First things first: apologies for the simply AWFUL photograph of me above! Anyone who read my Life Lately post a couple of weeks ago will know that my friend and I were going to do a charity walk up Mount Snowdon, and let’s just say we had to battle the elements to do it, hence my bedraggled state!

And thanks to that rogue raindrop for totally obscuring my friend’s face (although to be fair, I haven’t actually checked with her whether or not she wanted to appear on my blog, so seriously – thanks raindrop!).

The walk was for a charity that is really close to my friend’s heart: it helps support the children of alcoholics and  families affected by addiction. Our original target for the amount we wanted to raise was £150, so the fact that we ended up raising almost £600 was absolutely insane!

The English weather has been absolutely glorious the past month or so, so it was typical that the day we were due to do our walk it not only poured down but there was also weather warnings for strong winds and extreme weather conditions. Thanks England with your stupid, unpredictable weather!

We stayed in the beautiful Welsh seaside town of Llandudno the night before we were due to do the walk, which is a place I used to go a lot as a child but haven’t been to in years (I hadn’t been to Wales full stop for years until a couple of weeks ago – now I’ve been twice! Look out for my photos of Bodnant Gardens coming up soon!). I got a few pictures of Llandudno, and the weather was actually looking OK the night before…shame it didn’t continue the next day!

We were up bright and early the next morning (5.30 am – on a Saturday!!!) and were all parked up and ready to go by 7am (we met up with my friend’s Dad and step-mum who climbed up with us). Unfortunately the weather had other ideas, and we had to seriously think about postponing the walk until the following week. In the end we decided that since we were there we may as well try and see how far we could get, so we set out, loaded up with plenty of snacks and drinks.

We hadn’t exactly banked on such terrible weather in August when we had prepared for the trip though, and so we were soaked through to the skin within half an hour. My rucksack of course turned out to not be fully waterproof, and so all my things, including my phone and purse and camera got soaked (hence all the blurry photos!) – in fact I initially thought I’d broken my new camera!

We went along the Miner’s Track – a moderately difficult path – which led us deeper into the mountains, and then began to slope steadily up for several miles. The higher we got the more we were battered by the wind and rain, and it did start to get a little precarious, as we were quite close to the edge in places.

Despite the horrible weather, the scenery was absolutely stunning. In fact, I think having all the mist and grey skies made it even more atmospheric if anything, and there was a real sense of being far removed from civilisation as we walked on and on (not least because I totally lost phone signal!).

However, things got truly scary when we came to the last part. The only way to keep going higher seemed to be to climb up a steep section of rocks and scree (you can see part of it in the bottom right picture above!), and despite our misgivings we were determined to keep going as far as we could.

We got a little further, but the wind became so bad that at points we literally had to crouch behind rocks, or flatten ourselves against them to avoid falling, and it genuinely got quite scary. In the end we had to stop about half a mile from the summit (where that awful picture at the top was taken!), but I think we did pretty well getting that far in the weather conditions.

We were considerably slower and more bedraggled on the way back down, and absolutely dying to change into some warm, dry clothes (which we ended up having to try and do in some Portaloos – quite a challenge in itself!). It was certainly an experience though, and the views were simply fantastic! I’d love to go back in better weather and hopefully reach the summit next time. Plus we raised lots of money for charity, which was the most important thing!

We finished off the day with a nice hot meal in Wetherspoons in Rhyl, before we drove home for a well earned rest. Me attempting to waddle round work the following day on my aching legs was certainly a sight to behold though!

So have you ever been to Snowdon? Or have you ever climbed up any other mountains? What’s the craziest thing you’ve done for charity?

Life:

I’m back with another life update! Hooray!

I guess the main news these last couple of weeks is that I joined the gym, and whilst that may not seem like big news to people who don’t know me in real life, it’s actually pretty crazy! Although I like nice countryside walks and things like that (basically, Pokemon Go-ing!), in terms of sport and stuff I am the least fit person ever, so the idea of me going to the gym was pretty laughable until this week. However, a new gym opened near me recently that’s only £5 a month, so I thought it was worth giving it a go, and I’ve actually been really enjoying it (gasp!).

For one thing it’s not one of those really intimidating gyms – the idea of exercising in front of people has always filled me with a vague sort of horror, and especially when those people are super-fit gym freaks wondering what the hell I’m doing there! Anyway, this gym seems more accessible, and there’s a great variety of people who go from gym-freaks, to older people and even school kids and teenagers and people trying to lose weight, so it isn’t scary at all. I literally go, plug my earphones in and think about the latest thing I’m writing, to distract me from all that profuse sweating!

Speaking of writing, following my post a few weeks ago about my struggles to stick with an idea, I’m pleased to say I’m now ploughing on with the fantasy novel I had initially abandoned, and I’m determined to stick it out to the end. I tweeted the other day that I had passed 20,000 words, but I’m now just passing 25,000, which I’m pleased about. So far I have had no trouble keeping going and haven’t got blocked at all, so I have the horrible feeling that it’s coming. Especially as I’m now leaving the introductory section of the novel and am heading towards the ‘saggy middle’…here’s hoping I can keep my motivation!

Photos:

So I think I mentioned in my Snowdon post that I had been to Wales a couple of times in the last couple of weeks, the second time being when I visited Bodnant Gardens with my parents. I have been once before when I was younger, and it was every bit as beautiful as I remembered! I got loads and loads of photos (with my handy little camera!), so I’ve just posted a selection here, but I would really recommend it as a nice place to visit if you can.

Reading:

The biggest excitement in my reading life recently has been the release of Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas, and I posted my review (where I discuss my mixed feelings about it) a couple of days ago. I got the book on a Buy One Get One Half Price offer in Waterstones with This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab, which is what I’m currently reading. I’ve had A Darker Shade of Magic for literally months but still haven’t read it, so I don’t know why I have got to this one so fast!

Blogging:

My favourite posts I’ve written recently have been:

• Are readers born or made?
• Five Reasons To Read The Classics
• Writers: How do you stick with one idea?

I feel like I have been so bad on the blogging front these past few weeks though, as I just don’t seem to be able to get myself motivated and organised. My posts have ended up being really sporadic, and I feel like it’s taking me so long to get to comments!

I literally just read a great post about organisation over on Pamela’s blog though, and it’s really motivated me to get organised, and seen as I have a week off work next week, I think I’m really going to try and get on top of things then (and keep working on that novel!).

So what’s been going on in your reading/blogging/general life recently?

Over my lifetime, I’ve had a fair share of wide ranging (and sometimes unusual) hobbies, the only two of which I’ve ever really stuck with being reading and writing. I don’t know what it is about me, but I have a tendency to suddenly become super excited about a random new hobby, and then drop it just as quickly when I either A. realise I’m no good at it, or B. just become bored with it.

There’s even a bit of a running joke in my family about me and my mad ideas. My mum tends to humour me and goes with me to the craft shop or wherever to get materials for my latest hobby, whereas my sister is the one who just gives me that look of ‘here we go again!’

I think a lot of it is because I’m what I would describe as a ‘bright ideas person’, and by that, I certainly don’t mean that I’m full of bright ideas! I simple mean that when I get a new idea, I immediately run off with that one, abandoning all the previous ones, because of course my shiny new idea must be better! It’s the same reason I’ve never finished an entire novel, despite being a lifelong writer (I’m crossing my fingers though for my current NaNoWriMo novel…I’m at 65,000 words!), and it’s something that I think can be both a blessing and a curse, hobby-wise. It’s a blessing, because I’ve tried a lot of different things (and variety is always good, right?), but a curse because I don’t really seem to stick with anything.

So I wondered if anyone else is like this, or is it literally just me? I thought I’d do a quick list of some of my tried and tested (and often abandoned) hobbies, and I’d love to know what your hobbies are and if you’ve tried a lot. And please can someone talk me out of taking up knitting (I saw some very cute fingerless gloves on Pinterest that I want to make…)!

• Blogging

So let’s start with one that isn’t a lifelong hobby, but that I’ve stuck with, just to make me feel good! I’ve officially been book blogging for over two years now, but seen as it’s technically writing, I guess we can lump it in with that. Writing is one thing that’s just a fixed part of my identity, as much as reading is, but blogging I feel is a little different because of the community aspect of it. I’m seriously introverted and wasn’t entirely sure how blogging and I would get on, so I tried to force myself to stick with it by going self-hosted straight out and paying for a domain and hosting (I do hate wasting money!). Thankfully, I love it, and blogging is one example of how trying different things can sometimes lead you to find something you truly love!

• Photography

Photography is another hobby I’ve sort of stuck with, although I tend to be a bit sporadic with this one. I go through phases where I take loads of photos, and carry my little camera about with me everywhere, and then I’ll just suddenly forget for a while, and then think ‘oh yeah, I haven’t taken many pictures lately!’ and suddenly I’ll be back into it again!

• Painting

I guess in my head, I always see myself as more artistically talented than I actually am, because I’ve tried so many arty hobbies, and even nearly went to study Graphic Design for my degree instead of English and Creative Writing (which would have been the biggest mistake of my life – I was terrible at it!). At one point a while back I wanted to get into watercolour painting, but quickly realised it just wasn’t going to happen! So instead I used the paints to make watercolour backgrounds and started making bookmarks using the backgrounds…which has now turned into my Etsy shop, so I actually call this one a win!

• Drawing

Yet another arty hobby I tried, and just wasn’t any good at! I think with a bit of practice I could have improved, but I just hate being bad at things, so anything that doesn’t come naturally gets scrapped very quickly unfortunately! I still do the odd Sharpie doodle, just for it’s therapeutic properties, but other than that, I don’t do much drawing anymore.

• Jewellery Making

When I was much younger, I got really into jewellery making for a while, and so was constantly bedecked with my own creations! It ended up being more of a phase, and I got rid of most of my jewellery making stuff during one of my many house moves. However, recently I was struck with a great idea for both my own wearing, and selling on my Etsy shop: bookish bead bracelets! Cue me logging into Ebay and buying tonnes and tonnes of beads and elasticated thread!

• Cross Stitching

Technically I still class this as a current hobby…although I have been working on a tiny cupcake cross stitch (the one in the picture above) for a good few months now!

My Nan taught me to cross stitch when I was a kid, and so when I was in a craft shop a while back I decided to give it another go, and start small with my cupcake cross stitch. One day I’ll finish it…maybe!

• Colouring

Adult colouring books are a huge thing right now, and I have to say, they sure do sound like a lot of fun. I loved colouring as a child, so why not as an adult? Well, to this date I’ve bought two adult colouring books – Millie Marotta’s Animal Kingdom and the Harry Potter: Magical Places one – and have so far coloured in only one page. So yeah…my colouring hobby was kind of short lived!

• Playing Guitar

If there’s one thing I’ve proven worse at than being artistic, it’s being musical! I had a full term of guitar lessons back in primary school which culminated in me being able to finger pick the first few notes of ‘My Heart Will Go On’, and that’s about it. I gave up the guitar after that, aside from a brief stint a couple of years ago where I was lent a guitar by a work colleague to try and learn to play (which I should probably give him back, seen as I have utterly failed to become a musician!). Again, this is probably one that requires persistance, but I just hate being bad at things!

• Playing Chess

I still like a game of chess, but unfortunately I no longer know anyone who plays! I used to play at a youth club I went to as a teenager (I was a cool teen like that), and have since played on my computer and an app on my phone occasionally. Unfortunately being beaten on the easiest setting by a computer is kind of humiliating, so I haven’t played in quite a while!

So what are your hobbies? Do you tend to stick with them, or do you like to try new things? Any serial hobbyists like me out there?

It’s been so long since I’ve done one of these posts! Although I guess I’ve been kind of lazy all round in terms of blogging this month: it’s certainly gone downhill from my super productive November.

As I imagine is the case for most people, the lead up to Christmas has been pretty hectic. Despite my best efforts, I ended up leaving a lot of my Christmas shopping a lot later than I would have liked, and as I work on a supermarket delicatessen it gets crazy busy around this time of year! All I want to do these days when I get home from work is slump on the sofa with a good book, which is why I’ve been reading loads, but not getting a lot of blogging done this December.

However, all the rushing around was worth it, because when Christmas finally came around, I had a genuinely lovely day. In fact this ended up being one of the best Christmases I can remember, as I got to spend lots of time with my boyfriend and family (including the new editions – my two little nieces!), ate good food and just generally got to relax. It felt like an especially Christmassey Christmas this year (hopefully that makes sense) because there are now so many kids in my family, that there’s been plenty people around me who are actually excited for Christmas, instead of stressed.

I also got some lovely gifts! My boyfriend got me a Nintendo 2DS with Pokemon Moon, and so I’m officially addicted! The only other Pokemon game I’ve played (aside from Pokemon Go) is Pokemon Diamond, so it’s pretty amazing to see how much the game has developed since then, and I’m loving the Hawaii-esque location.

He also got me the Lord of the Rings keychain I said I wanted in this post (totally dropping hints over here!), a unicorn hood blanket (which is so cute!) and a Waterstones voucher (and I already have numerous books in mind to buy with it!!!). My parents also got me some sparkly shoes that I wanted from New Look, a tonne of chocolate and a new cross stitch (yep, I’m trying it again!), and my sister got me a lovely jacket.

Reading:

I recently read the second book in Laura Andersen’s alternate history trilogy about if Anne Boleyn had had a son, and he had become King of England. I’d enjoyed but not absolutely loved The Boleyn King, but I adored The Boleyn Deceit so much that I immediately went back to the library for the third book (which I’m currently reading).

I also finally got round to reading Six of Crows, and I absolutely loved it! The characters were incredible, the plot was nice and fast paced, and who doesn’t love a heist story after all!

There should be reviews coming for all these books soon!

Writing

I’m still working on my novel, but progress has slowed down a lot since NaNoWriMo finished. Now Christmas is over, I’m hoping to pick up the pace a bit again, and hopefully have that first draft done soon!

Blogging

As I say, it’s been a slow month for me blog-wise, including everything from posting to replying to comments to commenting/reading other blogs, but I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things in the New Year.

I’m even considering having a bit of a revamp in the New Year, probably keeping the same header/branding, but I’d like a theme where the images are bigger than just thumbnails on the Home page (so if anyone has any suggestions for a good theme like that, let me know!).

This week I’m planning to do a ‘Best of 2016’ post, and my customary resolutions post, so look out for that!

So how has your December been, and have you all had a good Christmas? What have you been reading lately?

So I’m back with another life update, and I really hope you’ve all had a wonderful February (it’s looking like these updates are going to be a monthly thing, so I’m just going to go with it!)!

I don’t know about you, but February seems to have been a much better month than January, in part because of the gradually improving weather (if you ignore the major blip that was Storm Doris, the other day!) and my far higher productivity levels. Not to mention the fact that I just had a week off work, which I think I really needed.

Not that I did a massive amount with my week off. I just spent some time with my boyfriend, chilling out and playing Pokemon Moon (I’ve officially finished the main quest! Hooray!), and trying (and largely succeeded) to get on top of blogging. I seem to have posted way more regularly, so I feel like I’m finally hitting my 2017 stride!

Reading:

I’m currently on the 9th book of my Goodreads target of 50, so I think that means I’m on track? I finally got round to reading the next book in the Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier, Son of the Shadows, which I really should have done earlier seen as Daughter of the Forest was easily the best book I read in 2016. As I had predicted it was absolutely amazing, and I literally whizzed through it within a few days. I’m definitely not going to leave it anywhere near as long to read the third book in the series!

I also just read Ctrl Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online by Emma Gannon, which was amazing as well! I’ve been meaning to read this for ages seen as I love Emma’s podcast of the same name, and it was just so relatable in so many ways. Look out for my upcoming review!

In other reading news, I’ve gone and replaced my old dinosaur of a Kindle (I think it’s 2nd or 3rd gen?) with a nice, shiny new one, which I’m really hoping is going to up my ebook game. I’ve never been as into ebooks as I would like to be, but they’re just so damn convenient, so I’m hoping this will help…

I’ve already found that some of the books on my TBR list are much cheaper on Kindle than the physical copies, so I’ve stocked up, and am already reading The Wrath and the Dawn (with Three Dark Crowns and Heartless lined up as well!). So far I’m loving how cute and dainty my new Kindle is, and I do like being able to read on it without a great big black blotch in the middle of the screen (just look at the old Kindle in the picture to see the offending blotch!)!

Writing

Things have continued to be a little slow on the novel front this month, largely because I decided to work on a second project alongside it. I’ve been thinking for a while that’s I’d love to write a short non-fiction ebook, so I’ve been plugging away at that this month. I’ve also started planning out a gothic style, fantasy short story which I’m pretty excited about!

Blogging 

As I’ve said, I feel like I’ve been much better with my blogging this month, and I think that’a largely due to me scheduling my content in advance (revolutionary, I know!). I finally downloaded the Google Calendar app, and have been using it to plan out what I’ll be posting when, which has really helped my productivity. Nothing slows me down like sitting down and having no idea what to write about!

Here are some of my favourite posts I’ve written this month:

• What makes you care about a character?
• How blogging improves your writing?
• How To Make Time To Read

And if you’re looking for other blogs to check out, my friend Victoria has recently started one called Passports & Paperbacks where she talks about books and travel (she’s currently living in Canada!). I’ve known Victoria since high school (so we’ve known each other about 12 years, I think?) and she’s one of the only people I know in real life who loves books as much as I do!

So how has your February been? What have you been reading lately?

My birthday is in a couple of weeks, and I’m officially going to be 24 years old! I know that isn’t old, but seen as I still feel like some kind of awkward 17 year old inside, it’s always kind of jarring to be reminded of my age, and the fact that I am, in fact, a grown adult.

Heading into my mid-twenties has really got me thinking about my next landmark birthday – the big 3-0 – and all the things I’d like to have done before then too. Your twenties is generally considered to be this exciting, coming-of-age time of life where you have loads of great experience and really figure out who you are, so it kind of feels like I should get working on that! So I’ve made a list here of all the things, big and small, that I’d like to have done or achieved by the time I’m thirty years old:

• Become a published author.

If you’re a regular over here on my blog, you’ll know that my dream is to become a writer, so in the next 6 years I’d love to have a book published, whether that’s self-published, or traditionally published.

• Finish writing three manuscripts.

I’m kind of ashamed to say that despite my dream to become a writer, I’ve never actually complete a first draft of a manuscript: I always give up halfway through when I’ve grown bored of the story, or thought of a ‘better’ idea. However, I’m currently well on my way to finishing my ‘first’ first draft at 90,000 words and counting, but by the time I’m thirty, I’d like to have completed at least two more.

• Publish some short fiction…somewhere.

Yep, it’s another writing goal, but I’d love to have got some of my short fiction out to the world by the time I’m thirty!

• Grow my blog.

6 years is a long time, but I really hoping I’m still blogging away by the time I’m thirty (providing I’m still enjoying it, obviously!), and I’d love to have grown my blog a lot more by then.

• Read a gazillion more books!

OK, so maybe ‘a gazillion’ is a bit much, but I’d love to have read a lot more of the books I want to read. I can’t say anything like ‘I’d like to have read everything on my TBR list’, because that’s more of a lifetime goal (it keeps growing!), so I’ve had to basically just say ‘read more books!’

• Figure out my career.

When I finished university the original plan was that I would go full time at my part time retail job until I found something else, and figured out my career…two years later, and I’m still working at my retail job! I really like the people I work with, but it isn’t really a job that’s well suited to my super-introverted personality type, and it isn’t what I want to be doing with my life. So I’m hoping I’ll have figured out the whole career thing by the time I’m 30, and be well on my way to doing it!

• Start a(nother) business.

I do already have a small business (my Etsy shop!), but my sister and I have kind of been throwing around ideas for a joint business we could set up, which would be really fun!

• Move in with my boyfriend.

So I’m seriously hoping this isn’t going to take me six years to accomplish! My boyfriend and I have wanted to move in together for so long now, but seen as I work miles away from where he lives and works (I would have a monstrous commute from there!) plus we don’t have the money for a deposit, it just hasn’t happened yet. So hopefully we can save up the money for our own place, and I can get another job soon (and that’s one of my other goals anyway, so that’s two in one!) and we can finally live together.

• Have my own library.

Yep, this is the dream! My boyfriend and I have always said that when we get our own place it’s going to have to have at least one spare bedroom for the library/gaming room (he’s into video games), so I’m looking forward to that!

• Own my own home.

Whilst we’re probably going to have to settle for renting for a while, I’d love for us to have owned our own home by the time I’m thirty!

• Figure out this whole ‘adulting’ thing.

I’d also like to have got the hang of all those things you just have to do as an adult that still sends me scrambling to get my mum’s advice/get her to do it for me. You know, things like sorting out bills, car insurance, ringing the dentist etc.

• Get better with money.

I’d really love to actually grasp the concept of saving, and stop spending all of my money on clothes I never wear, excessive amounts of hair dye and books (OK…I’m not that sorry about the books!) the minute it hits my bank account every month.

• Be a great auntie.

I’ve actually been an auntie for nearly five years, and I hope I’ve been doing a decent job of it so far! However, it occurred to me the other day that in the next few years my nieces and nephew will start to make those all-important childhood memories, and when they look back on their childhoods I really want them to remember me as being a cool, fun aunt, the way I remember my aunties from when I was little!

• Go abroad.

Yep, I’ve reached the grand old age of 24 without having left the United Kingdom! I don’t even have a passport! I’m hoping to remedy that soon though, and have gone abroad (hopefully a few times) by the time I’m thirty.

• Explore some more of my own country.

At the same time I’d love to have seen more of the wonders that my own country has to offer. I used to go walking and camping a lot with my family when I was younger, so I’ve seen a fair bit, but I feel there’s still so much exploring to be done!

• Climb Snowdon and made it all the way to the top!

Last August my friend and I climbed Snowdon and raised £600 for charity, and it was an incredible experience! Unfortunately though because of very bad weather conditions (as in, we were soaked through to the skin, and very nearly blown off the mountain!) we only made it to within half a mile of the peak, so we’ve said we’d love to go again in better weather and go right to the top.

• Get more tattoos.

I already have a few tattoos, but I’ve always wanted more. It’s mostly been a lack of money that’s stopped me getting more so far, but hopefully I can find the cash soon to get the forearm piece I’ve wanted for ages done.

• Get my nose pierced.

I’ve also always wanted to get my nose pierced, but seen as I’ve worked on a deli counter for years where you aren’t allowed piercings (I guess it wouldn’t be too good if it fell in the food…) I haven’t been able to.

• Figure out my style.

I’m absolutely hopeless with clothes, and have pretty much stuck with the whole ‘teenage emo look’ I’ve been rocking since the early noughties, only a little more toned down and boring. So I’d love to figure out a nice, grown-up but still alternative style that will suit me when I’m a thirty year old woman!

• Dye my hair all the colours!

Despite wanting to look a little more grown-up, I can’t see the coloured hair thing going any time soon…not until I’ve dyed my hair all of the bright colours (except bright yellow…I can’t see that suiting me!). So far I’ve been red, blue, pink and purple, and I have some pine green hair dye all lined up for next! It’s safe to say I’m getting there with his goal!

• Figure out how to apply eye make-up without looking like a racoon.

I’ve always wanted to wear eye make-up, but seen as I can’t see a thing once I take my glasses off, it always just ends up looking like I have two black eyes…I’d love to have got the hang of it by the time I’m thirty.

• Become more confident.

In general, I’d just love to become a more confident person, both in how I look, and how I interact with others. I’m quite shy, and am also one of those annoying people who is continually convinced they’re hideous, so hopefully I’ll have grown into my skin a bit more by the time I’m thirty!

• Attend a social event and not be horrendously awkward.

Whilst I’ve gradually grown to be OK with not being a super sociable person (see, Being OK With Being An Introvert), it would be nice to be able to attend some sort of social event in the future without feeling excruciatingly awkward!

• Stop eating like I’m still a student.

I’m still virtually living on Dominos pizza and Pot Noodles, so I feel like I should progress to proper food at some point soon…

• Learn how to cook. 

…and I will do that by learning how to cook!

• Quit drinking Diet Coke, and start drinking water.

Literally all I ever drink is Diet Coke, and I kind of feel like it isn’t great for your health? So hopefully I’ll be able to embrace water more in the future!

• Watch all those tv shows and movies I’ve been meaning to watch since forever.

Much like my TBR list, the list of TV shows and movies I want to watch is huge! Largely because I never seem to get round to watching much TV, or any movies at all really, so I’d really like to do more of it.

• Take more photos.

The only photos I seem to have taken recently have been for my blog, but I’d love to start taking more of my loved ones, so I have something to look back on in years to come. Especially as my nieces and my nephew are all growing up so fast!

• Print more photos. 

In the same vein, I’d love to actually print out more photos, as I tend to take them on my phone, and then they just sit there and I never actually do anything with them. Hopefully I can start printing them out and framing them, or making a scrapbook or something!

• Do more walking.

I used to love walking as a kid, roaming around the woods with my family during a camping holiday, or taking day trips out to scenic countryside spots, armed with a picnic…it seems like I haven’t done that in years though, so I’d love to get back into it!

So what’s your next landmark birthday? Are there any things you’d love to have done by then?

I hope everyone has had a lovely April!

Personally, I’ve had a pretty good month! I said in my March update that I’d had a bit of a slow month, and it felt like I hadn’t really done much, so I thankfully managed to turn that round in April.

Pretty early on in the month my sister and I, and my little baby niece took a trip to Manchester to do a spot of shopping. We went on the train to avoid the stess of driving (I had a massive meltdown last time I tried to drive in Manchester City centre…everywhere was one way streets and crazy taxi drivers cutting me up!), and had a look round the Arndale Centre, where we also happened to buy the biggest pretzels I have ever seen. Mine was iced and it was absolutely AMAZING!

I also had a week off work for my birthday this month, which was lovely! I didn’t get up to much on my actual birthday other than having a takeaway with my family and boyfriend (plus there was cake!), so that was nice and relaxed.

During the rest of the week my boyfriend and I mixed up chilled days with a few trips out, including one to Llandudno in Wales. It’s a place I used to go to a lot as a child, and it never seems to change! We took a walk along the seafront and down the pier (stopping off at a few arcades on the way of course!) and then walked through the town and got some lunch, before unfortunately getting stuck in some horrendous traffic on the way back.

All in all, April has been a pretty good month, and it’s been especially nice to see the weather improving, even if there has still been the odd cold, rainy day.

Reading

This month has been a bit of a mixed bag as far as reading is concerned: on the one hand I only read 3 books after finishing Moranifesto at the start of the month, but on the other hand I absolutely loved the three books I did read!

I finally got round to reading A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab which I really enjoyed. I perhaps didn’t love it quite as much as I hoped after all the hype, but I definitely preferred it to This Savage Song which I had very mixed feelings about. I already have a copy of A Gathering of Shadows lined up anyway, and I’m pretty excited about it!

I also read Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon (a popular journalist) which tells the story of her battle with OCD, anxiety and depression. Whilst it was obviously a pretty emotive book, Bryony manages to make it really funny too, and it was really inspiring to read about someone being so honest about something so personal.

I also read Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen by Alison Weir. As you can probably guess from the title, it tells the story of Katherine of Aragon from her arrival in England to marry Prince Arthur, through her marriage to Henry VIII and their separation. Whilst it’s a story I know incredibly well, being a huge fan of Tudor-era historical fiction, I absolutely adored Weir’s version, and got through it within days despite it being a monster of a book! I’m really looking forward to the release of the next Six Tudor Queens book!

I’m now in the middle of How To Write Anything by David Quantick which I picked up from the library. I read his book How To Be A Writer a while ago and loved it, so I thought I’d read his other book on writing.

Writing

Speaking of writing, I’ve had a pretty good writing month this month! I’ve been taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo to try and make some more progress on my novel, and was aiming for a target of 25,000 words (so that’s 834 a day).

It’s a couple of days until Camp NaNoWriMo is over, and so far I’ve written 22,853 words (as of last night), so I’m on track to writing my 25,000 words (and I’ll be posting an update post on whether or not I finish in a couple of days!). The total words in my manuscript is now 106,326, and I’ve finally made it to the climatic final events of the story. I think in total it will probably be around 120,000 words long, so I’m not a million miles away from finishing the first first draft I’ve ever completed! Exciting stuff!

Blogging

On the other hand, it hasn’t been a great blogging month. Between being out and about all the time and doing my Camp NaNo writing, my blog has kind of slipped by the wayside a bit, but I’m hoping to change that next month.

A few posts I’ve loved writing though are:

• Why I Love The Scrivener App
• 30 Things I’d Like To Do Before I’m 30
• 5 Great Podcasts for Writers

So have you had a good April? What have you been doing/reading/writing this month?

I hope everyone has had a good May! I really don’t know why I’m so late with my end of month update, seen as it isn’t like I don’t have anything to write about… But oh well!

I think my biggest announcement this month is that I’ve finally finished the novel I’ve been writing! It’s only taken a year, one NaNoWriMo and one Camp NaNoWriMo but I’ve finally done it, and I couldn’t be more thrilled! This is the first full length manuscript I’ve ever finished in the years I’ve been writing, so I think this will really boost my confidence, seen as I now know that I can do it. I can finish a novel!

Whether or not it’s any good is kind of another question…I haven’t looked back at it properly yet – I thought I’d best leave it for a month or two so I can look on it with fresh eyes – but I have the sneaking suspicion that this may just have to be a practice novel. When I think over the plot and characters and world of the story I kind of feel like it’s just a dull, run-of-the-mill fantasy set in a medieval-style world, and is a bit too derivative of basically everything I’ve ever read. Maybe it’s just me expecting too much out of a first draft, or me being overly critical of myself, or perhaps I’m right and this is going to have to just be a practice at writing something full length… But for now I’m just going to savour having finished it, and I’ll worry about how good it is when I dare go back and look at it!

In other news, I had a few days off work this month which I got to spend with my boyfriend, and he took me to see Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone In Concert at the Liverpool Echo Arena. It was absolutely fantastic (it was a live orchestra playing along with the music to Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone, as you can probably guess from the name!), and it was really good to watch the first film again after so long. The early Harry Potter films always make me feel so nostalgic – I remember my parents taking me to see it in the cinema when it came out – and I’m always so shocked at how young Daniel Radcliffe and the rest of the cast look!

I’ve also taken up another new hobby this month, and it’s pretty random! I wrote about me being a serial hobbyist a while ago, and how I constantly like to try new things, but this one I feel may stick. My sister and I have started quilting – so making patchworks essentially – and so far we’ve made a cute little baby quilt for my niece, and I’m currently in the process of making a pirate themed cushion cover (don’t ask me why I thought pirates + cushion cover…I guess I just saw the pirate material and liked it!). I even bought a cute little sewing machine from Hobbycraft the other day to speed things up, and so far I’m loving it!

Oh yeah, and I dyed my hair green!

Reading

May has been another good reading month for me! I’ve been getting more into thrillers recently and have read two this month, one of which was recommended by my Mum, and the other which someone from work told me about: I Let You Go by Claire Mackintosh and Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil.

I also read A Gathering of Shadows, which I loved even more than A Darker Shade of Magic! I have A Conjuring of Light all lined up, and I think I may read that next after I’ve finished my current read (A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet, which has so far been very good!).

I also finally read Voyager, which was another great instalment in the Outlander series, and of course I read the much awaited A Court of Wings and Ruin! Whilst I did enjoy it, I did have a few little gripes with it, which you can read about in my review if you’re interested.

Writing

As I mentioned before, I finally finished my fantasy novel at the start of this month, which I’m really pleased about. However, there’s now this sense of ‘what next?’ hanging over me. I’ve been working at the same project for so long it seems a bit daunting to launch straight into something else huge so I’ve been playing around with a few short stories, although none of them have really stuck.

I guess I just feel a bit at a loss right now, until I decide on something else to work on, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. This is the exciting bit at the start of a project where it can kind of go anywhere and be anything I want!

Blogging

I still haven’t totally got over my recent blogging slump, and whilst I’ve produced a few discussion posts and reviews I’m pretty pleased with (and my review of Emma Gannon’s Ctrl Alt Delete actually got tweeted about by Emma Gannon herself which is pretty cool!), I haven’t been posting as often as I would have liked. And I definitely haven’t been getting to comments as quickly as I would have liked, so I really am sorry!

Here’s my favourite things I’ve posted this month:

• How To Be A Bookworm In Summer
• 6 Things To Consider When Creating A Fantasy World
• How do you organise your bookshelves?
• What would you pay for an ebook?

So how has your month been? What have you been reading/writing lately?

It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a hobby maniac, or a ‘serial hobbyist‘ as I’ve previously referred to it, in that I just love taking up new, and often very random hobbies. I’ve tried everything from playing various instruments, to numerous crafts, and even sports (which for anyone who knows me, is pretty shocking!), and whilst a majority of them haven’t stuck, I think there’s just something really exciting, and even beneficial about trying something new.

In fact, I personally think that hobbies in general are good for us, because modern life is so insanely busy that just having that little bit of time to yourself, to do something you enjoy doing, is so valuable. Not to mention having hobbies can teach us lots of new skills (and you can literally learn anything you want on Youtube these days!)!

Therefore I thought I’d put together a list of lots of fun hobby ideas you could try out if you’re looking for a new interest, or just want to try something different:

• Reading

So it’s probably no surprise that I would suggest reading as a fun hobby seen as I’m primarily a book blogger, but I couldn’t not put it on a list of incredible hobbies!

Even if you’re already a reader and just want to put a new spin on an old habit, you could try picking up a genre you wouldn’t usually read, or try non-fiction if you primarily read fiction or vice versa.

• Blogging

No matter what your interests are – fashion, beauty, video games, reading – having a blog is great fun, and can not only hone your writing skills, but also help you make lots of new friends with similar interests!

• Writing fiction

They say that everyone has a book in them after all! You don’t have to consider yourself an incredible wordsmith to give it a go – skill only comes with practice.

• Writing poetry

Poetry has all the fun of writing, but with some puzzle-like aspects thrown in for good measure (rhythm rhyme, beats, form etc.). A great hobby for anyone who likes a challenge (and words!)!

• Journaling

Writing a daily diary can not only be a fun and therapeutic thing to do, but is really nice to have to look back on years down the line!

• Photography

You don’t need any big, fancy cameras to try and hone your photography skills. Even if you’re just out and about with your smartphone camera you can get some truly great images by learning different techniques and approaches.

• Colouring

Adult colouring books have really taken off in the last few years, and so why not grab a pack of coloured pencils and let your inner child run wild (whilst hopefully staying inside the lines!)!

• Drawing

You don’t have to be an incredible artist to try drawing: just having a bit of a doodle with a biro on a scrap of paper can be a relaxing way to while away some time, and with practice, you’ll certainly improve.

• Painting

Again, you don’t need to be ‘a good artist’ to have a go at painting – skill comes with practice, and you can make some nice pieces of art just by sloshing round some bright colours!

• Creating digital art

There’s now such an incredible array of tools and programmes available for computers that you can create amazing art digitally! This can be a great creative hobby for the more technologically inclined.

• Art journaling 

Art journaling puts a fun spin on traditional journaling, and allows you to really let your creative side out, in a safe space where no one else has to see unless you want them to. Write long passages, splash about some paint, stick things in and doodle all over the margins…there really are no rules!

• Cross stitching

Cross stitching is pretty easy to pick up, and creates beautiful results, so this is great hobby if you’re looking for something simple and crafty to try. Not to mention you can find designs for pretty much anything you like online – I’m currently working on a cute Pokemon cross stitch design that I found on Pinterest!

• Quilting

All you need are some pretty scraps of fabric and you could turn them into a cute quilt or cushion cover, or even a bag!

• Sewing

Whether you work by hand or use a machine, sewing gives you the freedom to create your own fabric creations, and can be very relaxing.

• Knitting

Knitting can seem very complex at first, but after a little practice you could be making your own scarves and jumpers…that’s Christmas sorted!

• Jewellery making

Jewellery can really make or break an outfit, and so creating your own with your own individual stamp on it can be incredibly rewarding. You could even start selling your creations online or at craft fairs!

• Card making

Everyone needs greetings cards, so why not try making your own? It’s fun to do, and is so much more personal!

• Chess

Whilst there is a common idea of chess as boring and just for ‘geeks’ (I blame American tv high schools and their nerdy chess clubs!), it’s actually a great game for anyone who likes strategising or wants a bit of a brain workout. And it’s now so easy to learn using chess apps.

• Join a sports team

If you particularly like a certain sport, why not up your game and try joining a local team to improve your skills and meet some new people?

• Walking

Walking and hiking is a great way to get some exercise, as well as get some fresh air and do some exploring.

• Running

Whilst some of the more exercise-phobic (me included) running may seem like the worst hobby in the world, it’s great exercise and any kind of workout gets your endorphins going and can make you feel much more energised and motivated (contrary to expectations!). Running requires no special equipment, just a decent pair of shoes, and so is a really easy hobby to try!

• Cycling

To a lot of people cycling is just a way of getting about, but a nice bike ride through some beautiful countryside can make for a really nice day out.

• Going to the gym

Again, this one may not sound like fun to a lot of people, but personally I’ve started going to the gym in the last few months, and I’ve enjoyed getting that time to myself to do some exercise and listen to some music or a podcast on my earphones. And I really have felt so much less lethargic and unmotivated since starting to go to the gym!

• Ice skating

Ice skating can be a bit tricky at first, but is so much fun once you get going! It’s a really great activity to do for the day with your friends or family and you never know, you might just find yourself with a new hobby!

• Roller skating

Like ice skating, roller skating can be hard at first, but can be well worth persevering with, whether you buy yourself some skates or just go to your local roller rink (honestly, they aren’t just for kids parties – I’ve been to one and it was so much fun!). You could even progress to roller derby if you find yourself really enjoying it!

• Collecting

Collecting things can prove to be a really rewarding hobby as you see your collection grow, whether it’s stamps, vintage jewellery, book or film merch,  or Pop! figures.

• Gaming

As with books and music, there’s such a wide variety of video games out there that there really is something for everyone. So even if you’ve never thought of giving gaming a go, it’s worth a try! For example, I’ve never been a huge gamer, but my boyfriend got me a Nintendo DS for Christmas, and I’ve now really got into Pokemon!

• Nail Art

If you like having colourful nails, learning to do your own nail art can be really fun, and save you a fortune in getting manicures! YouTube is overflowing with ‘how-to’ videos for different types of nail art, so it’s easier than ever to learn how to do it yourself.

• Learn a new language

Learning a new language can be incredibly rewarding, and may come in very useful in the future! There are now all sorts of apps and online courses that you can take, so literally anyone can learn.

• Learn to play a musical instrument

Most people like music, so learning to play an instrument can be a really great hobby to try! Who wouldn’t want to be able to play their favourite songs, or even come up with their own?

So have you tried any of these hobbies? Are there any you would like to try, or anything you can add to this list?

Is it me, or does July seem to have flown by? Maybe it’s because I’ve had a fairly eventful month, or perhaps it’s just the shock of realising we’re now over halfway through 2017!

I started July with a few days off work to celebrate mine and my boyfriend’s second anniversary, which was definitely a nice start to the month! We chilled out for some of it, but we also went to the cinema to see Spiderman: Homecoming, went to my nephew’s 5th birthday party and had a really nice trip up to the Lake District.

My boyfriend had never been to the Lake District before, so we did a bit of a tour of the South Lakes so he could see the sights! We started out in Windermere, where we had a bit of a wander and grabbed some lunch, and then we drove to Grasmere (which I visited a while back). Our trip to Grasmere pretty much consisted of us taking a brief walk up to Wordsworth’s Daffodil Garden and then stopping off at the famous Grasmere gingerbread shop, because it had begun to rain, but it was still nice to go back there. Then we stopped off at Kendal on the way home, before I took us on a nice 15 mile detour in the wrong direction, because that’s just how I roll!

I also got a new car this month, which was super exciting, especially because it meant getting rid of my old cursed car! I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned about my cursed car on this blog before, but I basically had it for two years, and it has been the most unlucky car ever! It’s the only newish car I’ve ever owned and I initially really liked it – it was just so cute, in a beautiful duck-egg blue colour!

But in those two years it has been run into outside my house, leaving a huge dent on the driver’s side door (and the person drove off and never admitted it), had all three of the other doors damaged (presumably by people throwing open their doors in car parks and hitting it), been clipped on the motorway, damaging the front wing, has slipped on ice and spun around, as well as having been keyed and had it’s registration plates stolen (and then someone had put them on another car which then crashed and the insurance company thought I was the one who had an accident! Although luckily I reported it to the police at the time, so it was quickly sorted out). So it’s fair to say I’m very happy to have got a different one now, and I’m hoping for better luck with this one!

Reading

I’ve had a pretty good reading month this month, starting out with Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones, which I absolutely loved! It just had such a beautiful fairytale quality to it, and I liked the way it took inspiration from Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market poem, which I studied at university.

I also read my first Bernard Cornwell book, The Winter King, which is the first book in his trilogy retelling the Arthurian legend (which is a legend I’ve always been really interested in – I even did my dissertation about Arthurian literature!) and I’m now super excited to read the second book. I really liked his twist on things, and the way he makes a familiar story feel new.

I also read The Art of Work by Jeff Goins, which was a really interesting and inspiring book. I’ve been following Jeff’s blog for a while now, and I’m looking for a career change (I’m a major introvert working in retail – not ideal!), so when I saw this on sale for 99p I couldn’t resist!

And finally I finished Death Note, which I started months ago, but for some reason never ended up finishing. I could barely even remember the plot of the first few, so I had to Google a synopsis, but once I got back into it I was hooked, charging through the final two Black Editions in a couple of days.

I’m now set for my next month’s reading, as I’ve officially gone on another book buying binge, largely due to Amazon being evil and tempting me with lots of amazing 99p bargains! I’m currently reading one of my 99p bargains – The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory – and have also got First of the Tudors by Joanna Hickson, The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers and Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard lined up. I also bought Lucy Vine’s debut novel Hot Mess for 99p on Kindle, after hearing about it on the Ctrl Alt Delete podcast. It isn’t my usual thing, but it could be fun!

I also bought physical copies of Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab and Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, although I haven’t read either yet! And I currently have Heart’s Blood and Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier winging their way to me, as I bought them cheaply on Ebay (although I wish there was more updated covers of Juliet Marillier’s books available – they all look so old-fashioned!). I seriously think I may be developing a book buying problem…it really is no wonder I’m always poor!

Writing

This month hasn’t been the best writing month, but it also hasn’t been the worst. I’m still ploughing on with my work-in-progress, and I’m still super excited about the idea!

I’ve also been trying out a few different things to try and hone my writing skills which I’ve blogged about here. And spoiler alert: it involves writing bad poetry!

Blogging

This month has been a great blogging month, primarily because I celebrated my third blogoversary! Hurrah! In honour of my blogoversary I did a little blog makeover, and I’m really happy with the results. It’s definitely left me super inspired to blog, so hopefully August is going to be a very productive blogging month!

Here are some of the things I’ve posted this month:

• How do you know if your story idea is a keeper?
• The Pros and Cons of the Goodreads Challenge
• 3 Ways To Improve Your Writing

So how has your July been? What have you been reading/writing?

August seemed like one of those months where literally all I did was go to work and come home, which kind of sucks. Especially as the weather has been so beautiful, and it really doesn’t feel like I’ve made the most of it. I haven’t done a single summery thing: not one trip to the beach or barbecue! I haven’t even read outside!

And now summer is quickly coming to a close, and soon it’ll be all gloomy and rainy again… Although at least then I might feel better about being stuck at work! As I say every month, time seems to have absolutely flown, and I can’t believe it’s September already.

Still, I have been pretty busy this month when I’ve not been at work, mostly with writing…so more about that later!

Reading

This month has been a pretty decent reading month! I started out on a bit of a Philippa Gregory binge (which is always good!) and absolutely devoured The Taming of the Queen and The Lady of the Rivers. I still have quite a few Philippa Gregory books to read, and so I really need to get to them soon, as I almost always enjoy them.

I also read the second of Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles, Enemy of God, and I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first. The only problem I had was that I bought my copy of it off eBay, and it smelt seriously dusty… I didn’t even want to take it to work with me in my work bag (and have it sat there next to my lunch!), so it took me ages to read.

Instead, I took my Kindle to work and was reading Jen Sincero’s You Are A Badass: How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living An Awesome Life alongside Enemy of God. Sometimes I find self-help books a little cringy, but I really enjoyed this one and did find it super inspiring, even if some of the stuff about ‘the universe’ wasn’t really to my taste.

I also read the entire of The Couple Next Door in a morning, which even for me is pretty fast! I had heard great things about it, and so picked up a copy cheap in the local supermarket, and spent an entire Saturday morning reading it from cover to cover. I’d highly recommend it to any thriller fans!

And finally, I just finished Not Working by Lisa Owens. I heard about this book a while back (and where else would I have heard about it but on the ‘Ctrl Alt Delete’ podcast?), but I finally got round to reading it. I really enjoyed it, and it didn’t take me long to read, but the main character was a little frustrating for a lot of the book (although I think that was probably intentional?).

I actually haven’t bought all that many books this month (thankfully…my bank account hates me and my book addiction at the moment!), as I’ve been literally stockpiling different stuff from previous months on both my bookshelves and my Kindle. Hopefully, I’ll be able to start getting through them in September!

Writing

Writing is what has been keeping me so busy this month, as I finally decided it was time I acted on my wish to become a freelance writer. I’ve always wanted to do this but had this ‘I’ll do it later’ kind of attitude to mask the truth: I was scared and had no idea where to start.

Well, I still have no idea how to start, but I’ve started anyway. I’ve spent this past month obsessively reading stuff online about how to start out as a freelancer and gathered two things: I needed a professional looking website, and to pick a niche.

So I’ve set up a second website (www.lauracookson.com) as I thought this blog looked a bit quirky to be a professional website, and I didn’t want to have to change the kind of content I was publishing on here. The website still needs tonnes of work doing to it (which is why I haven’t really been promoting it yet), but it’s definitely a start!

As for picking a niche…well that was the hardest part. I’ve gone with writing about writing (because I’ve enjoyed writing about that on here) and blogging/digital marketing (because I like writing about that too, plus I hear it’s relatively profitable), but I may change and narrow down my niche later, depending on the kind of work I end up doing. I’m going to try and post at least one post a week on my freelancer site about blogging though, so check that out if you’re interested!

So I guess my next step is the scary one: I have to actually start pitching to places! Wish me luck!

And as for my ongoing novel…it is still ongoing. I haven’t stopped writing it, but it has slowed to a crawl. Hopefully, once I get a handle on running a blog, a website and any freelance work I (hopefully!) get, I’ll be able to devote more time to it again. I’m still absolutely in love with my idea though, which is a good sign!

Blogging

This month I’ve caught up on some reviews, which is good, and I also posted a few discussion posts:

• 15 Book Blog Post Ideas
• Do you have to own the books you love?
• Has blogging changed your reading habits?

And on my new website I published:

• The Beginner’s Guide To Starting A Blog (warning, this post is super long!)
• How To Make Your Blog Content Easier To Read

So how has your August been? Have you been making the most of the summer weather? What have you been reading/writing?

These days I genuinely seem to be struggling to think of things to write about in these updates, which is probably a sign I need to get out more…

I say it every month, that hopefully next month I’ll get out and do more things, and then life happens and I find myself day after day getting home from work exhausted and wanting nothing more than to slump on the sofa. My weird hours at work are definitely starting to catch up to me (I have to get up at 5 am for work a few times a week, and then work until 9 pm another day) as I feel tired all the time, and I’ve applied for a promotion, which is really starting to stress me out. Plus it really doesn’t help that it’s starting to get darker earlier, and there’s a bit of a chill in the air, as that always makes me feel a bit weary and down.

But, on the upside, as of today I’m off work for 8 days! Hooray! I haven’t had a full week off since April, so I’m definitely ready for some proper time off. And I actually have some things planned too, for a change!

Today I’ll be meeting up with my friend who just moved back from Canada, which is exciting, and tomorrow I’ll be hanging out with my parents and my little niece and nephew. Then I’m going on a day trip out on Monday with my sister, niece and our friend, and then I’ll be spending most of the rest of the week with my boyfriend, and we’re planning a few days out.

So to summarise this update: September was a bit of a bust, but October is looking up!

Reading

September was actually a really good reading month for me! In fact, I’m not too far off completing my Goodreads Challenge goal of 50 books in 2017 (I’m currently reading number 45!) which is exciting, and I feel like I could probably do it by mid-November at the latest.

I started out by reading (and reviewing!) the first two books in Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha series, which is a series I’ve been meaning to read ever since reading Six of Crows. I had heard that the series wasn’t quite as good as the Six of Crows duology, and whilst I agree with that, I still really enjoyed them, and hopefully I’ll be reading Ruin and Rising in October.

Oddly, for the first time ever I completely forgot that Sarah J. Maas had a book coming out in September, so it was a really pleasant surprise when I just happened upon Tower of Dawn in the bookshop and thought, ‘oh yeah! that’s out!’ I don’t think I’d been quite as excited for this latest book in the Throne of Glass series because it wasn’t going to feature most of the main characters, but when I actually read it I ended up loving it as much as I usually love Sarah J. Maas’ books. I forgot just how much I liked Chaol as a character, and so I really enjoyed reading about what he was up to during the events of Empire of Storms. 

I also read two books by the author Sarah Painter, after really getting into her podcast ‘The Worried Writer’ (which I discovered when Sarah Painter appeared on ‘The Creative Penn podcast a few weeks ago). I read her new non-fiction book Stop Worrying; Start Writing: How To Overcome Fear, Self-Doubt and Procrastination, and her novel, The Language of Spells. I would seriously recommend her book on writing as well as her fantastic podcast to any aspiring (or established) authors, and I really enjoyed The Language of Spells, as it was a little different for me to read a fantasy-type book set in the real, everyday world.

And now I’m in the middle of reading Wild: From Lost to Found on The Pacific Crest Trail by Chery Strayed, which has been on my TBR list since forever!

I also went on another of my little (ahem…big) book buying binges after getting paid this month, and now have a huge variety to choose from for my October reading! The Kindle store just seems to have so many bargains on these days, and so I ended up getting several more Philippa Gregory books (The Boleyn Inheritance, The Queen’s Fool and The Virgin’s Lover), three thrillers (The Girlfriend, Friend Request, and The Doll House) as well as Wild Hunt by Elizabeth Chadwick, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King. It only cost me around £11 for all 9 books, which just goes to show how many great buys I got!

I also picked up a cheap copy of Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell off eBay too, so I can finally finish the Warlord Chronicles. It just arrived yesterday, and thankfully it doesn’t smell anywhere near as dusty as my copy of Enemy of God did!

Writing

September was such a weird writing month: after spending most of August focused on setting up my freelance writing website I seemed to switch gears and get into novel-writing mode. Therefore I started out the month by making great progress on my manuscript and neglecting pretty much everything else.

Then I had my little mid-month organisational epiphany and managed to sort out a method of properly juggling all my various projects (which I spoke about in this blog post), and thankfully I’m now getting back on track with everything. Hopefully, I’ll actually start sending out some pitches in October, and I’ll keep on flying through the first draft of my novel.

Blogging

Some of the discussion posts I posted on here this month include:

• 5 Signs That You’re A Stationery Addict
• My Book Cover Pet Peeves
• How To Juggle Multiple Writing Projects

And on my writer website I posted:

• Why Your Business Needs A Blog
• How To Choose A Topic For Your Next Blog Post
• What To Post on Your Blog/Business Twitter Account

So what have you been up to this month? What have you been reading/writing? 

So the days are getting shorter, and there’s starting to be a faint chill in the air as Autumn creeps in. And as much as I love Autumn, I think it can make you feel a little gloomy when it’s pretty much pitch black outside by 6 o’clock at night, and you wake up in the morning to find it’s just as dark as last night, and your house is freezing cold.

So I thought I’d do a bit of a mood-lifting blog post today, and do a quick list of 5 things that are making me happy at the moment. And who knows, maybe this could become a regular post?

So here are 5 Happy Things:

• Waking up on your day off thinking you’re in work and then remembering that you’re not. 

I genuinely don’t think there’s a better feeling in the world than waking up on your day off, momentarily thinking you have to get up for work and then realising that actually, no you don’t. I’ve been off work all this week and virtually every day I’ve woken up, thinking I need to get up and then remembering that actually I can stay cocooned in my quilt, and it has been heaven! 

• That glowing feeling you get after having been super productive. 

Whilst most of the time I’m the queen of procrastination and not getting a whole lot done, I do occasionally have super productive spurts, and I love that nice feeling of accomplishment you always get afterwards. I really should try being productive more often!

• Getting to wear whatever scruffy outfit you like in Autumn and Winter because you’re just going to cover it up with a big winter coat, or cuddly jumper.

I’m definitely not a dressed-up kind of person: as much as I would love to wear nice outfits and feel great every day, that takes effort, and sadly I’d much rather roll out of bed half an hour later than get up earlier to pick out an outfit and do my makeup properly. So colder weather is always a relief for me, as it means I can throw on my jeans and any old t-shirt from my wardrobe (however bunched up and crinkled it is!) because I’ll only be hiding it under my trusty blue-fur parka, or maybe my oversized skull cardigan. Plus, hats: I do love getting to just pull on a hat when the top of my hair goes all weird and fuzzy, which it always does the day after washing!

• The feeling of cracking open a brand new book and getting that waft of inky, new-book goodness.

The coming autumn means bad weather, and bad weather means staying inside more, which isn’t exactly a hardship for us bookworms. Personally, I loved nothing more on a cold day than getting all snuggled up in a comfy chair and cracking open a fresh book…and I especially love the delicious smell of ink you get when it’s a shiny, brand new book!

• Having freshly dyed hair.

All those hair chameleons out there can probably relate – there’s no better feeling than having nice, freshly dyed hair, especially if you’re like me and leave it way too long between dyeing, and spend a few weeks with really ratty, washed-out hair. It’s just nice to feel good about your hair, and I like getting that sudden shock of green every time my hair flips in my eyes (which is virtually all of the time!).

So can you relate to any of my happy things? What’s making you happy at the moment?

Time literally seems to be flying by these days. I mean, how is it November already?

October seems to have passed in a bit of a blur, but thankfully I’ve actually got some things to report this month! I started the month with a week off work, which was great, and I managed to do a few things: I met up with my friend who’s just moved back from Canada (and I’ve since been on another day trip out with her!) and went to Chester with my sister and my little niece. Unfortunately, we only realized when we got there that Chester isn’t the best place to go with a pram because all the shops are upstairs in buildings so old that there aren’t a lot of lifts, and so there was quite a few places we couldn’t go. It was a nice day trip though, and I do always like Chester as a place! Plus I bought a unicorn onesie from the Primark there, and it’s been coming in very useful in this cold weather!

I also got to spend loads of time with my boyfriend, just chilling out, which you definitely need sometimes. And at the end of the week, me, my parents and my brother took my nephew to the Blackpool Illuminations. I may have got beaten up a lot by my nephew with a light-up lightsaber, but otherwise, it was a lot of fun!

The rest of the month has mostly been dominated by work, so I’m glad I at least got some time off so that I could get out and do things.

Reading:

October hasn’t been the best reading month, but nevertheless, I’ve almost completed my Goodreads Challenge of 50 books. I’m currently halfway through The Scandalous Duchess by Anne O’ Brien, which is my 48th book, so only one more after that!

Otherwise this month I’ve pretty much just finished reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed, and then gone on a Juliet Marillier binge with Child of the Prophecy and Heir to Sevenwaters.

As is my habit, I went on a little Kindle bargain binge on payday, and got cheap ebooks of The Scandalous Duchess by Anne O’ Brien, Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, The Man In The High Castle by Phillip K. Dick and Rogues, a short story collection curated by George R.R. Martin. I also finally bought George R.R. Martin’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which I’ve been meaning to read for ages! So I’m excited to finally get to that.

Writing

Since deciding to take part in NaNoWriMo again halfway through the month, most of October’s writing involved planning my NaNo novel. I am already writing a novel but decided to truly get in the spirit of NaNo and start something new.

So I’m now working on a Robin Hood retelling with a big twist, and so far I’m loving it! By Day 4 I was already edging up to 10,000 words, which is a record for me in that length of time. But look out for my full NaNo update on Wednesday if you’re interested!

Blogging

This month has been a reasonable blogging month (on here anyway…let’s not talk about my writing website, which has pretty much been abandoned for the moment, thanks to NaNoWriMo…), and I posted a few discussion posts:

• 5 Happy Things
• On Being A Kindle Convert
• 6 Inspiring Quotes from ‘Wild’ by Cheryl Strayed
• My Top NaNoWriMo Tips
• Books and Memories

So how has your October been? What have you been reading/writing/up to?

I don’t want to start out this post by yelling, BUT HOW THE HELL IS IT LESS THAN THREE WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS ALREADY!? WHERE HAS ALL THE TIME GONE!? Christmas just always feels like one of those things that sneaks up on me: one minute it seems to be ages away, and then suddenly it’s a matter of weeks and you find yourself wondering, ‘what the hell happened to November!’

To be fair, my November has definitely been a busy one thanks to NaNoWriMo and loads of birthdays in my family, including my little niece’s first birthday! My sister threw a party for her at a local farm park, which was super fun, as I got to see loads of my family that I haven’t seen in ages, as well as stroke some ponies and goats, and go down all the slides and zip lines (I was supervising the kids, I swear!).

It was also my Mum’s birthday this month, and so I used it to try and convert her to the way of the Kindle! My brother, sister and I clubbed together to get her one and she seems to like it so far, which I’m happy about. My Mum is a casual reader, in that she mostly only reads on her breaks at work and when she’s on holiday, so I think she’ll find it so much more convenient to take her Kindle around with her than a book.

Speaking of presents, I’m actually pretty proud of my self right now! Usually, by early December I’m still panicking about what to buy everyone for Christmas, but this year I’m actually nearly done with my Christmas shopping. I have a few bits and bobs left to get for some of my family, as well as my boyfriend’s main present (I only just came up with a good idea for his gift!), but I’m so much further on than I usually am, and it’s such a relief to know it’s mostly taken care of.

I can’t say I’m getting overly excited about Christmas yet though, but I am something of a Scrooge in general, largely due to me working full time in retail. Whilst in a lot of industries Christmas means a more relaxed work schedule and time off, retail just means working even more and everything being frantic and leaving you feeling panicky and exhausted. I do have a couple of days off together over Christmas which is nice, but otherwise, I’m just working my regular hours, including Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (so my New Year’s is going to be virtually non-existent).

I usually get in the spirit on the day though, and I am looking forward to getting to spend the time with my boyfriend and my family! So Merry Christmas everyone!

Reading: Between winning NaNoWriMo and completing my Goodreads Challenge of 50 books, November has been a month of wordy achievements for me! I just finished reading One Dark Throne, which has put me at 54 books so far in 2017, so I think next year I’m going to raise my target a little way. I can’t decide whether to go super ambitious though and aim for 60 and over, or to play it safe and stick around 55, as I look set to exceed that amount this year. I’ll have to have a think about it!

I’ve finished off a couple of series this month, with Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell (the last of the Warlord Chronicles) and Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo. I ended up loving both of them, especially Excalibur, and I suffered a major book hangover after that one. Nothing seemed to compare! I definitely intend to read more by Bernard Cornwell, because I loved that series so much.

I also read some non-fiction with Jeff Goins Real Artists Don’t Starve, after I got it for a bargain price on my Kindle. I enjoyed the book, in an ‘it was inspiring, but not overly memorable’ kind of way, but was definitely worth a read, and I connected with a lot of the stories he told about people trying to find their true path in life. I also went for something a bit different this month and read a contemporary/chick-lit kind of book (I’m so unfamiliar with the genre, I don’t know what it’s called!) and read Sophie Kinsella’s My Not So Perfect Life, and I really enjoyed it. I think we all suffer from social media envy sometimes, when we see everyone else’s Instagram feed and assume their life looks that beautiful 24/7, so I think it’s a book a lot of people could relate to!

In terms of my book buying this month, it’s actually been really odd… I don’t think I’ve actually bought any books aside from Real Artists Don’t Starve! I can’t believe it either, but it’s not exactly like I haven’t got a huge backlog of things to read, so I’m hoping to get stuck into some of the books I’ve had on my Kindle since forever, this December.

Writing:

November was a pretty good writing month, seen as I successfully completed NaNoWriMo, and I absolutely love the story I’ve been working on. I’ve chipped away at it some more since NaNoWriMo ended last week, but I’ve definitely seen my progress take a nose dive, which I always find at the end of November. I’m going to try and pick up the pace again though, even if I have to give myself some leeway over Christmas, as I’d like to have the first draft of this book done by early 2018!

Blogging:

I’ve been such a bad blogger this month! I’ve barely posted anything that wasn’t a NaNoWriMo update, and I’ve been terrible at answering comments and visiting other people’s blogs. I’m definitely going to try and get back into it this month, and in the meantime, here are my measly offerings from November:

• The Pros and Cons of Second-Hand Books
• Life Crisis: When You Don’t Know Which Hogwarts House You’d Be In

So how has your November been? What have you been up to and what have you been reading? And how are your Christmas preparations going?

Is it me, or does Christmas already feel like ages ago? I always find January to be such a weird month, with the excitement (and stress!) of Christmas quickly fading, as everything seems to go from being busy, busy, busy to just…blah.

I did have a really nice Christmas though, and I actually got three days off work over the festive period, which was nice. I worked Christmas Eve which was manic, but was then off on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the following day. I stayed at my boyfriend’s over Christmas, but we did go to my parent’s house for Christmas lunch, which was lovely. My nieces and nephew were all there, and super excited about presents, and that’s what always makes me feel festive these days. A few years ago when there were no children in my family I could never really get into the spirit of Christmas, but there’s something really infectious about how excited kids get!

I got some great presents myself this year, with my boyfriend buying me two Nintendo DS games (Pokemon Ultra Sun and Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which I’m now totally obsessed with!), the illustrated Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban and some adorable Pusheen bath bombs! My sister also got me a hairdryer, which I was pleased with, because my old one literally sounds like it’s going to explode every time you turn it up to full heat (which you have to with hair as huge as mine, or you’ll be there all day!), and my brother got me loads of chocolate. My parents gave me a NOW TV box which I’m loving so far (I’m totally binge-watching episodes of ‘Catfish’!), and some money, some of which I’ve already spent on books, surprisingly!

My boyfriend and I then spent a really chilled out Boxing Day just hanging about, eating chocolate and watching TV (and obsessively playing Animal Crossing in my case!), before going into town and checking out the sales the following day.

However, whilst Christmas was really nice and chilled out, my New Year’s was pretty much non-existent: I was working both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, so I just stayed in at my parents and ate takeaway, before heading to bed just after midnight. And now, of course, everything is just settling back to normal, although I do have some holidays booked off work later on in January, so that’s something to look forward to.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful festive period!

Reading

Whilst I said in my Best Reads of 2017 post that I was hoping to hit 60 books on my 2017 Goodreads Challenge, I didn’t quite manage it, but I was still happy with 59. I still surpassed my target of 50 books by quite a way, and I’ve set my 2018 total for 60, hoping that I’ll make it this time!

Over December I read a few books, starting with The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances, which I absolutely loved. It was a slow starter, but quickly became super compelling, and I just couldn’t put it down! I then read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, which I’ve had a copy of for ages, but had for some reason never got to. It turned out to be an incredible book, and one of the most original I can remember reading in a long time, so I don’t know why it took me so long to get to it!

I also read The Doll House by Phoebe Morgan, as I figured I’d bump up my Goodreads Challenge with a couple of thrillers at the end of the year, seeing as I always seem to get through them fast. I didn’t like it as much as The Girlfriend, but I still really enjoyed it.

I read some non-fiction this month too in the form of Jon Ronson’s So You’ve Been Publically Shamed, which was super interesting! I may actually do a full post on my thoughts about this one because I have some pretty strong thoughts on the whole ‘Twitter shaming’ thing, as I think there’s a very fine line between calling someone out (which I think is fine if done correctly) and going on a witch hunt. I really dislike that darker, uglier side of the internet, and Jon Ronson’s book investigates how normal, supposedly moral people can become bullies through the anonymity of the internet, and it made for a fascinating, yet uncomfortable read.

I bought a few books this month too, and have bumped up my TBR somewhat, but you can never have too many books can you? With some of my Christmas money, I bought Truthwitch by Susan Dennard (which I’ve already read, and really enjoyed) and Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson, which I’ve had my eye on for a while.

I also had another Kindle binge and bought Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, Lost Boy by Christina Henry, Pendragon by James Wilde, Malice by John Gwynne and The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving A F**k by Sarah Knight. So I’m hoping to read some of them this January!

Writing

My fiction writing virtually went on hiatus for most of December… I was just too busy and stressed, so I really need to get back to it this January. I want to continue with the Robin Hood themed novel I started in NaNoWriMo and get that finished, as well as continue work on my other work-in-progress, and maybe even write some short stories and enter some competitions? I definitely intend to be busy this January!

Blogging

December wasn’t a great month for me in terms of blogging either, as I felt a little low on inspiration. But thanks to the ‘New Year, new start’ mood that I get into every January, I have loads of ideas and am feeling pretty excited to get back to blogging with a vengeance this month! So keep your eyes peeled for upcoming posts!

Meanwhile, my meagre December offerings included:

• When do you get to call yourself a writer?
• My Best Reads of 2017
• My New Year’s Resolutions

So how was your Christmas and New Year? What have you been up to this past month, and what have you been reading?