This time of year would once have seen me frantically packing to go camping from Boxing Day, usually until after Australia Day. Things have been a little different these last few years, and now this year my car is out of commission. Not having a good run on that front! I’m still hoping to get some of my usual summertime vibes happening though!
Devouring Books
Despite my love of the winter reading aesthetic: curled up by the open fire, snuggled under a mountain of blankets, drinking a good cup of tea … the time of year I tend to read the most is summer. It’s often too hot to do much else, so you’ll find me lounging beneath either a fan or air-conditioning, making the most of my inability to otherwise function like a regular human being.
My reading list for the summer will likely move around, but it’s my intention to finish reading 3 of the books I currently have on the go. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon—all of which I’m loving, by the way.
What’s on your tbr for this season? (And are we friends on Goodreads?)
Writing Up A Storm
I didn’t give you guys an update, but I think needless to say, I did not succeed at completing NaNoWriMo this year. In fact, I barely managed to write the first chapter of the re-write of The Last King throughout November. Too many things going on and imposter syndrome were hitting hard. It’s kind of crazy to think that the week leading up to Christmas has seen things calm down a little again and I’ve managed to make some time for writing, but it’s true.
I wasn’t planning on it being too different from the original print run in terms of actual story content, but ahh … things have changed quite a bit it would appear. The Avignon family structure is a little different, and I’m starting the book differently to introduce other key characters and concepts sooner, so that hopefully they have more time to breathe and develop. I’m hoping to get a bit of work done on it over the summer, but we’ll see how we go.
I’ve also been setting myself some writing goals for 2024 which are a little daunting for me, but watch this space for updates on that.
Partying on Twitch
First thing is first: guys, I’m officially a Stream Raiders Captain!
When I stream now, we can also play Stream Raiders together while I do my usual gaming or meme streams! I’ve also added PCG to chat so we can all catch Pokemon!
Now that I’ve got that exciting news off my chest, I’m going to drop the bad(ish) news on you all: I’m going to be taking a 2-3 week break from streaming. My last stream for the year will be the 23rd of December (yeah, I’ve taken long enough to draft this post that my last stream for the year is only a few hours away), then I’ll be taking a break to recalibrate and plan.
I promised that when I hit 100 followers, I’d do a pirate cosplay stream. I know it still hasn’t happened—and it’s not going to this week—but I haven’t forgotten and we’ll be having that celebration sometime in the new year!
I’ve already begun planning some other fun things for the stream next year, and hope to get to collaborate with some of my other streaming friends again.
It’s been a wild ride since I recommenced streaming in July this year, and a lot of that is thanks to you guys. Thank you all for your support so far! I love getting to hang out with you all while I game, and next year I hope to expand on that. We’ll still be returning to Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Stardew Valley, because those games bring me a lot of joy, and I’ll be resuming monthly Meme Stream in January, but I’d also like to explore other games, and discussions.
I’ll keep you updated here, on Twitter, and in the Elementals Discord server for when I’m planning on going live again.
It’s important to me right now that I note that the illustrious Kody Ghost has helped so much this year, making a handful of meme videos from my streams that have brought a smile to my face and added so much extra fun on this journey (two of which are pictured above). So, while I appreciate and thank all of you so much, Kody gets an entire paragraph of Kody favouritism. Thank you 💖
Thank You for Your Support in 2023
If you’ve been involved in my journey at all this year—whether it’s lurking in my stream, being active in chat, being a guest or collaborator on my stream, if you’ve read my blog, if we chat regularly on Twitter, etc—I really appreciate this support and these interactions. None of this would be the same without you!
I’m going to be more active across socials and my blog next year (I’ve drawn up a plan and everything 😅) so I look forward to seeing you all again in the new year! If you wish to receive updates directly to your inbox, please consider subscribing to my newsletter that I’ll be launching next year.
I hope you all have a safe holiday season, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! I look forward to seeing you in 2024 💖
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