Let's just start off by clarifying that I am not a romance hater. Not at all. I don't dislike it in real life, and I don't dislike it in books. I do have some personal standards on what type of romance I read, and a lot of the typical romance genre happens to fall under what I don't care to read, but that said... I enjoy seeing/reading about a good, honorable romance between two people. 

     However, looking past your typical romance, I'm constantly disappointed by the lack of love in other forms at the bookstore. Love can take so many different shapes and sizes-- it can be between a parent and a child, or between siblings (yes, it's very true!), it can be between neighbors, or it can even be between strangers. Love is a powerful thing. 

     With all these different types of love, and all the various forms of expressing it, I'm always surprised how little it's been used in books, especially more modern fiction. So what are some basic ways that the element of love can be shown? 

• Parent and Child
• Grandparent and Grandchild
• Siblings
• Relatives/Extended family
• Neighbors
• Mentors or Teachers and their Students
• Person and Pet
• Coworkers
• Friends
• Strangers (How, you ask? Well, love can be expressed even towards someone you don't know!) 
• People who share your Faith
• Person with those who are in need
• Those in social services with people within the system

     But what if we wanted to go a little deeper--to start the imagination wheels turning? What about the kinds of people who could love each other? I like to think in my head sometimes of random pairings. Not romantic pairings, just "they love and care about each other" pairings. It's a lot of fun and you can get a lot of good inspiration. Because let's face it. Books revolve around relationships...you can't have a story without one. So here's some random ideas. I'll start...you finish! ;) 

• Two old ladies who are BFFs
• A girl and her younger sister
• A boy and the pastor at his church
• Young woman and abandoned baby
• Two detectives or police
• Shop owners right next to each other on the street
• Dog and abused child
• Homeless person and the neighborhood officer
• Teacher and the school outcast
• Father and his special needs child
• Bookstore owner and crazy bookbug reader that is always buying books
• Cafe Barista and the old man who just needs a friend
• .... 

And you could go on! ;) I think a lot of times people don't want to name something as "love" if it's not romantic, but let's change that. Let's write love in all it's different forms! 

Question of the Day: 
What is one of your favorite examples of non-romantic love in a book? Little Women always is my favorite example. Between the love of Marmee and her girls, and the love of the sisters, and then the love between family friends... Ah, there's just so many good examples in that book. 

Have a lovely day!
<3
Victoria

Hello ya'll!

First off, I'm planning on making this a 2-month goal/wrap-up post series. One month is great and all, but I figured there were more plusses to doing it every two months. Bullet pointed and very valid reasons below, lol. 

1. It gives me more time and opportunity to make more long, helpful posts and free workbooks and worksheets for you all. That's something I really enjoy doing for you all, and one of the main purposes of the blog here.
2. It gives longer time to enjoy our writing contests and book clubs, and also allows more time to hopefully get others to join!
3. If it's every two months I'll be able to give away prizes more frequently for the contests. *wink wink*
4.  I think I'll be able to work better on my own (purely personal) book/writing goals with a two-month scope. Don't ask me why, it just sounds good to me. A lot of my goals tend to overlap months anyways and instead of having the same ones over and over again, I thought that this was a better option. Also, it makes the wrap-up post look more epic. Hahaha! I know, how goofy can I get? :P

So anyways, there you go and that's what's up. Let's jump into the post now for May-June. I'll be back with a wrap-up post at the end of June. ;)


Ok y'all it's time for a monthly contest! They're still a thing, see? *blushes and hides because I'm world's worst at keeping up with stuff, unfortunately...* So what's the challenge?
​

1. The main challenge is that your story must include an object that appears unimportant but... 
2. Can be Poem (for all y'all poets, lol) or Flash Fiction, but no more than 1,500 words. 
3. Send in by June 25th, please! Just use my email here: jpbookbug@gmail.com to get me your entry! 
4. Up to 3 entries, but no more.
5. Include a title and your name/pen-name. 
6. If you want to join the challenge without having your story showcased, mark as Challenge Only in the title of your email. 
7. Please keep your story clean and family-friendly. No swearing or euphemisms, please. 
8. Winner (picked by me) will have their story shared in the Wrap-Up version of this post at the end of June. The other contest stories will be shared in a PDF format for those who want to view them. :D
9. The prize for the 1st place winner is a little package of writerly goodies from me to you... but as far as details go, that's a surprise! :D

Oh, and hey, since this is a contest, let's try to get more people involved, shall we? It can be as simple as: 

Hi! I'm doing this really fun monthly writing contest with Victoria Minks on her website www.victoriaminks.com. Anyone can join and I think it'd be great if you did it too! 

So yep, pass the word along to your writing friends! The more the merrier, and just think...the more people involved the more stories you'll get to read at the end. ;)


Next up, it's Book Club Time! I'm really excited for another book club challenge, how about you? I feel like it's been a while, but I quite enjoy the chance to stretch my reading muscles and find something that fits the theme. 

So for May-June 2017, the Book Club is pleased to announce that this month you will read: A book that feels like summer. ;)  I'm willing to accept different interpretations of this... you can read something that is actually set in the summer, a book that just reminds you personally of summer, or a book that fits into the literary season of summer (check this post out if you want to know what I mean by that...I recently updated it, so even if you've read it before you might want to check it out again!).

The main requirement for this, Bookbugs, is that you write a comment during the Wrap-Up version of this post (at the end of June) if you completed the reading challenge and what the book was! Let me know why you thought the book felt like summer, and how you would rate it. ;) And, if you're on Goodreads, there is a private group for us Bookbugs! You should definitely join it so we can have awesome bookish discussions and share book reviews and more. ;) So...let's get reading! 


Alrighty, let's talk about my monthly goals, now.   

Writing: I want to edit The Needlemaker, and besides that... we'll see what happens. 

Reading: Hmmm... I'm going to be completely crazy and say 15 books. I'm not sure what I'm thinking. But there's a good chance that even if I don't hit 15 I'll have read more than I would have otherwise soo... #BookbugLogic lol. Also, I'm 7 books behind my Goodreads challenge and I'm trying to hit my goal in August for various reasons. 

Other: I'm probably more heavy on the random this time around, haha.  

1. Redo some of my old blog post graphics, and fix up a few things with the website.
2. Read all the Indie copies of books I have and review them. 
3. Keep reading other writer's blogs and interact with other indie authors. :D

Book/Writerly Chat... You know what time it is. :D Let's talk books and WIPs. ;)

• The Needlemaker needs the last few chapters reworked, because the "feel" was off. Oh well. I'm not too worried about it. Good news is it's already been through my alpha reader. Bad side is I'm getting into what I like to call, "The Publisher's Panic Attack". It's a real thing, lol.
• Do you ever get the feeling like "Wow I am such a horrible writer and indie publisher and I just might go out into the woods and become a hermit, but not totally a hermit because I'm extroverted, so like I'll bring all my pals and some cute animals and lots of snacks and foods and be THAT kind of hermit"? Because strangely enough I have this feeling all the time. 
• I read Befriending the Beast last month (as you know if you read my wrap-up post) and now get to read the next book in the series The Secret Slipper which is coming out soon, and I"m so excited! :)

So there you have it! What's been going on in your writerly life? 

Question of the Day:
What is your favorite season of the year? And what's your favorite literary season?

Hope you all have a lovely day, and don't forget to join my Goodreads Book Club! 

<3
Victoria

P.S. Like this post? Then you might like these! 
Book Seasons: What They Are and How They Work
A-Z for Writers: 26 Mini Pep Talks

Well, hello, y'all. I know, I know... I've been MIA for a few weeks now.... no blog posts, no April book club, no April writing contest... an yep, two monthly wrap-ups back to back. It's odd, I know, but I hope you'll forgive me.  I even forgot to share my goals and all that at the beginning of the month...but I did have some! So let's just hop into the wrap-up, because I got a lot of fun stuff to cover. ;) 

Monthly Wrap-Up. So you may or may not have known that April is also Camp NaNo. And if you don't know what on earth I'm talking about, it's basically a more chill, relaxed version of NaNo (if you want it to be). You get to set your own goal, you can pick what your project is... it can literally be anything. Epic poem? check. Editing? Check. Comic book? check. A smaller writing goal for a novel? Check. The best part of Camp NaNo is you have CABINS. Whether you choose to form a private association of writers or you opt to be placed in a random one with other NaNo-ists, cabins are just amazing. To be honest, it was my first time in one. I was kind of a lone wolf for years when it came to writing...had no idea there were lots of others like me out there, and wouldn't have known where to find them. But the internet can work wonders, y'all, and over the course of time I have found me some friends. So yes, I was in an awesome private cabin and I had a BLAST. So much love to my cabinmates. If you're reading this, thank you for the best month ever. ;) <3

Writing: My main focus was to wrap up the book (I figured I had about 1k left) and then edit for the rest of the month. Guess what? The little beast happened to not be so little after all. I was afraid I'd just barely reach 60k. It is now finished at 90k. You can never tell with books, I guess. So I spent the month writing instead. My NaNo goal was 50 hours. (Because...I thought I was going to edit, so I didn't use word count). I finished with 53 hours and about 50k written.

​Who would of thought? But yes, this book is finished. Currently in the hands of my alpha reader (hey sis!). I celebrated by eating too many chocolate chip cookies. In case you haven't seen it yet... 

The Needlemaker cover is officially revealed. :D

Reading: My goal was 3 books. Did I make it? Well.... I'm still in the middle of a few books (It's a bad habit I know, lol) but here's the total count for this month. 

The Sacred Shore by Janette Oke-- 5 stars
Befriending the Beast by Amanda Tero -- 5 stars. 

Yeah. Only finished two. The problem is I have perhaps three I'm in the middle of too, so I really was reading this month, I promise, haha! 

Other Goals: I only had one sort-of blog/writing related, and that was to get to know other writers better. Check and double check! It's been such good fun getting to chat with other writer friends, do word sprints, and talk all things bookish (and maybe non-bookish, too, haha). 

Book/Writerly Chat:
So I thought you all might enjoy getting to know a little bit more about me... and I was tagged by Livi Jane for the Liebster Award, so I thought in my writerly chat is the perfect opportunity to do this! Thank you so much, girly! <3 You can check out her blog here: Living for the Other Side.   What are the rules for this fun tag? 1. Link back to the person who tagged you. 2. Answer the 11 questions. 3. Tag 11 bloggers. 4. And ask them 11 of your own questions. So let's get started on answering the questions from Livi! :D 

1. What is your personality type? -- I've talked about MBTI before, so this is right up my alley! I'm an ENFP-T! ;)
2.  What's your favorite thing to do in your spare time? -- read, write, sing or play music, design, have adventures, hang out with friends. 
3. What would be your dream job? -- Writing mom who travels a lot and is in some sort of full time ministry... I really am up for anything. Camps, acting, music, whatever.
4. Puppies or kittens? -- Puppies, but kittens are super cute too. 
5. Do you play an instrument? If so, which one(s)? -- I play piano and guitar, (level: mediocre, lol) and I used to play mandolin. 
6. If you could go on vacation anywhere, where would you pick to go? -- This is such a hard question, y'all. I want to travel the world! But right now, I want to go to England to see a friend. Or Italy. I'm kind of obsessed with Italy. Or pretty much anywhere else in the world. (I love all places lol). 
7. What's your favorite season of the year? -- Fall. And then winter, summer, spring, in that order. 
8. What was the last thing you ate? -- caramel coffee and black chocolate. Ok, I know the coffee is technically a drink, lol. 
9. If you could have one superpower, what would it be? -- Sometimes I wish I could read people's thoughts. But not always, haha. Also, I'd love it if I could fly. Airplane trips are the best alternative. :P 
10. What was the last book you read? Did you like it? -- It was Befriending the Beast by Amanda Tero, and YES I did like it. :D You can check my review on Goodreads (I linked the books to their respective Goodreads reviews above).  
11. What does your first name mean? And if you could change it, would you and what would it be? -- My first name is Victoria and it means victory. I bet you weren't expecting that, lol! :P Just kidding. I like my name, but it's really weird for me to say it... I never do that much, and lately I've met more Victorias and it's super strange since I'm used to being the only one. If I did change my name it would probably be to Jane since that's kind of my fall-back name for myself. Long story there... 

So real quick, I tag (and it's not 11 blogs, but...)

• Abigayle from the Left-Handed Typist
• Andrea from Writing to Inspire
• Victoria from Ruffles and Grace
• Rebekah at Read Another Page
• and YOU to reply to the questions in the comment! ;) Or if you have a blog, feel free to do it there. :) 

My questions for you all... 

1. What is your favorite genre to read and to write?
2. How many countries have you been to?
   
3. What is your favorite writing snack?
4. Who  (person) inspires you the most to write? 
   
5. Personality type? If you don't know, just pick three words to describe you!
   
6. Coffee or tea? Or something else?
   
7. Most cry-worthy book in your opinion?
8. Favorite book character?
   
9. First book you remember reading as a child on your own?
   
10. What is one thing on your bucket list?
11. What emoji would you be if you were one?

Hope you all have fun with that... I'm pretty interested to see what sort of answers I get! :) 

And some more randomness, once again in nice bullet points: 

• If you didn't notice already, we made the dramatized audiobook of Wind Chimes public about a month ago. I'm not really doing much promotion for it right now as it's kind of the wrong season *sigh* but if you're interested, you can check it out. Sneak peeks, preview and everything. I will warn you, though... because I like being honest and upfront... it is not the most professional recording. The quality of the post-processing is good but let's just say, I learned a lot during the process and I'd do some things during the recording session differently. It's not horrible...it's just sometimes fuzzy or stuff. So now you know. Here I am letting you know the flaws of my own thing, haha. We had a lot of fun doing it though, and the stories are just as they are in the book, just complete with acting, ambiance, music, SFX and more. It's pretty cool, despite the occasional fuzzy recording, so at least go check out the sneak peeks. ;)  
• Another fun piece of news... I'm on YouTube! You can find a few videos I've uploaded and be sure to subscribe so you can instantly know when there's new ones. I vlog, do fun behind the scenes videos, and will be doing a lot of bookish videos too on various books I read and/or love! 
• I happen to be very bad at writing endings. It's a struggle, y'all. I have posted sneak peeks on Facebook and Twitter that prove it, too, lol. 
  

Well, that's all for now! 

Question of the Day: Have you ever participated in Camp NaNoWriMo? If so, what was your cabin like, and what was its name? My cabin was named the Chatterbox. :D

Have a lovely day! 
<3
Victoria