Happy Sunday!

As I write this post, it's raining outside. In fact, it's been raining every other day this week. It's kind of annoying: I much prefer the sunshine.

Is this foreshadowing of next month?? Who knows?? XD

we're just going to ignore the fact that I have no idea where this intro is going, so let's get started

My word. I feel like so much has happened, but I can't pinpoint any specific events. I'll do my best.

A big event is that I cut my hair. This may not sound like a big deal, but I hadn't had a major haircut for 18 months. My hair was going past my shoulders. But I cut off about eight inches, and now my hair is resting slightly above my chin. I must say, short hair is the way to go. XD

Another exciting thing: I finally got my first laptop!! That's actually what I'm using to write this blog post, and it's so much easier than on my iPad. (If you guys wanted to see a post detailing the differences, I'd be down for that. ;) )

Hmmm . . . let's see. Honestly, I was super busy this month with work and other things, which I'll get to in a second.

Lockwood and Co. I FINISHED THE LAST BOOK. *sobs* After weeks of procrastinating the end, I finally took the plunge and did it, and I don't regret it at all. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite series. While I wish there was another book, I also think the way it ended was amazing.

I miss these characters already . . . *sighs*

Hamilton. In case you didn't know, the Hamilfilm (is that what it's called? because that's what I've been calling it for weeks) came out on Disney+. I've watched it three times now and cried all three times. And now, as expected, I've started relistening to its soundtrack. A lot.

We got rid of Disney+ yesterday, though, so I guess my rewatches have to stop. :(

THIS CHOREOGRAPHY <3 <3

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I'm about a quarter of the way through this book, and I'm absolutely loving it! The fairy aspect is fascinating, and the two main characters are simultaneously infuriating and endearing. But the book is so. dang. long. Like, 800+ pages long.

I can barely finish a 300 page book right now. What makes this book think I'll finish it??? XD

Tokyo Ghoul. After 6+ months of listening to Unravel nonstop and spoiling half the plot for myself, I finally started reading the manga. And while I can't recommend it to you because the violence shown is just #yikes, I'm actually enjoying myself way more than I thought I would. (here's my Goodreads review for the first volume)

But no, I'm not ever watching the show. That would be too much.

I couldn't find a good TG GIF, so here's a Fullmetal Alchemist one ;)

I swear this blog is just documenting my slow but steady fall into anime. I am so sorry.

. . . I may or may not have finished the first draft of Project Chaos at 11:06 PM on Wednesday night.

But more to come on that, and on writing in general, next week, so stay tuned. ;)

Here are all the posts I did this month:


Meanwhile, around the blogosphere . . .

Catholic Liturgy Week happened!! I loved reading everyone's posts, and while I can't link to all of them (there are too many), I can link the two initial blog posts (Megan's and Samantha's).

Tracey posted another installment of her Autobiography of a Fantasy Character series, which you MUST check out. It's hysterical!

Faith shared with us a short story featuring her characters from Holding Up the Sky and EXCUSE ME I THINK I AM IN LOVE.

I drew a ton of motivation and inspiration from Charis's post on finding joy in your first draft. If you're currently first-drafting something, I would highly recommend checking it out!

And Carlye made her friends guess what fictional characters were like, which was SO entertaining!

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This month was CRAZY, and I don't think August is going to slow down. But I'm super excited for the next few weeks! So many cool things are happening in the blogosphere: book releases, cool tags, etc.

And I'm just going to warn you: the next few posts you'll see from me might be different than what I usually do. You'll see what I mean. ;)

I hope you have a wonderful August! <3

-Nicole <3