When you’re not alone…
In this edition:
Quote.
Update & Motivate: NaNoWriMo
The False Flat Update.
Book Review: Lessons In Chemistry
Gifts for the reader.
Final thoughts.
"There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others."
- George Shinn
Update and Motivate:
I’m informally doing NaNoWriMo. I belong to a large writing group that gathers on Zoom every Wednesday evening. I’ve essentially stopped going to the Wednesday night meetings because I’m always pressed for time, but I love the people and last year a group of us did NaNo together. It was great fun.
In case you're unaware, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, and it happens every November. The goal is to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. The intent is to have you sign-up on the website and work with thousands of others across the world who are doing the same thing.
It creates an "I'm not alone in this" feeling.
This year, that same group is doing NaNo again, and I've decided to join in. I'm not writing a brand new novel this time around, but I'm using the group excitement to push me forward and get results on my current projects.
I’ve been getting up every morning at 4:45am. I make coffee, get dressed, and then head to my desk and join my team of NaNo writers on a Zoom meeting. We write together, and for me, it’s been extremely productive. I wouldn’t be getting up consistently without them. But knowing they’re there “waiting” on me gives me a boost.
Twenty of us are doing the "challenge," and we have a collective goal of 500,000 words.
This whole NaNo process has got me thinking about how much it matters to be surrounded by people who encourage you to move forward, but also to be your best self.
I had lunch with a friend yesterday, and our conversation centered around how important it was for the two of us to have trust in the people around us.
It's a topic I focus on in my novels. Who we have around us matters. We thrive with some, and we are nearly suffocated by others. The main character in The False Flat doesn't really become who she needs to be until she's surrounded by the right people, the kind of people who bring out her best traits and who challenge her.
Alone, one can accomplish a lot, but in many aspects of life, if one connects with the right group, the results are endless.
I'm thankful for my current NaNo group. Not only am I being productive, but I'm having fun.
The False Flat in Production
Book news is still quiet.
I have to assume someone is working away on my book. I can't wait to see what's next.
Book Review:
It took me a little bit to get into this book, but I'd heard so many good things about it that I decided to give it a try. Per usual, I popped my earbuds in and decorated the house for Christmas as I listened.
This is a very fresh book. It's unique and interesting and very well written, and for the most part, I highly recommend it.
In my opinion, there was a slight lack of balance in the portrayal of Christianity. I haven't heard anyone else say this, and mostly I found this aspect of the book interesting. It doesn't prevent me from giving this book 5 stars though because ultimately, a book's job isn't to include every version of a group, it is to do what it did: entertain, inspire, and, with this one, educate.
I enjoyed my time with this book. If you enjoy historical fiction and the topics of women making it in a man's world, then I suggest this one.
Goodreads Summary:
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.
Gifts for the reader:
It's that time again, when we're thinking about what to get for the ones that mean the most to us in this life. And I've run across a lot of good reader gifts recently that I'd like to share.
Up first...
Have you seen Book Bouquets? I LOVE this idea. Such a fantastic gift option! I'm absolutely going to do these for my book when it comes out.
How much would you love getting one of these?
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Have an amazing week!! Until next time...
Much glitter,
Melissa
