What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. Please stop by their blogs to join in the fun!
WHAT I’M READING
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I just finished Cassandra Clare’s City of Heavenly Fire, either the sixth or the third in the series depending on how you classify it. I enjoyed it, as I do all of her books, and I did find the conclusion satisfying. I didn’t find it to have as many twists and turns as the earlier ones, and I wonder if this has to do with being familiar enough with her style to see precisely how the ending will play out as the clues unfold, or if the ending was just predictable. One note if you haven’t read it yet: if you’re also a fan of the Clockwork series, you really should read Clockwork Princess before reading this one.
WHAT I’M WRITING
Work on the WIP has stalled, mostly due to life getting in the way. My boys have camp next week, so I’m hoping to move on with my word count then. I have been playing around with a new opening chapter for Perception when I get a few moments here and there, and I’m anxious to share it with my critique group this weekend. Why am I reworking it? Sometimes I ask myself that question, too. I had some feedback about the opening from a request. I’ve never heard these criticisms from anyone else before, but I’m curious to see if these changes make it stronger.
WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
My kids. Watching them grow into young men is both exciting and hard to accept. I struggle with the idea of being proud of them. They’ve both had accomplishments lately that made me feel proud, but those accomplishments belong to them, not me. I want them to know I’m happy and proud for them, and I hope that they strive to do their best because it’s what they want, not because they think it makes me happy.
WHAT ELSE I’VE BEEN UP TO
Is it just me, or has 2014 flown by? I can’t believe it’s June. Summer has already filled with plans, and I’m most excited about an upcoming trip to New York City, Boston, and the coast of Maine. We have plane tickets and hotels booked, but if anyone has any suggestions for restaurants or must-do activities, please share!
Acadia National Park in Maine is one of my favorite places in the entire world. Also, I really enjoy Walden Pond in Boston. It's not a huge place, but it is peaceful and absolutely teeming with literary history. Have a great time! I think this is the first time I've been to your blog, and yet, I'm very excited to know you and I are going to all the same places on our vacations this year. What a funny coincidence.
Ahhhh I can't wait to read City of Heavenly Fire!! I do love Cassandra Clare.
Where in Maine will you be? I got every year to York (or York Beach) and know a ton of restaurants, though anything in Maine is great for seafood.
I went to school in Boston, but haven't visited in a while. I do miss it (though not the snow…)
I'm waiting for CLOCKWORK PRINCESS to come out in paperback before I tackle the INFERNAL DEVICES series, so thanks for the warning on that! Wish I didn't have to wait so long, but I'm glad to hear the MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series came to a satisfying conclusion.
I love what you said about parenting your boys. I'm going through the same thing with my son right now. They grow up so quickly, and it's such a bittersweet thing to experience.
Good luck with reworking that opening chapter!
2014 is definitely flying by. Sloooow dooooown!
Hope you can squeeze some writing time in soon 😀 Have fun with your critique group!
Oh, that trip sounds fantastic! I'd love to head that way this summer. 🙂 It's great that you got some feedback from a request, especially since it's a bit different from what you've heard in the past. I think sometimes that can take your story in a direction you'd maybe never thought of before. I hope your critique group helps you sort everything out!
That is funny! This was kind of a coincidence trip–the plane tickets to NYC were so low, we snapped them up. Thanks for the recs!
We're going to Boothbay Harbor. And yes, we're mainly going to eat lobster. 🙂
Thank you! Yes, I think that's a great idea, to finish the Clockworks first. They were my favorites.
No joke! Thanks! I hope they don't mind having it foisted on them.
Thank you! It's one of those things that hasn't bothered some people, but I could see as a reason why someone wouldn't request more after the first five pages. We'll see if it helps!
I haven't started the second half of the Mortal Instruments series. I liked how City of Glass ended. Clary's been through so much.
It's always good to have a critical pair of eyes on your MS. They find things that family members or friends don't notice. Hang in there, you'll be great.
Thanks for sharing 😀
Ooh, have fun in NY, Boston, and Maine! Sounds like a great trip!
I'm excited to read CoHF. I wish I could read through the entire series first, but I have too many books on my TBR that I doubt I'll have time.
I really enjoyed CoHF, though I'm kind of sad the series is over!
The year really is flying by! Sounds like you have some fun plans for summer, though! 🙂
Yes, I preferred the first three myself. Thanks for stopping by!
When I finished, I realized you need to read all the Clockwork books first, too! 🙂 Those TBR lists keep on growing.
Thanks, yep, seems like it's going too fast already.