Easter, a Conference, and a Book-Signing

And, look at that: it's May. Now pick your jaw off the floor and continue reading my post. Or, you know, go finish that math lesson you've been procrastinating on, because GUESS WHAT? the school year is almost over! (For some of you lucky people who have yet to graduate and start college...yes, you get the last laugh.)
Well, I'm not completely done with the month of April yet. I have yet to let you know what has been keeping me extremely busy for the last thirty-odd days. It's a long, hectic story, so buckle up and enjoy a sneak-peek into my life recently.

Life:
That's it. I've finally realized that life is never going to slow down. It's ok, I've accepted that fact. I'm an adult now, right? I can handle this...right? *distant sobbing*
Ok, I'm back. Oh, that's right, we were talking about life. *sighs*
The month of April started out with the usual Easter preparation. Our church holds an annual Easter Cantata (as well as a Christmas one) that is always a lot of fun to be a part of. In case you didn't know this, our family is very musical, so we are often a big part of our church's musical things (choir, cantatas, special music, etc.) and this year has been no different.
Squeezed between the Easter Cantata and Easter Sunday was a pretty big event for me: a book signing at a local coffee shop. The Coffee Oasis is a ministry our church has supported from the beginning, and I love what they do for the youth of our community. I would encourage you to look into this amazing outreach and keep those who run it in your prayers.
Anyways, the people in charge have been family friends for YEARS, and when Mom mentioned I was looking for a place willing to host my book-signing, they graciously allowed me to use one of their facilities.
As some of you requested, I got pictures! :) Below lies the proof that people of ALL AGES can enjoy my books. ;)

My dear friend and supporter, Mrs. Miller,
has been a huge help and encouragement to me
throughout my writing endeavors. :) 

Yes, there was actually a LINE at some
points during the two hour time period. ;)

A happy customer!
(Ignore the fact that he's a younger brother of mine please.
He DID actually buy the book...
and cooperated for this picture, so. XD)

At the end of two hours I had sold a grand total of thirty books. Yes, you read that right. THREE, ZERO. I was so blessed by the amazing support group who offered to help me set up the booth, my fabulous fan base in Port Orchard and Gig Harbor, and my incredible family and close friends who selflessly sacrificed their Saturday afternoon to make sure I was able to pull this dream off. You all, and I mean ALL have been such a huge encouragement to me...I can't even begin to say how encouraged I feel TO. THIS. DAY.
Easter Sunday came and went...and we took a brief breath of air before launching ourselves into the next event: the Christian Heritage Homeschool Conference.
My dad is part of the leadership that run this event, so we were more involved with it this year. The speakers were awesome, and the vendor hall extremely tempting to this book lover (and avid book BUYER)...but I had one goal in mind this year as I'm a college kid with a limited budget.
The last time I was unable to attend the conference, my mom purchased a series from an author some of you know pretty well. B-) At the time, I had no idea who she was...but that was soon to change. After falling in love with the characters in her series, I found her blog and began keeping up with this wonderful woman.
Over the next two to three years, I won second and then third place in her annual fan fiction competition before outgrowing them.
With a new series coming out, I kept myself from reading spoilers (as hard as it was) because I wanted to be able to get them from her as signed copies and be able to open them with the first thrill you get when opening a book you haven't read before.
This year, we were finally both going to be at the same conference at the same time. I bought the books I had been waiting to get and met Susan Marlow for the first time.

I gave her a copy of my book as a 'thank you' for introducing me to the world of online, teen authors. :)

The books! *squeaks* So excited to FINALLY
have my hands on them! :D

She was so much fun to talk to, and I ended up giving her a signed copy of my story. Why? Well, she was the main reason I met Jesseca Wheaton and Emily McConnell, as well as most of you other online aspiring authors. I felt she deserved a thank you gift for that. Because of her I have met two amazing girls face-to-face. :D
So there was the month of April in a somewhat streamlined and organized fashion. Hopefully some of my rambling made sense to you. ;) Now onto some of the things I was able to accomplish last month!

Writing:
As many of you know, last month marked the beginning of Camp NaNo. With everything else I had going on last month, I was unable to get to my goal of 50,000 words...but I did top out at 30,500ish. About 17,000 of that was put toward the beginning of "A New Name"...enough that I MIGHT be able to share snippets with my poor, suffering story blog. >.< I'll be sure to let you all know when that happens so you can read them too. ;)
The rest was written in secret stories you guys don't get to even hear about yet...so ignore this sentence. In fact, I'm going to cross this out so you don't read it. Are you reading this? *disapproving noises* Really, guys. Seriously? STOP IT. 

Reading:
Well, so I actually WAS able to reach my goal of five books. But some of them were shortish...so. *shrugs* I don't have covers for them all, but those I DO have covers for I will give you. ;)

Western Civilization I: the REA CLEP test prep book
Dandelion Dust: Make sure you have a Kleenex box near. Trust me.
A Boy for Rocky: I was given the opportunity to edit and format this delightful children's story by an elderly man I'm friends with.
Ocean Mist: Something about sending a book out to editor's makes you want to read your own book. Several times.
The Secret Keepers: Yes, I finished it. No, I haven't updated that on Goodreads. Yes, a review on Goodreads IS COMING. Thank you for your patience.

Did I read more than five. No. HOWEVER. I have a few books on my shelf now that shouldn't take me long to get through. B-)

Editing:
As some of you know, I released my novella, "Ocean Mist" to beta-readers last month...I'm hoping to have it edited and ready to publish by the end of Summer! :) This will take time and effort, but I'm looking forward to having it in my (and some of your) hands! :D

Music:
Loving this song by Matthew West...the words...*hugs words*

 

And THIS song by Jason Gray...just...GAH.

And last, but not least, this song by Jadon Lavik:

Quotes:
April's Simply Story Prompts...just for your enjoyment! ;)

Which one do you relate to the most? Let me know in a comment! :D


Goals Reached:

1: Write over 50,000 words in "A New Name"
*cough* I tried. Really I did.

2: Post another "Life of an Author" post
THERE WAS ONE PLANNED I JUST FORGOT TO POST IT. GIVE ME MERCY!

3: Send "Ocean Mist" out to beta readers
YES. I did this. (Thank goodness.)

4: Read 5+ books
Err...I read five? So, that counts, right?

5: Write an Easter poem
Albeit a bit on the late side...but YES. I did!

6: Spend less then an hour on the internet each day
Hmm...in all honesty, I forgot that one. It's a good goal though. I think I'll keep it for next month. And...for like...the rest of my life. XD

Goals of May:
1: Write 10,000 words in "A New Name"
2: Read 5(+) books
3: Write a poem
4: Complete a short story
5: Work on editing "Ocean Mist"
6: Spend less than an hour on the internet each day
Those may seem simple...but don't underestimate my ability to keep myself so busy I get NONE of them done. It has happened in the past. It will probably happen in the future. But bless you for having faith in me. XD

There it is. The hectic month of April summed up for me in one blog post. If you made it aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way to the bottom of it, congratulations. Have some chocolate. :) Until the next post...hope you all have a fabulous May! :D