A Vlog and Ramblings

I'm bringing you my first ever vlog today as part of a link-up! Go check out Ivy's page for details and instructions to join! :)

~Link-Up~

*inhale* *exhale*

Once I got going, this was really fun and it didn't feel nearly so weird talking to a screen! The ending is lame because my sister walked into our room and threw me off. But she froze and backed out like a good girl, hehe. Thank you all so much for watching! Sorry for the dim lighting (my room is weird). I'll film it somewhere else next time. :) Let me know if you're going to do the link-up!!

Oh and before you ask: yes, my hair is actually that color and yes it's actually that very strange breed of half-curly. I don't know where it came from, but that's okay ;)

~Catch-Up~

There are a couple things that have been going on lately that I want to mention not in a wrap-up post :)

First, my betas! They are so incredible. I love every single one of you. There is just nothing like the feeling of someone really enjoying your book even in a flawed state! People are shipping my characters, having book-related dreams, finding music, rambling on social media about it . . . *happy sigh* It's just so amazing!! But they're giving me honest feedback, which is what makes them so helpful. I'll have plenty to tweak and revise as I read through it one more time before my editor gets her chance. 

Second, I am now on Goodreads!! Yes, that is new news, because now I am an author on Goodreads. *gasp* That means all of my lovely betas can add Martin Hospitality as a current read (*hint hint*). The rest of you lovelies would be doing me the biggest favor ever if you would add it to your to-read list!! My betas helped me decided that I would publish under the name Abigayle Claire, so that's the name on my author profile. Here's the link to the book :)

Third, Martin Hospitality now has a public Pinterest board that you can check out! There aren't any true spoilers in there unless you don't want to know the baby's gender/name before you read the book ;) Click here to check it out and please comment on the pictures so I know your thoughts!

Also in the realm of other book obscurity, I have a cover underway (hopefully), an editor hired, a formatter lined up, and ISBN figured out. The release will be early December through Createspace (quite possibly 3 months from today!). Hopefully a blog tour and giveaway and all that jazz will come together as well . . .

Having nothing to do with my book at all, I have a very awesome obscure guest post up on Mary's blog. Go check it out!

Thank you guys so much for your support! Again, I hope you enjoyed the vlog! Please, please do one. Please? I really want to see your videos. It's my new favorite way of getting to know people. There's so much you can't get through a screen :)

~~~~~

Okay, so what surprised you when you watch the vlog? My voice, hair, mannerisms? I think it'd be interesting to know how I strike people :)

Goodbye August

Well that month passed much faster than it needed to! Welcome to September :)

Life

The Olympics. *happy sigh* You may have seen a lot of things on Twitter about them and I have no regrets. I can't even tell you how much I love Olympics. And I think I've decided that I like summer better than winter. You just can't beat swimming, gymnastics, and volleyball. Which is good, because that's basically all that was aired this year xD Figure skating is the only thing that comes close :) And our women's gymnastics and beach volleyball teams are some of my favorites. So I thoroughly enjoyed that lovely excuse for procrastination ;)

Well, it was August. That word invokes sweltering heat with absolutely no moisture. Not so!!! This year we only broke 100° for about a week and then . . . right before my birthday: RAIN!!! It has rained off and on for the last two weeks of August, significantly lowering the temperatures. I was so excited!! I don't think you understand how much it means to have my favorite sort of weather on my birthday :D

Obviously, my birthday happened, too! I turned 18, which meant that after a full day of gift shopping (I got new makeup, typewriterly stamps, awesome clothes, a great movie, a laptop bag, an orchid, and money) I was faced with registering to vote and renewing my permit.

After I renewed my permit, Mom made me order at Starbucks. In the drive-thru! I don't think you understand how much drive-thrus scare me. It had no turns, which is the only reason I agreed to do it. But talking to people through a speaker is almost as bad as talking to people on the phone AKA an irrational fear of mine!! But I had a frappuccino at the end of it all, so it was okay :)

Then my big piece of news: I hired an editor!! I decided to go ahead and check into October dates since September is devoted to my betas and I found one lovely, Christian editor with extremely reasonable pricing and flexibility. I am so thrilled to have that squared away satisfactorily. And since she's not available until late October, that gives me plenty of time to square away this lovely editing thing. :)

Words

~Vocabulary~

lam ~ verb: hit someone hard; attack

marquee ~ noun: American: a rooflike projection over the entrance to a theater, hotel, or other building. British: a large tent used for social or commercial functions.

cathartic ~ adjective: providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions; causing catharsis; chiefly (of a drug) purgative.

~Quotes~

"Soldiers are humans in a pressure cooker."

"I take pleasure in pointing out the bright sides to Molly, because when I do, I remind myself they exist."

"'It's just . . . if I can't be a hero in my own life, maybe I can be one in someone else's.'"

~ Terri Blackstock, If I Run

"Some things you cannot wish away or think away. They become part of you when you remember them." ~ Alice Hoffman, Incantation

"One of the greatest things in human life is the ability to make plans. Even if they never come true-the joy of anticipating is irrevocably yours. That way one can live many more than just one life." ~ Maria Augusta von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers

Books

~Cover to Cover: 2~

If I Run by Terri Blackstock
Incantation by Alice Hoffman

~Middle to End: 2~

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta von Trapp

An Old-Fashioned Girl by Lousia May Alcott

~Front to Middle: 2~

Lady in Waiting by Jackie Kendall and Debbi Jones
Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
(had to return this one to my library before I finished :( )

Writings

~Words: -----~

Words? What are words? I began a short story and that's around 1,500 words. And I edited 16 chapters of my story. So I don't really have a number for you because  that's how lazy I am xD

~Chapters: 16~ 

Again, I edited 16 chapters of my novels because IT'S GOING TO BETAS!

~Progress Update: 50%~ 

The other half that I'm supposed to be editing? It's going, too, I just . . . yeah. Betas may not get the second half until the second half of September. Hehe. Sorry guys.

~Biggest Problem: Olympics~

In other words, distractions xD I am in a major reading/writing/editing slump and I'm going to have to heave myself out of it. Having my betas zipping through my book should be motivation, right? ;)

Blogs

~Followers: 59~

That's +6 again without any effort on my part. Thank you guys!

~Views: 14,493 ~

I think I'm the first one to care about this sort of thing, but I love this stat! :)

Goals

My August goals were:

1~ Completely edit my novel
Weeeeeell, the Olympics got in the way of this. Major time. I totally did not figure them in.
2~ Complete Jesseca's "A Question of Honor"
I forgot this was one of my goals, and I'm only about halfway through :( But I'm loving it and told her I would finish in two weeks :)
3~ Read 3 books (cover to cover)
I did a Twitter Readathon and pledged two books while it ran this weekend. Those were the only two I managed cover to cover, but I got to a lot else! Hehe . . .
4~ Share a bad review
So it wasn't tooooo bad, but it was a low amount of mushrooms :) You can read it here.
5~ Do a Camp NaNo post
Check! This one was super fun. You can read it here.

My September goals are:

1~ Have fun with beta readers
I am so excited about this!!! I have 16, I think? We'll see what happens :D
2~ Complete Jesseca's "A Question of Honor"
Again :)
3~ Figure out Martin Hospitality's cover design
This is the one thing I don't have ironed out yet.
4~ Do a vlog
*screams* I love these, but videos scare me so much. Ivy Rose has tagged me for a link-up now, so it's gonna happen. I'm accepting questions! (I'll emphasize this in a later post).
5~ Figure out how to install a "Tweet this" link
Putting this on my to-do list means it will get done, right?

~~~~~

Did your August FLY?! Did you watch the Olympics? Did it rain for you? What are you looking forward to this fall?