Michelle Athy's Blog, page 13

2018 Reading Challenge: The Stats

I read 38 books this year and as per blog tradition--and frankly, the entire reason I keep track of my reading habits at all--is so I can do stats at the end of the year! So first, from Goodreads: I read 3 more books compared to 2017 and 1339 more pages this year than last. Of 38 total books: 25 were fiction (65.79%) Of the 25 fiction: 8 were contemporary romance 2 were historical

Reading Challenge: Goal Met!

My reading goal was 35 books and I've read 38 books this year! Yay! 31. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. Nonfiction/ Psychology/Self Help/Social Sciences/Introversion. 4 stars. 32. Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter. Nonfiction/Theater/Musicals/Creation of/History. 4 stars.  33. Gmorning, Gnight!

Where's My Writing Been This Year?

So recently, I read a post by a writing acquaintance. She was a self-published author but she's one of the few self-published authors who got picked up by a publisher and now her series is being reissued in trade. She was talking about how she couldn't keep up with the quick release dates necessary for self-publishing success and how having a publisher means more distribution for her work. Which

IWSG December

It's the first Wednesday of December and time for the last IWSG post of the year 2018! The Insecure Writer's Support Groups posts of their writerly insecurities every first Wednesday of the month, founded by Alex J. Cavanagh. Check out the group here.  This month's IWSG question is fun: What are five objects we'd find in your writing space? 1. My laptop Also the instrument of my greatest

Interview with House of Falling Embers author Krystal Jane Ruin!

My friend Krystal Jane Ruin released her fourth book on October 1st and I finally finished reading it a few days ago! As per tradition, I asked her a few questions about the story! House of Falling Embers is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, and other online retailers! Once upon a time there was a witch. She was a kind witch, but that didn’t matter. The people were afraid,

NYC from different perspectives

I've been noodling around with story ideas in the past week, including finally getting some actual word count words down on my Broadway romance idea, the first of four stories. It's...not going to be done any time soon, guys. But thinking of that story world again is bringing me back around to one of the core components of the stories--the setting, my hometown, New York City. Today we are

IWSG November

It's IWSG time again! The Insecure Writer's Support Group posts every first Wednesday of the month. Our co-hosts for November are: And the IWSG question this month is: Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor,Ann V. Friend, JQ Rose, and Elizabeth Seckman! How has your creativity in life evolved since you began writing? In short...I started writing as a kid, so I don't really remember much of

A Contest Submission

It's been a long time since I've entered anything I've written into a writing contest, but I submitted a short story "Lady Beatrice's Ball" to the Insecure Writer's Support Group Anthology Contest today. For the past few years, the IWSG has run an anthology contest, where stories are submitted and short-listed and the winners are published in an anthology. Check out the contest here. This

Dueling, Or: Men Are Stupid

I am a pretty deep Hamilfan, y'know? I saw Hamilton in 2015 (still bragging), I watched the PBS Hamilton documentary twice, I'm currently reading the annotated Hamilton: The Revolution book on my Phone's Kindle app. My nieces have recently gotten into Hamilton, but not because of me. Niece #1, aged 10, got to see Hamilton on Broadway with her aunt for her birthday. When the nieces went to visit

An Update On My Writing Projects

Oh. Em. Gee. An update on, like, actual writing projects? Whut? Now, admittedly, 2018 has not been my most prolific writing year. Working two jobs for most of the year and being in the midst of a career change is not conducive to a ton of time or inspiration. Short Stories: So far this year, I have completed a short story--a horror spec fic thing that I have yet to decide what to do with. It's