grace & gratitude | november

“The thinnest yellow light of November is more warming and exhilarating than any wine they tell of. The mite which November contributes becomes equal in value to the bounty of July.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

I cannot begin to tell you how difficult it was to find a quote for November. There are a few good ones here and there, but nothing stuck out to me. And I don’t want to share just anything. But regardless, I had to settle for Thoreau. Think of that what you will, I suppose. Although I’m certain we can all agree…November > July.

Last November feels like yesterday. In fact, reading over last year’s update post, my jaw literally dropped when I realized it has been a year since I wrote those scenes to (hopefully) include in Held Captive 2.0. It’s been a year since I read Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder. It’s been a year since my last marketing class. It’s been a year since—you guessed it—I published Bound and Determined.

Okay, okay, technically it won’t be a year until the 17th. But I at least had most of the release stuff done and preorder campaign, so once the book’s up for preorder, it’s almost like it’s published.

So, yeah. That’s insane.

Unlike 2022, I won’t be doing the mega indie author giveaway this year, because y’all. That took a crap-load of time and effort that I don’t have. *sighs ruefully* But if I don’t do some other kind of big giveaway at some point, I hope to bring the indie author giveaway back next year—which will be here before you know it, if time keeps going at the speed it is now.

And unlike the last four years, I won’t be doing anything big for my bookaversaries. Y’all may have noticed I totally missed Prisoner at Heart’s—which was Sunday, the 29th—and I don’t have a single thing planned for Bound and Determined’s. That’s probably cruel of me not to celebrate my books, but I kinda wanna save all the fun for when I republish them. Which will happen…eventually.

Instead, November is going to be a lot different than it has been in recent years. My focus is going to be on four things—spiritual growth, organization, writing (so. much. writing.), and enjoying fall whilst it lasts.

Yep, it’s NaNoWriMo time, folks. Or, well, technically I never do NaNoWriMo—I don’t shoot for 50k and I don’t participate in the actual organization—but I am part of King’s Daughters Writing Camp this year (for the first time!) and I do have writing goals, but we’ll get to those in a bit.

I really want to get my ducks in a row this month and tackle some big projects that I’ve been (procrastinating) preparing for. And most of all, I want to enjoy this season. Autumn is my favorite of all, and hearkening back to what Thoreau said, it’s a bit like wine. It’s heady and wondrous and warm and filling and spicy and addicting—but it’s also so very fleeting. It’s there, swirling in your glass, a fathomless pool of amber…and then, it’s gone. A vapor. You blink, and you miss it and all the beauty it entails. And I don’t want to miss it, because I adore it so and I feel as though I’ve already missed so much. So much of this year and its seasons.

So, November is for savoring. And turkey and dressing and eggnog, of course.

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~ verse of the month ~

“Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?”

Joel 2:17 KJV

~ gratitude ~

sub sandwiches

blackberry sage tea (that I made and froze over the summer to enjoy in the winter)

apples (bushels and bushels and bushels of apples)

lettering

worship

homemade shampoo (comment 🧴if you want me to share the recipe!)

apple cider (also homemade)

EGGNOG

cool weather

denim skirts

ice cream

bible studies

free courses (I’m currently taking this one and loving it!)

homemade meatballs (here’s the recipe 😉)

podcast internship

handcrafted coffees like maple cinnamon latte & tiramisu iced coffee

childhood favorite TV shows

Nancy Drew

~ grace ~

Strangely, I only wrote 430 words in The Forsaken…although I could’ve sworn it was more. 🤔 (Edit: there was more; I just didn't write the word counts down.) And I haven’t gotten started on my OSAS (Of Storm & Sea) novella—yet. I did manage to get the character profiles (which are only, like, 50 words each 😅) done, and I’ve done some minimal plotting/worldbuilding over the last few months, so I’m more or less just going to wing it. As usual.

Most of my time was devoted to editing. I did two rounds on a novella for the lovely Kellyn Roth and I’m working on a story critique as well.

I started out strong with my posting and ended up falling by the wayside (as usual), but I managed to knock out a few of my ARCs! I also recorded a couple podcast episodes—not as many as I’d hoped, but a couple! We’re already in Season 2 (but only because I’m sticking with eight-episode seasons 🤭)!

As far as reading goes, I read The Cost of the Crown by Joy Crain (see my review), Someone They Can Trust by Colleen Scheid (review), The Mermaid’s Tale by L.E. Richmond (review), and A Beautiful Disguise by Roseanna M. White (review coming eventually). Naturally, ABD was my top read for this month! I can’t wait to share my thoughts on it!

All in all, October may not have been The Month (i.e., the launch of STLP), but it was a month of progress and reevaluation and struggling to balance things and find my footing.

~ goals ~

As usual, launching the press is on the top of my list…but since it’s November…my focus will be on writing.

I’m hoping for 20,000 words. (Which means I’d have to write about 666 words a day…so maybe I should change my goal. 😬) That should complete my novella for OSAS + include a couple thousand words in The Forsaken. However, I’m willing to admit that I may only get about 5k words in the novella and 1k in TF. Which is better than nothing, but still. I’m setting a goal, and Lord willing, I’ll reach it.

I’ll also be editing and (hopefully) keeping up with the posting schedule I made for myself and working on a super special secret surprise project for December.

And despite heaping all of that onto my plate, I also have the desire to write some devotions and academic-style articles and get started on my marketing course…so we’ll see just how focused I stay. 😅

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It’s your turn, O Fair Reader! What do you want to savor this month? What are you grateful for? What’s on your TBR? Are you doing any writing this November? If so, what are your goals? Your WIP? I’d love to hear all about it!!

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