I Have Returned // What I Did & What’s Next

Happy August, my elflings! I am officially back from my hiatus and my GOODNESS have I missed posting and talking with you all!

July zipped on by like it had somewhere to be and couldn’t be bothered to linger long, while at the same time it feels as if it’s been positively ages since I’ve posted and been on any semblance of a routine. My task-oriented self is rather pleased to be settling back into a more productive schedule, but it was a good hiatus. Like a really good hiatus. So today I thought I’d simply share some of the things I did and what I’ve been enjoying as of late, as well as a peek into my (hopeful) future plans.

Do grab your favorite beverage (as of writing this I have a cup of coffee and water myself, per the norm) and let’s talk entertainment, life, and writing—my favorite things!

What have I been up to?

As I briefly mentioned in my hiatus notice post, I spent the first half of this year doing a major rewrite of one of my novels. And I just happened to finish said rewrite on July 1st! *confetti and fanfare* The timing was perfect, as I could properly take a hiatus with that oh-so delightful sense of accomplishment. (Am I the only one who gets addicted to finished tasks? Yes? Okay…) Said rewrites went pretty well but were, ya know, REWRITES. Which involves many headaches, smoothing out plot holes as tangled as a horde of yarn that had just been attacked by kittens, and an existential crisis or two. Also caffeine. Much caffeine.

Normal things, normal things.

Again I say, rewrites went quite well! But still. Between spending months untangling my disaster of a story, plus life ever being its stressful, chaotic self, I was definitely ready for a good ol’ fashioned REST. So come early July I shoved my whiny, workaholic self locked tight in a drawer somewhere and embraced some freedom and laziness.

SO. What did I do with this ever elusive thing called “free time”?

VIDEO GAMES

AHEM. I’m embarrassed to say I spent a ridiculous amount of time in July playing video games.

I got a Nintendo Switch this past Christmas but since I usually don’t make time for video games, I haven’t really used it all that much except for the occasional Animal Crossing: New Horizons (which is fab, by the way). But this month I finally gave my poor abandoned Switch some love. I don’t have that many games on there, but I did play:

  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Of course! I’ve been a huge AC nerd since the first one released on the Gamecube, and this is 100% my favorite AC game I’ve ever played. My island is slooowly coming along. A lot of it is a bit of a mess, but my perfectionist, indecisive self can never decide exactly how I want everything to look. XD But if you need something totally relaxing with no point whatsoever, Animal Crossing is the way to go. Seriously, trying to describe it makes it sound so boring, because, honestly, there is hardly any point??? But it’s SO chill and relaxing and happy.
  • Super Mario Odyssey – I made a fair amount of progress on this and am LOVING it. Possibly one of my favorite Mario games to date. (Random Fact: Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo was my first ever game to play. My brother got it when I was baby, and then I started playing it when I was around 4, and to this day it is still one of my favorite games of all time. [Yes, I’m that old. Hush.])
  • Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory – A delightful rhythm game made up of songs from my favorite video game franchise. What more does one need? The KH music is some of my favorite music to exist on this earth, so basically getting to interact with the music? Dream. come. true! Sometimes the game can get a tad repetitive, but I still adore it.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Speaking of favorite games, this may be my TOP favorite game in the history of ever. It’s unhealthily addictive, guys. O.o I had played it all the way through on the Wii-U back when it released, and have been itching for a replay since. So I’m excited to play it on the Switch now. Perfect excuse to play it all over again. 😉

So yes, these games definitely kept me entertained and relaxed through much of July. Not sure when I’ll have time to continue them… But I certainly enjoyed immersing in them for a little while.

TV SHOWS/MOVIES

I didn’t just play video games though. I also watched some delightfully entertaining stuff.

  • Studio Ghibli – My sister and I have been on a Ghibli kick all year, as we recently got access to them all. We’ve been watching one here and there for the past few months, but since I had more free time this month, we had some Ghibli marathons and finished watching them all. And aaaaahhhh I love these little movies! Now that I’ve seen them all, I can confidently say Howl’s Moving Castle is still my favorite, but I truly adored most all of them. I’m not sure when I’ll have time, but I’d love to do a post with mini reviews for all of them if you guys would be interested? Definitely let me know if that sounds fun!
  • Leverage: Redemption – I’m not sure I’ve talked about Leverage much at all here before, which is just a CRIME (lolz, I made a funny) because it’s been one of my top favorite shows for years and years. When they announced the show was being renewed, I was both ECSTATIC because yes, my little Robin Hood-esque team of thieves are BACK, while also super wary because sequels have a terrible habit of ruining the original source AND modern TV has failed me spectacularly these days. >.> So I went into Leverage: Redemption tentative but hopeful. And…I liked it! It wasn’t perfect. I definitely have complaints, but it was a thousand times better than I feared. It still has that fun vibe the original show had, I really like Noah Wyle as a new team member, and they didn’t entirely ruin everything they built in the original show. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with this one and look forward to the next set of episodes (which I believe are coming this fall??)
  • Loki – I’ll refrain from saying much of anything because #spoilers but AAAAAHHHH I LOVED IT I LOVED IT LOVED IT. I think WandaVision is still my favorite of these new Marvel shows, but mannn Loki was spectacular. I have a few nitpicks, but not enough for it to ruin the delightful experience that was this wacky show about our beloved god of mischief. If you’re a Marvel fan and have yet to watch this, well, YOU NEED TO.

BOOKS

Obviously book reading happened in July. What would a hiatus be without BOOKS?

(I’ve conveniently linked everything to GoodReads. You’re welcome.)

  • Dana Illwind and the Growing Shadows by Arthur Daigle – OKAY BUT, GUYS. If you’ve not read this one you need to go snag a copy this very moment because it was a DELIGHT. This little fantasy about teenage, no nonsense Dana and melodramatic sorcerer lord Jayden stole my heart wholly and fully. It feels a little like Howl’s Moving Castle, but has a more epic fantasy flair with long journeys, all sorts of curious people to meet along the way, and a corrupt king and queen who is destroying their kingdom, plotting war against neighboring kingdoms, and whom Jayden will stop at nothing to bring down. The plot is fun and snappy and has seriously some of the BEST fight scenes I have ever read. (Often battle scenes kind of bore me to read, but NOT SO with this book!) But the true gold is Dana and Jayden. Dana keeps Jayden grounded, while he whisks her away on all sorts of amazing adventures. It’s a very Howl and Sophie type relationship without the romance as Dana is much younger than Jayden. I found their friendship SO refreshing. The story was originally released as a bunch of short stories, so each chapter feels more or less like a full short story, but it all still connects and is a true riot. I have my Official Bookfairy Deborah O’Carroll to thank for introducing me to this one, and I am SO GLAD she did!
  • All the Wrong Questions Series by Lemony Snicket – I believe I’ve mentioned that I’ve wholly and fully fallen into the Lemony Snicket fandom this year. I don’t know why it took me this long to get into it, but I am here now and refuse to ever leave! When I realized there was a series about a young Lemony Snicket, you better believe I snagged those books as fast as my greedy paws could get them. I devoured the series this month and, naturally, adored it. Whereas A Series of Unfortunate Events has a sort of goth style, All the Wrong Questions is more going for the noir mystery flair. I loved that! I did like ASOUE more, but this prequel series was still a delight to read. And by “delight” I mean it tore my heart out and left me with more questions than answers, but at this point I expected no less from Lemony Snicket. Somehow he can get away with it.
  • The Beatrice Letters by Lemony Snicket – Like I said. I can’t stop with this man’s works halp! These letters were so confusing and delightful. And that LOVE LETTER TO BEATRICE. Best love letter I have ever read in my life and nothing will ever compare. Ever. If you know, you know.
  • Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography – LIKE I SAID. So much Lemony. This was seriously one of my favorite things he did. This totally confusing nonsense was chock full of references, behind the scenes hints at things going on amidst the Beaudelaire children’s unfortunate events, gave us a better peek at Lemony’s life, and made no sense but was a riot all the way through. It’s definitely something you want to read AFTER A Series of Unfortunate Events, but whew boy, is it a treat for us fans! (It was also fun to see how much inspiration the Netflix series took from this!)

So yeah, basically I just read Lemony Snicket books for a month and I have zero regrets.

WRITING LIFE

“But you were on hiatus, Christine!”

Yes, yes. I wasn’t supposed to be doing writerly things, but hey, sometimes you gotta embrace the creativity when it strikes.

For one, I attended an online workshop the ever fabulous Mary Weber and CJ Redwine did on querying. Though I can’t say I learned anything particular new, it was entirely worth it for that validation that I have done my research properly when it comes to querying. And it is always a treat learning from these lovely ladies! I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I also wrote a 3k-word short story. Over on the fairy tale blog I’m a co-host of, TheFairyTaleCentral.com, we’ve started doing short stories about a plucky band of apprentices taking on all sorts of fairy tale problems. I got an idea for a story, thought I’d play with it to see if it went anywhere, and found myself with 3k words… Like I said, embrace creativity when it comes! It’s a story inspired by The Nixie of the Mill-pond, one of my favorite obscure Brothers Grimm fairy tales, and you can read said story HERE if you’d like or catch up on all the Apprentice Adventures stories, as we call them, HERE. I rather adore writing these tales as they feel like coming back home to that traditional fantasy I used to write. These days most of my books would fall under the “weird” fantasy category. It’s been a while since I’ve written anything in that classic medieval setting with swords and wizards and quests. Writing these AA stories brings me back to my love for those types of tales. There’s something homey about writing them, and they just make me happy.

Other than a couple of other little dabblings, that was truly it on the writing-front for July. I really did try to set the workload aside for the month, guys, I did!

VIDEO CHATS

Out of all the entertainment I consumed last month, it was video chatting that truly put the wind back in my sails and refueled me heart and soul. I’ve been trying to do more video chatting with my peeps lately, since we all live so far away. *sobs* And, let me tell you, being able to see my writing friends face-to-face and talk for hours about writing and life and stories revitalizes and motivates this extrovert like few other things. I mean, yes, I’d prefer to be able to be with everyone in person, but since that’s not an option, I sure am grateful for good ol’ technology!

YOU, my friends, fill me up more than I can ever properly express, and I feel utterly grateful that, despite distance, God has put so many wonderful people in my life. You all keep me energized and going during all the seasons of my life. <3

Overall, July proved to be a lovely month of finding much needed rest, refueling on other people’s stories, spending time with family and friends, and remembering “productivity” doesn’t always mean checking something off a to-do list. Resting and enjoying life can be just as, if not more, beneficial as finishing a task. Which is something God has been working through me in the past year now. Slowly, slowly I am taking this lesson to heart and practicing a more balanced lifestyle. After all, if we’re not living, how can we create good stories?

So what now?

Speaking of writing, now that I’m no longer on hiatus, what plans do I have in the horizon?

That query workshop I did came at such a good time, because my next plan of action is to hooopefully dive back into querying Burning Thorns. Which is my beloved Beauty and the Beast retelling I talked about recently in THIS POST. I have been meaning to send more queries all year and…I am super ashamed to say I haven’t sent a single one. This year has been a strange one for me, filled with a LOT of writerly doubts and even more questions toward my writing and Burning Thorns itself. It’s been hard to stay motivated and positive in the midst of, well, life right now. But with much, much prayer I think those wicked Writerly Doubts have been kicked to the curb and I am feeling excited about Burning Thorns all over again. So I hope to return to it and get it ready for more querying for this month. Any prayers would truly mean the world to me!

Other than that, I have no particular grand writerly plans for the next few months. Until NaNoWriMo of course! Is it too early to already be thinking about NaNo??? Something about when August hits always makes me realize how quickly NaNo will be here. But I. AM. PUMPED! You know last year how I wrote the first book of the Fragmented Worlds series and it proved to be one of my favorite things I’ve ever written? Yeah. That story has still been plaguing me nonstop. Sooo book #2 may be demanding it be written for NaNo. *grins and lurks back into the darkness*

OH. And one other super exciting thing which shall be coming SOON.

THE SILMARIL AWARDS

Yes, my dear fantasy loving frens! The Silmaril Awards is returning for its SIXTH year! :O So start getting a list ready of your favorite literary fantasy characters!

If you don’t know what this is, well, my friends, you are in for a treat. The Silmaril Awards is an annual blogging event celebrating literary fantasy characters. It’s basically The Oscars but for FANTASY CHARACTERS. So, like, way, way more epic than The Oscars.

I get the utter honor to be one of the hosts for the third year in a row, and ooooh boy are we gonna have fun! We also have some new hosts this year, which is utterly thrilling! There has been much planning going on behind the scenes and we cannot waaait to unroll the red carpets and kickoff this goodness.

The awards begin with nominations on SEPTEMBER 6TH. You can find the whole schedule on our handy-dandy website HERE. You can also join the official Facebook group HERE.

September is going to be full of fantastical shenanigans, so much fantasy character love, and a huge heaping of general epic geekiness with all of you! I cannot wait to announce which category I shall be hosting this year. *rubs hands together and grins*

Querying, The Silmaril Awards, NaNoWriMo, and returning to blogging and Instagramming—plenty to keep me occupied and excited for this second half of 2021! And now that I am rested and refueled, I am excited to dive into all of it. I have been feeling that itch to get back into story, which is always a good sign! Truly, my friends, rest is a beautiful thing.

Whew boy, if you made it through that random jumble of rambles, I commend you! But now my favorite part: Talking with you guys! I have MISSED you, so tell me all the things! How was your July? Have you seen/read/played any of the entertainment I mentioned? (Seriously, I could fangirl about any of them all the day long!) Do you have any exciting plans for August? Are you excited about The Silmaril Awards? I want to hear it ALL!

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Skye
August 9, 2021 12:39 PM

Yay, your back! Glad you had a good break and congrats on finishing the rewrite!! You must review the Ghibli films, I’ve been slowly making my way through them too! I love them so much so calming and pretty.
I need to get that Arthur Daigle book, I remember Deborah giving it a glowing review.
So glad you’re back!

Jenelle Schmidt
August 9, 2021 1:17 PM

Yay! You’re back!!! Congrats on finishing your rewrites and on taking a nice hiatus and resting and relaxing!!

I really enjoyed Leverage: Redemption, as well. I’m bothered that some of my favorite moments were in the worst episode of television I’ve ever had to suffer through, but… details. 🙂 At least Elliot never disappoints. 🙂 (Also, Deborah just informed me of a show where Christian Kane is the lead. The show is called Almost Paradise and we’re 2 episodes in and I’m completely hooked. You might enjoy it too).

I’M SO EXCITED ABOUT THE SILMARIL AWARDS!!!!

Ooh, I’ll have to go read your story sometime. I’ve been very absent online this year (well, compared to other years). I’ve needed to step back from the internet in general (and I often feel like I need to take a couple of huge steps even further back). But it’s been good.

Good luck and best wishes on your querying efforts!

Deborah O'Carroll
August 9, 2021 4:06 PM

I am now wondering which episode that was, Jenelle. XD (Agree, @Christine, that the spooky one was weird. o.o) OKAY BUT ALMOST PARADISE. I can see it not being for everyone but I definitely enjoyed it wayyy more than I thought I would and it’s pretty much a blast. XD I’m glad you’re enjoying it so far, Jenelle, and I think you might like it too, Christine! (I kinda just want people to watch it and hear what they think. XD) And needing to take steps back from the internet this year, oof, the struggle is real.

Jenelle Schmidt
August 9, 2021 8:57 PM

Deborah, the comicon one. Because the parts about the comicon/fantasy card game were super cool. But the rest of the episode felt like the writers were like, “eh, might as well get all the agenda-y bits out of the way in one fell swoop” and the bad guy made zero sense, and it was just lame and very lazy writing. But ELIOT SWORDFIGHTING!!!! So… I’m super conflicted about that episode.

Christine: Yes, the haunted house episode was also meh… it felt like an entire episode dedicated as a love song to that “girl power” moment at the end of Endgame where all the girls are like, “OHMYGOODNESSSAVETHEBABYSPIDERMAN” 😀

Jenelle Schmidt
August 9, 2021 8:57 PM

I…. clearly have strong opinions. LOL

Joy C. Woodbury
August 9, 2021 2:48 PM

CHRISTINE’S BACK!!! Cue the cheering! *applauds*
I’ve missed you and am so glad you’re stepping back into the blogosphere! You completely deserved the break. I’m so excited to hear you’re looking into querying again. I’ll be praying for you as you do so. Sounds like you’ve been productive with the rewriting and all that jazz!
Also, no shame in playing video games. They’re pretty awesome. *realizes I haven’t played one in forever* Well, maybe I should. XD

The Maple Quill
August 9, 2021 3:02 PM

AAA Christineeee welcome back!! *pouncehugs*

:OO AAA YESS FRAGMENTED WORLDS DO IT DO IT DO IT
This excites me to no end. *grabby hands* Write the thing Christine so I can read it 😀

The Silmaril Awards seem so exciting?? Where can I learn more? :D<

Best of luck and many prayers for your queries! That sounds so exciting. I myself will eventually venture into the slush pile, but that won’t be for a few years yet and hopefully by then you will be beyond it, haha. But in the meantime, you got this ;D

Kendra @ THE PLOT THICKENS
August 9, 2021 3:40 PM

Welcome back! Ooh and the Silmaril Awards is such a fun yearly tradition; I’m excited to participate again this year. 🙂 Did you see the Black Widow movie??? *squeals*

Deborah O'Carroll
August 9, 2021 3:59 PM

Aaahh, so many exciting things!! 😀 WELCOME BACK! I’ve missed your exuberant posts and I’m so so sooooo happy that you had a good and refreshing rest!! 😀 HUZZAH! You totally earned a break, my goodness. Yay for all the fun gaming/reading/watching/writing things you were able to pack into ONE month! (You’re magic!) I’M SO HAPPY YOU LOVED JAYDEN AND DANAAAA!!! 😀 My favorite thing and it brings me joy that you liked it. ^_^ And video chatssss. ^_^ Loved all your thoughts about the things, and ooh, I’m going to have to check out Loki sometime–and more Ghiblis! (Yay for Leverage: Redemption. ^_^) I’m excited for the SilmAwards and I am wishing you aaall the luck on your querying plans! You’ve got this! But goodness gracious, how is NaNo getting closer?? O_O *has not planned for this, halp* Anyway thanks for sharing all the fun recaps and this exciting peek into things to come! I’m so happy you had a good vacation rest and I hope these next few months are absolutely frabjous! Love this post and love YOU! <3

Deborah O'Carroll
August 9, 2021 4:07 PM

Oh! And mini Ghibli reviews would be sooo fun!

Edna Pellen
August 9, 2021 5:10 PM

Glad to have you back!

Emily Grant
August 9, 2021 6:16 PM

*tackle-hugs* WELCOME BACK!! I’ve missed your posts but I’m sooo glad you had such a good hiatus! <3

YAYY for finishing your rewrites!! *celebratory cookies* I’m still working on rewrites for Once Upon at the moment, but I had to pretty much just stop and focus on worldbuilding and figuring out little things that are keeping me from moving forward. Fun stuff, but also overwhelming. xD So YES, I feel your rewrites-related struggles.

AHH SUPER NINTENDO!! MY CHILDHOOD. I played my older siblings’ Super Nintendo ALL THE TIME when I was a kid. And I actually just bought Super Mario World on eBay recently and played it for the first time! *high five for the Super Nintendo Club*

ALLLL the encouragement and prayers for Burning Thorns querying!! That is SO exciting. And GIRL. I’M ALREADY THINKING ABOUT NANOWRIMO, TOO. XD Literally just the other day I realized that it’s less than three months away?? And panicked a little bit?? AND I already know what book I’m going to write this year. At least, I’m like 99% sure. I have this story idea that recently popped into my head and keeps coming back to me, so I’m preeetty sure that I’ll be very ready to start writing it by November. (well, you know. not READY. but ready. you feel me? XD) Although, for the first time, I actually WON’T be starting it brand new, because… I kind of already wrote the first scene? I think it was the DAY I started thinking about this story, and I just had to get the first scene out of my head before I lost the spark. So, I guess I’m going to be a NaNo rebel this year. XD

Again, welcome back, and I can’t wait to see your future posts!! <33

Hayden
Hayden
August 9, 2021 7:53 PM

okay, well this is a HUGE reminder than I need to finish the Leverage reboot, lol! I think I had, like, two more episodes to go and then life happened, I got distracted, and forgot to finish XD I have been enjoying it though! I have a few complaints, but nothing TOO major.

I’ve FINALLY been watching Ghibli movies. My brother-in-law is a big fan, and he and my sister have movie nights we’re they invite us over and we eat fun food and watch Ghibli movies! So far I’ve really liked them…there’s something about them that is just so *soothing*. Our last one was Castle in the Sky.

Thanks to our rpg, I feel like I’ve gotten to know you so much better these past few months, and I’ve LOVED video chatting with you!! XD

Samantha
August 10, 2021 10:43 AM

Hurrah! Good to see you back!

I’m glad you got to play some good video games to relax in July! That sounds very fun. 🙂

I’m very on the fence about Loki, because on the one hand, I love Marvel, but on the other, I am SO SO SO picky about time travel plots. SO picky. And I already distrust Marvel’s time travel plots because of the whole Steve thing at the end of Endgame (not going to give details b/c spoilers, but part of it was messed up in terms of the previously established time travel rules), so I really don’t want to give them another chance to disappoint me. XD

Ooh, Howl’s vibes + friendship rather than romance? SIGN ME UP I must find this book right away!

Ooh, the video chatting sounds so fun! I dislike Zoom calls with more than two/three people, but with only two/three people, they’re delightful!

Excited for the Silmaril Awards!!

This month, I’m heading off to college, so that’s my big nerve-racking adventure for the month…why again did I pick a college that’s six states away?? XD

AMY
AMY
August 10, 2021 12:36 PM

HI CHRISTINE!! *waves*
I’m so glad you enjoyed your hiatus, and even happier you’re back!
My July was BUSY, have you heard of Canva? It’s kinda a design website? Anyway, I’ve been doing that mostly.
Plans for August? *blinks* plans? like, having my life organized? That’s a thing?! *giggles nervously*
Well, maybe no plans as of yet, but I can’t wait to see what you’ll be up to!
BYEEE!!

Madeline J. Rose
Madeline J. Rose
August 10, 2021 2:39 PM

Glad to have you back, Christine! ^_^ And YASSS LOKI WAS SO SO GOOD AND I’M SO MAD SEASON 2 ISN’T IN FRONT OF MY EYEBALLS RIGHT NOW. T_T

Chelsea R.H.
August 10, 2021 11:35 PM

It’s so good to see you back, Christine! I’ve missed seeing your posts popping up in my inbox every week! Shamefully, I’ve not seen or read any of the things you mentioned, except for Howl’s Moving Castle. I did start reading some of Lemony Snicket’s books years ago, and I’ve always meant to finish reading them, but I’ve just never got around it. I really should though!

Lemon Duck
August 11, 2021 10:51 AM

Yay!! You’re back!! And I’m so glad you had a lovely rest and got to work on stuff in a leisurely way!! I hope the rest of the year (four months till the end, yay) goes well with you!

Victoria
Victoria
August 11, 2021 3:50 PM

WHOO-HOOO!!!!!! Alert the press, y’all, CHRISTINE IS BAAAACK!!!! *hugs while making high-pitched squeaky noises* You have been sorely missed, my dear friend! 😉

*GASPS* YEESSSS TO LOKI!!!! I still think WandaVision or FATWS is still my favorite, but I definitely LOOOVED watching Loki and seeing him grow in ways we haven’t before!!! (Although, I was kinda disappointed at the end—like, Y’ALL, someone get mah boy Mobius a jet ski already!!!!) XD I also watched Black Widow and ACK, MY HEART. That movie gave me some MAJOR feels and was JUST SOOOOO AWESOME!!!! You HAVE watch it soon if you haven’t!!!!! 😀

*DOUBLE GASP* THE SILMARIL AWARDS!!!!!!!!!! I’m 99.999% sure there isn’t enough exclamation points and all caps to express all of my excitement. XD I’m already making a list in my head of nominations and am REEEAALLLY rooting for a few certain characters to get chosen this year!! 😛 Fun fact: Last year’s Silmaril Awards was when I first commented on your blog and basically exploded in ball of glitter and excitement when I saw your reply. XD *happy sighs* Memories, memories… 😉

Also, YAAAAAAY to querying Burning Thorns again!!!!!!! *showers you in confetti* I really, really, really, really hope it gets picked up soon and I’ll be praying that the whole process goes well and that God takes BT to where He wants it to go! And YES you should TOTALLY write book #2 of the Fragmented World series for NaNo!!!! (Seriously, I need updates on mah lil’ Rune!) ;P

ANYWAAAY, it is SOOOO good to have you back in the blogosphere, Christine, and I absolutely can’t wait for your next posts!!!! <333

Blue Pail Blogs
August 12, 2021 2:02 PM

Yay! You’re back!!!

I’m glad you had a fun hiatus (video games and Lemony Snicket sounds awesome, btw).

I wish you the very best luck with querying!!! I hope it works out for you!

Ooh, the Silmaril awards…

Sarah Ryder
Sarah Ryder
August 12, 2021 2:02 PM

Yay, Christine’s back!!!!!!!!!! *showers you with hugs only to jump awkwardly back because it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t do something awkward* I missed talking to you and seeing your lovely posts! I’m SOOOO happy you had a great break, and congrats on finishing rewrites!!!!! That is SUCH a fantastic feeling when that happens! And good luck on querying BT! I will be praying that goes well for you and God will put your amazing book into the right hands to publish it. Because it needs to happen—I seriously need this awesome book in my life ASAP!

My writing life kinda went off the rails in July due to LIFE so I didn’t finish my edits of Book 2 like I wanted, but I hope to do so this month instead—maybe. We’ll see. My priority right now is to finish and polish up a short story to submit for possible publication in an anthology (😱) which is due by the end of September. 😳 And I haven’t finished the horrible, ahem, rough draft yet. *dies* Yeah, I’m sooo great to myself and my sanity, it’s nuts. 🤪 BUT it’s the THIRD story I’ve tried that is actually working and I like, so cheers to that!

I really want to try the Howl movie as my library actually has that one (they’re a little short on Studio Ghibli films so I gotta take what I can get) and is Your Name a Ghibli film? Because that one looks SO GOOD but alas my library system doesn’t have that one. *pout* BUT my family and I have been watching the Marvel movies for the first time and they are SO STINKING GOOD!!!!! The Winter Solider is currently my favorite and I love Cap not gonna lie he’s my fave ever not even ashamed. 🥰💖 We’re gonna be watching Age of Ultron next (VERY excited for that one!) just so you know where we are in the lineup. 😉 And I’ve been reading Harry Potter for the first time and am really enjoying them!

NaNo??!!?? *panics* Er, I have no idea what I’m doing, lol. I might write Book 3 of my trilogy, buuut…I’m not sure. Will have to check back with you on that, haha. And any book you write will be fabulous, and I will look forward to your NaNo screaming posts! (They’re my favorites)

So glad you’re back!

Lily
August 13, 2021 10:19 PM

Hi Christine!! Welcome back!!! *throws confetti*

I can’t wait to check out your 3k story! I’ve never heard of that fairytale before, so now I’m super curious.
Ooo, you’ve played Animal Crossing too?! My two younger sisters play the 3Ds version, but sometimes when one is busy with something, I’ll play the game with the other (and we switch around, which is fun!)

This August, we’re thinking of doing some more swimming before the summer officially ends.
Eek! That’s exciting that you’re going to host the awards again! Can’t wait to see this year’s candidates!

Brielle Andela
August 15, 2021 5:43 AM

Dana Ilwind!!!

I’ve not exactly read the book, but I’ve read the stories that I believe make up the book. Such fun.

Thank you for not spoiling Loki. I’m telling myself that I’ll have to get Disney+ one of these numbers, but I don’t know when it will actually happen.

I’ve been playing Lord of the Rings online quite a bit, so I certainly can’t judge. There’s something nice about losing yourself in someone else world while still being an active participant.

Brielle Andela
August 16, 2021 6:39 AM

I’ve only gotten into immersive video games recently, but a friend (Kendra E. Ardnek) described then a bit like that and I found it fit. You don’t have to make up the whole story like when you’re writing, but in some ways you’ve got more control than in a book.

Amelie
August 15, 2021 6:55 PM

CHRISTINE!!! *squeals* *hugs* It’s so good to have you back! (I have to mention that I love how in your header picture, you flipped to the page in RotK with “Well, I’m back.” *grins*)

I am SO GLAD that you had a wonderful month with free time and fun things! I hope that God uses that time to really refill your tank and uplift you. <3

SILMARIL. AWARDS. I am SO EXCITED. AHHHHH. It’s always a BLAST, and I can’t wait for the inevitable fun times that’ll arise during Silmaril season! (SIX YEARS, WOW! *whispers* Is this the year that Malcolm Blackfire will win his most deserved Most Magnificent Dragon?)

I’m so happy you’re back, Christine! I’m so thankful for your incredible blogging and the beautiful soul you are. <3

Miranda
August 17, 2021 6:31 AM

Hey! Welcome back! Sounds like you have been doing all of the most delightful things! I’m so glad that this month was so restful and refreshing and fun for you!
You got to watch all of the Studio Ghibli films?! I wish I could do that. That must have been so awesome to do! I would love to see mini reviews of them all!
I’m glad you enjoyed Loki. I ended up basically hating it. I *cough* can’t not think of it without ranting in my head about it. XD It just really bothers me for so many reasons. Which such a disappointment for me since I thought it would be the one I would love the most. *sad face*
You know, I always saw writing for enjoyment quite relaxing and restful. Because you aren’t doing it as a career but as a hobby, to past the time without pressures or stress. Creativity freely flowing is something one shouldn’t ignore but embrace. After all, writing originally came from a place where it was only about creating art and not a product. So I thought it was definitely good for your soul to create like this even if it wasn’t meant to. 🙂

Tracey Dyck
August 17, 2021 8:11 PM

WELCOME BACK! I’m sadly *behind* on all the Christine happenings and writings, but I’m over the moon that you not only finished that rewrite, but had such a wonderful hiatus afterwards!

And all those plans for what’s to come? GIRL. AHHH. Sending allll the hugs and cookies for those querying doubts you’ve been wrestling with. I’m cheering for you as you jump back into the fray. Burning Thorns is one of my favoritest fairytale retellings in the history of ALL THINGS, and I know it’s going to find a publishing home! <3

Also I know I’ve said this before, but you’re inspiring me once again to take an intentional hiatus… like the kind with predetermined start and end dates, instead of these halfway/unintentional breaks I keep tripping into. XD