What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk.  Head over to Jaime's page for links to find out what's up with everyone else. Here's What's Up with me.
What I'm Reading


I'm currently reading  Half the Sky  by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.I started this book a week and a half ago, and I'm still only half way through it. This is very slow for me. I picked this book up because my book club is reading it this month. I'm glad we're reading it and look forward to discussing it with my friends, but that doesn't mean I want to stay up late into the night finishing it.

This book is seriously depressing! It's a non-fiction book about the under-appreciation and oppression of women in the developing world. The entire first third of the book was about human trafficking. Not something that makes you want to turn to the next page. I think I might need to take a break and read something cheery and lighthearted before I dive back in and finish this.

What I'm Writing

I didn't make any progress on my WIP this week. But that doesn't mean I haven't been writing. I just haven't been writing fiction. The release date for  Counting to D  is only three weeks away, and publicity has consumed all of my writing time.

You may notice there is now an Events tab on the top banner of my webpage. That's because, I now have events. In addition to a few live events, I'm doing A LOT of interview and guest blog posts for my virtual tour. So this week, I wrote A LOT of interviews and guest blog posts.

Being at this point in my writing life is exciting, and I'm enjoying all the reflection that comes from putting together this type of a virtual tour. But it's still a lot of work. I've accepted that I'm not going to do any new fiction writing until after  Counting to D  is released.

What Inspires Me Right Now

In addition to my Events tab, I also have a new Reviews tab, because I have reviews now too. It's very inspiring seeing good reviews, and I've been lucky enough to get quite a few of them. And my books doesn't even come out for three more weeks.

The most exciting and inspiring thing happening in my PR world has to do with Learning Alley. Learning Alley is a branch of the library of congress funded by the American Disabilities Act. They used to be called "Recordings for the Blind" but are now called Learning Alley, because they service people with a wide variety of print based disabilities, including dyslexics.

The main character in  Counting to D  is dyslexic, and she listens to enough audiobooks Learning Alley is practically a character. So when Learning Alley decided to record an audiobook of  Counting to D  to include in their catalog, I was excited. Then they decided to interview me for their podcast and feature  Counting to D  on their webpage too, and got even more excited.

Just yesterday, Learning Alley sent me this blurb to include in my PR materials.

“Learning Ally would like to congratulate author Kate Scott on the debut of her first published novel, Counting to D. Scott writes from the heart, opening a window into the tumultuous quest for self-identity that any current or former teenager can relate to. Protagonist Sam Wilson also gives an honest portrayal of dyslexia that is sure to speak to those who are familiar with the learning disability, and provide much-needed illumination on this oft misunderstood subject to those who aren’t.” – Kristin Longmuir, Learning Ally’s Content Acquisition Specialist

I don't think any other paragraph will ever inspire me as much as those words. That is exactly why I wrote this book, and the Content Acquisitions Specialist for the nations number one supplier of literary material to the dyslexic population said it. Okay, once I stop freaking out, I need to write another book.

What Else I've Been Up To

Apparently, everything in my life has to happen at exactly the same time! My debut novel is being released in less than three weeks. And TOMORROW my social worker is coming to my house for our homestudy to certify my husband and I for adoption.

I'm excited about adopting, and I'm excited about releasing my debut novel. But man is my life hectic right now. Adopting foster children will be super hectic too, so I guess this is good training.


Also, in the name of shameless self-promotion. I want to let you all know there are currently two different giveaways going on where you can win a free copy of Counting to D, both shown below. The goodreads giveaway has been up for a while, but worth entering if you haven't yet. I do, however, want to point out that the Rafflecopter is a new giveaway. Jessie Humphries won the Rafflecopter I had going last week. So as long as your name isn't Jessie Humphries, you should definitely sign up for this new giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Goodreads Book Giveaway      Counting to Dby Kate ScottGiveaway ends February 10, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.Enter to win
So what's up with you?