What's Up Wednesday - 6.4.14

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up.

You can participate by going to Jaime's blog here. Or Erin's blog there.

I'm back! I'm back! I'm back! I took a very looooong blogging hiatus over the winter. I needed some necessary unplugging so I could finish up a project and get another one started. I missed this meme a lot. I'm so excited to be jumping back in--and I love the new tree design! -->

What I'm Reading

I've been majorly book binging. My husband recently had back surgery so we've been doing a lot of hanging around the house the last few weekends. I've been devouring my TBR pile--which was perfect because it was becoming a bit unmanageable. Here were some of my faves from the last few weeks:

I can't recommend these enough! If you loved Eleanor and Park, try Like No Other. If you want a Tarzan retelling, try Wild. And Second Star is up there with Tiger Lily for my favorite contemporary Peter Pan retelling.

Right now, I'm reading Todd Strasser's NO PLACE. I've been really into grittier contemps that show teens living in diverse settings (i.e., not in the suburbs). If you have any recos, let me know!

What I'm Writing

I'm between projects right now, but I'm starting to daydream and plot out something really fun to write this summer. I recently participated in the My Writing Process bloghop and talked a bit about my cork board process. 

What Inspires Me Right Now

I know it's a tad self-promo-y, but I love the Writers Like Us series on my blog. I started it as a joke with Jodi Meadows when she mentioned she gets asked the same questions a lot in interviews. So I set out to come up with a list that was a little different--what made us all the same as writers.

I think it's really fun to see what authors still have issues with when they write. Most say things like wrapping up their endings or plotting or things I alway struggle with. Also, I love seeing what a typical comment from their critique parters is. Michelle Krys had an awesome this week, "slow your roll, 50 Shades. This is a YA novel!"

Check out the series here.

What Else I've Been Up To

Other than being a complete bookaholic, I also lovingly call myself a product ho. I've been signed up with BirchBox for six months now and have been collecting more samples than I know what to do with! I wish there was a product swap meet up so I could unload some of these. 

I actually got to the point where I looked at this box and thought, "Okay, this is officially ridiculous." So I might spend the rest of this week reading while covered in lotions and lip gloss samples.

See you next week!