September's been pretty productive.

I finished Step 5 for All's Fair, and now it's all with my 1st beta.

A Goddess to Love was supposed to be done by today, but for some reason, I couldn't seem to get in the right mood for it, and I kept nodding and not making the changes I know I need to make. Maybe it's because I spent like more than two months on revision…? Anyway, I'm letting it sit a little longer.

I also had a chance to talk with Agent, and I started outlining / arcing a new story. I don't know much about it except that the heroine is an assistant / nanny, but since I'm the one writing it, a lot of people are going to die. (Don't worry, h/H get their happy ending!) Actually I think the body count in the new nanny project is going to be greater than the one in All's Fair, which features assassins as heroine and hero, plus a Russian mafia boss.

Who said romancing a nanny was safe?

I've listened to multiple workshop tapes from 2010 RWA. Many of them are excellent and inspiring. I highly recommend getting the whole set if you can. It's cheaper than buying each workshop separately.

I also had a chance to watch some really good low budget Asian horror drama. The plot's pretty straightforward, and the supernatural elements are pretty familiar (to Asians, that is!), but I loved how they managed to create awesome mystery and tension by continually escalating the stakes and intensifying the internal and external conflict of all the characters. I just couldn't stop watching. Thankfully it had only sixteen episodes. (Some dramas go for over 50 episodes.)

As for reading, September has been a lackluster month. Jeannie Lin's Historical Undone was good, but the rest of the books I started were mediocre, clumsily written / plotted, and/or just boring. A couple of them got hyped quite a bit, so I'm sure that didn't help.

Fortunately I just got Sin Undone by Larissa Ione, who has yet to disappoint. So that should make up for September. :)

On Wednesday, I cleaned out Peanut's cage. Well, as it happened I set the water bottle incorrectly or something because he wasn't able to drink any, and we didn't notice…for over fourteen hours. The poor thing was so dehydrated and in great pain, barely moving the next morning. Fortunately Hero Material found Peanut and started giving him liquid-rich food. Our little hamster's doing much better now, and let me just say that they don't call Hero “Hero” for nothing.

On the writing front — I'm now done with the fifth step in the revision process for All's Fair!

chapters: 21 / 21 (100%)

And I sent out the revised draft to my 1st beta, so now I'm done with six out of nine steps.

steps: 6 / 9 (67%)

I just finished Jeannie Lin's Harlequin Historical Undone The Taming of Mei Lin. Despite its length, it was excellent. I recommend it highly.

I got my copy of Mockingjay from BookDepository today. Since I'm trying to be good, I'm letting Hero Material read it first. Otherwise I may get too distracted and not get my revision done.

He just started reading it, and wisely he's not saying anything, so as to not tempt fate. (I paid for it so I may snatch it from him LOL).

Has anybody read it? Is it good? (No spoilers please…!)

Can you believe it's already September? 2010 is two-thirds over!

I've been busy with the All's Fair revision — the final round before I send it to my first beta reader.

The progress bar above shows that I've gone through ten chapters out of twenty-one (48% complete).

September's going to be pretty busy. I plan to wrap up All's Fair and get some beta feedback. Then I'm taking some time off to finish the final A Goddess to Love revision (already have the beta feedback) and read Neuromancer and Snow Crash. (No, I've never read either of them. I know, I know…)

Afterward, I plan to consider certain elements in All's Fair and its sequel plus a sekrit novella project. They're all stand-alone projects — you don't even have to read them in order, but there is some definite overlap in world building (same time period, though in different parts of the world) and recurring characters.

P.S. I just finished Kresley Cole's Demon from the Dark. If you haven't read this book, OMG, do it now!

• Last to Die by Kate Brady
• Demon from the Dark by Kresley Cole
• Hidden by Eve Kenin
• Succubus Blue by Richelle Mead

Ahhh….which should I read first? Any suggestions?

To kick off the month of August with style, I'm hosting ten wonderful guests from August 3 to August 16.

They'll be covering various topics from the genres they love, their personal experiences / stories and awesome things they've learned while writing, etc. I've even got a tendonitis expert lined up to help with wrist pain. So please stop by!

As for me, I've had a very productive working month in July. I've finished up to Step Three for the All's Fair revision. My accountability group has been enormously helpful in motivating me and keeping me working hard. (If you're interested in joining, please check it out here.)

To reward myself and to “reset” my eyes for the next step in the revision process, I plan to read during the next two weeks. The following titles are currently on top of my TBR list (alphabetical order by author's name):

• The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
• Last Night's Scandal by Loretta Chase
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
• A Little Bit Wild by Victoria Dahl
• Negotiating a Book Contract by Mark L. Levine
• Succubus Blue by Richelle Mead
• The Awakening by L. J. Smith
• The Struggle by L. J. Smith
• Passion by Lisa Valdez

The ever-wonderful BookDepository just dispatched Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce as well, so hopefully I'll get it before August 15.

I hope your summer's as productive as mine, and may your August be blessed with awesome books!