Coffee Grinds 03:
Coffee Grinds 03:
Nashville, beta-readers, rom-coms, Summer Solstice, and our obsession with one-upping ourselves.
On my mind this week: Nashville (the show), beta-readers, rom-coms, Summer Solstice, and our obsession with one-upping ourselves.
Happy Summer, all.
If the heat wave hasn’t taken you out yet, count yourself lucky. Our AC has been running nonstop and sometimes I have to leave the house just to get warm. It’s an ice box in here! Turn it off you might say. But I can’t turn it off or the AC will never catch up, the house will never cool down, and we will all fry like eggs inside this concrete home.
Or at least, this is what my mother tells me.
So yes, happy summer and happy Cancer season if that’s something you’re into!
Astrologically depicted by the tenacious crab, Cancer season encourages us to prioritize matters of the heart and home.
Emotions are known to run deeper during this celestial season, heightening everything from our intuition to the desire for security and comfort. Under the influence of this Moon-ruled sign, we reconnect with our loved ones and tend to our emotional well-being.
I haven’t been into astrology in a long time, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t occasionally get pulled into it. Who doesn’t like the idea that there’s some fated life waiting for us?
But Cancer is also my astrological sign and I put enough stock in that as a teenager to tell you everything they say is true. We are a moody, emotional mess of a sign–but we sure do love hard.
Anyway, on to this week’s updates!
Part I: What I''m Watching
I’m actually obsessed with the show Nashville. Firstly, I adore Connie Britton. I loved her as Coach Taylor’s wife in Friday Night Lights (the all time best series EVER even if, like me, you’ve never watched football). I even watched a season or two of American Horror Story because she was in it. But she shines in this role.
Did you know all the actors are actually singing on the show?!
I didn’t expect to love Nashville. I’ve never been a fan of country music and being in the music industry for the last 15 years somehow made me less interested in watching. But, faced with a show hole after devouring Ripley, I decided to give it a try.
I LOVE this show.
We’re only on Season 2 (no spoilers!) and so far it’s been fantastic. The show does a great job of portraying the music industry thus far (with a few caveats) and with this season’s plot line of (spoiler) Rayna launching her own label, the music entrepreneur in me is THRILLED.
I also have to admit, I really do enjoy a lot of the music. 🫣
(It’s not country country, ok! The producers knew what they were doing, they made it palatable!)
Part II: What I’m reading
If you missed it, I did a recap of everything I read this Winter and this Spring. In the last few days of Spring I finished Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman, my first official foray into Rom-Com territory. I figure if I’m calling my WIP a rom-com, I should probably read a few.
I’m still not totally sure if my WIP is rom-com or Women’s Fiction by the way. Most likely some kind of hybrid. Why doesn’t Chick Lit still exist?
It was a quick read, and it was fun to see the journalist angle played out. My own WIP has a music journalist as the protagonist!
Now I’m reading one that was recommended to me as a potential comp title via
on their recent comps podcast.
This book is smart, clever, witty, and QUICK. I can already tell I’m going to really enjoy it.
Part III: Book news!
I have some exciting book news — I’m halfway through my second to last round of edits!! yay!!! I hit the 40k mark on edits this week, and let me tell you this round has been TOUGH.
When I started these edits I thought I could fly through them in a month or so. HOW NAIVELY OPTIMISTIC OF ME.
It’s already been a month and a half so I think it’s safe to say I’ll be tripling my expected edit date. 😭 But the point is not speed—its a product I’m proud of. And I am. SO proud of where this is and everywhere I think it’s going. It’s so exciting seeing it take on a life of its own.
Writing during a recent trip to the beach. Is there anything better?
I’ve also been working with beta readers recently. When I first started writing I was SO nervous to share my work with others. But I found a match up that’s organized through
’s Bianca Marais and I have nothing but good things to say. I’ve done it twice so far to excellent results. If you’re looking for more beta readers for your book, she does it every month or two. You can check it out here.Part IV: A quick note on one-upping ourselves
Lately, everyone I know is in mild crisis. I don’t know if it’s the heat or the the time of year or that we’re all on the brink of some major life change, but all my friends are having a hard time.
With that comes a need to control. Mostly, this comes in the form of positive changes. Exercising more. Dedicating time to a hobby you love. Finding the little things that bring you joy,
But I’ve noticed a lot of us, myself included, tend to cross a line. Suddenly it’s no longer a fun escape, it’s just another thing to compete with ourselves over.
It’s not enough I exercised 20 minutes for the last 5 days, I should try and do 30-45 minutes.
It’s not enough I wrote five chapters today, I should try to do that every day.
It’s not enough I found 30 minutes to read, I should aim for 60.
And sometimes these things are true. But most of the time it’s just us finding little ways to compete with ourselves. New ways to tell ourselves we’re not good enough, even when we are.
And guess what? You’re doing the best you can. And if you’re not, and you want to make a change, go for it!
But if you are, then let it go. You’re doing your best and some days, that’s just going to have to be enough. 🖤
That’s all of my ramblings for this week. I would love to know if you’ve watched Nashville (no spoilers please!), or read How to End a Love Story or Funny You Should Ask. I’m also still searching for a good audio book so if you’re listening to anything right now, drop it in the comments. :)
What are you working on this week? What can I celebrate with you?