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The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. It’s hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Readerbuzz, and Book Date.

The Sunday Post #291

Public Service Announcement

Back in the olden days, I used to write stuff that wasn't blog posts. Now you can read one of those things online. (Lucky you.) "Something Wild" is a historical fantasy children's story I wrote in 2016. I guess it's a King Kong retelling . . . for children. I don't know. It was inspired by the classic King Kong movie and a random song I heard on the radio. It's about circuses, cornfields, and cryptids. All the fun things. It's a children's story, so it's under 2000 words, and nobody dies. Here's a link if you want to read it. It's free.

On The Blog Last Week

• On Tuesday, I talked about my most-anticipated middle grade releases for 2022.

On The Blog This Week

• On Tuesday, I show off the books I got for Christmas. (Yes, I realize that Christmas was a month ago and nobody cares anymore, but I'm excited. Excited and slow at writing blog posts, apparently.)

In My Reading Life

Last week, I decided it would be a brilliant idea to read two 600-page books at the same time. I only finished one of them. It was The Diviners by Libba Bray. I liked it a lot. It's young adult historical fantasy about teens with supernatural powers in 1920s New York. When a demon/ghost/thing starts committing murders, it's up to the kids to stop him.

The author put an astounding amount of research into this story. I love the slang, the fashion, the 1920s culture, everything. It's atmospheric and very believable. The characters are the bee's knees. (OMG, 1920s slang is dumb.) There are a lot of characters, but they have distinctive personalities, so I didn't mind. This book kept me up past my bedtime every night for a week. I'm excited to read the sequel. I want to know what the characters do next.

If I had to find something to complain about, it would be the length. Like most long books, this one did not need to be 600 pages. I realize it's the start of a series, and there's a whole fantasy world to build, but I wanted the plot to move a little faster.

That's my only complaint. Bring on the sequel.

The other fat book I'm reading is The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. This one is adult historical fiction about a group of young men who have just been released from a work farm. They're trying to figure out what to do with their new freedom. I've only read 100 pages, but I already know that I love the writing style.

In The Rest Of My Life

Five things that made me happy last week:

1. I got paid for a story I wrote 5 years ago. Unexpected money is always fun. It almost makes me want to start writing again. Almost.
2. It was an excellent reading week.
3. I'm planning what to do with the garden this summer. I'd like a butterfly garden, but I only have part-sun, and I live in Colorado zone 5. If you know anything about plants, tell me what to do.
4. I got new books.
5. Way back in October, I made a goal to create 400 Pinterest pins for this blog before February 1. I've been working on pins every day since October 15, and I think I'm going to hit my goal. I have 42 pins left to make. I'm out of design ideas, but I'm optimistic.

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Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other. See you around the blogosphere!