September Monthly Wrap Up

 Happy Wednesday! 

I know I probably say this a lot on here but September really does feel like it sped by for me. I don't know where the month went at all haha But hey, at least we're this much closer to October and it's Fall season! Maybe that's what it is... I was looking forward to the first day of Fall so much that the month flew by until I got to September 22nd haha 

Writing: 

September was a weird writing month... again. I feel like all summer - all year really - I've bounced from one WIP to the next without any real follow through. I wrote the first draft of a sci-fi Mulan retelling that I put away. I wrote the first draft of a different sci-fi story called The Runaway (I was real into sci-fi this year haha) that I put away for now too. I wrote a sequel to The Runaway that didn't go anywhere. Then earlier this month I wrote a historical fantasy novella that... didn't go anywhere again. I decided to put that one away for now too. It's been hard bouncing from one project to the next and all of them fading out and not going anywhere, but after the first few weeks of this month I feel like I'm finally on solid ground with my writing. I got beta reader feedback for Emerald Phantom, so I'm now deep in the editing process for that. My goal was to publish it in November, but because editing is taking longer than I thought it would and I've just been feeling super stressed on such a strict time crunch, I've decided to move the publication to January just so that I have ample time to make this book as good as it can possibly be, format it and order author copies for selling signed copies. Plus I want to do Nanowrimo this year and I don't want to have to be stressed in November worrying about word count and having a book ready to be published in the same month. 

A cover and blurb reveal will be coming next week though, so that's exciting! :b

While I edit Emerald Phantom, I'm also working on the third book in my Sterling Hunter series. Since classes have started and Emerald Phantom has to come first, I'm taking my time with this first draft. It's been pretty on and off the past month, but I'm finally happy with where the story is going. I also got a critique partner to help me out with Sterling Silver and in exchange I get to read and critique her book! 

Reading: 

I've been working on the first book in the Throne of Glass series all month haha Seriously, it took me till now to be almost finished with it. It's a bit slower than I thought it would be, and if I'm honest, I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses more than this one... but I feel like the story and series has a lot of potential. If I stick through this first book and get to the next one, I'm hoping the story will pick up a little more and be more interesting. If not... I might DNF the whole thing... but at least I gave it a try. 

Also, I'm eagerly awaiting my copy of Once Upon a Broken Heart to arrive!! Throne of Glass has sort of been a casual in-between book while I wait for OUABH to get here so I can dive back into the world of Caraval and read more about Jacks! 

While I wait for OUABH, I'm reading The Hawthorne Legacy which is the sequel to The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 

Life Stuff: 

The highlight of my month was getting to see the Jonas Brothers in concert! It was so amazing to get to see them in person and they sang all of my favorite songs! I missed going to concerts so much... there's nothing else like it where you're surrounded by people who all have the songs you do memorized by heart and are screaming at the Jonas Brothers every time they show up on the big screen. I got to go with one of my best friends and my mom, so it was an amazing night! 

Other than that though I feel like September was a pretty low key month. Nothing much happened which can be a good thing. Sometimes we need a chill month. I recovered from my wisdom tooth extraction... have been wearing sweats and cozy jackets cus it's been in the 50's the past few days which makes me so very happy. 

Looking Forward to October:

What isn't there to look forward to in October? Our youth group has a fun Fall festival that I get to go to this weekend since I'm a leader now. Our church always does a church-wide Fall festival thing for everyone. Maybe we'll get to go to a Fall festival that our town puts on. In other words... just all the Fall festivals haha There's also Halloween! I'm dressing as a pirate this year and I just need one more piece for my costume before it'll be complete! 

My brother is also moving into a new apartment next month too. It has been a very long and exhausting journey trying to find him a good company and living situation since he has high functioning autism and he needs services before he can move out on his own. So, it's been an answer to prayer that it's all finally working out and will be in a good area, close to where we live and with a good service company. 

So, yeah, that's about it for now... How was your September? What are you looking forward to the most in October??