Highlights Of June 2018

   Half of 2018 has flown and the second half is soaring in! Summer is officially here and I. Am. Happy. <3 June was a very good (and hectically busy) month - want to hear about it?

Oh gracious me. What DID I do in June? Well, we had relatives come up to visit for a week, and we celebrated my sweet second cousin's birthday, which was SO FUN. I always love having them up here, we have a blast.  (we also may or may not have shot off a rocket in our front yard and got it stuck in a tree...*sheepish grin*)

And I'm also working on revamping my bookshelf! It's a tan-brown kind of color right now, and I'm painting it white and reorganizing it so that I can use it for book pics. I'll show you guys when its done ;).

Art! Art has happened! (now pay attention to the fact that I didn't say it was GOOD art...) I started out drawing in notebooks and...usual things...but then I switched over to something a little different. Now I art in my actual books. 'WHAT??' you're probably shrieking as you hide your books away. BUT! But! I have reasons! I only art in the books I have two copies of (which is, surprisingly, quite a few xD). Right now Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident is being scribbled in. And somehow there ended up being a doodle of Blue Sargent in there? Don't know how that works? But it happened and I don't question it. *continues scribbling* 

And we celebrated my second-youngest sister's birthday yesterday! (I may have ate way too much ice cream while reading Blue Lily, Lily Blue...) Happy birthday, Jaidyn! <3  

Oh my. Oh dear. This section is going to be full.

FIRST OF ALL: I finished up The Genie Bone and submitted it to the Oath and Iron anthology! Massive THANK YOUs to my alphas and betas. Shout-out to True, Chloe, Micaiah, Faith, Hanna, Audrey, Lisa, Soleil, Skylar, and Ariel! (Forgive me if I'm forgetting anyone - my brain has been fried since yesterday when I sent it in xD) You guys definitely helped that story a ton <3. It's honestly one of my favorite things I've written, so I'm hoping it does well!

SECOND OF ALL: I finished co-writing my first story! The epic Soleil and I coauthored a story for the Oath and Iron anthology and OH MY GRACIOUS. If you guys have writing friends and you haven't coauthored a story yet, DO IT. It's so very much fun, I had a blast writing The Star's Shadow with Soleil! (you're the best, my friend <3)

THIRD OF ALL: I got published again! A piece of my flash fiction, The Threat, was published in Splickety's Heirs and Spares issue. So that was super cool <3.

FOURTH OF ALL: Major headway has happened with Forgotten - remember that 20k novella that I entered in the Rooglewood writing contest? Well, it's now sitting pretty at 58k and I just submitted it to an agent. We'll see what comes of that, but I am VERY excited!

FIFTH OF ALL: The 100-for-100 Go Teen Writer's challenge is going swimmingly! I haven't missed a day yet, and most days I've written 1,000+ words. It's been a blast! We'll see if I can keep up that speed when I'm at Realm Makers xD.

SIXTH OF ALL: I know I'm forgetting something. So here's me saying I know I forgot something xD.

+ The Backwards Season by Lauren Myracle

WHOO you can tell that summer is finally here xD. I've read SO MANY good books (and I wish I could review them all but TIME. Time is a thing) this month and I'm super excited to scream into the abyss talk with y'all about them!

- All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater. I LOVED IT. But it's Stiefvater, so I mean...could you expect anything else? I adored The Scorpio Races, so when All The Crooked Saints came out, I absolutely had to read it! And I adored this book - it actually was cleaner than The Scorpio Races, which was super super nice. 4.5 stars to this epic book <3.

- The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. IT'S LIKE THE PLAGUE I CAN'T STOP READING HER BOOKS. Right off the bat, this book is not clean (F-bombs are used multiple times and WOW does Stiefvater like her swearing) but THE CHARACTERS. The plot line. Just her writing style is the most epic thing ever. And did I mention that I am deathly attached to these characters? Oh dear. Once I'm done with the series (I finished the second book and I'm starting the third!), I'll review it for y'all. 4.5 stars. <3

- The Scourge by Jennifer Nielsen. This author never disappoints (she's one of my top favorites of ever! <3), so when I found a copy of this at a thrift store, I snagged it. And then read it. And then loved it (SHOCKER) xD. The main character was so sassy and perfectly GOLDEN, I loved her. 4 stars to this lovely book!

- A Sea of Purple Ink by Rebekah Shafer. Okay, first off, that cover? I mean <3. And the inside of the book is just as gorgeous as the outside! I was actually (and pleasantly!) surprised by the world building, it was AMAZING. And the characters! I just! The "magic" system (it wasn't actual magic, but I can't think of another way to describe it) is so unique <3. 4 stars, and definitely check this one out!

- Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley. I randomly nabbed this one when I saw that it was about the circus (what can I say? I like circus stories), and it was different from what I expected. But in a good way! I really loved this middle grade story, it was such a sweet book. 4.5 stars to this one <3 <3 <3

 
I know. I skimped. I'm sorry. But I was on multiple deadlines (still am...) so I'm giving myself a pass this time xD. I would promise that I'll do better in July, BUT I'll be taking a hiatus for Realm Makers, so...we'll see xD. I'll try! 

- CAIT IS PUBLISHED AND IT IS LOVELY *dies*

- Micaiah Saldana did a three-part blog series about strong female characters, which I LOVED (she also wrote this piece of flash fiction that you will cry smol tears over if you read it <3)

- The Penprints Flash Fiction Dash happened, which was tons of fun, even if I didn't get my entry done in time ;D. Everyone else did amazing! <3

- Christine, Faith, AND Rachael did my Get To Know Me Tag: Writer's Edition which basically made my day <3 and (if any of YOU have done this tag and I haven't mentioned you yet, drop a link in the comments so I can check it out! <3)    

- Lisa over at Inkwell celebrated a lovely blog birthday AND she's having an epic contest with an epic prize, so you guys need to go check that out and give her some love! <3 <3

- The cover for Mary Weber's upcoming book, To Best The Boys, was revealed and OH MY GOOD GRACIOUS. My eyeballs are happy <3 <3 <3. 

Honestly? I have no idea! July is going to be a hectic, wild month (writing deadlines! life things! fourth of July! REALM MAKERS! <3), but I'm hoping to get a few posts in for you guys ;). We'll see what happens!  I may or may not have a special one coming up on the 7th...shh...

ANYways, I think that's about it. Shout with me in the comments about all the books you read this month (and let me know if you've read any of the ones I read!) - and tell what fun stuff y'all did this month! I hope all of you had an awesome June <3.

Keep being epic, my frens!

~ Savannah Grace 

how was your June?

chat with me, y'all! <3