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?

It's a new year and that means I needed to set my reading challenge on Goodreads. For the last two years, I set myself the goal of 50 books, so this year I went for a challenge and am aiming for 75. Considering everything that happened last year which slowed my reading, I'm confident that I'll be able to reach this target.

But I also have more goals than just a number of books to read, which will hopefully help me get through this massive number. So, just for fun, here are all my reading goals for 2020.

It's Christmas time so while I was busy pumping out my manuscript 'Cardiology', I also consumed myself with a couple of really good Christmas reads to celebrate the holidays. December was a pretty busy one for me with work and writing. My story was rolling so I committed to write more every day. Then when it was done, I caught up on a whole bunch of reading. I'll admit, I'm impressed with the number of books I made it through this month!