February has been a hard month and a good month. It was kind of my January, actually. I got a lot of work done in January, but it didn’t feel like I had quite gone back to normal life yet. I feel like I finally hit my stride in February. Anyway, here’s the roundup.
In My Life
I trudged through snow, splashed through puddles, made my first latte art, watched Black Panther, baked Maori bread and Hungarian chimney cakes, read books, had lovely coffee shop conversations with friends, followed the Olympics, won an ARC, chatted with my editor, played Dvorak, went to Orchestra Hall for a concert, belted Broadway songs in a hayloft (where my co-workers couldn’t hear), pulled multiple twelve hour work days, cuddled under blankets on cold mornings, shared cocoa and an early morning with a little brother, celebrated sibling birthdays, kicked off the NASCAR season with pizza, ate tons of Chinese food for the New Year.
Books:
Read: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die by John Piper, Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz, and A Gathering Tempest by Catherine Jones Payne.
Book Haul:
Breakwater by Catherine Jones Payne
Reclaiming Shilo Snow ARC by Mary Weber (Am I excited? Yes I am.)
Ten Thousand Thorns by Suzannah Rowntree
Writing:
For those who haven’t seen my social media posts, I got my manuscript back from my editor and so most of my writing, okay, actually all of my writing this month has been editing Crowning Heaven. It’s currently at that hard and thankless stage, but I’m confident that it’s at the best it’s ever been and I cannot wait to share it with all of you!
What I’ve Been Listening To:
Black Panther soundtrack: Make sure you find the score, not the rap songs written for it. I particularly recommend A King’s Sunset and Wakanda.
Homecoming by Thomas Bergersen. Because this music is Crowning Heaven.
Justice from Murder on the Orient Express. All of Patrick Doyle’s score is incredible, but this track is genius.
Anticipating:
Book releases!!
Mary Weber is releasing her sequel to The Evaporation of Sofi Snow (Reclaiming Shilo Snow) on March 6th, and I had the privilege of winning one of her ARCs. Which is good news because I raced through her first book and it left me on a cliff hanger.
Also, Catherine Jones Payne is releasing her sequel to Breakwater (Crosscurrent) on the same day! Talk about one good day!
Crowning Heaven Announcements
March will be the month where some big announcements roll out. Can’t say more than that yet, but I am excited for the coming weeks!
Spring!
In the north you can’t really count on spring until sometime in May, but March is always where winter turns the corner and you get sun again and some gentler temperatures. I am so ready!
Emily Hayse 
I know I’ve said this before, but I’m so excited for Crowning Heaven! I’ll be looking for the announcements! ^_ ^
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Thank you!! Your support is a big encouragement! 😀
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It sounds like you had a busy and lovely month. I can’t wait for those announcements!
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Can’t wait to make them! Yes, it was a pretty good month. I’ve been praying for you!
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Sorry it has taken me so long to respond, but I wanted to say thank you so much for praying!
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No worries, girl! Any time! ❤
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Yes, please, Spring come soon! Granted that it hasn’t been a tough winter here in MA. It’s actually been quite mild; we only had bitter cold the first week of the year, and a few snowstorms, but nothing too severe. But spring is my favorite season, so knowing that warmer days and lots of flowers are just around the corner is a refreshing feeling. 🙂
Sounds like you had a very busy February! I hope your revisions / edits to Crowning Heaven are going well. What did you think of The Thief, btw? I read it a year or two ago and really enjoyed it, so I’m looking forward to reading the next book in that series.
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Yes! Even after mild winters (which wasn’t this year!) I’m SO ready for spring when it comes. Everything smells like living things and it is so nice to hear birds again and get some color into the world.
Thank you! The revisions are going well all things considered. 🙂
I really enjoyed The Thief! I actually think I may have found it through you. It was one of those books where you learned a lot about the time period just by reading it, and I found the main character fascinating (and funny!). I’m definitely going to pick up the next book when I get the time.
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