December News from J. Marie Rundquist, Author


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December 11, 2022

November’s National Novel Writing Month came and went and I had a goal of writing 17k words, which is about one hundred more words than the year I wrote the most I’d ever done during this event (incidentally, that last record high resulted in All I’m Asking).

Did I meet my goal?

No, not even by half.

I DID, however, write every single day of the month in my current work-in-progress, which is tentatively titled, “Brother-Sister Story”.

HA. That’s not really the title, of course. Just a placeholder description. I have a difficult time coming up with titles and usually they don’t come to me until after I’ve finished writing the first draft. (Or sometimes after the second, third, or fourth draft…)

I’m pretty excited about the story, though, even if it’s going a little slowly right now. The important thing is that it is moving forward. And that’s all that matters, really.

It’s easy, at the end of a year, to judge ourselves by what we did or did not accomplish. Whether we achieved or did not meet our goals. In my last newsletter I talked about the value of “trying”. And isn’t working towards our goals, “trying”? I hope that you recognize your efforts, even if you did not meet some (or any) of your goals based upon your originally planned metrics. Trying is progress. Goals can be renewed.

A Bookish Idea

I have this idea…can you let me know if it’s something you’d be interested in or one you’d recommend to other people you know who love to read?

Hot Take Book Review–A Facebook Group for Book Lovers Always Seeking More Books

Each post would follow a template--submitted by anyone in the group:

>>Title of Book Recommended (only titles you’d recommend)

>>Author

>>One sentence about what you liked/loved

>>Format (print or audio)

>>Genre/category?

>>How did you hear about it?

Comments would be open for full discussion.

Thoughts? Shoot me a reply to let me know!

Recent Reads

What I’ve been reading since my last newsletter:

PRINT:

My Secret to Keep by Barbara Conrey

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Stories From the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana

Welcome to the Neighborhood by Lisa Roe

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

Holler of the Fireflies by David Barclay Moore

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

AUDIO:

Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

Currently reading:

The Island Sisters by Micki Morency Berthelot

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junuada Petrus

BTW…check out my new Bookshop.org affiliate storefront! (I get a tiny percentage of the sales if you buy from there.) I’ve curated some lists to help you choose books to buy for yourself or others and buying books at bookshop.org benefits independent bookstores so it’s a win all around!

I’ve got some good and fun things coming ‘round the bend in 2023, including plans for the audiobook of All I’m Asking, the release of my next novel, As Though You Were Mine, AND a new, serialized story. Stay tuned!

All my best to you all. Thank you for all your support. It’s been an amazing year. May you find joy in these final weeks and into the new year.

J. Marie Rundquist

Minnesota, United States

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