Hello,

Thank you for the likes and follows.

The weather has been getting warmer every day. It is a good thing. The trees are green, and flowers are blooming, bugs are flying around. I no longer have any excuse not to do a recommended health walk outside.  Writing about walking outside in this update is apart of making myself accountable.   Writing can lead to health issues- posture, weight, sleep, and the most hated carpal tunnel syndrome.  If the writer is not careful.  Health and over all well-being have been something I have struggled with for years.  Health and being creative are connected.  Once that was understood, I stopped labelling parts of my life as writing life and real life.  They influence and affect each other.  Something to keep in mind if you are a creative person. 

In writing news, there is not much to tell.  I’m still not satisfied with word count but that is something that can be worked on.  So, it is a work in progress.  Thinking about the future, I considered entering a writing contest or two.   I don’t know if I am up to that challenge yet, but I started to look through stories I started as short works.  There are about five on file.  Two are supposed to be part of the same universe. 

May is called Asian and Pacific islander month.  I didn’t always know this.  A YouTube creator started an Asian readathon a few years ago.  I found these two books on the recommended reading list and I indulged.  A Pho Love Story by Loan Le.  It is a Romeo and Juliet type of story with Vietnamese families and food.  I think this is the author debut book, and full disclosure I am listening on audible.  The story is told in first person POV and just better for me on audio.   The other story also first person POV is the Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso.   It is fantasy told from perspective of the Queen and I am so there for it.  Often fantasies are told about the poor orphan from the country or bottom of the city. This is a story about a person in power and the haters that are after her.   The queen’s responsibility to her people and to herself is the conflict.  I find it interesting and comparing it to the graphic novel Vagrant Queen by Magdalene Visaggio.  A topic for the Wednesday review or essay.  Those are the fiction books.  I am still listening to Germs, Guns and Steel by Jared Diamond for non-fiction.  It was stated that it would take about 2 weeks to complete reading and listening to that book.  I promptly got distracted on other things.  My bad.  I used to take a commute to work and often listen to books all through the day at work.  I am no longer doing this, so adjustments are being made. 

This week’s goals are of course writing 8000+ words in the romance novel Star Crossed.  Deciding which short story will be worked on in the next month and the choice for the writing contest.   Once I write it here, I must keep to it and update you all later.   Nothing yet is confirmed I am just looking. 

I hope this week goes well for everyone. We may not get what we want, but let’s hope we get what we need.

End