Made-Up Word of the Month: Prebookupied

I realized the other day that there are certain feelings and experiences that only book lovers can understand, but the words to explain these things simply don't exist in the English language. So, I've taken it upon myself to invent some new words for book-lovers. Each month, on the last Monday of the month, I'll post a new word.

Prebookupied
[pree-book-yuh-pahyd]
adjective.
1. To be completely engrossed in a book or story to the effect of being unable to focus on regular activities.

“I was so prebookupied this weekend that I didn’t get any of my chores done around the house.”


This is a word I find myself needing all the time. "I was prebookupied," is basically my excuse for why I didn't finish pretty much everything else that I'm responsible for in my life. Didn't do the dishes - I was prebookupied. Didn't go grocery shopping - I was prebookupied. Didn't hear a word that my husband just said to me - I was prebookupied. Anyone who's ever been sucked into a good book knows how easy it can be to put off all the other things they're supposed to be doing for the sake of "one more chapter."

So, what do you think? Is prebookupied a useful term? Have a good story of a time when you did't get something done because you were prebookupied? Comment below!

Review of Mind Hunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker

4 Stars. Completely Fascinating. I was completely sucked in for the first half of this novel. I couldn't put it down. If you have any interest in the psychology of serial killers and why they do what they do, this book will interest you. However, the author can be a little arrogant at times and my interest waned a little for the second half of the book. 

I read a lot of fiction, so for me, this book lost steam about half-way through. Maybe that's because it's a memoir? You get a lot of information about John in the beginning and how this behavioral science unit originally came about, but after a while, you're just reading about one case after another and in a way it got a little repetitive. The stories were still interesting, but you came to expect certain things from them. I will say though that it was definitely worth pushing through until the end. There were a number of times where something a little different would happen and things got interesting again, but I didn't fly through the end of the book like I did the beginning.

Also, I liked the bit of information on Jack the Ripper at the end, but I almost wish it had just been left out. I would have read an entire book just on Jack the Ripper and only getting a short few pages about him didn't feel like enough. It felt a little out of place.

Overall, I feel like I learned things reading this book and truly enjoyed reading it.

December Reading and Writing Wrap Up

I have so many fun things to share from last month! First, my website, blog and all of my social media outlets got a facelift. I hope everyone likes the new look. Second, I did a lot of planning last month to set up the awesome indie reading challenge that I posted on New Years Day! And, finally, there was plenty of reading and writing that got done.

READING:

Books Reviewed in December:

I finished The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware last month. I liked this book. It was a good mystery and I found the ending satisfying.

Books Read in December:

I'm almost done with Mind Hunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. I really wanted to finish this in December, but I lost interest in it as I got toward the end. Really, it's a fascinating book, it just felt a little too long.

Books to read in January:

I'm reading  Veiled by Stacey Rourke. I just started this so I don't have much to say yet, but I am liking it.



WRITING:

I'm back on the Cereus Vampire Chronicles bandwagon. I've been editing the sequel to Unearthed After Sunset and hopefully will be sending it off to betas soon. I know I said this a few months ago, but then I added a few new scenes and had to do another read through. 

BLOGGING:

As I mentioned earlier, the blog got a new look just in time for the new year. I also had a lot of fun last month setting up the Indie Book Goal Movement. I'm pledging to read 10 indie books in 2018, and I'm hoping other readers, bloggers and writers will join me in this pledge. I'm really excited to see what books people suggest for me to read. I'm also still working to grow my mailing list and am still giving away FREE copies of Into the Deep to anyone that joins.

My Favorite Blog Posts in November:

Favorite Post Written: Writing Bad-Boys and Unhealthy Relationships: I really liked writing this post because I think this is a really important thing to discuss, especially when we look at YA fiction. I really wanted to look at how to write a redemption arc for a tortured anti-hero the right way. I love bad-boys in books, but authors need to be wary of romanticizing unhealthy relationships.

Favorite Post Read: 5 Tips On How To Properly Write a Love Scene at Falling Down the Book Hole: Love scenes can be some of the hardest scenes to write and this guest post offers some great advice.



PERSONAL:

Christmas was busy. My husband and I split the holidays between our families so we did a lot of driving, but we had a wonderful time getting to see everyone.


How was your December?

New Years Resolution: Read More INDIE Books

Last year for New Years, I did a book tag, setting goals for the books I wanted to read over the year, and last month I looked at how well I did at meeting those goals. There was one thing I realized. I may have read 15+ books last year (which isn't a lot for some, but for a full-time writer, working 50+ hours a week in Youth Services and renovating a house, that's a lot) but I only read 6 indie books, and only one of them was self-published.

As a self-published author who supports other self-published an indie writers I feel a little ashamed. So, this year my New Years resolution is to read more indie books!

My 2018  New Year's Resolution is to Read AT LEAST 10 Self-Published or Indie Books

To do this, I will need your help. If you have read a good indie book in the past year, I want to know about it. I've set up a form at the bottom of this page for readers and authors to submit books. From the list that generates, I will pick my 10 books. I will pick a new book after each book I finish, and I will post the entire list in a blog post for anyone else that wants to participate in this challenge.

[Note: I am not looking for free books. I intend to purchase the books I pick. Please do not e-mail me with inquiries.] 

Rules for Submitting Books:

1.Books must have been published in 2017 or 2018

2.Books must be self-published or published by an independent publisher

3.You CAN submit your own book if you are the author

4.Books submitted must have been professionally edited 

5.You can submit a book in ANY genre, however, I am more likely to decide to read your book if it is in the following genre's: [Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Thriller, Suspense] I read a lot of books with supernatural elements, but like non-supernatural suspense as well. I also like books with romantic subplots. I do not read erotica. That said, I will post the list for anyone who wants to do the challenge.

Rules for Completing the Challenge:

1.Set a goal for yourself to read a certain number of indie books in 2018

2.Choose books from my list, or find books of your own that are self-published or independently published, or generate your own list (If you make your own list, please share it in the comments below!

3.Use the #IndieBookGoal2018 to share about the indie books you're reading

4.Write Reviews!

I want to encourage all of you to join me in this resolution! Set a goal for yourself to read more indie books, read them, and post reviews. I will post the list I get of books if you want to pick books from there, or you can pick your own.

If you're going to participate, please share links in the comments below!

SUBMIT A BOOK TO THE LIST
or scroll to the bottom of this page.

Free images for participants: