Hey all! Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. I have a date for Martin Hospitality's release to share with you! I took the time to find a different image than the announcement for the header because I want you to click the post to know what's going on, hehe.
With editing finished, cover design under the way, and formatting scheduled earlier than sooner, I have feel confidant announcing a release date for Martin Hospitality! Watch me freak myself on this later, but I need some solidarity in my life at the moment.
So here you have my fancy image (*sarcasm*) which I created myself, so feel free to share it around everywhere. I give you permission as the author. I will not sue you for copyright. In fact, I would kiss your feet for promoting for me!!
February 4th!!!! That's 10 weeks from today. 70 days. I can't even wrap my mind around that. It's so close but so far away! Everything is going swimmingly, though, and I can't wait to share more announcements with all of you guys along the way. I couldn't do it without you. :)
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I am SO excited for the release, you guys!! I have plans, but what would you like me to do?
Sign up for my newsletter in the sidebar to really keep up with all the announcements (which I am trying to get out this month) and also notice that I am scrambling to win NaNo.
Did I forget to post on Saturday? Yes. Was I too exhausted and busy to do it Sunday? Yes. Thus, it is Monday and I am sick, but I finally arrive! What is the post about? The holidays (and music) of course!
If you're wondering what the holidays and music are doing on my blog, just wait. Since music can be written and is made up of words, it fits beautifully with the themes of my blog. None of you are going to complain about wintry pictures, anyway, right? Didn't think so.
A big question that has come up in my writing circles is Who is already listening to Christmas music? *cough* *raises hand* I'll admit I used to be a stickler about this and not listen until after Thanksgiving ... usually on my way home from our family trip. However, I never ever listen to music after December is over. So that gives me 4-5 weeks for Christmas music. Bear with the math here, but if there are 52 weeks in a year, 5 is simply not enough to dedicate to Christmas music. So now I listen to it beginning around November. It helps get me in the season. And I'm in lots of choirs, so I'm singing Christmas music in September, hehe.
Music really astounds me and I admire anyone who can write music, or even verse. Not a skill I have. Playing musical instruments is also really amazing. I can play some piano and am in my first year of guitar, but I don't consider myself naturally talented.
The nice thing is, there aren't only Christmas songs. There are Thanksgiving ones, too! *gasp* I'm going to link to some of my favorites for both holidays.
Thankful ~ Josh Groban
Mary, Did You Know? ~ Pentatonix
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen ~ Keith and Kristyn Getty
Angels from the Realms of Glory ~ Piano Guys & Peter Hollens
God Bless Us Everyone ~ Andrea Bocelli
Pretty great songs, huh? I know some of them were rather obscure, but I love them all. What's really sad is when people don't know the traditional Christmas hymns. I'm doing carols with the girls' choir I'm in this year, and you would not believe the number of girls who've never heard Away in a Manger or We Three Kings! If you don't sing Christmas hymns at your church and listen to lots and lots of Christmas music, I feel very sorry for you. You're missing out!!
I know a ridiculous amount of Christmas songs, especially the sacred ones. I may have even gotten in a lyric war with Jonathan Trout in a Hangout ...
I was trying to find some new Christmas songs to play on the piano and was not having very good luck. Then my mom comes home with a massive piano book with over 50 songs ^.^ Oh yes. Between that and the new Pentatonix and Peter Hollens Christmas albums (and all the albums containing the songs I linked to), I am set! Now I just have to get well before Thanksgiving ;)
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Please tell me you love festive music as much as I do! What's one of your favorite songs? Have you begun listening to Christmas music yet?
I am probably holed away in my bed typing like crazy for NaNo at the moment, and yet I make a video appearance! If you enjoyed my vlog last time, I assure you the questions are even better this go round. Also, you get another peek into my brain's spontaneity if that's appealing at all . . .
Once again this is Ivy Rose's challenge and I love it! I've really come to look forward to this (so much so that I filmed this like 2 weeks ago). She explains how to do it all in this post, so check it out. Enjoy the vlog and let me know if you're going to participate. I really want to hear your answers to these questions! You have until December 15 and then there will be new questions ;)
Forgive the road noise and camera jolts. I was holding my mom's phone because it has the best video quality, and the outside light is better. I feel like I was a little more myself in this video, though, so hopefully that's a good thing, hehe. Also, here's my video from last round in case you missed it ;)
In the style of last time, I shall do nothing but ramble for the rest of this post. You have been warned.
First, MARTIN HOSPITALITY IS AT THE EDITOR'S! Yep, just let that sink in. It still hasn't for me. And it will be back in my hands soon. I can hardly wait to see what the lovely Kelsey Bryant had to say!! ^.^ Actually, the fact that I've made it this far is what blows my mind. Thank you, God!!! I tore up my handwritten editing to do list to celebrate. I was handwriting lists. That's how bad it was. The computer was no longer good enough.
I also got to meet the lovely Mandy Cavein person last week. We talked cover design (her first) and are moving forward with her amazing talent! I really want to tell you all about it, but I shall refrain. For now, you only get one hint: she's a watercolor artist. ISN'T THAT COOL?! I am so excited to finally be confidant about our vision and Mandy's skill. The day I get to share the cover with you all is going to be so incredible. Now go check out her Facebook page I linked you to. *shoo*
Also, due to some of my awesome friends already completing NaNo a group of us got together to create this celebratory post for Mary Horton. It may have involved bribery and hacking. Seriously, it was SO fun. I hear the unfathomable Katie Grace is to be congratulated today as well! *confetti and pizza* Me? You can track my word count in the sidebar, because no I'm not finished yet :)
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If you're reading this and doing NaNo, I applaud you. I cannot do both, so sorry for abandoning all your blogs this month. Are you going to do the vlog? *puppy eyes*
Blogs. They morph. It's what they do, and that's okay. Because we're presumably people and we change, too. I've got a couple changes coming to this blog that I want to make my lovely readers aware of. ((I also almost forgot to post today, so it's a little random.))
The main one is, I'm considering beginning a newsletter! Can't remember if I've mentioned this in a previous post yet or not, but there's a place where you can subscribe in my sidebar :) I have no idea when I will get this up and running, but it's a new goal of mine. This would hopefully affect my blog's content, because I would really like to avoid so many random novel updates, tags, and the like. I accidentally stopped doing monthly wrap ups because I despised them. Things like that (more personal details and updates) I would try and put more in my newsletter, I guess :)
This will allow me more time to focus on what I really feel this blog is about, while still giving cool insider details, life notes, and quirky facts all in the form of a newsletter to the true insiders. You want to be one, don't you? I thought so ;)
So go ahead and subscribe if you'd like! I'll try and figure it out before toooo long. November was going to be an open month until I decided to do NaNo and go on vacation. But that's all going really well! I'm at 7K and about to go help my aunt make bouquets for a wedding :D
As I leave, a random note that I hope to start eliminating from my blog due to newsletters: don't forget to vote this Tuesday!!! This is my first election ever and I voted on Halloween. How's that for memorable? ;)
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Are you appalled at the changes coming soon? I hope not! But please leave honest thoughts. Because that's all this post was: my thoughts. But I can't do this without you guys. I may get newsletter content polls up soon on my social media accounts soon because if this doesn't help you it really doesn't help me. Hang in there! :)
