Plus get GIRL, INCORRUPTED direct from me, 20% off!

Hello!

I hope your 2024 is off to a good start! This month I have Girl, Incorrupted 20% off, a book I’m still loving that I want to keep sharing, plus news about GIRL, INCORRUPTED BOOK 2!!!

All Things Girl, Incorrupted

Get the book direct from me!

Well, direct from the printer, anyway. But with a 20% discount!

How cool is this? This development with the printer/distributor is brand new, and I’m super excited about it. Sadly, they do not ship outside of the US (yet?) ☹️, but for those in the US who want one, this is a great way to get a copy of GIRL, INCORRUPTED!

All Things Current Project

So many irons in the fire! I’m still plugging away on the revision of the ex-angel project I’ve been working on, the one with the 12-week timeline I mentioned last month. So it’s moving. Not as fast as I’d like, but it’s moving.

I also started GIRL, INCORRUPTED 2! 😲 I know, right?! I’ve written two scenes so far. Then I ran into a need to do some research, so there’s things to do before I keep going, but, guys, it’s practically begging to be written! I’ll keep you posted!

What Else I’ve Been Up To

Social Media Fun!

The February Reader Question is up! You can check it out here:

Instagram

Facebook

What I’ve Been Reading

So last month I told you I was reading Martha Beck’s The Joy Diet. I’m loving this book. It’s a list of “ten ingredients for joy.” You do a new step every week (or slower, if you want). The first few weeks are meditating, taking stock of yourself and your desires, and getting creative on how you might fulfill them. Well, in the Creative section, I got this idea about how to level up my craft, and it was something I could take action on, but I was kind of hemming and hawing . . . but then I realized it was the start of a new week, which is when I start the next of the ten steps, so I read the next chapter, and it was Risk: Do at least one frightening thing a day that contributes to the fulfillment of your desires. So I followed through on my idea. It felt good.

So then for the rest of that week, I’m taking a new risk every day, which starts to sort of feel like I’m just adding more and more things to my to-do list, and I start feeling a little drained, tired, like I don’t want to be doing so much stuff. I also feel like I’m not getting as much done each day on the ex-angel project like I had been, and I start puttering around the house not really doing anything productive and I eventually lie down on the bed and turn on a meditation. It’s nice.

So the next morning I sit for my morning meditation and joy diet session, and I notice it’s the beginning of a new week again, so I read the next chapter, and it’s Treats: give yourself at least three a day, one for every risk you take and two just because. I get a little worried, because treats are definitely not something I need more of, but she defines them as anything that makes you smile. I love this. So I’m reading the chapter and she’s listing examples of treats, and she eventually includes “the sensation of lying down and letting all your muscles relax at once.”

Ha! I think. That’s exactly what I ended up doing last night, after puttering around trying to figure out what I needed.

So then she goes on to say,

Your mind is likely to tell you that even these things—perhaps especially these things—are still too ‘expensive,’ that they require time and attention you just by God do not have. [Ohmigosh, yes! This is exactly the thought I was having!] Examine these thoughts carefully. Notice the energy you feel when you think them. It’s probably critical, judgmental, and tense (remember the signs of a false desire?). This is a sign that you are at war with your animal [too long to explain; you’d have to read the book] and probably have been for years. What you may not realize is that your animal is fighting back, and it usually wins. Take a few minutes three times a day to indulge it, and you will find that the primal forces of your mind and body will begin to work for you in ways you’ve never expected.

Inspired enough for the day, I put the book down and got to work on my project.

All this to say. I’m really enjoying the Joy Diet. It’s perfectly organized and timed to hold your hand the entire way.

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ICYMI

Give Me a Hand?

The Secret Page

The Look Book

Appearances

Winnie Pug Update

Winnie is a social butterfly! But I’m not sure she loved her latest visitor.

One of the neighbor kids (he’s 20 now) asked me (with two hours notice) to watch his 9-month old shih tzu puppy.

“Ohmigoodness, yes, please!”

So I got to spend two giddy weeks with Gizmo.

Winnie hated it. He’s so cute and so tiny, and that, of course, is her thing. After a while she started playing with him instead of just attacking him, and after about a week, she would lie down when they played to give him a fair chance, whipping her head around and “growling” and occasionally whacking the air with a paw. (I’m so proud of her.)

But mostly she spent the two weeks draped sadly on her dad’s shoulder. Daaad, he’s in my bed. . . . Daaad, I was playing with it first. . . . Daaad, that’s my mom.

To me, Gizmo looks more like an ewok than a mogwai, but he does make legit mogwai sounds. Needless to say, I thought he was delightful.

Since you’ve made it this far…

Comment “I made it!” so I know you’re with me!

Good To Knows

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Thank you for reading! Talk to you again soon!