Bridesmaid Trilogy, Currently, Inktober

October Currently Post

Well, it’s been a minute since I did one of these “Currently” posts! I always have the best of intentions to blog regularly but you know what they say about intentions and road paving and all that. Anyway, it’s Halloween as I write this (Happy Halloween!!) or as I like to call it Nanowrimo Eve. I’m about to dive headlong into the excitement of National Novel Writing Month so I thought I should give you all a bit of an update before I do so.

2019 has been a very good writing year for me. Considering I only wrote 13k in all of 2018, I worried that I would struggle to get momentum coming off my hiatus. I’m happy to report that my word count total is well over 150k for this year and with a successful Nanowrimo complete next month, I’ll be well over 200k for the year. Sadly, I can’t tell you much about those completed 150k words but hopefully, you’ll see them sometime, someday, eventually. (Fingers crossed!)

It’s National Novel Writing Month!!

WRITING: My Nanowrimo novel is Dylan’s book! It’s the final book in my Always a Bridesmaid series. Yep, Pickle finally falls in love. It’s taken quite a while to get this book down. I originally planned for Dylan to reunite with his high school sweetheart. I had to scrap that whole draft when Dylan decided otherwise. Main characters, amiright? You do everything you can to raise them right, get them on the page, and they just do any darn thing they choose. Dylan’s heroine is someone my readers have met before though (she happens to be the sister of a former hero too).

Actual footage of Dylan

I’m delighted to finally be writing Dylan’s book, Never a Bridesmaid, even though I’ll be saying farewell to my professional bridesmaids after this. It’s always difficult to end a series but I’m planning to start writing a brand new series set in a bakery in Ashford Falls in January so that’s some consolation at least. More on that in the new year!

In preparation to write Dylan’s story, I re-read my first three books in the Bridesmaid series (Forever, Once, and Kiss) as well as totally re-wrote Desire a Bridesmaid. Both Desire and Never will be released in Fall 2020 but, in the interim, I got new covers for the first three. Aren’t they pretty???

TRAVEL: I also got to go on a super fun research trip to my beloved Savannah, Georgia as part of the planning for Dylan’s story. My husband, my son, and I had a marvelous time touring Savannah. We even got to make a trip out to Tybee Island too (where I set a wedding in December in Forever a Bridesmaid–I bet that was chilly!) So much fun!

WATCHING: I’ve been watching Derry Girls. Have you seen that one? I love that show. It’s set in Northern Ireland in the mid-1990s and follows a group of 5 high school friends. So adorable. I also am watching Season 10 of the Great British Bake Off. Don’t tell me who wins! We don’t get the finale in the US until tomorrow. I’m rooting for Alice.

LISTENING: I’m also listening to the awesome new podcast with Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, Office Ladies. They are going over The Office (US) one episode at a time. It’s such a fun, in-depth dive into the world of the Office. And, of course, I had to re-watch each episode to follow along. I cannot wait until they do next week’s show, The Alliance. One of my favorite episodes of all time.

That’s about it for now! I’ll be cranking out the words all November and heading to my mom and dad’s house for Turkey Day. Before I go, I’ll share our little Halloween gingerbread houses. Aren’t they adorably sweet?

Currently, Podcasts, Reading, travel

Currently

Currently

WRITING: I am almost finished the first draft of Christmas at Starlight Lake. Just have to write the Christmas festival and the Christmas Eve dinner sequence. I hope to have it done next week and off to my developmental editor mid-April. I’ve also started the character work and outline for my planned October release, titled Double Dating with the Dead. It’s a ghost story. Having a super fun time letting my imagination go wild on that!

LISTENING: As you all know, I’m a podcast junkie. I listen to them daily while driving, cooking, walking, doing chores. I’ve got three new (to me) ones to recommend to you this month.

  1. The Drop Out. ABC News inside look at the Theranos scandal. Are you as fascinated by this case as I am? I loved John Carreyrou’s excellent book about Theranos (Bad Blood) but really enjoyed this in-depth podcast too. Just a few episodes–perfect for binge listening.
  2. Before Breakfast– Laura Vanderkam (author of 168 Hours and Off the Clock) gives quick, practical time management tips. This one just started this week but I love it so far. Less than 10 minutes and great tips. Perfect!
  3. Satellite Sisters –How did I miss this one for so long? Liz and Sarah from my beloved Happier in Hollywood podcast appeared on the Satellite Sisters and now I’m hooked. They’ve been broadcasting for 19 years so the back catalog of shows is pretty huge. Any can’t miss episodes you can recommend for me?

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READING: I am on the 12th book of the 44 Scotland Street series (A Time of Love and Tartan) by Alexander McCall Smith that I recommended to you last month. I’m savoring it because I don’t want to let these beloved characters go just yet. And I just listened to Lin-Manuel Miranda read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. One of my favorite books ever. I loved this sweet story. I listened to it on my daily walks and actually kept walking for an extra mile just to hear the end. I squeed so much that I scared a neighbor walking their dog. It’s great. Go read it!!

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WATCHING: Have you seen The Fix on ABC? It’s by the brilliant writing team of Liz Craft and Sarah Fain who host the Happier in Hollywood podcast. It’s a twisty, fascinating legal thriller and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Who do you think killed Jessica? Also, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is about to end (*sniff*) so I’m watching that one too.

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LOOKING FORWARD TO: Next month, we’re off to Aulani in Hawaii to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary. I’ve never been to Hawaii so I’m super excited to go on this trip. Will have lots of photos to share in next month’s “Currently” post so stay tuned for that!