Anthology paperbacks, A-Z challenge and Line of Duty(#IWSG May 2021 & The Sunday Post)

Posted May 2, 2021 in Life Updates / 6 Comments

the sunday post

The Latest in my Life

I realised today that I haven’t done one of these updates since March. Oops. Things have been quite busy since I finished working from home and returned to working in school full time. I spent two weeks helping in the library then resumed my literacy intervention groups. I’ve really enjoyed seeing all the students again but it’s taken me a while to get back into the routine. Unfortunately, my daughter had to isolate for a couple of weeks in April so there was a lot of work and childcare to juggle.

The two-week-long Easter break was just what I needed to recharge my batteries. I mostly spent it reading, watching films and doing crafts with my daughter, as well as preparing some new lesson materials. The lockdown restrictions have begun to relax a little here so we were able to visit some of our family in their gardens, which was lovely.

After Easter, I took on some more responsibilities at work so I’ve been focusing on that most of the time. I’ve been very tired in the evenings so haven’t done much writing or blogging. Luckily, I prepared most of my A-Z challenge posts in advance.

I’m having a great weekend so far. We got to see my mum for the first time in ages yesterday, which was lovely. We also went for a walk in some nearby woods and had a takeaway from the chip shop for tea. It was so nice to see my daughter playing with her friends again after being on her own for so long. Tomorrow is our 7th wedding anniversary so we are going out for lunch (eating outside a pub) for the first time since goodness-knows-when. Hopefully, the weather will stay nice.

Writing #IWSG

I received the paperback copies of Fairytale Dragons in the post a few weeks ago, which was pretty exciting. It’s an anthology of fairytale retellings from Dragon Soul Press and features my short story, “Forged in Flames”, which is a loose retelling of Rapunzel. I love the cover and formatting. I’ve given most of my copies to family and kept a handful to sell at book fairs and other events. The eBook is available here if you are interested: https://books2read.com/DSPFD

In other writing-related news, I attended a virtual sci-fi and fantasy convention in April called QuaranCon. There were loads of fantastic panels covering everything from marketing to magic systems. I learned so much from it and took several pages of notes. The videos are still available to watch here. I highly recommend QuaranCon for both writers and readers of speculative fiction.

Blogging

I successfully completed the Blogging from A-Z Challenge again, which ended on Sunday. This year’s theme was “Life, the universe and everything according to my 5-year-old”. It was fun to put together and I’m so grateful to everyone who read and commented on my posts. I’ll be sharing my reflections post in a few days, so stay tuned for that.

Life, the Universe, and Everything According to My Five-Year-Old

Recently on the blog:

Reading

I had to read a few anthologies of short stories for work to see which would be suitable for our reading groups:

  • Scared to Death by Anthony Horowitz. This was such a fun read and remind me of the Goosebumps stories I used to read in the 90s. It’s always delightful when horrible characters get their just desserts in gory ways, particularly if there is a twist to the tale.
  • M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman. Clever and fantastical as I expected, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as his longer fiction. Some stories felt a little undeveloped, but it was still a good read.
  • Fresh Ink, edited by Lamar Giles. This anthology boasts an interesting selection of contemporary stories from diverse authors. It felt very edgy and topical and so far my students are really enjoying it.

I also read The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton to my daughter for the second time. She just can’t get enough of these books!

Watching

After finally finishing House M.D, we started watching Line of Duty on BBC iPlayer. Several people recommend it to us and I’ve been curious about all the memes and hype on social media lately. If you’ve not seen it yet, it’s a drama about a police unit that investigates corrupt officers. You never quite know which characters can be trusted and there are lots of twists that I didn’t see coming at all. We were hooked from the first episode of season 1 and are now at the end of season 4. It’s very tense and highly addictive!

Quote of the Week

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.

~Albert Einstein

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer.

It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books..share them!

~Kimberly

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group post on the first Wednesday of every month. We want to help writers of all stages to overcome their insecurities, and by offering encouragement we are creating a community of support.

This month’s awesome co-hosts are: Erika Beebe, PJ Colando, Tonja Drecker, Sadira Stone, and Cathrina Constantine!

How are you doing? Have you read or watched anything interesting lately? Do you have any writing news to share? Let me know in the comments!

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6 responses to “Anthology paperbacks, A-Z challenge and Line of Duty(#IWSG May 2021 & The Sunday Post)

  1. Transitioning back to school is tough! I’m almost glad we have been teaching in person all year because it just made things easier. Have a wonderful May!

  2. Happy anniversary! And that’s nice you’re able to do a few more things, it is nice to be able to get out a bit for sure, and see family a bit more. Congrats too on the anthology- that’s awesome!!

  3. Happy Anniversary and congrats on having your story published in the anthology! So exciting! Line of Duty is full of twists and turns. A very enjoyable watch! I’ve been enjoying The Circle on Netflix. It’s good escapist TV. Right now I’m reading Ruby Red Herring by Tracy Gardner.

  4. Congratulation on your short story being published in the book! I can imagine it must be difficult getting back to school now. Congrats on completing the A to Z. Your theme was adorable. I’m glad you’ve been able to visit with some family. Have a happy anniversary and great week!

  5. I like the Einstein quote 🙂 Can’t believe another A-Z has come and gone (though judging by my exhaustion, it really did happen!). I enjoyed watching House, one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes based series. Another great one is The Mentalist.

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