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March Goals Round Up

Once again, reporting in on my progress on my yearly goals.

I returned to work on the 1st of the month to Key, Clocks and Quests, intending to get enough of a draft hammered out that I would be able to come up with a working title that didn’t suck the big one. Fell a bit short, but did manage to pound out an extra 7,500 words, so I’m making progress on goal #3.

I also wrote 14,800 words the novelette ‘The Troll’s Toll’ and am down to the very final scene now. The Troll’s Toll was supposed to be a short story, but at 15,000+ words I’m afraid there’s nothing ‘short’ about it. I’m still counting it as work towards goal #5 (write and submit more short stories).

In fact, The Troll’s Toll is the story in which I have had my most productive recorded day ever, typing 8140 words in one day. I know, mammoth! I may perhaps have had a few better days back when I was bedridden with my vertigo disorder, but I wasn’t recording my word counts back then.

I also wrote a flash fiction piece ‘Stolen Hearts’ which I’m intending to submit to Fireside Magazine.

The biggest achievement for me this month was receiving my first acceptance for a short story. I’m eagerly awaiting the edits to come through and looking forward to giving you all more details when they’re available.

As for goal # 7, learning, this month I’ve mostly been reading short stories on my Kindle to see what published shorts are like. I’ve read all the old Fireside magazines, several Aurealis releases, Subversion: Science fiction and fantasy tales of Challenging the Norm from Crossed Genres, Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show(awards anthology), Dieselpunk ePulp Showcase, and Phoenix by Chuck Palahniuk (the writer of Fight Club).

I beta read Talitha Kalago’s Lifesphere Inc (very awesome young adult series) and of course have been devouring the critiques for my writers’ group as well, so am working a fair amount with other writers also. This wasn’t really a goal, but it’s something I quite enjoy.

How are you tracking with your goals this month?

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Tea and Book Questionnaire

Tea and BooksI originally saw this on Stuff With Thing and thought it looked like something really cool to do. If you want to join in you can throw a link to your blog post doing this questionnaire in the comments.

How do you organise your books?

Novels are sorted alphabetically by author surname then by series order and date of release. My non-fiction is grouped by topic (eg/writing, small business, pets) then author’s surname. My manga is sorted alphabetically by title then number within series. My graphic novels are sorted by publisher (DC, Marvel, Image ect) then into character related series by in-story time line.

Is it weird to be so specific but so different? I might be a little OCD.

Do you prefer series books or stand-alone books?

I’m not particularly partial to one over the other, however when it comes to series I vastly prefer the pre-planned series when the author knows exactly what point they will finish at, like most fantasy series (Tamora Pierce’s quartets, Robert Jordan’s truly epic Wheel of Time), as compared to the never ending series (The Sookie Stackhouse mysteries(I don’t mean I don’t like them, just making an example nearly everyone would know)). There is something much more comforting in reading something planned to only be 3, 4, 14, what-ever many books long when compared to a series which is totally open ended. Maybe because the cynic in me thinks those other series feel like cash-cows after a certain number of books.

Do you have a favourite time of day and/or place to read?

I’m the mother of a toddler. I read whenever I can find the time! I’ve even read a book once when Xander wanted to be pushed on the swing without end. He wanted to keep going so I read a book and pushed the swing with the other hand. He got to swing for ages like he wanted and I didn’t get exasperated by the monotony.

I do also like a tea and a book, or a good soak in the bath with a book too (can’t be interrupted by a toddler in the bath ;p )

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

I can read a non-fiction book in tandem with a fiction novel and also be reading a manga or graphic novel (and playing an RPG with a great storyline too!), easily, but I struggle if I try to read two fiction books at the same time. The recent purchase of an ereader has made it a little easier, but it’s still a stilted process.

What is the last book you bought?

The last book I bought for Xander is a picture book, Sora and the Cloud by Felicia Hoshino. It was recommended to me by Jen at Perogies & Gyoza. It is a lovely story with beautiful art and is bilingual. I want to buy him the first ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ book since Xander is mental about the movie/TV show, but have only been able to find the later volumes so far.

The last book I bought for myself was the Story Bundle eFantasy set technically, but for proper paper books my most recent purchase was The Stone Key, the fifth book of Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn Chronicles because somehow I’ve got every other book in the series apart from that one, yes, including the sixth in the series… how I missed the fifth I’ve no idea.

What are you currently reading?

In manga I’m just finishing off Kobato by CLAMP, I’ve read the first five before, but only recently got a hold of the final volume so finally get to find out how it all ends. CLAMP are always great with crazy complex endings.

In fiction I’m reading The Keeping Place, the fourth book in Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn Chronicles(in paper book form) and Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself in ebook form.

If you’re ever curious as to what I’m reading you can keep an eye on my on Goodreads profile.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

If I can gather the meaning by context no(but often will write it down on a near-by notepad so I can look up the precise definition when I have a chance – there is always a notebook nearby in my house), but if it stumps me I will look it up.

When I was a kid I read way above the ‘normal’ level (like The Never Ending Story at 9) and I used to lie down with a dictionary and whatever book I was tackling and look up the words immediately without having to pause too long. In primary school(and some of high school) I was frequently accused of ‘reading the dictionary’ because of my vocabulary.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack?

I try not to snack too much because the food often ends up on the book and I’m a little OCD (little? Probably not the most apt word) about keeping my books tidy. Well-read creases in the spine are fine, but food splotches are not cool. However as a mum now I often have to combine activities, so eating and reading occur a lot more together than they used to. I love to drink a chai or earl grey tea while reading. I’ll sometimes dunk choc-chip bikkies in said tea if I’m hungry, but I have to be careful the soaked bikkie doesn’t fall back into the tea and splash the book.

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Magnum Opus

I have finally completed my magnum opus. Well, sorta ;p

Kiki's Delivery Service 1,000 piece puzzle - complete at last!

Kiki’s Delivery Service 1,000 piece puzzle – complete at last!

I have finished the 1,000 piece puzzle I bought in Japan and started when I was pregnant. To be honest, I’m still shocked at the fact I have finished it, when I put it aside during early labor I assumed I would never get back to it.

This just goes to show you can go back and work on old projects and finally complete them. Writers and artists, prick up your ears. If you have passion for something, as long as you truly want to, you will find the time to finish your magnum opus, even if you only manage one piece of the puzzle every few days.

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First Blogiversary

Wow. So one year ago I posted my first post. My blog is now a year old and I’m somewhat bemused that I’ve managed to stick with it this long.

Happy birthday Storybook Perfect, here’s to many more years to come.

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And The Winner Is…

Thanks to the power of a random number generator we have a winner for my first giveaway. Congratulations Angela, I’ve sent you an email asking for your postal address, so please send that through so I can post you your prize :D

Sorry to everyone who didn’t win, I wish I had enough money to give books to everyone. I’m looking forward to doing another giveaway soon – though I don’t know when.

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I Won Tea!

a big box of tea

I love tea. I’m not sure I would be capable of writing if there wasn’t a tea cup within arms reach. When one of my favourite blogs, Stuff With Thing, did a contest where all you had to do was comment on the blog about what you snack on while reading I had to confess there that I drink tea. To my surprise (even though I thought my entry might be a little dull for the judges (Marita’s lovely daughters Annie and Heidi)) I won the prize pack of Nature’s Cuppa organic tea.

When I came home from work today there was a package on my door. Since it was way too large for the business cards I ordered (yes, I have made myself some business cards, I promise to talk about them soon) I knew it had to be the prize pack. Since generally I don’t win things (I have good luck, it just tends to manifest in different ways) I was very excited. I proceeded to take a photo of the box before opening, then of the contents, then of the contents of the box within the box! (A bit like pass the parcel, and just as fun.)

All the different flavours of organic tea – even some organic coffee

I haven’t had the time to try all the flavours, but I have enjoyed a cup of the chai (I am a chai addict at the moment, a passion I share with one of my sisters in law). It was rich and peppery and delicious. Quite strong too since I let it brew for the 4 minutes the box recommended. If you like a gentler flavour perhaps don’t allow the tea to steep quite so long, but it was still wonderful.

There is a lot of tea in here. I won’t have to go buy tea for a long time. Thanks Marita and Nature’s Cuppa for your generosity!

I won the prize pack (as I mentioned above) but am under no obligation to comment/blog about the tea. However I am very excited and have loved my first cup, so wanted to anyway. All opinions are my own and not paid for.

 

A chai tea and some novel revision? Sounds like a good day at work to me.

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Jumping On The Social Media Band Wagon

Some of you may have noticed that little blue ‘F’ up near my red ‘P’(that doesn’t sound healthy…) and my paper white ‘G’. Yes, I have finally created a Facebook author page. The reason it took me so long was because I honestly saw no point if I had nothing to say on it. With my recent joining of NaNoWriMo I will be able to post word count updates and things related to the story so I feel like I finally have something to say. Hopefully one day soon I will get to thrill you all with news about agents and publishing contracts.

I also felt like I needed something else on my business card template, it was looking a little bare ;p but more on my business card later.

Anyway, head on over and have a peek. I’m still wondering what to do as my cover. I’m thinking of making an original header for this site and using it there as well. Aaaah symmetry.

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Internet Hiatus

Spring has sprung and I’m finally starting to feel healthy and energetic again. For the last 18 weeks I’ve been suffering from the cold/flu that would not die. It was an endless cycle of symptoms of varying intensity. As soon as the runny nose left the cough would show up, when the cough subsided the fever would hit. I lost my voice four times and at one point my back was so sore I spent two whole days with a heatie wheatie bag firmly attached and received a mild burn as a result(it looks like a large spider web-esque bruise along my spine). Achey and exhausted for months on end I had to cut something to ease the pressure on my daily schedule and allow me the rest I needed to recover. I wasn’t giving up writing or caring for my son so I decided to take a temporary hiatus from blogging.

Actually it was more than a blogging hiatus, it was an internet hiatus. I stopped reading blogs, only checked my emails every 3-4 days, even Facebook was ignored for a 12 day stretch. Pinterest didn’t even get a look in for two months.

The last few days I’ve been getting better (after FINALLY seeing a doctor who was smart enough to tell me there is an antibiotic you CAN take while breastfeeding) so I’ve been hitting the internet running.

Pinterest: check

Facebook – now smothered in several months-worth of photos of Xander: check

Goodreads reviews updated: check

Returning to the blog: check

Looking forward to seeing you all regularly again :D

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Working Hard and Watching TV

Well the three weeks of working 5-6 days a week at the day job are finally over – huzzah! Of course I’ve been battling through it with a cold which – now the work has paced back – has become even worse. At least now I have a chance to catch up and start blogging at my more usual pace of every 2-3 days rather than the meagre once every 5-6.

During what little downtime I had our family was playing catch-up with TV. We’d watched halfway thru the first season of Lost at the time it was originally airing, but then became distracted by some other show and never caught back up. So we just watched the whole she-bang in marathon style each night. For all the complaining you hear people make about it I expected it to be much worse. Also thanks to the radio station who on a drive home from work while they talked about spoilers gave the spoiler for the ending. Luckily the guy who gave the spoiler clearly didn’t understand the ending so over simplified it thus making it not that much of a spoiler. I also think some of the irritation others felt sprang from EVERY episode ending in a cliff-hanger. When watching weekly that would have me chomping at the bit as well. It was a lot easier when the longest distance between episodes was 24 hours.

We also watched the last episode of House last night. Don’t worry, no plot spoilers here, but the ending definitely satisfied me. The episode itself was a little odd, but it was a good way to wrap things up. Does anyone know if the song that ran at the end is sung/written by the band that wrote/performed ‘Hell’ (you’ll probably recognise the lyrics better: in the afterlife, you will be headed for some serious strife, now you make the scene all day, but tomorrow there’ll be hell to pay), I’m too lazy to look it up right now. If no one answers I might get up off my metaphorical ass and look around the interwebs for the answer, but I have to get ready for my next day-job shift soon.

I’ll talk more about re-writing my opening chapters based on critique and a review of Jane and the Dragon soon.

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Miette’s Moment

Have you heard of DIPG?

Neither had I until Xander’s swimming instructor – Mikayla – introduced it to us. DIPG is an inoperable tumour on the brain stem. With so little awareness about it there isn’t much research or funding.

Mikayla is organising a fundraiser which will be super fun for children at the Chipmunks at Lawnton on the 19th of May, so if you’re a Brisbanite (or whatever you call yourself if you live here in Brisbane) please come along. If you can’t make it because of distance or otherwise, head over to the Facebook page, Miette’s Journey and like and share it with your friends. Let’s help spread awareness. (To learn more, click here for details)

Also for Brisbanites, if you listen to 96.5FM tomorrow (Wednesday) at around 9:15am you’ll hear Mikayla promoting the event. If any of my tech savvy friends out there know how to record that snippet it would be fantastic if you could and send me or the page a link to it.

Thanks everyone.

Flyer For Miette's Moment

Flyer For Miette's Moment - click for details

 

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