The story grows stronger. The word counts haven’t shrunk.

Status

The Wizard’s Next Thing
The story got a few more words. I got some new ideas that are vying for attention. All positive signs, but I don’t think I’m going to have a draft before Labor Day. Maybe by Thanksgiving.

Everything Else
Ishmael and Zoya are playing bridge with Tanyth and Frank. Natalya’s elbow deep in administrivia and Pip keeps adding new businesses to their portfolio. Everybody’s being cool and keeping themselves entertained, I think.

The Wizard’s Cat
Audiobook drops on the 16th. I don’t know if it’s an Audible exclusive. Podium has been experimenting with wider distribution so keep your eyes peeled, if that’s something of interest to you.

What Am I Reading?

Honestly, not as much as I have been. More catching up with old friends by way of “next in the series” books.

I was bemoaning the dearth of decent space opera and stumbled onto my first space opera/cultivation novel. I’d been seeing it pop up on my recommendations but kept getting side tracked by series. I pulled it out of the line up when I realized I needed to read something else for a while.

I’m glad I did.

J.P. Valentine expertly blends two of my favorite genres into a smooth mix of both. To Flail Against Infinity, Book 1 of the Stargazer’s War, sets the stage for Caliban’s tragic entry into the high-stakes world of intergalactic cultivation, where status gets measure by power and power comes with pain.

I siphoned these first two novels up over just a few days. Loved every minute of it.

Maybe you will, too. Why not grab a sample and find out?

About the Newsletter
I publish a newsletter every month on the 15th. You don’t need to subscribe to get the mid-month update. You can find them archived on my newsletter’s public page at Kit.

Looking Forward

I made my 40 miles last month, with some finagling, day shuffling, and leaning on the treadmill. It wasn’t a pretty month but I got the miles in. I’m hoping that June goes more smoothly as the household seems to be settling down again.

The word count isn’t climbing very fast. I’m counting that as a Good Thing. I’m taking the time I need to let the story sort itself out a little. I’ve always said I write what happens next but that’s predicated on having a half-decent grasp of what happened just before. I didn’t do that with the Cat. I won’t make that mistake again.

We’ll see how this month goes, but I’m feeling really good about the writing work that needs to happen before I put words on the page. It’s always paid off in the past. I have no doubts that it’ll pay off in the future.

Until next month, safe voyage.

I made good progress in April. Until I ran into a brick wall.

Status

The Wizard’s Next Thing
The writing was ticking along nicely. Making daily progress. Slow and sometimes cumbersome but regular. Then the City decided my landscaping was problematic. I’m putting my plan back into action as of today. We’ll see how well it does.

The Wizard’s Cat
As reported earlier, the audiobook pre-order is up. We’re just waiting for Podium to work through their production process.

Everything Else
I’ve gone through the catalog and set the flags so you can now download the epub versions of all my books. I think. If I missed one, let me know. Eventually I get back to those old familiar worlds and add more to them.

What Am I Reading?

I spent the month catching up with old friends (ie, ‘next book in the series’) for a bunch of stuff that dropped recently. I’ve recommended most of them in the past. Along the way I found Tom Larcombe’s series Sponsored System.

Basic apocalyptic rpg mechanics take over the Earth story with an amusing fillip–the alien overlords step in early to help train the natives. For a price. Hijinks ensue.

Fun characters. Interesting skills and a consistent setting. Really made me want to find an RPG I could play. Maybe when I retire. (As if.)

I’ve read a bunch of Larcombe’s work and enjoyed it so I siphoned up this one and now I’m looking forward to the next.

But don’t take my word for it. If it sounds interesting, go grab a sample and see for yourself.

About the Newsletter
I publish a newsletter every month on the 15th. You don’t need to subscribe to get the mid-month update. You can find them archived on my newsletter’s public page at Kit.

Looking Forward

It’s been something of a roller-coaster month. The first two thirds of the month ratcheted along smoothly. Walking my 2 out of 3 days. Writing. Reading. Et Cetera. Then I came home to a code violation warning taped to my front door.

To be fair, absolutely warranted which made it all the more important that I get on it.

For the last 10 days, with the help of off-spring, I’ve done what I have the strength and stamina to address. That’s meant everything else took the back burner while I worked to put out the fire in front. I still have work that needs doing, but I’ve hired the various crews (yes, multiple) to do the tree work and deal with the winter-killed irrigation system, among other things. The city inspector will be back on the 5th but I’ve done what I could do and have to trust that the crews will follow through.

So I’m back in harness as of this morning. I’ll get the routine re-established and try to put this pending work out of my mind. At least until the next flare-up of reality lighting fire to my carefully curated personal reality.

Until next month, safe voyage.

So far, so good. The year keeps unfolding, day by day and I’m just trying to keep up with it. Succeeding. Mostly.

Status

The Wizard’s Cat
Finally got the proof marked up and the paperback released. It just went up this weekend so it may be a couple of days before it appears in your store. The audio pre-order (for those who celebrate) is already available and showing a nice pre-order price as of this writing, should you be interested.

The Wizard’s Next Thing
I’ve got something in mind. It’s still percolating but I think it’s the right path forward for everybody concerned. I’ll be trying out a few of the ideas over the next few weeks. You know. Just to see if the ideas have any legs. Stay tuned.

Everybody Else
Those pesky space-niks keep showing up in my imaginings. Ishmael and Zoya, in particular, but that trickster Pip, as well. In spite of that, I may have to go back to Korlay and see what’s happened with Tanyth and Frank now that change has come. There’s a lot of unfinished business there.

What Am I Reading?

I read a lot of space opera in January but almost exclusively fantasy in February. Lots of interesting stuff. Laurence Dahners has a series (Tales of Simple Magic) and S. D. McKittrick’s Homestead Crafter has an interesting take on progression fantasy. The one I keep thinking about is Michael Gnizak’s Devon Coal.

It starts out a little rough and shaky but Grizak settles in to the tale and by the end of the sample I was hooked. I breezed through all four volumes in a matter of a few days and looked around for more.

The set up, a young man with a bum leg leaves his small village in order to seek his fortune and win the winsome girl of his dreams. He navigates a circuitous and sometimes painful path on the way to fame and fortune.

He does get the girl in the end, but learns a lot about his absent mother, his true roots, and slowly builds a life for himself that he could never have imagined.

Rough in patches, but engaging in spite of it all.

Highly recommended but you should grab a sample before you buy to see for yourself.

About the Newsletter
I publish a newsletter every month on the 15th. You don’t need to subscribe to get the mid-month update. You can find them archived on my newsletter’s public page at Kit.

Looking Forward

I’m still chugging along on my quest for 40 miles a month. The two out of three day pattern has proven out over the first two months of the year. I’m feeling stronger than I have for a while and taking a lot of satisfaction from it, even if too much of February was on the treadmill.

As I alluded to above, I’ve got the Wizard’s Next Thing open in my word processor. Just noodling around with some ideas. Seeing if they have legs. I’m not making much that you might consider progress but I’m liking what’s been happening so far this year and hope it continues.

In other news, we finally got a new cat. After losing our aged queen a few months ago, we postponed bringing in a new member until after the window work. That happened at the end of December but we weren’t ready to adopt until a couple weeks ago.

Seamus has joined the family. He’s rapidly making himself at home.

So, a new month begins. New challenges abound.

I’m looking forward to all of them.

Until next month, safe voyage.