What's Up Wednesday, Ready. Set. Write!

Here is the obligatory, "I can't believe it's July already!" comment because, well it's true. Weather has been weird here in the midwest. It's been rainy and mild, which honestly, I'm cool with. I'd take upper 70s any day over 90 degrees and scorching.

What I'm Reading:

The one perk of being sick with a cold was that I read 3 books. I was doing just fine until a hot yoga class last Tuesday; I hadn't taken a single a yoga class in probably a year (cardio classes are not the same as the strength and stretching in yoga) let alone when the temp is set higher and it's a 70 minute class. All that sweat is supposed to release toxins, but I guess on the way out they decided to infect me.

BUT, here's what I read:

Golden by Jessi Kirby

The Best Man by Kristan Higgins

Where She Went by Gayle Forman 

Current Audiobook: The Girl is Murder by Katryn Miller Haines

What I'm Writing:

To find more about Ready. Set. Write! click here.

Summer Cold from Hell distracted me from writing, but I was able to plan out my new project a little bit. No outline yet, but some ideas.

I reached out to two writer friends to help me work through issues in my current WIP and further brainstorm on my new project.

What Inspires Me:

This is the view out to my balcony with my container garden. It's cute and sunny and makes sitting on the couch looking out while I write feel like I'm enjoying the summer a bit. 

FYI: I'm growing cherry tomatoes, a patio tomato, basil, chives, mint, lettuce, eggplant, and jalepeno peppers!

On the way to my RWA (romance writers) meeting last week, I stopped by a mom n' pop coffee-slash-knitting shop in the downtown near the library where my group meets. They had the cutest little fountain and a landscaped area between the buildings, right off the town's main street, that made me feel like a tourist for a few minutes. At the end of that little pathway were some colorful flowers (a better camera than my phone would show that!).

At the meeting, we did a Skype chat with historical fiction author Courtney Milan, who has such a great outlook on how to take control of your writing career. She transitioned from traditional to self-publishing, and has strategized to make the most of her publishing experience. She is all about educating writers to make the best choices for them, and I found a lot of her advice applies whether you self-publish or not, and how crucial it is to understand the publishing industry for yourself, and not assume that certain details will be figured out for you just because you have an agent/publisher/PR person.

Also, I have to admit, I don't gravitate toward regency or Victorian-era romances, but her books are so good. Her characters are the opposite of cliche, her stories have so much depth, her heroines are amazingly witty.

How about you? How was your week?