We recently chatted with some of our Blink authors to ask about their goals for this year, what they’re reading, and if they have any plans for Valentine’s Day! Keep reading below to see what they had to say…<\/p>\n
What do you hope to accomplish this year?<\/b><\/p>\n
Ashley Royer: <\/b>I hope to do well at my first year of college! I\u2019m nervous, but I\u2019m excited too!<\/span><\/p>\n Christina June:<\/b> I hope to be the very best me I can be. \u00a0Maybe that sounds cheesy, but in the current political climate, it would be easy to lose one\u2019s self and lose sight of what\u2019s truly important.<\/span><\/p>\n Evangeline Denmark: <\/b>I’m really hoping this will be an intense writing year for me. I have several projects just begging for my attention, and I’d like to hole up as much as possible and just play with my words. Other than that, I’m making an effort to change the way our family eats. I’m trying to swap whole foods for convenience foods, which sounds easy but is a lot more work than you think. So, eat healthy and write, that’s what I hope to accomplish.<\/span><\/p>\n Jonathan Friesen: <\/b>Balance. I know that\u2019s not a concrete goal like writing a book in November or losing twenty pounds, but I think it\u2019s more important. I want to figure out how to live as a full-time professor and a full-time author and a speaker and a substitute teacher and a home-school dad and a husband and \u2026 well, you get the idea. I lost my footing in 2016, and I need to get it back.<\/span><\/p>\n Lorie Langdon: <\/b>\u00a0This year I hope to finish an epic fantasy novel I\u2019m writing. It\u2019s the biggest book I\u2019ve ever taken on and I\u2019ve thought about walking away from it several times. But the story is worth it and I don\u2019t want to give up!<\/span><\/p>\n McCall Hoyle: <\/b>I want to take drawing classes\u2014not because I aspire to any great artistic endeavors. I want to write a story someday about a daughter and her estranged mother. I want their art to be the language that opens the door to their communicating and healing.<\/span><\/p>\n At the moment, the extent of my drawing ability includes stick people and the horses I spent hours and hours drawing and daydreaming about as a little girl. So I see lots of opportunity for growth in this area of my life.<\/span><\/p>\n Stephanie Morrill: <\/b>I\u2019m a big Kansas City Royals fan, and I\u2019ve always wanted to go to a spring training game. Also, \u00a0I have several books that are begging to be written, and I\u2019ve scheduled time with a writer friend to get away from home for a few days to write. We\u2019ve done that several times now, and it\u2019s always really fun.<\/span><\/p>\n What\u2019s on your reading list for the year? <\/b><\/p>\n Ashley Royer: <\/b>I have a lot of books I want to read! I\u2019m going to start a book club with my followers soon, so that should be fun.<\/span><\/p>\n Christina June: <\/b>I\u2019m really looking forward to THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas, ALLEGEDLY by Tiffany Jackson, DEAR MARTIN by Nic Stone, THE GAUNTLET by Karuna Riazi, HOW TO MAKE A WISH by Ashley Herring Blake, THE LOVE INTEREST by Cale Dietrich, and A COURT OF WINGS & RUIN by Sarah J. Maas. \u00a0Among others!<\/span><\/p>\n Evangeline Denmark: <\/b>Everything I didn’t get to last year. My TBR is insane! But it’s going to have to wait because next up I’m reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula with a friend in February. I haven’t read it since I was 18, but it’s one of my favorite books and definitely kindled my love of the Gothic and fantasy.<\/span><\/p>\n Jonathan Friesen<\/b>: A classic horror story: I am the Cheese, by Robert Cormier.<\/span><\/p>\n A modern \u201clove\u201d story: Eleanor and Park.<\/span><\/p>\n And I will now admit that I have never read Harry Potter. (Collective gasp) But look at it this way; I have all the joy in front of me.<\/span><\/p>\n Lorie Langdon: <\/b>So many things! A few new releases I\u2019m looking forward to are: SHADOWCASTER by Cinda Williams Chima, THE EVAPORATION OF SOFI SNOW by Mary Weber, TOWARD A SECRET SKY by Heather Maclean, THE DARK DAYS PACT by Alison Goodman<\/span><\/p>\n McCall Hoyle: <\/b>I\u2019m in two debut author groups, so I have the opportunity to read lots and lots of Advance Reader Copies before the rest of the world. A couple debuts I\u2019m especially looking forward to are: The Black Witch, by Laurie Forrest, and Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson.<\/span><\/p>\n Stephanie Morrill: <\/b>I have several Beatriz Williams books on my reading list, A Certain Age and The Wicked City. Since I write stories set in the 1920s, I have to be really careful about when in my writing process I read books from the same era. Otherwise it can mess with my voice and style.<\/span><\/p>\n Do you have any Valentine\u2019s Day plans or traditions? <\/b><\/p>\n Ashley Royer: <\/b>I don\u2019t have any traditions or any plans yet. The day after, I\u2019m judging a local Spelling Bee, so I\u2019ll probably be looking over the words on Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/span><\/p>\n Christina June: <\/b>No real traditions, other than we try to have a nice dinner. \u00a0Sometimes this means going out and sometimes it means staying in and cooking something we wouldn\u2019t normally have. \u00a0My husband has mastered the art of the steakhouse filet mignon at home, which is in my top 5 favorite foods, so that\u2019s a Valentine favorite.<\/span><\/p>\n Evangeline Denmark: <\/b>Do you have any Valentine\u2019s Day plans or traditions? Not really. Back in the days when music came on CDs, my husband and I would buy each other a CD for Valentine’s Day, preferably by an artist the other was not familiar with. I came up with this tradition thinking it was kind of romantic because you have to really know a person to know what music they like. Then I remembered my husband’s favorite band is The Eagles and I wondered how I ended up married to him in the first place. I can’t stand The Eagles. There, I said it. Anyway, we stopped giving each other CDs. But don’t worry, we’re fine. We agree on lots of other stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n Jonathan Friesen: \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Traditions.<\/span><\/p>\n Me: Isn\u2019t Valentine\u2019s Day coming soon?<\/span><\/p>\n Lovely Wife: Yeah, it was yesterday.<\/span><\/p>\n Me. Right. Well, I have something planned (thinking really hard)<\/span><\/p>\n Lovely Wife: Sure.<\/span><\/p>\n Me. Seriously, I do.<\/span><\/p>\n I imagine it going something like that.<\/span><\/p>\n Lorie Langdon: <\/b>\u00a0My husband and I usually buy each other cards and do something low key like have an at home date night. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n McCall Hoyle: <\/b>I\u2019m sure my husband will plan something special. I\u2019m pretty easy to please as long as there\u2019s chocolate involved, preferably Godiva Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Oysters. Have you tried them? They\u2019re not really oysters. They\u2019re pretty milk chocolate seashells filled with hazelnut praline, and they are to die for.<\/span><\/p>\n Stephanie Morrill: <\/b>Valentine\u2019s Day is always a mix for me. Some years my husband and I don\u2019t even exchange gifts. Other years he surprises me with diamond earrings. So I never really know what to plan for! We\u2019ve given up on going out to dinner. We usually work together to make a special meal at home and enjoy it by candlelight with our three kids.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We recently chatted with some of our Blink authors to ask about their goals for this year, what they’re reading, and if they have any plans for Valentine’s Day! Keep reading below to see what they had to say… What do you hope to accomplish this year? Ashley Royer: I hope to do well at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-notes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n