The Days Ahead...

As is common in life, the past few weeks have brought about certain events that have made it difficult to get much of anything done.
My current excuses being illness and the death of a grandfather. With my mind in a haze, I haven't had much success in putting pen to paper. I'm blocked on the paranormal short story I was working on before my grandfather's death, and the other projects I have open, currently lack appeal. It's amazing what grief can do to you.
However, I did manage to get three books read last week:

I finally finished up "Scar Night" by Alan Campbell. The imagery was good, but reading about angels, spawned from false gods just isn't my cup of tea.

"Thin Air" by Rachel Caine, had it's good points with imagery and action sequences, but since I mistakenly came in on the 6th book of the series, I felt like the main character wasn't the only one who had amnesia. Perhaps I would like it better, if I started with book one?

"Iron Kissed" by Patricia Briggs was the best of my week's reads. (In my opinion.) Even though it wasn't the first book in the series, the author did a good job of letting the reader in on the protagonist's history. You didn't feel like you were trying to find your way around in the dark. And when you throw werewolves, fairies, and other creatures of folklore into the mix, how can you go wrong?

I plan to start reading "The Highwayman" by R.A. Salvatore next.
And while I'm doing that, I'm going to see if I can crank any creative juice out of myself this week. Letting a project grow cold is rarely a good idea, and I need something to focus on, before I go nuts.

And I wondered why people took up drinking!

Today is my first actual day back to work, and as any self-respecting Monday would do, it's causing me to feel the pressure. Last week, the weather continued to be horrible, and on top of that, I wasn't feeling well, so I didn't get any actual work done on my writing projects. Not content to sit around and do nothing, I did manage to attack and bring down considerably the pile of unanswered pen-pal letters I'd been meaning to answer.

This week, my goals are:

Finish reading "Scar Night" by Alan Campbell, and begin reading another novel. I haven't decided which one yet.
Polish up and send off another short story to a magazine.
Revise and send in the first three chapters of my teenage Faery novel for my Children's Lit course; and get the best publishing house for it nailed down.
Start working on the first three chapters of my paranormal novel for my Adult Lit course; and revise the last article I turned in for an assignment.
Write and submit two different articles on Bible study; and then do another article on the paranormal.

Can I do it all? Only time will reveal that. But I'm definitely going to give it my best shot! I'll let you know how far I actually get. Pray for me! ;P