Busy Running Equals Forget Stuff

 Welcome! I hope you're having a beautiful Saturday. I normally do NOT blog on Saturday. I treasure my rest days. Goodness knows I needed one today! Read on to find out more...

Author Journey: Still Putting Stuff Together, Sort Of...

I'm still working on ideas for the collection of vignettes I plan to work on in November. I'm looking forward to the change of pace and the challenge. Another plus is that it's September and I feel I can "officially" start the planning. 

I'm also still working through the edits of Surge. The plan is to get that published between November and February, but it's all going to depend on how much I'm actually able to accomplish. 

I still haven't gotten to work on the sizing for both Ripples and The Tale of Outh'n Durr so I can put them into print. I haven't given up, but I haven't had much time to work on them. Please bear with me. They will be in print as soon as I can possibly achieve it. 

Writer's Life: Oh, Really? We're That Busy? Yeah.

It's been one crazy week. When I tell you there was something every day which brought us out of the home, I mean that literally. On some days, we needed to leave home more than once. While for some of you, that's an everyday normality, I assure you it isn't for me. I expect to be out of my home about three to four days out of the seven day week. Even today isn't exempt. So here's what happened:

• Monday - Church Supper Gathering (a pleasant affair, certainly)
• Tuesday - Mom's doctor visit (a good report, thankfully)
• Wednesday - Dad's dental surgery (all went well), daughter's doctor's appointment (set up to go to a specialist from that point), and Church mid-week service and supper (also pleasant)
• Thursday - Rain. Rain. And more rain. We were home, but the rain totally messed up my schedule and therefore threw my brain for a loop. Could've blogged that day, but completely forgot. 
• Friday - Run to the ER for aforementioned daughter (thankfully a better report than expected), also...Rain. 
• Today - Had a gathering of friends planned but the two days of rain completely muddied our driveway and saturated our yard. There's no way someone wouldn't have had trouble leaving at some point. So we're postponing that. And we have to go shopping for a new mailbox because some goober who doesn't know how to drive (or whose momma never taught them it's illegal to mess with mailboxes) totally destroyed ours. Ah, spontaneity! I prefer with it's not combined with 'combustion'...  

So yeah, you could say we've been hopping this week. Still, I did manage to get something done which has been on my to-do list for a while. I made these yummy banana oat muffins topped with pecans. I don't add sugar to these because I enjoy them with coffee. However, when I first pulled them from the oven, while they were still warm, I snagged one and topped it with some rum cream we got when we visited Belize. (My husband's family treated us to a cruise in June.) It was as tasty as I expected! 

Muffins are on to bake!

I know you can't tell, but it's topped with rum cream. I have warm spiced milk in my mug because I had already finished off my coffee. Still a yummy combo, though! 

Books! You Should Read More Books

I know I haven't been able to put a review or book recommendation in the last couple of posts. I'm going to remedy that today. I'll also let you know what I added to my 'want to read' list, well, a couple of them. All are linked to their Goodreads page so you can check them out. 

Currently Reading:

• No Mistletoe Kiss for a Cowboy by Alexa Verde - She's not one of my absolute favorite authors, but she does write clean, somewhat inspirational romances that are enjoyable. And she's really good at story beginnings. That's how I got snagged on this book...with the blurb at the end of the previous book in the series. 
• Best Friends to Love by Alexa Verde - This is a box set sampling of some of Alexa's books. I finished the first one, then had to detour so I could see what happened in the book that followed, which isn't included in the box set. So...well done marketing, Alexa! 

Want to Read: 

• I Hide Among the Words by Sinbad Alexandros & Jaira Gina - I found this book while scrolling on a new follower's page on X. It sounds interesting and informative, and also unlike anything I've ever seen or read. 
• The End Begins by Sara Davison - I found this one while scrolling on the Goodreads site. I'm not usually a fan of apocalyptic fiction, but this one sounded promising. 

Book Reviews: Ranger Bravery by Lynn Shannon & Joy on the Mountain Peak by Misty M. Beller

Ranger Bravery by Lynn Shannon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Still Enjoying This Series

I’ve read every book in the series so far and have enjoyed each one. The only thing I’ve seen in them that gives me pause is one or two not-quite-right words or phrases will slip through the editing cracks. They’re glaringly obvious when I come across them, but they don’t detract from the solid plots and characters I’m invested in. This book was more meat and less fluff than the previous ones, I think, though there’s not a lot of fluff in the others. I was happy to see that improvement in the author’s writing style. And like the rest, the faith element is strong without being preachy. So if you enjoy reading inspirational suspense romance which is clean, then do give this book a try.

View all my reviews

Joy on the Mountain Peak by Misty M. Beller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Lovely Story of Love and Forgiveness

If you enjoy stories about strong-minded, honest characters who overcome some pretty serious obstacles to be together, then you should check this book out. I love the way Misty Beller brings these MCs together despite serious issues from the past. The way the author weaves faith in God into the story was moving and came across as it should. It felt real, not preachy. The characters were easy to love and pretty easy to relate to. And the plot kept me interested all the way through. There is some closure in this book, but one of the side issues the MCs deal with continues in an extra epilogue you can get by signing up for the author’s newsletter. I did that because I love this author’s work, but others might not want to.

View all my reviews

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful day and a wonderful week following. Don't let the media hype and negativity ruin it for you. Do what your gut tells you is the right thing where all that nastiness is concerned and keep pressing on. I'm doing my best to only catch the highlights so I know what's going on and where all these candidates say they stand. Then I'm going hunting for the data which shows me where they actually stand. Only then will I choose who to support with a vote. 

Choose joy, y'all! 

Until next time,
Keep turning pages...