Today, I made more progress on my novel then I have in a long time. My Viola is finally starting to take shape, to be the character I intended her to be. Her story is changing slightly. I opted to eliminate some characters since I first finished this novel when I was 18, and some plot elements are different. But the essentials are the same. Viola is a seventeen-year-old girl whose life is turned upside-down when her mother cheats on her father and throws the whole family into chaos. Viola’s father uproots Viola and her three younger siblings to live with Viola’s grandmother in a town called Ryder. The novel follows Viola’s struggles throughout her senior year of high school in Ryder and her life after college. I hope to start posting small portions of my novel soon, so I’ll keep you all posted when that happens!

My life is not boring. 

Someone told me today that my life is boring and that I don’t like to have any fun. Who is this person to tell me that my life is boring? I just spent four months in England, I visited 10 countries over the course of five weeks, and I knocked a lot off both the list of 100 things to do before you die and my own personal bucket list. And you’re telling me I’m boring?

My goals and dreams may be different from yours. But I am not boring. Don’t you ever tell me that I am. I’m different, this is extremely true. But you are different, too. Right? Right. So I won’t say that your goals in life are stupid because I know they are important to you. I won’t judge how you live your life because that’s the way you want to live it. But in return, I expect that you won’t tell me that I’m boring. Because I’m not. I’ve done much that I am proud of, just like you’ve done much to be proud of. Rant over. The end. 

In case you haven’t heard, I have splendid news for you! Undershaw, the former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is saved! Now Sherlockians can enjoy the same privileges as Janeites and Dickens fans: the chance to visit the home of their favourite author. This a huge success. When I visited Jane Austen’s house in Chawton, I can’t even tell you how excited I was. For a couple hours, I got to act like I was a visitor to Chawton Cottage with Austen there to greet me and see how she lived during her time there. Now fans of Conan Doyle will get the same royal treatment. Brilliant job to everyone from the Undershaw Preservation Trust and all the other groups and individuals who worked so hard to get the word out there and save Undershaw! 

Read the full story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-18263385

So you’ve seen a good deal of my life whilst abroad, but now I’m back in America. How am I surviving?

Well, I am extremely happy to be with my friends and family again. But everything is different. I never picked up an English accent (much to my chagrin), but I still use terms like “crisps” and “cheers,” which get me weird looks from people. My really good friend jokes he’s going to give me electroshock therapy to zap me back into an American. 

I miss England a lot. I spend so much time looking at my photos from the past four months, and missing my friends that I met over there. Last night, I had a dream in which I was back in Chawton at Jane Austen’s house. I had my wisdom teeth removed the other day, so I’ve had lots of leisure time to sit around and mope. Once I’m no longer under house arrest, I won’t be as miserable. But for right now, I’m thinking way too much about England.

At least I have my next adventure to prepare for: moving to Kent for the summer, and living in a big girl apartment. I’m also preparing to publish my first novel. So here goes a productive summer (I hope)!

mxpublishing:

After hearing the case for and against destroying Undershaw, a really nice touch from the judge as he commended the Holmes supporters who had sat in silence for seven hours - every single seat in the public gallery was full with Save Undershaw supporters, led by Lynn Gale.

We…