It’s almost a given that I love February. It’s the month of love and romance – and I write kissing books! Naturally, I love everything that celebrates these two things. I love Valentine’s Day, all the pink and red, the flowers, the heart-shaped balloons, the candy. It’s a time to celebrate love from all relationships in life – even pets. It’s a time that reminds me how lucky I am to have love in my life.

February is also Black History Month, a time to commemorate and celebrate the contributions to our nation made by people of African descent. It’s a time to learn about our nation’s varied and rich history. It’s a time to inspire everyone to believe in and realize the dream of equality for all as we head into the future. In honor of this special time, I’m going to watch Harriet, the movie about heroic abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

This month is also an excellent time to create art. To that end, I’ll be participating in two virtual writing retreats with my CP Bestie this month. Our first retreat is this Saturday. I can't wait! I’ve set my goals. I’ve set my schedule. I’m ready to write lots of words!

BOOKS TO BINGE
If you love the royals as much as I do, then you must read Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the making of a modern royal family. The book is a dishy narrative that pushes back against media attacks while tracing the couple’s connection from their first blind date through their engagement, wedding, and the birth of their son, Archie.

SHOWS TO BINGE
After what felt like the longest wait, the final episodes of Vikings arrived on Amazon Prime Video on December 30th.  I binged all ten episodes in January. I was very satisfied with the ending of this fantastic series. I liked how the character’s concluding storylines highlighted the fact that the world was changing as more Norsemen abandoned the old ways in favor of Christianity. There were so many beautiful moments in the series finale. I was moved to tears several times. It was hard to say goodbye to these beloved characters. While I’m sad the show is over, I’m excited about the new Netflix spin-off series, Vikings: Valhalla, due to air at some point in 2021. Show creator, Michael Hirst, has said that Valhalla, set over 100 years after the events of Vikings, will be connected to the original show, confirming that we will be seeing a lot of the same locations. One can only hope we’ll find out what became of Kattegat.  

Of course I’m super excited about Men in Kilts, airing February 14th on Starz. It’s the perfect, fun-filled buddy travelogue through Scotland, led by my favorite Outlander stars Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish. What hot Scots!
 

Like everyone on the planet, I’ve never been happier to ring in the New Year. 2020 was a nightmare. Too much hate and division. Too many tragic deaths. Too much hopelessness. I haven’t been able to work at my part-time day job since March. An unexpected change in a friendship left me confused and sad. And I’ve been a bit lonely. But there have been some silver linings. I have more time to write. My Hero Hubby is able to work from home and he received a well-deserved promotion last year.

The roll out of the COVID vaccines has helped me see a light at the end of the long tunnel. However, the recent domestic terrorist attack on the US Capitol has me feeling anxious. I know it’s bound to be many, many months before things are set right and life begins to feel normal again. I hope it doesn’t take another year. Until then I’m focusing on the things that lift my spirits, like reading and writing.

I've chosen a word for the year: CREATE. I have so many story ideas filling up my brain. It’s time to get the words on the page instead of thinking about getting the words on the page. I want to complete more than one book this year. I want to fully outline and start writing a Georgian era romance. I’m scared to a write story set in this time period, if I'm being honest, because I love it so much. I don’t want to get the historical details wrong. My CP Bestie tells me not to worry. She thinks my writing style is a good fit for the Georgian era, and says my concern for the details means I’ll take more care to get them right. Well okay, then! I’m doing it!! #CREATE

Thanks to author Sarra Cannon, I’m now obsessed with ambience rooms on YouTube. They set the perfect mood! Inspired by ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) videos, users on YouTube have created virtual room videos one can play as background noise and visuals for studying or reading or writing. Why sit down and write in a silent office when you can imagine yourself inside a warm and ancient library, while a storm rages outside? I enjoyed the cozy winter cabin and library rooms in December. Now I’m loving the ocean ambience on a tropical beach.

BOOKS TO BINGE
If you like thrillers, you’ve got to read MEME by Aaron Starmer. This is a binge-worthy YA novel full of suspense. I couldn’t put this book down and finished it in two days. I was totally hooked by the meme mystery and how the story unfolded. Each narrator’s point of view is so well-written. The only thing I didn’t like was the ambiguous ending. Even so, I’ll definitely read more books by this author.

SHOWS TO BINGE
Bridgerton. Oh Bridgerton. You are so sparkly and perfect and addictive. I am going to watch you over and over again. *swoons*

It’s been an incredibly challenging year. I can’t wait to say goodbye to 2020. Like most Covid-weary people, I put up my Christmas decorations in mid-November – a first for me. I had to do it. I’ve felt isolated and lonely during this pandemic nightmare, and I desperately needed some festive cheer. The shiny ornaments and sparkly holiday lights helped cheer me up. So did listening to Christmas music while I typed away on my writing projects for NaNoWriMo. Yes projects. My muse refused to be satisfied with just one story. Yep, I’m a NaNo Rebel and proud of it. I worked on not one but two of my historical romances plus a super secret YA witchy story that I’m very excited about, winning NaNo a bit early with a total of 50,073 words.

One of the things I’ve learned from NaNo is that I’m more productive when I have a daily writing goal. With that in mind, I’ll be creating some smaller, more achievable monthly goals for myself in 2021. I’ve already chosen a word for next year – more on that next month – and I’m thinking ahead to Camp NaNoWriMo and all of the things I want/should accomplish for the first half of the year. I know I can do it if I stay focused on my goals and my writing process.

BOOKS TO BINGE
I couldn’t squeeze in much reading time last month. I managed to read a couple of good books, but for the most part my lofty reading plans took a backseat to writing. I want to catch up on my NEXT UP book stack this month and read a few Christmas romances too. Wish me luck!

SHOWS TO BINGE
I’m obsessed with the British royal family. It’s in my DNA – I’m 51% British! So I was thrilled when The Crown S4 hit Netflix on Nov 15th. This series is utterly addictive. I’ve always been a big fan of Gillian Anderson. She was brilliant as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. But my favorite performance was from Emma Corrin, who perfectly captured the spirit and vulnerability of Lady Diana Spencer. Deep bows to the entire cast for being totally irresistible. I devoured the ten episodes like buttered popcorn. Now I’m already salivating for the final two seasons, not due until 2022.

It’s time to put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on my office door. NaNoWriMo is underway!! This is my second year of participating in National Novel Writing Month. My goal: to write 50k words on Heart of a Warrior, my Tudor era romance, during the thirty days of November. This story has been on my mind for several years now, and NaNo is just the motivation I need to finish writing the first draft. So far I’m roughly 2k words ahead of my personal targets. Yay!

On November 1st I attended a Paris Writing Salon Zoom chat to talk about the new Netflix series Emily in Paris. It was a great discussion with Lisa Anselmo, Juliette Sobanet and Garielle Luthy, three writers who’ve lived in and written about Paris. I enjoyed the chat a lot, and was thrilled when I won a two-month subscription to the Paris Writing Salon. I’ve already registered to take the 6-part workshop, Kickstart Your Writing with my FB friend Juliette Sobanet. I can’t wait!

BOOKS TO BINGE
A bunch of Naughty Brits will be my reward for hitting my daily NaNoWriMo goals. I’m excited to escape reality with this contemporary romance by Sarah MacLean, Sophie Jordan, Louisa Edwards, Tessa Gratton, and Sierra Simone. I’m in love with the cover. It’s just…divine!!! Hugs and kisses to my book club pals for choosing this book as their November pick. I can’t wait to chat with them about this brood of sexy Brits.

SHOWS TO BINGE
Have you seen the brand new Netflix series Emily in Paris? I loved it! Yes, it’s riddled with rom-com clichés. Yes, it’s pure fluff filled with French stereotypes. But it’s cute and fun and the best travel porn with a plot. Oh PARIS, je t’aime!!!! And I absolutely adored Lily Collins in this role. I hope we get a second season soon. *fingers crossed*

Happy Fall, y'all!

I love October. The trees are turning beautiful colors. The air is crisp and cool. Foot ball is in full swing. Even though I’m staying safe at home and not roaming around the pumpkin patch in cute boots and a scarf, I’m still enjoying my favorite season. I’m cooking chili. I’m baking pumpkin treats. I’m drinking lots of tea. It’s pure bliss. This month I’ll not only be celebrating my wedding anniversary, I’m also participating in some fun writing events with my CP Bestie, Natalie Norwood. We’re planning our first ever virtual writing retreat for mid-month! I’m excited – for the writing time, the snacks, and our zoom chats!!

Speaking of zoom…My CP Bestie and I kicked off fall with the first of our monthly writing zoom chats. We talked about our WIPs (work-in-progress) and our goals for 3 hours. It was so much fun! Now I feel more motivated to tackle my Q4 writing goals.

BOOKS TO BINGE
Sadly, I was in a reading slump last month. I blame lockdown fatigue. Up until this month, I had no desire to read any of the books in my TBR pile. Shocking, I know. I couldn’t believe it myself, because I love to read.  But then I picked up Highland Ruse, book two in the Mercenary Maidens series by Madeline Martin, and suddenly I was back in my reading groove. Yay!! I’ve fallen way behind on Madeline’s books, and I’m determined to catch up soon.

SHOWS TO BINGE
My Hero Hubby and I watched Enola Homes on Netflix. What a delightful and entertaining movie! I loved everything about it. We also binged Cobra Kai. It was so much better than I expected. The series definitely does the 80’s nostalgia right!

Until next month...