I did it. A whole month of only checking social media every Sunday (with some minor posts or messages between) and for only about half an hour. And it was glorious! I missed people.
But here's what I accomplished without (much) social media to distract me. I...
Met up with coworkers and friends, checked in with online fans/friends, texted friends, videoed with family, and emailed back and forth with newsletter subscribers
Planned (and went on) trips and tried out new restaurants
Exercised more (despite the 100-degree temperatures)
Finally got some art on our walls and repotted some plants, and other adulting errands
Tuned into my partner's interests, which was fascinating, and played some video games I've been wanting to try out (I'm a newbie gamer): Ori and the Blind Forest and Spirit of the North (a fox game! See image below)
Built my foreign language skills, read a lot of news, and learned interesting facts
Made progress on a big crochet project and learned to burn wood (yay crafting)
Attended fun summer events (Dragon boat racing, farmers markets, new movies [Thor and Nope])
Read several books (Lavender Raine is great for middle graders!)
Brainstormed a new stories/upcoming series and wrote, wrote, and wrote some more -- daily for at least half an hour up to several hours (450 words to 3,500 words/session), which means....
FINISHED WRITING BODY SNATCHER, book one in the Branwyn Blood series!
That last one is the most exciting, because it means I can FINALLY reveal the cover! But I need your help.
Sign up below, and I'll send you a fun, interactive scratch-off card to reveal the cover (and some swag) that you can then share on social media! Learn more below.
DON'T FORGET to check out the audiobook/ebook fairs for August below!
Photo on the right is of Spirit of the North, a video game by Merge Games I'm playing on Nintendo's Switch, which has Loan Soul vibes for me: a fox helps the spirits of the dead find peace. Plus, it takes place in Iceland with volcanoes and has pretty easy game play (not much hand-eye-coordination needed), so it's basically made for me. :)
NEW SERIES IN 2022: REVEALS
Each month, I'm revealing something new about the upcoming Branwyn Blood series until book 1 releases! Sign up to my newsletter to give input on the series, and join my fan group to get bonus material!
TITLE REVEAL
ICYMI, last month, I revealed the title to Branwyn Blood: The Exiled Fae of Texas book one:
Body Snatcher
Don't forget to get your free novella to peek into this new series! And catch up on previous reveals in older blog posts.
SIGN UP TO HELP WITH THE COVER REVEAL
You'll get to do a fun scratch-off lotto ticket
style, and get swag including the character art above, and when you post to social media, you're entered into a gift-card drawing!
More info and sign up here: https://forms.gle/3mcvRamvFH9unmwGA
BOOKS TO SNAG IN AUGUST!
ANGELS & DEMONS BOOK FAIR
Check out paranormal or fantasy romance featuring ANGELS & DEMONS (or similar creatures): https://books.bookfunnel.com/angelsanddemonspromo/iwg9imm0lx
FANTASY AUDIOBOOK FAIR
Wide and Audible-only fantasy audiobooks: https://books.bookfunnel.com/aug_fantasyaudio/xi9m82uy7b
BEYOND HUMAN FANTASY/SCI-FI BOOK FAIR
Wide and Kindle Unlimited ebooks in fantasy subgenres, including high, epic, urban, and science fiction with non-human characters: aliens, vampires, monsters, robots, ghosts, etc. (that may have a romance subplot): https://books.bookfunnel.com/alwaysfantasy/mhttsq1nn9
Get your copy of Night Stalker, a Branwyn Blood novella, by signing up at LBCarter.com.
LET'S CHAT!
Follow me on social media to enter giveaways... and because I tend to share extra news whereas this blog gets updated monthly and my newsletter is only biweekly.
Hope you're keeping cool in this brutal summer (if you're in the Northern Hemisphere like me where I'm melting and burning at the same time).
P.S. Don't miss out on a FREE novella and more each month: subscribe to my newsletter.
