November Boho Berry Box

I’ve been meaning to write this post for at least a week.

For those who don’t know, the Boho Berry Box is a subscription-based box full of all sorts of planner/journaling goodies. So for you planners, journalers, writers, sticker addicts, etc., this might be the box for you.

What an intriguing box for November.

Each box always comes with a monthly sampler and a habit tracker. Each month’s box has a different theme as well. For November, it’s hygge, a concept that doesn’t translate to a single word, but “encompasses a feeling of cozy contentment and well-being. Since it’s the middle of autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere, that means so many things, including curling up with a cup of tea.

Now, on my own I wouldn’t have chosen this tea–being 100% honest–based on the brand name: Bad Girl, Good Tea. That does not sound like an appealing brand. But when I read the ingredients (honeybush tea, marigold petals, natural flavors), I changed my mind and decided to give it a chance. I love a good herbal tea (Celestial Seasonings Cinnamon Apple and Bengal Spice are my favorites, especially brewed together), but I’ve never had one where the tea leaves didn’t already come in a tea bag.

But just look at that darling teapot tea strainer – with a saucer!!!

And with NaNoWriMo happening in November, I’ll need some yummy drinks. I’ve never had honeybush tea before. So I thought I’d save it for NaNoWriMo. I’ll let you all know how I like it next month. 😁

Who can forget that it’s also the season of gratitude here in the USA? So, the box included a gratitude log sticker, one line per day in November. And a pair of Tombow Dual Brush Tip Pens in red and gray.

And this lovely stencil! (Placed over my business bullet journal for contrast)

I look forward to using all these goodies next month!

If you’d like to try these boxes yourself, head on over to the Boho Berry Box site, click subscribe, select your subscription length, and use the code B4A5 when checking out for $5 off your first purchase!

Unseen Voices Release Blitz

Title: Unseen Voices

Author: Christine Pope

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Cover Designer: Covers by Christian

Editor: Katherine Tomlinson, Story Authority

Publisher: Dark Valentine Press

Publication Date: October 16^th, 2019

Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR

Blurb:

Project Demon Hunters is canceled…but apparently no one told the demons.

Knowing how the horrifying events that took place while filming Project Demon Hunters shook his friend Michael Covenant to the core, Will Gordon readily says yes to Michael’s request to be ready — as a friend and as an Episcopal priest — in case psychic Rosemary McGuire calls for help.

Rosemary doesn’t know exactly why the show was canceled…other than a demon murdered the show’s producer, and the network buried every scrap of harrowing footage under a ton of hacker-proof security.

When an independent filmmaker shows up at Rosemary’s metaphysical bookshop with tantalizing clues that a backup copy of the missing footage exists, she promises Michael she’ll call some crusty old priest “in a pinch,” and begins following a trail of impossibly tiny bread crumbs.

But that trail doesn’t just lead her somewhere. It leads something to Rosemary, alarming enough that she calls Michael’s priest friend…who turns out to be way younger and heroically handsome than she could have ever anticipated. But the heat between them may be no match for the demonic fire that grows hotter and more dangerous the closer they get to the truth.

Buy Links:

Unquiet Souls: https://books2read.com/u/3JVlMB

Unbound Spirits: https://books2read.com/u/bxvPXk

Unholy Ground: https://books2read.com/u/3npyLx

Unseen Voices: https://books2read.com/u/mlaGg9

USA Today bestseller Christine Pope is the author of the paranormal romance Witches of Cleopatra Hill series and the Djinn Wars series, among many other books (sixty and counting!). Researching UFOs brought her to magical Sedona, Arizona, where she now makes her home. Find out more about her books at christinepope.com.

Author Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4181354.Christine_Pope

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2X9svOI

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristinePopeAuthor

Web: http://christinepope.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/christinejpope

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/christine-pope

Buy Links:

Unquiet Souls: https://books2read.com/u/3JVlMB

Unbound Spirits: https://books2read.com/u/bxvPXk

Unholy Ground: https://books2read.com/u/3npyLx

Unseen Voices: https://books2read.com/u/mlaGg9

Daily Writing Progress 9/21-9/25

September 21
Project: A Place of Memory
Words Written: 1,069
Total words: 6,527
Thoughts: Um… wow… only got this many words because I was rewriting a scene along with adding words to another. Didn’t realise I’d written that much! Cool! Getting into the routine for NaNoWriMo.

September 22 – 24

Project: A Place of Memory
Words Written: 6,207
Total words: 12,734
Thoughts:

September 25

Project: A Place of Memory
Words Written: 1,039
Total Words: 15,582
Thoughts: Uh… I think I’m missing a few words in there. The numbers don’t work from the day before. I must have forgotten to log something. But I finished rewriting some scenes, and now I’m back to the post-battle discussions. Coming up on the part where they need to make a decision, but I’m having a little bit of a struggle getting that conversation to come out.
Goal for tomorrow: See if I can finish that discussion.

Daily Writing Progress 9/12-20

September 12-20

The day off was wonderful, just what I needed. But that day turned into almost a whole week off. And really, I guess that’s okay. Maybe I was burned out and didn’t realize it. It also gave me the chance to finish crocheting a shawl that I was pattern-testing for a designer. (Photos to come later, I hope.) I also had the chance to read a couple books I wanted to start or reread.

Then, the other day, I read an old NaNoWriMo pep talk by Brandon Sanderson that changed my perspective on whether it might have been burnout or not. one of the things he mentioned was how writers have a kind of “writing reservoir”, “a creative well that can only be tapped so far in a given day. Once it runs dry, it’s often hard to create anything, even if we have the time to do so.”

One of the lessons I learned as a storyteller was how to refill the creative well while doing other activities. You can do it while driving, exercising, eating… anything that doesn’t take your full attention. During these times, many writers I know run through plots in their heads, feel out character personalities, think about conflicts. They make connections, overcoming blocks. … One of the ways NaNo could help a writer is by training them to use off moments to delve, mentally, into their stories.

That was the problem. I spent so much time writing that I wasn’t taking time to refill my creative well. So all the days since have been spent relaxing and doing other things to refill it.

And now I think I’m ready to get back to work.

Daily Writing Progress 9/5-11

September 5

No writing today. Some friends took me to the yarn shop in Arkadelphia as a late birthday present. I’d never been to the shop, and it was everything they’d said. I’ll post more about it later.

September 6

Project: A Place of Memory

• Words written: 244

• Total words: 3,931
• Thoughts: That birthday scene is nowhere close to done, but it was time to try working on another important scene that eventually leads my characters to start training again.
• Goal for tomorrow: Work on both of these scenes tomorrow. Also time to get back to planning “If the Shoe Fits” for NaNoWriMo.

September 7

Project: A Place of Memory

• Words written: 809
• Total words: 4,740
• Thoughts: wait… did I really write that much? Word sprints are awesome!
• Goal for tomorrow Monday: Can I keep up this pace? I hope so!

September 8

No writing today.

September 9

Project: A Place of Memory

• Words written: 670
• Total words: 5,410
• Thoughts: I love sprints. Started having trouble with the battle scene, so I left it for now and switched to the aftermath. That one’s coming smoother.
• Goal for tomorrow:

September 10

Project: A Place of Memory

• Words written: 23
• Total words: 5433
• Thoughts: um…. what happened?
• Goal for tomorrow: write all the words

September 11

Project: various

• Words written: 100
• Thoughts: not quite sure what happened today. I just didn’t want to write, or do much of anything
• Goal for tomorrow: I’m not sure. Should it be just a self-care day,  and no writing involved?

Where were you?

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

18 years ago, the world stopped, frozen in shock at the news – terrorists had hijacked planes, flown them into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, a field in Pennsylvania.

I was home. I’d gone back to bed after early morning seminary before starting my school day (my siblings and I were homeschooled), and had just woken up to hear my mom on the phone with our dad at work. My room was on the same floor as the living room, so I headed right out to see what was going on. I don’t remember if I asked what happened, or if I just stood there watching the TV until someone said what had happened; but when I finally learned what it was, I was shocked.

I remember being glued to the televison for hours that day, as footage was replayed, as different people were interviewed. Even heard a phone interview with Tom Clancy, who had written a novel with an eerily similar plot. I was still watching as, one by one, the towers collapsed.

I may have wondered why God allowed such a horrible thing to happen, but I am sure that He grieved for it, that He welcomed home all who lost their lives because of that horrible event. And I know that in some future day, the men responsible will answer for what they did.

Daily Writing Progress 8/29-9/4

August 29-Sept 1

Something weird was going on with my Scrivener file this week, so I created a new one and started copying or typing my notes and scenes I’d already written into the new file. Fingers crossed that it actually works and the file doesn’t keep freezing up and not responding.

September 2

Project: A Place of Memory

• Words Written: 88
• Total Words: 3537
• Thoughts: Finally finished copying my notes and scenes today and could finally work more on this confrontational scene at the birthday party.
• Goal for tomorrow:

September 3

Project: A Place of Memory

• Words Written: 42
• Total Words: 3,576
• Thoughts: Sure, it was kind of a busy day, but I had plenty of time to write. So why didn’t I write more?
• Goal for tomorrow: Write more.

September 4

Project: A Place of Memory

• Words Written: 111
• Total Words: 3,687
• Thoughts: Waited too late in the day to start writing, but I wrote. Don’t know why I’m struggling with this scene.
• Goal for tomorrow: Finish this scene! And move on to the scene where the characters realize they’ve been plunged back into a world they didn’t really want to go back to.

Daily Writing Progress 8/22-28

August 22 – 24

Er… what did I write these days? Worked a little on the scene list, tried to work on other stories, which didn’t get very far. (Not that I can even remember what I worked on…)

August 25

No writing today. Rest, and a day of worship.

August 26

Project: A Place of Memory

• Words written: 2125
• Total Words: 2125
• Thoughts: The scene list isn’t finished, but I just couldn’t wait one more day! I ended up keeping the same two opening scenes that I had in previous drafts, with a few small changes – including finally naming the new villain.
• Goal for tomorrow: Get started on that third scene, the one that’s leaving me unsure how to proceed.

August 27

Project: A Place of Memory

• Words written: 145
• Total Words: 2,275
• Thoughts: It was a struggle, but at least I got part of that opening paragraph. My main character needs to have this discussion with his friend, if for no other reason than a reminder that this friend is behind him 100%, no matter what.
• Goal for tomorrow: Finish this scene.

August 28 – MY BIRTHDAY

Project:

• Words written: 832
• Total Words: 3,107
• Thoughts: The scene isn’t finished, but I wrote a lot thanks to two word sprints. I should do more of those – I always love how they help, no matter how many words I actually get written.
• Goal for tomorrow: Finish that scene, fix the scene list and add more to the list. Maybe try some short stories too. Story a Day September is coming quickly.

Daily Writing Progress 8/15-21

August 15-16

No writing. Not gonna lie, stress/anxiety and sadness (depression or just hormones?) had me in bed off and on throughout the days and I just didn’t want to write.

August 17

Project: “A Place of Memory” planning

• Thoughts: I actually finished my one-page synopsis, step four of the Snowflake Method, for the story! I still need to fill in a few more character sheets before I move on, but I was surprised at one character’s conflict and epiphany, so I think that will change how I’m going to approach his scenes.
• Goal for Tomorrow: Fill in at least two more character sheets.

August 18

Project: A Place of Memory planning

• Thoughts: Got a couple more sheets at least improved, if not complete, so I went ahead and got started on my main character’s synopsis. This has been such an interesting method to use for planning novels.
• Goal for Tomorrow: I think I need a little break from this story, so tomorrow I’m going to work on a scene in another fanfic. That story has some interesting potential.

August 19-21

Project: “A Place of Memory” planning

• Thoughts: Getting really excited! Almost finished with the four-page synopsis, but just couldn’t wait to get started on the scene list!
• Goal for Tomorrow: Work on that scene list more! So close to ready to write!

Daily Writing Progress 8/8-8/14/19

August 8

Project: What’s There Inside You ch. 4

• Word Count: 726
• Total Word Count: 1,592
• Thoughts: Why do I forget how helpful word sprints are? That word count is the product of three half-hour writing sprints in one evening! I think I need to start adding word sprints to my daily writing regimen.
• Goal for Tomorrow: Write all the words! Plan “If the Shoe Fits” – May be time to move on to the one-page synopsis step of the Snowflake Method, since I’m having such trouble with some of the characters. Either that, or go back and rewrite the one-paragraph summary. That does need some work.

August 9

Wow! I whipped out my Morning Pages in less than an hour today. I don’t know why it was so much easier to get them done today – maybe because I wrote larger, to give my hand a break from my normal tight script.

Project: What’s There Inside You

• Word Count: 504
• Total Word Count: 9,895
• Thoughts: Once again, sprints prove themselves productive. One scene gave me trouble with a problem I have to think of for the characters to discuss, so i started on the next scene and got much more done!
• Goal for Tomorrow: Try to figure out this scene problem. Plan more of If the Shoe Fits

August 10

Project: Collecting prompts for a “7 prompts in 7 days” YouTube video

• Thoughts: I found Kate Cavanaugh’s video using this prompt and enjoyed the idea so much that I had to start one myself!
• Goal for Tomorrow: Film the first day’s writing!

August 11

Productive Morning Pages, but that’s all.

August 12

Project: “Write Now” blog prompt

• Word Count: 326
• Thoughts: I like how this scene went. It took a sci-fi turn. I’d expected it to go more of a fantasy route, but I like this one. Maybe I’ll do another scene with this prompt and deliberately go fantasy. Who knows? The goal was to just freewrite for at least five minutes based on the prompt, and then post what I wrote. I want to finish up a few things in this scene before I post it and link it back to the original prompt blog post.
• Goal for Tomorrow: Finish up this scene, find the missing words/terms and backstory

Project: “A Place of Memory” planning

Completed: Steps 1-2.5 of Snowflake Method

Thoughts: Still working on the characters. I had to go back to Ingermanson’s How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method book and reread the chapter about the one-paragraph synopsis so I could really understand what this paragraph needed to include. And I’m glad I did. My first draft of the synopsis had way too much detail that needed to be saved for the one-page synopsis. Seeing that also helped me realize that I need to go back and rewrite the one-paragraph synopsis for If the Shoe Fits.

Goal for Tomorrow: Finish up the character summaries and start work on then one-page synopsis.

August 13

Did I write? I certainly got my Morning Pages in.

August 14

Project: “What’s There Inside You” Chapter 4

• Word Count: 38
• Total Word Count: 2,134
• Thoughts: I need to figure out what the problem was that had the character who’s challenging my MC for leadership bound to silence until the previous leader’s death. The issue I’ve got isn’t quite believable enough for me. Maybe that’s why I had so much trouble writing tonight. Or maybe it’s the fact that I waited till past 9 pm to start writing.
• Goal for Tomorrow: Brainstorm some possible problems, and how Brian (my MC) is going to react.

Project: “A Place of Memory” planning

• Several characters done in step 3 of the Snowflake Method, though I still need to put some finishing touches. Began step 4, the one-page synopsis, expanded from the one-paragraph synopsis. I can already tell that it needs some more work, but I’m much more confident that this story will come together easier
• Goal for tomorrow: keep going! I can see problems on their way to solutions!