Clearing Away the Fog

Posted on by Nathan 15 Comments

The old Johnny Nash lyric keeps running through my head. “I can see clearly now. The rain has gone.” It might not be quite as clear as before, but compared to October I’ve got a lot more focus.

I’ve been writing again. Only a couple of hours a day, but I’m making progress.

Two factors drive this progress: I set up an account on Mastodon to talk about writing and I’m making progress in my favorite game – Ark Survival Evolved. Between the two, they’re helping clear away the fog, providing me with focus, and making me feel like I’m finally making progress.

Status

I’ve moved the various Ishmael files onto my main writing computer where I can get at them easily. I really like the way things are developing with the new through-line. It’s still a little choppy and slow going but it’ll smooth out as I make more progress on the new beginning.

Wizard’s Cat is still on hold.

What Am I Reading?

For starters, I’m not reading forty books a month any more. This month has seen a lot of samples that didn’t make the grade. Not that they were bad books. Just not the books I wanted to invest time in.

A couple of standouts: Aestus by S Z Attwell captured my attention for the superb world building and wonderful characters. The Mechanics of Magic by W B J Martin breathed some fresh air into the “hidden prince” trope. Both are great starts to what look like fun series.

Mjke Wood’s Deep Space Accountant got its hooks in me early in the month and I haven’t been able to let it go. Lots of fun reading that set up the series. I’m looking forward to getting into the Sphere of Influence series once I clear away the 25 new samples I have waiting for my attention.

Mostly it’s a comedy of errors with a nice helping of derring-do, out of the box thinking, and a main character I couldn’t help rooting for.

Maybe grab a sample and see what you think.

Looking Forward

The ENT and GI people have cleared me. The anomalous readings from the PET scan have been checked out and found to be nothing. I’ve been eating solid food for the past few weeks and enjoyed a full turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. Small but some of everything. I even cooked the feast myself.

I’ve a lot to be thankful for.

At the moment, I seem to have dodged a bullet with cancer. My family continues to fill in the blanks for me when I can’t do something, although those blanks have become fewer and farther between lately.

I am most thankful for you – the fans – who’ve been patient and understanding for the past few months as I’ve had to deal with everything. Your continuing support means the world to me.

Until next month, safe voyage.

No Round Two

Posted on by Nathan 33 Comments

My PET scan showed no signs of continuing (or new) disease. I won’t need a round two of treatments.

I still have a lot of recovery to get through – eating normally, getting some muscle built back, and regaining my momentum. I still have a few rounds of specialist visits in my future, but I’m definitely on the mend.

Status

I’ve started hashing through the beginning of the first new Ishmael book. The basic bones of the story are there. It just needs a through-line to bring it all together. I think I’ve found it. Fingers crossed.

Wizard’s Cat? Yeah. Still no idea. I don’t think it’ll be my NaNoWriMo project this year. I’m not ready to do NaNo yet.

What Am I Reading?

Not as much as I had been, that’s for sure. I’m at 228 titles for the year but I didn’t break any records last month. Of course, I didn’t spend whole days just napping and reading, either. Progress but I digress.

I got back into space opera again this month after trying a few samples. Quite a few actually. Some low-stakes litRPG and a few off the wall suggestions from various fans. Some interesting stuff, but the one that caught my eye was Andrew van Ardvark’s Katie Kincaid series. I’m three books in and enjoying it immensely.

Katie’s a bit precocious, reminds me a bit of Lee Anderson in Mackey Chandler’s Family Law series. Or April from his April series for that matter. She’s a trouble magnet and has to cope with being an outsider in everything she does.

Puts me in mind of young Ishmael, now that I think of it. More action in van Ardvark’s books but still that “coming of age” feel across the first three volumes (which is as far as I’ve gotten).

But don’t take my word for it. Grab a sample and see what you think.

Looking Forward

With the last of the diagnostics showing good news, I feel like I can actually breathe again. I’m not looking forward to the extra prodding from the ENT and GI specialists but it needs to be done.

I am looking forward to eating more normal food and getting back into writing. My brain is simmering on the Ishmael story and the cat is lurking around here somewhere. When I get enough focus, I suspect I’ll be stuck in good.

And I’m here for that.

Until next month, safe voyage.

Limbo

Posted on by Nathan 22 Comments

Not the dance. That edge state where you’re neither here nor there. Stuck in limbo.

I spent much of last month healing and resting. The endless grind of clinical oversight removed, days became cycles of feeding, sleeping, reading, and – occasionally – playing computer games.

Oh, and thinking about writing. The brain fog made for a lot of false starts and lost threads but I think I’m on the right path now.

Status

I’ve been disquieted by the new Ishmael books – especially the first one. Too much flipping about trying to find the story, not enough story. Thanks to a friend, I’ve worked through some of the issues and I think I like where we’re going.

Wizard’s Cat? Yeah. No idea. I don’t have enough clear brain space yet.

What Am I Reading?

Everything. Over 40 books in September. I recommended M C Burnell’s The Spider’s Friend in my newsletter a couple of weeks ago. I spent some time catching up on new releases and explored some new authors. (By “new author,” I mean somebody I haven’t read before – they’re getting harder to find.)

Seth Ring’s Titan series hit all the right notes for me in litRPG this month. A simple tale of an uber-rich guy stuck in a total emersion tank to heal his unique-but-potentially-deadly physiological condition. As one does. The plot revolves around learning the nature of the game, revealing layers within layers as Thorn and his colleagues learn about the world and their places in it.

As always, the characters drew me in. Thorn’s humanity – in spite of not being human – kept me turning pages and burning through the ten volume series.

But don’t take my word for it. Grab a sample. See what you think.

An aside: I’m always on the look out for a good series so I get drawn into litRPG. I also only read self-published works, so – more litRPG. I’m always on the lookout for good sf/f self-pubs, but finding new ones to recommend is getting harder. The downside of reading more than a book a day, I suppose. I suspect the rate will drop as I become more engaged with writing than reading. Something I’m looking forward to.

Looking Ahead

Mid-October takes me to the 90-day mark after treatments ended. The radiation and chemo have continued to influence my body so we’ve been waiting for it to run its course before I have my next screening exam. That’s expected to happen around the end of the month. That’s when I find out the answer the the most pressing question: What’s next?

I’ve got things I want to do, things I need to do, and things I’m pretty sure won’t happen.

For the moment, I’m stuck here in limbo taking short walks, trying to eat normally again, and letting my brain chew on story-telling time so I’ll be ready when it comes again.

Until next month, safe voyage.