What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!
It's been a while! I went on a little hiatus while I finished up my MA and I've been rather busy recently, so it's time to catch up!
What I'm Reading
Since I last took part in WUW I've read Deadline by Mira Grant, Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier, Blood Sinister by Celia Rees (reviewed here), The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (reviewed here), American Vampire: Volume 1 by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Stephen King (reviewed here), and Printer's Devil Court by Susan Hill (reviewed here).
I've discovered my love for Daphne du Maurier and right now I'm just over halfway through Rebecca and loving it (Mrs Danvers - what a bitch!), and I've borrowed Jamaica Inn and The Parasites from my local library so I'll be reading those soon.
I'm also going to be hosting a Count of Monte Cristo Read-a-Long this November. There's a Facebook group here with all the information you need to know if you want to join in; I'd really love it if more people joined in!
What I'm Writing
After finishing my MA I needed to take a break from Bloodroot and Bracken, because by the time I handed in my portfolio I was ready to tear my hair out. So this year I'm attempting NaNoWriMo (again) and I'm not going to put any pressure on myself to complete a novel, I'd just like to write as much as I can, even if it's crap, about one of the many other novel ideas dancing around in my head. Now that I'm back in South Wales with my family it seems only fitting to write a story that's been in my head recently which is set in Medieval Wales and involves dragons!
If you're taking part in NaNoWriMo and you want to add me as a writing buddy, you can find me here!
What Works For Me
Films OSTs! I like listening to music when I write, but when it comes to music with lyrics I can often get distracted and start singing along rather than concentrating on what I'm doing. But when you find the right film score writing's a breeze! Recently I've been loving the Pompeii soundtrack.
What Else Is New
Okay, quite a lot has happened since I last participated in WUW so this section is probably going to be kinda long. I'll try to be as concise as possible!
Well I finished my MA, and yesterday I got my results and I PASSED WITH A DISTINCTION! I'm so pleased that all that hard work and stress has paid off, and now I can start looking into applying for PhDs which is very exciting!
I also have a new blog design after finally giving myself a kick up the backside and taking an afternoon out to make it look pretty - I'm very pleased with the end result. I think it looks slightly less amateur now!
Over the past month I've been doing an internship with a video game company in Wales where I've been helping them to write the script for a new sci-fi adventure game. My internship came to an end last week and I've been offered a job, starting in January, to work for the company as a Game Writer! I'm so excited - it's very rare to come out of a Creative Writing MA and be able to walk into a writing job, so I'm incredibly lucky and thankful.
On the 11th October, a day after my birthday, we welcomed a new person into our family when my older sister gave birth to her third child, Neive Autumn. We went up north to visit them at the weekend and she's absolutely gorgeous. She's such a good baby; she never cries, she just snuggles up and sleeps, and if she wants to let you know that she's hungry she tends to just start sucking on your shoulder. She has loads of dark hair and she's just adorable. I could eat her up.
So what's new with you?
