Looking Back: June

I've seen a lot of other bloggers do this kind of wrap-up post, and have thought that it would be a neat thing to do, but never write tried it - until now. Hopefully, I'll be able to get one up in the first few days of every month - but lets see. ;) For now, though, here is a wrap-up of the highlights of my June. 

     With summer started and school gone, my days are a lot less structured but only a tad less busy. Still, June was not a slow month.

     At the beginning of the month, my family had our annual end of school celebration - just a little thing with family. And then we put some mentos in a bottle of Diet Coke (just "to see what would happen") and went bowling. A great way to wrap up our school year. 

     Throughout June, we've been involved in a local theater production that is opening soon! I'm running the spotlight for the show, and have also been covering for our lighting operator while he was gone, so I've finally learned how to operate a light board. (I've been having way too much fun with that!) This is my eighth production, and west's been so much fun to be a part of this. 

     My family went camping in the 103 degree weather one weekend. (Technically, we cheated and got a screened shelter, but shhh.) It was a lot of fun, despite the heat, and we went hiking, swimming, geocaching, and just had a good time together away from home for a while. 

     Overall, June was a great month for family and friends (and a lot of theater). Watching movies with my sisters, just having fun during rehearsals and at the playwriting conference, and getting together to sing with friends (there may have been plans for a flash mob included in this . . .). 

     June was a good month for reading - there were, in particular, a few hot, lazy days when I had no plans so spent them writing and reading. By my count, I've finished 11 books this month, which is a little above my recent average. I've also been reading (but haven't finished) a few other books in addition to those eleven, including the monster of a book known as It. Not as creepy as I thought it would be, and I'm enjoying it so far) 

     Olivia Twist by Laurie Langdon. I've been wanting to read this book ever since it came out back in May, and finally got to two weeks ago. I think I read it all in one day, and it was such a good story. My first book by Langdon, and I wasn't disappointed, even though it wasn't exactly what I expected. (There may or may not be a book review coming up for this soon.)

    Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman. I read and enjoyed Serephina about two years ago now, and when I saw another book by Hartman, I picked it up. It surprised me that it was set in the same world, a few years after Shadow Scale. I enjoyed the story, but Hartman's writing sometimes seems overly complex or wordy in a way that makes my head hurt from trying to keep up with it. Still, I liked the characters and how Hartman tackled some present-day issues in a fantasy setting.

     The Genie's Bone by Savannah Grace of Inspiring Writes. This novella was admittedly one that I read a beta-reader this month - but let me tell you, it was gorgeous. I had so much fun reading it, and it was such a beautiful story and definitely one of the reading highlights of the month. (And if you haven't checked out Savannah's blog yet, you should. She has so many amazing posts and is one of the sweetest people in existence.) 

   
  I completed a flash fiction piece for Rosalie Valentine's flash fiction dash, which you can read here. This was my first time to really write flash, and I loved it! I'm already going back and experimenting with this style and genre some more, and I'm having so much fun.

     Participated in the 100 for 100 Challenge. It's been harder than I thought it would be, but writing every day is something that I've found helped me a lot. About twenty days in, I realized I really needed a better outline, so now I have a chapter-by-chapter outline that's really helping to condense my seat of the pants rambling. My 100 for 100 project is a (year old) work that I've been rehauling - June was spent fixing the plot and starting out on the second version and writing it again. 

     I've also been working on outlining and planning another novel. This is probably the first time I've tried writing something that's not pure fantasy in four years or so, and I'm realize just how different it can be to write different genres - or even plot them! 

     Like I mentioned above, Rosalie Valentine did her annual flash fiction dash, and the stories that came in were so good! Her wrap-up post links to all of the stories - so if you have time for some light reading, you should really check it out! I'm still working my way through the stories, and am so impressed by the talent and creativity in these pieces!

     Lisa is celebrating her blogoversary! (If you haven't checked out her blog before, let me tell you that it is amazing and you really don't know what you're missing out on.) And she's hosting a writing contest to celebrate, so if you like writing - or really cute GIFs - you should go check it out.

     Julian also celebrated a one-year blogoversary! (And again - if you haven't checked out Saver of Memories before, you really should because it's a great blog and Julian makes awesome posts.) 

      I'm also very excited to announce that A.M. Frisby, a writing acquaintance of mine, is starting a writer/beta reader matching service, where you can send in requests for betas for your story or to be a beta for someone else's work. She's really looking for people to submit stories to help get this project going and to spread the word. So if you're looking for someone to edit or beta your story, you should definitely check out this form and contact her at ampfrisby@gmail.com to get matched with a beta (or become a beta)! 

     June was a good month - a lot of writing, reading, and having fun with friends and family. It also meant I wasn't as diligent in putting up blog posts this month (*winces*) - something I'm hoping to make up for in the coming month. 

     How was your summer so far? Anything exciting? Fun? Have you read any good books this month?