That TBR Pile/List! #AmReading

So, while I wait for my feedback from my Alpha readers, I need to do something to keep me from gnawing my nails to a set of stubs… (need good nails for the Bash!) … so that means reading!

#AmReading

And I have plenty to keep me busy.

There are at least fifty books sitting on my Kindle waiting for me to read them, and a couple of real books on my shelf too.

I wish I had the space to actually buy more physical books.

Before we had to give up the study so the kids could have their own bedrooms, I had two bookshelves heaving with my favourite books, and there was a third filled with children’s books.

I had to really force myself to sort through the existing books I had, working out which ones to keep, and which ones to give away… a painful task.

But I ended up with a bookshelf in both of the kids’ rooms, with their favourite children’s books on them, and one shelf left downstairs in our now dining room cum study.

This has to house my work books as well as any others I finally decided I couldn’t part with.

But it leaves no space at all for new books… boo hoo!

This is where I thank God, and Amazon, for my Kindle Paperwhite! It goes with me almost everywhere, and I love that I can have a whole library with me at any time.

Yes, I hear you diehard bookworms. A real book feels different in the hand, and you’re right. There is no better feeling than holding that book, and being able to see the pages lessen as you read towards the end. But at least I have my Kindle progress percentage to kinda get the feel!

And what do I have to keep me busy?

Quite an eclectic mix of books actually, from Shelley Wilson’s self-help book to Shame Travels, by Jasvinder Sanghera. There are books by Judith Barrow, and Mary Smith, Helen Jones and Barb Taub. I have Lucy Brazier and Christoph Fischer too.

Comedy, YA fiction, memoirs, information books, anthologies and poetry books too. And a heck of a lot more Indie Authors there!

I have downloaded recommendations made by many bloggers including my favourite Blonde, Lucy!

If you’ve had a promotion on your book, and it tickled my fancy, it’s on my Kindle too!

Soooo many books to keep me going!

So, which first?

Well, I tend to go to the bottom of my pile, to find the oldest book on there, and read that, unless something has appeared on there that I simply can’t wait to read.

This time it is Sathnam Sanghera’s Marriage Material…

Marriage Material by [Sanghera, Sathnam]

I read his book, The Boy With A Topknot with fascination, as it was about a young Sikh boy born and brought up in Wolverhampton, and it dealt with the subject of mental health within the Sikh Community, and how issues were always swept under the carpet.

Can I be honest? It was… okay. There had been such excitement about the book, and it was even made into a BBC Drama, but I think it ended up a bit self-involved… It would have got a Ritu-rated ⭐⭐⭐.

Still, as I was reading it, I downloaded this other one of his… hope it is a better read!

And I am solidly working on my GoodReads challenge too!

screenshot_20180507-215204545784239.jpg

What do you do to keep yourself busy when you are waiting for something?

 

RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #200 Ire & Fire

Lovely Ron with his Haiku Challenge prompt words this week:

Ire & Fire

 

Lava Magma Volcanic Eruption Glow Hot Rock

Image from Pixabay

 

 

Spewing molten fire
The ire of a volcano
Presents itself so

Ritu 2018

Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge Image 2016

Rewrite ~ #poetry #dragon

How sweet! Dorinda was inspired by my WIP journey to write this awesome poem!

Dorinda Duclos's avatarNight Owl Poetry - Dorinda Duclos

Inspired by Ritu, of But I Smile Anyway, who is currently in the editing stages of her book!


Mischievous little dragon
Made his way onto the chair

On the desk, the author’s writings
Spread out, without a care

He wondered if she’d notice
If he added a line or two

But dragons don’t know how to write
He pondered, what he should do

Deciding he should try his hand
At a sentence, here or there

With a mighty breath, he blew
Now there’s fire, everywhere!

Whatever shall he tell her
When Mistress sees the mess

“I tried to fix your manuscript
I really must confess!

These scribbles made no sense to me
All I saw were smudges, nothing greater

So I decided to help rewrite the whole thing
I’m sure you’ll thank me for it later!”

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0

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Letting Your Baby Go #AmWriting

You’ll be proud of me, I hope.

#AmWriting new

My 18-year-old baby, my WIP which was granted adult status this year, had it’s first read through by me. I sat there in the sunshine yesterday, completing it, post -t marking chapters, and scrawling on the pages where I could see corrections that needed to be made.

Then I opened the document up on my screen and proceeded to correct. Some were grammatical errors, some, were where the words made no sense. There were a couple of names mixed up and some capitalizations that needed to be added.

It was hard rereading my own words. I felt the first few chapters really showed my naivete as a writer, but, considering I was much younger at the time, it wasn’t too bad!

I cut a couple of waffley chunks and identified a few others, but was loathe to lose them yet.

Saved, on my hard drive, two pen drives, the Cloud and emailed to myself, I shut the screen down, and had a well-earned sleep.

But that isn’t all I need to do, is it?

Really, I need to be that parent who is ready to let their child spread their wings!

We had a few ‘play-dates’ earlier on, so to speak, when I posted the first few chapters on the blog, eager for your feedback, but I still hadn’t let go fully. (Mind you, I hadn’t written it all at that stage either!

But, I knew I needed another opinion. From people I trusted. Those who I know would be honest, and/or read work in this genre regularly.

Charli Mills, head rancher at the Carrot Ranch, suggested I go for some Alpha readers.

Now, I’d heard of Beta readers, but Alpha?

These were the ones who would look at my unadulterated manuscript, and give me feedback on the characters, and plot, spot gapping holes in the story, etc…

It was time to let my WIP out on its first residential…

And I waved goodbye to it, twice, this morning.

Now I’m like that nervous mother, pacing, wondering whether it’s behaving, leaving a good impression, did it get there in one piece?

And I shall be eagerly awaiting that email to say how it’s doing too…

Unlike a true residential, I don’t know when it’ll be back with me, to peruse the comments… so, until then, I’ll have to wait, impatiently…

Oh, God!

Will they like it? Will it be ripped to shreds? Have I wasted eighteen years of my creative life? Should I just give up hope now?

I needed to keep myself busy, so I did the obvious thing on this glorious Bank Holiday – I got my nails done!

And I wrote this post… And I’ll be off to visit the in-laws soon too.

Then school will keep me busy.

And the run up to the Bash…

But, will it stop me from constantly checking my emails and messages? I don’t think so!

Oh man, then I’ll rewrite, and have to send it to an Editor or Beta readers, and do it all over again!!!!!!!

This is going to be some wait…

Have a wonderful Monday Peeps!

 

 

This or That Tag

Thank you to Sonia of Losing The Plot Blog fame for tagging me to take part in this cool tag!

Rules:
Thank & tag the person that has tagged you
Attach the tag photo
Answers the ‘This or THAT questions
Tag a 10-20 friends.

Dog or Cat?
It’s gotta be cat!

Netflix or YouTube?
Netflix

Phone Call or Text?
I love to talk… Phonecall!

Toast or Eggs?
Eggs are a particular fave!

Cardio or Weights?
Really? Excercise? Neither, I’ll lift a book and turn the pages really fast, does that count?

Facebook or Twitter?
I have to say I love both for different reasons!

Ice Cream Cone or Snow Cone?
Ice cream!

Mobile Games or Console Games?
Who has the time to play games?!

While walking: Music or Podcasts?
If I had to choose, music, and the old skool classics!

iOS or Android?
Android!

Cake or Pie?
Cake – yum!

Swimming or Sunbathing?
Bit of both!

Big Party or Small Gathering?
A small gathering for catching up

New Clothes or New Phone?
New phone – upgrade is due soon!

Rich Friend or Loyal Friend?
Loyal friend -100%

Football or Basketball?
Seriously? Sports – neither! That’s where my good book comes in again!

Nice Car or Nice Home Interior?
I have a deceint car, the nice home interior, preferably self cleaning, would be best!

What’s worse: Laundry or Dishes?
Dishes

Jogging or Hiking?
Sorry, a slow amble is me!

Bath or Shower?
Shower in the am, bath in the pm – yup, that suits me!

Sneakers, or sandals?
Sandals – I live in my FitFlops in the summer!

Glasses or Contacts?
Right now, neither! But I’m not averse to glasses as and when the time comes!

Hamburger or Taco?
Burger

Couch or Recliner?
Sofa?

Online Shopping or Shopping in a Store?
I like to go to an actual shop, and see things!

Receive: Email or Letter?
Letters – I love a letter!

Passenger or Driver?
Much preferred being a passenger when younger, as I loved to use the time to read, then I developed headaches, so instead I spend my time stopping tweenage quarrels and sleeping, if a passenger. So, I don’t mind driving nowadays!

Tablet or Computer?
My Surface is a tablet with a keyboard!

Most important in a partner: Intelligent or Funny?
Intelligence

Car or Truck?
Car is fine with me!

Blue or Red?
Bit of both, my fave is Purple!

Money or Free Time?
Free time

Amusement Park or Day at the Beach?
Beach, love a good beach!

At a movie: Candy or Popcorn?
Popcorn

Pen or Pencil?
You can’t ask me stationery questions, I am a stationery addict! I LOVE both!?

Toilet paper: Over or Under?
Has to be over. But that’s only because I read about it one day, and since them I became obsessed!

Cups in the cupboard: Right Side Up or Up Side Down?
Neither, mine hang on a mug tree!

Pancake or Waffle?
Pancakes any time!

Coke or Pepsi?
Original Coke and Diet Pepsi!

Coffee Cup or Thermos?
Cup

Blinds or Curtain?
Curtains

Train or Plane?
Train

Phone or Tablet?
Phone

Iced  Coffee or Hot Coffee?
Bleurgh! Tea!

Meat or Vegetables?
Both!

International Vacation or a New TV?
International vacation – not had one on ages!

Save or Spend?
Save first then spend!

Honesty or Other’s Feelings?
Sensitivity

Coffee or Tea?
TEA ANY DAY!

TV or Book?
Book

Movie at Home or Movie at the Theater?
Movie at the theatre

Ocean or Mountains?
Ocean. I love the water!

Horror Movie or Comedy Movie?
Comedy

City or Countryside?
Bit of both

Winter or Summer?
Summer – I feel happier in the summer!

Mac or PC?
PC – because I’ve never used or had a Mac!

Console Gaming or PC Gaming?
No thank you!

Soup or Sandwich?
Can I have soup WITH the sandwich?

Card Game or Board Game?
Board game

Camping or Binge Watching Shows at Home?
Binge watching shows at home

Working Alone or Working in a Team?
Love working in a team!

Dine In or Delivery?
Depends on the occasion!

Sweater or Hoodie?
Sweater

Motorcycle or Bicycle?
Bicycle

Book or eBook?
I love a real book ,but for convenience and ease of storage (I wish I had a library!) Kindle!

When sleeping: Fan or No Fan?
If it’s hot then a fan!

TV Shows or Movies?
Both!

There! That was mammoth! And it is done!

And here’s the rebel Ritu in play, I’m not gonna tag others, but leave it open to you if you want to have a go!

Happy Sunday Peeps!

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My interactive peeps!

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