What Happened in January

We made it through the first month of 2015! How is everyone doing? Are you kicking butt with your goals/resolutions? Making plans for the rest of the year? Easing into something new?

January was a bit of a mixed bag for me - mostly good, but I didn't get quite as much accomplished as I'd hoped. I felt restless and unmotivated a lot, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I had too much to do, and I didn't know where to begin and felt overwhelmed in a lot of ways. I was busy, always working away at stuff, but felt like I didn't get far with any of my projects. I'm hoping to turn it around in February, though, and really start working in earnest on my goals.

Here's what January 2015 looked like for me:

BLOG HIGHLIGHTS

My very first blog post of 2015 was reflections on 2014 and a look at the year ahead, including some of my main goals. I spent a lot of last year feeling stuck, being negative, and letting things (and people) who didn't matter have way too much of an impact on my life. I'm working hard to change that.

I celebrated my 3-year publication anniversary. I can't believe I've been a published author for 3 years! I talked a bit about my decision to self-publish, how it led me to make some amazing friends, and how I haven't regretted my decision to go indie.

I wrote a post about writing the types of books you want to read. I want to read more f/f LGBTQ books, particularly New Adult ones, and especially ones where same sex couples get a happy ending, so I wrote one. It wasn't easy - in fact, writing Take Them By Storm scared the shit out of me, but in the best ways possible. I want to continue challenging myself to write books with diversity, and hopefully fulfill a need for the types of books others want to read. This was also my first post for the Dive Into Diversity challenge.

WRITING

My 6th book came out on January 6th! Take Them by Storm is my first LGBTQ book, and the third book in the Angel Island companion series. I had a release day blitz, hosted by YA Bound Book Tours, and there's still a giveaway going for a $10 gift card. You can also win an Angel Island swag pack on Reading is My Treasure. 

Waiting for the Storm {Amazon || Kobo || Barnes & Noble}   
After the Storm {Amazon || Kobo || Barnes & Noble}

Take Them by Storm {Amazon || Kobo || Barnes & Noble}

I've been working away at my next book, called Something in the Air. I'm hoping to finish writing it in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I've added it to GoodReads, so add it to your TBR if it sounds like something you'd like to read. ;-)

LIFE STUFF...

I kicked off the month with a movie night with my friend Molli Moran. This was our second one - the first one was in December, and we watched The Santa Clause, and we did our third one last night, when we watched 13 Going on 30. If you'd like to join the next one, watch our hashtag on Twitter -#MolliAndMarieMovieNight. It's a lot of fun!

One of my few local(ish) friends came to visit on the first Saturday of the month. I hadn't seen her since last July, and even though the weather was terrible and she had an hour-long drive each way, she still came and spent ten hours with me. We talked, watched The Avengers (and drooled and squeed and fangirled over Tom Hiddleston), had a yummy dinner and ate a bunch of chocolate. It was exactly what I needed, and it was a great way to kick off a new year.  

My biggest news of the month is that I'm going to Europe this summer! I'm going with the friend I just mentioned. We'll be gone for two weeks, and we'll be visiting England, France, and Italy. The first three days and the final day we'll be on our own, and the other nine days we'll be doing a Contiki tour. I've been dreaming of this my whole life, and I still can't believe it's actually happening! Plans are coming together nicely - the trip is fully paid for, the flights have been booked, and by next week we'll have our insurance, plus a day trip booked, which I'll talk more about next month.

Books Read

*links lead to my review

Thornhill by Kathleen Peacock

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Leave the Window Open by Victoria Schwab

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

My True Love Gave to Me ~ holiday anthology

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios  

Between Everything and Us by Rebecca Paula

Every Breath by Ellie Marney
Rebound by Noelle August

Watched on TV

Basically the only thing I watched all month was How I Met Your Mother. I started watching about two months ago when my friend Jess sent me season one on DVD, and then I binge-watched the rest on Netflix. I loved this show so freaking much. It's only been a few days since I finished, but I'm already in major withdrawal. I have a lot of thoughts on the show in general, and the finale in particular, so I'm thinking I might write a blog post about it eventually, especially since I've been trying to  branch out from just book talk. Any other HIMYM fans out there?

   

That's my month in a nutshell. How was January for you? Did you do anything fun? What was the best book you read? What are you watching or listening to? Let's talk here or on Twitter!

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