Welcome to the latest edition of Time Flies! It’s my version of a monthly update, where I recap the past month’s accomplishments and articles, share news and random things from my offline life, and hint at what may be coming in the month ahead.

Happy Spring, everyone! 😀 Even though it’s been an abnormally cold March here in Massachusetts, I feel lighter in heart knowing that my favorite season has finally arrived. Pretty soon, leaves will bud on the trees, flowers will bloom, and temperatures will be just warm enough so I can resume my outdoor walks. Lush, green, colorful, fresh… *sighs with contentment*

Spring means more to me than nature’s re-awakening after its winter slumber, though. It also marks an anniversary for me, one of a spiritual and emotional turnaround after a bout of situational depression. My poem “Eve of Spring” talks about this a little bit. If you’re interested, you can read the poem here or here.

What else have I been up to this past month? Check out the recaps below:

This Month’s Posts

• My Nominations for The Writing Hufflepuff’s 2015 Book Awards
• Recent Reads: “Rebel Queen” by Michelle Moran
• Waiting on Wednesday, Vol. 5: “Defiant” by Karina Sumner-Smith
• My Eleven Favorite Literary Heroines
• Stacking The Shelves, Vol. 10: New March Releases + Reading Plan for 2015
• Chronicling The Craft: Digging for Ideas for Book Titles (+ Reveal of My WIP’s Title)
• Recent Reads: “The Distance Between Lost and Found” by Kathryn Holmes
• Beautiful People, Vol. 2: March Edition
• Waiting on Wednesday, Vol. 4: “An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir
• Stacking The Shelves, Vol. 9: Giveaways, Purchases, & Perks – Oh, My!
• Winner of “Shadow Study” Giveaway
• Recent Reads: “The Iron King” by Julie Kagawa
• One Lovely Blog Hop

Guest Blogs and Columns

• “Tea Time at Reverie: Lydia Had More Fun Rooibos Tea from Bingley’s Teas” (A Bibliophile’s Reverie)
• “#5onFri: Five World-Buildings Tips for Writers of All Genres” (DIY MFA)
• “Tea Time at Reverie: Teasenz’s Fujian Silver Needle White Tea” (A Bibliophile’s Reverie)
• “How Mirror Characters Can Illustrate Literary Themes” (DIY MFA)

Site Updates

• Contact Me (updated)
• Interview and Review Policies (added / new)
• Novels (added / new)

What’s Coming in April

A few things to look for on the blog and elsewhere this coming month:

• A set of worksheets inspired by my recent article about book titles
• A new #1000Speak on empathy, poetry, and the 2nd anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings
• A new article series called An Ode To…, where I’ll share favorite songs by a music artist or from a film soundtrack (yay for bringing music back to this blog!)
• A new DIY MFA article on theme, scheduled for Monday, April 13th
• More tea reviews at A Bibliophile’s Reverie

Other Happenings

First of all, thank you SO much for your feedback on the title for The Keeper’s Curse! I’m trying hard not to get too attached to the title, since I know it could still change later on. But I’m thrilled that it works from a reader’s perspective as well as a writer’s, and it makes me even more excited – and impatient – to start working on Draft #2 revisions on April 10th.

While we’re on the subject of TKC, I was wondering if you could do me a favor. I’ve created a landing page for TKC to give readers a more firm idea about the story. Could you let me know what you think about the “attempt” at a jacket-copy summary? Is it intriguing? Too wordy? Missing something that would make it even more attention-grabbing? I’ve enabled comments, so feel free to respond directly on that page.

In the tea realm – look at that glass teapot! Isn’t it purdy? 😀 Two of my upcoming review samples for A Bibliophile’s Reverie are blooming teas, so I needed to buy this kind of teapot specifically for brewing those samples. Blooming teas, or flowering teas, are small bundles of tea leaves (usually green or white) and flowers sewn together that unfold when immersed in water. The result is a delicate, floral tea – and a huge, blossoming flower. So, there’s a visual aesthetic to blooming tea that makes glass teapots the ideal method for brewing this kind of tea. Should be fun!

Progress on the Tea Test Kitchen stalled in March. As previously mentioned here and here, I’m creating a line of tea blends through Adagio Teas to go with my fantasy novel. So far, I’ve come up with two blends: one for the Faeries’ forest home, the other for the shadow-demons known as the Bhadurak. The other blend attempts didn’t fit what I was looking for. So, last week, I ordered my next batch of samples. Let’s see what I can come up with next. 😉

Last but not least, I saw “Insurgent” last week. And… ehhh. They basically made a bunch of changes that stripped the story of whatever soul it had in the book version, and ended up with a sci-fi action film with lots of cool SFX but a boring plot. So I’m not going to waste more money on the movie franchise. And I just started reading Allegiant on Saturday, and (apart from $$$$$$$$$) I see no reason why they should be splitting this finale into two films.

Song of the Month: “Safer In Here” by EarlyRise

I just got this random idea to share a song I couldn’t stop listening to in March. If you’re a fan of melodic or alternative rock with female vocals, you might want to check out EarlyRise’s music. This is the first single from their latest album Colors.

How Quickly Does Time Fly?

The next Time Flies is scheduled for Thursday, April 30th. Until then, have a beautiful month!