The Sunday Salon: July 31, 2016

How is it that tomorrow is August 1st?!
Does anyone else feel as though time is on the express train?

Reading:
I maintained a decent reading schedule this week.

I managed to finish the Jessica Fletcher mystery, Manhattans and Murder, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I'm sure it helped to have the old 80s re-runs playing in my head as I read along, but ultimately I thought this was a well-written whodunit. I truly escaped into the holiday season of New York City, and I enjoyed the Cabot Cove characters.

Last night I started another Lorna Barrett mystery, A Crafty Killing. The story takes place in another quaint fictional town with a Victorian Square serving as Main Street. Katie Bonner, the amateur sleuth, just inherited Artisan's Alley (an artists' coop) because the ex-owner was found bludgeoned to death.

So far the story is entertaining enough, but it does not compare to the Booktown mysteries as far as transporting me to another time and place.

I continued to listen podcasts this week rather than an audiobook, but that's ok. They inspired to work on my blog (more on that later)... and they are developing my listening skills. In addition, they encourage me to move since I only listen to them while walking on the treadmill. So far I'm averaging about 40 minutes a day.

Kindle Unlimited:
I spent more time working this week, which meant less time to read. However, I did manage to skim through two books on journaling (to help direct my own thoughts on writing a book of my own.)

• Journaling Will Save Your Life by Mary Li. I had hoped this book would have more depth. It was a bit too basic for anyone who already maintains a journaling practice.
• The Power of Daily Journaling 101 by Alexandra Scott. A very good primer for journaling. I rated it 3.5 stars even though I did not necessarily learn anything new.

Writing:
While I did not add words to my Middle Grade novel, I did make progress.

As I might have mentioned before, my goal is to have a decent draft to present to an agent/editor at our regional SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conference in November. I had hoped to finish the rough draft by the first of July and then submit to beta readers for feedback. Obviously the broken arm delayed that schedule.

However, I decided to send out a partial manuscript with the hopes that they can help improve the first half and formulate a proper direction for the second half. I solicited the help of seven potential readers - and all seven accepted!

The book is now in their hands and I anxiously await their suggestions.

Blogging:

July 31st - National Mutt Day

As I alluded to before... I spent a lot of time this week brainstorming the direction of this blog. I suppose you could say I conducted a private bloggiesta (although I still have lots more to do... anyone else interested in a blog clean-up weekend?)

Without going into lots of details, suffice it to say that I have adjusted my tagline to match the content and direction I'd like the blog to go:

My Cozy Book Nook... connecting with others through story by honoring my heart's desires.

I'm hoping this is broad enough to allow me to write about books, writing endeavors, past and future travels, as well as photography interests. At the same time, I hope it is narrow enough in scope to identify with an audience.

Obviously this is still a work in progress, but I'm having fun.

Blog posts this week included:

• My Travel Bucket List
• Wordless Wednesday: Ice Cream
• Totoro Family Recipes: Giffy Bacon Dawg

In addition, I resurrected my daily journal prompts based on "today is national _____ day." If interested, in you can find these on my Stepping Stones Publications Facebook page.

This week promises to be another scorcher in the Midwest --- perfect for staying inside and reading, writing, and planning my blogging future.

What do you have planned for the first week of August?