Sunday, January 23, 2022

The Sunday Post #291

 

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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 ReviewerReaderbuzz, 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 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.





Help Me Achieve World Domination




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




29 comments:

  1. Congratulations on selling a story! I was obsessed with trying to get my work published thirty years ago, so I know how hard it is to have that happen.

    Our yard has gradually become a garden for butterflies. Our best plants for butterflies are Monk's Cap and oregano here. There's also something at the park's butterfly garden that brings them in that's called a butterfly bush. I don't know if it has another name. I live in Zone 9, so I'm not sure if these grow in your part of the world.

    I hate it/love it when I get all caught up in big books.

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  2. I loved the new Amor Towles book and his earlier ones as well. Reviewed it here:
    https://maefood.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-lincoln-highway-by-amor-towles.html

    I hope you continue to enjoy it.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  3. That is fantastic about your story!!! I will have to read it!

    Agree with Deb about the butterfly bush! I am zone 6 so I don't know if our plants are good for your area either but last year I planted different types of milkweed for monarchs. Dill will bring Black Swallowtails to the yard if they are in your area, verbena is a good one,hmm. Rue and Lovage are also easy and are host plants. I loved my butterfly garden last year and I am really excited about adding to it this year. :)

    I look forward to what you think of the sequel to the Diviners. I loved The Diviners and no matter how many times I tried I could not get into the sequel.

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  4. Seems like you had a fabulous week, congrats on the story sale.

    Wishing you a great reading week ahead.

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  5. Congratulations on the story. What a wonderful surprise! You are a pinning beast. I wish I had ambition like that. I know nothing about plants, but good luck with the garden. Butterflies would be cool.

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  6. Unexpected money is always a bonus, congratulations!

    Good luck with the butterfly garden. We have talked about it a bit here as well. We've planted milkweed and a few other plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds, but haven't done a whole official thing.

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  7. So many good things in your weekly roundup! New books are always good. I wish I knew more about gardens and plants. My mom has a butterfly bush that's really beautiful!

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  8. Getting new books is always exciting! I hope you have another great book of reading! https://cindysbookcorner.blogspot.com/2022/01/stacking-shelves-7sunday-post-4.html

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  9. My mom just started reading The Lincoln Highway and has been really enjoying it! The premise for the Diviners also sounds fascinating. I love reading book set in the 1920s, and I'll have to check that one out.

    400 Pinterest pins sounds intense! Kudos to you for working towards that goal. I have been thinking I'd like to learn more about how to use Pinterest for blogging -- would love to learn from your experiences! :)

    claire @ clairefy

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  10. Congratulations on selling the story! Reading TWO 600 page books at once?? I generally try to avoid that, lol... but I really enjoyed The Lincoln Highway.

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  11. Ooh how fun! Definitely going to go read your story. I love Lindsey stirling too so it's neat that she was part of the inspiration (or the song anyways).

    Thanks for reminding me I need to write a TTT post too. lol another rogue week.

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  12. Oh wow, congratulations on your story! Well done!

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  13. I love reading your Sunday posts because you make me laugh. When putting together a garden for flowers, I always look at perennials because they come up every year so there's minimal weeding and watering. I have all mine in finally at this house. I'll think about what attracts butterflies the most. Or look in my gardening books I would recommend tickseed Coreopsis verticulata varieties like Moonbeam, Zagreb(?) I had that in MN zone 3 and I have it here zone 7 so I'm sure it would be good there. I'll try to find some other recs over this week.

    Anne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post

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  14. Congratulations on your writing! The fact that you sold one might be a sign to need to keep it up!
    Your first picture is so hilarious!

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  15. Oh man! Those Diviners books get better with each book. I have one more to go.

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  16. Congrats on selling your story! That's exciting. Hope you have a great week!

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  17. Congratulations on selling your story! That's so exciting! I have no advice for the garden. Not only do we live in very different growing regions but I know nothing about flower gardens of any kind. I do love the idea of a butterfly garden though so I hope you share any progress you make. Have a wonderful week!

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  18. Congrats on selling your story! That is absolutely awesome! I wish I could help with the garden, but I--to quote a meme I saw--am a plant hospice worker, helping plants on their way to meet Jesus. But, a butterfly garden sounds awesome!

    Have a great week! - Melinda @ A Web of Stories

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  19. I am not a fan of lengthy books, which is funny, since two of the books I wrote and published on Amazon have more than 400 pages, and one has 638 pages, while another has 538. The sixth one has 297. I think I learned a few things along the way!

    Enjoy your week, and here are my WEEKLY UPDATES

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  20. Love your story!! So delightful! And how exciting that you sold it after all this time. I've been looking into submitting some poetry lately but haven't worked my way up to actually doing it. It's nice to see your name out there. :-)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  21. Okay. Now I'll have to give The Diviners a try. I'll add it to my stack for April since I've already pretty much decided what I'll be reading for March. (I tend to be a little bit ahead.) Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  22. I absolutely love gardening every spring and summer. I love my flowers and herbs that attract bees and butterflies, it is such a joy to watch them bounce around on the plants.

    Here is my post for the day:
    https://twogirlsandtheirbookishlife.blogspot.com/2022/01/it-is-monday-what-are-you-reading.html

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  23. I am glad you have been enjoying your reading. I will add The Lincoln Highway to try at some point. Congratulations on your story! It's very good. :-) I need to do something with my garden, but I hate gardening. So there's that. I hope you have a great week!

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  24. I wish I could help you with the gardening but that's my husband's thing. I have the black thumb. Congrats on the story!

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  25. Congratulations on selling your story! That's awesome!

    I'm no good at gardening, and I'm in Virginia anyway, so the zone is probably pretty different. I do suggest planting as many native plants and flowers as you can, though -- it really helps the local bird and insect population (especially bees and butterflies... things we need to survive, because they are pollinators.)

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    1. By the way, I enjoyed your story! (I clicked the link after I finished my comment above.) Nice job!

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  26. Congratulations on selling your story! So exciting!

    400 pins? You've been busy!

    I love watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, which is set in the 1920s in Australia. I mostly watch for the costumes, although the show is fun. I may have to look for The Diviners, although I don't have a lot of patience for unnecessarily long books these days.

    Enjoy your week!

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