Ann Benjamin's Blog, page 239
April 13, 2017
Week by numbers.
Just a few numbers to share this week:
47,026, words on the rough draft of the Queen 3.
137, pages (in case you wondered).
Several, amount of calls that have taken place to try and replace our empty gas canister. Status of gas? Still 0%.
AED90, amount per word I may earn for an upcoming article (that’s $25USD a word…not too shabby). Yes, I’m just as surprised as you are.
2, number of friends we’re going to see this evening from our early Dubai days. I’m excited!
1, restaurant I need to chose for lunch while I’m visiting next month. Recommendations welcome!
1, new book my friend just published. I’m excited for her.
Made me laugh / research for a children’s book I’m never going to start writing.
April 6, 2017
Week by numbers.
Here we are Thursday…
41,050, words on the Queen 3. Given I might have a relatively large project (unrelated to writing) going on in May, it’s not unreasonable to want to finish the rough draft by the end of April. At 1K words a day, that’s entirely possible. Fingers crossed!
110 pages, what that looks like.
1, additional magical object I made up for Book #3.
#141, top number on the Kindle free books that Life After Joe reached two weeks ago (relatively decent considering I did not put much effort into the process this time around). Unfortunately, this had led to…
0, additional reviews. Sad face.
Today, how long it’s taken me to recover from the 5 day trip to South Africa. Yup, April 4th is the first time like I’ve felt caught up since March 21st (and I’m still not done with everything). In this instance, I’m glad I didn’t push to go to the Madrid Fusion Conference (in Manila).
2, days I’ve been waiting for an important call. Ring, dammit.
10,000, followers — the number I finally reached for my A to Za’atar Instagram account. Go ahead and follow if you like colorful plates and fine dining.
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April 4, 2017
In relation to an upcoming project I hope to be a part of…
Dearest motivation, please come find me (soon).
March 27, 2017
In case you wondered…
What I think about when I can’t sleep, this concept popped up on Tumblr last night and pretty much dominated the two hours I couldn’t fall asleep.
https://blaqueflameblog.tumblr.com/post/124547544074/liminal-space-is-a-concept-in-theology-and
I’m tucking this concept away for a manuscript I should be starting later this year.
Liminal spaces in my own experience:
Being at a sleepover, but the only one awake.
Similarly, being on a bus full of students, but the only one awake.
Once arriving home for a flight and being convinced the sun was taking entirely too long to rise.
Any situations from your life you would like to share?
March 19, 2017
Sunday Sentence.
The despair in books was a distant, safe thing. She’d thought she understood the depth of the emotion as she read through the pages of her beloved books, her life touching those of men and women long dead. She’d felt for them, cried for them, tried to breathe for them when they no longer breathed. And then, she’d been able to close the book and place it on its shelf, the words trapped between the leather covers. ~ My Lady Jane, Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
I sincerely enjoyed this book. For anyone in the market for something wonderfully creative, I highly recommend the novel.
March 15, 2017
Week by numbers.
It’s not every week we experience a penultimate day of being a certain age… Yes, that’s my complicated way of saying tomorrow is my birthday.
36, years and…
364, days. (Although last year was a leap year, so does that mean 36 got an extra day? Anyway, overall, I would call 36 a win. There was good and bad, but overall, new friends, new books, and lots of travel — I can’t ask for anything more).
37, age I’ll be as of Friday. (Somehow 37 sounds infinitely older than 36, I’m not quite sure why).
92, pages, currently of The Queen of England #3 rough draft.
31,626, words, meaning I’m just under the halfway mark. This is a bit concerning because I have a lot going on already and am trying to figure out how much more I can throw in the Queen’s path before the end…
1, trip I’ve now booked for Rome in May.
1, trip to the Maldives I’m hoping for in April…
1, trip to Manila for the Madrid Food Conference I’m also hoping for in April.
1, reading slump I am in. Someone save me!
#22, restaurant in the world I am going to eat at tonight.
March 9, 2017
Having fun with covers.
It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Given ‘Grand Tour’ is complete (first draft) and ‘Rogue Nation (working title)’ is almost 30K finished, I decided to have a bit of fun this (f)afternoon.
Thoughts?
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March 3, 2017
Liz McNeil approved.
As a person, I sometimes read an article or see a picture and think, ‘So and so would like that.’ As an author, the same thing happens with my characters. Case in point, this lovely article making the rounds in the New York Times.
You May Want to Marry My Husband
Grab the Kleenex (don’t say I didn’t warn you).
March 1, 2017
Week by numbers.
One of those weeks where I feel like I did everything and nothing…
23,048 number of words for The Queen of England 3: Rogue Nation (working title that I don’t particularly care for). I debated what to work on (The Queen of England #1 is more or less done, except I keep fiddling with parts of it because it doesn’t feel 100% complete, and the Queen #2’s first draft is also complete, so I kind of needed to work on something…)
1, number of Top 5 chefs in the world I met this week (now I just need to watch his episode of Chef’s Table).
1, boat show attended (well, really just the VIP section with free warm prosecco).
6, days in a row I’ve logged with MyFitnessPal (it was well past time to get serious about knocking off a few kgs).
15, days until I turn…
37, years of age (by the way, that sounds crazy old to me).
Off to Fujairah tomorrow while Hubs finished his next diving certificate. I’m ready for a chill, but am still epically behind on reviews from Bangkok, so I think it will be a matter of blogging from bed.
