This has been a relatively uneventful week, at least for me. Things are still happening in Tennessee: no new pictures, but the builder tells us that the windows are now in the house, except for the custom shapes. Siding has gone up (though I don’t know if it’s finished), and work continues on HVAC and electrical. I also got a call from the kitchen cabinet vendor, and saw the specific brand and style of cabinets he recommended, which were just what we wanted (at least until we see the price, then we’ll know for sure!). Work continues regarding the commercial development across the street, too, mostly in the form of emails to government officials, in brainstorming other ways to stop or at least downsize it, and in efforts to meet with the landowner for more discussion. The neighbors are meeting later this afternoon, and I will call in.

On the current home front, the Pit of Doom is no more. I mean, it’s still there, it’s just not a Pit of Doom anymore. It’s just a regular little room–it could even be a safe room. It now has a proper floor thanks to a helpful neighbor, some mini-mix concrete, and my husband’s ingenuity in rigging up a drainage pipe chute, held in place with an engine hoist. Mr. Goodwrench is a good guy to have around!

It’s been nasty cold here in southwest Ohio, and I’ve hunkered down and focused on my writing. More on that below.

What I’ve Been Reading: Since it’s too cold to walk outside, I’ve been using the treadmill and reading nonfiction, though I have not yet finished that book. I did finally finish the novel. It took so long partly because it’s a long book, but mostly because I had so much else going on that I could only read a chapter–sometimes only a scene–each night. That book is My Name is A’yen, by Rachel Leigh Smith, and I enjoyed it a lot. I will admit it took me a little time to really get into this book, but that’s been true of some of my favorites, like Patty Jansen’s Icefire series. Ms. Smith markets her work as being mostly focused on the hero, and it definitely was, but it did not give the heroine short-shift as I feared it might. Despite getting less focus, she was still a well-developed, sympathetic character who experienced growth. But the best thing about this science-fiction romance was probably the world-building. The setting was 3,000-some years in the future, and while some of the minor characters were from Earth, it was set in space and on other worlds. The cultures were very well-developed, but it was done in a manner where everything wasn’t handed to the reader early on. Instead, the writing stayed in close point-of-view where if a character wouldn’t naturally think about what a particular phrase means, the reader doesn’t get that information until it fits into context. It threw me a bit at first, but was fine once I decided to roll with it. I enjoyed this book, and plan to pick up the next in the series. Recommended for those who enjoy sci-fi romance!

What I’ve Been Writing: My goal this week was to write at least 1,000 words a day, five days–a pace I haven’t hit in several years. I made it, with 5,371 words! Even better, my WIP is thisclose to being finished–definitely within 5,000 words. So for this week, I plan to write 1,000 words a day, five days, or until the WIP is finished. If I finish early, I will plan to spend that time skimming back over the book, because I know there’s some sloppy writing near the beginning. I also need to start working on a revamp of this website, get a newsletter out, and do numerous other publishing tasks I’ve been putting off. So my plan is also to spend at least five hours on my writing or related tasks–finish the WIP, and use the remaining time on something noted above.

How has your week been? How’s the weather like where you are? Have you read any good books lately? And how are you doing on whatever goals you might have, writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.