Summer's Almost Over Folks

As you read from my last post, I began CampNaNoWriMo last Wednesday to great start. The first three days, I totaled quite a word count. But by Saturday, things just got in the way and I didn't get any writing done. By Sunday night, I finally rallied and wrote another 3,000k towards PARADIGM between then and yesterday!

I've also written another 665 words for the short story I'm doing for a Christmas anthology I'm submitting to (see guest post below). The short will be set of the Travelers Universe and will revolve around Jenny and Chase (their budding romance is just begging to be told)! I should be finishing up the story by the end of the week. 

If you aren't checking-in every Tuesday or following the Spellbound Scribes in, you should! My post on When Bad Guys Turn Good went up yesterday. Who's your favorite villain?

And as we get closer to the end of summer (It's almost mid-August! How did that happen?), here's a guest post by one of my favorite indie authors, Red Tash on what she was up to this summer!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

by Red Tash

Oh, how I long for the summers of my childhood. The sun warming the green grass beneath me, endless days of traipsing through the woods, climbing trees, swinging on tire swings, swimming in ponds and creeks—there was nothing like it!  Freedom! A world a-blossom in green and blue!

Summers aren't like that now, are they?

This summer has been terrific in terms of indoor entertainment (can't beat the Olympics), but it was oppressively hot in Indiana, and most of the Midwest. We were urged not to add to the gaseous emissions with unnecessary trips out in the car—sometimes, it was even so hot out that the car's AC got a little dicey! I confess, our trips to the beach were few and far between. Yards shriveled into yellow brown patterns of distress. You could practically hear them croaking “Water!” when we did leave the comfort of the house's cool environment.

So what was a girl to do?

Well, I'm a writer, so I wrote, naturally. I also read. It was my goal to read more this year than last, and so far I'm meeting that goal nicely. Still, when you've got a lot of kids to manage and a lot of work to complete independently, reading for pleasure stays way down the list of summer funtivities, I gotta confess.

I did one-on-one nights with my kids and may have managed a date with my husband at one point. I kicked off the summer with a family vacation to Florida, including a trip to Hogwarts that I'll never forget. I published a book—my second novel, Troll Or Derby.

We purged a lot of our belongings and packed away still more for an upcoming move (God-willing). I vlogged! But mostly, this girl wrote.  

I wrote in my blog. I socialized with friends on Facebook and Goodreads. Now that we're gearing up for “Back to School,” I'm trying to get myself into a better writing practice, so I've been working on the sequel to This Brilliant Darkness most mornings.  Cross your fingers for me and wish me luck. I'd like to finish that bad boy before October (first draft, anyway).

Another fun writing project was a Christmas story set in the world of Troll Or Derby. I decided to put together a collection of holiday stories, and Claudia's writing one for it, too!  That'll be my September “to do,” I reckon: assembling and formatting and getting a cover put together for that tidbit of holiday cheer. Isn't it funny, that I spent part of my summer worrying about Christmas?  

Oh, geez.  That reminds me.  Where did I put my Christmas list for this year? It's never too early to start, you know.  I know what I'll be asking Santa for this year: a time machine. I could use more hours in the day!  Or maybe just more hours of sleep.  Or maybe I'd like a milder summer next year.  Or maybe a new computer.  Or...or...or...

Claudia actually wrote a good list of stuff you can buy a writer for Christmas a few months ago on my blog.  Check it out! 

One of the last things I did this summer was add one of Claudia's stories to my free download, The Wizard Takes a Holiday. Her story is called Southern Hospitality and it's super creepy! Check us out, along with Ash Krafton. 

How about you? What did you do this summer? Do tell!



I totally forgot about my post on writer Christmas gifts! My own summer vaca pales in comparison, but if you want to know how I spent mine, I'll be over at Red's next week. And if you're curious about Red and her writing, check-out her website and download a copy of The Wizard Takes a Holiday (it's FREE), and tell us what you think by leaving a review! 

How's everybody else doing this week?