What's Up Wednesday!

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up, put on by Jamie Morrow and Erin Funk. If you'd like to join click on the links above!

What I'm Reading:

I only brought one book on our camping trip because The Husband would not allow reading time or any sort of technology on our trip. In all honesty there was no way he could have stopped me from piling on five or more books, but I knew it meant a lot to him that I focus on just being with the family. The book I chose was Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo. I have to say, and I know this does NOT happen often, but I preferred the sequel to Shadow and Bone. Though I enjoyed the first book in the Grisha series, it didn't completely win me over. So I went in with low expectations with S&S and was blown away. My main issues with both books was Alina, she was a bit too passive for me. There were times I wanted to shake her, that didn't change from the first book to the second. One of my reader pet peeves is when the MC can't stop whining over how unattractive he/she is and Alina is guilty of doing just that, often. What I did appreciate was Bardugo creating a more villainess Darkling. I didn't buy him as evil in the first. Shady, sure, but downright bad, black to the core no conscience evil? Not so much. With the sequel I got a better glimpse at his darkness and manipulation tactics. And for those girls falling all over themselves because of the Darkling. Really? The guy killed thousands of innocent lives in his hunt for power. Yeah, not so attractive. He is not misunderstood, someone who kills without a care for others has no soul. And you know how they say you can tell a lot about a guy by the way he treats his mother? Yup, very true in this instance. I also felt more of a connection in the love department between Mal and Alina. Again, in the first there was no real development, but it was more fleshed out in book two and I look forward to reading the last in the series. Also, I totally fell for Sturmhond, by far my favorite character. 

What I'm Writing:

Man, writing did not get done as much as I wanted it to this week. With the whole camping thing, it was near impossible. But I did get my five pages. I was hoping to get in more, but alas, I guess I'll settle. One of the main things that was holding me back was the beginning. After getting several critiques I knew I had to up the ante and take out all the info dumping I was doing. Thankfully I got it figured out and feel really good about the edits. My goal is to get another 5-10 pages done by next week. It's going to be slow goings because I have A LOT of revisions to make to the first quarter or so of my manuscript. 

What Inspires Me Right Now:
Too many things. Sitting around a campfire while roasting marshmallows and laughing with family, reading a book that keeps you turning the pages in anticipation, writing a scene that takes your breath away. There's a lot of inspiration out there and I'm taking it all in. 

What Else I've Been Up To:

We found these baby pheasants stuck in our window well upon our return from the camping trip. I was getting all the kids cleaned up in the bathroom downstairs when I heard a sound that resembled that of a squeaking wheel. My first thought was "great, now our air conditioning is breaking down on us". Then my oldest said, "That sounds like birds chirping." I thought 'yeah right' but the sound kept bothering me, so I did some investigating and found that it got louder the closer I got to the window. The same window which is painted over so you can't see the outside. Imagine my surprise when I slid it open and came face to face with all these little chicks chirping for help. They were so freaking cute and my kids were super excited. The mom and dad were nearby and weren't going anywhere. I got my husband who got a box and we took all the kids outside and one-by-one got them out. Which was tricky given their ninja escaping skills. Every time my husband got close enough to catch one it would shoot away, they were adorably fast. Eventually we set them free, while their parents waited patiently for them, and they waddled-ran in the cutest way after them. So that myth about adult birds abandoning their young after they come in contact with humans is absolutely false. In fact, we've seen the same family running in our yard a few times since then. 

So, What's Up With You?