August Monthly Wrap Up

 Happy Wednesday! 

I can't believe August is almost over. Just a few more days! This month feels like it went by so fast. Not that I'm complaining because I am excited and so ready for all the Fall vibes! But also, as much as I have wanted to rush through this last official month of Summer, I've forced myself to slow down and enjoy the end of summer. Drink lots of iced drinks, go outside in the sun and warmth as much as possible. Wear lots of dresses and shorts and just not like my mindset jump straight into Fall. This summer has been a good one and I want to finish it well. 

Writing: 

I did so much writing things this month! I rewrote Sterling Silver almost from scratch! Sterling Silver is the first in my YA vampire series that I wrote all the way back in 2016 and published for a short time before taking it down. And now it has been rewritten and is being read by my mom. Over the weekend, I also finished rewriting the sequel. I had written the sequel in 2018 (I wish I remembered why it took me a whole year to start writing the sequel. Usually I jump right into writing book 2 when I finish the first in the series...). 

Let me just say... rewriting two books almost from scratch is a chore! They still need a lot of work - especially book 2. But after so many years, I finally feel really good about the story and the characters and where it's all going. Plus, I love that world and the characters so much. It has felt so amazing diving back into that world and seeing Tabitha and Sebastian (my MC's) again. This week I'm planning on doing some brainstorming and figuring out how to move forward. For so many years I had Sterling Silver and Hunter's Heritage and like one chapter of book 3. For years I wrote and rewrote Sterling Silver. And now I have both of them in a place that I'm happy with and I get to turn to book 3 and I'm like... I was not prepared for this. My writing style and the vibe of these books I got into when I first wrote them are so different than anything else I've written in years. They're a little darker, a little edgier. One hundred times different from Golden Touch in every way. And I'm a little worried I won't be able to pull off book 3. That I lost my edge through the years and that I won't have the guts to write some of the stuff I incorporated into the first two books. On the flipside, I've been waiting years to write book 3 and have so many plans for it and am excited to finally get to dive into it. I just hope I can do it justice. 

As for Emerald Phantom, that has been sent off to beta readers! I'm taking a break from The Archive Series to work on Sterling Silver while I wait for beta reader feedback to return to me in September. There's not much else going on in the Golden Touch front at the moment besides getting the cover made and waiting for feedback. 

I also have been writing a short story a week all this month and that has been really fun. There's one in particular that I wrote last week that I'm in love with haha 

Reading: 

So, I actually read a lot this month! 

I read The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. The writing was lacking in certain areas and there was a lot of telling, but the plot is worth the read. I mean, the characters are great too. All the Hawthorne brothers are interesting and complex characters. But the plot!! I'm a sucker for the whole like the MC gets sucked into a game full of twists and turns and clues and massive reveals. I was heavily invested the whole time. Like I could not put it down! 

Then I started reading Dearest Josephine by Caroline George which was recommended by one of my best friends. Dearest Josephine is one of her all time favorite reads and holds lots of pieces of her heart, so not only did I want to read it because it sounded good, but also because she loves it so much. And when she came down (she lives in a different state) she brought a copy of it for me with her favorite quotes underlined! My love language is personalized books given to me, so I was very excited and it meant so much to me. 

Honestly... I love it and am loving it... but halfway through the month my brain could not handle anything deep or super meaningful (which Dearest Josephine is). So, I took a break from it and rereading the entire Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I love that series so much and I've read it so many times that it doesn't take a lot of thought or brainpower to enjoy them. But now that I've finished my reread of that series, I am back to Dearest Josephine and can't wait to finish it! 

Life Stuff: 

One of my best friends came to visit me! Keturah came over to where I live to visit her grandparents who happen to live literally like five minutes away from me (crazy how that works). So we got to hang out and talk books and she gave me a copy of Dearest Josephine and then I got to go to the zoo with her and her family over the weekend. It was so fun and I was so excited to see her! All I can think now is Keturah is definitely the Anna to my Elsa. Where she's super bubbly and enthusiastic, I am way more reserved and chill. But I love it. I love that about her and about us. 

Last weekend I visited my cousin at Purdue and that was super fun. I've never been up that way and it was actually a really nice area and an amazing campus. It's a little thing and we just spent like a few hours there hanging out with her, but it was a lot of fun. 

I've become a sort of unofficial leader at my church's youth group this month too! It's been a great experience and at the moment I'm co-leading with one of my other best friends to kind of get the hang of things and the lay of the land. I've never been super involved in any of the churches we've gone to and I just felt like it was the right time to start. So here I am, a youth group leader. It's been really fun! 

I'm trying to think of other things I've done this month, but I can't think of anything else. We've gone to some parks and stuff... but I think that's it. Oh! I road on my first boat! A friend's parents live on the lake and so we went swimming and then they took us out for a ride and it was so fun! One of the best nights ever and I had the most amazing time hanging out with friends. 

And now, I get to finish the month off in a not so great way. I'm getting my wisdom teeth out this Friday and I am super nervous about it haha I'm sure it'll be fine... but I'm still not looking forward to it. 

Also, I watched the second season of Outerbanks this month! It wasn't as good as the first season, but I still got through it, mostly because I love the characters. Though I was really hoping for some kind of redemption arc for Rafe... but turns out he's just a true crazy person haha 

What If...? is amazing and I am loving it! I thought it was important to mention that because the first two episodes were incredible! 

Looking Forward to September: 

September is going to be so fun! We're going to a Jonas Brother's concert on the 9th! I'm so excited!! I've wanted to see them forever! I was so jealous in 2019 when they came and I couldn't go haha It'll be amazing! Besides it being a Jonas Brothers concert, like it's a concert in general and I love concerts. After last year I wasn't sure if I would ever get to go to one again, so I'm so thankful for this opportunity and that concerts are back up and running. 

Also, all the Fall vibes and hopefully the temperature cooling off. I'm ready to start wearing jeans and jackets again. 

Other than that... I don't know what's happening in September. I have my classes... I'll be editing Emerald Phantom... Probably writing book 3 in the Sterling Silver series. But yeah, other than that... there aren't any big plans or anything. 

How did your August go? Do you have any plans for September?