April 2023 Recap

April was a month of trials in various ways. Some days my only goal was to get through the day and survive. But because of all those struggles, I was able to see God at work. He truly is good. So let's talk a bit more about those struggles.

• The biggest struggle in April was my grandfather's death. He had an unexpected heart attack on March 31 and passed away in minutes. As you can imagine, this was a huge shock to our whole family. Some days, it still doesn't feel real. But like I said, God has been so, so good to my grandmother and our family during this difficult time.

• Easter was kind of hard because of that, but we still celebrated with some friends. I made this cute Easter cake.

• I started going to the women's fellowship at our church. I'm trying to grow as a Christian and be a better part of the community God's put me in, and I'm hoping this might help with that. Right now, we're reading Life Together by Bonhoeffer.

• I don't know if it's the grieving process or the change in seasons or just trying to do too much, but I've been struggling to keep up with life. I do so much in a day and get to the end of it feeling like I still did nothing or that I wasted my time. So I need to work on that in May.

• Outcast of Redwall- Brian Jacques* (4 1/2 stars)

• Sense and Sensibility- Jane Austen* (4 stars)

• A Thousand Heartbeats- Kiera Cass (5 stars)

• Mariel of Redwall- Brian Jacques* (5 stars)

• Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (Dior dresses, need I say more?)

• Moulin Rouge! (still weird, but oddly enjoyable)

• Bullitt (the iconic car chase is good, but I don't understand the hype around the rest of it)

• Your Place or Mine (tries to be a 2000s rom-com and fails)

• Paddington 2 (adorable, precious, feel-good)

• Speed (kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time)

• Go Figure (one of the worst DCOMs I've seen)

• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (hilarious insanity from beginning to end)

• Querying: No new news on the querying front.

• Writing: I finished my short story and submitted it to a friend's literary magazine! I don't know if it'll be accepted yet. I'll keep you updated as I learn more. I'm now back to editing on Lost Magic. Other than that, I'm trying out a new schedule where I write four days a week and do marketing and such the other two.

• Platform work: I also got into some more platform work this month. I updated my socials so they're more cohesive and started working on updating my newsletter. I'm very excited about the redesign, so if you want to see what that looks like, you can subscribe in the sidebar.

• Realm Makers: I sat down and made a whole timeline to make sure I have everything in place in time. I'm still super nervous, but I'm trying to trust God. I'm currently working on finding a roommate (if you know anyone who needs someone, let me know) and hopefully getting my tickets booked soon.

I wanted to give a quick update on my blog. I've decided that it's no longer a part of my main author strategy and will be more of a personal project now. What does that mean?

Mostly that I'll change some of my pages and such. You probably won't notice much of a change, but I wanted to mention.

April posts:

Rewrites with Rachel: Love and Monsters

5 Books That Made Me Cry

5 Small Musicians You Should Listen To

• I only made one complete piece this month- this watercolor flower fairy girl. She's inspired by Cicely Mary Baker's art, although mine isn't as pretty as hers.

• I plan to continue with Lost Magic edits, while also continue working on my platform strategy and *fingers crossed* started my proposal for New Magic.

• Beetlejuice is on tour in Maryland next month and my sister and I really want to go see it.

• I want to figure out how to use my time better next month.

How was your April? Did you have any struggles or triumphs you'd like to share? Tell me in the comments.