I know it seems like I've done nothing on the blog in a while, and that's because I've been working really hard behind the scenes. Let me detail that below. But first, a notice that I'm combining my monthly goals with my wrap-up posts because it makes no sense to keep them separate.
How did June 2024 go?
Really well, actually! I'm pleased with all that happened and everything I accomplished. Let's get to it!
Finish and turn in the Kimura Sisters book I'm working on. I'm done with this! Y'all are going to love it! I've heard from two early readers that it made them cry and they think it may be my best one yet. I love hearing that! It was an absolute pleasure to work on, and yes, I did use AI as part of my process. I used GPT 4o to help me brainstorm the plot, and then I used Claude 3.0 Sonnet to help me lay out the bones of my scenes and then I filled them all in. No more blank page syndrome! I'm super happy with the output because I feel like my voice was retained and the prose is even better than I could have hoped for.
Work on books for my secret pen name. I have the first book in a non-fiction series completely done. It's great and it will really help authors would want to add AI to their process. And I have the first book in a fantasy romance series half done. It's so good! I'm really enjoying writing it.
Revive the blog and newsletter. Though I did not revive the blog, I have been working on posts for it behind the scenes. I hope to really get it going by September. But I did revive the newsletter. I got it hooked up to my free offerings on BookFunnel and I have added the people who follow me on Ream, though I screwed up my welcome automations when that happened. Oops. I fixed them eventually.
Get through the end of the school year. We got through the end of the year by the skin of our teeth. My youngest graduated from middle school. Phew! She made it through alive! The oldest is going into her senior year next year and we're still actively looking at colleges.
Continue with my FFA and other business work. I did a lot this month. I created a 3-part series on turning your novella or novel into a screenplay, and I taught members how to expand their novellas into a novel and how to pick up a story halfway through with AI.
Stick with my workout schedule, Duolingo, reading, knitting, and TV. I did all of this, too! I'm almost done with the hat I'm knitting!
What else happened?
So much. I feel like it went by in a blur.
I instituted daily writing time from 8-10AM. This is one of the best decisions I've ever made. I actually get in a zoom room, people show up, and they can see that I'm working! I even share my screen! I got a lot done this month because I stuck to my schedule and didn't compromise.
I also expanded An Unforgiving Desert and made it into a full first novel in the series. I'm proofreading it now and hope to have it up and online and the whole Amagi Series renumbered by the end of the week.
I went on lots of walks and spent as much time outside as I could. It's going to be a really hot summer, and I wanted to get my outdoors time in before it gets too hot.
I've been watching lots of TV. I'm currently watching the Tour de France while working. I'm also watching Battlestar Galactica and the Netflix series on the Tour de France. I watched the last season in the L'Agence (The Parisian Agency), Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Sugar, Dark Matter, Don't Look Up (again), Ready Player One, the rest of Bridgerton, and The Gentleman.
Lots of home stuff happened too. We celebrated Father's Day, my oldest daughter went to prom, and my youngest daughter was in a local production of Thirteen, The Musical.
I don't know why YouTube thought that was a good thumbnail. Lol.
July 2024 Goals
And now it's time to set some goals for July!
Finish 3 books for my pen name. I have the first book almost done. I'd like to finish two more.
Upload the new version of An Unforgiving Desert and renumber the series. This is a big undertaking but I hope to have it done this week. I need to upload the new version, renumber the series on Amazon, ask Amazon to push out the new version to people, renumber it here on the website, post a blog post about it, post about it on social media, set up ads for the series, ask my PA to renumber and update Goodreads for me, and finally, update the series on Ingram Spark. But once it's done, I'll feel awesome about it.
Finish my fantasy romance, The Blender's Bargain. It's not done and I'd like to finish it. I need to change it a little bit because my original word count goal feels a little too much for it. So I need to make some changes before finishing it.
Celebrate the youngest daughter's birthday. She's turning 14! And we have plans to celebrate it with her friends before going down to the beach house.
Continue with my FFA and other business work including the Brave New Bookshelf. I have a lot of classes I signed up to do, and I can't wait to get started on them!
Stick with my workout schedule, Duolingo, reading, knitting, and TV. Same old.
That's it for this month! Have a great July everyone!
