The Bit

Let me start with an apology. I'm so very sorry for my absence this month! For those of you that are regular readers, I haven't been very active with my posts this month. We've done quite a bit of traveling, I was pretty sick for about two weeks, and we had doctors appointments we had to travel for. So. Sorry. I did manage (barely!) to read three horror books this month and do a special review for an Indie author. You guys know I love to theme October as an all horror month. It's my favorite month. I wait all year for it! So many exciting things seem to happen in October, I like to call it the magic month. Anyway. Let's talk about what I read! "172 Hours on the Moon"- Johan Harstad I was a little skeptical about this book when I first came across it, but the reviews sold it to me. I was worried it wouldn't be scary enough for me since it's a Young Adult, but I was pleasantly surprised. I slept with the closet light on the night I finished it. ...

Welcome to another special edition! I'm always so happy to work with authors and participate in blog tours, especially when it comes to this particular lady. I absolutely love Hannah Lynn's work! To see my review of her book (which she also published this year. I mean, what!?) The Afterlife of Walter Augustus , you can find that here . It was also wonderful and I recommend everyone read it. But let's focus on her newest book today! "Peas, Carrots and an Aston Martin"- Hannah Lynn Lynn prides herself on not fitting into a specific category. Instead she simply loves to write people's stories. This book is no exception. Is it a thriller? Romance? Drama? No. It stands on it's own as being the story of Eric Sibley, a workaholic who's just lost his estranged father. Eric had no idea his inheritance would come with conditions, let alone that his biggest inheritance would not even be given to him. His father left him a gardening plot and the coveted Asto...

I'm so ready for fall, you guys. I'm officially over summer. Bring on the leaves, sweaters, pumpkin spice, jack-o-lanterns, and Halloween. I'm ready! I'm always so stoked for October. It's seriously my favorite month of the entire year. And our October is already packed full of activity! Don't worry, I've already got a stellar lineup of reads secured. It's going to be amazing. Enough of that, let's talk about what I read this month! Both of these books took a little bit more of my patience (for very different reasons) but overall, I wasn't impressed with my choices this month. Not to say they were terrible, but neither one of them blew me away. Before we get started, there will be a Special Edition to the Book Bit in October, so keep your eyes peeled! "The Hunt for Red October"- Tom Clancy Everyone knows who Tom Clancy is. He's written a ton of books, a lot of which have been made into films, and even some video games. I me...

So, let's get a little real today about the mom talk. Who among us is a perfect mom? *looks for raised hands* That's what I thought. I know, for sure, that I am (on a good day) and OK mom. Right in the middle. Some days I succeed at the mom thing, but it's a rarity if I'm honest. And it's taken me a long time to be fine with just being average. There's a lot of pressure out there to be that super successful, amazing, put-together mom with well behaved, angelic children. -The Lies Let's start with how we got this idea in our heads to be perfect mother's. In all fairness, it probably stemmed from all of those ads in the fifties where Mom ran the hoover in one hand and read a book in the other. Or had well-behaved children waiting at the door for Dad, while Mom handed him a drink, took his briefcase, and his coat and had the roast timed to come out of the oven at his arrival. That's probably where it all began, and then our lovely feminist foremothe...

Hey, guys! As many of you know, I'm in the midst of publishing my very first novel. Yikes. What a journey it's been already, and I'm not even done! While there are several things you should do before you publish, the one thing I highly recommend is participating in a writer's share. I'm shocked that more writer's don't do this on a regular basis before publishing. I've talked with other indie authors (several) who have never participated and still produce great novels. That being said, joining a writer's share has drastically improved my writing. So, I'm here today to discuss it with you. -What is a Writer's Share? I'm so glad you asked! A writer's share is an agreement to critique another writer's work in exchange for yours. You can do this chapter by chapter or the work as a whole, depending on the agreement set. It also depends if the work (manuscript) is finished or still a work in progress. These are all laid out beforeh...

Summer is gone, guys. Like, over! Can you believe that!? While I'm ready for fall (because hel-lo! Fall!) I'm a little bummed the summer is already over. My kid started school this year, which pulled pretty tight on my heartstrings and the semi-carefree life I've been leading the last few years. Our schedule is officially like every else's now. *sigh* Moving on. Did you guys have any good beach reads this summer to share with me? You know I'm always looking for recommendations, so if you have them, send them my way! I put away three books this month, and I had mixed feelings about two of them. The winner came by default, you'll understand soon enough. Let's get started. "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas"- James Patterson To be clear, I enjoy James Patterson. He writes fantastic books, really. But this book, to me, proves that once you write enough best sellers and establish a strong fan base, you can pop out a terrible book and people will s...

Guys, summer is over. Ummm, is anyone else at a loss for words? Where did the summer go? I swear, just last week it was too cold to go out and now school has started and the temps are dropping again. It's been nonstop rain up here for us. Every day. Flood warnings are a regular on the news right now. So, at the beginning of the summer I decided to make a bucket list! A little something to give me a boost and motivation to have a summer of fun. And we did! I didn't get everything crossed off, but we made a pretty good dent. If you follow me regularly on Instagram, you've seen some of my photos of our fun summer activities. But, I'm here to update the list and let you guys know how it went! Make Homemade Ice Cream and Waffle Cones Waffle cones were not accomplished, but two flavors of homemade ice cream were a success! (strawberry ice cream and lemon custard) Have a Picnic Go on a Legitimate Date   Hubs and I went to a Hibachi restaurant! We'd never been b...