Sunday Post – 20th January, 2019 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.

It’s been another very busy week and now that I’ve finally got around to setting myself a daily wordcount for the rewrite of Mantivore Prey, I turned around to discover that I’ve now written 5,000 words in the last eight days. It’s not brilliant – but it’s a great deal better than I’d been doing before Christmas. I also wrote and submitted the blurb, acknowledgements and dedication for Netted, my post-apocalyptic novel set in Maine which is being released by Grimbold Publishing. I also have received the edits for my Roman steampunk short story, ‘The Last Journey of Vulcan’s Breath’ which is appearing in an anthology due to be published sometime during the year.

I woke up on Thursday morning feeling rather sorry for myself – I’d a terrible sore throat and stiff neck and felt it wasn’t appropriate to hand whatever had smitten me onto Tim, who I was due to teach that afternoon, so I cancelled our lesson and spent the day dosing myself with lots of water and vitamin C.

It did the trick, which is just as well because I surfaced to my phone pinging. It was my daughter who’d been up all night with a stomach bug and was now worried about carrying the baby up and down the stairs, changing her nappy etc while feeling so sick and giddy. I arrived just after 10 am to find the baby wide awake alongside my sleeping daughter. As I quietly made friends with little Eliza, she beamed up at me. And that set the tone for the day. I was in sole charge of coping with all her needs, having to quickly brush up on my rather rusty babycare skills as I changed her nappies, sorted out lunch, amused her and put her down for her naps. She is now six months old, and the sunniest-natured baby I’ve ever encountered since her mother. She didn’t cry at all during the day, except when she let out a single bellow at being put back down in the buggy when she was expecting a feed, instead. Fortunately, Rebecca was able to get a few hours’ solid sleep and her partner did the school run, so that by the end of the day she was looking a lot better. I brought the two older children back with me for the weekend, which has been huge fun while I’ve caught up with all their doings since seeing them just before Christmas.

I’m quite stiff and sore after lifting and carrying Eliza around, but it was a joy getting to spend so much time with her. Today we took the children home as the weekend passed in a blur and hopefully, it won’t be so long before we see them again.

Last week I read:

Children of Blood and Bone – Book 1 of Legacy of Orïsha series by Tomi Adeyemi
They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
This is an emotional and at times, a harrowing read. But the story of the struggle between those with and without magic is very well depicted, effectively showing both sides of the divide. I loved this adventure and look forward to reading the next slice of the adventure.

Witch Slapped – Book 1 of the Witchless in Seattle series by Dakota Cassidy
What’s a girl to do when she’s a broke, shunned ex-witch with a very tiny, very hungry bat familiar named Belfry to feed? Hello. My name is Stevie Cartwright, and I’ve been witchless for thirty days.
If only there was a support group for down-on-their-luck ex-witches who’ve had their powers slapped right out of them (literally). Just as I was licking my wounds after returning to my hometown of Ebenezer Falls, WA, and navigating my suddenly non-magical existence with the help of my familiar, the only friend I have left in the world–things got sticky. Enter an ex-spy and newly departed spirit named Winterbottom, who’s infiltrated my life with his sexy British accent and a couple of requests…
As you can tell, this cosy murder mystery is a far lighter read. I thoroughly enjoyed the nonsense and will be definitely looking out for more from this entertaining author. Thank you Laura for the recommendation!

My posts last week:

Sunday Post – 13th January 2019

My Outstanding Reads of the Year – 2018

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of The Gilded Wolves – Book 1 of The Gilded Wolves series by Roshani Chokshi

Review of An Easy Death – Book 1 of the Gunnie Rose series by Charlaine Harris

Friday Face-Off featuring The Story of the Amulet – Book 3 of the Five Children series by E. Nesbit

Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:
Do you trust bloggers who don’t post negative reviews? https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress.com/2019/01/16/do-you-trust-bloggers-who-dont-post-negative-reviews-bookblogger-bookbloggers-blogger-bloggers/ This is an ongoing debate that regularly surfaces – and I really liked Drew’s approach to it.

Writing tip: Using Wordle to highlight overused words https://jaceybedford.wordpress.com/2019/01/15/writing-tip-using-wordle-to-highlight-overused-words/ It’s always great to get a really useful writing tip I can pass along to my students – it’s even better when it comes from an author I like and admire.

‘My Last Duchess’: A Poem by Robert Browning https://interestingliterature.com/2019/01/15/my-last-duchess-a-poem-by-robert-browning/ This is a wonderful example of a dramatic monologue and reading the final section always makes me shiver.

Elvis Presley, Tom Jones (never forgetting Lonnie Donegan!): It Looks Like I’ll Never Fall in Love Again https://theimmortaljukebox.com/2019/01/15/elvis-presley-tom-jones-never-forgetting-lonnie-donegan-it-looks-like-ill-never-fall-in-love-again/ As ever, Thom gives us all sorts of interesting info nuggets, amongst videos of different performers singing this song – but whatever you do, don’t miss that last clip…

Appreciate A Dragon Day https://bookwyrmshoard.com/uncategorized/appreciate-a-dragon-day/ And now I dream of a lovely little dragon, whose forelegs curl protectively across the spine of one of my favourite books – I waaaaant one!

In the meantime, many thanks for taking the time to comment, like and visit my blog – have a wonderful week!