What’s Making Me Happy: December 2018 and January 2019

Winter in Massachusetts means that, as a resident, you often get some… interesting weather. Two Sundays ago, we had a storm that started as snow, then changed to rain and later to sleet / freezing rain. Then our high temperatures for the next two days were in the single digits Fahrenheit, with wind chills below 0. (Plus, all the snow and rain that had fallen? It froze.) By that Thursday, it was precipitating like crazy again – except it was pouring rain, because the temps had warmed up to over 50 deg F (10 deg C). šŸ˜®

And then, on other days, it’s still cold but at least nice enough for moments like the banner image. šŸ™‚ So where was I when I took this photo? And what joys from the past 2 months did I decide to share today? Let’s get right to it! Continue reading

What’s Making Me Happy: April and May 2018

Um…. Hi everyone. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

The short story is, I had to take about 2 months off from blogging here. It was unexpected, to say the least, and I feel badly that I disappeared unexpectedly like that. But donā€™t we all go through periods when life offline goes a littleā€¦ well, nuts, and we have to rearrange our priorities temporarily? And now that things appear to be smoothing out, I think I’m ready to make a comeback.

And what an appropriate post to return with, right? I really do love this What’s Making Me Happy series, and for so many reasons. So let me share some of the things that brought much-needed joy and lightness despite the stress of the past two months. Feel free to share what’s made you happy recently in your comments. šŸ™‚

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Five Benefits of Buddy-Reading

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When you’re a writer or book-blogger, what’s one thing you’re guaranteed to talk about with your online friends? Books, of course! That’s how we bond over beloved reads we share as well as books we’ve been meaning to read for ages.Ā So, when I bought Patrick Rothfuss’s The Wise Man’s FearĀ after Christmas, fellow writer Rebekah Hendrian said this in her comments:

“I almost feel like we need to do a buddy read for Wise Manā€™s Fear. I just keep looking at those thousand pages and then putting it aside in dismay.”

At first I was hesitant, since I’d never done a buddy-read before and wasn’t sure how it was done. But once RebekahĀ and IĀ figured things out, we were able to work The Wise Man’s FearĀ into the same point in our reading schedules. Now I’m so glad we didĀ it – and today, I’d like to share what made that experience so enjoyable, in hopes that you might try buddy-reading with a friend in the future.Ā So, here areĀ Five Benefits of Buddy-Reading!

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The “Be Thankful” Challenge

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Thanksgiving may have been last week, but the holiday season is a good time to be thankful for what we have and who we cherish. So, when fellow fantasy writer Elizabeth Rawls nominated me for the “Be Thankful” Challenge, Ā I knew I couldn’t let this one wait. (Thank you, E.!)

The rules for The “Be Thankful” Challenge are:

  • Share the “Be Thankful”Ā image in your blog post.
  • Write about 5 people in your life you are thankful for.
  • Write about 5 things in 2015 that you are thankful for.
  • Spread the love and challenge 5 other blogs to take part.

So, let me share with you some of the people and things I’m most grateful for…

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