The holiday season is in full swing here at Casa Siamese, after a successful Thanksgiving (complete with fried turkey!) and my outside Christmas decorations newly put up. (The artificial tree will have to wait until my husband’s muscles can help.) I didn’t accomplish 100 percent of my November goals, but I’m in too good a mood to care.
Especially since my month started at Disney World! I’ve been riding that high ever since.
November Wrap-Up
- Due to the aforementioned Disney World, because apparently writing goals go out the window at the happiest place on earth, I started the month behind and never quite caught up. I’m calling the month done at 13k words completed, bringing the current total for Steel Shadows to 68k words.
- The Disney trip was definitely a success! Okay, so I was really there for a conference related to the day job. The four workshops I attended were well worth the time, and my day off in between was a blast. I thought it might be weird spending a day alone at a theme park, but it was nice to enjoy the day at my own pace, and sticking my Kindle in my purse for the few long lines I experienced was pure brilliance. I even saw the kitty trifecta of lions, tigers, and cheetahs to make my day at Animal Kingdom complete.
- While not quite as extravagant, I closed out the month with a great time at ChessieCon in Baltimore, Maryland. You can read my full con report here.
November Book Reviews
- Night Shift (Midnight, Texas #3) by Charlaine Harris (4 stars)
- The Magpie Lord (A Charm of Magpies #1) by K.J. Charles (5 stars)
- Bookburners (Season 1) created by Max Gladstone (5 stars)
- The Soldier’s Scoundrel (Turner Series #1) by Cat Sebastian (5 stars)
- A Case of Possession (A Charm of Magpies #2) by K.J. Charles (5 stars)
- “A Case of Spirits” (A Charm of Magpies short) by K.J. Charles (5 stars)
- The Ruin of a Rake (Turner Series #3) by Cat Sebastian (5 stars)
- Canyon Shadows (Dark Tyrant #2) by C.R. Langille (4 stars)
November Speculative Chic Contributions
- Sound Off! Thor: Ragnarok
- Roundtable: What Brought You Joy?
- Sound Off! Justice League
- Thanksgiving Special 2017: All We Want for Christmas
- Sound Off! Coco
December Goals
- Finish the first draft of Steel Shadows! I have 6 and a half scenes left to write, so I anticipate this one clocking in between 75k and 80k words, which is about the same length as Steel Magic and Steel Blood.
- I’m also excited to beta read a novel for some friends. It’s the sequel to another book that I thoroughly enjoyed, so this is definitely less work and more pleasure.
Of course, I’m most excited for the giant LEGO set I get to build once the book draft is done!