Hi everyone!
You may have noticed that it’s been quiet here. Well, something big has happened in my life. The biggest thing that has happened to me. Ever.
I had a baby!!!!
(This was in late September)
And since then, life has been like…
Needless to say, sleep is a distant memory, and every morning is like…
Hahaha… I love my lil’ bundle with all my heart and wouldn’t change anything for the world, but that does mean that I have less time for blogging and everything else that I used to do.
I took a long hiatus from reading (been just focusing on living, surviving, breathing oxygen for the past while–complicated stuff) BUT I’m now able to sprinkle in some reading into my everyday routine!
Here are some of the books I’ve read recently (I literally read all of these in the past week ahaha. Once I started reading I was on a roll!)
I absolutely loved From the Desk of Zoe Washington. My favourite aspect was the relationship between Zoe and her convict father, which transformed as she got to know him better and better. There was a hint of a mystery element as well, as Zoe investigated whether or not her father was responsible for the crime. (❤️❤️❤️❤️/5 stars! Review coming soon!)
Do you remember Sarah Andersen?! (Author-illustrator of Sarah’s Scribbles?!) Well, she’s back with a new webcomic called Fangs, a paranormal romance-comedy! I read all of it in one sitting and loved it so much! (❤️❤️❤️❤️/5 stars!)
Despite James Patterson being a huge writer, I actually haven’t read any of his books… until now. I enjoyed Ali Cross–a MG mystery about the son of a detective who investigated his friend’s disappearance. (❤️❤️❤️/5 stars! Review coming soon!)
I just finished Clean Getaway by Nic Stone (the author of Dear Martin which I loved!) It was a heartfelt contemporary MG with a bit of a twist that I didn’t foresee! (❤️❤️❤️/5 stars! Review coming soon!)
Since I really loved the Nevermoor series, I also started listening to Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow (audiobook edition) but took a break since I wasn’t in the audiobook mood. Now I got the ebook from the library so I’m excited to start reading again!
I’m also SUPER proud that I’ve almost met my Goodreads goal! Depending on how things go in December, I might even increase my goal a bit 🙂
As for writing, I’m happy to say that I’m finally, finally, finally, finally, FINALLY done Children of the Sun. That’s it! No more edits! I’ve officially compiled the completed manuscript into one Word file (even though, despite proofreading a gazillion times, I’m sure there are some typos) and… dare I say, started querying, not widely, just a teeny little bit to test waters.
Aaaand….. I started writing something new!! After working on Children of the Sun for what seems like eons (in reality, it’s only been two years), I’m ready for a new novel. I don’t want to say too much yet, but it’s a MG novel about vampires!
Related to this, I attempted Nanowrimo this year with this new novel and… well, let’s just say that this was the only time I haven’t succeeded at Nano. Writing with a baby on board is a whole new ball game, and I just couldn’t find the time and energy to do it. (I was also querying agents and wrapping up final edits/proofreading for Children of the Sun too.) The hardest part was to find a continuous stretch of uninterrupted time to be in the mind-space to write. That being said, I’m carving out a bite-sized amount of time to do it day by day, so ONE day I will finish this draft. All in all, Nano motivated me to get started on this project, and I wrote more than I would’ve otherwise, so I’d count it as a success in my books!
As for blogging, unfortunately Sophie’s Corner fell by the wayside with everything going on around me! Thankfully, there had been a handful of wonderful authors who had jumped in to help out. Check out their guest posts here:
I haven’t had the chance to do too much blog-hopping this month, however I was SO happy that some of you had done the NaNoWriMo 20 Questions Tag that I had made last year! I had so much fun reading your answers. Be sure to check out their posts:
I loved reading Margaret’s post featuring a compilation of writing advice from blogger-writers!! (Psst…. you might find a cameo of yours truly there!!)
Also, be sure to check out Nicole’s post about caring and keeping of a TBR.
In terms of my longer term blogging plans, I want to ease into things again, though to be honest I’m not sure if I would be able to post with the frequency and consistency that I had before. I love blogging because it gives me a space to reflect on where I am when it comes to reading and writing, which are two important aspects of my life. Blogging keeps me accountable, because I know that at the end of every month, I’d have to “report” to you guys about my progress! Blogging also keeps me centered and grounded, so of course I won’t be letting it go.
For the next while, I will post what I can and when I can do it, and maybe even squeeze in some more blog-hopping. I’d love to continue doing wrap-up posts because those are my favourites, and I want to continue posting reviews as well–To be honest, reviews aren’t my favourite posts to write, BUT they force me to reflect on and keep track of how I felt about the books I’ve read, otherwise I wouldn’t remember them!
The pandemic is getting worse where I’m at, so we’ve been spending most of our time indoors.
Other than that, there isn’t much else going on for me, with baby and all! However, I would love to make time for some light DIY projects. We’ve received so many wonderful gifts from our friends and coworkers, and I’d love to make some thank you cards!
SOPHIE LI 
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