The dialogue focus tool in scrivener is my new best friend. #writesky

My NYC Midnight flash fiction challenge story has been submitted! Im pretty happy with the final result, but only time will tell. Time to forget about it for a couple of months until results are posted! #writesky

First draft of the day written for NYC Midnight's flash fiction challenge bringing my total number of drafts up to four. Still about 60 words over, but I should be able to cut down. Fairytale is such a fun genre to write, and Im happy that my first draft gave me a good base to work off of. #writesky

Prompts received for NYC midnight flash fiction challenge and draft 1 written. Gonna do another rewrite to see if I can give it more direction before letting it sit for a little. #writesky

I'm super excited for NYC midnight's flash fiction challenge this weekend! It'll be my 6th time competing, and I cant wait to see what my prompts are this time. Hoping to finally make it into the final round. Good luck to everyone else competing! #writesky

I cant draw Claude consistently, but I do enjoy drawing him(he's the one holding the bottle). Hoping to get a commission of him soon because he's the only one I dont have a picture of on my wall of the main cast. Anyway, more character doodles. #writesky #art

Just a sketch page of some characters from my book. Been in a drawing mood recently. #writesky #art

Just finished editing chapter 30, which means this pass of edits is done! Well... almost. There were a couple of notes I made of things I want to go back and tweak a little, but the bulk is done, which means another round of critiques before hopefully gearing up to query! #writesky

Finished Mate by Ali Hazelwood. This took me back to my high-school wattpad days where I'd read almost exclusively werewolf stories. They are definitely a guilty pleasure, and Mate fell solidly into the category of entertaining and enjoyable. #booksky

Finished The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune. This gave me Escape to Witch Mountain vibes in the best way possible, just more adult. I loved that movie as a kid, and I also enjoyed this book. It struck a good balance of emotional and funny depending on what the scene called for. #booksky

Merrow is a new adult fantasy novel in the final editing stages. It follows a grieving widow who hasn't aged since her fiance's funeral in search of the truth behind his death, a supposed work accident caused by a misfired spell, nearly a century after it happened. #writesky -Querying summer 2026

Finished Eona by Alison Goodman. This was a good end to the duology. The stakes were intense and kept the plot moving forward. The ending was a bit rushed but everything was resolved. I also missed "Eon's" character as I found him to be a more unique and interesting protagonist than "Eona." #booksky

Nerissa is my protagonist, and there's a reason she's my protagonist. But my favorite character to write is Galya. There's something about the scenes she's in that just get the creative juices flowing. And part of that is how she interacts with Nerissa and part of that is just who she is. #writesky

Some more library books to add to my mini bookcase. Fixed two that I made mistakes on earlier and included two that I currently have checked out and am in the process of reading. I do my best to wait until I have a full page of stuff to print so I dont waste paper. #booksky

Finished Monstrous Nights by Genoveva Dimova. This was a good wrap up to the duology. I think it had been a bit too long since I read the first one because it took me some time to remember everything that was happening. I greatly enjoyed the setting and worldbuilding in this series. #booksky

Took a break yesterday and did absolutely nothing. Today I was back on the grind and edited chapter 21. I have 30 chapters at the moment so I'm close! Once I'm done I'll have to go back and fix up a couple of things, but at the very least I'll be ready for another round of critiques soon! #writesky

Finished A Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames. This started a little slow but really kicked in once it got into the details of heart magic. I could see why Howl's Moving Castle was a comp title. Overall, this was an engaging read that I finished super quickly. #booksky

Finished Lightbringer by Claire Legrand. It was a great end to the series and probably my favorite book of the three. All the different elements really came together for the climax. I do wish we found out what happened to some of the side characters, but I also understand why we don't. #booksky

I've hit a really good stride when it comes to editing Merrow. I also want to try writing some of the short story/flash ideas I've had taking up space in my head. Merrow takes precedence, but hopefully I'll carve out some time today to at least get a draft down of a short story. #writesky

Finished Kingsbane by Claire Legrand. This was a great continuation from the first book. I definitely had some predictions, most of which I was more or less accurate on. I also really like all of the side characters in this series; they're really well fleshed out. #booksky

Just a quick doodle of a scene I recently edited in my book, Merrow. Still playing around with underwater outfits. I tried out using figure skating costumes as the reference in this drawing as they allow for a lot of movement in the legs, which is important in swimming. #doodle #writesky

February reading wrap-up! My favorite was definitely Legendborn, but they were all good reads! #booksky

Just reached the midpoint in my edits, so I'm going to use today's editing session to do a read through of everything and see if there's anything I've missed. It feels like a good time to take an overarching look. I already have a couple of notes of small details I want to add/change. #writesky

Finished The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland. This book had me from the first page. It struck a good balance between the present and the past. The main character's struggles were well written and engaging. I did feel the ending fell a little flat, but it resolved everything nicely. #booksky

Finished reading The Golden Key by Marian Womack. This book was very atmospheric, and the prose really lent itself to an immersive setting. While I enjoyed reading it, it wasnt my cup of tea. I think the ambiguity was intentional, but there were questions I had left unanswered by the end. #booksky

Finished Oathbound by Tracy Deonn. I thought this was the last book in the series and it was only with 200 pages left that I began to question if everything would be resolved only to discover there's a fourth book on the way. This book was awesome, and I cant wait for the next one! #booksky

Finished Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn. Another great book that was just as good as the first in the series. It expanded on the world while still following the unresolved plot points from the previous book. The characters showed growth but still felt like themselves. Onto the last book! #booksky

Finished reading Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. All I can say is that there's a reason so many people recommend this book. The characters are well written with clear motivations, and the worldbuilding/magic system is interesting and lends itself beautifully to the plot. I highly recommend. #booksky

Finished reading The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. This was a good book, but its long. While I was engaged the entire book, it wasnt until half way through that I got fully invested. The events leading up to the climax also felt rushed for the length. I'd still recommend. #booksky

#questpit Nerissa hasn't aged since her fiancé Dylan died. She considers it a curse until an invitation manifests in her hand, an invitation from the family Dylan was working for when he died. His death was always suspicious, now Nerissa has a chance to prove it. #W #F #A #amediting

Finished A Steeping of Blood by Hafsah Faizal. This was a great book and a great series. The characters were well written and went through engaging character arcs. The pacing balanced the high stakes with quieter moments that still pushed the plot forward. Highly recommend. #booksky

Finished The Working by BrightFlame. I enjoyed this book, especially the pagan/new age magic system that felt very grounded in real practices. The characters all had good arcs throughout the book, although Betsy started to get on my nerves a little towards the end. Overall, a great read! #booksky

I've been stuck on editing the first chapter of Merrow for a week now. Decided to try writing it by hand, and I think I finally have something that I can work off of. We'll see how I feel about it tomorrow, but it's funny how changing one small routine can break you out of a writing slump. #writesky

Finished reading Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. Starting the year off strong, I loved this book. I was always amazed at how clear each of the POV's voices were. The story is beautifully written and my only critique is there was a character whose conclusion I wanted a little more drawn out. #booksky

I'm entering 2026 with 11 series I started last year and want to finish this year. I also have 15 physical books I need to read on my shelf. I think its doable, but there are other books I'm sure I'll want to read. Finding a balance will be key, but in the meantime it's time to get reading! #booksky

My storygraph 2025 wrap-up. First year in a long time I set a reading goal (2 books a month), and I'm so happy to have met and surpassed it! I plan on setting the same goal for 2026. Here's to another great year of reading! #booksky #writesky

Finished reading A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal. I enjoyed this book, but I found I couldn't concentrate while reading it and didn't get as deep of a read as I would have liked, which is entirely because of me and not the book itself. I'll probably come back to reread it at some point. #booksky

For all the ideas we might not have the skills to execute yet. We learn and grow from each "failed" attempt. And the beautiful thing is we can always return to old ideas once we've grown. #writesky #art

I've spent the past couple of weeks trying to edit the first two chapters of Merrow, and I've finally decided the best thing I can do is move on and edit something else for a while. I think giving it some space will help me look at it from a different angle when I do come back to it. #writesky

Finished reading Stranger Skies by Pascale Lacelle. Loved this book just as much as the first one in the series. We got to explore the world more as well as see some cool magic. It was also nice to see certain characters have more interactions with each other. Definitely recommend! #booksky

Finished reading Furyborn by Claire Legrand. The dual POV got to me sometimes, and it felt like Eliana and Rielle got knocked out a ton, but it definitely picked up in the later chapters and was still an enjoyable read. The worldbuilding was easy to follow and lent itself to the story. #booksky

Who was going to tell me how much math is involved in writing a fantasy novel? I've spent way too much time with a calculator figuring out dates, ages, and travel distance/time based on mode of transportation. I thought I chose writing because I wouldn't have to do math. #writesky

What was the last book that made you feel something? Not just made you think, oh, that's sad, but gave you a physical response. Made your throat clench in anticipation of tears or your cheeks hurt from grinning? I feel like i haven't read a book like that in a while, and I'm craving it. #booksky

Finished reading Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Unsurprisingly a good read. Im happy to have finished it finally. I started this book 4 times over the past 6ish years and it always seemd to be the book I stopped my reading habit during despite it's engaging plot and dynamic cast. #booksky

10 years ago today I finished writing the first draft of Merrow for Nanowrimo. I've been working on it on and off all this time, but its crazy to think how far its come. In honor of its tenth birthday, here's Alec, Nerissa, and Quince in their original outfit designs. #writesky #writingcommunity

I'm thinking of doing an in-depth scene by scene breakdown of my manuscript for Merrow while I'm editing, and I can't tell if I want to do it because it will actually help or if it's a form of procrastination. #writesky #amwriting

As someone who doesn't network super well, I was extremely nervous starting my search for critique partners. However, I have been blown away by the critiques I've gotten so far in the best way possible. Everyone has been super helpful with their feedback, and I'm very grateful. #writesky #amediting

Finished reading An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows. I started this book a 2ish years ago and forgot about it. Starting it again now, it was one of those books that no matter how interesting it was, and it is a well written and engaging read, I had to make a focused effort to keep reading. #booksky

Working on editing my second chapter and I feel I've hit a wall. I like what I originally wrote but also understand and agree with the feedback that it slows down the plot too much and now I'm trying to figure out how I can fix it. I'm sure something will come to me. #writesky #writingcommunity

Nerissa and Galya having a chat. They talk quite a bit to each other over the course of the book. #inktober