I have exciting news!

For YEARS I have been intrigued by the podcasting world. Not only does it remove the need to do your hair and dress cute while making content (clearly making it the superior medium) but also, I love how… intimate it is. When you listen to a podcast, the hosts are speaking directly to you, whispering in your ears, often the only company you’ve got during a car ride or long run. And while the listenership is growing all the time, it’s still got that “newer community” vibe, like it hasn’t quite reached your aunt in Mississippi who still has dial-up, like Facebook and YouTube have.

Maybe it’s just that I’m exhausted of YouTube. Maybe I just need something new to sink my teeth into. But either way, I’ve wanted to make a podcast for a long time.

It just doesn’t seem quite as simple as slapping together a YouTube video and tossing it online to see what happens. A podcast needs a concept. It needs to be a show. It needs intro music and cover art and costs actual hosting fees.

I needed an idea good enough to justify jumping in.

But finally, finally it came to me. Not just the idea for my very first podcast, but a way to bridge the gap between a couple of things missing in my life:

• A new medium to create content in to share with the people (hopefully!) waiting for me to finally ‘make stuff’ again.
• A way to replace the writing pep talk videos I used to put on YouTube.
• And a way to continue supporting my favorite thing in the entire world, NaNoWriMo.

So, here is How To Win NaNo: A Writing Podcast. My friend Liz and I will be creating weekly episodes starting in August, though the trailer is up already if you want to give it a listen. It’s available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and a few others, and I honestly couldn’t be more excited for this new endeavor.

The idea is that listening to this podcast in real-time will help you get as prepared as possible for the NaNoWriMo challenge in November. Liz and I will be talking through all sorts of tricks and tips we’ve learned over the shares, sharing advice and stories and giving a peek behind the curtain at our own progress. The first season of this podcast will run clear through the end of the year, giving writers a solid ramp up to NaNoWriMo, support throughout the harried month, and a ramp down in December as they start to ask themselves “what’s next?”

You can follow us on Twitter for more news and updates, or send us ideas for things you’d like to hear us discuss on the show!

Hello all! As we dive into the heart of summer, I figure it’s time for a bit of an update on how I’m spending my time these days! Who is the enigma that used to be “Kristina Horner, Chief of the Unicorn Warriors”? The more time passes, the less I feel the need to project my life onto the Internet, so forgive me for extreme periods of quiet in between updates. If I’m being honest, the bulk of my time has been spent working at Mixer, writing a book and doing yardwork. But here are some recent standout experiences you might be interested in.

Cool experiences I’ve had:

As I’m sure is no secret, I love things like escape rooms and immersive theater. Most recently, I had the good fortune of getting to try out an experience called The Confidence Game put on by Cat & Canary. It was unlike anything I’ve ever done before, sort of a blend of an escape room and live immersive theater. Joe and I called up our friends Tara and Alexander — because when it comes to both experimental theater and breaking the law, they’re the first people we’d go to.

The Confidence Game puts you at the heart of the story. The experience happens in real bars, parks and hotels in the city, where you meet up with a hustler who enlists you to take part in a tricky diamond heist. From there you’re expected to negotiate, pickpocket and straight up lie your way through the story, interacting with talented actors who will make you remember why you aren’t a criminal in real life. That shit’s scary, man.

I’m gonna be honest, parts of this were terrifying for me. Not terrifying in the “I fear my life is in danger” way, but in the “my friends are really good at improv and I’m better with a paper and pen and time to think” kind of way. However, when we had to split up into the “thieves” and the “hustlers”, I of course was nominated for the negotiating team. I would probably have made a better pick-pocket in hindsight, but I like to challenge myself, so Alexander and I set out to negotiate “no less than $50,000” for the diamonds with an actor, while Tara and Joe got to do the sneaking around.

My favorite part of the night was when Alexander and I were intercepted by the Feds (another actor), who tried very hard to get us to sell out the guy who put us up to the job. I think my “acting” skills really shone here, when my only response was to keep asking Alexander where the cameras were, as I was “sure we were being punk’d on our anniversary night out”. We told the guy we were just two country folk in town to celebrate, and had no idea what he was talking about.

Overall we had an amazing time, got to live out some criminal fantasies and ultimately played through the experience in the manner that involved none of our party ending up being ‘arrested’. All things considered, a pretty successful night. While this experience was part of a soft launch for the company, they should be bringing it back a bit later in the year, so keep an eye out! Cat & Canary also create custom experiences for special events, so if you can convince your work team to do something like this, or want to plan an epic surprise party… keep them in mind!

Games I’ve been playing:

Well, obviously…. Wizards Unite. I’m a Professor, and loving the experience of playing in the wizarding world like it’s my real world. But despite all the cool new features, and the fact that a bunch of my friends are finally interested in playing an expansive AR app game, it just doesn’t compare to my one-true-love, Pokémon Go. I’m still deep in that game, because — obviously — I need to be the very best.

I also recently played Scythe for the first time, then played two more games shortly after. I really do like crunchy euro-style games, but sometimes I look at a table like this and I’m like… yeah. Maybe I’ll do something else today.

But I powered through the learning process with this one, and I’m so glad I did! So far I’ve played three different factions and had varying success with each of them, and have plans to start the campaign version soon.

Homeowner things I’ve learned:

Homeownership is an adventure, guys. It’s something new every day, I’m finding. Here are the things I’ve learned just since moving in in April. It’s hard work but I am having a blast and I can’t wait to keep learning forever.

• How to install drywall screw anchors, an electric drill, impact driver, hedge trimmers, a weed whacker, lawn mower and our new grill
• How to identify way more plants than I used to be able to, and also how to weed/trim/prune a lot of them (and which ones are weeds)
• How to grow tomatoes, mint, rosemary, strawberries, blueberries and cucumbers (sort of, there’s a lot of guesswork here but nothing has died yet)
• That there are all sorts of amazing products that make life easier like simple hose attachment switchers, table cloth clips, hose water timers, and all sorts of other magical things I have yet to buy at the hardware store (I love finding solutions to problems I didn’t even know I would have! People are brilliant!)

Projects I’ve been working on:

The biggest project is my book. I’m STILL working on my Renaissance Faire book, but I am really hoping this current draft is the last one. Fingers crossed, y’all. That said, I won’t have anything to share for a hot minute, but I hope I can start pitching it to agents…. sometime soon.

I’ve also kept this mostly under wraps for now, but I am working with my friend Liz Leo on podcast that we should be launching very soon. I believe we’re aiming for the start of August for a go-live date, so keep an eye out. Signing up for my mailing list or just following my social channels are the best way to keep up to date with any exciting news like new podcasts.

I’m also doing a wardrobe challenge right now on Instagram called #wearitalljuly, where you must wear through your entire wardrobe before you can do any repeats. This is part of an effort I am doing to minimize how many clothes I have, so wish me luck and follow along!

That’s it for me, folks! Feel free to send encouraging words about the writing process, or just say hello on Instagram and Twitter! Until next time… stay motivated, and stay cute.

Something about me that’s always been true is that I am, without a doubt, a dreamer. I’m always thinking ahead to the future, making plans, setting goals, and feeling more inspired than I have time to be. I’ve got an extensive bucket list I’m always adding to, I’m always juggling about three too many project ideas, and there never seems to be enough time in the day to do everything. That’s why, now that I am in my thirties, I decided to take a step back and make myself a nice little top-ten list of the most important things I want to accomplish in this life time. That way, next time I am feeling overwhelmed, I can use this as the razor by which I evaluate how I am spending my time. Does what I am doing bubble up into one of these buckets?

I’m always looking for good ways to really focus in on what’s important to me, because time is our biggest non-renewable resource. So here’s where I’m at, in terms of what I want to do with this one glorious life I have:

1. Publish a book (the traditional way!)

This is always the top of every list for me. It’s something I totally have within my power to make a priority, but it’s one that gets pushed down by other things that might feel more immediate, more flashy, or just plain easier. I need to buckle down and just get something ready enough to go for it. You only get one debut novel, yes — but after that, I feel like the biggest obstacle is taken care of. There’s something scary about “your first book”. I want to conquer this fear to pave the way for my second, third, and twenty-fourth book.

2. Celebrate a 50^th wedding anniversary 

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here, since we haven’t even celebrated our first wedding anniversary — but this is something that matters a lot to me. I want to make my marriage a priority and work on it every single day, and never take it for granted. I want to be in love for a very, very long time. I want to be adorable little wrinkly old people who know each other better than anyone else in the world. I want to have one big massive joint 80^th birthday and 50^th wedding anniversary party because all three will happen within 6 months of each other. I just know we’ll get there.

3. Give birth to a child

I’m not making any strong goals about number of children or anything like that — I just want to make sure I experience natural birth at least once in my life. I’ll be honest, the whole idea is a little terrifying to me, but I am fascinated by the idea that my body was built with the ability to make the choice to do this. That my body already knows how to do this. The fact that I could make a little human is incredible, and I’m starting to feel it in my bones that I’m meant to do so. I’m not quite ready… but someday. 

4. Visit all seven continents

I just feel like this planet is too beautiful not to try to see as much of it as I possibly can. So far I’ve been to Europe and Asia on top of the obvious North America. Hoping to go to Australia later this year, but that leaves Africa and South America. And I’m not ruling out Antarctica. There’s a cruise that leaves from Ushuaia, Argentina (the southernmost city in the world) and takes you up close and personal with some penguins. Someday, I’m going to be on it. I’ve also never gotten over that time I got second place in a contest to win a trip to Antarctica, so amends must be made.

5. Live somewhere else for at least a year

Sometimes I lament the fact that I grew up in what I fiercely believe is the best city, because I never saw myself as a person who would live in the same place all her life. I guess I moved from the suburbs to the city when I turned 20, but ultimately that wasn’t really a paradigm-shifting move. I love Seattle. I love how liberal it is. I love how tech-driven and nerdy it is. I love how much there is to do, how many of my friends live here, and how green it is. I love that we care about recycling, and not using plastic shopping bags, and how temperate the weather is most days. I want to raise my family here. Because of all of this, I would love the chance to live somewhere else — just for a little while — to have a completely different experience.

6. Start my own business

For four years I was a freelancer, and I made plenty of money — but that felt like “getting by”. What I’m talking about is dreaming up a concept, putting together my business plan, and launching something. I have a lot of different ideas swimming around in my head, and someday I just have to take the leap. I haven’t had a lot of extra time or funds lately for an extensive side-hustle (particularly while planning a wedding and then searching for a new job), but once I get a bit more settled at my new job, some of these back burner ideas might get more love. I just want to keep making things. 

7. Own a home

This is something that I’ve been thinking a lot more about, especially as Seattle has taken its spot as the third most expensive city (in the US) to own a home in. It beat out New York City and Los Angeles, which… I’m going to be honest, sometimes keeps me awake at night. Anyway — despite all that — I still wanna do it! I want to feel like a little plot of land in this big wide world is mine. I want to paint walls without asking for permission. I want to live through a messy remodel. I want to have a tiny little garden, and have to learn how to unclog a drain, and have a place to put a couple boxes of Christmas decorations. I want a place my future kids will be excited to come home to when they’re grown up because they have so many fond memories of the place. I want a place that really feels like “home”, because we made it that way.

8. Voice a character in an animated show or radio drama

Okay this is the only thing on the list that’s a little silly, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I have dreams of being cast in a cartoon web show, or some sort of radio drama, or just writing and performing my own narrative podcast. I’ve done a good amount of acting, and plenty of singing — but I’ve never just straight up done voice acting. I’d love to help bring a character to life. It just sounds fun. It’s my one frivolous selfish goal on this list and I just think about it all the time. 

9. Create something wild just because I want to

This is a bit vague, and possibly could be tied in with many of the goals above (#6 and #8 in particular) but someday I just want to invest in something outrageous just because I can. I’m talking like rent a summer camp and make it a writing retreat space for adults. Buy a house and turn it into an Airbnb that looks like Hogwarts. Turn a whole wall of my house into a 1:12 scale dollhouse and fill it with miniatures. Put on some kind of crazy performance in an abandoned space and sell tickets. Fill my yard with rubber ducks. I don’t know, man. I want to be like that guy in Seattle who turned his house into Diagon Alley for a few months and then let people come look at it. I can’t afford to do any of this stuff now, but someday. Someday I want to make something really outrageous just because it sounds fun.

10. Live a life without regrets

This one is obviously a bit more conceptual, but I’m really hoping the end result of #1-9 in this list is that I ultimately achieve #10. I am a person prone to stress and anxiety. I want to do a lot of things. I cannot do all the things. So my biggest goal is to be intentional about how I spend my time, to create things that matter, to love deeply, and to share my life with people who make it richer and vice versa. I want to look back on my life and know I spent my time in ways that bettered the world, or fulfilled me personally, or at least made other people smile. I want to learn to be happy about the things I choose, instead of always wishing there was more time for “something else”. 

So that’s my list! My thirties have already held some of the biggest adventures of my life yet, and I’m so excited to try to tackle more things on this list. Which of my goals are yours as well? What other life goals do you have for yourself? I’d love to hear from you in the comments! 

Alright, guys. I’m in a better mood about NaNoWriMo this week. I’m feeling positive. My outline is 7,000 words long. I’m ready to go.

Also Halloween just tends to put me in a good mood. Over the weekend I had two different themed parties to attend, including a Harry Potter party (I dressed as a grindylow) and a super villain dinner party (where I was ‘Night Shade’, the poisoner). Both costumes utilized various things I have collected over the years at renaissance faires and cons and I’m always glad to reuse silly costume-y impulse buys.

Plus, today my boss insisted we all dress up as witches for work, as it is her dream to have a coven. My boss is weirder than your boss.

This gave me an excuse to rewear the cloak that was made for this Halloween short film I created two years ago, and the witch hat I decided I needed to buy at the Wizarding World.

I also signed up for a digital 5k called the Halloween Hustle, which I agreed to run with my pal Justin with the condition that we wear costumes for that, as well. This was the final check on my Halloween to-do list for the year, before settling in to pass out candy (we hardly had any trick or treaters) and watch Halloween movies.

So that makes four costumes this Halloween, total? I don’t know why I do this to myself.

Our time was 44:07, which isn’t anywhere near my usual times. It was cold, and we kept stopping to wave and give thumbs up to people who were excited about seeing peanut butter and jelly running around the lake. It was a real delight, and I highly recommend it. The time was much less important to me.

Plus the sun went down as we were on the tail end of the run, which was absolutely beautiful.

NaNoWriMo begins tomorrow (or in 1 hour, technically), and I’m really hoping to start off strong. My goal is to write at least 2-3,000 words a day for the first 3 days, since I have to head down to Portland this weekend for some wedding stuff.

I keep feeling nostalgic about NaNoWriMo starting, thinking about how this is the 12th year in a row that I’ve got butterflies in my stomach on Halloween night as I wait for the clock to strike midnight. I keep thinking about how every year I’m at a different place in my life, but this writing challenge is a constant. How I started this challenge over a decade ago as a kid in my childhood bedroom, writing on a hand-me-down desktop computer and fitting my noveling in around homework, and how in all this time, NaNoWriMo has seen me through 4 laptops, 3 different houses, at least 4 boyfriends, two different colleges, a graduation, 4 different jobs, a decade of YouTube videos, a certificate degree in writing, an engagement, a castle, and now wedding planning.

I know earlier this month I was worried this might be the year I don’t finish, but look at everything I’ve been through since I started doing NaNoWriMo. I’m good at this. And I’m ready to start year twelve.

Make sure you’re following me on twitter if you want to join in my inevitable word sprints!

Lastly, I’ve been slowly building a mailing list over the last year, but this past weekend I finally kicked it off with a snazzy little welcome letter! If you’d like to be on the list for semi-regular life updates, news and perhaps even sneak peeks at what I am writing, you can sign up here. It’s going to be fun.

Okay. 50 minutes until midnight. We’ve got this.

NaNoWriMo is still a half a month away, but I can feel it looming in the distance, creeping in and causing stress and anxiety and a little bit of excitement but mostly anxiety. And listen – this is year twelve. I’ve finished NaNoWriMo while in college and working a job and running a YouTube channel all at the same time. I’ve finished NaNoWriMo when I missed an entire week to the flu. I’ve finished NaNoWriMo while dealing with breakups, while moving out of my parents’ house for the first time, while taking trips that stole my attention, while working on big projects at work, and more.

But this year feels different.

I’m nervous.

Yes, I’m planning a wedding. Yes, I’ve taken on a lot more responsibility at work and it eats up a lot more of my time. But I can deal with those things. I’m very good at finding time to do NaNoWriMo. I can wake up early. I can lock myself in a room. I can turn down social plans, or stay up late, or bribe myself with pictures of kittens.

The one thing I can’t work around is myself, and I haven’t exactly been able to rely on my ability to focus these days.

I’ve never had to worry before that a hurricane or a shooting or a wildfire or a new piece of terrible legislation will be the reason I might not finish NaNoWriMo. And I realize being able to say these things puts me in a place of privelege, and I acknowledge that. But I’m paying attention now. And while I can sing from the rooftops how important art is in times of chaos, that doesn’t mean I’ll be able to create it myself every single day because these things have been terrible – are terrible – and they’re happening with alarming frequency, and there’s no one leading this country doing a damn thing about any of it. I feel helpless, and sad, and scared – pretty much every day.

So my biggest fear this year is that I won’t finish. That my streak will end at 11, and year 12 will be the year I just can’t.

The only way I know how to work through this fear is to talk about it.

Honestly, I’m not sure I know how to mitigate this, except to wake up every day and face it. There genuinely might be more important things to do in November than work on my novel. Those things might be going to a protest, or using my 1667 words that day to write a letter to someone in congress, or crying in the bathtub. And that’s okay.

But I’m going to wake up every day and try.

And when I can, I’m going to try to remind others that creating art when you’re hurting can be therapeutic. And that some of the best works come out of trying to resist, so we should pour our anger into the things we create. And that even more important than making great art is making safe spaces for each other, and checking in with each other, and coping.

I believe we can all do it, together. But if we can’t, that’s okay too.

LIFE UPDATE:

I keep re-inventing new ways to be busy. I’m not trying to wear that as a badge of honor, it’s just true.

This summer Joe and I ended up doing way more traveling than we had planned, which was incredible, but also made the time feel like it flew by. On top of that, I’ve been ramping into a somewhat larger role at work, and on top of that, I’m still planning that pesky wedding.

Momentum on my book has… slowed, but I’m still squeaking out whatever progress I can make in the cracks of the madness that has been this whole summer. It finally, finally rained today and I breathed this sigh of relief I hadn’t realized I’d been building up – shorter days and crummy weather means I might finally be able to hide away in coffee shops and get back into a good rhythm of writing. And of course, it also means NaNoWriMo is right around the corner…

Other things that have been going on with me…

• Joe and I did a really adult thing and bought a new dining room table. Then at the last moment we decided to put it in our living room with the board games instead of in the dining room, so we’re not quite full-fledged adults yet. We’re now eating off our older table, and have had TWO epic game nights since the new one was delivered. #noregrets
• I went to PAX and didn’t do any cosplay, which is the first con I’ve been to in probably 3 years where I didn’t cosplay at all (aside from LeakyCon, but I was a bit busy there, ha). I’m here to report that it actually felt great.
• That being said, I will be cosplaying at GeekGirlCon at the end of this month, but just one day.
• I haven’t made a video in over two months and the jury is still out on how I feel about that.

I don’t have that much to report on. I’ve been letting myself do a lot more relaxing and non-productive stuff than usual, which has meant watching TV, reading books, and saying yes to things like game nights spontaneous hang-outs.

For the longest time I really tried to cut out as many consumptive hobbies as I could, to maximize the time I spent on creative ones. Reading books was just about the only one I let slide, since reading is nearly as important for a writer as writing is. But… guys, it was exhausting. I still wish I could make all the things, but you have to give yourself a break sometimes. So that’s what I am working on.

WORDBOUND:

I haven’t shared a #wordbound prompt response in awhile, so I decided to work on one tonight.

Write a scene where a character lets something go, figuratively or literally.

No service.

The phone said the same thing every time Allison checked it, no matter how strongly she willed the WiFi signal to find something – anything. She held it up in the air, hoping it might catch some rogue stream of Internet hovering in the sky, by chance. No service. She heaved the old wooden dresser closer to the window and climbed on top, legs dangling over the side, trying to get the phone even higher up. No service. She shoved the window open with her foot and held the phone right out the window, dancing with disaster as she gave it one last effort. Even though her grip was snug, the ground two stories below was jagged with rocks.

Still no service, loser! she felt like it was mocking her. Allison yanked her arm back inside and slammed the window shut.

It had been four days since her parents had dropped she and Riley off at their Great Aunt’s house. Four days since any texts had been able to come through, since getting any pictures from her friends, since updating any of her social media. She could only imagine what might happen in four whole days at summer camp. She imagined her friends had not only met boys, but were married off and starting careers by now. They’d surely have families and houses and grandchildren by the end of the summer. She’d be hopelessly behind and never catch up and might as well not even bother going to high school at all – and to top it off, she couldn’t even complain about any of this on social media.

Allison heaved a sigh and threw herself back on her hard, patchwork bed, the useless phone still clutched in her hand.

Maybe she’d just move in with her weird aunt permanently. They could ceremoniously burn all their electronics, live off the land, swear off all boys forever. It seemed her Great Aunt had done most of these things already anyway, so Allison was sure she’d be all for it. Cabin buddies. Out in the woods. In the middle of nowhere. Forever. Someone could make a sitcom about them.

High school seemed hard anyway. Maybe she’d just skip it. Her friends probably wouldn’t even miss her, after all the fun they were likely having at camp without her.

Allison tucked the phone under her pillow and vowed to not check it again until the end of the summer.

Well, maybe the end of the day.

Okay, she definitely wouldn’t check it until at least after lunch.

–

Well, at the last minute it appears my main character decided not to let it go at all, but what can you do. Sometimes your characters are just more stubborn than you are. Hope you enjoyed this little tidbit – now to decide if it will actually make it into the book!

Hey everyone! In case you missed it, #wordbound is back as of this past week! We’re officially on Week #25 after a bit of a summer break, and I couldn’t be more excited about getting back into the regular swing of writing with you guys.

This week’s prompt was a blogging specific one, and it was: What’s something you’ve always considered writing but haven’t yet?

The interesting thing about #NaNoWriMo (and having done it 11 times) is that most of my really big ideas I’ve at least attempted a first NaNo draft of. And while most of those projects I would probably entirely rewrite rather than attempt any sort of editing pass… it does help me sleep at night knowing that at least one version of many of my favorite ideas exist in some workable form.

There are a few things I’ve always wanted to try my hand at but haven’t, but I’d say those are much more of idea fragments, rather than full-fledged projects. Anything that gets past the fragment stage usually ends up just getting written in November.

Here are some ideas I’ve had and may come back to some time:

1. I’ve been wanting to write a series of weird short stories, ones that don’t have much to do with each other but still feel somewhat like they go together. I’ve maybe already written some things that would work with this idea, but I haven’t come up with any kind of defining thread so it’s a perpetual back burner project.
2. I talked about this in a blog post recently, but I’ve wanted to write something that involves North Dakota and my family heritage and the midwest for many years now. I’m still working out exactly what that project might look like, and how best to incorporate real history and traditions into a fictional story.
3. A few years ago Joe and I got in a car wreck which left us stranded in a snowy highway town in Montana, and I’ve had it in my head since then to write a paranormal version of that experience. I imagine that could be a short story. I really want to write it.
4. I’ve also been sitting on a non-fiction road trip idea in which I would write a series of blog posts about the various stops along the way. I first had the idea for the road trip a few years ago, and mapped out all the stops and how long it would take me, but then I never actually went on the trip. This is still something I would love to do.

I can’t think of anything else specific to share! Right now I am very focused on trying to actually finish a project that I haven’t let my mind drift too far into the realm of new ideas, because new ideas are attractive and shiny and distracting.

So many of the books I’d love to share with you guys someday are half-realized NaNoWriMo drafts in desperate need of more work, so I’m just trying to learn the focus needed to take first drafts to the next level. Taking writing classes and studying novel-writing as a craft has both armed me with the tools to hopefully do this, but also the additional self-doubt of realizing my story’s flaws more clearly. One step forward, two steps back. But I am trying to write every day. Even when it’s hard. Even when I walk through a bookstore and feel that crushing knowledge that thousands of amazing books are already out there… but possibly there are people who’d want mine too?

My goal is to finish the first draft of my current project by November 1st, in which case I’m hoping I can pick up one of these other ideas as a nice palate cleanser.

We’ll see, though. November creeps closer every day and I have a ton of work ahead of me.

Booktubeathon is upon us yet again, and I fear I have made a grave mistake this year. Actually, let’s take a step back.

So, as you all likely know, I am participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this month. I set a modest goal for myself, but writing 20,000 words in a month (arguably the busiest of the summer months) is still nothing to shake a stick at. I knew that attempting Booktubeathon and Camp NaNo in the same month would be a stretch, but I’ve never been one to look in the face of a challenge and back away. I welcome challenge. I thrive on challenge.

This was all well and good – totally doable – until I found out about the Marauder’s Marathon. This is a month long virtual Harry Potter themed marathon, which I, of course, signed up for because you can absolutely trick me into exercising if you disguise it as a fun Harry Potter fandom activity. Plus I am trying to be more active, so why not apply a NaNoWriMo-esque filter to running, to make it more exciting? 26.2 miles in a month? A whole month? No problem!

Problem is, it started on the 17th of July. While I was in New York, in oppressively hot weather. Listen, I’m as committed to pretending to be a wizard while I run as the next person, but I’m not going to start my running adventure in 90 degree weather. So here I am, finally home from NY, 5 days behind. But still determined.

Okay. Okay Kristina. Three marathon style events in one month. All overlapping for one chaotic week starting on Monday. Is this possible? You can listen to audiobooks and run at the same time. You can get up early to write. This is doable.

You can listen to audiobooks and run at the same time. You can get up early to write. This is doable.

Oh wait. Your friends invited you on a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas for one of their birthdays starting on the Saturday of your Week of Madness, and you can’t turn down a spontaneous adventure? AND your best friend gets married on August 9th and you’re not only in the wedding, you’re also planning the bachelorette party, which happens right in the midst of all of this?

Guys, nothing can save me now. I um… I may have over-committed.

BUT! Follow me on Instagram and Twitter over the next couple weeks to see if I survive, and in the mean time… here’s my Booktubeathon TBR:

The challenges:

1/ Read a book with a person on the cover: PAPER GIRLS by Brian K. Vaughan
2/ Read a hyped book: MILK AND HONEY by Rupi Kaur
3/ Finish a book in one day: DEAR IJEAWELE, OR A FEMINIST MANIFESTO IN FIFTEEN SUGGESTIONS by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4/ Read about a character that is very different from you: HOMEGOING by Yaa Gyasi
5/ Finish a book completely outdoors: MEN EXPLAIN THINGS TO ME by Rebecca Solnit
6/ Read a book you bought because of the cover: THE WILD ROBOT by Peter Brown
7/ Read seven books: THE ONE MEMORY OF FLORA BANKS by Emily Barr

I forgot to mention… it would be so nice to have this weekend, this glorious Saturday and Sunday, to get ahead in writing, to do some solid running, cleanse my reading palate with some television, do laundry and relax and prepare for the insanity ahead – but I’m got another wedding tonight and won’t be back until tomorrow. *falls over and dies*

Wish me luck, and please let me know if you’re participating in any of the above challenges. Bonus points if anyone out there is crazy enough to do all three, like I am!

This week was a “blogging prompt” week on #wordbound, and there’s really no excuse not to participate on those weeks (for me at least). It’s just so much easier than writing fiction, haha. So here I am! Being productive! Doing #wordbound!

The prompt is: Make 3 writing related confessions.

1. There are maybe 3 people on this planet who have ever read one of my book drafts in their entirety, and none of those people are family members or close friends. None of them is even Joe. One is an established and successful YA author I look up to, one lead a company that was thinking of publishing books written by YouTubers back before everyone decided to write an autobiography, and one was the then-girlfriend of a friend I only knew from online that lived in Australia. This is a very, very strange assortment of people and I really can’t tell you how each one came to read my writing. They all read the same book too, which is actually the one I recently dusted off and decided to work on again. I can say with certainty that what they read was not ready for external eyes, but you live and you learn. And then you don’t show anyone else your writing for many, many years. Haha.
2. I definitely worry that I’ve hyped up my writing and my NaNoWriMo wins for so many years now (a decade!!) that by the time I actually publish something, people will expect something much better than I am actually capable of. I hear all the time that to be actually pro level at something, you have to practice for 10,000 hours. It applies to anything – musical instruments, crafting, cooking, sports, etc. 10,000 is a long time – it’s a lot of hours. 10 NaNoWriMos is also a long time, but I chalk most of those years up to “practice”. I think it’s okay that I haven’t been ready to share yet, but the fear of not meeting expectations is real.
3. One of my biggest regrets, though, is not being one of the first people to write and publish a book about internet friendships, or fanfiction, or fandom, or cons. I’ve been practicing writing books about these types of topics for years, and they were still pretty novel even just a couple years ago. But now I feel like books about fandom are the new dystopian YA or vampire books, and so many of them are so obviously written by people who are jumping on a trend and not writing their personal truth. These types of books are so pervasive now days that I almost don’t want to write one anymore, even though I know I could definitely write something from a very unique perspective. Maybe I’m just bring a brat, but with the ever-constant desire to write something ‘different’, I feel like that experience has gotten a bit oversaturated in the YA book world.

What are your writing confessions? I’d love to read them!

Okay. I’ll be honest. I started the year with stars in my eyes, and I did (I believe) 9 consecutive weeks of my own writing project, #wordbound. Like, I completed the challenges and posted them on this blog. Then I got sick, and then I got busy, and while I definitely kept posting the new challenges each week on Twitter and Instagram, I fell out of the habit of actually completing the challenges myself.

Here’s the pattern I saw: When I was doing the challenges each week, participation was high. When I wasn’t doing the challenges, participation dropped off. The last few weeks only a couple people have actually been doing it, and that made me sad — so I decided that was exactly the kick in the pants I needed. I love this project. I love seeing everyone sending in their writing. So I’m back. And I’m going to set a good example.

I love this project. I love seeing everyone sending in their writing. So I’m back. And I’m going to try to set a good example!

Wordbound Week #20: Subtly mention something strange on a mantle.

“Cheryl! Can you come down here?”

I roll over and look at the clock, and the boxy letters read six am. On my birthday.

I roll back over and stuff a pillow over my face. A girl only turns sixteen once you know. I am owed the right to ignore the trying calls of parental units. I should get to spend this birthday morning in the way I choose. Which is not being awake. Or embarrassed, or surprised, or anything like that.

I hate being surprised. I hate attention. And I hate that people loooove to do that kind of stuff to you on your birthday.

I’ve almost convinced my brain to reenter the warm and comfortable dream I’d been having, about kissing Tommy Feldson on a beach, when I hear a stampede of footsteps assault my room.

“Wake up wake up wake up, birthday girl!”

Mom is jiggling my shoulders and Dad is tickling my feet, while Emma (the little brat) has climbed clean over me and is jumping up and down and head-banging, with her long stringy hair whipping me in the face.

“This is the literal worst birthday wake up a person could receive,” I mumble, trying to burrow down deeper in the blankets, but in a flash, they’ve been removed from the bed entirely. Dad is holding the whole bunch in his arms, grinning like a maniac.

“We have a surprise,” he says, unable to contain himself.

Of course they do. Of course.

“Come on come on come on,” Emma says, grabbing my arm and tugging me, her little baby hands cold on my skin.

Mom moves to help me out of bed too, and I push them all away. “Okay, yeesh. I’m coming.”

My feet are bare and my nightgown hangs around my knees, but I follow the whole batch of loons out the door, down the stairs, and into the living room. The curtains are shut tight, but the lights are bright and I notice Dad’s left his cell phone on the mantle again. It’s propped up strangely too, like he was trying to take a selfie and then forgot all about it. I chuckle a little to myself, imagining Dad trying to take a selfie.

Everything in the living room looks completely normal – except, of course, for the three layer cake.

“You woke me up for cake?” I ask, trying not to sound ungrateful. But in terms of birthday surprises, it’s pretty basic.

“Sure did,” Dad confirms, and the three of them huddle in the doorway, watching me.

It’s got light pink frosting, framed with a bit of a teal blue border done with a wobbly hand. It’s definitely homemade. It leans a little to the left. I imagine it could look pretty delicious if it wasn’t six in the morning. But right now it just looks like something I’m not as excited about as I am about sleeping.

“Cake!” Emma screams in her little sister way, like a battle cry. She has way too much energy for this time of day.

“You should cut yourself a slice,” Dad says conspiratorily, handing over a plate and a knife he unearths from… I have no idea where.

“Shouldn’t we start with like… oatmeal? Or eggs? Like a normal family?”

“Cake,” Dad says, thrusting the utensils into my hands. “For the birthday girl.”

I’m extremely skeptical, but my family all looks like they took crazy pills, so I do what they want. It’s usually better that way. I’m starting to worry some kind of clown is going to jump out of this strange looking dessert, but it’s six in the morning and my family is all strangely obsessed with a cake much too small for surprise clowns, so what choice do I have? I set the plate on the coffee table next to the cake stand.

I’m not really sure where to start, so I give my parents one last side eye and sink the knife right through the middle. It glides through easily, straight to the bottom.

Huh. Maybe it really is just a normal cake.

Mom and Dad are literally holding their breaths. It’s like they’ve never seen cake before. I don’t get the joke. It’s just a cake.

“Keep going…” Mom says, and I have to admit this is starting to get a little weird. I wonder for a moment if I’m still dreaming, and will myself to wake up. I close my eyes for a second. The real test is if Tommy Feldson shows up, ready for some kissing. That’s how I usually know it’s a dream.

“Cheryl!” Dad says, and my eyes snap open. Okay. Not a dream. And still no clowns, no shower of balloons, no kids from school jumping out of the closet yelling “SURPRISE!”

We might actually be in the clear. It could be a sixteenth birthday miracle.

“Alright already!” I move the knife in an angle from the first cut, making myself a reasonable slice of cake. We’ve never had cake for breakfast before. It’s not any kind of Casey family tradition. It’s not natural. I’m still so skeptical, but we’ve made it this far without incident.

The knife is halfway down the cake when this time, it catches. No. No. They couldn’t just leave it. There’s always gotta be something. Trick candles. People singing to you in a sombrero. Something stupid hidden in the cake.

I push harder, just wanting to get it over with – and hear a “beep beep!” outside.

Wait. What?

I pause, then push the knife down again. “Beep beep!”

My eyes widen and I pull the knife out, dropping it, forgotten on the table. I don’t even hesitate – I shove my whole hand inside the cake. At first it’s just cold, and a little slimy, but then my fingers lock on something solid. I pull.

“Oh my god, you didn’t!” I squeal, like I literally scream, and I jump to my feet and head to the window. I shove the curtains aside there’s a little white car I’ve never seen before sitting in the driveway. Then I look down at the frosting covered mess in my hands.

“Beep beep!” The lights on the car flash in sync with my pressing of the key fob.

I turn around slowly, where my parents and even Emma (the little monster) are all beaming at me.

“This is absolutely disgusting,” I say, holding up the cake smeared keys.

Mom laughs. “A ‘thank you’ would work as well.”

I run back to them and pull both of my parents into a hug. “Thank you both so, so much.”

“Still hate surprises?” Dad asks as I pull away, and I narrow my eyes at him. Mom runs to the hallway, then comes back with an old towel. She hands it to me, and I start wiping the excess frosting from my new keys.

“You got lucky this time, Dad. This surprise I guess I’m okay with.”

He chuckles, scooping up Emma (the little piggy) who was sneakily inching toward my cake.

“Can I drive it to school?” I ask, only then really realizing the car is mine. “I can’t wait to tell all my friends.”

Dad’s suddenly got that look on his face again, like there’s more to the secret. He sets Emma down and swaggers over to the fireplace, casually picking up his phone from the mantle. “Oh… they’re already going to know.”

I’m confused for a moment – until I see what he’s doing. He innocently taps on the ‘end video’ button.

“Don’t you dare,” I warn, but he’s already pulling up Facebook. He’s tagging me in the video. He’s typing “LOL we totally got Cheryl”.

I lunge at him, but he’s too fast for me. He hits ‘submit’ before I can knock the phone out of his hand. We stare at each other for a moment, both unsure what the other one is going to do.

Then I reach for the cake.

Dad howls and yelps backward, and I’m cackling. I manage to get cake in his beard, and he tries to retaliate but instead he gets mom, right in the ear. She shrieks and flails, but she’s laughing too hard to actually fight back. Emma (the little slob) seizes the opportunity and runs to the cake where she proceeds to stick her whole face in it to join in on the fun. This makes everyone laugh harder, which makes her do it again. She’s got cake all in her hair. She starts licking it off her fingers.

“You guys are so weird,” I say, finally caving and licking a bit of cake off my finger. It’s just as delicious as it looks, even for six in the morning. “And this is the best birthday ever.”

–

I’m going to pick a week this summer to use as a catch up week for #wordbound – and hopefully make it a week people that will feel inspired to try to do a prompt a day as a way to catch up on any they might have missed. That week there will not be a new prompt – instead, you can pick from any previous ones you haven’t already completed.

I’m still working out the details. Maybe we’ll do it during Camp NaNo. Stay tuned!