Goals

I think I have carpel tunnel syndrome.   I have been typing my fingers into little nubs this last week and here is why:  I decided to give myself a little challenge.  A deadline.   Nothing like putting your feet to the fire!  By the end of this month (less than a week!!!) I want to have Committed ready for Beta readers.  My writing partner and I have been working double time to make that happen.  And my goal for April is to have a rough draft of my untitled MG adventure completed.  I am going to be participating in Camp Nanowrimo,  an online word count challenge,  which should help to keep me on track.  I am hoping to come back to Committed in May with fresh eyes and reader comments and be able to complete the final round of revisions by the summer.  Ready,  set, go!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

I just finished reading "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" by Laini Taylor and I could not put it down!  Reading excellent books in your genre is an education for aspiring writers like me, and here's why this one was so inspiring...

1.  The plot arc on this baby was excellent.   There was never a dull moment and new information was revealed at a very satisfying rate.  The stakes were high for the heroine and as a reader we felt the crunch!

2.  The world building was well done.  This is a story that makes you think about something you think you know about in a new way!  How's that for a terrible sentence?  But I love a book that can turn a legend on its head, and this book does that really well.

3.  The characters were well developed and loveable (who doesn't love star crossed lovers?).  They were so engaging in fact that I actually cried at the end.   At the dinner table,  in front of my whole family (because I couldn't put the thing down to eat!). 

So I gave "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" five stars on goodreads,  and I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy!  I wonder what it would be like to write something that makes a complete stranger cry at the dinner table?!?