Finishing

So the other day I finished a round of edits on on Graceful Death (one of my more recent works in progress). And man does it feel good. No matter how many times you type "The End" or finish up a round of edits, nothing beats the rush it gifts. Writers, you know what I'm talking about. I would imagine it's like graduating with honors or having kids. While my edits are far from done, even one round on them makes the manuscript a hundred times better.

Plus, working on something else while you're out on submission really takes the edge off waiting for your email to ping. Am I right?

Anyway, I was wondering what else you guys might compare finishing edits or a first draft to. Learning to ride a bike? Scoring the last goal/point of a game? Crossing every thing off your huge To Do list? And does it matter whether or not it's a short story of 10-20k or an entire novel of 60-120k? Are the levels of different for every book or story written? What about comparing the completion of a first novel to, say, a fifth one?

I LOVE this project!

I'm heading to the Giants game tonight, so this is going to be a quick post.

A post on what, you ask?

As I'm coming close to finishing a round of edits on GRACEFUL DEATH, a YA project I'm excited to talk about but not yet comfortable doing so, I'm getting that feeling again. You know, that feeling you get when the writing is done, and the story isn't perfect yet, but you're still SO excited about it. The idea is fresh. The voice is unique. And I may be tooting my own horn here, but I love this one. Each book I write, I'm honing my skill, getting closer to where I want to be. And I love it all!

There's a lot of work left to do, but I just had to share my excitement. I love every bit of the writing process and editing (even when I know so much more work is needed) is a huge part of that process.

And...GO GIANTS!

Epcot

While I could post ever single picture of my trip and feel less than no guilt about it, I figure better to post the best.

While we won't talk about the plane ride (which wasn't so bad, considering a few years ago boarding a plane would be out of the question) because nothing great happened. Oh, and it took something like twelve hours to get there with time change and a layover in Houston.

Epcot

 Beautiful, right? Now, if you're anything like me you know next to nothing about the Florida Disney Parks. Epcot is an adult version of It's a Small World *cue the loop of sappy music*. Basically, you can go around the world by walking around the lake.

Up first, Mexico. Don't worry, I won't breakdown every country. On the left is a huge recreation of a Mayan temple. Inside is a nighttime marketplace with ponchos and day of the dead figures for sale among many other things. These were my favorite.


Crazy hand-painted beautiful ceramics. All shapes, sizes, and colors. Also in this marketplace, strung through with lanterns, were restaurants, a ride, and...a bar.

Disneyland for adults, remember?

 My second favorite thing in Mexico? Ridiculously amazing margaritas! From left to right, my mom's classic (read: boring), the bf's Blood Orange (that's also supposed to be his shot, but he let me take half, more on that in a minute), and my Passion Fruit. MARGARITA! *shakes maracas* And the shot of tequila came with salt, lime, and a little salsa chaser. Weird, but so good! 

As you can imagine, since this was lunchtime, lunch was great. And...maybe we were a little buzzed for the next few hours.


Next up, China.

Here is a recreation of the famous Terracotta Warriors. History lesson? Check here.

 Even the gardens were beautiful.

This promo for Disney's latest masterpiece was all made of sand. And it was huge. I have about four more pictures to complete one panoramic view.




 How about the pagodas of Japan?

Reading Challenge Update and Goodreads

Here's my latest update for my alphabet reading challenge hosted by Steph @ Thoughts of a Book Junkie.



A - Assassin Study by Maria V. Snyder
B - Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
C - Chime by Franny Billingsley
D - The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
E - The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
F - Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block
G - Going All In by Jess Dee
H - Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey 
I - The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
J - Jonas (Beautiful Dead #1) by Eden Maguire
K - Kiss Me Deadly by Michele Hauf
L - Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
M - Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
N - Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
O - Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison
P - Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Q - Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan
R - A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix
S - Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready
T - This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
U - Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane
V - Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
W - Wither by Lauren DeStefano
X - XVI by Julia Karr
Y - You by Charles Benoit
Z - Zombie Nights by Tom Lichtenberg

Only six books left. *glows*. I can't wait to get to some of these books. I've heard some great things.

Has anyone around here read anything I have to add to my to-read pile? I love book suggestions! Or is there a book I should definitely stay away from?

Also, I'm a huge Goodreads fanatic! I can't stop tending my account. It's like my own personal Tamagotchi. Come on. I know at least some of you remember these little digital pocket pets that you have to feed and play with otherwise you come out of math class and find your little Tamagotchi has kicked the bucket.

But I know my Goodreads account won't die or wither, but it's so much fun to add books and update where I am on the books I'm reading. My beloved Goodreads account <3! Anyone else on Goodreads or any other social book tending sites?