Merry Christmas and looking ahead to 2015 (pt.2)

Well. This year has flown by and I can't believe we're already looking at 2015! Putting this year aside, there are plenty of books and events that I'm looking forward to next year, as well as some resolutions of my own.

I actually wrote about some of the books I'm looking forward to here (although, my own personal list has already grown so much - there are so many books, both new and old that I'm looking forward to hopefully reading next year!). I think it's going to be another good year for YA and books and hopefully lots of exciting things are in store.

I'm excited about MuggleNet's first expo, MuggleNet Live! 2015: Expo Patronum, which is taking place on April 18th, and I can't wait to be involved and meet lots of my wonderful and amazing MuggleNet coworkers.

I'm hoping for another YALC. And more trips to Fowey. I'm hoping for lots of great book events, and meeting bookish and writing friends.

I'm hoping to keep blogging regularly on here, and over at a new blog/site I recently started, YA Inspires (I'm still feeling the way with that one).

Writing wise, I'm hoping to send Treading Water out to lots more agents, to edit the contemporary I wrote this summer to a good standard, to rehash and rewrite the MG story I wrote for my dissertation this summer. And of course, I hope for lots of new ideas, and inspiring things, but also focus. I hope to continue loving writing, no matter what.

Most of all, I hope the year is happy and full of good surprises and nice things!

And that's it for this year. I'm going to take a blogging break until the new year. I hope you all have an AMAZING Christmas and a WONDERFUL happy new year! I hope you get everything you want in the new year and have lots of hopes and dreams for the year.

Thanks for reading! x

Back in Exeter!

Back again. Christmas is over again. I'm glad to be back. Although it's always strange to adjust back to another way of living, much as I wanted to get back. And I have a deadline on Wednesday, for an essay and poetry portfolio, so it's straight down to that (supposedly). Although I think I'm getting there. If you follow my twitter you may have seen that I was getting a little stressed out about the essay and at that point where I was just so frustrated.

I'm hoping today isn't going to be the same.

On the other hand, editing is going well with the story I wrote over the summer and I've finally got it - it always takes me a while to get into editing, and now I've got it with this one (and I'm wondering why it took me so long to write a school series, I mean come on, I love those books and this is awesome). So I'm happy with that at the moment.

Right, time to go tackle the essay, just a quick update.

Although at the moment 2013 is looking pretty cool - John and Hank Green, JK Rowling and Mcfly. AWESOME.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone and thank you for reading my blog over the past year. It's been a strange year, and a good one, but also a hard one in many ways, and it has sped by so very quickly. I'm startled to find us at the beginning of a new year again. It's been a year full of sporting triumphs, a summer of sport, the jubilee, and more personally graduations, new courses, moving and many chances.

Here's to the new Year, and all the adventures that it will be bring, all the hopes and dreams and excitments and everything.

I am going to quote the oft quoted and much wiser Neil Gaiman:

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

Go here to read more.

Happy New Year everyone.

Goodbye 2012.

Hello 2013.

Books I'm looking forward to in 2013

2013 (nearly). Wow. Already?! How did that happen? How did it get to the end of December?!

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. I meant to sit down and write my essay now, but instead I'm doing this. Whoops. Anyway.

I got a HUGE stack of books for christmas, which was awesome - loads that I'd asked for and the entire shortlist of the Man Booker prize, which was pretty cool! Already working my way through my books, of course... just finished Days of Blood and Starlight by Lani Taylor, which was awesome. Christmas I always find is a great time for doing lots of reading!  

There are plenty of books I'm looking forward to in 2013!

Here are some:

1. The next Gallagher Girls and Heist Society novels by Ally Carter
2. The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
3. Legacy by C J Daughterly
4. Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher
5. Just One Day by Gayle Forman
6. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (hopefully!)
7. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
8. Requiem by Lauren Oliver
9. The Summer I became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller
10. Rules of Summer by Joanna Philba
11. Riptide by Lindsey Scheibe

And no doubt many many many more....

last post of 2011.

The last week has absoutely flown by, and I can't believe that now it's the last day of 2011. I always get rather miserable and nostalgic about the New Year and I do hate it, especially the seemingly required expectation to have fun. Which I never do... Anyway. Christmas has absoutely whizzed by, and has been full of ups and downs, but it's over now, as is this year. It's gone by so quickly, as have the last few months have gone. It all feels just like yesterday. Trying to think back on the last year and what I've done and what has happened. I don't want to get all reflective and nostalgic here, but I thought I would post and well, I don't really know what I wanted to say. I suppose it's that want to post something to acknowledge Christmas and the New Year.

The last week as always has whizzed by - it's that strange week in between Christmas and New Year where you eat a lot, hide inside, and in my case start reading all the hundreds of wondeful books I got for Christmas (which also meant I neglected twitter etc, not necessarily a bad thing, it was nice to have a break really). I also was able to enjoy the Doctor Who and Downton Abbey Christmas specials, which I thought were absoutely brilliant and marvellous. Good old Christmas TV. I saw friends which was lovely as wonderful and drank tonnes of tea (also usual). I started work again though a couple of days ago (after a sudden panic that I had an exam in two weeks) and wrote the first draft of the story I need to hand in which made me happy and feel like I have begun to achieved something. I think I can be quite harsh on myself... I can't say that I'm feeling all that refreshed but I have read some books I've been looking forward to reading for a while which made me very happy and excited. I also received a kindle for Christmas, and I am very excited to start using that properly (although there is no way I'm abandoning real books, but it's nice to have both options, and it means less books to carry around all the time... well, maybe....). I'm hoping next year will bring plenty more wonderful books to read and lots and lots of writing, among other things. I also hope to keep this blog going, and I wanted to say a hello to any new readers... I hope you stick with me, as I hope I stick with this!

I feel like there are lots of things I want to and should say but I can't quite at this moment put them into words so before I start babbling on anymore, I think I should say a belated Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. I hope the next year is wonderful for everyone. Goodbye 2011; hello 2012.