Well, hello there! How are all my lovelies? I’ve been doing splendidly. I just had a grand ol’ time out of town staying with my bestie for one of the best two weeks I’ve ever had. It was glorious, with much talking and laughter to the point where our throats were sore (literally), complete with a great amount of squealing over books, because we’re kindred spirits like that. But I am officially home and attempting to settle back into things. Though I desperately miss my “second family” as I like to refer to my bestie and her family, being under the same roof of my own first and foremost family and being able to snuggle with my much missed poodle makes up for the melancholy that comes with farewells. My inbox is close to exploding, I have a handful of new books calling my name to delve into their pages, half a dozen stories from friends are waiting to be critiqued, and my own stories are demanding to be told. It’s funny how much can pile up in merely a fortnight. But after days of carefree fun, it’s almost nice settling back into everyday life. Stress over many silly things was threatening to crush me before my vacation. The chance to spend two amazing weeks with my best friend was beyond a blessing, and a wakeup call. It came at just the right time. That much needed vacation gave me a chance to step back and look at things from a new perspective, and before I knew it, all the stress was lifted, replaced with a drive to tackle all the demands of life with vigor. I’m quite content back in my own house nestled in my green wing back chair with my laptop in hand, ready to take on those many projects I left behind. Back in the norm of life. So what do we have on the menu? Well, originally I was going to use the month of August to write my Beauty and the Beast retelling novella for the Rooglewood Press contest. Then, come September, at least get a good start on Fallen Matter edits. I need October to catch up on life and plan out everything for NaNoWriMo before, ya know, NaNoWriMo comes. And December I always like to just rest from writing after NaNo and enjoy the holidays. But now, well, September is only a few days away (WHAAAT????). So my plans are going to have to be reworked because, obviously, better plans came my way. To be honest I’ve, shamefully, not gotten much done at all on my B&B retelling. It can only be 20k words long, yes, but I still need to write the whole thing, edit it, get my beta-readers to look it over, edit it again and again. . .and again. All before getting it sent out. So short or not, it’s still a bit of a process. And now that August is nearly done I realize September will be the month to focus solely on it. Which means no Fallen Matter editing. As I said, October and November are NaNo focused and December is rest time. That means Fallen Matter edits are getting pushed all the way to. . .January. As in 2015. o.O I had really hoped to get a good start on it this fall, but I’m realizing that’s going to be impossible. When I do start editing it, it’s going to need my full attention. There’s going to be some major doings reworking that thing. Working on it in between projects won’t do. Besides, it deserves better than that. I love that story, and I really want to make it my best. So 2015 it shall be. And while at first that idea upset me, I’m realizing it’s probably for the best. The longer I step back from it, the fresher it will be when I return, giving me a better perspective on what needs changing. In the end, I think it will turn out better after taking a many month-long break from it. That might be just what it needs. I think my plans getting rearranged may be for the best all around. Beyond my own writing, I also have other writings from some seriously (I’m talking seriously) talented people who have so kindly given me the chance to look over and critique their works. It’s such an honor! Hopefully very soon I’ll be taking on those projects as well. So that’s my writing plans for now. But, as you’ve seen, plans do tend to erupt everywhere and make quite a mess. One can hope these will stay intact. I feel as though they’re more solid this time. For the next few weeks I’ll hopefully be busy pounding out words for my B&B novella. I might even talk about it a bit, but since it is for a contest I’m being a mite secretive about it. I do apologize. Oh, and if I’m not writing continuously on it will you yell at me and tell me to do so? I fear I’ve been awfully lax about it. I seriously need to start putting most of my time into it now, so any prompting or a good kick will be much appreciated. Every writer needs ‘em sometime. So what are your writing plans for September? Who’s all doing the Rooglewood contest? Can you believe it’s already time to start thinking about NaNoWriMo? Terrifying thought! Who’s all participating? Can you believe it’s almost SEPTEMBER??? Did you have a good summer? Alrighty, off I go to start at least scratching the surface of that to-be-done pile. Farewell, lovelies!