Mechanized Masterpieces Part 2 and Read Swaps

I'm a little over halfway done Mechanized Masterpieces, and still loving it. I might have just come across my favorite story in the anthology: Little Boiler Girl by Scott William Taylor. It's the steampunk version of the classic Christmas story, The Little Match Girl by Hans Christensen Andersen. The short story was always one of my favorites, which is ironic because it's not a Christmas story that leaves you full of cheer at the end. But the concept is just so heartfelt and moving that it's hard not to feel anything.

Taylor put his own unique spin on the classic story and I found it almost more moving that the original. The poor girl toughed out many more hardships and the end was one that's going to be stuck in my mind for a long time. I'm not giving much detail about what happened, because I think everybody needs to take the time to read this short. It's not very long, but I promise you won't forget it.

So why am I not focusing on a new book? Well, because I've been busy with read-swaps. I believe in supporting other authors in my position, so in exchange for quick reviews of their work, I read the opening chapters of theirs and comment on whatever they ask me to. It's a good way to build exposure and I always enjoy reading what others have worked hard on, but I just wish I had more time to get through them all! This weekend I'm going to try and get through 7 quick reviews, along with the major review I took on for someone's NaNo project.

My plan for the weekend? Eat chocolate, stay inside in my housecoat, read, edit and write. I've got one anthology finished and am likely going to finish another one today, and then it's onto all the editing I've been avoiding. Despite not liking the re-writing process, it's necessary and honestly, I can't think of anything I would rather be doing with my time. I hope everyone else has a great weekend, and will post more progress ASAP!

Cheers,

Amy