Happy Sunday, y’all! I hope today’s Smatterings finds you well. I know many of you are snowed in, and we finally had some nasty weather in Nashvegas, too. A good day to stay inside by the fire, drinking cocoa, reading books, and chasing some cool links!

It was a long week, but a good one. I crossed 50k on the book, finalized pages for my editor to include as an excerpt in the upcoming mass market of LIE TO ME, and have started plotting out what my year looks like.

Thing is, time is ticking away and this deadline is drawing nigh, so I’m trying to get everything else off my plate so all I have to do is think about the book. It’s amazing how hard it is to focus solely on a single project. My mind is always cooking up new ideas, and I have a hard time turning it off.

To that end, today I will be working on my “mental inventory.” I came across this concept on Ryder Carrol’s Bullet Journal blog, and it’s a real help for moments like this, when I need to completely clear my mental plate. I’ve been dumping all extraneous thoughts into my notebooks and journaling app, and once I’ve offloaded everything, I will begin the official “deadline push”. All book, all the time. So bear with me if I’m slow responding to things for the next few weeks.

Oh, also, Ryder’s new book about Bullet Journaling is out. I’ve got it on my list. Even though I’ve been BuJo-ing for several years, I am hearing great things about new tips and tricks in the book itself.

With all the appropriate disclaimers now in place, let’s take a look at the latest links!

Here's what happened on the Internets this week: 

Woman Transforms Rotting Tree In Her Yard Into Charming Neighborhood Library. This is incredible! What a wonderful repurpose of a living entity. It brought me to tears. A few years ago, I had to cut down a river birch in my yard and cried…but my FIL turned bowls for me. Which was lovely, and I still have. Apparently I was a dryad in a past life.

How to read 200 books a year. The irony of this was I found the article on Twitter…but it’s so true. More time spent reading will fill your soul in ways social media won’t.

Holly Black Explains Our Fascination with Faeries. I was so happy to see Holly speak in Nashville last week. She was funny and charming and loves her fans. Her new book is fantastic, too.

The Best Daphne Du Maurier Books. Excellent piece! I added a couple of books to my list from this.

The Most Anticipated Crime Shows of 2019 - Previewing the Best New TV Series of the Year. Which ones are you planning to watch?

Discovery in skeleton's teeth reveals role of Medieval women in art. This is so incredible. The idea that women weren’t artists, writers, etc. is so silly. Nice to see some indisputable truth to dispel the nonsense.

A Love Letter To Books That Tell You How They End. “There’s something very artful and skillful about books that can tell you the ending and still accomplish the suspension of disbelief necessary to keep you pulled into the story.”

How to Keep Your Book Relevant After Its Release. Good things to consider! The publishing industry has shifted exponentially into long tail economics. No book shall be left behind — and that is a VERY good thing!

She says clumsy, I say charming. THE STRANGER INSIDE is coming….

What I’m Reading:

THE WICKED KING (The Folk Of The Air Book 2) by Holly Black

I had to break out my queens to celebrate the latest installment from Holly Black. You’ll understand when you read it. This story is wonderful, tricky, intense, and without one lagging moment. It’s a superb second book in the series. I can’t wait for next September for the third book!

If you haven’t read it yet, start with THE CRUEL PRINCE and thank me later.

That’s it for now. I hope this week brings you joy, and peace, and lots of great books. I’ll see you next Sunday.

peace and hugs,
J.T.