This was without a doubt my biggest reading month ever. July was full of surprises. I started off the month with the goal to read new and different books, which I definitely achieved. While I've read some historical novels before, this month I discovered and fell in love with the Australian Historical. Reading is all about escapism and historicals have that added factor of escaping to another time. This allowed me to read more books from my Facebook friends and also led to the purchase of more books! And I'll admit, I've had a wonderful time journeying back to colonial Australia. I've discovered and learned so much! In addition, I managed to catch up with some old titles I've had sitting on my shelves, read one book for Ruby Readalong, and binged some more Mills and Boon Forever Romances.

This weekend, I attended the Romantic Novelists' Association's mini virtual conference. It was a late evening, but I was able to enjoy a whole range of writing webinars from the comfort of my own home. It was such a fantastic night! I was especially keen to attend the Creating Conflict presentation from the Mills and Boon editors.

​There was a lot of information, but these are just three take home messages from each of the sessions.

Am I obsessed or I do just have nothing else to do? This month, I finished my manuscript 'Bali Holiday', completed the second draft, and read twenty books! Honestly? No, I don't have much else going on in my life. Books are my life and I've had a great time reading a great range of them this month. I got hooked on the Mills and Boon Modern line's Once Upon a Temptation, reading four of the fairytale stories. In total, I read thirteen Mills and Boons, three novellas, and four big books. What a month!

Thank you to everyone who attended Popular Fiction's online meeting about creating characters, the most essential part of writing a book! It was great to see all again and to share what I've learned about creating characters with you.

Last night, we covered the basics - characters need a goal, motivation, and conflict to create your story. We will cover this again when we rehash everything we've learned next month. 

Oh my God! Did I do anything but read this month? Well, yeah, I did write 40,000 words of my next book. How do I do it? I don't know. Other than the fact I obviously have no other life!

This month, I had a great time enjoying a variety of stories and read nineteen books! That has to be a personal record, I'm sure. I devoured over a dozen Mills and Boon moderns, forevers, and medicals, plus read four big books. At least I can safely say I enjoyed plenty of good stories this month!

Thank you to everyone who attended the First Pages workshop last night! It was amazing to catch up again even on Zoom. I really enjoy these meetings and sharing some of the best tips I've learned on my Writing Journey with you.

Last night we got together to talk about what a first page and chapter needs in order to hook a reader. We discussed what we as readers like and don't like in the opening pages. Then we examined the first pages of a collection of novels.

Wow! This month, I read twelve books while also writing an entire manuscript of my own! I'm not sure if that's because I was feeling particularly motivated or whether it was because of Covid 19 lock down. I kept all my normal working hours, but I did write nearly every night. So either way, it was quite a successful month while I read many awesome stories. 

I've really enjoyed trying new romance writers this month, as well as some old favourites.

It's no secret I love border collies. They are beautiful dogs and have always been a part of my life. I've had three. First, there was my big sister Laura, who died when I was seven. Then there was Dillon, who was my lifelong dog. I had him from age 9 through to 24, when at the ripe old age of 15, Dillon moved over to the rainbow bridge. No longer crippled by arthritis, he could chase tennis balls to his heart's content. After losing him, I realised how I had always had border collies and that I needed another one. So, I got Jacob, my first dog of my own. He's a little rascal, but I love him dearly.

This month at Popular Fiction we discussed all things romance! What defines a romance novel, what are the different subgenres, and what type of conflict makes up the story on the road to happily ever after?

Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting. We had lots of fun. And if you missed out, come along next month for Genre Expectations! In the meantime, here is a summary of last night's meeting.

New title for 2020 - my reading! Because I don't really review the books I read here, I just explain why I read them and whether I liked them a not. With the new year though brings a whole bunch of new goals, and this year I hope to become more diverse in the type of books I read, as well as devour a whole lot of romance.

I'm very, very pleased with how much I read in January. And in addition, I also read my own manuscript three times in a week, so there you go...can I add that as three more books to the list?