Week by Numbers (2019 edition).

~ Ann Benjamin ~ Leave a comment

As usual, weeks have passed… And I offer no excuses.  So, here is a humble offering of some important-to-me numbers.  Given my inconsistencies this year, I’ve decided to take more of an annual approach with this post.

  • 1, book I’ve finished editing!  Of course, it’s just the hand edit, so the actual first draft will take a bit more time.  I expect to add about 10,000 words (hopefully?), but overall ’20 Year Reunion’ is a lot of easy fun (even if I still can’t write a sex scene to save my life).  This is also my 2019 novel, so it feels good to get back to this one at the end of the year.
    • 54, page I’m currently up to on the first draft.
  • 1, foster cat we have for the holidays (hello, Lulu!).
    • 3, legs (and other tragic backstory notes).
    • 5, foster pets we’ve had this year (Phoebe, Lola, Lulu, Smudge, and Teddy Pee Pants).
  • 4, press trips/trips where other people paid.  Up one, from 2018.
  • 2, radio ads completed.  Up one, from a web ad I did in 2018.  (Any improvement is something, right?)
  • Lots, more getting paid for my writing.  Which sort of brings me to a resolution of sorts for 2020.  As brutal as I’ve been about going out in 2019, I needed to up the ante next year, and really focus only on leaving the house for when I’m getting paid.  Otherwise, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    • 1, new magazine I’m writing for (paid).
    • 1, new website I’m writing for (paid).
    • 1, foreword written for a cookbook (my first!).  I’ve got another one coming in 2020.
  • Silver, status achieved on Emirates (from a lot of flying).
  • 1, book club going strong!  Founded in January, we’re a motley crew, but a fun one.
  • 6,974, average number of steps per day.
  • 34,552,083, views on my contributions to Google Maps.  (No, I still haven’t figured out how to monetize this).
  • 16, episodes of CSR of One, the podcast I launched this year.
  • 7, countries visited (I don’t think I’m forgetting anywhere).

Of course, next year includes a rather significant number — 40!  March is coming up fast, and my weight goals to get there aren’t really falling in line.  Oh well, age is just a number, right?

 

Sunday Sentence.

~ Ann Benjamin ~ Leave a comment

Wow!  What a book (and apologies for the extra ‘it’ up there — I couldn’t get Kindle to spit this one out correctly).  I flew through Vox in two days, and am hoping we can read it for an upcoming book club, because there is SO MUCH I want to discuss.

This could be taken from today’s headlines, but the novel imagines a not so distant future where women are limited to 100 spoken words a day.  It’s a fascinating journey and I would encourage you to check it out.

Popsugar 2020 Reading Challenge.

~ Ann Benjamin ~ Leave a comment

We’re here again – another year, another challenge!  Lots of great choices in the selection this year… And let’s see where I can help.

  • A book set in a city that’s held the Olympics.  Get started with The Queen of England: Coronation, set in London.
  • A book with a three word title.  Life After Joe gets the job done just fine.
  • A book published in 2020.  Well, check back with this post, as I expect The Queen of England: Ascension to be published, as well as maybe (?), Under the Rain of Light.  Keep your fingers crossed.
  • A book written by an author in their twenties.  There will always be a special place in my heart for The Line and A Fine Line, both firmly written in my 20’s.
  • A book with more than 20 letters in the title.  Well, my Confessions of a Teenage Band Geek rocks in at 29 letters (!), so that’s another one to pick up.

In case you need more reading suggestions, here are the links to 2019, 2018, and 2016.

Happy reading!