Beth Martin's Blog, page 7

Get the Most out of NaNoWriMo

Image created using DALL·E, an AI system by OpenAI.https://labs.openai.com/s/cT8JF1AJr3i... Happy Halloween! I love a holiday all aboutdressing up in fun costumes, visiting all the neighbors, and eating candy.Anything thing that I love about Halloween is that the day after marks thebeginning of NaNoWriMo.For those of you not

Why I Always Give Out a Non-Candy Item for Halloween

I’m firmly in the ‘candy is fun and a great sometimes treat’ camp and let mykids eat lots of candy every Halloween. Honestly, trick-or-treating is one of myfavorite traditions—wear goofy costumes, visit all your neighbors, and collectcandy. Plus, there’s no pressure to partake in some big family gathering, makingit a perfect, laid-back holiday (at least how I celebrate it).There’snothing

Nothing Ever Gets Done

To stay organized, I write future plans in my planner.I also decorate it to encourage myself to use it.The unadorned pages covered in commitments call to me.    Pink.        No, purple.             Yes, Purple.                With stars!I have purple and yellow colored pencils, markers, and pens,    None of which are on hand.I do not share my art tools with the children,For I have seen what they

Happy New Year 2022

I'm not the only one who had high hopes for 2021 but came out of the year fairly disappointed. Without going into too much detail, parenting has been an incredible struggle this past year. The pandemic has been really difficult for my kids as well, and they've needed much more support from me, their school, and the community this past year. They are a huge priority to me, so I had to put a lot of

Upcoming Events and Appearances

To say that I'm excited that things are opening back up is a complete understatement. It has been such a relief this past month being able to take my family places, go shopping and to the park without wearing a mask, and not constantly worry about the health and safety of all the people I love. I had the pleasure of attending Galaxy Con in June and Fredricksburg Comic & Toy Show

Novel Rereleases and New Puzzling Escapes Adventure

The pandemic has not been great for my productivity. Supervising two kids 24/7 and facilitating virtual school for an entire year has been a huge struggle. The school has finally invited students to attend in person--for two days a week--and it feels like I can finally breathe a little.I haven't had the time or energy to write very much. I've slowly worked on a couple Puzzling Escapes books and

Two New Escape Room Games: My Reviews

I've been fairly quiet here and on social media while the pandemic raged on and my sanity waned. Recently, my kids have returned to in-person school--at least part-time--which has been good for everyone in my family. I finally have the mental energy to do some things I enjoy, so naturally, I had to pick up a couple escape room games. And to share the puzzling love, here are my reviews for Trapped

Puzzling Escapes Haunted House Corrections

I'm absolutely thrilled with the number of Puzzling Escapes books that people picked up this holiday season! I've also had some astute puzzlers point out errors in The Terrifying Haunted House on Mystery Lane. Although these typos have been corrected, some people received the early version of the book. First of all, my sincerest apologies for not sussing out these mistakes before I brought the

Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole: A Gift to my Readers

At the end of 2019, I spent hours poring over the selection of planners at my local bookstore, looking for the perfect one for my needs. I was particularly picky about the monthly and weekly layouts, paper quality, ability to lay flat, durability, etc. attributes which can only be determined by physically examing the thing. Although I quit using my 2020 planner in March, I'm hopeful that a 2021

Game Review: Escape the Room The Cursed Dollhouse

Since I wrote a haunted house themed Puzzling Escapes book, I absolutely needed to try The Cursed Dollhouse escape room board game. I’ve already played the previous two Escape the Room board games. Mystery at Stargazer’s Manor was a good start, although the puzzles were too familiar and easy. Secret of Dr. Gravely’s Retreat was much, much harder—mostly because it contained tons of rope puzzles,