Ann Benjamin's Blog, page 243
October 9, 2016
Sunday Sentence.
“It’s all right,” Leo said. “There are some experiences in life they haven’t invented the right words for.”
Married by Morning (Hathaways Book 4) by Lisa Kleypas
So, I’m starting this again. Except, well, I’ll be offline next Sunday. So, this is a bit of a teaser. Enjoy your Sunday!
October 6, 2016
On working from home.
I saw this on The Onion and, eight months into working from home, it spoke to me (on a few levels). While I don’t particularly miss the camaraderie of an office (it’s much easier to manage my misophonia at home, also, my cat makes a fine office mate), I will say that being at my desk at 8AM every day makes me happy, as does getting to work on my books or write about food all day.
Week by numbers.
Just ducking in to get this one done. Of course, I’ll be away next week and unable to post, but let’s hope for some upcoming consistency, shall we?
130, pages out of 233 pages I am on for the final edit of The Queen of England: Coronation. Even though I’ve used an editor, there is not a page that hasn’t had a slight tweak or change on it. From here, I hope to get some advanced copies out and decide a date to publish!
All, the days I’ve been out dining. Life in the world of A to Za’atar has been keeping me super busy — I love it!
All, the steps I did at Dubai Mall on Wednesday.
1, ensemble I’m trying to put together for a Halloween party. I haven’t dressed up for Halloween in probably 15 years, so I’m looking forward to this one!
1, other article I published over at Matador.
1, Skype interview I had with another travel company… Curious to see where it will go.
Less than a week, until we leave for Nepal.
And just for fun, here’s a gif that made me laugh — Happy October!
October 5, 2016
October 4, 2016
Other things I’ve been up to.
Let’s say late August/early September was not my personal best. While I’m still not completely in the place I want to be, this comic is a fairly accurate representation of me, a work in progress.
http://fallendawn.tumblr.com/post/151283850895/thepigeongazette-positivity-over-9000
October 3, 2016
I’m alive…and editing.
Hey gang — one of my goals for October is to get back to something approaching a more dedicated posting schedule on this blog. In the meantime, I’ve been busy traveling (Bali!) and eating (everything!) and editing (The Queen of England: Coronation!). I was very excited to get my notes back from a new editor (thanks, Mandy!) and have been hard at working making final tweaks to the book. I’m 106 pages in out of 236 pages and would like to make even more progress before we leave for our next trip (next week — Nepal!).
Although I haven’t touched the cover artwork since forever, I have enlisted Hubs to try and help. While this is in no way the final version, there are some elements I like in the image. From previous takes on the cover, I never thought there was enough of a steampunk element and I think the details below help. While I like the less cluttered earlier options, I’m hoping we’re closing in on the final (final!) version.
What have you been up to?
September 13, 2016
Pop Sugar Fall Reading Challenge: 2016 Edition.
I always love these challenges! For the above list, might I suggest Life After Joe for a book published in 2015. As for a book that takes place in the fall, my entire YA collection is about marching band, one of my favorite autumn past times!
September 11, 2016
Versions of ourselves.
Somewhere in the middle is a real self, right? :)
September 6, 2016
On motivation.
To be fair, motivation has shown up this week (providing a good amount of hustle in the past few days), but I’m slightly worried of how much I’m going to require of my motivation in the coming months. Let’s hope it’s up to the challenge!
August 31, 2016
A quote.
Sorry, no numbers this week (but I did break 15K on the Queen 3, in case you were wondering). So, I read this quote (on the the Tumblrs, natch) and I’m not sure why, but it just resonated with me:
I know what I bring to the table, so trust me I’m not scared to eat alone.”
I had to share it with you.
Hope you have an awesome September!
