Hey guys, welcome back! I’ve been real lapsed on getting the On the Bookshelf page updated for 2025 (yes, I know it’s almost July)…so with Summer now officially here, I thought I’d share this list and maybe give you some ideas for your Summer reading TBRs. This will also move to a new OtB page for this year so if you lose sight of this post, it will still be available.
This is what has been read and re-read so far this year. I have linked to the author’s Amazon pages (click their name) instead of each individual book. This way you can also check out their other works as well. Please note that I have linked to the paperback format pages, but you can easily switch to kindle, hardcover, etc. (I’m personally a paperback reader.)
This list is always a work in progress, so be sure to keep checking back. (And yes, I kept reading holiday books well through January to keep the spirit going!)
I tried to list in order of how they should be read, either series or those who are just in the same world. For example, the first three Kristan Higgins books listed all take place in the same town but are not necessarily a ‘series.’
Be sure to also check out the links on the side of the page…social, shops and more or you can visit my linktree which has them all in one happy place: linktr.ee/promosocially
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Thanks for being here, stay cool and happy reading!! 🙂
Hey all, welcome back! It’s been quite a week and while I meant to post on Friday, life happens. But here we are and happy to see you all!
A few things in case you are new here…first, welcome to the site. Hope you like your visit and that you’ll check out the ‘new posts’ tab to catch up to see what has been going on around here. Also, I don’t like to add links to the posts themselves, so be sure to check the bottom of the posts to find any relevant links. I was never one for inundating a post with external links. For me, they take away from what the post is about and is distracting, again this is just me. (If that makes any sense.) You can also find my social, shops and more on the right hand side of the page (or under the post if you scroll on the phone). Hope you will check them out while you’re here and be sure to hit the subscribe bar to the right or the pop up at the bottom to add your email so you can get updates on new posts. 🙂
Now that’s out of the way, let’s get to it!
If you know me here, you know I read a lot. Like a lot. One of the things I have taken to doing is carrying a book with me a la Rory Gilmore. For those who may not know the reference, in the old show Gilmore Girls, the daughter Rory famously carried a book with her wherever she went, including her junior dance. While I’m not that over the top, (and way past my junior dance years), I do carry a book to all of my medical appointments. Today included. I knew I’d have a lot of wait time, so instead of playing on the phone, I pulled out my book. It’s always a stress reliever. Let’s face it, going to the doctor or going for medical tests can be stressful. Why not ease that stress by diving into a good story?
I’m not a kindle or ereader person, I’m strictly a paperback girl, well, woman. While I was at one of the medical buildings in town today, I went to a nice, quiet spot in their cafe that was closed at the time, made myself comfy and got back into the story. And then…
Please picture the scene: an open area with tables and chairs, where the staff and visitors there can eat, grab coffee, maybe have a little meeting. But the cafe closes right after lunch, yet they keep the seats available for anyone who would like to use them until the building closes. I found a nice spot near the windows where I’d be able to see when my ride showed up, let out a big contented sigh and thought about how nice it was to just be by myself with my book.
Just me and my book.
A gentleman walked in and out of all the empty tables in the place, he decides to sit one away from me. At first I thought he was just going to sit there. However, he seemed a little high strung, not being able to sit still and getting up and down and scraping his chair along the floor each time. Again, this was a medical building, all kinds of tests and procedures are done there so I can sympathize if the guy was nervous about something. Then a friend of his shows up. Turns out, they were just meeting there to catch up on some things. They were loud, they kept jumping up and walking around and very loud. In my head I’m thinking, ’I was there first and just keeping to myself.’ The old me? I would have sat there, too embarrassed to get up and end up reading the same sentence over and over again not being able to concentrate. Now? I grabbed my book and the rest of my stuff, got up and as I walked past them, thanked them for ruining a nice moment of my day.
I will never understand why people do such things. The speakerphone calls in the store so we can all hear them. (Heard all about someone’s hemorrhoid surgery in cvs one time.), coming up right next to you when standing in line (I miss the 6ft rule from the covid days) or sitting right next to a person when there are a hundred empty seats in a movie theater or a cafe. I wasn’t bothering anyone, just sitting and reading a rather moving scene in my book and honestly, trying not to tear up as I did so because I was in public and yet, I was the one who moved. I’m thinking of carrying an air horn with me so the next time this happens? I just hit it and make the others move along. Just something to think about.
Anywhoo, enough of that. Sorry for the vent but this therapy, sorry, blog, helps me work stuff out before I get to my writing sessions! 😬
Speaking of, I’ve finally gotten off the second edits of the chapters I’ve written so far. I’m now 32 chapters in and still going strong. As I said in my last post, some of these chapters are short and may end up being combined with others, so don’t let the number fool you just yet.
However, I hit the scenes I’ve been dying to get to for about two weeks. I knew they were coming up, knew the general way they were going to go and yet even I was surprised with how they’ve been writing themselves!
If you’ve ever heard the term ‘automatic writing’, when someone puts pen to paper (or fingers on a keyboard) and just lets the writing go where it will? That is how I tend to write. I know how I want to start the scene, I know the locations and then I just go. Last night in particular, I came up with something I wasn’t expecting and it fit so perfectly into the whole dynamic of the story that it invaded my dreams while I slept and has been on a constant replay in my head all day. I have no idea where this part of the story came from but I am so glad it did. It really helped me tie in a character that has been giving me a lot of trouble incorporating into the storyline.
I also came up with a plot twist that I’ve been trying to figure out and it has also been a problem trying to work into the whole book. All of a sudden it came to me and I was able to introduce the beginning of it last night and now it’s a matter of weaving into the rest of the story and seeing how it will work itself out. This, my friends, is the fun part for me.
After all of the research I’ve been doing for this and all of the build up to get to this point, now is when it gets interesting. I can’t wait to see how this story will develop further and where this automatic writing will take me tonight. Of course all this being said, when I go into what I wrote last night to edit and refresh my memory to get me back into it so I can write the next chapter, it may turn out to be pure crap. It’s happened before it will happen again. I get excited that the story flowed effortlessly and then when I reread it the next night, I wonder if I was on to something to come up with such nonsense. What I love though are the days when I go back in and find that I’ve actually written something that is worth reading. Worth the time it took. Worth the pain of typing as my fingers fly across my beloved keyboard. (For those new here, I have a strange attachment to my keyboard.)
Sometimes the blocks disappear. Sometimes the words come when you least expect it. And sometimes you have to hold your tone when someone invades your personal space. But you know what it can add up to? A new blog post! Ha!
And that is where I will leave you for today. Thanks so much for joining me along for this crazy ride and again, I’m going to throw some links below for you to check out.
Until next time my friends…
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Click on my linktree to follow me on social, shop my linktree shop and find gifts designed by me for readers and writers alike: linktr.ee/promosocially
(you’ll find my keyboard linked in the shop as well)
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Current book: On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins (click on the title to see)
If you don’t know her books, you can start out with If You Only Knew and Good Luck With That. While not technically a series, these books take place in the same town and involve characters from all of them. I found this out by accident and love when I discover that a new find is related to this town. (They are also based in an area near where I grew up so makes them that much more special to me.) Again, click on the titles to check them out.
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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you and will see you next time. 🙂
Hey guys, welcome back! Hope you are enjoying the new look of the place. I’ve been trying to make sure that all the links have been updated and may soon start a TikTok that will also reflect the new name, but I’m not rushing to do that. Still a lot going on, so stay tuned.
Speaking of, this week I had a medical test done. Now, I’m pretty much used to every kind of test there is because the last 9 years alone has had me glowing in the dark from all the stuff that’s been done to me. But this one, I’ve had before and it is one I knew would be painful as hell. (I almost punched one doctor in the face and the next time I screamed until my throat hurt. But I digress…) So I haven’t really slept in weeks since they told me I had to have it done. Thankfully, it went better than expected, I wanted to hug the doctor who did it and I may even have some answers that no one else has been able to pinpoint, so, yay! In the meantime, I’ve been such a basket case about this I made myself a little sick. (Like cold sickness, not the regular nonsense going on in my life.)
Why am I sharing this? Because, this is a reminder to you…take care of yourself! Yes, it’s ok to worry about things. But not sleeping, not eating properly and just plain being a mental mess can lead to other ookie feelings. (Yes, that is a medical term I just made up.) I was barely functional the next day and I decided that it was some cosmic way of telling me, it was time for an unplug day!
I turned off all my devices and just read, for hours. Finished the second half of the book I had started over the weekend and got about a third into a new one. It felt great! Just me, the quiet and escaping into the lives of others was just what I needed. I know not everyone can take that much time to do this of course. Some have kids or hectic schedules. However, I’m throwing forth the challenge to you, to take at least one day a month and for an hour, two hours, or however long you can, just unplug. You don’t have to read of course. That is my personal escapism. Go for a walk, a bike ride, get ice cream, hell, take a nap! Just do something that makes you happy without looking at a screen. Summer is here, why not go swimming or go exploring your own town. You may discover an area you never knew about or stumble on a historic marker you never spotted before. Unplugging can feel so good and there is actually a part of me, after doing this, that regrets it when I turn the phone back on. There are times I’m just not in the mood to face real life again. So days like that? I may just shut it back off, pick my book back up and escape some more.
As for the other days? Well, I’ve been doing a great deal of editing the first chapters of the book. I’ve written 28 so far, but for continuity’s sake, I needed to go back and see if I had mentioned something in a previous chapter. So I decided to take the opportunity and re-edit the early chapters and go from there. SO GLAD I DID!
I stumbled on a major mistake I never realized I had made! I screwed up the entire timeline. There is a way to fix it, but I’m having trouble getting it done. I need to insert a new chapter but one that flows with the rest of the story. One that fits in seamlessly so that my readers aren’t aware that the chapter in question was never a part of the original manuscript. One that is stressing me out and mocking me every time I go to write it.
I was on such a roll with this book. Averaging about a chapter a day/every other day. Editing as I went. Story flowing. It was going well…a little too well. Normally I just write a chapter. It comes to me, I write it, I’m done. It’s just how my process works. But having to go back 20 chapters to insert a scenario that wasn’t meant to be a part of the story? Ugh. I had the feeling I was going to stumble at some point. Hit a speed bump and move on. Wasn’t expecting a major storyline snafu. And really, when in life do we ever get to use the word ‘snafu’?
I’ve now lost momentum on the higher chapters and will be editing the entire thing leading up to where I left off. I’m now hoping that will inspire where the story leads next. I’ve been making notes along the way to be sure that the storyline doesn’t get skipped over in such a way again. At least I get to spend more time with these characters I’ve truly grown to love.
The moral of this particular story? Editing is done for a reason. Not just spelling errors. Obvious? Maybe. When it happens to you? It’s a revelation! One that calls for another unplug day. See how it all comes full circle? (See how I can make anything into a reading session?)
And that is where I am leaving you today. We all have crazy weeks. This one was just a drop in the bucket for me. But stepping back, reevaluating things, unplugging and fueling the creative energies are all just a part of life. Right? 🙂
Hope you got something out of this post and so happy you’re here. Thanks for coming back and if it’s your first time visiting, welcome!!!
Until next time folks…Cheers!
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Check out my links in the sidebar where you’ll find my official New Chapter Cove shop, (see pics for examples of merch), you can follow this blog by email and more. Just look to the right!
Hey guys, happy Friday! It’s been a busy one this week and for those of us who like to read during a good rain storm, it’s been another good couple of days for that. I was excited by the number of folks who came to read my post the other day as well as the likes and I can’t thank you guys enough for coming back each time. And to those of you who are new here? Welcome!
I mentioned the other day that I’ve been quite productive lately and it’s been great. I’m actually about to start writing chapter 20 after I finish this post and just last week at this time, I was happy I had just passed the ‘dirty dozen’ mark. So that has been a bonus for this week. What has been driving me crazy though is that I hit a chapter that caused me to have a little lull. A little lack of, I don’t know, excitement maybe? For lack of a better word.
Let me be clear, I’m not writing an action adventure thing that will turn into a Summer blockbuster down the line (and who I will never champion Tom Cruise for). Rather, mine is but a romcom with some deeper stuff in it as well. Or at least, that is what I’m going for. However, every book that you read or write has those couple of chapters that are just there to bridge the story from one place to another and that is where I am now. I’m not saying they are boring. (Hoping they are not.) What I am saying is that I’m excited for the next chapter and wanted to skip over these last two to get to the next one. There is still a lot going on, a lot of information dolled out and even more character development of course, but as I am living vicariously through these people, I’m just excited for their next adventure.
Last night I even had trouble sitting down to write. I didn’t know where the words were going to take me and I still have yet to reread and edit them before I continue writing tonight. What I do know is this, much like I do with this blog, I just sit down and start writing. That’s it.
This is how I wrote my last two chapters. I had blocks, I had worries, I had “well now what do I do now that I wrote them into this issue” and yet, I just kept writing.
I ended up liking one chapter a lot. It turned out better than I thought it did and when I read/edited it, I actually laughed in some places. (Yes in the spots that were meant to be funny.) So somewhere in my mind, the story is still there guiding me. Yesterday was a bit tougher. I had a vision of where it was going to go, how to get past the lull a little bit more and make it not so, I don’t know, day-to-day? Yet after a bit of writing the first scene, the typing continued. I once again did an almost automatic writing session and because I did, I came up with a new twist I hadn’t even thought of before. A way to tie some pieces together that honestly, never crossed my mind once and again, this is at chapter 19! I was able to add some more depth, some more emotion and some more backstory to characters that deserve to have their stories told.
I hope I’m not building myself up here. This is by no means the next ‘great American novel’ and I’m hoping that if you are reading this now, I’m not ruining anything for you if you decide to read what is finally published. I’m just trying to share part of my process here. I sometimes start off blind. No clue where the story will take me. I just know that if I take more than a day off, I feel like I’m failing myself. That if I miss more than a day of working on this story, the story will leave me.
As much as I like to keep my schedule going, there are times when it isn’t meant to happen. I encourage listening to yourself and how you feel. This goes for anything, not just writing. Case in point, the other night, I had an idea for the next chapter and wanted to get it down, but I hadn’t been feeling good at all the entire night. When I sat down to write, it felt more like a chore, more like homework, more like I had some deadline I was supposed to meet when in reality, I have none. I read and edited the chapter from the night before, but when it came time to write the next one, I got three sentences in and stopped. My eyes and head were pounding looking at the screen. It was pouring outside and I decided to shut off the devices and dive further into the book that I’m currently reading, which, btw, I’m loving. There is nothing like reading during a good storm and once I got off the glare of my iPad, I started to feel a lot better.
What I’m saying is this…there are times the story needs to come out but the body isn’t willing. There are times when the story is stuck, but the mindset is to keep going. Just start writing. You may be surprised. It will either flow or you will get the clear sign that it’s just not going to happen in the moment. But you’ll never know unless you just start writing.
And that’s where I’ll leave you today! Thanks for joining me today, be sure to check out the links below and I wish you guys a great weekend!!!
Until next time…Cheers!
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Hey guys, welcome back and happy new week! I wasn’t planning on posting today but I’m excited. I’ve been so hard at work on my new story that I’ve been making significant progress on it.
When I posted on Friday, I had crossed the dozen chapters mark and as of today, Tuesday, I am about to start chapter 18! This story has me hooked and I hope upon hope that when I finally get it out there, readers will like these characters just as much as I do. I honestly can’t wait to get typing to see what will happen next.
I don’t know if other authors deal with this and this will sound a little out there, but as I am going about my day and taking care of other things, the story is playing out for me in my head like a movie. I feel that these characters are taking the lead and guiding me through this whole thing and I’m letting them. I know I touched on that a bit in my last post, but with the amount of writing I’ve been doing over the last several days, they haven’t let up and right now, I’m letting them!
While I block off a certain amount of time to write each day, I also have a block for doing my research. Tons of research. Steps to take on the publishing side, getting ISBN numbers, to copyright or not to copyright and putting numbers together to see how much I still need to save up to get this book out there when it’s ready. Unless something changes, I’m still planning on self publishing this book. It’s a big undertaking but the way this story is coming together, I feel this one wants to be seen and soon. Not that it’s anything profound by any means. I think that mainly, I need to get this out of my system. My first published book.
I also need to get this story out of my head. I can’t move forward with the first book I wrote (and its sequel) until this one has vacated my mind. That first book I do plan to submit somewhere and that is also part of my research process. Trying to figure out formatting, how much of it I need to send in, editors, am I going agent or direct to a publishing house and of course, figuring out the dreaded query letter. (Ugh)
The book I just finished reading, The Page Turner by Viola Shipman, while fiction, was based in the publishing world. It gave me a lot of insight to the process and some great jumping off points for what I will need to do. (I took a ton of notes.) Ironically, I started a new book yesterday that also takes place in publishing and it was a total coincidence that I picked this particular book off of my TBR pile. Or was it? I like a good sign thrown at me and while yes, a lot of the books I’ve been reading lately have involved writers, these two are the first I’m reading that deal with publishing. So sure, sign!
I think my takeaway from these past couple of weeks is that creatively, it is a strong time for me and I hope you as well! Even though I sit here, directly across from the pile of crafts supplies, mocking me horribly that I haven’t touched them in months, writing-wise (new word?) I’ve been nonstop. Even writing this post, my fingers were flying as I was typing. I’m in a good groove and here’s to hoping this is a wave we creatives can all ride for a long, long time!
May this new week bring you opportunities to flex those creative muscles. Go forth and write, paint, play, sing, sculpt, draw whatever your medium is, go out there and do it! Even if there is no plan in place, you may have something inside of you that has been waiting for its moment to come out…and this may just be that moment!
And that is where I will leave you today. Until next time…Cheers!
New Chapter Cove 