Oops and Daisies

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Book Review: If You Like Unique Literary Thrillers, Read “All The Colors of the Dark”

September 2, 2026 by Liz SanFilippo Hall Leave a Comment

All The Colors Of The Dark by Chris Whitaker intimidated me, and not just because of its behemoth size, clocking in at nearly 600 pages. I also don’t read many thrillers, because I feel like they often lack the character depth I want in books. But one of the many reasons I love book club (I’m in THREE, if you count my writing group) is that it helps me step out of my “comfort zone” in the books I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Writing, Books, & Resources Tagged With: All the colors of the dark, book recommendation, book review, Bookshop, literary fiction, Liz Reads A Lot, quotes

Join Me on My Personal Writing Journey

August 25, 2026 by Liz SanFilippo Hall Leave a Comment

We all have our own writing paths, some more circuitous than others. I know mine has been all over the place (just see part of my “path” here and here).  But since I decided that I am going to be a career author and I’m fully committed to this “identity,” I decided I needed to be a bit more… visible online. After all, how will anyone know about my books unless I talk about them?  I’ve also … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Path to Publication, Writing, Books, & Resources Tagged With: busy moms, creative writing, journaling, publishing, writing craft, writing journey

The Kids Are Back in School! Here’s My Work-From-Home Schedule

August 22, 2026 by Liz SanFilippo Hall Leave a Comment

My Work-From-Home Schedule

Sure, it may still be summer, and it's still in the high 80s, but it feels like a new season when the kids go back to school. The house feels “empty.” Routines are changing… and I’m no longer able to wake up at 8 a.m.  Just like the kids need a few days in the classroom to acclimate and get used to their new schedules, I need some adjustment time, too.  My kids returned to school on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Inspiration, Random musings, Uncategorized, WAHM Life, Work From Home Tagged With: accountability, blogging, coaching, creative writing, guided journals, jenni gritters, journaling, open window lit, publications, work from home, workshops, young adult writing

How Can Anyone Be Bored?

August 13, 2026 by Liz SanFilippo Hall Leave a Comment

How can anyone be bored?

When I think of all there is to learn and discover, all the people I have yet to meet, I’m simply OVERWHELMED. So when my kids complain of being bored, I try not to guide them…  I want them to ask questions and go searching for either something to do, learn, explore, see, create, etc., without, no offense, Google.  But I used to think I needed to give them “more tools” so they could handle … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family & Lifestyle, Life With Kids, Parenting, Random musings Tagged With: boredom, imagination, learning, life with kids, parenting

I Want to Bring ‘Michigan’ Home With Me

August 10, 2026 by Liz SanFilippo Hall Leave a Comment

Photo of Lake Michigan

I grew up going to Northern Michigan in the summer, and so has my husband. Now, my kids have ‘inherited’ these precious weeks that we spend up north with our families. We spent one week on Lake Michigan; another on Big Glen. Each time we were surrounded by family. Neither week went “according to plan,” but I’ve realized they rarely do any more, especially with so many kids under one roof.  With … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family & Lifestyle, Random musings, Travel Tagged With: lake michigan, michigan, northern michigan, travel

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Recent Posts

  • Book Review: If You Like Unique Literary Thrillers, Read “All The Colors of the Dark” September 2, 2026
  • Join Me on My Personal Writing Journey August 25, 2026
  • The Kids Are Back in School! Here’s My Work-From-Home Schedule August 22, 2026
  • How Can Anyone Be Bored? August 13, 2026
  • I Want to Bring ‘Michigan’ Home With Me August 10, 2026

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authorlizsanfilippohall

Multi-genre author. 📚BECOMING CHARLOTTE CORDAY, a YA historical fantasy coming 4/27/2027 from Apprentice House Press

Raise your hand if you’re in the middle of your ow Raise your hand if you’re in the middle of your own “messy middle.” 👋🏻 Claiming my “identity” as an author feels like this really messy process that I’m still figuring out... In my latest Substack article, I muse about what it means to navigate this in-between space and what it would look like to actually come to the end of it.Link to the full post in my bio/story. #WritingLife #MessyMiddle #MidlifePivot #AuthorLife
I managed to only skim!!! But then I realized I n I managed to only skim!!!But then I realized I needed to return to my world building / magic system document… which I’m very very thankful I wrote (even though I don’t remember writing 🤣). Today’s word count on the WIP: 500 🙌#WritingLife #HistoricalFantasy #AuthorsOfInsta
Far too many incredible people passing away this w Far too many incredible people passing away this week! And Gloria Steinem is yet another woman who has inspired me in so many ways, with her fierce advocacy, her writing, her speeches, and her unrelentless drive to never stop fighting and speaking. Thank you, Gloria. #RoleModels #Inspiration
It kind of feels like I lived in two different wor It kind of feels like I lived in two different worlds in August: we wrapped up our final Michigan vacation of the year and finished summer with a series of huge thunderstorms… and then the kids returned to school, and all of us have been acclimating to our new routine ever since.Given how much time I took “off” in August, let’s just say this: I’m pretty proud of all that I accomplished. Every single baby step on a creative project takes me one step closer to sharing it with the world.What I worked on:🌸 Finished final line edits on my YA historical fantasy, Becoming Charlotte Corday, and sent the manuscript over to some authors I admire for their blurbs/testimonials🌸 Worked on some ghostwriting projects and wrote about topics like brand management and orthodontics.🌸Wrapped up my online Summer Writing Momentum workshop series and left feeling inspired by my students and their progress on their stories🌸 Exchanged feedback with a writing partner on her YA gothic paranormal book and my NA contemporary🌸 Published 4 blog posts to OopsAndDaisies.com🌸 Continued publishing weekly to my Substack, Where Daisies Grow🌸 Created a waitlist for a new creative community I’m launching later this year. (Check my bio for more info about Open Window Lit)🌸 Networked and learned from some amazing individuals through Jenni Gritters’ World Builders Collective, including Lindsey Galloway, Bailey Lang, PhD, and Sara Strese🌸 Held my weekly online Creative Writing Accountability Club… and officially renamed it to “Creative Writing Cowriting Club!”🌸 Hosted a free reflective writing session focused on writing letters to ourselves. I’m thinking I’ll be hosting free sessions like this on the regular… stay tuned!🌸 Decided to launch a weekly video sharing updates on my writing, because people keep asking about my process and what it’s “like” to write and publish a book.And through it all, I, of course, toyed with some new story ideas, journaled a ton, and let myself enjoy some creative playtime!#WritingUpdates #WorkLife #WhatIDo #WritingLife
What I’m working on this week… but before I share What I’m working on this week… but before I share my creative writing updates, I give a quick glimpse into my work days and how I juggle my freelance work with my creative endeavors — because making time for my creative writing is important! I may just share a hint of something new that’s coming too. 🥳#CreativeWriting #WritingLife #TimeBlocking Follow along as I share my journey as I head toward the publication of my debut novel with #LizsWritingJourneyNab the first chapter of my book when you join my author newsletter linked in my bio.
We’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for the We’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for the huge raspberry patch to burst in our yard… and it’s finally happening! Normally, our raspberries come in two big batches: early June and mid-August. With this year’s extreme weather, we’ve only had one handful ALL summer. Who knew, sometimes you just need to wait for your seeds/plants to be ready on their own time. We can tell that a whole bunch are about to burst! 💖#GardenMetaphors #StoriesFromMyGarden #WritingLife #SummerLiving
For me, Sundays are for organizing and figuring ou For me, Sundays are for organizing and figuring out my week. It’s also the end of August, so it’s also time to figure out my September priorities. I took a hot mess pile of papers and started sorting… and ended up with 12 piles! Some were story ideas, some were workshop notes, some were notes from networking and business meetings. You get the idea… fortunately I managed to group some things together, because 12 felt way too overwhelming 🤣#HowIWork #AuthorLife #CreativeCommunity #AuthorAugust26
I can’t wait until I can share it with everyone!!! I can’t wait until I can share it with everyone!!! In the meantime, go on and grab the first chapter by signing up for my author newsletter in my bio. 💖#YAReads #AuthorAugust26 #HistoricalFantasy #Bookstagram
Every time I work on an idea: a book, a workshop, Every time I work on an idea: a book, a workshop, a story, etc… another (few) ideas always seem to show up! #WeeklyUpdate #WritingLife #TheCreativeLife
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