Hello Bookish Friends,
After experiencing thirty-seven February’s in my lifetime, I can definitively say me and this dark month of the year, are not friends. Every February, without fail, I’m left feeling tired, listless and a lingering sense of apathy. I know it’s seasonal. It always passes as March rolls along.
Now that the the fog is clearing from my brain, I’ve been trying out different digital journals and productivity apps to organize the jumble of thoughts and many to-do lists. I’m still physically journaling in my traveler’s notebook but find that space to be best for brain dumping, junk journaling, and general emotional journaling (like a diary).
I wanted something digital to help me organize all my brain dumps. In the end, I landed on an app called Craft. The main feature which drew me to this option over others (Notion, Obsidian) is it felt more like a digital journal instead of a second brain or productivity app. The interface is also very clean and easy to use. It works in browsers, on desktop and has an app both Android and iOS. (This is not an ad. Just sharing what is working for me right now.)
For the last month, it’s felt as if I’ve had to wrestle my creativity into submission. I’ve struggled to write words or maintain steady progress on various projects. Regardless, there has been forward momentum—just not as much as I hoped.
My most recent project is Saved by the Merchant King—the third booked in the Wickedly Ever After novella series. And it will be the final installment in this series! I’m 9,000 words into this project. I hope to finish the first draft by the end of March/April.
The project giving me the most trouble is titled, A Love So Haunting. This story is a traditional gothic story about a woman, an old house and the ghosts inhabiting its walls. Unfortunately (for me), about halfway through my first draft of this novella, I realized it was lacking something. I didn’t know what it was for several weeks. After struggling for what felt like forever, I finally found a path forward again. This story now sits at about 11,000 words.
Making headway.
The biggest thing on my mind is figuring out the publication date for my first full length novel, The Horrors of Us. I’m leaning towards it being published at some point this year (thinking September, but we shall see). It needs one more edit but is pretty solid as it stands. I’ve already started playing around with formatting (see the picture below)!
The Horrors of Us (opening pages)
TV/Movies
Most of my TV and movie watching happens on Sunday. And for several Sunday’s in a row, I was entrenched in the world of Bridgerton. After watching all of Seasons 3 over my shoulder last year, I convinced him to sit down and watch Part 1 of Season 4 with me. He was hooked! This led to us doing a tour of the entire show from Seasons 1 through 4!
Books
I’m in a terrible reading slump. At the beginning of January, I struggled to get through Bunny by Mona Awad—this book is culprit of my slump. I should have DNF’d sooner. After reading, I can understand why people love this book and why it has such a following. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.
In 2025, most of my reading consisted of horror, thriller and weird girl fiction. I’ve swung the other direction now and reading a lot of fantasy..
Last: The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
Now (listening): Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris—I started listening to this one yesterday. It’s been a lot of fun! I really like the narrator and the setting (sort of gaslamp, Victorian setting with magic, some technology, and paranormal creatures).
Next: either I, Medusa by Ayana Gray or Coup de Grace Sofia Ajram (I haven’t decided yet).
Have you read anything lately that you’ve loved?
Thank you for spending some time with you!
Cheers,
Charlie