Busy, Busy, Busy

What a weekend we had!!! We joined up with some friends of ours from Maryland and went camping in Pennsylvania.  Saturday, we took the kids to Knoebel's Amusement Park.   We had a blast!!! It was quite hot, and I found the best ride to be the Skloosh!-- a single drop log flume type ride.  When you hit the bottom, the water suspends above you, then drops onto you (it also sprays out in a wall of water to those standing on the overpass, and standing nearby on the overlook).  Soaking wet, we cooled off quickly (and dried quickly, too!)

Sunday, we hung out at the campground, where I read Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs.  It is book two of the Alpha and Omega series (a spin off of the Mercy Thompson series).  It took me a bit to get into the story, not having read book one, but I really enjoyed it.

I also finished reading Hunted, the book I am critiquing for Katie.  All I can say is WOW!!!!  She did a great job with the storyline-- tied up all the loose ends, but left it open for a sequel.  The growth her characters underwent was great to see.  I am anxious to see what she decides to do with my comments and then read the story from start to finish.

As for me, I got back Katie's comments on my new chapters, and was pleased with her reaction.  A friend of mine, who has a young daughter, is also taking a read through for me.  Like Katie,  she began with my rough 2nd draft and has moved on to my more polished version.  It was interesting seeing her comments, compared to Katie's.  I have made  a few minor adjustments, based on her observations, and am now reworking the next section.  Due to some plot changes I made in the two chapters I  added, I needed to make some adjustments going forward.  This has allowed me to develop a few scenes more fully, showing more than telling, as any story should do :)   (Thanks, Katie, for reminding me to do that!!!)

What I'm Reading:

When Demons Walk by Patricia Briggs (actually, I realized after I got it out of the library that I had read it before, but I enjoyed re-reading it!)


What I'm Working On:
Corrections to Chapter 8.  Splitting off the last section of Chapter 8 to create Chapter 9 (with a much more detailed telling of the betrothal announcement and ball that follows).

Upcoming Posts:
Beach Photos (I really didn't forget)
How I write
What I listen to when writing
Where I write