Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. 
It’s the Weekend! And I’m happy to be celebrating some exciting and fun things, like —
1. A fantastic review from the Booklife Prize in Fiction! The reviewer said:
“MacLaughlin’s plot is exciting, fast-paced, and full of surprises. From detailed maps of the fantasy world to the overall magical mystery, MacLaughlin’s work possesses the charm of the work of Holly Black and Neil Gaiman, and the supernatural and whimsical elements evident in such worlds as C.S. Lewis’s Narnia. The Road Once Taken is titillating and terrifying, an enchanting novel that straddles the line between the fantasy and mystery genres.”
I may not win the actual Booklife prize, but the review is enough of a prize for me.
2. I started writing Book 4! One chapter down, many more to go. This isn’t the book I’m supposed to be working on, but it’s the story that’s loudest in my head right now.
3. Drive-in movies! Last summer, my family and I rediscovered drive-in movies. I used to go to them when I was a kid. They were a lot of fun. Last night, we went to see Christopher Robin at the Sunset Drive-in. Very cute family friendly movie. From where I was sitting in the driver’s seat, I actually could see all four movie screens — Christopher Robin in front, The Meg and Incredibles 2 out the side window, and occasional glances at The Spy Who Dumped Me in my side mirror. It was great.
4. A fun trip to a waterpark! Swimming and sliding and just cooling off. It was sooo nice after all the hot weather we’ve had.
What other celebrations are going on out there?
© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2018. All rights reserved.
Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams 
Great Review, wahoo, and so true! I agree.
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A great review is worth it.
I haven’t been to a drive-in since I was a teen. I guess since anyone can see the screens, they can only play similar rated movies.
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Wow, that’s such a score to be compared to Holly Black and C.S. Lewis. I would definitely be proud of that :):):) BTW, I did buy one of your books awhile back, but still haven’t had a chance to read. Boo on my part. Promise to review when I do! I wish we had Drive-in theaters here. It was a favorite outing my husband and I often enjoyed while dating in high school. He worked at one in Tacoma (WA), so we always got in free! What fun times we had.
I also did a silly thing at my blog today and accidentally deleted your comment. Here is my reply back: Thanks for the encouragement, Lori! I’m still struggling to get to the bottom of piles. I can’t believe how much stuff I’ve collected. Do I really need all this? I keep asking. No, of course not. It’s been fun though re-discovering things I’d forgotten. But back to the real purpose of all this, I do hope to seriously write my novel again. The view out my window is terrific despite being surrounded by smoke here. Fires to the north just keep burning and polluting the air. So, may as well get busy writing 🙂 🙂 Hope you can tackle that basement of yours. You might be surprised at what you find. Go for it!
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Those are definitely worthy of celebration, Lori. Huzza for the great review!
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I would really like to see drive-ins make a come back. It made family movies a thing for me.
Anna from elements of emaginette
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Lori,
Excellent book review! I know how exciting that is to read what others say about your writing. I will take a peek at it and please if you need any PR let me know as I’m happy to help. Now, I haven’t been a theater in years let along a drive-in. I went to a drive-in maybe twice when I was younger and then after we got married I recall only going once. I prefer streaming movies from the comfort of my home with an unlimited supply of snacks and bathroom breaks without missing a beat in the film 🙂
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Awesome review! All of those sound like excellent things to celebrate. 🙂
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I love books with maps so much!
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