I couldn't sleep and I remembered I wanted to blog. Sunday is blog day to recap my week. My life is pretty mundane. I work, care for my family, write or sketch, etc. This week I attended a YA book club meeting and that was cool. Not a lot of people there but I'm hoping the club grows. I am planning on joining another book club too. 

Now, I am making an effort to not put too many projects on my plate. Keeping my focus strictly on my WIPs. However, I wanted to engage social activities I enjoy, like book clubs. So besides WOK, I'm joining two book clubs, one astronomy club, and I'm hoping to start a critique group. Once a month is doable. Things may change, but this is the plan for now.

I'm reading The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and Exhalation by Ted Chiang. Next on the list is Interment by Samira Ahmed. 

Okay, I did add one extra activity I probably shouldn't have: a puzzle. It's only 300 pieces and sometimes I need break. I'm almost finished. I also made low carb bread for the first time. I'd take a picture of it but it doesn't look anything like the picture in the recipe. Lol. I plan on trying again.

I wonder how many blog posts I've posted since my first one? A lot. My first blog was on MySpace. Remember MySpace? I actually miss my page. I was reluctant back then to do anything social media but I was talked into a Facebook first and then a MySpace page.

It took forever to build. Searching for html codes for just about everything. Your page could look anyway you wanted, with music and glitter and "top" friends. I used to type in the smallest font possible because I have a weird awkwardness with the internet.

Social media was like crack back then. I was always checking FB and MS. My MS page was all visual with book, album, and movie covers in collages, a matching color scheme and background image, and a selection of music set to auto-play. FB was all about virtual gifts and throwing sheep and awarding superlatives to your friends  (via the app, e.g.  the most likely to hang with Jesus.)

It's interesting to see how social media has evolved over time to be the thing it is today. 

My first week of 2020 I spent creating posts for my social media accounts and loaded them onto my posting application. I even quoted myself in a couple, which felt weird but usual. I organized my work-space at home, both my art desk and writing desk. Got all my pictures in their frames and hung, which was stuck in the planning stages for a long time.  

A productive week, which is good. My family is safe and healthy. I am gainfully employed. I have a lot bills like everyone but there is a roof over my head, food in the fridge, etc. I'm good. 

I am preparing for my book launch on February 1 at Russo's Books. It's going to be similar to the last one, with cupcakes and lemonade. The graphic and FB link are below. 

Current WIPs: I'm still working on my paranormal crime fiction novel and a comic script. I really don't like to share more than that until it's done.

My sister is making halo halo this Saturday, and I'm bummed out that I'm going to miss it. My mom used to make this Filipino dessert. When I was a kid, halo halo was one of those Filipino foods that I acquired a taste for as I got older. I think it's all the sugar in American foods, so with the subtle sweetness of halo halo, I didn't warm up to it at first. But there were other foods I lost the taste for, like bugoung. Little tiny baby shrimps that are super salty. My mom used to mix it in my rice.

So here is my work in progress. I just started this sketch, a series of sketches of the Entwives. This is just for fun fan art and for practice, but I am working on getting a small portfolio together. A simple one. I might play with color pencils with this. I don't know yet. I'm working on her tree form. It's just the beginning. I'm going to try and post more often: works-in-progress, etc.

Every year this time in July just moves in so fast. I still got so much to do! 

"When honey spills, and apple swells, though wind be in the West,
I'll linger here beneath the Sun..."  

I love painting. Like I'm so in love with painting. Like what took me so long to get here to this point, to find this outlet?

I painted this Friday. This is not from the fantasy landscape sketch I made. I haven't started that one yet. I like it because my tree looks good. I need to practice clouds among others. This is one of two fairy house scenes. Acrylic on 12X12 canvas board. I'll update with the second one when I finish. 

I really enjoy watching Bob Ross. He's so calming and comforting. I'm going to start an oil painting soon using his wet-on-wet technique. 

Oils are expensive. But I've gotten smarter with my art supplies. I buy large tube sets and stick to the primary colors. Having the other colors are great but are really not needed. I also utilize sales and coupons which cuts costs a lot.

I accidentally deleted my blog. I usually toggle it on and off but this time I deleted it thinking it was an old web page. Luckily the photos I uploaded are stored separately.

I woke up early this morning feeling confident and determined. The second book in my ho/lo series is being released soon. This part of the writer process is new to me but I'm getting acclimated. I've had some good reader reviews, great editorial reviews, and some not-so-good reader reviews. It's a weird feeling, the whole people-actually-reading-something-I-wrote thing. Though I think some of the reviews I've received are way off base, imho. 

Brothers is a series of high concept, low-literacy children's educational books written at a second-grade reading level. I've learned a lot about the Lexile Framework, as well aligning your writing to a specific Lexile goal, word count, etc. A low word count and low Lexile rating can be more challenging in some ways because it is very restrictive. A smaller word count means simpler plots and few characters. What I love about this work is that it is meant for educational outreach for at-risk students who have limited access and/or low literacy issues.

I'm happy to say I was recently contracted to write another book  which I have completed, as well as four more short e-books. I may also have an illustrator commission lined up. *fingers crossed*

I've been practicing painting and drawing as well as writing a lot lately. I paint along with tutorials or from a source photo. Today I sketched up a fantasy landscape that I'm going to paint this weekend. So my own first concept art. :) I'm also going to attempt digital painting with the above sketch. I may or may not share when I'm done depending on how it comes out. Oh lots of writing this weekend. And I'm almost finished with the first comic. I had to make some decisions on what to cut and add to the story to make it work.

 I'm currently reading Elevation by Stephen King. No TV shows right now because the seasons have ended for the current ones I watch. 

My current goals also include mediation and exercise for my mental and physical health. I must make room for these two things in my life. So I'll keep you posted on how that goes. 

"The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can." - Neil Gaiman