Challenge Corner discussion

I thought it would be good to start a thread where we can just discuss general things. So if you have anything about life (book related or not) that you want to share, feel free to do so here.

I'll start us off. As some of you may know, I am a writer (working toward publication) and I participate in Weekly Short Stories Contests and Company, a group here on goodreads. That group has recently started an online magazine and two of my pieces have been included. So here are the links if you want to check them out!

Short Story High Heel Murder: https://wssmag.wordpress.com/2016/03/...
Poem Compulsion: https://wssmag.wordpress.com/2016/04/...

That's awesome!Will definitely check it out later.

Thanks, Jackie!

Turns out I still can't listen to audio books. :(

I was really hoping to be able to listen to Steel Scars by Victoria Aveyard.

:( I'm not much of an audio book fan. They make my head hurt.

Courtney wrote: "I thought it would be good to start a thread where we can just discuss general things. So if you have anything about life (book related or not) that you want to share, feel free to do so here.

I'..."

That's fantastic Courtney!

I'm also a writer but I haven't really been able to focus on my writing the past year or so but I have several unfinished projects and some poems I've written. ^-^

Totally off topic, but I'm in my last month of my first year at college and I've had a fairly good time. I'm nervous about the finals and my summer and next year.

Jackie wrote: "Totally off topic, but I'm in my last month of my first year at college and I've had a fairly good time. I'm nervous about the finals and my summer and next year."

I'm glad you've had a fairly good time Jackie! Best of luck on the finals. ^-^

Thanks. I'm confident on one of them and I think if I study hard enough, I can do well on the other two.

That's cool, Bookbuyer! I go through spells where I'm not as productive. :/

Glad you've enjoyed school, Jackie. For the most part I loved being a student.

Courtney wrote: "That's cool, Bookbuyer! I go through spells where I'm not as productive. :/

Glad you've enjoyed school, Jackie. For the most part I loved being a student."

I basically have a cycle of interests. Every year is a bit different. Some years I watch a lot more TV (Both or Either North American or Asian) Other years I read more. Some I do crafts projects and others I write.

Right now I'm on more of a reading and TV cycle. I'm hoping next year will be more of a writing year. I miss it. :(

Yeh, I go through phases where I want to read and some where I just want to watch Television/Youtube.

My chorus class was canceled because we're playing in the championships so I have plenty of time to read today. Plus, my English class was canceled tomorrow since it's at 8.

I have been writing more too. I joined a writing group here in ABQ. My husband is amazed, because I've been saying I'm a writer ever since we met, but this is the first time I've actually written regularly.

Glad you're getting back into writing! Sometimes writers have dry spells. I'm just trying to keep consistent. I have way better ideas when I am.

That is AWESOME Courtney!! Congratulations!!!

That is great Kylara!! Also I really like your name!

Maya wrote: "That is AWESOME Courtney!! Congratulations!!!"

Thanks, Maya!

Maya wrote: "That is great Kylara!! Also I really like your name!"

Thank You. My mom named me after a character in

That's seriously so cool!!

Kylara wrote: "I have been writing more too. I joined a writing group here in ABQ. My husband is amazed, because I've been saying I'm a writer ever since we met, but this is the first time I've actually written r..."

That's awesome. Good luck with the writing.:)

I just had the best time I've had with my cats since my dog died. I got to play with a new toy with my cat Mel and my cat Jasmine tried to play with it but she's very shy and got scared. After Mel was done with the toy I just petted Jasmine for several minutes. I really miss Golden but I'm happy I still have my cats. :)

That's great that you were able to have some fun with your cats! I adore my kitties. I'm sorry about Golden. :( How long has it been? It's hard to have pets die.

Courtney wrote: "That's great that you were able to have some fun with your cats! I adore my kitties. I'm sorry about Golden. :( How long has it been? It's hard to have pets die."

We had to put her down at the end of January. January is a really bad month for my family it seems. My dad died in January, my grandpa died in January and now my dog. She was like my child. She was two weeks away from 14. D:

How old are your kitties? Do you have two, or more? :)

Aw, so sad. One of our horses died in January. :( He was almost 28. When I had to put my horse Joe down two years ago it tore me to pieces, so I can imagine you feel something similar. It still hurts. But remember all the good times you had with him!

I have three cats at my barn and I love them! I've had so many wonderful cats over the years. They make me so happy.

Courtney wrote: "Aw, so sad. One of our horses died in January. :( He was almost 28. When I had to put my horse Joe down two years ago it tore me to pieces, so I can imagine you feel something similar. It still hur..."

I'm sorry to hear about your horse. I love horses as well. I can be scared of them as well too though. I love really calm and smaller horses. :)

Cats are wonderful and they have such different personalities unlike most people believe! My cat Melody 'Mel' (male) is a very laid back type. He loves food and is very cuddly. My cat Jasmine 'Jaz/Jazzie' (female) is very timid. I've had her for over 15 years and she is still shy with me. I think she came from an abusive home before we got her. Both my cats I got from the humane society. She has warmed up to me a lot more in the past couple of years but she hates to be held. :/

Awe, I'm sorry January seems to be a bad month for you. Glad you can play with your kittens though.

Jackie wrote: "Awe, I'm sorry January seems to be a bad month for you. Glad you can play with your kittens though."

Thank you. I was really glad that I got over my guilt and was able to really play attention to them finally. I use to spend nearly 24/7 with my dog and so it's been a real adjustment for me. :/

I don't understand how someone can be so cruel to anyone, let alone a defenseless animal.

Jackie wrote: "I don't understand how someone can be so cruel to anyone, let alone a defenseless animal."

I honestly don't remember much of the little bit they told me but I think it was more that she was from a family with small children and the parents didn't supervise them enough? I don't remember much. She also had kittens before I got her and I don't know what happened with those. They're was never any mention of them. :/

A lot of people don't think animals have much personality, but they all do. My cat Grey loves me and some of my family, but kids terrify him. He also doesn't mich like being held. His sister Figgy will come when called by name, loves being held and climbing on shoulders, and they like to fight for attention. Susan is hyper and likes to run a lot. She also likes to be held, but sometimes decides that biting is an acceptable reaction to petting. They are all unique, just like us. :) It's great you adopted them! We live out in the country, so most of ours were strays that people abandoned. :(

Courtney wrote: "A lot of people don't think animals have much personality, but they all do. My cat Grey loves me and some of my family, but kids terrify him. He also doesn't mich like being held. His sister Figgy ..."

Most of the animals I've owned have been adopted. The only exception was Golden, we got her from a breeder. I had several small animals as a child, hamsters mostly. My brother had some fish. I had a cat we got from a family member and she was sadly not a good family cat. She also sadly died early from an accident. :(

@Bookbuyer: I hate when kids are just allowed to hastle the dog/cat and do whatever to them without concern for their feelings or needs.:( Parents should teach kids that there are times to play with the pets, but that there are also times to leave them be.
@Courtney: Glad that you found them and gave them a great home.

Thankfully my cats have never bitten me. Jasmine was very afraid when we first brought her home and after the fear that Holly (my previous and first cat) gave me I was always afraid she'd scratch or bite me. I also learned very quickly she was not a cuddler. :P But the only time she has ever hurt me was when I'd have to forcible hold her for any reason. She escaped once and I had to carry her home and we moved once as well so I had to get her in a crate. Neither times were fun for either of us. :/

It's sad when animals are mistreated by anyone. Kids being cruel to them drives me crazy! We have a little dog now who was thrown out at our barn. We decided to keep him, but he's still afraid after two and a half years. :( And he really wants to be around people but when there are more than a couple of us he just shakes in terror. :(

Carting around unwilling cats is not pleasant.

I've had my fair share of bites, scratches, and kicks over the years. We've always had cats, dogs, and horses. I'm the next to youngest in a family of 11, so things could be crazy.

Courtney wrote: "It's sad when animals are mistreated by anyone. Kids being cruel to them drives me crazy! We have a little dog now who was thrown out at our barn. We decided to keep him, but he's still afraid afte..."

That's kind of how Jasmine is. She is okay with people she knows, is very timid the few times we have had guests and she never likes being held. She does love being brushed though. Whenever I sit on the ground with the brush I rarely have to call her. She comes running! :)

Courtney wrote: "Carting around unwilling cats is not pleasant.

I've had my fair share of bites, scratches, and kicks over the years. We've always had cats, dogs, and horses. I'm the next to youngest in a family ..."

Definitely not. My cats like to be outside in the summer and I mostly let them if they are supervised. (They are house cats) But I don't let them out by themselves and I sometimes have a hard time getting them to come back in! :P

I can carry Mel in but Jasmine I have to kind of herd like a sheep. :P

11 people in your family!!! O.O I can't imagine that. Most of my family is small. The closet to 11 we've had is my grandparents generation.

Yep, we're a huge family. And herding cats is hard, the sating got it right. ;)

Courtney wrote: "Yep, we're a huge family. And herding cats is hard, the sating got it right. ;)"

lol. Yup. ^-^

Wow, that's a lot of people.:)

Yep. I have 17 nieces and nephews currently. It's hard to all get together, houses don't like to hold all of us. ;)

Courtney wrote: "Yep. I have 17 nieces and nephews currently. It's hard to all get together, houses don't like to hold all of us. ;)"

O.o That must be fun though! lol. I wish we had such a large family. :D

It can definitely be fun. And loud. I'm also getting some of them into reading now! One nephew went with us to Yallfest last year and loved it. :D

That sounds like fun and a lot of work. Christmas and Thanksgiving must be a struggle clean up wise.:)

Yes, when we all get together it's definitely crazy. And clean up cam be a nightmare. Plus there usually aren't leftovers, which isn't necessarily a good thing.

I'll be submitting a few poems to journals over the next few days. Hopefully they get accepted!

Oh wow. Good luck. I've actually been thinking of submitting some of my poetry. How do you decide which poems to submit and which journals?

I'm in a creative writing opportunity list on yahoo, so they notify members when there are submission calls. Or I search for things that I think would fit my work and find some that way.

To pick which pieces is harder. Usually I see which I think would fit best with a journal. Right now I have a few that I love and there are a couple journals I think they would fit. So I'm gonna give it a try.