Farewell, sweet bookshelf

First I want to say thanks to those who responded to my call for beta readers in my previous post. It was great to get some volunteers who I could put in touch with my writer friend. :)

But now, onto the point of tonight's post. I'm happy to say I've achieved some goals already during January.

Goal 1: finish my NaNo novel
Yes, I finally did it! I finished my NaNo 2014 novel! It did take me a while to get back into it, even after just 1.5 months away from it, and I had to read back through earlier chapters to remind myself where I was up to. But I got it done, and it's a relief to be able to say that.

Goal 2: Sorting out what's in my garage
I've also done quite a bit of work, especially today, on clearing out my garage. The verge collection happens this coming week, so I've put a lot of big rubbish out on the lawn. My garage is looking a lot emptier. I feel a bit sorry for the poor foster kitties in there, who have fewer places to hide. But I'll make them some good cubby holes so they can feel more at home again.

My bookshelf (one of many, and just the latest to be wrenched from my reluctant hands)

It was especially difficult wheeling my bookcase out to the verge, a bookcase I've had since high school. A whole lot of different books and other things have been on that bookshelf. It also used to be lime green, but was painted purple. There is a patch of green still inside it.

*Sniffle* I'll miss youuuuu!

Part of me hopes someone will collect it from the verge so it can continue to service a booklover's needs in future. But most of me is a pessimist and knows that bookshelf is probably destined for the tip. ;)

Shelfie Blog Hop - last-minute appearance! :)

It's October 6th over here, and I'm just sneaking in my Shelfie post at the last minute! What's this whole Shelfie Blog Hop thing about? Well, I got the info from VikLit's blog, HERE. But the gist is:

Take a picture of you and your book(s) - your faves or your own novels. Or you can just arrange the books in a special way and take the picture - but you do get extra points for being in the photo.Formats: Tweet, Facebook, Blog - just make sure to include a link(s) to each.You have until October 6th!

It's true I haven't published any of my books yet, but I do have 2 proof copies of novels, one each of SUNDOWN and FIRE. You can see those (only a bit of FIRE) in the photo below. The book in the middle is, of course, the Vine Leaves Anthology I had my little poem published in. Unfortunately I don't yet have a physical copy of the other anthology I was published in, but I hope to get one someday soon.

The other thing you can see in this photo (other than me) is a tiny glimpse of my beloved built-in bookshelves. I have wall to wall books and DVDs and CDs in my hallway, on one side anyway. Would be a bit overkill if I had it on both sides. I think that'd make me a bit claustrophobic. ;) So yeah, I love my bookshelves.

Here is a better view of my shelves ... with a glimpse of a grey cat's back at the bottom. ;)

Write ... Edit ... Publish ~ NEW BEGINNINGS (Jan.)

It's time yet again for WEP, the monthly hop hosted by Denise at L'Aussie writing. You can check out January's blog list here. And now here is a bit of info about this month's theme:

It's time for the sign-up for our first challenge of 2014 - NEW BEGINNINGS. Whatever comes to mind that expresses NEW BEGINNINGS - you may want to share a true story, a fictional story, post photos that typify NEW BEGINNINGS...whatever you want, it's your choice!

So, with that out of the way, I thought I'd just put up a little list of new beginnings I'm anticipating experiencing this year (and I must admit that I haven't really done much editing of this list, but now that I've written it I'm going to publish it here on my blog):

• I will begin to be completely student loan free sometime around the middle of this year!
• I will begin a new travelling phase when I order a new passport at some point, since both of mine have long since expired (I have a British and Australian passport)
• I will begin to very much enjoy my built-in bookshelves at home - once they've been built in, anyway
• I will begin yoga again, at some point this year
• I will begin to drink from a brand new bottle of Bailey's, at some point (I haven't had my beloved Bailey's in quite a while now)
• I will begin a new life wherein I no longer have the Brothers' Grimm fairytales on my GoodReads "currently reading" list, and,
• I will begin to read Ursula le Guin's Earthsea series at long last!

I think that will do for now.

P.S. Achieved my first goal from my list - rewriting LOST, MISSING, GONE. Neeeext!

P.P.S. Just finished reading Mina Lobo's THAT FATAL KISS, and loved it.