Happy 2020, fellow bibliophiles!!
2019 was a pretty fantastic year for my family and me. There were many more “ups” than “downs” and I could not be more grateful for all of the goodness this year brought. From buying a beautiful home with my husband to welcoming a healthy, precious niece into the world, I count myself more than fortunate.
Along with these IRL blessings, the books 2019 had to offer proved stellar as well! Last year, I set a goal to finish 125 books and ended the year with 128. I became reacquainted with some old favorites and have added a few more to that ever-growing list. It will be tough to top this year when it comes to reading, but I have some reading-writing related goals I hope to accomplish in 2020:
1. FINISH WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT OF MY YA BOOK. In all honesty, I have not been diligent about carving out time and being accountable for my work production. This year, it will be a measurable and totally doable goal: 2,000 words per week. Doesn’t matter when it’s done during the week, even if it’s last minute on a Saturday night.
2. Along with this goal, I’d like to stop worrying too much about the quality of the first draft. Yes, I don’t want it to suck…but it probably will. And that’s okay, because no one in the history of the world has every published a first draft. That’s what editing is for.
3. Read one nonfiction book per month. I’ve read quite a few amazing NF books, including Educated, Devil in the White City and American Predator. I could probably do more than twelve during the year, but I’m a true fan of fictional worlds so I’ll continue to indulge in those realities for the most part.
4. Don’t focus on the number of books – focus on the actual excitement of reading them! A few times this year, I found myself gutting through books I had zero interest in finishing. I would be half way through the story, completely uninterested in the plot and thinking “Well, I made it this far…” Yeah, not this year. It’s all about joyful reading in 2020!
Dangerous Alliance
Speaking of joyful reading, I have the perfect suggestion for starting the year off with a bang (especially if you’re a Jane Austen fan).
Dangerous Alliance follows the bookish and head strong protagonist, Victoria “Vicky” Aston, as she navigates the sticky and awkward rituals of marital courting in the 18th century. Finding herself in the precarious position of having to secure a match in order to help her older sister out of her own deplorable situation, Vicky is reacquainted with her old friend (and childhood love) Tom.
Relations between Vicky and Tom are strained however, because of how he departed their town without any explanation and refused to write to Vicky during his five years away from home. Summoned back after the sudden death of his father, Tom finds the estate he’s now in charge of in decrepit ruins and cannot find the words to explain to Vicky why he left her broken hearted and wondering for those years…though he has his reasons.
Bent on helping her family and finding a love match to her liking, Vicky enlists the help of the fledgling authoress, Jane Austen, to inspire her to find the heroine within herself to secure an acceptable marriage. With inspiration from Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma, Vicky gradually eliminates the suitors who don’t prove up to task. Then she meets Mr. Carmichael – a handsome, successful suitor, who needs nothing of her dowry and appears to enjoy Vicky for exactly who she is, quippy remarks and all.
Or does he? Things become tricky as unfortunate disasters and blatant attacks by highwaymen befall Vicky and her family. With the help of Tom, Vicky must uncover who is behind these dastardly deeds and decide what this will mean for her future.
Spectacular YA historical romance. I was leery about this one, only because I recently read Bringing Down the Duke, and absolutely hated it. I was worried that Dangerous Alliance would be just as sickeningly corny, with the protagonist melting at the merest hint of affection from a chauvinistic love interest. That was not the case – Vicky takes no BS from anyone, including Carmichael (who seems to enjoy her feistier side anyway). So well written, and the historical note at the end of the book was extremely interesting!
What are your reading and writing goals for 2020? Leave them in the comments!
Happy & healthy reading!
Lexi
