I’m getting better. Really. I made a lot of progress last month. There’s a light on the horizon.
At least I hope that’s the horizon and it’s, you know, a light and not something like a forest fire burning inexorably in my direction …
Status
Salt. Yeah. This is one of the things that’s bugging me. I’m going to have to get out the heavy guns and resort to some kind of bribery to get myself off the time. It sounds harsher than it is. I haven’t dug into it because I’m burning all my writing time on the next project.
The New Ishmael
I don’t even know what to call this any more. The manuscript I’m working on is way too long for one book. I’m well over 300k words now, but the positive news is that I know where the ending is. I just need to get to it. I’m still not sure how many books this will be. At least two. Probably three. It’s going to take a while for me to a) get to the end, then b) cut it into the right pieces, and c) do the patching to make it all make sense. (It’s kind of a mess.)
The Wizard’s Cat
When Roger finds a feral gray tabby lurking in the gardens behind Shackleford House, things get a little tense for the pixies. (It’s coming. We’ll see how this looks by the end of the month.)
AUDIO
Dark Knight Station: Origins is available for pre-order from Audible. Drops June 29.
What Am I Reading?
Where to begin. I’ve read a lot of quirky books this month. It started a new Glynn Steward book (Eyes of Tomorrow), then went to a paranormal romance by Deana Chase (Witching for Clarity), a couple of really dark fantasy stories by Krista D. Ball (Fury, Schemes), a contemporary romance (Her Big City Neighbor by Jackie Lau), a weird western (Sidewinder by David Faux), shifted to xianxia by Tao Wong (Thousand Li: First War) … I’m leaving some out, I know.
It’s been a big month for reading and I’m pretty sure that’s the reason I’ve made so much progress on my writing.
The recommendation this month is Bob’s Saucer Repair by Jerry Boyd. Somebody recommended it to me in response to the last newsletter and I’ll be honest. I really wasn’t sure about this one.
But I fell in love. It’s a goofy, spoofy book with so much heart, I started reading and couldn’t put it down.
See Bob comes home one Friday night and finds Nikki’s stashed her broken down saucer in his garage and … yeah. Hijinx ensue, as they say.
Looking for a fun read, maybe grab a sample and see what you think.
Last Words
I can’t tell you how much better I feel about this new Ishmael … thing. Being able to see an end point–a place where I can actually break this thing off–has made me push my word counts up a little higher each day as the end gets nearer. I made my monthly goal for May and made up for three more days from January before calling it a month.
It feels pretty good and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next.
In the meantime, safe voyage.
Wow! Sounds like lots of good reading will be coming our way. I count 5 books nesting there!
May I recommend Victoria Goddard for your reading pile. She writes beautifully and does wonderful characters, even the minor ones.
Glad The Wizard’s Cat is coming down the line. And that I have another audio book coming to listen to.
Been waiting for the next ‘wizard’. So pleased it’s a cat.
Good deal. So looking forward to more Ishmael and the Wizard’s Cat. Thanks.
Thanks for the recommendation for Bob’s saucer repair, I read the series in a few days… Easy reading was just what I needed, and what I got. The writing is not the forte on these ones, nor the editing perfect, but the cast and humor, openness, and story make up for it hundreds of times.