Writing Updates, plus what's currently on my TBR

We're more than halfway through February, and here in Arizona, the weather is 75 and sunny. THIS is the reason we have all the snow birds. It's freaking gorgeous outside, and I need to embed this memory into my brain for when July hits and my body is slowly baking in 115 degrees. Anyway, I digress.

This morning I submitted a couple of queries for Recovering because apparently I haven't given up the dream yet to land a literary agent. So, now comes the waiting period to see if anything happens on that front. ~GoOd ViBeS pLz~

In the meantime, I'm working on my other novel, Discovering. I started drafting this one two years ago and put it on the back burner for a while, but it's time to dive back in. This story features some of the characters from Recovering, but takes place a couple of decades later. The genre is slightly different, leaning more towards New Adult/Contemporary/College Romance. It feels less heavy than Recovering, so I think I'm going to have fun with it. We'll see if I still feel that way when I hit the inevitable writer's block.

The other book that is in progress is my novella, Reconciling. This has become stale for me so I'm taking a break from it. It's probably about halfway finished, but I just can't get into the characters' heads enough to feel like I'm making sufficient progress. The energy has fizzled out right now, so we'll wait to see if it comes back in a few months. Or ever. Some things just aren't meant to be.

In other news, I'm now part of two Book Clubs. One is with my two neighbor mom friends who keep me sane, and we're currently reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I started watching the first season of the show on Amazon Prime and loved it, so I have a good feeling about the book. The other group is affectionally called the Pixie Book Club, which consists of myself and my bestie Kaylan. We both majored in English Lit and history in college so we're using this opportunity to read some classics. First up: A Count of Montecristo by Alexandre Dumas. I anticipate it'll be on the denser side, but I've heard so many good things from other folks who have read it so bring it on! I'm nerding out on the opportunity to have book discussions like the good old college days. Sighs dreamily.

Outside of these group reads, I'm also re-reading some Sarah J Maas. Her latest book - House of Flame and Shadow (a Crescent City novel - #3) - came out at the end of January. And it's been a while since I was in that world so I wanted to re-read both A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City series before digging into the newest release. I know the online book community is divided about SJM, but I'll stand by my opinion that she is great at writing accessible and addicting Romantasy. Additionally, I'm working my way through The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner and listening to Gallant by VE Schwab (my book queen).

The most recent book I finished was Writers & Lovers by Lily King, which I'd give 4.5 stars. It's probably not for everyone (no book is, let's be honest), but it spoke to me as a writer and thirty-something year old woman. The main character is dealing with life circumstances while clinging to the dream of becoming a published author. It's gritty and unpleasant and heartwarming, and I love the reality that it brings. More books like this, please.

Those are all the writing updates from me, for now. Hopefully more updates next month. We'll see.