Tag: Books

Acceptances, Books, Essays, Lifelong learning, My Own Personal Weirdness, My Writing, Organizing, poetry, Short Stories, Speaking, What I Love, Writing

November 2025 Stats

In November, I wrote 16,268 words! Yay! Finally a good writing month after months and months of delays, trips, moving kids, etc. I’m so happy I finally got to sit down and just write. Of those words,

  • 409 were for this blog (2 short posts),
    2777 were for my journal,
  • 1234 were the essay for that anthology I talked about last month,
  • 2426 were answering questions to help make my essay for the anthology, many of which did not end up in the anthology because they were excised from the first draft to make way for words that did not sound like they were answering questions,
  • 0 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (I reused an old one for the Open Door Writing Group),
  • 1572 were on various social media accounts,
  • 3327 were poetry (16 poems – a new record!!),
  • and 1073 were in short stories (2 pieces of flash fiction).


There were only 12 days that I didn’t write anything, but that’s not bad because I wrote A LOT on the days that I did write. I did host part of Thanksgiving and a board games night at my house this month, as well as building shelves and moving my husband’s entire board game collection from The Living Room to The Library.

Another one of the books I beta read for came out this month, so once again I’m feeling that weird sense of accomplishment about that.

As for myself, I had one piece accepted for an anthology that will come out early next year (probably around graduation season, I’m guessing, since the topic of my essay was “advice I’d give a teenager who wants to become a volunteer coordinator for a non-profit organization”).


As for reading, I read parts of:

  • Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer(audiobook; non-fiction)
  • West of Yesterday, East of Summer by Paul Monette (e-book; poetry – I finally got it back on Libby!)
    Memory’s Daughters: The Material Culture of Remembrance in Eighteenth-Century America by Susan M. Stabile (hardcover; non-fiction – written by my Women’s Diaries professor at TAMU while I was taking her class)
  • How to Read Poetry Like a Professor: A Quippy and Sonorous Guide to Verse by Thomas C. Foster (e-book that I have AND trade paperback at my dad’s house; non-fiction)
  • Poetry’s Data: Digital Humanities and the History of Prosody by Meredith Martin (e-book; non-fiction)

…and I finished reading:

  • The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn (audiobook; historical romance)
  • Poetry Magazine Jan/Feb 2025 by Poetry.org (paperback; poetry)
  • Let Loose the Dogs by Maureen Jennings (e-book; historical mystery)
  • The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie (e-book; mystery)
  • The Comfort Book by Matt Haig (audiobook; self-help)
  • The Carrying by Ada Limon (e-book; poetry)
  • Stargazy Pie by Victoria Stoddard (e-book; cozy fantasy)

I really am trying to finish most of the unfinished books I started earlier in the year. I have finished 56 books so far this year (and read parts of another 12, again mostly for research, but also a couple of things I’ve had to mark DNF.).

Acceptances, Books, Essays, I Am Traveling, My Own Personal Weirdness, My Writing, Organizing, poetry, The Past Comes Back to Haunt Me, What I Love, Writing

October 2025 Stats

In October, I wrote 3840 words, which is so little that I could cry. But I was busy! More about that later. Of those words,

  • 320 were for this blog (2 short posts),
  • 667 were for my journal,
  • 0 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (I reused an old one for the Open Door Writing Group),
  • 1204 were on various social media accounts,
  • 1652 were poetry (9 poems),
  • and 376 were in short stories (1 piece of flash fiction).


There were only 12 days that I didn’t write anything. I spent 10 days on vacation, traveling to, then staying in North Carolina, and driving home. I used every morning as a little writer’s retreat and wrote a lot while I was there. I’m still having trouble with my shoulders, so I spent several days either at the doctor, at the physical therapist’s office, or off getting X-rays and a couple of MRIs. I do have an essay that I found out about an anthology for on the last day of October that I’m going to start writing this week (but that counts for November). I still didn’t get any poems or short stories submitted anywhere.


As for reading, I read parts of:

  • Let Loose the Dogs by Maureen Jennings (e-book; historical mystery – I’m having trouble getting this book again through Libby, hence taking a break from it)
  • The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn (audiobook; historical romance)
  • Stargazy Pie by Victoria Goddard (e-book; cozy fantasy)
  • The Man with Two Left Feet (e-book; I’m not sure the genre)

…and I finished reading:

  • The Honey Witch by Sydney Shields (trade paperback; cozy fantasy)


So I have finished 49 books so far this year (and read parts of another 18, mostly for research, but also a couple of things I’ve had to mark DNF.).

Around the House, Books, Everywhere But Home, Family Time, My Own Personal Weirdness, My Writing, Parenting, The Past Comes Back to Haunt Me, What I Love

September 2025 Stats

In September, I wrote 4097 words. It’s still a busy month, even if all of your kids are out of high school. Yeah.

Of those words,

  • 346 were for this blog (2 short posts),
  • 0 were for my journal,
  • 2024 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for the Open Door Writing Group),
  • 448 were on various social media accounts (which seems low, I know, but I’ve been trying to cut back on that and spend more time reading lately),
  • 1142 were poetry (3 short poems and 2 long),
  • and 137 were in short fiction (1 piece of flash fiction).

There were 19 days that I didn’t write anything. I spent a lot of the month either moving my eldest child to his new apartment or I was editing for Caro’s Quest. One of the books I beta read for came out this month, so I’m feeling that weird sense of accomplishment about that (you know, in that way where you walked alongside a friend going through something that you got to help with, so it’s like it’s partly yours just a little bit?). Meanwhile, I personally didn’t get any poems or short stories submitted anywhere.


As for reading, I read parts of:

  • The Comfort Book by Matthew Haig (audiobook; self-help)
  • The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie (e-book; mystery)
  • Let Loose the Dogs by Maureen Jennings (e-book; historical mystery)
  • …and I finished reading:
    Nothing Romantic by Kennedy Hope (e-book; LGBTQ+ romance)
  • System Collapse by Martha Wells (e-book; science fiction)
  • Except the Dying by Maureen Jennings (e-book; historical mystery)
  • Poor Tom is Dead by Maureen Jennings (e-book; historical mystery)
  • Conversations in the Garden* by Chelsee BreAnn (manuscript; poetry )

So I have finished 48 books so far this year (and read parts of another 16, mostly for research, but also a couple of things I’ve had to mark DNF.).

*The title of this book has changed since it was in beta. It’s permanent title is Honeysuckle Memories.

Around the House, Books, health, My Own Personal Weirdness, My Writing, Organizing, The Past Comes Back to Haunt Me, What I Love, Writing

August 2025 Stats

In August, I wrote only 3811 words. I was sick the first half of the month and then moving kids from house to house and editing the second half (so technically I lost a bunch of words off my novel, but we’re not counting those as a negative number of words those days). Of those words,

  • 206 were for this blog (2 short posts),
  • 0 were for my journal (which I cannot find my paper journal, so that might not be true),
  • 1612 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for the Open Door Writing Group),
  • 1042 were on various social media accounts,
  • 217 were poetry (2 poems),
  • and 734 were in short stories (4 pieces of flash fiction).

There were 17 days that I didn’t write anything. Mostly I spent the month either ill (the flu, bronchitis, and a sinus infection, oh my!), moving one kid over a room in the house he’s in so another of my children could move into his old room (and helping that second child as well – child #2 in this scenario was far easier to move) or trying to edit my novel Caro’s Quest down to a reasonable number of words so I can turn it into the editor (today, I hope!). Also, life was still too chaotic, so I didn’t get any poems or short stories submitted anywhere.

As for reading, once again, I didn’t leave any books unread, but I finished reading a ridiculous number of short e-books, all by Martha Wells (the first published author that ever gave me advice – she worked in IT at Ocean Drilling Program at the same time I was a student worker in the publishing department – she was so nice about it when my boss sat me down at her table at lunch one day):

  • All Systems Red
  • Compulsory
  • Artificial Conditions
  • Rogue Protocol
  • Obsolescence
  • Exit Strategy
  • Home
  • Fugitive Telemetry
  • Rapport
  • Network Effect

That brings me up to 42 books finished this year and 13 partially read (that number went down because I finished two partially read books). 🙂

Around the House, Books, I Am Traveling, My Own Personal Weirdness, My Writing, Organizing, The Past Comes Back to Haunt Me, What I Love

July 2025 Stats

In July, I wrote 6569 words, which doesn’t feel like a lot. I did, however, take two of my kids on their first international traveling adventure, so there was a lot of kerfluffle for that, and I also took a few days off to go to the Poetry of Society of Texas Annual Conference.

Of those words,

  • 251 were for this blog (2 short posts),
  • 478 were for my journal (which I may update later with numbers from my paper journal, which I cannot find today,
  • 1276 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for the Open Door Writing Group),
  • 2630 were on various social media accounts,
  • 1346 were poetry (10 poems),
  • and 588 were in short stories (3 pieces of flash fiction).

There were only 8 days that I didn’t write anything, despite being out of town a lot this month. I just wrote a lot while I was traveling. There’s something about getting out of your regular every day patterns that gets the writing juices flowing. I wrote a lot in my paper journal, but I didn’t count any of those words because I cannot find it at the moment. Who knows where it is!

I didn’t get any poems or short stories submitted anywhere. I just wasn’t that kind of organized.

As for reading, I didn’t read anything that I didn’t finish this month, mostly because I read very little

…and I finished reading:

  • Fire At the Exhibition by T. E. Kinsey (audiobook; mystery)
  • Burnout by Emily Nagoski (audiobook; non-fiction – see, I’m dealing with my burnout by reading up on it)
  • Wherever You Find Yourself by Tasha Gaines(manuscript; Christian fiction romance, I believe)
Around the House, Books, My Own Personal Weirdness, My Writing, Organizing, The Past Comes Back to Haunt Me, Writing

June 2025 Writing Stats

In June, I wrote 6604 words, which wasn’t that great, but I’m pretty sure I was burnt out most of the month after all the graduation nonsense. Of those words,

  • 320 were for this blog (2 short posts),
  • 1258 were for my journal,
  • 2854 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for East Texas Writers Guild and one for the Open Door Writing Group and one for the Tyler Public Library’s Try It Tuesday Class),
  • 1033 were on various social media accounts,
  • 35 were poetry (1 measly poem after last month’s record *sigh*),
  • and 1104 were in short stories (5 pieces of flash fiction).

There were only 8 days that I didn’t write anything, so it seems like my count should be higher for all that. I don’t know – I guess my brain was only thinking in super short form this month.

As for reading, I read parts of:

  • A Fire at the Exhibition by T. E. Kinsey (audiobook; mystery)

…and I finished reading:

  • Jack Glass by Adam Roberts (hardcover; science fiction – do NOT recommend unless you like unexpectedly gory books)
  • The Ghost of Marlowe House by Bobbi Holmes (audiobook; paranormal mystery)

So I have finished 29 books so far this year (and read parts of another 14, mostly for research, but also a couple of things I’ve had to mark DNF.).

Around the House, Books, My Own Personal Weirdness, My Writing, Organizing, The Past Comes Back to Haunt Me, What I Love

May 2025 Writing Stats

In May, I wrote 7505 words, which was all right, given how few writing days existed due to lots and lots of things to attend for my graduating senior. Of those words,

  • 376 were for this blog (2 short posts),
  • 380 were for my journal,
  • 2778 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for East Texas Writers Guild and one for the Open Door Writing Group and one for the Tyler Public Library’s Try It Tuesday Class),
  • 1282 were on various social media accounts,
  • 2174 were poetry (15 poems, a lifetime record most probably),
  • and 515 were in short stories (3 pieces of flash fiction).

There were 11 days that I didn’t write anything, but this month included 3 awards ceremonies, a band banquet, a pinning ceremony, our annual family BBQ, Mother’s Day, teaching a crochet class at the library, a graduation party, and the graduation itself.

I also haven’t heard back from any of the submissions I’ve sent out lately, so I’m assuming they didn’t want those pieces. I haven’t had a chance to prepare any others to send out this month.

As for reading, I read parts of:

  • The Carrying by Ada Limon (e-book; poetry)
  • Anti-Slavery Poems by John Greenleaf Whittier (e-book; poetry)
  • Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (audiobook; non-fiction)
  • The Poet’s Cookbook: Details for over 50 Forms, Types of Meter, Structure, Rhyme, and Over 100 Writing Exercises by Dan Gilbert (e-book; non-fiction)
  • Poetry’s Data: Digital Humanities and the History of Prodosy by Meredith Martin (e-book; non-fiction)

…and I finished reading:

  • An Act of Foul Play by T.E. Kinsey (e-book; mystery)
  • The Ghost of Marlow House by Bobbi Holmes (audiobook; paranormal mystery)

So I have finished 27 books so far this year (and read parts of another 15, mostly for research, but also a couple of things I’ve had to mark DNF.).

Around the House, Books, health, My Own Personal Weirdness, My Writing, Organizing, What I Love

April 2025 Writing Stats

In April, I wrote 5629 words, which was pretty decent, given that I was really very sick the first 2/3 of the month. Of those words,

  • 432 were for this blog (2 short posts),
  • 28 were for my journal,
  • 3528 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for the Open Door Writing Group and one for the Tyler Public Library’s Try It Tuesday Class),
  • 1342 were on various social media accounts,
  • 47 were poetry (1 poem),
  • and 0 were in short stories (0 pieces of flash fiction).

There were 18 days that I didn’t write anything, but this month included so much illness and then also Easter, spring Holy Days, my son’s birthday, and my birthday. I also haven’t heard back from any of the submissions I’ve sent out lately, but I should hear back any time now.

As for reading, I read parts of:

  • Sober on a Drunk Planet: Giving Up Alcohol by Sean Alexander (e-book; non-fiction)
  • The Magic Words: Simple Poetry Prompts that Unlock the Creativity in Everyone by Joseph Fansano (e-book; non-fiction)
  • Like Literally Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English by Valerie Fridland (hardcover; non-fiction)
  • How to Read Poetry Like a Professor: A Quippy Guide to Sonorous Verse by Thomas C. Foster (e-book; non-fiction)
  • Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper (hardcover; non-fiction)
  • The Carrying: Poems by Ada Limon (e-book; poetry)
  • Anti-Slavery Poems, Volume 1 by John Greenleaf Whittier (e-book; poetry)
  • Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages by Gaston Dorren (hardcover; non-fiction)

…and I finished reading:

  • The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle by T.L. Huchu (e-book; fantasy)
  • Legacy of Arniston House by T. L. Huchu (e-book; fantasy)
  • Dearly by Margaret Atwood (hardcover AND e-book; poetry)
  • Wizard of Most Wicked Ways by Charlie Holmberg (audiobook; fantasy)
  • The Right to Write by Julia Cameron (re-read trade paperback; non-fiction)
  • Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (re-read trade paperback; non-fiction)
  • Knit-Fix: Problem Solving for Knitters by Lisa Karths (hardcover; non-fiction)
  • Japanese Knitting Stitches by Yoko Hatta (oversized paperback; non-fiction)
  • Sweet Romance by Carrie Cox (beta read it twice – romance)

So I have finished 26 books so far this year (and read parts of another 12, mostly for research, but also a couple of things I’ve had to mark DNF.).

Books, Everywhere But Home, I Am Traveling, My Writing, Organizing, poetry, What I Love, Writing

March 2025 Stats

I hesitated in posting this on April Fool’s Day, but please know that this post is in earnest. 🙂

In March, I wrote 21,346 words, which boggled the mind. Of those words,

  • 473 were for this blog (5 short posts),
  • 1,564 were for my journal,
  • 15,562 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for East Texas Writers Guild and one for the Open Door Writing Group and one for the Tyler Public Library’s Try It Tuesday Class),
  • 1,355 were on various social media accounts,
  • 894 were poetry (6 poems),
  • and 1,716 were in short stories (11 pieces of flash fiction).

There were 8 days that I didn’t write anything, but this month included traveling for Spring Break and two out of town Winter Guard competitions for my kid. I also haven’t heard back from any of the submissions I’ve sent out lately, but all the submitting guidelines said I probably wouldn’t hear back until mid-April or later, so I’m not worried about that yet.

As for reading, I read parts of:

  • Concessions by Libby James (e-book; thriller)
  • Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything by Kristin Bair (e-book; mystery)
  • The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach edited by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell
  • How to Read Poetry Like a Professor: A Quippy Guide to Sonorous Poetry by Thomas Foster (paperback; non-fiction)

…and I finished reading:

  • If Women Rose Rooted: The Power of the Celtic Woman by Sharon Blackie (audiobook; non-fiction)
  • Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T. L. Huchu (e-book; fantasy)
  • Such a Thing to Behold by Umar Turaki (e-book; fantasy)
  • The Midwife (volume 1) by Jennifer Worth (e-book; non-fiction)
  • The Truth of Me by Patricia MacLachlan (e-book; children’s lit)
  • Storyteller: 100 Letter Poems by Morgan Harper Nichols (e-book; poetry)
  • Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman (hardcover; poetry)
  • The Poetry Home Repair Manual by Ted Kooser (paperback; non-fiction)

So I have finished 16 books so far this year (and read parts of another 8, mostly for research, but also a couple of things I’ve had to mark DNF.).

I feel like I’ve finally hit my stride with this year, so of course the next couple of months are going to be ridiculously busy in my personal life, as I have graduating high school senior in my household and another kid who’s applying to law schools and may need help moving. Wheeeeee!

Books, My Own Personal Weirdness, My Writing, Organizing, poetry, Short Stories, Speaking, What I Love, Writing

January 2025 Stats

In January 2025, I wrote 9,847 words. Of those words,

  • 830 were for this blog (six posts)
  • 3121 were journal entries
  • 3149 were lessons, scripts, and slides (for one ODWG lesson)
  • 2045 were on various social media accounts
  • 151 were poetry (one poem)
  • and 651 were short stories (three pieces of flash fiction)

I sent off three poems and three short stories for publication, but haven’t heard back from any of them.

I also read parts of these books:

  • A Poet’s Guide to Poetry by Mary Kinzie (paperback; non-fiction)
  • Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman (hardcover; poetry)
  • The Wonder Engine (Clocktaur War #2) by T. Kingfisher (audiobook; fantasy)
  • The Green Man: Tales from the Mystic Forest edited by Ellen Datlow (e-book; fiction short stories)

And finished these books:

  • The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flag (e-book; fiction)
  • Just Dying to Glamp by April Nunn Coker (e-book; mystery)
  • When She Returned by Lucinda Berry (e-book; thriller)
  • Peace is a Practice by Morgan Harper Nichols (e-book; non-fiction).

January is always a tricky month, I think. The first couple weeks are still half-way holidays and then there are a few random at-home days for my school-age kiddo as well. Which means that you don’t get a full month of writing days, but I managed to write at least a little something for 26 out of 31 days in any case. I think that’s pretty good. 🙂