Top Ten (or Three) Tuesday: Bookish Resolutions

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Did you make any New Year's reading resolutions? I have a few goals...not ten, although there are more than ten books on my TBR, if that counts. ;) Be sure to check out today's post at That Artsy Reader Girl to see other bloggers' resolutions and join the Top Ten Tuesday fun!

Resolution #1: 

Read Mansfield Park and Sense & Sensibility

Thanks to the Mansfield Park read-along, I'm already on my way to completing this goal! Once I finish these two books, I'll have read all the main works of Jane Austen. (There are other writings, complete and incomplete, but it will be great to have read all her main novels.) And the really cool thing is that I'll have read all of those books with you, those who have participated in the Jane Austen read-alongs. :) So fun!

(Also, my sister gave me a Barnes & Noble gift card for Christmas, which is what I used to purchase that lovely copy of Sense & Sensibility. Can't wait to dive in for the next read-along!)

Resolution #2: 
Catch Up on Paperback Review Books

This goal comes with a shameful confession... I have too many review books that I've never read or reviewed. :( While some in this picture are ones I received unexpectedly or from giveaways, some are ones I requested, which makes it even worse that I haven't reviewed them yet.

My hope is to read all of these (13). It would feel so good to catch up! And maybe, by sharing reviews of some not-brand-new releases, I'll be able to point others to some gems they might have missed. :) 

Resolution #3:
Read 50 Books Total 

This is my Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge. This means reading about one book per week, which seems fairly doable... We'll see! I didn't read that much last year, but I think this year will likely be a little quieter. ;) So far I've read three books: Shades of Doon and Forever Doon, completing the Doon series, and The Sound of Rain. I have plenty of others I want to read soon! (See photo for a glimpse at some of the books on my TBR.)

* * *

This year I really want to focus on the books I already own (on my shelf or Kindle). There are SO many to enjoy! I won't run out of options anytime soon. :)

How about you? 

What are your reading resolutions?

2014 Goals Update (March)

You can find my goals post from the beginning of the year HERE.

Personal:

• I got back into the job-hunting swing a bit toward the latter half of this month. Mostly with this one place I feel good about. Of course, they're not currently hiring...but I believe I shall politely and professionally hound them. ;) The person I spoke with there said to keep checking in, so I plan to! I actually have jury duty this week (unless it's canceled), so maybe it's for the best that my schedule's still open. If everything works out, this will be my first-ever jury duty experience. Could be interesting!

• Books...ummmm.... I totally went over my self-imposed limit in both departments (reviews and purchases). I think I acquired almost twenty new reads in March. See, I received a gift card, so that accounted for several purchases. (Honestly, gifts don't really count anyway, right? ;)) I visited a local bookstore and couldn't leave without buying a couple of books. I scouted out some interesting review opportunities and had a couple fall in my lap. And then Kindle books - so many great deals and new releases this month! I basically just let my addiction take over. So, the book-acquiring got a little out of control. Which has led me to decide that next month I will not acquire any new books - with a couple of exceptions. (You know there's always an exception...) If Karen Witemeyer's next release comes up for review, I plan to snatch up that opportunity! It just sounds and looks so wonderful, and I really enjoy Karen's stories. The book is set to release in June, so I wouldn't receive it until May anyway. :) And I have to add that if I'm gifted any books, that's a different story. ;) On the plus side of all this, hopefully you'll have some fun reviews headed your way! LOL. (By the way, if we're not already friends on Shelfari or Goodreads, you can connect with me on those sites to keep up with my reading habits and view the latest titles I've acquired - or you can check out the widgets in my sidebar to see what I plan to read and what I'm currently reading!)

• I'm doing all right with the reviews. There were a couple of books I finished that I chose not to review, and I have one I just finished yesterday that I need to review sometime. Otherwise, it's coming along!

• Exercise... Seriously, this month's updates are a little embarrassing. I didn't keep up with my goal of exercising four times a week. I did get in a few workout video sessions, though, and there were a couple of square dances I attended this month (love those!), so I didn't completely fail...

• There was one week where I didn't send any letters, but otherwise I got at least one letter out to friends/giveaway winners each of the other weeks. :)

Publishing:

• It was a fun month on the publishing front! While I didn't get as far as I wanted to in starting Morning Glory, I've at least started on that project. (You can meet the main characters HERE.) I received my Forget Me Not paperbacks, and the book is now available to purchase in that format. I published Bellflower & Fairy Slippers as a $.99 combo ebook and did a release-day promotion. I offered the Kindle version of Forget Me Not for free for a week, which got some good visibility and has led to much better sales this month. I also ended the month with a book giveaway (still going on!) in celebration of my 4th blogoversary. 

March was kind of a crazy month. (Do I say that about every month?) In addition to all my own book marketing, I had two blog tours for clients (so fun!), a client's book release and cover reveal (which was especially stressful because the Internet went out the worst possible time! But God is good, and it all worked out. :)), and planning for client projects coming in the next two months. We also had our choir concerts, and since our semester was so short and our director has a rather long commute, we had a week of back-to-back practices that took up a lot of time. But it was a lot of fun, and the songs were very special and beautiful. (I especially loved performing "Blessings" by Laura Story.) Then there was St. Patrick's Day, my sister's wonderful Irish dance performances (two of them!), my mom falling and hurting her knee and ankle at the beginning of the month :(, visits to my grandpa at the care home, taxes... Yeah. There's been a lot of drama, but also a lot of reminders of God's faithfulness and provision.

How was March for you? What are you looking forward to in April?

Review Copy Cleanup Conclusion and 2014 Goals Update

Review Copy Cleanup Conclusion

So... *cough cough* I think my goals for this challenge were a little unrealistic, LOL. What with book projects and life and for-fun books that I just couldn't wait to read, I only managed to finish 3 review books out of the 11 on my list (Fly Away Home, The Thief, and Circle of Spies - all fabulous reads!). Not to mention that I've since added several more review books to my piles... Oh, well!

I've decided I need to take this thing in more manageable chunks. Maybe in March I'll try to finish 4 print books for review and 3 e-books... Or maybe we'll just see how it goes. ;) Either way, you can pretty much count on the fact that I'll be reading something!

2014 Goals Update

You can find my goals post from the beginning of the year HERE.

Personal:

• Still nothing new to report on the job front. With being an author, freelance editor/publicist, occasional assistant to my dad, blogger/reviewer, and family girl, I haven't really been bored! I've still got to find a way to manage my time better, though.

• Here's the breakdown in the book department:
• Bought 3 Kindle e-books - didn't surpass my limit there! Of course, one was a collection of 7 books, but it was only $.99... And of course this isn't counting the freebies. However, I did also purchase 1 paperback yesterday, but I'm counting that toward my March purchases - I just got a little antsy. ;)
• Requested 4 books for review: 1 e-ARC, 2 e-books from the authors (one has  yet to be sent, though), and 1 paperback that actually came as a surprise, but I'm not complaining! OK, technically there was another request in there that I haven't heard back on, so I'm not really counting on it at this point. So yeah, I guess I ended up failing a bit in this department, LOL.

• The reviews are coming along well! I like having the snack-size option so that not all of my reviews have to be super in-depth. Again, I have a few exceptions for reviews, but otherwise, I'm trying to review almost every book I read.

• Ah, exercise... Yeah, I kind of fell behind on that. The nice thing is, though, that I got outside a *bit* more and varied my activities due to having a guest staying with us, attending a Western-themed dinner dance, etc. 

• I didn't end up sending a letter that last week of January, but I've been keeping up with the letter-writing since then. Can I just say I love adding wax seals to them? Kudos to the creative Jessica Dotta for getting me hooked on that. ;) My mom found the wax and seals at Michaels.

Publishing:

• This was another fairly big month on the publishing front! There was the blog tour for Forget Me Not, a Kindle Countdown Deal for Bleeding Heart, navigating the audiobook question, publishing Bellflower as a free e-book on Smashwords, and finally starting Morning Glory (and signing up for the DOOM writing challenge for March and April!). March should prove to be another busy month, but I'm starting to realize that's just life as an author. ;)

February was a rather fun month, overall. With the FMN blog tour, Valentine's Day (visiting my grandpa at the care home and watching Sleepless in Seattle with the fam), that Western dinner/dance, having a family friend visit, eating out quite a bit, another game night with friends - yep, good times! A cold caught me at the end of the month, but nothing some chicken noodle soup couldn't soothe, right?

How was February for you? What are you looking forward to in March?

Audiobook Review Offer and 2014 Goals Update

Audiobooks - those awesome products that allow you to "read" a book while driving, cleaning the house, walking around the backyard, working out, etc. One of my editing & publicity clients, Sandra Leesmith, had her latest releases, Love's Miracles and Love's Refuge, made into audiobooks, narrated by Rachel Fulginiti. Since rating/reviewing an audiobook is different than rating an e-book or paperback (because you have to take into account the narrator - voice, volume, pacing, etc.), the reviews from Amazon don't exactly transfer to Audible.com, even if they show up in their own section there. This is where you come in!

If you'd like the opportunity to listen to one or both of Sandra's audiobooks for free in exchange for an honest review on Audible.com (and perhaps Amazon, Goodreads, etc., if you'd be willing!), all you have to do is e-mail me with your choice (either book, or both). That's it! As long as I have a valid e-mail address from you, I can pass that along to Sandra so she can send you a promotion code and instructions for using it. You don't have to have a blog to review the book(s).

Here's the lowdown on the two audiobooks:

Love's Miracles was originally released as a secular romance in the '80s, but I assisted Sandra in editing the book, cutting out most of the stronger content, and re-publishing it. There are still a couple of swear words and some violence, which we decided to leave in to show the hardships veterans face. So this is a generally clean romance, but it is a bit darker.

Dr. Margo Devaull came to Dominic Zanelli's mountain retreat confident that she could help this Vietnam veteran overcome the torment that kept him apart from the world. But her training as a psychologist had not prepared her for the tragic, explosive contradictions brewing inside him. For here was a sensitive artist who could be gentle - and a man whose eyes flashed with violence and pain when he told her to leave and never come back. Yet Margo did come back, slowly gain his trust, and awaken the sleeping needs of his heart. Only by reliving her own wounded past and helping Zane confront a terrible memory from the war could she set them both free - and save their last chance for love.

Length: 10 hours and 48 minutes

Narrator: Rachel Fulginiti

Audiobook release date: October 28, 2013 

Love's Refuge is more of an inspirational contemporary romance, with a thread of suspense. It's sweeter than Love's Miracles, with no language. It was never published prior to Sandra and I working together on editing the book (along with the help of Rachelle Rea as proofreader) and self-publishing it under our "Amber Press" line.

Skye Larsen loves her peaceful life on Leeza Island in Puget Sound - the tranquility, the friendly neighbors, and especially the safety from big city dangers. So when cruel pranks start to escalate and changes threaten to overtake the island, Skye is determined to fight for her haven. The presence of a handsome vacationer and the unexpected feelings he awakens can't distract her from her goal.

Danny Fraser doesn't realize how desperately he needs a rest until he meets Skye. By allowing him to glimpse her simple way of life, she helps him reorient his priorities - and steals his heart in the process. But his work and home in Seattle keep Skye at bay.

An isolated island girl with painful memories. A dedicated city boy with a wild past. What will it cost for them both to find a refuge from their storms?

 Length: 9 hours and 10 minutes

Narrator: Rachel Fulginiti

Audiobook release date: January 20, 2014

If either of these sound good to you, and you're willing to provide an honest review(s) on Audible.com, be sure to send me an e-mail!

2014 Goals Update

You can find my goals post from the beginning of the year HERE.

Personal:

• So...no new job yet. I did do some online searching and applied to one place (and I went in to meet the manager, as well). Unfortunately, that place isn't currently hiring. *sigh* I suppose I'll have to be a little more diligent next month in actively contacting and applying to places. However, I do have some client projects coming up, and I've been doing some off and on work for my dad, so that's something, right?

• On the book front - I started off really well, but did get a little carried away with requesting books toward the latter end of the month. Here's the breakdown:
• Bought 3 Kindle e-books (So I did not surpass my limit there - yay! I did pick up 4 free Kindle books in addition to those, but I'm not counting them if they were free.)
• Requested 4 books for review (That was 1 e-ARC from an author, 2 e-ARCs from NetGalley, and 1 paperback from Blogging for Books - not counting client projects. However, three of those books have April release dates, so I might be able to sort of keep my goal if I strictly limit my requesting for the next couple of months...)

• I've been keeping up with reviewing most every book I read (not counting devotionals and such)! I do have one review to write, but it's for a February blog tour, so I have a little bit of time.

• The exercise was going pretty well... I failed that first week, but starting the first full week of January, I've kept up with exercising four times a week - except for this week (although it's not over yet, but I don't know if I'll make the full four days). Most of my workouts are only 25 minutes, but I've done a few 55-minute ones. (I'm doing exercise videos.) So, mostly I need to try doing the longer workout more often and keep up better after this week.

• I've written and sent at least one letter every week this month, although I haven't done so this week. But since this has reminded me, I shall have to do it tomorrow!

Publishing:

• This has been a busy month on the publishing front! I revealed the cover for Morning Glory; launched and maintained "The Heart's Spring" series blog; proofread, finalized, and published Forget Me Not for Kindle (and sent it to my formatter/cover designer for paperback preparation); planned the Forget Me Not blog tour (which starts tomorrow) - including sending out review copies, responding to interview questions, writing guest posts, marketing, etc.; wrote Bellflower, sent it to my proofreader, revealed the cover, and finalized it for distribution to my newsletter subscribers; and put together my first author newsletter. Whew! I don't think I could keep up that pace every month... Next month is going to be rather busy at the beginning with the blog tour and such, but once that's over, I plan to focus on Morning Glory for the next few months. I'll still be maintaining the series blog, and I'm sure I'll be doing something with another short story I've written, but still - I want/need to take a step back from the hectic marketing and get more writing done! 

January had its ups and downs, for sure. We had some friends over a few evenings, and all of my book projects have been generally fun for me. But there were also some very hard times - like taking my grandpa to a care home last weekend, and hearing about difficult things friends and family have been going through. It's been a hard month in the sense that life keeps marching on... My dad has been incredibly busy, my grandma's birthday has come and gone, and we're all just trying to figure out what our priorities are and how we're supposed to be there for one another. There have been some sweet blessings mixed in, though, and God has been providing for us, faithfully present through it all. I'm looking forward to the start of a new month and seeing where God leads in the days ahead.

How was January for you? What are you looking forward to in February? 

Goals for 2014

I've written these in my planner, but I might as well share them here, too, right? ;)

Personal

• Find part-time employment within the first few months of 2014.
• Request and purchase fewer books. After January (since I didn't really follow this when I was requesting books in December)...
• No more than 2 review books a month
• No more than 3 Kindle (or otherwise) book purchases a month
• Review every book I read (with a few exceptions - and can be snack size or full length).
• Exercise in some form 4 days a week (will get a fresh start on that this week, hopefully!).
• Write at least 1 letter a week.

Publishing

• Publish the rest of "The Heart's Spring" series (2 more books - Forget Me Not and Morning Glory - and 4 companion short stories).
• Write the 1st draft of a new novella/novel. (More info to come later this year, Lord willing!)

I don't really know what the new year will bring, so beyond my publishing goals and my plan to find part-time employment to supplement my freelance business and my book sales, I don't really have any big, long-term goals. I'm hoping to take this year one day at a time, and I'm hoping the little goals will help me keep things in perspective and maintain a healthier lifestyle. The main goal, though, is to follow after God and trust in him day by day, moment by moment - because He's the one who will sustain me when and long after these goals are broken or met.

As for the goals above that pertain more to you, please feel free to hold me accountable and encourage me to try to follow them! If you see I've finished a book on Goodreads/Twitter, you can remind me that, for the most part, I agreed to review it, even if it's one I purchased. ;) If you see me going crazy with adding new books, a gentle reprimand might be required, LOL. And I'm hoping that the new blog and all the social media talk will help me stay motivated when it comes to meeting my publishing goals!

Do you have any goals/resolutions for the new year? Do we share any of the same ones?

Woman to Woman Conference: Fitness Myths

The second workshop I attended during the Woman to Woman Conference this past Saturday was called Fitness Myths and was taught by Shannon Simmons (the Assistant Professor of Human Performance at Corban University). Here's a brief description of the breakout session from the brochure:

No pain, no gain? Walking is for wimps? Feel the burn? Dr. Simmons will help you separate the fitness MYTHS from fitness FACTS as she shares how to get healthy the smart way. Learn what is 'hype' and learn how to live a healthier life that can last the test of time and myths.

This was a great workshop, and for someone who made a New Year's resolution to exercise more (and for someone who is a chocoholic and a "snackoholic" and a "cookieoholic"--you get the idea!), this session offered some awesome tips on how to stay fit for life!

Now, it would be quite a long post if I shared all of the myths vs. truths that Dr. Simmons discussed, but I'll share a few of them along with some fabulous, practical tips on fitness:

Myth # 2: Losing weight = starving (ie: having to feel deprived).

Truth: Losing weight is not about deprivation but about consistency (ex: cut 100 calories a day from your normal diet, lose 10 pounds a year; but note that this works vice versa!).

Myth # 4: Late night eating causes weight gain.

Truth: Focus on the calories, not the time of day. (Consider your caloric intake for the whole day. A little healthy snack at night if you're hungry--preferably of two types, like a fruit and a carb--is fine if you ate well-balanced meals throughout the day. But don't eat too little during the day and then load up during the night!)

Myth # 8: I need a lot of equipment [to work out properly].

Truth: Move your body! Just get active. Equipment, the gym, etc.--all those sorts of things are nice and useful, but the point is just to get moving in some way!

At the end of the session before the Q & A time, Dr. Simmons discussed tips for living an overall healthy lifestyle, which made a lot of sense to me. Here are some of them:

• Short term does not equal success.
  
• Change one small thing at a time.
• Find a healthy lifestyle that suits you, not someone else.
  
• Be yourself; enjoy the journey.

I confess that I felt kind of like an expert after this session, and I'm afraid I offended someone recently by putting down their personal effort to try and be healthy. I don't want to do that again, so please note that I don't have all the answers. (I'm sure you were quite aware of that before!) ;) I was just really encouraged by Dr. Simmons' talk, and I think she had a lot of helpful advice to share!

Sometimes it's daunting to think about trying to be healthy. But just consider making one small life-change at a time. For example, Dr. Simmons talked about replacing one unhealthy food you eat everyday with a healthier option (except for one day a week, in moderation).

Or perhaps you could establish a short exercise schedule a few days a week that you enjoy and that you can do rain or shine, every week. For me so far this year, it's been the video workout I brought with me to school this semester--I can work out in my room three days a week without worries. And the best part of all? I enjoy it! It's fun! If you can find something fun to do to get moving, you are golden! ;)

Fulfilling the Resolution: Exercising

Exercising. It's on quite a few New Year's Resolutions lists, I'm sure. It certainly was on mine!

But how to go about fulfilling such a resolution? There is a gym on the campus of my school, so I can go and work out there. I could take a walk outside. And I'm sure similar options are available to you, as well.

However, there are those days when it's raining (or snowing!), and you don't want to leave your safe, warm house. Or there are days when you simply don't want to be surrounded by others at the gym. Whatever the reason, it's nice to just stay at home. But there's no reason why you still can't get in a good workout!

That's why workout videos are such a great help. To be sure, some of them are goofy or strange. But find the right one, and workouts can be fun!

While at home this Christmas break, I've revisited one of my old favorites: Prevention Fitness Systems 3-2-1 Workout on DVD. I love it! The video comes with a warm-up, 6 different 6 minute circuit workouts, and a cool-down. Each workout is themed (you know how I love themes!), from boxing, to dancing, to yoga. And each workout is broken down as follows:

"3 minutes of cardio moves"
"2 minutes of strength training"
"1 minute of ab exercises"

The person leading the workout (Chris Freytag) is really sweet, and the workouts are high energy but not too difficult to follow. In fact, once you do the whole workout for a while (which is about 40 minutes long, I believe), it will come second nature.

I'm not a doctor, so I can't say for sure how this workout compares to others or who should or should not do it. But if you're generally healthy and are looking for a fun way to get a well-rounded workout, look no further than the 3-2-1 Workout! You can order the DVD on Amazon.com--just click HERE to take a look.

Now, I'm off to go do the 3-2-1 Workout!

Resolutions for 2011

This is the first New Year's Eve I will celebrate through my blog, so I have decided to post my main resolutions here. Feel free to share some of your resolutions, as well! We can encourage each other as we express our hopes for 2011. =)

Exercise

As a blog-lover and student, I spend a lot of time indoors (in front of my computer). We have a lovely gym on campus, as well as a nature trail, and while I have used them in the past, I have become much more inconsistent with my workouts. I don't want to limit myself to only specific types of workouts, but I do want to work out at least three times a week, in some form or fashion. God has given me this body, and I need to take better care of it. In that sense, I also want to work on eating healthier (especially eating fewer sweets).

Learn to Drive

As some of you already know, I do not have my driver's license. I have never taken Driver's Education classes. I don't have my permit. And while I certainly don't want to rush into driving, I think it's time to learn. I'm still nervous, yes. And I don't want to get a car (which entails paying for gas and paying for car insurance) until it's absolutely necessary. But I know that I would gain more independence and be a greater help to my family if I knew how to drive. So my goal is to get my license before 2011 is over (preferably during the summer when I am at home).

Finish my Manuscript

This is a big one for me this year. I've had high hopes in the past of completing my manuscript, but it hasn't happened yet. This year, though, I'm setting forth a game plan. I told a dear friend about my desire to go to the Oregon Christian Writer's Conference this summer, and she encouraged me to go ahead and act as if I am going, even if it doesn't work out. So my goal is to finish my manuscript by May 31, 2011, and then polish and edit so that I can write a proposal and submit it for the conference. I'm about halfway through as of now. I love this story God has allowed me to write so far, and if it is His will I want to start taking the steps toward publication this year. Only He knows where it will go, but I think it's time to step out in faith and really set aside the time to write.

"Wake up with the Dawn"

One movie that has really touched me and blessed me is Tuck Everlasting. As a believer, I love the movie's message about not fearing death and truly living one's life. There are many great quotes from the movie, but one that I want to really live out this year is when Jesse tells Winnie, "Wake up with the dawn." If I don't have to be somewhere in the morning, I have a really hard time waking up early. (This could be partly due to the fact that I'm quite the night owl!) While I don't necessarily want to "wake up with the dawn" literally, I do want to treat each day as the gift it is and wake up earlier. I want to spend more time with the Lord, and I think it really does make a difference to start your day focusing on Him. I often wake up, get ready, and then look at my blog before rushing about with the activities of everyday life. I want to change that, and I know I can only do that through God's help. May I truly live for Him alone!

Whatever our resolutions are, may we seek God's will and seek His mercy and strength in living lives that will please Him throughout 2011 and all the days of our lives. See you in the New Year!