Upcoming at The Lily Cafe #4

And I’m back! While I love taking a week-long break every so often (planned), I do both miss being around here and wish it were longer. But I have a lot to catch up on and a lot to post.

This time, I don’t have quite as much to share. Everything is, more or less, remaining much the same as before. Since my time is much more constrained until the middle of June, I’m not planning anything new, different, or major. But there a few things I’m looking forward to, and a few ideas running around in my head that may or may not make an appearance.

A New Writing Focus?

The Lily Cafe has always been and will always be a reflection of me and my interests. I haven’t been as into baking lately, though I do still bake regularly (mostly bread, and my daughter has recently discovered flourless chocolate cake is amazing). Instead, I’ve been doing a great deal of writing, especially Sisters of String and Glass. I’ve more often that not put off writing reviews so I can write my story instead.

I’m not actually planning on posting longer pieces of it nor will I be posting it more often, but I have some thoughts about writing it rattling in my head that I’ll be sharing. Like why I’m a bit obsessed with fairy tales and why I’m not sticking with strict retellings.

On the Bookish Front

Not to worry, though, I’m still a huge bookworm at heart! My birthday passed in recent weeks and my husband always knows to get me books. I gave him a list of 4, expecting just one or two. Instead, I ended up with 7 books! If you’re curious, I only asked for The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, but my husband saw all 4 of them packaged together, so decided to get the whole series for me. I have a ton of review requests to fulfill and some other obligations, but I hope I have enough time to also enjoy all 7 of these new books.

I’m very excited because the next couple of months have reviews for two of my anticipated reads this year scheduled. I was so delighted when Rebecca Chastain reached out for a review of the next novel in her Terra Haven Chronicles series. I might have gone on a bit too much about it in my last WWW Wednesday post, but I seriously love the series so far. Fantasy, mystery, romance, and an adorable creature companion. What’s not to love? Then there’s The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. I’ve only read Empire of Ash so far, but I’ve already fallen in love with her writing, so I can’t wait to get into The Jasmine Throne.

I’ve also decided it’s time to change how I format my reviews. I haven’t yet settled on one thing, so my reviews over the next few weeks will probably look different from one another. While dividing them up into plot, characters, and setting has made it easier to pound out a review, I’ve been finding it confining lately. If there’s a format that you really like, please do let me know!

Miscellany

So, I mentioned in my last Digest that my 6 year old has been learning chemistry from his dad. They also started biology, and they really enjoy playing with numbers. He reminds me of a certain character in a popular children’s book, so I’ll be peeking back into my life as a mother sometime in the next couple of months to discuss what, exactly, all that means.

Which reminds me I haven’t been keeping up with journal entries for my kids. I never intend to have these actually be read by anyone other than my kids (but I appreciate those who do), but I will probably write to them soon as quite a bit has changed here in California recently!

Lastly, I’ve finally mastered the aforementioned flourless chocolate cake. My first was a disaster 6 years ago, but I’ve recently done it using the cake ratio, so I’m hoping to have that up sometime this month.

In Closing

So, yup, that’s what I have coming up. Nothing too exciting, surely, but plenty of behind the scenes things going on. Like hopefully the end of distance learning when this academic year ends in mid-June. And allergy shots. There are 26 of those left for me, and I am hating every single one. For one, I have a fear of needles. For another, my allergies are seriously bad so, even though I’m taking an allergy pill and the occasional Tylenol to help me out, I feel like I’m in a constant allergic fog. Definitely not fun, but hoping it helps.

Anyone have anything exciting coming up the next couple of months? Any upcoming posts you’re excited to share?

Sincerely, kat

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