Month: October 2020

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Dewey’s Dinner Time Check-In

Maggie Hemlock
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Today has been fantastic and more than a little nostalgic. I expected that a bit, though. I did read Midnight Sun. And then I promptly called my best friend and interrupted her readathon to gush. Yeah, I had to gush and not many things make me gush these days. I’m not a teenager anymore and I’m only 8 days smoke and those things do not add up to gushing under most circumstances. I won’t gush too much here but GAIS!!! It’s better than Twilight, though, it did put me right back in those days – where I was and who I hung around with at that time – the movies, the books. It was around the time of my accident that left me with a permanent disability – but there are so many happy little moments I’d forgotten about. If you enjoyed Twilight I’d recommend this one. If not, move along. No negative needed here. I’m 31 I’ll read about sparkly monsters if I want to. Now, I need Miss Stephanie to rewrite the other three books in the series from Edward’s perspective. No, I don’t ask for much at all.

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I originally thought I’d jump back to my reread of the early Anita Blake series, but I was so caught up in the Twilight world that I jumped over to Life & Death: Twilight Reimagined. I’m about 3 chapters in and I’m enjoying it. It’s basically a gender swap of Bella and Edward to Beau and Edythe. Yeah, it’s gimmicky – I don’t wanna hear it, though. I’m enjoying it shameless. The last 14 months have been hell for me. Today, I’m happy and that’s incredibly rare these days.

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Oh – I almost forgot to give my brain a break I started an audiobook today while I cooked lunch. I only listened to about an hour of it, but I am counting it towards my 10 hours for this readathon.

The Body Keeps Score has been recommended to me by so many people. Recently, I’ve been diving hard into working with my CPTSD- it’s shaped so much of my life and I didn’t realize the extent until my brother attacked me last year (h if you want that story it’s in other blogs.). So I’m diving into good old fashion physiotherapy. So far it works better than any therapist I’ve tried yet.

I’m at 7 hours and 2 minutes of my 10 hour goal. I need to do some evening stuff and get things taken care of. So, I’ll turn the audiobook back on while I do that. Between tonight and tomorrow morning (I’m usually up by 5) I should hit my 10 hour goal this time around. Maybe a little over since I’m adding in an audiobook this time.

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Dewey’s Updates: Coming Up for Air

Maggie Hemlock

I’ve always wished I were one of those people who could just read straight through the day. Don’t get me, I can read a lot in a day. I just have to come up for air from time to time. This is one of those times. I’ve divided the day into little 4 hours chunks. With the last one being not quite 4 hours because I don’t plan on being up until midnight. lol

So far today I’ve managed to read for 3 hours and 39 minutes. So about 1/3 of my 10 hour goal. I’m feeling a little fuzzy brained – hence writing this blog now instead of sometime later.

What have I read so far?

Well, about 300 pages of the newest Twilight book. Yep. It takes me back to my late teen years. It’s been forever since I read Twilight, but I think I might actually like this one better.

I also took a small break from Midnight Sun to read a portion of Perfume by Patrick Suskind for my group read. I dropped in and left my thoughts and jumped back into reading. This one both keeps my interest and infuriates me to no end.

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I have noticed a them of blood for this readathon. Perfume is a book about a guy trying to make a perfume/cologne that smells like virgin blood. Well, it’s supposed to be but it feels like the writer keeps getting distracted.

I figure I’ll finished up the last 275 pages of Midnight Sun around 3 O’clockish. Then I’ll have to decide what to read next. I have plenty of options. I’m not sure if I want to go with the Circus of the Damned (3rd book in Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, a reread for me, but what I’m currently working on reading), another Stephanie Meyer book, or just grab something short from the shelf. I think I want to continue with vampires and the like, though.

Hope you’re having a good readathon!

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Good Morning Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon/I started early

Maggie Hemlock
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Good morning!

I slept rough last night. I’m about 7.5 days into quitting smoking and it’s effecting every area of my life. I’m running a little late with this blog because I didn’t know my desktop computer would choose this morning to spazz out over an update that didn’t install correctly. It’s fine now, but now I’m running around trying to make up for the lost half an hour when I thought I had plenty of time this morning!

I thought I had so much time in face that I read when I woke up. Yeah, I’m trying to make that a habit and a part of my new ‘non-smoker’ morning routine. I’m trying for 10 hours this round. Since I only read 35 minutes this morning before the official start – I’m counting it. It’s not much, but it’s enough to make me feel like maybe I’ll reach my goal!

I read number 4 & 5 of the new little Amazon ‘series’ of short stories. I loved the 4th and the 3rd was just okay. I usually love Emma Donoghue, but this little dystopian number about population growth and illegal babies just made me shake my head. I might’ve enjoyed it more if I read it not first thing in the morning. I’m ChildFree by choice, but I write books about men having babies. I have no problem with other people having babies and the story was just…. I don’t words it’s too early in the morning and I want to grab a bite to eat before the official start of the readathon. Overall, I’d recommend both of the stories – even if the latter is just to share my headache/confusion/thinking too hard early in the morning 😛

The Contractors (Out of Line collection) by [Lisa Ko]
Halfway to Free (Out of Line collection) by [Emma Donoghue]
This was the one that made my head hurt.
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My Updated Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon TBR

Maggie Hemlock

So… It’s the night before Dewey’s and my slow behind is finally considering what I’ll read tomorrow in a serious manner. I’m about 30 minutes from being a full week quit of smoking. It’s made me slow at everything, but I’m pushing through.

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So what am I reading tomorrow? Well, tomorrow is a quick chat discussion of our current section of Perfume by Patrick Suskind. I”m reading this book with a lovely group of people I met on Reddit’s R/Bookclub. This section is only about 66 pages so I’ll likely get it out of the way early in the day. maybe not the first thing, but early in the day. I’m really enjoying this book so far and can’t wait to dig into the next section.

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Okay, no judgement, because I’m really against people judging people based on what they read. It’s not cool. Unless it’s hateful that can hurt others leave people alone. What am I reading that I feel the need to give this disclaimer? I’m reading Midnight Sun. Yes, the 5th Twilight book. I was so into when I was younger. I was never Team Edward, but yeah I was in love with the series. So, yeah, I’m reading the new one. I’m about 100 pages in and keep cracking up at how dramatic Edward is. I mean that’s Meyer’s style, but still. It’s funny. I have about 550 pages left, but since it’s YA I still don’t believe it’s a full day of reading.

Beyond these two I’ll update here on on my FB page as the day goes on! What are you reading for Dewey’s?

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My Dewey’s TBR for October 2020!

Maggie Hemlock

It’s that time of the year again – Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon! I’m super excited for this one. I’ll be about a week quit of smoking then and reading all day will be a nice reward. This time I’m going for the goal of reading for 10 hours again. Yeah, I didn’t get it last time, but I wanna try again. I have to have sleep so 24 is out of the question. lol

So what am I going to read this year? That’s the question I’ve been pondering for a while now and I’m still not one hundred percent sure. I think I may just crack open Deathly Hallows to finish up my 2020 reread of HP. Though, I’ve been putting it off because well… You know. If you don’t just Google J.K. Rowling + transphobia. Yeah. I’m trying not to let her ruin it for me, but eh… We’ll see how it goes.

My other option is just to finish up whatever book I’m reading when it lands on that day, plus finish up my group read for the month since that’s our last discussion day, and then jump back into my reread of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series. Honestly, I’m just not sure. I’m usually a mood reader and while I’m going through nicotine withdrawal that’s truer than ever. So, my TBR is TBA. lol I am going to try for 10 hours of reading during the 8AM-8AM period, though.

Happy Reading!

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Book Swag! Hemlock Wolf Pack Journal!

Maggie Hemlock

I’ve considered swag in the past. Folks ask me about it here and there and I’m always a bit shocked and flabbergasted when that happens. I never know what to say when someone likes my stories that much.

I’ve always said if I did swag (and for a long time that was a big fat if) it would have to be something I loved and would use myself. That pretty much narrows things down to coffee mugs, stickers, bookmarks (aren’t they a dying species in the world of ebooks, though?) and of course journals. I journal a lot. I journal about life, mental health, and of course writing. I have way too many writing journals for a normal person, but I’m not a normal person! I’m a writer.

So, given how much free time I’ve had due to staying inside because the plague is going around I decided now was a good time to get things started. So…. Journals. Well, the first of what I hope to be many in a line of journals!

After three editions and tries this is the one I fell in love with! Seriously it’s my current journal right now and if things go right I hope to release a new ‘cover’ every month for the series. Don’t worry lovelies – sexy men will be on the covers soon!

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My Favorite Reads of September 2020

Maggie Hemlock

I don’t normally do this sort of blog, but since I’m reading so much I figured I might as well share a few favorites. I’ve always held back, because I don’t read a lot in my genre. It’s just a thing about needing variety in my life. If I write and read it – where’s the spice? I do read gay romance and general LGBT romance, but they don’t always make my top books for any given month.

This month I read 13 books in total. (Squeezed one more in last night after all.)

I’ve challenge myself to pick my top 3 favorites only. I could probably ramble long blogs about half the books I’ve read this month, but I don’t want to bore you guys. So in no particular order here are my favorite reads of September 2020.

  1. Will My Cat Eat My Eye Balls? By Caitlin Doughty
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This one was a work of non-fiction by a youtuber I stumbled upon. She’s a funny and goth mortician and she’s freaking adorable if way morbid! Well, okay, not morbid. She just talks about death and death related things in a way we can all understand. This book addressed and answered questions children asked her about death. It was freaking awesome.

2. With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

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This was a YA coming of age almost romance about a high school senior named, Emoni. She faces not only the challenge of being a very young teenage mother in a racially divided place. She lives in what she self describes as the ghetto and attends a less than stellar school. She has a real gift for cooking and works her butt off to study abroad for two weeks in Spain. I adored this girl and her story. I listened to this one as an audiobook and the narrator did a wonderful job of bringing Emoni to life.

3. The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

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I’m not gonna lie- when I first bought this book it was the beautiful cover that caught my attention. Then the blurb stole my morbid ghost loving little heart.

This book blends the past and the present in a beautiful way. The blurb tells it better than I ever could – because I can’t even… I loved this book.

Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow…

Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town.

Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under.

Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into.

Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.

But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.