Before I tell you what it is, let me catch you up with what’s happened over the last month.
Between writing some essays on self-publishing and working on my story bible, I’ve banished most of the fog. I still have to deal with the normal ADHD brain weasels, but they’re not hiding in the left over mists of chemo and radiation.
I still have no spit and little by way of strength or physical stamina. Luckily it doesn’t take much to sit and type. Which I’ve been doing a lot.
Status
Every time I try to get back into Ishmael’s story line, I trip on something I need to know and waste time looking for it. I got tired of it and started writing the story bible for Ishmael’s universe. I finished up through Owner’s Share yesterday and will move on to the Seeker’s Tales today. My goal: Finish with By Darkness Forged by the 14th.
But I’m only going to work on back-filling for an hour or so a day. I need to get the new books loaded, too, so I know where all the moving parts. The next three books aren’t exactly self-contained, hence my drive to finish the backstory parts of the bible, but there’s enough to keep me busy just loading up names, places, dates, and key points.
I hope the work will pay off with a streamlined and clean second draft for the first book by the end of February with book two and three falling in March and April. I’ll be looking for betas and I need to see if my editor has any time available, but that’s a future-me problem.
What Am I Reading?
With all the writing and organizational stuff I’ve been doing, my reading has slacked off to a couple of books a week. Almost all my current sample pile comes from my Mastodon friends, so expect to see a lot of new names over the next year.
Today I’m finishing up book 2 of Kat Ross’s Nightmarked series. It’s a bit dark, but the richness of the setting makes up for it. A new-to-me magic system that develops – even for the characters – as the story goes on. A whole world full of people, some good, some evil, some just chaotic. All very real, even those that aren’t.
Ross hooked me on book 1. I’m just holding on for the ride at this point and it’s so totally worth it.
But don’t take my word for it. You know what to do.
Notes in the Margin:
A lot of people have asked about my favorite books from the last year. Of the 248 or so, my answer changes by the hour and day. As a partial answer, I downloaded my entire reading list for the year, sorted it into alphabetical order by author, and formatted it for you. The series and volume sort didn’t work the way I wanted but feel free to peruse it. Some of them are better than others, but every one of them passed the “sample first” test and held my attention to the end.
If you want to more about the books I’m reading this year, I also started a book review account. As I finish them, I’ll toss them in there for anybody to read. See what I’ve finished reading at The Unseen City. They won’t all be SF/F but I don’t review books I didn’t like. I reviewed City of Storms a few days ago.
Looking Ahead
I have another PET scan coming up this month. Six months after the completion of treatment. We’re not expecting to find anything too exciting. Fingers crossed for no surprises.
Oh, the Word of the Year thing?
I heard about this idea from Darusha Wehm who got it from C L Polk. Instead of having a list of resolutions that get forgotten by next weekend, we’ve picked focus words to guide our work in the coming year. The concept of having one word appealed to me – and kept me busy trying to think of the work I want to do in 2023.
Not just the writing work, although there’s plenty of that. I wanted a word that covered my recovery and establishing a new normal going forward now that all of my structures and habits have burned to the ground. I want to do more than rebuild the “before” times. Something for body, mind, and spirit.
I chose: Juggle.
It’s physical, requiring the use of the body. After last year, I have a lot of work to do to rebuild my strength and stamina.
It’s mental, requiring concentration and focus. Things I need support structures to manage.
It’s also spirit, requiring a meditation-like state of being in the moment as each one comes and goes. I want to be deliberate in my actions going forward.
It recognizes “drop,” “pickup,” and “try again” as valid – even necessary – ideas.
It’s also movement, the opposite of static.
So yeah. I’m liking Juggle.
Until next month, safe voyage.
