Literally every time I write the “what happened in…” as part of my wrap up post title, I am forced to admit to the fact that I don’t even know.
Retaining memories is such a quaint idea. 😌 How does one even possibly do it. I am so so in need of a memory card refit (do they sell these on Etsy for humans??). Unfortunately, I very unhelpfully didn’t write many notes in my journal as things went down.
Half of the reason for that IS because I was lost in drafting a new book that went so well before it burned to the ground. So like [waves hand vaguely] I was a bit mentally absent for September.
Other Things I’ve Been Up To:
- I did, in fact, move house again. Which is exhausting and demoralising to do so often (0/10 do not recommend). This time my family just left a rental and moved across the road, but this should be IT for a while. Fitting myself into a super tiny room was crushingly depressing. But my books are here :’) and I have a nice view of a plant out my window.
- Also this house backs onto a golf course and I SWEAR the kangaroos out here are. freaking. mammoth. One is this size of a small planet and hopefully it eats some of the golfers because they’re already annoying me.
- Last month I promised to be a better blogger. I have not been.🙃Please talk to me about my life choices.
- But I ate ice cream so this has made me a better person.
- Basically I just wrote all month. I do not multitask well, so that was about it.
- If my dog wants a treat, he offers to hi five me.
- I went to a LifeLine Bookfest! It was small but I managed to find Talon, Wildlife by Fiona Wood, and a Joe Abercrombie book which I have not read but it’s pretty.
- I also got sent a copy of Ninth House (thanks Hachette AUS!) and I’m frEAKING OUT WITH EXCITEMENT!!! Currently reading and it is dark and deliciously good.
I also compared my instagram feed from 2018 to 2019!
I’ve been using a filter and being a bit warmer! Which I’m really enjoying! I also hit 59,000 followers which is super surreal! I just wish my engagement would…happen. At all. Really.
In other news follow me on Instagram because I post there ALL the time and do a lot of shorter-blogging-style-content in my Stories!
I started off a new WIP! This time it’s a contemporary YA, just like I should be writing.🤗Good job @ me, following the rules. It’s not contracted but I am hopeful for it. 👀 (You can see my Pinterest inspiration board here.) It started off so so gloriously and I was getting 3-4,000 word days consistently. Then due to my horrible habit of pantsing at the moment instead of plotting — it crashed and burned. Hah hhah. Yeah I’m sobbing.
ANYWAY. Draft #6 is happening for October! I will not be defeated.
I also massively hope to finish it this month, because ONE MORE MONTH TILL NANOWRIMO. I have three books to work on that I can choose between so there’s that agony to look forward to. (I might do a post on it and make you choose for me.)
Also tomorrow is The Boy Who Steals Houses 6-month birthday.
My son, grown up so fast. 😭 I still haven’t seen it in a bookstore which is making me sad. But like LOOK. I’m so proud it exists and so happy it is so loved!!! It has a 95% love rate on Goodreads which, quite frankly, surreal. And it still has my whole heart as a warm and tangled mess. 😍
I’ll be doing a giveaway on instagram tomorrow too!
I am back to struggling to find time to read + write. Why do these things argue about coexisting in my life. Seriously. But 5 ahead is good!! I need to pull ahead a bit more so I can spend November focusing on NaNo.
(all covers link to goodreads)
BOOKS BOUGHT…
From library
FOR REVIEW…
Vote and help meeeee!
Loading ...
Had some EPIC rereads this month which makes me happy.
We Are Lost And Found | Absolutely one of my FAVOURITES of the year!! Emotional and vulnerable😭💛It’s set on the cusp of the AIDs crisis and is full of queer kids and coming-of-age feels and it was just completely beautifully written.
The Dream Thieves | oh yet another reread. (My FOURTH.) But Call Down the Hawk is COMING so I am just being trash for my favourite series in the world, no regrets. Possibly my favourite book in the series and my heart swells with love for Ronan’s arc.
Carry On | Because WAYWARD SON is also comingggggg and I’m so freaking excited. So I reread this one, and good thing because I remembered, um, so little. Also just outright feeling things for these oblivious gays. It ended up a full 5-stars this time and my heart is so full.
Shadow Frost | Oh this one was a fantastic fantasy romp!! Full of demon hunting princesses, and elemental magic and ILLUSIONS. And also snark. The snark was 10/10 and they loved cake so you know I’m here for it.
The Surprising Power of A Good Dumpling | An absolute new favourite too!! omg my heart breaks and is mended again with this. Such good depression rep with Rory too, and I just fell in love with Anna’s quiet strength. Also the foodie scenes.😍
There’s Something About Sweetie | Aw I love Menon books and I hadn’t read one for a while, so it was nice to be back in Dimple & Rishi’s world!! This one is about Rishi’s younger brother and it’s an agreed arranged dating. Also fat rep + #ownvoices Indian narrators. And it was CUTE AND FLUFFY.
10 Blind Dates | Ok apparently I read a lot of romcoms this month? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Ngl they are cute and I’m having a soft time after all the fantasy. This had the bessst big extended family shenanigans + blind dating (obviously lol) and it was just wholesome and like a warm christmassy hug.
Ziggy, Stardust & Me | This was so harrow. Like, it was good?? But I wasn’t prepared for it to be about conversion therapy and the intense ptsd and trauma it creates, so it shook me a lot. But it had a lot of beautiful thoughts about acceptance and it’s still so recommended.
Jade War | Ok so I was pretty much obsessed with Jade City (book 1) and had high hopes for this…👀And it was intense and complex, and the ending was phenomenal. But overall it felt tedious and skipped everything I liked about the first book. (Plus I ended up hating some fave characters sooo.)
…and a few others I read
| WHAT DO YOU THINK |
is anyone else getting hyped and prepped for NaNo!? can you balance reading vs writing (tell me your secrets!) and what was your favourite read of September???
I am prepared to enter sequel writing hell for Nano!
Love the warm blue filters.
Balancing life, writing, and everything is just a bucket of suck.
This September I finished Crooked Kingdom and, oh boy, it is such a great book! I completely understand all the hype around Leigh Bardugo now. Also, thank you for reminding me I have to get the Loki book!
Once upon a time, I thought I could balance reading and writing. Then I got a job, and got to choose one. It flip flops between my preferences, but alas, my stories sometimes suffer from neglect. I’ll probably jump back on NaNoWriMo this year!
And you moved house too!? So have I, only, we still don’t have a house, and I miss my books. At least I have a really awesome library nearby!
My favorites reads this month were “The Power” by Naomi Alderman and “Wilder Girls” by Rory Power.
Also, I’m so jealous you have Ninth House in hand…
I will come back to kangaroos, but I HAVE TO SAY:
Please for the love of cake, read Neverwhere. I hadn’t read any Gaiman, but my friend pestered me and pestered me, and then bought me a copy, and then pestered me more until I cried and just gave up and read it. 1,000% BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE. It’s a fairytale for adults. And you don’t even have to be an adult to read it. But, it’s magical and a bit dark, and there’s backstabbing, and actual stabbing, and murder, and magic, and did I say you should read it? Because you should totally read it.
As a child I thought the kangaroos on the farm I grew up on could see into my bedroom window so I used to have the blinds closed ALL THE TIME. I think you can whisper a spell to make them eat the golfers though. That’s how kangaroos work. With spells. And steel bones in their tails. Just make sure you say the right words otherwise they might eat smol children or large dogs or something. (Kangaroos are evil. It’s also why echidnas are so spiky.)
September was just a mess I don’t know what happened either *wails* I had college classes and dance classes and full-blown schoolwork which just ate up my time. Plus my bedroom has been under construction.
BUT I did manage to get more reading done?? I read With The Fire On High which was FANTASTIC and made me hungry plus I started The Raven Boys for the first time!! Loving it except i can’t remember who anyone is?? I need sleep. XD
Congrats on 59K instagram followers!! That is crazy!! and while I love all your pictures, the 2019 ones are slightly better 😀 I hope you have a great October!
Retaining memories really does sound like a great idea. I love things, would love to remember them one day. And I’ve lived in the same house my entire life so I can’t imagine how stressful moving must be. It takes me a while to settle into a hotel room so an entirely different house would make me feel like I’ve been hung upsidedown 🙃
Ohh, good luck with your WIP, I’m sure it’ll be amazing once it’s finished! My WIP is still gathering dust, begging to be started but other things keep pulling me away from it, haha 😅
I’m not doing NaNo this year! I wish I could, I would love to finish at least one of the first drafts of my WIPs before the end of the year, but I just don’t have the time with work. It’s not so much that I can’t balance reading and writing, it’s more that I can’t balance reading and writing and work! I’m working a full time job at the moment, and I barely have time to do anything in the evening and I’m usually quite tired, so it’s whatever I feel up to doing. I try and catch up on both on my days off but it’s hard, especially because I’m obviously trying to keep my blog going as well. I actually really enjoyed all my September reads, so it’s hard to pick, but I think Into The Crooked Place was my favourite.
Oh my gosh I had no idea there were Stranger Things books! I have to read this now!
The idea of even trying to do NaNo with my job is horrific. But. But. But. I haven’t missed ONE since I started. :'( I’m not sure if there’s 50K of my project left and starting another one for a month seems… I guess I could? But I want to finish the one I’m working on.
I am sort of prepping for NaNo but also trying to rush to finish the WIP I’m on at the moment so I can actually start the NaNo book fresh, and then I’m actually not doing either because if in doubt I read. Yeah, the balance thing? No.
I’m doing a bit of Preptober – well I say I’m doing it when in reality I have not really done much haha, but basically me figuring out how on earth I expect to fit 4 povs with my chapters? But I am excited for it!
I can’t wait to see how Slay is!! It looks amazing!! Runaway Max looks so good! Because well Max.
I mean Wicker King just like killed me, thanks for getting me to read it 😄😄 and I reread Carry On so 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
Love your WIP’s pinterest board! You always have a color theme. I love it! Also, I recently finished rereading of The Dream Thieves, and ofc it was phenomenal! I forgot how much I love the Gray Man [I mean, I love most of the characters, but we don’t talk about the Gray Man enough?]. Also, Parrish makes me eternally sad. I’ve never read Blue Lily, Lily Blue, soooo *bites nails*
Good luck with NaNoWriMo!
wtf another move so soon I would die. Feed yourself lots of brownies, you deserve it.
I would give balance advice if I had any to give; but I don’t. I tend to work in cycles. Some months I read a lot. Some months I draw a lot. Writing kinda fits in around the edges, or doesn’t. That’s just how I operate and I’ve decided I’m okay with it. But from where I stand you always seem like a fount of productivity (even this month! you write AND read AND review AND blog AND move house)
Also I am so hyped for Ninth House. Hope you like it!
Ah Cait moving is so tiring and exhausting, I hope that you’re settling in well with your books, sending you all the love <3 and proud of you for writing so much this is AMAZING! I hope that you'll get to finish your draft before NaNo and I can't wait to hear all about your story ideas for November, I'm certain they are all FANTASTIC. Also hoping to finish a draft before NaNo… here's to hoping we can do this haha 🙂
I hope you'll have a beautiful October <3 <3
Good luck with the writing! I need to reread Carry On because I love it, and also I’m super excited for Wayward Son! I hope you’re having a good October.
Ah I really want to read Shadow Frost, I can’t wait till it comes out cause it sounds amazing (and yes lets be honest I am totally here for the cover because that’s pretty af) I always fail at doing NaNoWriMo…maybe this year though I shall because my WIP really needs work. Oof to your WIP burning though, I’m such a pantser though like I plan the smol things that don’t really matter but major plot points? Who needs to plan them hahaha no me *watches things burst into flames*
I do mostly manage to balance writing and reading…in that I can do both in the same month but not always on the same day. It really depends on my mood and if I feel like writing or reading and sometimes reading makes me want to write cause all the ideas hit me in the face. I hope you have a great October Cait and that a kangaroo eats some of the golfers…or maybe just a swift kick would be enough?
My september was pretty hectic as I started my first ever job and also decided to finally rebrand my blog and change my domain to another free WP domain xD
Wow you moved again and have been so busy! I am excited about this new contemporary you are writing! And I totally get the struggling thing, I am with you! I’ve been working on something new but it is … really really short. But it feels first draft finished … but I feel like it is too short. So I am sort of dealing with that weirdness at the moment!
I hope your writing goals go well and you settle into your new house 🙂