Four Down, Eight To Go//April Recap

Blogging Things:

Spring Cleaning Writer's Tag
Pros and Cons of Camp NaNoWriMo 2018
Liebester Award Tag
Book Review: A Crown of Wishes // *screaming*
WWYK- Wilderness Survival & Camping
The Get To Know Me Tag
Dual Book Review: Rebel of the Sands and Traitor to the Throne
Beautiful People: Karin, Farida and Some Other People
The Lilah Music Challenge!  
Dual Book Review: Badass Girls and Over Protective Boys









Writing Things:

This April, just like last April, I COMPETED IN CAMP NANOWRIMO! Which means I should have been wildly successful and have written  A LOT! Right?

Normally this is where I say, "A ha. A ha. No." BUT NOT TODAY! BECAUSE GUESS WHAT?


I

GOT

STUFF

DONE!


I know, crazy right?

The Stuff I Got Done:

• I finished Draft One of Twelve Golden Windows! (Which makes it the third novel I've ever finished!)
   
• I realized that I write very, very thin drafts.
  
  Meaning I left out semi important things while writing and my word count is about HALF of what it should be. So I'm going back through and filling things in...
   
• I let the first of my Alpha Readers (Code Name: Alioth) read it! And she gave me lots of helpful advice! 
   
• Yes. I gave all my Alpha Readers secret code names. Based off the stars! We have Alioth, Arrakis, Alshain, and Saif.
  
  Try and guess which constellations they belong to
  
  ...
  
  or just google it.
  That works too.
     
•  I worked on the plots for a couple novels, but just because I was bored one afternoon. I didn't finish any of them since that would require me to figure out the hard stuff like...people's name.

Reading Things:

• The Kill Artist, Gabriel Allon Bk.1
  So last month I read 3 Gabriel Allon books. Number 15, 9, & 13.
  IN. THAT. ORDER.
  So now I'm actually reading the whole series...in order. What is my life?
  I actually liked this book the least of all the Gabriel Allon books I've read. Its basically your typical male authored spy book. BUT HIS LATER BOOKS! WOW!
     
• The Confessor, Gabriel Allon Bk. 3
  Yes, I promise I know how to count. They had this one and not bk. 2
  
   
• Obsidio
  Yes, I finally got a chance to read it
  Yes, it brutally ripped out my heart
   
• A Princess in Theory
  Abort! Abort!
  IT WAS A ROMANCE NOVEL, NOT A YA CONTEMPORARY!
  ABORT ABORT!
    
• A Crown of Wishes
  *screaming*
  (I wrote a review)
  
    
• Rebel of the Sands
  
  Finishing this, I had the feeling that the sequel would either make me love it or hate it.
  I really liked the character's voice. It was really unique.
  It's also kind of a weird mixture of The Old West and Arabian culture and Arab and Hindu legends...
   
• Trator to the Throne
  
  Sequel to Rebel of the Sands.
  
  You know how I said that the sequel would either make me love it or hate it?
  
  ...
  
  ...
  
  Well, I LOVED IT.
  
  IT WAS TERRIBLE!
  
  MY HEART!
  MY HEART!
    
• The Rembrandt Affair, Gabriel Allon Bk. 10
  Yep...another one of these
    
• The Star Touched Queen
  Comes before A Crown of Wishes.
  
  
  IT. WAS. AMAZING.
  
  If there are any readers out there who liked Rhysand and would like a Rhysand who is actually in a...oh, I don't know...healthy relationship? THEN YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.
  
  WAIT.
  
  SCRATCH THAT.
  
  
  YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK PERIOD.
  READ IT!!!
  
     
• Wires and Nerve Vol. II: Gone Rouge
  I actually liked Vol II more the Vol I...and yet I was kind of disappointed?
   
  
• Daughter of the Siren Queen
  I would have enjoyed it more if the relationship had been a bit more healthy in the first book. Though their relationship did improve in this book...it was still a little iffy.
   
• The Caldera, Brother Band Bk. 7
  I called it.
   
• The Cruel Prince
  People said there was a lot of fairy world stuff (and there was, don't get me wrong.) But still...it didn't feel quite as magical and crazy as I thought it would. Still A+ story. Loved the ending...
   
• Hero at the Fall
  The final book in the Rebel of the Sands trilogy. I didn't like it as much as the sequel, but it was pretty good. (EXCEPT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DIED.)
• Not if I Save You First
  I laughed. I cried. I screamed at people's stupidity.
• #PrettyBoy Must Die
  Jake needs to stop constantly blowing his cover to everyone and everything. YOU CALL YOURSELF A SPY?
  
  

Life Things:

• I made Shirini Keshmeshi (aka Persian Raisin Cookies) to become more in touch with my characters and their world. Also because I like cookies.
    
• I do not like raisins though, alas.  
   
• The intern at the hair salon was the one doing my hair and instead of the shoulder length trim I'd wanted, I walked out of there an hour and a half later with a chin length bob.
  
  WHY?
  I JUST WANTED A TRIM
  
   
• And yes, it took an hour and a half.
   
• My friends and I made bets about who would die in Infinity Wars, since none of us have seen it yet.
   
• And by "My friends and I" I mean just the "I"
  I mainly just told my friends to A.) Wind them up more and B.) So that I would have proof so that I can gloat later
   
• If you want to know, I thought these would die
  1. Loki
  I don't know if he'll STAY dead, but come now. Loki dies in almost every movie he's in
  2. Spider Man
  CAN YOU IMAGINE THE PAIN IT WOULD GIVE TONY? And basically everything in on him right now. Steve is free of a lot of responsibility and they were basically the two running everything. And now its just Tony. I bet Spiderman will just die in front of Tony. Wouldn't that just be great?
  
  I mean...
  
  From a writer POV
  
  3. Dax
  Does he even have a purpose? Also, they'll want to kill people off. And SOME of the Guardians of the Galaxy have to go. SOMEBODY has to die. And it can't be Peter Quill, since he's the one that we get to see emotionally tortured by the deaths of his friends!
  Plus I feel like Dax is the kind of person who would just rush in without any plan and die.
  
  4. Mantis
  Likewise. No reason to have her, builds on other characters, but wouldn't be a strong character if she was the last one standing... 
  
  5. Gamora.
  ...mainly because I kind of got on a "lets emotionally torture Peter Quill" mindset
  
  6. And Vision
  Because....they take out the stone? He's just a normal human. HE DIE.
  Leave in the stone? Someone less nice takes it out and HE DIE.
   
• Also, I think that (maybe not in this first one, but before these next few movies are over) EITHER Captain America or The Winter Soldier has to die. I certainly hope it's Captain. America, so my WinterWidow ship can live on...

So how was your April? Did you do Camp NaNoWriMo? Can you believe four months of 2018 are already gone? Who do you think will die?