I’m conscious that I’ve never experienced a month like it in the whole of my life – and I’m not sure I ever will again… Or perhaps I will. Perhaps May and June will continue being in social isolation with lots of handwashing 
and staying at home. But what has kept my head straight is my love of reading and writing – thank goodness for both! I’ve also loved the wonderful sunny weather – it’s been a joy being able to sit in the garden and watch Spring springing… I’m conscious that I am very blessed. And given that none of us can guarantee if we will survive this, I’ve determined to be as thankful for every coming day as I can be. So despite everything, this has been a very precious April.
Reading
I read eighteen books in April, which isn’t quite as marvellous as it sounds, as one of those was a short story and another was a novella. This is the list:
The Book of Koli – Book 1 of the Rampart trilogy by M.R. Carey
The Last Emperox – Book 3 of the Interdependency series by John Scalzi
Shorefall – Book 2 of The Founders Trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett
Scythe – Dimension Drift prequel NOVELLA #1 by Christina Bauer
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker. This is my EBOOK read of the month
Dead Eye – Book 1 of the Tiger’s Eye Mystery series by Alyssa Day
Arkadian Skies – Book 6 of the Fallen Empire series by Lindsay Buroker
Q by Christina Dalcher
The Hedgeway SHORT STORY by Vivienne Tuffnell
A Little Bit Witchy – Book 1 of the Riddler’s Edge series by A.A. Albright
The Dark Side of the Road – Book 1 of the Ishmael Jones series by Simon R. Green
Firewalkers by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Mirror and the Light – Book 3 of the Thomas Cromwell series by Hilary Mantel. This is my AUDIOBOOK read of the month
The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing – Book 2 of the Vish Puri series by Tarquin Hall
The Palm Tree Messiah by Sarah Palmer – manuscript read
Witch Dust – Book 1 of the Witch series by Marilyn Messik
Girls of Paper and Fire – Book 1 of Girls of Paper and Fire series by Natasha Ngan
After Seth by Caron Garrod
Writing
I continued working on my Creative Writing How-To Book on Characterisation and I’m pleased with the progress, but I woke up on 11th April with an epiphany about some issues that had been niggling me with Mantivore Warrior – so I dropped my How-To book and immediately dived back into the manuscript to fix it. I’ve learnt from hard experience not to ever put those kinds of moments off – otherwise they pass and I forget!
I have also been working on another project that I’m hoping to be able to discuss in another couple of weeks. I don’t normally flit between so many different writing projects – but right now everything is extraordinary. So it makes sense that my writing patterns would suddenly go AWOL, too… Overall, I wrote just over 43,000 words in April, with just under 17,000 words on my blog and just under 25,500 words going towards my writing projects, which brings my yearly total to just under 180,000 words so far.
Blogging
I have found keeping up with my blog such a source of comfort and encouragement – I know social media can be responsible for some dark acts, but I happen to be fortunate enough to inhabit a really lovely corner, where I meet some of the nicest people on the planet. But that’s not a surprise, because they are readers, or writers, or both. I hope May is a good month for you and that you stay safe. Take care.xxx
May14
Brainfluff 
It sounds like you had a wonderful month, considering these trying circumstances, and I hope the months ahead are just as good. I’m always amazed at how much you read😁 Happy May, Sarah!
Thank you, Tammy:). Yes – I kept my head straight by reading a lot and writing as much as I could… I hope that you, too, are having the best May possible!
Another new project? Wow, you have stayed very productive, Sarah!
Thank you, Becky – yes… the ultimate monotasker and here I am flitting between tasks like a butterfly! But yes – keeping busy has been a lifesaver.
It’s been an interesting month and one that has made me very glad I’m an introvert! My extrovert friends and family are really struggling. I hope you have a wonderful May!
That’s a great word, Katherine – interesting…:). If I wasn’t writing so much, I would be struggling too. Thank goodness for passions and introspection! I hope you, too, have a great May.
Yes, the internet can be a dark place at times, the anonymity giving some people the “courage” to employ attitudes they would steer away from when they are face to face with others, but we are very lucky to dwell on an… island where our love of books shapes us in a very different way… 🙂
Absolutely! A point I keep making to members of the family when they rail against the perils of social media:)
I am so ‘blah’ at the moment. I haven’t even done a monthly or weekly wrap up post since all of this ‘crazy’ began. Thankfully I am reading and trying to get back on track but then of course my dog has been seriously ill the past couple of days so that has set me back again. Small steps.
Lynn 😀
I am so sorry about your dog – I hope he feels better soon. It’s a hard time right now, as Life is so different.
dee-light-ful!
Thank you, Rae:)
It was a very unique April, indeed. I’m very thankful for summer and it’s hope for brighter things!
Oh yes – let’s hope this thing is really starting to ease up – though it isn’t going away at all fast.
No, but there’s been lots of positive signs with various treatments, so hope is burning bright!
Yes – fingers crossed that there will be some treatments very soon…