Ishness! February 2020

Hey! It’s March (somehow??) so I’m back with a post about the Ishness that went on in February!

WRITING

I did not write in February. That’s unusual for me, and I’m not gonna lie, it’s kind of getting me down. But I was coming out of NaNo + finishing a novella in December + January hiatus all in a row, so I’m a bit between projects and stuck.

I did write a billion blog posts though (okay, 13), and I did a lot of brainstorming/plotting on about a dozen different stories and ideas. So it wasn’t like I did nothing writing-related. Just no actual manuscript words. XD

• I had exciting spinoff ideas and new plotting for my steampunk fairy tale series.
• My otter flash fiction and mentor flash fiction collided and decided they’re in the same world — yay for a novel with a twist on fantasy tropes which I plan to write sometime!
• I came this close to writing another Glassman, but it didn’t stick; I did make notes, though!
• And I want to get back to Operation Foxtail (NaNo ’19) but need to do some plotting because I’m stuck.

So that’s where I’m at right now! Many ideas, not a lot of time or focus to do something about it. Maybe in March.

READING

Compared to January’s fifteen reads, I did not, seemingly, read as much. But some of these were a bit longer, and mostly delicious, so we’ll call it a win.

• Cry of the Raven (Morgan L. Busse) // A new favorite! (My review.)
• Lifelong Writing Habit (Chris Fox) // Some interesting tips.
• Fairest Son (H.S.J. Williams) // Delightful novella! (My review.)
• Green Dolphin Country (Elizabeth Goudge) // Absolutely fascinating!
• This Year You Write Your Novel (Walter Mosley) // Eh. It was okay.
• In the Region of the Summer Stars (Stephen R. Lawhead) // Aaahh! This was magnificent! Another favorite. I need the sequel ASAP.

I also did a smidge of editing and read some short stories/serials online, so those aren’t counted here.

‘Twas a good reading month! 🙂

WATCHING

I watched sort of a random assortment of things this month? Mostly older movies I’d had on my to-watch list for awhile. And re-watching the first Captain America movie, which was fun! (I know the second one is pictured here; that’s the one I own. XD)

And I found the first seasons of Castle and Sue Thomas: F. B. Eye for a couple of dollars, which made me really happy, so I’m in the middle of those right now! (These Castle episodes are re-watches, and I’d seen some of Sue Thomas before but I don’t remember which episodes, so it’s fun discovering/rediscovering!)

I also got back to Once Upon a Time (a few episodes in season 3 — crazy Neverland stuff. XD), and saw a smidge of NCIS (7th season, I believe) and started the second season of Trollhunters. All fun. 🙂

LISTENING

Continuing my attempt to get back into audiobooks, I’ve been listening to If Wishes Were Curses by Janeen Ippolito (which I started last year and then got distracted) and I’ve been enjoying it! I don’t read much urban fantasy, so it’s been different, but rather fun.

I’m hoping to finish it this week and start listening to the next in the series this month. I’m trying to listen to one audiobook per month this year (since I have about a dozen on my to-listen list right now), so I’m a bit behind, but hopefully I can finish up two this month!

I’m sure I must have listened to music but I’m drawing a blank. Probably Red and Tide Lines, since those are my go-to bands these days. 😛

BLOGGING

I’d been very remiss about blogging for . . . several months now. So I’m very pleased that I was able to post regularly on BOTH my blogs, all through the month of February! I had yearly wrapups and #FantasyMonth posts to share, and some reviews, so ’twas a fun month! Very happy with all the catching up I did.

Here’s a list for each blog, in case you missed any and want to check them out. 🙂

This blog

• January Ishness
• Ren Kickstarter (which did not make its goal so I’m kinda sad now…)
• 2019 Highlights
• Fantasy Month Tag
• Christopher Tolkien: A Tribute

The Page Dreamer

• Top 15 Favorite Reads of 2019
• February Book Ishness
• Fairy Tale Tag
• No Chance Meeting Blog Tour

Reviews posted in February: (Click the GORGEOUS covers to read the reviews!)

LIFE

Blogging + tea. Tiny stone critters from a fair! Farris wheel + ponies also at said fair; no, I did not ride either of them. XD

Not too much exciting happened this month. Just life busyness.

My internet was out for half the month, which involved traveling to get good Wi-Fi quite a lot. I feel like between that and life happenings I was barely home. My Baggins-ish self was not pleased with that, but I survived. 😛

Confused Texas Spring weather ranged from 26 to 80 degrees at random intervals. XD Sometimes sunny, sometimes rain…

I had a fun photoshoot dressing up as Selene Ravenwood from Cry of the Raven. This pic turned out to be my most-liked photo on Instagram ever! :O

My Realm Makers costume had to come out again for this. 😉

More Cry of the Raven pics

Other fun things:

• Went to a little fair
• Baking cookies with my sis
• Visiting a cupcake shop and library
• Bookshelf reorganizing
• Chats with friends ❤
• Occasional walks if the weather’s nice
• Bookmail
• Instagram photography

Spring + tea + cookies

MARCH PLANS

Image by Kristen @ We Be Reading

I really want to get back to writing this month. All I’ve written this year (decade??) so far is Girls, Spies, and Other Things the Faeries Stole: Part 2. So here’s hoping I can get back to writing something or other!

Also! It’s #MarchMagics! Which is an event hosted by Kristin @ We Be Reading and is focused on celebrating the works of Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett. As a super DWJ fan, I’m very excited and hope to do some reading, re-reading, and posting on these subjects. Also, I’m planning to share my DWJ book collection over on Instagram throughout the month, so follow me there if you’re interested! I’ll be posting about my March Magics plans on my book blog tomorrow!

It’s also my birthday month. And I know I have about 8736987491 things on my to-do list, so I’m sure I’ll be busy.

That’s it from me today! Thoughts? How was your February? Thanks for reading and I hope you have a lovely March!

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