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March Wrap-Up & April Goals
I had grand plans for last month, but got caught up in the intersection of physical and mental health issues that reduced my productivity output to a few book reviews and way too much time playing World of Warcraft. It’s more than a bit frustrating, but I’m trying to be gentle with myself. I didn’t…
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January Wrap-Up & February Goals
I think I’m coming down with something, so obviously, the answer is to ignore it and power through, right? We’ll see what wins, my to-do list or my motivation! Do you use to-do lists? How do you keep track of your goals? About 6 months ago, acting on inspiration from a fellow author, I expanded…
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December Wrap-Up & January Goals
Happy New Year! Let’s approach 2023 with caution, offer it treats, and hope only good things come of it. I’m home from my fantastic holiday vacation, both wishing I was back at the beach and looking forward to everything I get to do in the months to come. Lots of authors have shared some truly…
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Holiday Letter 2022
Welcome to my final* post of 2022! The blog will be quiet for the rest of the year because the spouse and I are once again hitting the high seas for a tropical holiday cruise with my extended family. We’re spending Christmas zip-lining in Honduras, and we’ll return to Maryland in time to spend New…
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November Wrap-Up & December Goals
You know how time seems to speed up the older you get? It’s a combination of math and perspective. You’ve lived longer, so a month is a smaller proportion of your life than when you were 8 years old and enjoying endless summer break. Between recovering from my epic adventure in Israel, friends visiting from…
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October Wrap-Up & November Goals
October vanished in a whirlwind of trying to get everything done before leaving for my 10-day trip to Israel, then the vacation itself. Did I get everything done? Of course not. But I had a fantastic time meeting many family members from around the world and checking items off the bucket list, so it was…
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September Wrap-Up & October Goals
Another month passed in the blink of an eye, and as usual, my ambition outpaced my ability, but I’m still pretty satisfied with how September went. In another of the endless attempts to better wrangle the multiple goals I have every month, I took a cue from a fellow author and started to use the…
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August Wrap-Up & September Goals
I have no idea how many words I wrote this month on the first draft of Steel Legacy, but I know I wrote the most important two: Trust me, I’m just as shocked as you are. As shown in the picture above, the final total for what is currently a total mess is 120,560 words.…
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July Wrap-Up & August Goals
Before starting this write-up I hit send on my part of a massive freelance project I’ve been working on all summer. One of my favorite aspects of medical editing is knowing that my work has a measurable positive effect on the world. I was thrilled to participate in a small way in making a chapter…
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June Wrap-Up & July Goals
Summer has finally arrived where I live, and I always get a huge boost from the warm weather and sunshine. I spent an even warmer week with friends in Atlanta at the beginning of the month, which was fun and relaxing at the same time. Right now, I’m still riding the high from attending In…
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May Wrap-Up & June Goals
I started May with all of the plans. Lots of writing while the spouse was away for work. Two conventions. Finally, some warm weather! I got exactly one of those things. Spouse came down with a cough the first weekend, and we discovered by the first Tuesday that both of us finally got the plague.…
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April Wrap-Up & May Goals
Awesome things I did this past month: Doubled my word count from March. Read a ton of ARCs (advance reader copies) by some of my favorite authors. Got together with my best friends. All in all, a pretty successful 30 days! I don’t expect to double my word count again for May, but I’ll be…
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March Wrap-Up & April Goals
I’ll get to my writing progress in a bit, but first I want to talk about reading! (You know, that thing I do instead of writing.) I have two bits of news on that front. On the website: I updated the Book Reviews page so that multiple search options are available. If you know what…
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February Wrap-Up & March Goals
Remember how we all hoped that 2022 would be more chill than 2020/21? Yeah, that was hilarious. I’m side-eyeing a lot of what’s going on in the world right now, along with some people’s reactions to it. But all I can really do is focus on making the world a better place in my small…
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January Wrap-Up & February Goals
The highlight of my month is my new coffee machine with milk frother that makes espresso, so that I can make lattes from the comfort of home. It’s cold out, and I severely dislike it (the only perk is lots of kitty snuggles). One of my annual conventions has already been canceled, and I’m expecting…
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December Wrap-Up & January Goals
A week ago, I was reading a romance novel in a private cabana on a tropical beach. This morning it snowed. I hope that’s not a metaphor for how 2022 is going to go. The spouse and I had an amazing cruise vacation for the holidays followed by a few quiet days at home, but…
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November Wrap-Up & December Goals
As 2022 barrels down on us, I can say two things with certainty: 1) I still dislike cold weather; and 2) If the Kindle Unlimited price ever goes up, it’s probably my fault. But good news! In 3 weeks, I’ll be headed to warmer waters (literally) for a much-needed true vacation. And the best part…
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October Wrap-Up & November Goals
I’m writing this on Halloween, my second-favorite holiday of the year, which marks exactly 60 days until New Year’s Eve, which is my favorite holiday of the year. I’m looking forward to dressing up in a bit and helping my mom give out candy at her house. Then, I shall endeavor to get a good…
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September Wrap-Up & October Goals
Everyone should have a home away from home, and mine is apparently at my friends’ house near Atlanta, Georgia. Which means another road trip in the TARDIS! The spouse and I are down south again for few quiet days before a weekend at a fancy lakeside cabin with friends and board games (and alcohol). I…
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August Wrap-Up & September Goals
The spouse and I spent a good chunk of August on the road, visiting friends in Atlanta and family in Florida. We stayed as safe as possible (even if we were the only ones wearing a mask in many, many gas stations), but had to treat ourselves to a trip to Kennedy Space Center while…
