I’m late on purpose. I had a meeting with my doctor scheduled for this morning so I waited until I knew what he was going to say.

The bad news: It’s cancer.

The good news: It’s treatable.

The next few months are probably going to suck, but I should recover.

Status:

The Wizard’s Cat
I have had a few epiphanies about that story. Why it’s so hard for me to find the story. What the story is about. All that. Fingers crossed that the Good News will free my brain a little so I can actually – you know – write a bit.

New Ishmael
He’s still in the wings. This long hiatus has given that whole new series time to mellow in my melon. I’m really happy with what I’m thinking.

Audio
I don’t think Audible has fixed the chapter 15 problem. Anybody who’s seen it on Chirp or the other platforms? I might be corrected there.

What Am I Reading?

I’m still reading a ton. This last week has been Michael Chatfield’s Ten Realms series. I talked about it on my morning walk a few times already. It’s Cultivation GameLit (like Tao Wong’s Thousand Li) but with two ex-GIs/ex-mercenary soldiers who are whisked away to a strange land of stats, dantians, and mana cultivation. It’s not quite wuxia but maybe wuxia-adjacent.

I’m liking it because it has a different take on the genre with the two characters – Erik and Rugrat – working to improve themselves but also the village of Alva. I can’t say more without spoiling it, but it’s a fun read.

Maybe grab a sample and see what you think.

Last Words

For the last couple of months that heading carried a lot of freight. I wondered if – in fact – those might be my last words. The latest rounds of doctor visits, diagnostic processes, and health assessments show that it should be a while yet before I get to the actual last words. My future holds surgery, radiation, chemo. Maybe immuno-therapy. They’ll work it out between the various doctors and specialists.

But I’ll have a future beyond the treatments as long as I don’t get hit by a truck or something.

Safe voyage.

I remember I had great plans, wonderful energy. Even walked a few days early in the month. The good ship foundered on a collection of misadventures, some of which I can share. Others, not so much.

Status

Tanyth Audio Snafu
Chapter 12 in Hermit of Lammas Wood has chapter 15’s audio. Unfortunately chapter 15 is also chapter 15. I got the correct files from Artistic Whispers and corrected the uploads, but it’ll take a bit for them to work through the system. Sorry about that.

The Wizard’s Cat
This month is Camp Nanowrimo and I’m going to get this book off my desk. We’ll see how well that goes.

New Ishmael
Nothing to see. The three books are still sitting there, staring at me.

What Am I Reading?

I’m reading a lot. I went through a space opera series by Julia Huni early in the month and then a paranormal women’s fiction series by Kate Moseman. I tore through book 5 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinneman before moving on to finish (I think, it’s over) the Star Scavenger series by Ogden and Ogden. Fun pulpy space opera goodness there.

Right now I’m grinding through Carrie Summer’s Stonehaven League and loving every minute of it. It’s a great take on GameLit that postulates a kind of game where the goal isn’t to kill everything and take their loot. There’s still some of that but … well … I won’t spoiler it. Suffice it to say I’m enjoying the heck out of this world and the main character’s cognitive dissonance between real and virtual. I’m into book 4 now, but the story starts with Temple of Sorrows.

Maybe grab a sample – and buckle up. It’s fun ride but keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times.

Last Words

April is going to be a challenging month, I’m not going to lie. Doctors are involved, and not the PhD kind. It’s going to be one heck of a distraction but maybe it’ll be the incentive I need to get these books off my desk and into your hands.

Fingers crossed.

Safe voyage.

The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. Last month’s late post, along with my mid-month email, had me taking stock and taking steps, not just making plans.

So it’s now March and I’m roaring – if only to wake myself up and get this circus moving again.

Status

The Wizard’s Cat
I’ve been working on the files. Rereading them and marking the pieces that are missing. The story feels forced but I think the answer is not “start over” as much as “fill in the blanks.” There’s a missing nephew and a troublesome niece who has barely showed her head. The cat has a name now and … well … yeah. The story is beginning to percolate through my brain again.

New Ishmael
There’s a lot going on there. None of it being recorded yet, but this hiatus has me re-visiting some of those words, too. I think it’s going to come together nicely when I get the cat off my desk.

Tanyth Audio
All three books are now uploaded and working through the process. Chirp Books shows all three in their storefront but Audible (the slowest) only shows placeholders.

What Am I Reading?

According to my Reading Insights, I’ve read 25 books this year so far. They’re all over the place. Empire’s Lion by Nathan Tudor – book one in a new series – held me spell bound with its fresh magic system. I’m looking forward to the sequels. The sixth book in Tao Wong’s Thousand Li series was just as good as the first five. I caught up with Deanna Chase’s Witches of Christmas Grove and started reading some new (to me) paranormal women’s fiction from Kate Moseman and Shelley Dorey.

Along the way, I found that Glynn Stewart had added some more titles to his Changeling Blood series and I scarfed them down like Thanksgiving dinner.

The story follows the trials of Jason Kilkenny, a fae changeling, as he struggles to find a place in the world. His journey through the supernatural underworld of Calgary had me flipping pages well into the night when I read the first book in Feb, 2020, and these next two followed the same pattern.

If you like Glynn’s writing, you’re gonna love this series. Maybe grab a sample and see what I mean.

Last Words

Getting those Tanyth books off my desk wasn’t the easy, slam-dunk I’d hoped for, but getting it done has made a world of difference in my mental outlook. I’ve taken some other steps in an attempt to get back into the groove that got filled in with loose sand and then paved over.

We’ll see how well it goes, but I’m cautiously optimistic.

Until next month, safe voyage.