Welcome to February! I hope the first month of the year was everything you wanted it to be, but it’s okay if it wasn’t. That happens sometimes. I can admit it wasn’t perfect for me.

I try to see the beginning of every month as an opportunity to freshen up my goals. Is there something you wanted to do that you didn’t get around to? Did an unexpected project kidnap your energy and hold it hostage elsewhere? If so, now is a great time to check in with your goals and refocus them.

I think we often try to push ourselves into boxes that are just too black and white. The moment something goes off-track, it can be strangely comforting to throw all your hard work away and slide back into an easy rut.

Don’t do it!

Use this time to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and forgive yourself for anything that didn’t go the way you planned.

I, for one, have to give myself some leeway for not quite finishing my reading list for January. I got so close, but I just couldn’t close the deal. I also didn’t finish outlining Book Four of The Black Wolf Series. Our annual trip to New York City derailed progress a bit, but mostly I got sidetracked by learning about marketing and I ended up losing myself in that pursuit. (Actually, I ended up getting buried under a mountain of fonts when I tried to figure out a new design for the website, but who’s counting?)

It’s hard for me to let go of a goal not realized–but it does make me even more determined to get February started off right. So, I’m taking some time to rework my goals in my bullet journal and I’m hoping I can turn February into a great month for reading and writing!

That said, it’s time to see how January really went reading-wise:

1. The Alpha’s Mate by Jacqueline Rhoades – finished!
2. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay – finished! (and LOVED it!)
3. The Woodsman Collection by Eddie Cleveland – finished! I didn’t have a purchase link for the box set back in December, but here are links to the individual books (and no laughing at the titles, because OMG WTF):
   • Saved by the Woodsman
   • Virgin for the Woodsman
   • The Woodsman’s Baby
4. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert – finished!
5. One Empire Night by Autumn Jones Lake – finished! (but this is like getting extra credit just for showing up to class because I’d technically finished it before January started.)
6. The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf – not finished. I’m about 40 pages into this one right now and I’m really enjoying the concept so far, but it’s much denser than the other books on my list. This isn’t a bad thing. I’m enjoying working my mental muscles on it, it’s just got a lot more food for thought packed into the same number of pages!

This year, I’m trying to be better about adding books to Goodreads when I start them and updating my progress along the way. I didn’t get this perfect in January, but I did better than I normally do. Speaking of that, are we friends on Goodreads yet? If not, stop by and add me! As always, my ratings and/or reviews for the books I finished are up on Goodreads. You can rate The Black Wolf Series or add the latest book by my alter ego, too.

So, what’s on my shelf for February?

1. The BadRedhead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge by Rachel Thompson – Okay, if you’re an indie author and you haven’t heard of Rachel Thompson, you should get on over to Twitter and look her up. BadRedHead Media is kinda one of the queens of the indie author scene. She’s always dispensing fabulous tips and info. I got her book waaaaaaay back when, but I haven’t gone through the challenge yet, so I’m diving headfirst into it for February. I can’t wait to learn what she has to teach!
2. Connections by Selena Kitt – Kitt holds a throne among the queens of erotica. Seriously, she’s one of the top-selling erotica authors, like, ever and is somewhat famous for having several books that were banned by Amazon due to content (some of which would make V. C. Andrews smile). But this book is supposed to be a little on the less naughty side for her stuff, so I’m interested to give it a try.
3. Bears of Burden Complete Series Box Set by Candace Ayers – I’m not entirely sure why I keep doing this to myself. A box set is multiple books. I know that. And still, I continue to add box sets to my monthly reading lists as if they are a single unit. This means February is going to be a mad dash to the finish when it comes to reading. But you know what? I’m up for the challenge!
4. Gaslight by Dannika Dark – I’m giving you a Goodreads link for this one because it doesn’t come out until February 20th and it’s not available for pre-order on Amazon. I’m looking forward to the next installment in this series. I really enjoy the dynamics and chemistry between Raven and Christian. Dark’s books are usually super quick reads for me, so I’ll probably finish this one within a day or two of its release.
5. How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran – Way back in the early-ish days of Pinterest, I pinned a pre-publication advert for this one on my TBR board. I’m not sure why I never actually got around to reading it back when it came out, but it likely slipped into that typical Pinterest wasteland of projects I’ll probably never get around to. I’ve got my copy now, though, and I’m looking forward to reading it. But: it’s in my bonus points stack for this month. If I get finished with all the rest, I can jump into this one. I found that really worked well motivation-wise with The Beauty Myth, I simply ran out of time to finish reading. There are only so many hours in a day, you know.

Whew! We made it. My grand plan for February is set.

What about you? Comment below to share what you’re reading this month or tell me about the best book you’ve read recently. I can’t wait to hear!

Cheers!