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

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.