Tag: fantasy

Around the House, Books, Everywhere But Home, Family Time, Friend Time, health, My Own Personal Weirdness, The Past Comes Back to Haunt Me, Writing

April 2026 Stats

In April 2026, I wrote 4052 words. Of those words,

  • 520 were for this blog (1 short post),
  • 449 were non-fiction essays
  • 1101 were for my journal,
  • 556 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for the Open Door Writing Group),
  • 1277 were on various social media accounts,
  • 471 were poetry (7 short poems),
  • and 121 were in a short story (1 piece of flash fiction).

There were seventeen days that I didn’t write anything. I spent April Fools day offline, as always, but this year with breakfast out with Ree, writing group shenanigans midday, and NTBMO family dinner for a nice ending to the day. I spent half a day at the car dealership with my youngest child as his Emotional Support Human while he bought his new car (he’s never bought from a dealership before and wanted some help with contract parsing).

My spouse and I went to DFW that Friday to do some paperwork for a new fun thing and visited the Mustang Museum and wandered the mini Riverwalk in Irving along the way. Saturday we sat around waiting for tornadoes all day, which kept my dad from being able to drive up for Easter, alas. Sunday dawned a bright, beautiful day. All three kids made it over for crepes (a combined Larson/Holcomb/DoUB tradition) and egg hunting and bunny business were done by some family members while others hid from the camera (*cough eldestchild cough*), though I did sneak a picture of my spouse later. I went to my second Poetry Society of Texas meeting on Zoom and that was nifty! I was inducted as Corresponding Secretary of Rusk County Poetry Society at their April meeting. Also that week, my youngest went off to the WGI World Championships and I watched it all from afar. Then I finally got my new prism lenses. They are so lightweight and yet manage to make everything regularly-3D again without the double vision I’d been experiencing. It’s going to take a little getting used to. So while I could start working on the computer and doing up close work again, it has taken longer than I’d hoped it would.

Fortunately, the birthday celebrations started – first my son’s, then mine with family, then mine with friends (a craft night!). And at the end of the month I led the Open Door Writing Group in playing word and story games. I was so very busy, I didn’t get any poems or short stories submitted anywhere. So, I didn’t get any poems or short stories submitted anywhere.

As for reading, I read parts of:

  • Imprudence by Gail Carriger (audiobook; fantasy)
  • Book By Book (hardcover; non-fiction)

…and I finished reading:

  • Defy or Defend by Gail Carriger (audiobook; fantasy)
  • Ambush or Adore by Gail Carriger (audiobook; fantasy)
  • Soulless by Gail Carriger (audiobook; fantasy)
  • Blameless by Gail Carriger (audiobook; fantasy)
  • Changeless by Gail Carriger (audiobook; fantasy)
  • Blameless by Gail Carriger (audiobook; fantasy)
  • Heartless by Gail Carriger (audiobook; fantasy)
  • Timeless by Gail Carriger (audiobook; fantasy)
  • Prudence by Gail Carriger (audiobook; fantasy)

So I have finished 31 books so far this year (and read parts of another 6, mostly for research, but also a couple of things I’ve had to mark DNF.). 

Crafts, Essays, Everywhere But Home, Family Time, Friend Time, health, I Am Traveling, Lifelong learning, My Own Personal Weirdness, My Writing

March 2026 Stats

In March, I wrote 6037 words. Of those words,

  • 416 were for this blog (2 short posts),
  • 2474 were for my journal,
  • 0 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons
  • 2744 were on various social media accounts,
  • 168 were poetry (2 short poems),
  • and 651 were in short stories (4 pieces of flash fiction).

There were only 9 days that I didn’t write anything, but my word count was low due to several things. It was a whirlwind of a month. I participated in both my first Trivia Night and a BYOC Night (Bring Your Own Craft) with local friends. I have a new favorite Ice Cream/Coffee Shop. Our family had two car accidents, and while we are all unharmed from them, our poor cars were, and so we played musical cars for several weeks. We also had time with family and friends and soon-to-be family. One week we had a special brunch/lunch/dinner/activity out every single day of the week. I saw nearly all of my specialty doctors, got to watch The Nugget once (and saw her another day), took a bookbinding class, and got addicted to playing Pokopia. We also traveled some more, this time to San Antonio for our youngest son’s WGI competition. We made it my birthday trip (a month early) and splurged out on touring the San Antonio Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, and eating at a Food Network highly rated burger joint. It was all fun and delicious and I even managed to go to a marvelous bookshop that is now in my Top 5 of Bookstores Ever. Comment below if you want the name and location of any of those things. 🙂

As for reading, I read parts of:

Defy or Defend by Gail Carriger (audiobook; Fantasy)

…and I finished reading:

  • A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (audiobook; YA Fantasy)
  • Braiding Sweetgrass by Robyn Kimmerer Walls (audiobook; Non-Fiction)
  • Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger (audiobook; Fantasy)
  • Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger (audiobook; Fantasy)
  • Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger (audiobook; Fantasy)
  • The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn’t by Gail Carriger (e-book; Fantasy)
  • Meat Cute by Gail Carriger (e-book; Fantasy)
  • Poison or Protect by Gail Carriger (audiobook; Fantasy)

As you can see, mostly audiobooks. I started having trouble with my eyes months and months ago, but they were getting worse, fast, and I was waiting out my next eye doctor appointment. Once there, I was pretty quickly diagnosed with Binocular Vision Dysfunction (I was sitting there minding my own business and the eye doctor said “OOoooh…do that thing with your eyes again.” Me: “What thing?” She paused and while she waited, my eyes did the thing again, so there was a bunch more testing than usual.) In any case, I have new glasses on order that have special prism lenses in them and hopefully these terrible migraines and eye strain feelings will go away soon. 🙂 (Also, can I say how excessively lovely the Gail Carriger books are in audiobook form? I love the voices and the music and of course, all the steampunky weirdness and adventures!)

So I have finished 22 books so far this year (and read parts of another 5, mostly for research, but also a couple of things I’ve had to mark DNF.). 

Okay, I think that’s it. It was a super fun month! 🙂

Acceptances, My Own Personal Weirdness, My Writing, Organizing, The Past Comes Back to Haunt Me, What I Love, Writing

January 2026 Stats

In January 2026, I wrote 6066 words. Of those words,
• 802 were for this blog (3 short posts),
• 1230 were for my journal,
• 2156 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for the Open Door Writing Group and one for Asher Point Independent Living Facility),
• 585 were on various social media accounts,
• 214 were poetry (2 short poems and 1 long),
• and 1079 were in short stories (4 pieces of flash fiction).
There were only 12 days that I didn’t write anything. Mostly weekends and holidays, but also a few sick days. I submitted one poem online and heard back from a couple of places, one of which accepted a piece for publication. I also had two speaking engagements, lots of physical therapy appointments, a trip with my family to see my youngest perform with NOVA Independent Guard, the Icepocalypse of 2026, the purchase of a cover for my first indie-published poetry anthology (of just my work), and attended a ReCraft & Co Zine Making Workshop.

As for reading, I read parts of:
Secrets of the First School by TL Huchu (audio book; fantasy), Braiding Sweetgrass by Robyn Kimmerer Walls (audio book; non-fiction), The Relaxed Author by Joanna Penn and Mark Leslie Lefebvre (trade paperback; non-fiction), How to Make a Living as a Poet by Gary Mex Glazner (trade paperback; non-fiction).

…and I finished reading:
• Bee Sting Cake by Victoria Goddard (e-book; cozy fantasy),
• Whiskey Fool by Victoria Goddard (e-book; cozy fantasy), • Plum Duff by Victoria Goddard (e-book; cozy fantasy),
• Blackcurrent Fool by Victoria Goddard (e-book; cozy fantasy),• Love in a Mist by Victoria Goddard (e-book; cozy fantasy),
• Olive and the Dragon by Victoria Goddard (e-book; cozy fantasy),• Seven Dials by Agatha Christie (e-book; mystery),

So I have finished 7 books so far this year (and read parts of another 4, mostly for research, but also a couple of things I’ve just not finished yet.).