Just when things started to settle down from getting the house painted (we’re still waiting on the new awnings), we’re now in the throes of automobile change. Yet, in spite of all the distractions of forest fires and car crashes, I’ve made more progress in the last two weeks than the previous four months.

Status

Shackleford House
I’m writing almost every day again. Sometimes not very much but it’s something. I’m much happier with the progress than before and, following Bradbury’s rule, “Don’t Think,” I hope I’ll be able to get to a satisfactory end to the critical first draft. When? I don’t know. I’ve made too many predictions that failed to materialize and don’t dare make any more.

Tanyth Fairport
Yeah. I need to deal with this. Apparently still have audio files that are flawed. Mea culpa. I want to write some new stories in that universe and work on the sequel to Salt, too, but my bandwidth seems to have narrowed from “fire hose” to “dripping faucet” levels.

Solar Clipper
So many great stories still left for me to tell there. I’ll get to them, probably sooner rather than later. Just not right now.

What Am I Reading?

I just finished the last book in Jenny Schwartz’s Delphic Dame series. If you were following that, the series ender is available now. That whole Xeno-Archaeology universe has been great fun and I hope it continues.

Most of the month was spent with Sarah Painter’s Crow Investigations series. A fun take on a fantasy noir detective agency that kept me turning pages. It would have been my main pick, if I hadn’t picked up Skylar Ramirez’s Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series.

In The Worst Ship In the Fleet, Ramirez introduces an intriguing collection of characters including the washed-up, alcoholic war hero Brad Mendoza and the victimized and abused Jessica Lin. He brings aboard even more colorful characters as the series unfolds (keep an eye on Hayley Uvalde) and does a great job creating a rich and varied universe that kept me turning pages until I fell off the end of the series.

Warning: Book 1 is pretty short and Ramirez almost lost me at a cliff hanger ending mid-series, but I kept reading in spite of it. The series was just so compelling, I pushed on.

But, as always, grab yourself a sample of book one and see for yourself.

About the Newsletter
I’m still publishing them 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

With multiple forest fires burning 35 miles west of me and trying to replace the totaled Taurus (just a fender bender that was enough to have the insurance company write it off), the last few days have been a bit hectic, but I’m slowly regaining my feet when it comes to writing.

I think the extra down time has given my wetware a chance to cool off and settle in. I’m not trying to force the writing into some kind of shape or pattern. Writing the daily haiku has let me continue to explore craft – even if it’s not fiction – and inspired me to take that same kind of energy back into Shackleford House and, I hope, beyond.

I can’t do much about the fires but the vehicle situation will be settled by next week. In the meantime, I’m just working with my word of the year – surf – to try to be in the moment, keep my balance, and ride the wave I’m on rather than be distracted by other waves or what other riders are doing.

Thanks for all of your continued support. I’ll try to pay better attention to comments so they’re not hanging in moderation for most of the month. Again. (Sorry about that.)

Until next month, safe voyage.

N

The month started slow with home repairs and renovation. The dust hasn’t settled yet but the place looks pretty good.

Status

Shackleford House
I’m slowly unraveling the Gordian knot. I’ve written close to 150k words that never worked right. Just this past week, I think I’ve figured out why. Every story needs a focus. The focus I had – the cat – was the wrong one for the story I needed to write. Here’s hoping I’ve finally gotten the correct one.

Tanyth Fairport
As reported last month, the Tanyth Fairport audiobooks have been pulled from publication. Spotify hijinks made me flinch. I’m still looking to resolve this problem and get the books back out so you can get them.

What Am I Reading?

June was Melissa McShane month here. I worked through her Last Oracle series and then browsed a large collection of samples looking for something I could recommend. Must be something about oracles because I’ve just started T. J. Deschamps’s Westside Oracle, Book 1 of Midlife Olympians: The Oracle Chronicles. I’m a sucker for a wisecracking main character and the midlife magic stories always appeal to me – for obvious reasons.

Lydia Kourakos, aka Madame Francine, gets booted from her old, uncomfortable, but barely tolerable life into the political maelstrom of Olympus with all the Greek pantheon playing their roles. So far I’m loving this re-imagining of the mythology including a bad-ass Persephone and a scorching hot Hermes.

I’m settling in for the long haul with this series. Perhaps you might grab a sample to see if you might like it, too.

About the Newsletter
I’m still publishing them 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

It feels like I’m seeing more clearly lately. Maybe it’s just that things are beginning to settle out. I started getting more regular with my morning walks. They really do help but only if I take them. Funny how that works, eh?

In other news, I have hearing aids now. That’s not terribly newsworthy but I bring it up because they’re like magic. The world’s most expensive ear buds but they sync up with my phone and whatever computer I’m sitting in front of at the moment. It’s only been a couple of weeks but they’ve improved my quality of life in ways I never would have anticipated.

Getting the house in order. Getting my hearing improved. Just getting things straightened out seems to be helping me comb out the snarls in my writing and that feels pretty darn good.

Here’s hoping that trend continues.

Until next month, safe voyage.

N

Big doin’s around the household here on the cusp of the month. I’m afraid writing took a backseat.

Status

Shackleford House
Still on the word processor, in my notebooks, and on my mind. The Wizard’s Cat will, eventually, find a lap to sit in.

Everything Else
Nothing has changed in the last month. I still need to get the Tanyth audiobooks straightened out after the Spotify fiasco. I still want to get back to her universe and find out what’s been happening. I’m sure I can find stories about how two captains live in one ship. Eventually.

What Am I Reading?

If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you know already. Melissa McShane. I’d just started that series after finishing up with Rex Burke last month and I’m finishing book nine now. I love the world building. The characters keep me coming back to find out what happens next. I think this is the last one so I’ll be released into the wild again, looking for a new author for next month.

So I had to back up to the end of April to find Melissa J. Kincaid’s Strings of Fate series. A bit of a darker tale than I’m usually interested in, but – as always – the characters drew me in. Honestly, this series ticks a lot of the “nope” boxes for me but the sample hooked me in.

I mean, what do you do if everything you thought you knew, everything you believed in, turned out to be – perhaps – untrue. What if Fate wasn’t certain?

Lots of romance in this one. Lots of fighting and violence. Gods, Fae, kings, assassins, and a deeply held secret of magic.

Not for everybody but I really liked this one.

Don’t take my word for it, though. Grab a sample and see what you think.

Speaking of Newsletters
As I said last month, delivery has become rather spotty.

I’m still publishing them on the 15th of the month but if you don’t want to subscribe but still get a mid-month update from me, you can find them archived on my ConvertKit public page.

Looking Ahead

The last couple of weeks have eaten me up as we prepare the house for a major facelift. It’s way past time that the place got painted and spiffed up. I thought it would be “call a company and let them deal with it.” Not quite but I think the end result will be worth the disruption and pain. It’s not over yet but should be in the next week or so. The place has been good to us and it’s past time we gave a little of that back.

I think that effort on the house has bled over into me. What have I been neglecting? Where is my siding loose or warped? What’s overgrown and needs pruning? It’s taking time and focus, but I think it’ll be worthwhile in the long run.

Until next month, safe voyage.

-N