The writing mo-jo seems to be sprouting again. My process has radically changed and I’m stumbling along but making progress. Slowly, but it’s progress.

Status

Shackleford House
The Wizard’s Cat is finally showing some promise. My days of throwing words against the page for hours appear to be behind me but the words that eventually make it feel better to me. Fingers crossed on this one.

Golden Age of the Solar Clipper
I expect I’ll get back here eventually. I’m not letting myself think too much about it until I get done with the Cat.

Tanyth Fairport Adventures
Her audiobooks got caught up in a fiasco when Spotify bought FindAaway Voices and placed onerous terms of service on those of us who use the service. I was unable to accept them so I’m having to find a new way to distribute the books. It’s in the works. A few people have asked about new stories for her and I haven’t forgotten. She seems out of reach at the moment but who knows what might come.

What Am I Reading?

I had a very space opera April with most of my reading being about adventures in space in one form or another.

At the moment I’m into book three of Rex Burkes’s Odyssey Earth. The series feels a bit like a cross between Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and perhaps some Terry Pratchett. Very British humor. Quite dry in places and often sarcastic. Very much fun.

As ever, it’s the characters that do drag me along. Jordan Booth, awakened ahead of schedule from his cryo-sleep, makes for a fun bumbler surrounded by a cast of wisecracking teens who would never have been onboard the ship at all had things gone as planned. That’s just the opener. After that it gets complicated.

Props to Burke who manages to take what might be a slapstick sketch and periodically tugs on heartstrings. Everything is not both hunky and dory aboard the Odyssey Earth. When they get to where their 17 year voyage takes them, things get a bit interesting. As they should.

But, also as ever, don’t take my word for it. Maybe grab a sample of Orphan Planet and start the voyage yourself.

Speaking of Newsletters
Delivery has become rather spotty. Between Google driven changes to what it accepts as valid email address, what some email providers are doing on their own, and just “the internet being the internet” some subscribers are not getting emails. They’re bouncing at the server level.

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

I still have work to do. Still trying to get back into walking after that whole thing derailed last fall. Still trying to nudge The Wizard’s Cat into shape. If I’m honest, still healing.

I haven’t given up. Haven’t retired. I still write every day, if only a little. I’m still baking bread. I’m still playing with fountain pens and eBay. Still trying to find a new process that I can trust to get the writing machine rumbling again. If, indeed, the new process is a machine instead of something more human.

One day at a time and tomorrow’s always another day.

Until next time, safe voyage.

-N

They may not bring mayflowers here but at least they’ll wash away the left over snow.

Status

Marva Collins Series
School Days and Working Class are both available on Audible now. Hard Knocks is up for pre-order, if you celebrate those.

Shackleford House
My fountain pen and notebook habit is paying dividends in story building. I’m really liking what’s coming together even if it’s taking way longer than I usually spend. I think the end result will be worth it.

What Am I Reading?

I didn’t read enough science fiction last month. I’m finding it scarce on the ground these days. So many of the authors have gone with small presses and removed themselves from consideration. I’ve waded through so many samples that didn’t grab me enough to get the book since John Beresford’s Gatekeeper (which I recommended to my newsletter mid month). There’s a new Bob and Nikki (of course). So this month you get fantasy.

Awakening the Witch, Book 1, in Christina Garner’s Hollywood Lakes Magical Midife series.

Lemme preface this with obligatory disclaimers:

1. I know Christina Garner from an online community we both participate in. She hasn’t asked for this. I’m doing it for you, not her. Seriously, give it a shot.
2. Midlife magic (otherwise known as Paranormal Women’s Fiction) takes the magic out of puberty which speaks to the Tanyth Fairport in me. It’s worth a read.

The story features Shay Atwater, Hollywood agent to the undiscovered greats and heir to an inn located in a small town the hills somewhere around LA called Hollywood Lakes. Its claim to fame is where the stars went to get their whistles wet during prohibition. When Grammy Atwater shuffles off her mortal coil, she left some business unfinished with Shay. Business that has Shay playing with pixies and parlaying with the Fae. This deal-maker for the stars finds her negotiating talents getting a workout when she finally breaks away from the city and starts uncovering secrets in Hollywood Lakes.

As always it’s the characters. Shay and her squad had me grinning for days while I squaffed up all three novels and looked for the third. It’s up for pre-order and should drop in a few days. I’ll be heading back to Hollywood Hills when it does.

Maybe you should, too. Grab a sample and see what you think.

Looking Ahead

I’ve got to take some time to straighten out my web presence. I’ve put it off for too long and my hosting company has let me know they’re changing things up. It’s all good for now, but the last thing I need is for the site to disappear suddenly.

This site will remain, largely unchanged unless I get a bug in my ear to change the template to something that might work better on phones. None of the ones I’ve looked at actually work so, it’ll take some doing.

Some of my other sites will be merged into here or taken down. Look for the Solar Clipper Diary to become a link here like TOMMW. Tanyth Fairport’s website and the old indie review blog will likely go away all together. That will leave only a lot of tedious sorting through the detritus of botched installs, failed blogging attempts, and old installations of software I don’t use any more.

It’s nothing difficult. Just tedious and time consuming.

We all know how much I love those kinds of tasks.

Anyway, until next month, safe voyage.

I think things are coming together. It’s still slow, but there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Status

Marva Collins Series
School Days and Working Class are both available on Audible now. Rumor has it that Hard Knocks will be up for pre-order soon but I haven’t had any solid word from Podium on that yet.

Shackleford House
You know how in the springtime, everything’s cold and frozen? Then one day you step outside and there’s water dribbling in the gutters, that pesky patch of ice near the back stoop has melted, and you think maybe – just maybe – spring is on the way?

Yeah. That. Small trickles but I feel like the story might be thawing out a bit. Fingers crossed on that.

What Am I Reading?

Looking back over the last 4 weeks, I’ve read a lot of different things. More next books in a series, most of which I’ve already mentioned here. I tried some of James Haddock’s fantasy and really enjoyed Wizard’s Alley. Bruce Sentar’s Magic Mantle (book 1 of Ard’s Oath) is actually better than the cover would have me believe. For lack of a better description, I’ll go with “strong polyamory” content, so fair warning.

But Kristina McMullen’s Space Girl From Earth, book 1 in the Kyroibi Saga, hit all the right buttons. A really interesting space opera involving secrets and mysteries that Ellie has to deal with, often in the most frustrating ways possible, in order to figure out what the heck has gotten her mother’s knickers in a twist.

Honestly, I’ve been passing this over for weeks. It kept popping up in my recommendations but I always has something else ahead of it in the sample queue. I got to it the other day and I’m glad I did.

But don’t take my word for it. Maybe grab a sample and see if it works for you, too.

Looking Ahead

I’ve been bitten by the fountain pen bug and really enjoying the new experience of writing with pen and ink. I’m trying to improve my penmanship which means I’m doing a lot of hand writing drills, but I’m also doing a lot of writing. Organizing the story with pen and paper has given me some more insights and started me chipping away at the Cat’s frozen story.

The progress is slow, still, but I’m working with the idea of momentum. The writing engine has been all but frozen for the last six months but the words are starting to come back with the spring. The direction feels much better – more authentic, less forced.

Fingers crossed that this new sense of fun and some warmer weather will thaw out my brain and get the Cat purring along this month.

Until next month, safe voyage.

-N