Beach, Pool, Farm, Zoo, Earthquakes.... life has been pretty full of late. Anyway I just wanted to let you all know I haven't forgotten about you, and to let you know why I haven't been around.
I also wanted to say how much all your messages following the earthquakes mean to me. I'm deeply touched. It was incredibly scary even here in Rome, and all the more so when I think we were meant to be near the main area hit visiting relatives. Luckily all relatives are OK, but I feel an overwhelming sadness for the people whose lives were ended or turned upside down. Thank you again for all your well wishes.
And now to switch to a happier tone... here I am feeding baby goats with my kids at the farm:
As the month is coming to an end I thought it was also time to update you on my ARC August progress... or lack of... so far. To date I've read a grand total of 2 books for ARC August. Yep, just the 2. I had such high hopes for this month. On the upside, they were both pretty awesome ;) I do still have a couple of days to squeeze in another one too. Not all hope is lost.
Watch the video for my full update on life and the ARC August challenge:
Although I've not been very active online in recent weeks I have come up with loads of new ideas, and found new energy and inspiration. Looking forward to getting back to work.
I hope you've all had a fab summer too. What have you been up to?
Are you taking part in ARC August? How many have you read so far? Which is the best and why?
My thoughts about One True Thing by Amber Lea Easton
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Title: One True Thing
Author: Amber Lea Easton
I was given a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for my honest review. I'm giving this book a 4 star rating. About the book:
One little lie leads to a whole lot of trouble.
Reclusive international resort developer, Dominic Varga, needs a date to ward off his matchmaking parents. When he persuades the notorious Vanessa Warren to play his girlfriend for the night, he has no idea he's stepped into the crosshairs of kidnappers who will do anything—destroy everything—to get to her.
Power...it's a heady drug.
Vanessa Warren is America's favorite rebel. Daughter and granddaughter of US Presidents and sister to a future one, her family connections and notoriety are seen as leverage for manipulating the White House—if she's captured.
One true thing...
Trapped in a rapidly escalating international terror plot, Dominic and Vanessa's lie becomes the only real thing in the midst of betrayals, conspiracies, and murder. As their world falls apart, they suddenly only have each other to rely on against ruthless people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goal. Who can they trust? Who is behind the plot—her own family, a political rival of her family's, or a terrorist organization? How far will the kidnappers go—what will they be willing to sacrifice—to control the power of the White House? Is there anywhere in the world where they can find safety?
In July I took part in the CampNaNoWriMo challenge for the first time. My goal for the month was to rewrite an old NaNoWriMo novel (working name Twice) and turn it into a complete 50K novel.
Unfortunately things went a bit down hill from there. I didn't collect my winners certificate but I'm still counting it as a success. Here's why...
1) It was my first time trying to do a NaNoWriMo challenge in July. My house has been full of kids (on summer break), it's been super hot here in Rome, and a bunch of other things that made me realise it might not be the best time of the year to try doing such a demanding challenge. Despite all that I did make huge progress with my project. I didn't hit 50K, but I did write over 30K.
2) Twice became Just Love Me. This is one of the biggest breakthroughs of the month. Whilst rewriting I made some big changes to the story and decided to give it a new direction. The new working title is a much better fit for the story now.
3) The big reason why my word count stopped increasing is that I decided that I needed to make more changes to the story. I basically need to go back to the beginning and rework the plot outline. This is actually a really good thing, because now I have a much clearer idea of what the story is about, and what I want to happen to each character.
4) I love the characters in this book. Working on this project again was like meeting up with old friends, and after a month back together I'm now super excited about giving them the story they deserve.
So, I'm going to be doing another rewrite from the beginning, which might make you think I failed big time with this challenge, but really this means the challenge was a HUGE success. Thanks to CampNaNoWriMo I now have; a new title, a clear idea of my story, my characters, and a new motivation to get it written. Some of the 30K I wrote in July will be used in the new version too, and even if it isn't it helped me get to this point with the story.
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