have Golden Touch to focus on. 

Reading: Ok, so I am super proud of my reading in March. I've read six books this month! All thanks to Leigh Bardugo and her Grishaverse series haha I started out the month by reading The Chaos Circus by R. Dugan (I highly, highly recommend it. It was so good!!).

Then, after watching the trailer for the Shadow and Bone Netflix series I was like, I gotta try reading these books! And I ended up devouring the whole trilogy and then Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom as well. 

Now I'm in the middle of reading King of Scars. So, um, it's been a very good reading month and I have fallen in love with the Grishaverse (and in love with Nikolai haha). 

Life Stuff: Lots of life stuff happened in March. I turned 23! It's still weird to think about haha I don't know how I feel about being only two years away from being 25 haha But it was a good birthday nonetheless. 

My mom and I got to go to the mall and the movie theater for the first time in over a year! It was so fun! We went to see Chaos Walking. Highly recommend it. It was so good and the perfect movie to see in the theaters! Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley did a fantastic job! 

Also, this is something that was horrifying in the moment, but is now kind of funny. But, so, the Saturday after my birthday I bit into a piece of Panera bread and one of front teeth crumbled. Yep... one of my front teeth - I'm talking like the very front teeth - fell out of my mouth. Suffice to say there was shock and tears and I didn't leave the house on Sunday at all, but I was able to laugh a little cus I looked like the little kid version of Ellie from Up with her lost front tooth haha Anyways, I can laugh at it now because my dentist penciled me in bright and early Monday morning and got a temporary on. I gotta go back and get a permanent, but man... that was crazy. Be careful when biting into Panera bread guys. Anything can happen. ;) 

Tomorrow I go to take my driving skills test! I'm a little nervous and anxious, but trying to stay optimistic and praying that I do well tomorrow. Hopefully it won't be too hard. I'm taking it in a super small town and I've been practicing a lot, but prayers that it goes well and for my anxiety would be much appreciated haha 

Looking Forward to April: 

I'm so ready for Easter!! We didn't get to spend Easter with family last year, so I am so excited to get to celebrate the resurrection of our King at my aunt's new house this year. We're staying at my favorite hotel and going a day early to hang out and stuff and then spend all day Easter with everyone, so it'll be good. I'm so ready to go on a little trip and get away from the house. 

The Shadow and Bone show comes out April 23rd I think, so I am counting down the days!! I can't wait!! Also, I'm really enjoying Falcon and The Winter Soldier. It's so great to see Bucky again! I'm also loving Superman and Lois too. Guys, if you haven't watched that show yet, go give it a try because it is so well done! 

I also plan on reading King of Scars and, depending on when Rule of Wolves comes out, maybe reading that next month too. Once I'm done with my Grishaverse binge, I'm going to be checking out R. Dugan's Starchaser series. The Chaos Circus made me fall in love with her writing and I can't get enough of it. I can't wait to dive into her series. 

Writing-wise, I plan to revise and edit Golden Touch. Fix anything the beta readers pointed out, do some serious micro edits and get it all polished up and ready to be published. I also plan on working on Valiant some more and seeing where the story takes me. 

That's all I have officially planned. We'll see what April has for me that I don't know about yet. Hopefully all good things haha ;)