I think we can officially say I’ve made the switch from posting progress checks to YouTube to posting them right here to the blog. 

Welcome, let’s talk about my June progress.

You probably already know that I have a set of year long goals that I’m working towards in 2021.

ZERO DRAFTS

In January I played around in the idea journal. 

In February I picked the theme for that anthology and wrote the first two stories.

In March I focused on my husband’s surgery and did practically nothing. 

In April I added onto a little side project for Fraun then picked the “new thing”. 

In May I worked out the kinks to that new thing, lovingly called the Apocalypse Project.

In June, I really buckled down on the Apocalypse Project during the first half of the month. Seriously every single box was full when I posted my little bullet journal thing on IG sometime around the 16th. 

I added over 15k words to the project this month. I don’t know if you remember, but I had decided to work on the THEN chapters first, then pop back and work on the NOW chapters. I’ve finished THEN. I’m probably about halfway done with the NOW at this point. 

If I’m being honest, I’m at a sort of sticking point. I think the problem is I’ve already outlined but as I started writing it there are just things I zoomed past that I don’t think Ivy (she’s my MC and narrator) would really zoom past. So I’m going to add a few chapters to the outline and see how that works. I literally decided that last night haha. We shall see how it goes. 

I sort of had an unofficial goal (OMG I have to stop making those for myself) to get this draft finished in June. That did NOT happen. Good thing it was unofficial, right?

EDIT/REVISION

So far this year editing has taken a backseat to everything else. That’s unfortunate because, as I mentioned last month, those 4 books I wrote in 2020 will not be editing themselves. Unless you all know some kind of magic spell I’m not aware of. In which case, SHARE. 

Anyway, for the second half of June I actually turned to formatting and final editing on the MagicalYA. I’m REALLY excited about this one. I used a different formatting program than I used previously. I’ve been pretty outspoken about using Microsoft Word in the past, even making a YouTube video that would help others figure out how to use it for formatting. But this time around I jumped into Pages (the Mac app that is probably free on your devices if you have anything Apple). Honestly, it’s super easy to use and does everything I was able to do on Word. Of course, it’s FREE so that’s cool. Most computers nowadays don’t come with Word, you end up having to buy it. I’m not sure I’m fully converted yet (there are still a few things I have to play around with) but I definitely like it. 

If you’d be interested in a video talking about formatting in Pages, make sure to let me know. 

Anyway, in July I plan to really focus on editing one of the major projects from 2020. 

The problem is, I have NO IDEA which one to edit first.

So, go vote on this poll here. 

PUBLISH

I’m on track for this one (man that’s nice to say). 

Empowering Sawchett is available. Ahem–get it. 

The MagicalYA needs work, still. 

That extra chapter is written (YAY) and it’s GOOD. 

The final editing pass went well, I think, and we’re all set on that front. I plan to give it ONE MORE READ and then we’re ready to kick this whole thing off. 

In fact, it even has a title and a cover … but I’m not ready to reveal those YET. SOON … but not yet. 

YEAR LONG GOALS

READ 104 BOOKS

So far I’m at 65 (not including the 1 DNF). That’s 62% of the year long goal at the halfway mark of the year. So … looking good!

As a reminder, here was my official June TBR. These included review copies and advanced reader copies I had to get to before the month was over. 

• 2 ARC (Not Meant for Each Other and More Anon)
• 2 Review Requests (Identity and Sunshine)

I haven’t posted the reviews for these yet. If I’m honest we’re struggling a little with the time and energy for all that those videos require. I’m trying to take a serious look at the YouTube channel right now and make decisions about if that formatting needs to change. Those reviews WILL go up, but it may not be a video yet. 

After those 4 were done I squeezed in a library book I’d been meaning to get to before it needed to be returned. I had this idea that I’d get it done really quickly … and then it was a real thinker and took me DAYS haha. But I did enjoy it, I really love Tana French’s work. 

Then, finally, it was time for that book wheel. Being that it’s June, I put genres back on the wheel and spun away live on IGTV. 

My first spin landed on PARANORMAL.

I was seriously tempted to cheat on this one, as I mentioned on the video. Literally the DAY BEFORE I filmed this a paranormal book from my childhood that has been taken out of print and is INSANELY hard to find showed up at my door. I was really tempted to just throw that in and call it a day. 

But I didn’t. 

I let a random number generator make my choice and it chose Sweep, Volume 2. 

Sweep is the second installment (each one is really three books in one) of a massive 5 volume (which means 15 book) series. I really enjoyed the first one, so naturally I had to try volume 2. 

I did add volume 3 to my list because THAT ENDING basically forced me to. 

Then I did a little research, trying to locate myself a copy. The third one has also been taken out of print AND if you can find it you’ll pay an exorbitant amount for it. Seriously, someone on Amazon is selling one for like $900. 

So, I don’t see this series happening for me unless one of you lovelies has a copy you want to lend me for awhile. 

My second spin landed on HORROR

OMG I love a good horror book. I love to be scared. 

Side note: this sparked a GREAT conversation with my cousin about how we interact with books. Becky, on the off chance you read this, THANK YOU for that! Seriously eye opening and totally interesting!

Anyway, back to the book. Right, horror. 

I have a lot of horror on my list and I was hoping to be truly, properly, scared. 

The random number generator picked Demogorgon, a book my husband bought me purely by title and cover shopping (LOVE that he does that).

So, the verdict?

Well it was good. BUT it was a bit more cerebral than I was expecting. It’s not jump-in-your-face scary, but it is a horror book that makes you think. Also, that ending is totally worth the journey. This one is good!

My third spin landed on MEMOIR. 

I have exactly three memoirs on my TBR right now. Honestly, with how much I like this genre I don’t think that’s enough but it’s what I have and I sort of promised myself I’d try and get through this BEAST of a TBR before I add new ones. 

Anyway, a random number generator picked the middle of these three … Rescue Ink.

I love a good animal rescue story so I enjoyed this one. It can be a bit confusing because it jumps around from event to event and sometimes person to person, but it’s an easy read and it’s full off a good message. Overall, fun read!

With those books finished, my June Actually Read looks like this …

2 Review Requests, 2 ARCs, 6 Library Books (5 that were audio), and 3 purchased and finally read means this was another BUSY READING MONTH. 

Honestly, sometimes I feel like I’m not reading enough (because that TBR of almost 200 books feels like it’s mocking me) and then I see graphics like this where I actually struggled to get all the covers onto one image and I realize I’m doing alright. Plus, I’m enjoying it … and that’s priceless. 

What’s Next?

So July was a weird one. I typically take on about 4-5 promised books a month. Trust me, some months there are easily that many. But somehow July slipped through the crack and only had 2. So, I pulled a few from a VERY BUSY August into July. The way I see it, early is better than late!

• 2 ARCS: The Necklace (a thriller), and Seasons Between Us (Speculative Fiction, Memoir, Anthology)
• 2 Review Requests: Esme’s Wish (MG Fantasy, indie author), Out of the Pantry (Memoir, indie author)

52 YOUTUBE VIDEOS

I already mentioned this a little, but I’m doing some serious thinking about this. I’ll let you know when I know what the heck I’m doing with it.

BLOG REVAMP

I’ve actually drafted pages! YAY

So that will really be about pulling the figurative trigger and just posting those to see what people think. In progress … 

Anyway, that’s it for me and my June progress report. 

Thanks for reading through this whole thing to help hold me accountable. I love reading your comments so don’t be shy about dropping one below. 

See you next time!