A Missouri Kind of Month and More Highlights – August 2022 Wrap

August was such a blast. This month, I found the perfect balance between my music and author dreams. From live music to a writing conference, August was full of great moments. Get ready for the highlights.

The Kansas City Writing Workshop

I’m beyond glad I attended the virtual Kansas City Writing Workshop. This was my first writing conference, and it exceeded all of my expectations.

The conference was two days full of classes and panels, and there were opportunities to pitch agents as well. My experience truly couldn’t have been better. I wrote a very detailed blog post about the conference, and you can check it out here.

Conferences are a great way to further my education, meet other writers, and connect with agents and other publishing industry professionals. I’m planning on attending another conference in November, so I’ll keep you updated on that and hopefully share my experience from that one. For now, I’m still processing all I learned from the Kansas City Writing Workshop and catching up on the extra bonus classes from the conference.

Round Three at the Murrysville Farmers Market

One of my favorite highlights from this summer has been playing at the Murrysville Farmers Market. August brought my third performance, and it was a great time.

I put together a video with clips from my set. I hope you enjoy it.

Next month, I’ll be playing for the last time this year. I’m looking forward to making it the best one yet.

Live Music in Kirksville

I’m so grateful that I got the chance to go back to Kirksville, Missouri in August. Along with seeing my sister, I played twice during the weekend.

I put together a blog post all about my shows at Summer on the Square and Sip Downtown, and you can check it out here. It’s a fun read with photos and a video.

I love playing in Kirksville, and I can’t wait to go back. My fingers are crossed that it’s sooner rather than later.

My Crazy Women Country Interview

Earlier this summer, I did another interview with Crazy Women Country. I had a blast the first time, and round two was just as fun. It was awesome catching up with Donna to chat about what I’ve been up to and play another game of rapid-fire questions. I was thrilled when the interview dropped this month.

Thanks so much to Donna for having me back. This interview is definitely a fabulous one.

The “Afterthought” Reviews

At the end of July, I released my sassy single, “Afterthought.”

I’m so excited to share two reviews the song received. Thank you so much to Jess from Fierce & Fabulous Revolution and Jana from Music from the Heart for taking the time to review “Afterthought.” I love both of these reviews, and I’m thankful for the kind words and support.

I’m forever grateful for any coverage that my music receives, so these reviews made me smile.

“You Get What You Give” Reached Number 3 on the Heart of Indie Radio Top 10

I’m so honored that the Heart of Indie Radio Listeners are loving my fiery single, “You Get What You Give.” Toward the end of August, it climbed to number 3 on the Heart of Indie Top 10. This is my first top three with the station, and I’m so excited and grateful.

Since I update the chart on Spotify every Monday, I usually see the chart before it goes live on social media and the website. So, it’s always a nice surprise when I see my songs on the chart. “You Get What You Give” being in the top 3 means everything to me, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Thank you so much to the listeners and my lovely family at Heart of Indie Radio for your endless support. I love you all.

Updates on My Author Journey

August was a great month for my author journey. Aside from the Kansas City Writing Workshop, I participated in my first Twitter pitch event, sent more queries, and did a ton of revisions. I’m embracing every moment of the process and enjoy learning and growing every day.

My main focus for my writing this month was reducing the word counts for the book I’m querying and my work in progress. This required a lot of time and thoughtful revisions. I’m proud to share that I’ve cut thousands of words from both manuscripts, and I’m much happier with where they are. The coolest realization I had during this process was that I didn’t alter either story at all. After cutting unnecessary words, paragraphs, and even scenes, I tightened up the stories and made the pacing much quicker. Also, this experience made me realize how important the word count of a novel is, and I’m going to track my words for each chapter when I begin writing my third manuscript.

Speaking of my next project, I already have an idea for it. It’s completely different from my other two, though it’s in the world of mysteries and thrillers, and I’m eager to start writing it. November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, and I’m highly considering participating this year. I’ve wanted to in the past, but it wasn’t possible with my graduate program. Basically, the goal is to write the first full draft of a novel during November. I love challenges, so I think I’d enjoy doing this. I really have to spend time over the next two months plotting the book. That way, I know exactly what to write when November rolls around. I’ll keep you updated on whether or not I do NaNoWriMo, but regardless if I do or not, I’m still going to start the book very soon. Since my other two manuscripts are revised, I’m ready for a new adventure.

So, there you have it. August was a fantastic month. I’m grateful for all of the memories and opportunities for both my music and author journeys. It’s wild that there are only four months left in 2022, but I’m excited to see what September has in store for me.