Year In Review

December 30, 2024 by Nathan 4 Comments

Out of the 140+ titles I read this year, picking out a particular volume as “best” just makes no sense. Rather than a “10 Best Books of the Year,” I thought I’d do a recap of some of the authors that made an impression.

Best New Author: Sarah J. Hoodlet.

She published book 1 of an eponymous new series, Way of the Wielder. The characters drew me in as they grew. The magic system intrigued me. The world building just kept me engaged in wonder. The plot unfolded gently, but not without some darker moments that felt well crafted and necessary. Book 2 is out and I’m looking forward to getting to it.

Best New-To-Me Author: Sarah Painter.

With her two related series, Crow Investigations and Unholy Island), Sarah took me on a fantastic journey thorough a magical England that felt as real as walking down a rain-slicked sidewalk in the twilight of a chilly autumn day. Rich world building, engaging plots, relatable characters. Everything just so. I’m looking forward to reading more from her

Honorable Mention: Branwen O’Shea’s Finding Humanity series where magic surfaces in post-apocalyptic Earth.

Favorite Time Travel Expedition: Ed Nelson

Think “Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court” where a modern character wakes up in some fantastical historical Earth, Ed Nelson’s Cast In Time series kept me turning pages. Don’t let the covers put you off. There’s a lot of fun storytelling going on between them.

This is not a deep well of content but I’m always interested in how this mechanic plays out as the modern character rises to the challenge of being in a different time, a different body, and a world where things aren’t necessarily what they think.

Honorable Mentions: J R Mathews’s Port to Nova Roma, which I read last year, and Gabriel Rathweg’s From Chef to Crafter to Conqueror series, another contender, dropped a fresh volume this year.

Best New-To-Me Science Fantasy: Scott Baron

Scott’s Dragon Mage series took me on a crazy ride across a universe where magic sort of exists in some places but never got developed in others. The main character – Charlie – takes a journey in space and time to save Earth from alien invaders. A wonderful, very pulpy kind of series that kept me reading into the night more than once. He’s got a ton of other work out there, too, that I haven’t even dipped a toe into.

Best Series: Pirate Aba

The Wandering Inn series (14 volumes and counting) has been crossing my desk for years. Technically litRPG with deep roots in Royal Road and a blog, I bounced off the sample half a dozen times over the years. Something about it stuck this year and I read nothing else for weeks, sometimes up to 40 hrs a week. I had to fight with myself to put it down for a couple of days to read some science fiction I could recommend to readers.

Another in the isekai fantasy niche but instead of one single character (spoiler alert), we soon learn that Erin Solstice is not the only ex-SmartPhone wielder in the mix. How and why all this happens? In the words of Alton Brown: “Your patience will be rewarded.”

Yes, some of the characters are aggravating, others just too nice (or are they?), but the tapestry this saga weaves across multiple continents, with several parallel – sometimes intersecting – story-lines, and various timelines kept me enthralled.

Honorable Mentions:

Jenny Schwartz continues to put out SF books I love. Delphic Dame and Pax Galactica each have a new volume this year.

Honour Rae’s highly recommended All the Skills (litrpg) series has at least one new title.

Tim Rangnow finally crossed my desk this year with his nicely pulpy space opera series, Rim Jumper.

James Haddock does double duty with his fantasy mage books and his SF Duty Trilogy.

All told, a heck of a year in books and I’m looking forward to seeing what these authors do in the future in addition to finding new ones to delight me.

Until then, safe voyage.

-N

Almost Over

December 1, 2024 by Nathan 10 Comments

The year, not the Cat.

But it’s not all bad.

Status

The Wizard’s Cat
I’m still working on it. It’s slow, but it’s positive movement.

Everything Else
No real changes. I’ll probably write more Ishmael & Company. I want to do some more Tanyth stories. (Those audiobooks are still not right and I haven’t gotten them posted anywhere else now that Spotify has screwed up FindAWay.)

What Am I Reading?

Just finishing book 12 of Wandering Inn. Yes, I know. Still reading it. I’m reading more than I have at any time since my post-chemo period. My Kindle stats say 35-40hrs a week. My normal week is about 20-25, so very close to double and I’m still only on book 12. These books are eTomes.

This saga keeps unfolding, keeps shifting. Keeps drawing me back in even as my TBR sample pile keeps growing. I keep finding little tidbits scattered throughout. Scraps and threads from earlier works brought forward.

It’s important because it’s making me want to write myself, again.

I know I’ve recommended it in the past, and I know this isn’t for everybody. Especially readers who prefer shorter works. I know I bounced off it a few times before I finally got hooked, but hooked I am.

Maybe you’ll be hooked, too. Why not grab a sample and see what you think?

A Tudor style house with pointy roof and gables stands on a grassy out-crop under a midnight blue sky.

About the Newsletter
I’m still publishing it on the 15th of the month. They’re not all getting delivered but you don’t
need to subscribe to get a mid-month update from me. You can find them archived on my ConvertKit public page.

Looking Ahead

I’ve got some business-business to deal with over the next month. I’ll be trimming out some of the blogs. Transplanting some of the content. Freezing some in static webpages. Tossing some that never did find an audience.

I’ve tried all my old tricks, trying to get this story moving faster. Even considered putting it down and writing something else but couldn’t think of anything I wanted to write more than The Wizard’s Cat. It’s only the second time I’ve had a book stall. Cape Grace was the first. In that case, I was able to put it down and go back to it after leveling up my writing chops.

I don’t think it’s chops this time.

I think I’m just tired.

Maybe the Winter will be kinder.

Wish me luck.

Until next month, safe voyage.

-N

November Already

November 1, 2024 by Nathan 9 Comments

Seems like we just did this a few days ago but I went back and read last year’s post.

Yeah. About that Cat…

Status

The Wizard’s Cat
I’ve been saying it for a while. You’d think I’d be further ahead. I know I was thinking I’d have this out by now instead of still trying to corral the beast. That’s the bad news. Good news: The story is finally, finally coming along. Some brainstorming sessions. A figurative trip to the “time out corner” where I could meditate on the error of my ways. The time has come to follow Ray Bradbury’s advice: Don’t Think. I think it’s working.

Everything Else
Ishmael is still on my mind as is Tanyth. I’m stocking up ideas for when I go back into the Deep Dark or visit Korlay again. EJ is still working on her half of the Salt sequel. All of that is tucked in a box and stashed in the closet until I get the Cat off to the editor.

What Am I Reading?

Honestly, I’m still reading my way through Pirate Aba’s The Wandering Inn series. I’m almost done but I took a break from it last week to find another space opera I can recommend.

And it’s a doozy.

Anthony J. Melchiorri has captured the essence of found spaceship, human thrust into a universe of aliens for which he’s hardly prepared, a talking plant, and his faithful sidekick – Jacques. It’s a modern take on an old favorite story. Melchiorri manages to make all those things work smoothly together as the main character, Fin, bumbles his way through fatal encounters with deadly aliens with a shiny veneer of politics and bureaucracy.

With five volumes out already, I know where I’m going when I get done with The Wandering Inn.

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

A white man in a black wet suit stands watching an alien space ship rise from the bay. His faithful dog stands beside him as the angular ship splashes green-ish seawater with its thrusters.

Looking Ahead

Another month of car issues which have now been mostly resolved. I’m waiting for some final paperwork on the second vehicle in three months. I have to say, I’m getting really tired of dealing with cars. On the upside, I should be good for a while. At least until I have to visit the dealership again for maintenance.

The best thing I’ve found in the last month has been writing again. As in, keeping the word processing document open on my desktop all the time. As in, visiting Roger every day and seeing what’s happening in Shackleford House. I’ve let the story develop on its own, not trying to shape it into some preconceived idea of what the cat should be doing. I’ve tossed out all the contrived ideas. I’m just writing. For the first time in months, perhaps years at this point, I’d rather write than play because writing has become play again. Can I get this thing finally drafted by the end of the month?

I don’t know. It’s certainly possible, but even if I only manage a few hours a day on it, that’s more than I’ve been capable off since The Year Of Cancer kneecapped me.

Believe me when I say, nobody wants to see this book out in the world more than I do right now. Maybe not for the same reasons all of you want to see it but our goals align. Not that they didn’t before, but I’m feeling the rush of a good writing session again and the satisfaction of concrete progress that doesn’t feel like re-hashed cardboard.

Finally.

Until next month, safe voyage.

– N