July 2023 Roundup

3 Ways To Eliminate Head Hopping When... Editing Tips: The Fix List

July 2023 Roundup

Welcome to the July 2023 roundup!

It feels like I just wrote the June roundup, and here I am writing—and finally posting—July’s a little later than usual after frustratingly losing a day’s worth of words/edits thanks to WordPress not saving my progress correctly .

My July was a blur of blog posts as I used the waiting-to-hear-back-from-my-alpha-reader time to plan my content for the rest of 2023 and to draft out a few blogs to get ahead. I’m hoping this will allow me to finish and launch my fourth book by the close of this year with as little stress as possible, and to take a break for a holiday I have planned in November. Then, the last week of the month was spent going through my alpha feedback in preparation for creating a beta reader draft.

It was a lot of time at my keyboard, but I also managed to get out and about, and this is what else I got up for the seventh month of 2023…

What I’ve Been…Writing

Blackbirch 4 – I received my alpha beta feedback, along with a very helpful edit letter. With someone else finally looking at the MS that I’ve been working on since 2017, I was able to start draft 9 knowing what was working, what wasn’t, what is confusing, and where to tighten things up. This is a manuscript that has lots of overwriting, which is unusual for me. But trying to wind up a series and tie off some story threads from three different books means more chapters.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to repeat various event mentions, or character musings/reminiscing, as I draft, and then don’t notice I’ve touched on the same incident three times when once was enough. Thankfully, my alpha reader is awesome and helped flag everywhere I did that and then some. With her insights, I’ve been able to cut over 5,000 words and counting, and I’m hoping to give a polished-as-possible version to my betas for their feedback by the end of August.

Watching

No Hard Feelings

When Maddie loses her car, one of her jobs as an Uber Driver is under threat. She needs that work to pay property taxes on the house her mom left her, in the summer town she never left because she was too afraid to move on after high school. Now a 32-year-old with commitment issues, she answers an ad from a rich couple whose son Percy is headed to Princeton with no life experience behind him. They hire her to give him that experience, in exchange for a new car. This leads to a hilarious skinny dipping scene, the two forming an unlikely friendship, and a beautiful piano rendition of Maneater sung by Percy on one of their dates. This story may unfold exactly how you think it will, but the performances of Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman, and the growth of their characters, make it a comedy worth seeing.

Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny

I thought it was worth seeing the final Indiana Jones movie with Harrison Ford at the cinema, and it was. Although not as good as the classic Indy movies, Dial of Destiny was a step up from the awful Crystal Skull. Set after that movie, Indiana has retired and is getting divorced when his goddaughter and fellow archaeologist, Helena Shaw, pops into his life to steal Archimedes’ Dial. It’s an artifact Indiana swiped from the Nazis in an opening sequence with a young CGI Indiana, which looks pretty okay for the majority of the flashback. Chasing Helena, Indiana treks around the world in a classic scavenger hunt for clues so the dial can be assembled, in a move that could change history. There are nods, references, and jokes made to the other Indiana films, and even though some action sequences could have been trimmed, the movie is worth checking out if you’re a fan of Indiana Jones and/or action-adventure movies.

Barbie

When Barbie starts experiencing thoughts of death, she learns a sad girl in the real world is playing with her and that she needs to cross over from Barbie Land to close their connection so life can go back to normal. When Barbie gets there, however, she learns that women aren’t treated the way she thought they were, and Ken, who has traveled with her, discovers that men are more than just an accessory.

These revelations have catastrophic consequences in Barbie Land, and with the help of some humans, Barbie sets out to fix things. This movie wasn’t what I expected, but that’s not a bad thing. The entire cast is great, especially Margot Robbie, who plays Barbie’s changing emotions with the subtle touch they need. As for Ken, I hope anyone who questioned why Ryan Gosling was cast changes their mind when they see it because I couldn’t picture anyone else playing the character. He nailed it, even the cringy-yet-hilarious musical number. Full of humor, but also heavy themes, there’s an overall message that will resonate with those who connect with it, and the attention to detail for Barbie Land is top-notch.

Silo (Season 1)

A slow-burn (and I do mean slow) sci-fi series revolving around a society where thousands of people live in a silo and carry out jobs based on which level of the silo they live in. The current generations don’t know how they came to be living there. For them, the outside world, which they can see from specific windows, is desolate and littered with the bodies of people who have volunteered to leave and died moments after stepping out. When the sheriff’s wife decides she wants to go out (called a cleaning), and then the sheriff follows a few years later, the new sheriff looks into their actions, and the actions of her boyfriend, who jumped to his death in the silo.

Believing his death is a covered-up murder that’s connected to the former sheriff and his wife, she discovers the truth about the silo’s origins, and what it means for everyone’s future. This series is full of big names, and the quality of the production, writing, and acting is right up there. It just moved a little slow for me when having to watch the 10 episodes week to week. I know I would have enjoyed it more watching it all at once and will be doing that for season 2, which will be coming off an intriguing season 1 cliffhanger.

Reading

Far From Harm By Naomi Shippen

A stunning debut that will have you turning the pages. When Theresa moves to a small town to write a book, the last thing she expects is the meet someone. Rick is older and a business owner full of different dreams every week. Dazzled by him and the life he promises, Theresa soon finds herself married and living at Rick’s farm, away from society while he uses her house to float businesses she’s never sure are turning a profit or sending them broke.

When Rick’s ex-wife supposedly abandons Rick’s daughter and flees the country, Theresa is now a stepmother dealing with a surly teen. But what really happened to Rick’s ex-wife, & can Theresa believe him when the only thing he’s told her is to tell the police she was with him, no matter the truth? Far From Harm is a suspenseful domestic thriller full of mystery, turns, and characters you’ll both love and hate. Beautifully written by author, Naomi Shippen, it’s a masterclass on gaslighting, manipulation, and the harsh truths about who you can trust.

2,000 to 10,000: How to Write Faster, Write Better, and Write More of What You Love By Rachel Aaron

Even by the end of the first chapter, I was ready to recommend this book. Written in an easy, conversational style by author Rachel Aaron, this book originally started as a blog post, and it was interesting to learn its history and then the secrets to Ms. Aaron upping her writing game. As she states, it’s not revolutionary, but a simple strategy anyone can follow, and I’ll be sure to apply it when working on my next manuscript.

The book also covers basics like the classic Three Act Structure. I’m not a fan of rigid structure formulas as I personally feel it sucks the creativity out of writing, but this book suggests that any big movie fan most likely subconsciously writes in this structure anyway (a theory I also believe) and talks about the three acts in an easy to follow way. There’s also a section on editing for people who hate editing. If you’re looking for a no-fuss way to increase your word count and learn a thing or two about writing along the way without being overwhelmed by rules and must-dos, this book is for you.

Blood Fever: A Daeh’s Private Investigators Story by Laurie Bell

When Mich Janelle, a former Hunter set up for murder, has to take a job as a private investigator, she’s teamed with Zeth Wen and Rel Charley, two partners with tough pasts who aren’t sure if they can trust her. When the case quickly evolves from trailing a dead smuggler to a plot that will kill millions, the three investigators need to work together to track down the source of a deadly virus before it’s released. With wonderful world-building that sets up the book universe and its characters for more adventures, and a plot thread left for the next book, Laurie Bell expertly pulls off this sci-fi story with interesting characters and the different mysteries that weave together in various layers until the epic conclusion.

Christopher Pike Books

Inspired by the Netflix series, The Midnight Club, I decided to spend 2023 re-reading the books of my favorite author, Christopher Pike. It was his books that put me on the path to writing for Young Adults, and it’s interesting reading them now as a writer rather than just a reader. For these books, I’m enjoying the nostalgia and reading for fun and not to review.

This month I read Hollow Skull, Tales Of Terror #2, Magic Fire, and The Grave.

If you’ve got any good book recommendations, let me know in the comments, or be my friend on Goodreads and share your books/recommendations with me! You can also find and follow my reviews and book recommendations on Amazon and BookBub.

If you’d like to add the Blackbirch books to your Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf and/or check out the reviews, click the following links:

Blackbirch: The Beginning Blackbirch: The Dark Half Blackbirch: The Ritual

Taking Photos Of

A book launch! This month I attended the book launch for Far From Harm by Naomi Shippen and was able to catch up with a fellow member of the #6amAusWriters crew, KD Kells, and meet in real-life another writer I’ve been following for years on Instagram—Kelly Sgroi! It was a fun afternoon full of food, champagne, book excerpt readings, signings, and writing/publishing conversations.

On The Blog

In case you missed any of my posts, or want to read them again, here are the latest blogs.

June 2023 Roundup Editing Tips: Getting Your Book Ready For An Alpha Reader 3 Ways To Eliminate Head Hopping When Writing
Writing Tip Of The Month

#WritingTipWednesday posts are added to my social media feeds every week and here is the most popular tip for this month. It’s taken from my blog post, 6 Ways To Make The Most Of Bad Feedback.

Blackbirch Snippet Of The Month

This snippet is from Blackbirch: The Beginning, and is from the POV of Eve Thomas, who is one of the most fun characters to write. She’s very much the anti-hero of the series and has become a reader favorite.

If you’d like to read the books released so far or find out more about each novel, here are the links:

Blackbirch: The Beginning (Book 1)Blackbirch: The Dark Half (Book 2)Blackbirch: The Ritual (Book 3)

If you’ve read any of my books—and haven’t done so already—please consider leaving a review or even just a star rating. It really helps indie authors get their books noticed, and also helps fellow readers find books they’ll like.

Quote Of The Month