What I'm Up To, Reading and Trying to Avoid Chewing Glass

What I’ve Read.

I just finished an excellent thriller for Blogging for Books. (Review here) It was The Catch by Taylor Stevens. I’m not sure what was more interesting the novel, set in Djibouti and Kenya with pirates et al., or the author’s actual life (she was born into the horrible Children of God cult and didn’t escape until she was in her twenties.)

My husband and I are doing a read aloud. We did this almost every day/night with the kids when they were young—we got through a ton of books. Everything from Chronicles of Narnia to Harry Potter to LOTR. Matt listened to LOTR while he was still in a highchair. (Don't roll your eyes. He loved it.) I used to make hot chocolate and give the kids coloring pages with colored pencils (none of the kids liked crayons). In any case, my husband and I were missing those times. So I bought a copy of Daniel Silva’s The Heist (a spy thriller) and now we take turns reading aloud before we go to sleep at night. It’s been especially fun as Cal and I love art—one reads and the other Googles the paintings mentioned in the book. Then, I say, “Cool, we saw that Caravaggio at the Met!”

What I’m Writing.

I’m editing my upmarket women’s fiction. It’s set in the South in the late 1940s. One of the things I’ve done this week is tune up the details of a mansion mentioned in the novel—I’ve been drooling over photos of the Biltmore. I knew I’d find a use for the pictorial guide we bought when we visited.

What I’m Doing.

Still applying for jobs. I should hear from one in particular in the next two weeks. I’m really hoping for that one, especially after I’ve seen what else is available. Some jobs that I’m qualified for…well, let’s just say I’d rather chew glass. But hey, a job is a job, so I’ll take what I can get.