A big thank you to everyone who has joined my newsletter since my last update. Here’s what I’ve been up to over the last six weeks.
Something exciting happened! A journalist who writes for a major publication contacted me. She's interviewing me and two other authors for an article, and one of those authors is a big name. That's all I'll say for now, but I'll share the link once the article is up.
Progress on my WIP stalled last month when I went away on a short trip and didn't write. But now I'm back into it and hurtling towards the mid-point. This is where it gets scary, because I don't have the second half properly planned out. I think I'm going to need to dedicate a day or two to outlining.
Word count progress: 41,242/80,000. I am not yet halfway through the story, so looks like it's going to end up closer to 90k—by far the longest thing I've ever written.
I watched a six-hour recap of Pretty Little Liars. Sounds crazy, but trust me, it's so good! Whether or not you have seen the series, I think you'll love this hilarious ride through seven seasons of absolute insanity.
I started watching an old K-drama which has been on my watchlist for ages: Pasta. Why did it take me so long to watch this? I just love it. Okay, so some of the behaviour of the main male character is problematic to say the least, but I'm a firm believer that you can enjoy fictional works without condoning similar scenarios in real life. A topic for another time, perhaps.
Link roundup
What Makes a Great Opening Line? [Literary Hub]
A great first line can spur intense readerly attraction—provoke a compulsion to know more. Let’s call this: love at first sentence.
Inside the resurgence of the romance novel [i-D]
Romance books have always been popular, but never before have people been so vocal about enjoying them.
She was the Agatha Christie of romance novels. You’ve probably never heard of her [Vox]
Despite singlehandedly creating the modern romance, Heyer is still a niche author. And though she has nearly 10 times as many books available for cinematic adaptation as Austen, Hollywood has yet to discover her.
How many books does it take to make a place feel like home? [The Business Times]
To be surrounded by books is to be held rapt in an enchanted circle and to experience the rapture of being transported to other worlds.
‘Nothing was stolen’: New Zealanders carry on borrowing from closed, unstaffed library [The Guardian]
As New Zealand celebrated a national holiday, one of the country’s largest city libraries was closed, with staff and security given the day off. But an error with the automated door programming meant Tūranga’s doors opened to the public as usual.
What I read
My Dark Vanessa
by Kate Elizabeth Russell
This is a book about a student-teacher relationship, where the victim does not believe herself to be a victim, even when another woman speaks out about being abused by the same teacher.
I was expecting this book to blur lines (could the relationship really have been love?), but it didn't at all. The author paints the teacher as the villain from the outset. I can't blame the author for going this route. It would have been difficult and controversial to pull it off otherwise.
The writing style is excellent, and the main character is compelling. I enjoyed the book... until about half way. The climax happened at the mid-point, and it just fizzled out after that. This book should have been cut in half to be a novella. Then it would have been almost perfect.
The Blue Castle
by L.M. Montgomery
My second time reading this book. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first time, but I could still see why I originally liked it so much.
It's about a 29-year-old woman who's a timid "old maid" and very repressed by her overbearing family.
One day she learns she doesn't have long left to live, so she starts living life to the fullest, which leads her to enter a relationship with the mysterious town outcast, Barney.
It's a quick, sweet, cosy read. It's no masterpiece, yet I can't fault it either.
Also read: Anything You Want by Derek Sivers, How to Live by Derek Sivers
Dropped: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
Currently reading: The Binding by Bridget Collins