Currently: Feeling Pumped

Listening: David Arkenstone just had a new album released which appeared on my Spotify... Native Dreams. And boy if this isn't perfect for me and my writing right now! I also love his Barcelona Nights album. He's perfect for some easy listening acoustic loving music when you're in the mood for that sort of thing.



Watching: This week I didn't watch much of anything. Another episode of Last Tango in Halifax. But Fear the Walking Dead didn't have an episode last week. (Tonight!) And nothing else started. Getting excited for a lots of shows to get going though. Oh, we did have a Maze Runner movie party on Friday. That was fun. This week I hope to go to The Scorch Trials when it opens. Very much looking forward to it.

Reading: I finished The Girl on the Train.. gave it three stars and then the next day decided to downgrade it to two. Yeah. I'll review that this week and give you more details then. I started J. Scott Savage's steampunk MG book, Fires of Invention. Fun so far!

Writing: I went to a critique group at the library and learned the following about my chapter:

• using the word "giggle" makes your YA feel too MG. 17 year old girls do not giggle. (Really?)
• middle aged guy writers enjoy sexual tension just as much as us girls... and expect it happen in all the right places and they'll miss it if it doesn't!
• if there's a horse riding lesson happening in your book, you should have the love interest teaching it not some random twin uncles.
• cut out the crap and get to the action! (good strong writing advice for any occasion, yes?)
• use "said" and not "replied" or "exclaimed" or other such words. I knew this, so why did they still slip in there?
• And if you can don't even use "said." Use action tags. I knew this too.

Well, and so. There was more, but that's the gist. I love critique group. Sigh.

Blogging: Lots of reviews this week! Did you catch them all? Still surprised how many hits reviews get even if they don't get many comments.  And BLOGGIESTA! Do it! And, Jenny and I working on a new thing that we'll reveal this week. It's going to be fun! Look for it.

Health Watch: I did a Zumba session this week! Pat on the back for that? But... I also bought more chocolate. Slap on the hand for that.

Misc:

• I let my hair grow really long over the summer. But I chopped it off yesterday. About four inches worth. So it's not short, but back to it's normal chin length. It feels so much better! 
• Comic Con is coming up! I'm looking forward to seeing Damon from The Vampire Diaries, Samwise from Lord of the Rings, The Weasley Twins from Harry Potter, and Captain America... just to name a few! 
• We had an impromptu BBQ for Labor Day. It was fun. 
• The weather is turning! Awesome!
• Oh, we got in a bit of fender bender last night. Some kid pulled out and could have totally Tboned me in the passenger side, but my husband swerved and the kid ended up clipping our back end with his front end. Yeah. We were lucky.