Not the dance. That edge state where you’re neither here nor there. Stuck in limbo.
I spent much of last month healing and resting. The endless grind of clinical oversight removed, days became cycles of feeding, sleeping, reading, and – occasionally – playing computer games.
Oh, and thinking about writing. The brain fog made for a lot of false starts and lost threads but I think I’m on the right path now.
Status
I’ve been disquieted by the new Ishmael books – especially the first one. Too much flipping about trying to find the story, not enough story. Thanks to a friend, I’ve worked through some of the issues and I think I like where we’re going.
Wizard’s Cat? Yeah. No idea. I don’t have enough clear brain space yet.
What Am I Reading?
Everything. Over 40 books in September. I recommended M C Burnell’s The Spider’s Friend in my newsletter a couple of weeks ago. I spent some time catching up on new releases and explored some new authors. (By “new author,” I mean somebody I haven’t read before – they’re getting harder to find.)
Seth Ring’s Titan series hit all the right notes for me in litRPG this month. A simple tale of an uber-rich guy stuck in a total emersion tank to heal his unique-but-potentially-deadly physiological condition. As one does. The plot revolves around learning the nature of the game, revealing layers within layers as Thorn and his colleagues learn about the world and their places in it.
As always, the characters drew me in. Thorn’s humanity – in spite of not being human – kept me turning pages and burning through the ten volume series.
But don’t take my word for it. Grab a sample. See what you think.
An aside: I’m always on the look out for a good series so I get drawn into litRPG. I also only read self-published works, so – more litRPG. I’m always on the lookout for good sf/f self-pubs, but finding new ones to recommend is getting harder. The downside of reading more than a book a day, I suppose. I suspect the rate will drop as I become more engaged with writing than reading. Something I’m looking forward to.
Looking Ahead
Mid-October takes me to the 90-day mark after treatments ended. The radiation and chemo have continued to influence my body so we’ve been waiting for it to run its course before I have my next screening exam. That’s expected to happen around the end of the month. That’s when I find out the answer the the most pressing question: What’s next?
I’ve got things I want to do, things I need to do, and things I’m pretty sure won’t happen.
For the moment, I’m stuck here in limbo taking short walks, trying to eat normally again, and letting my brain chew on story-telling time so I’ll be ready when it comes again.
Until next month, safe voyage.
Hey, Nathan, glad to hear you’re on the mend. May you continue to heal to great health. I really love your stories, and can’t wait to read more of them. Take care.
Keep on! Eat lots of citrus. May help clear the body of toxins. If you don’t like citrus much, try a lemon meringue pie. A good pie like that uses lemon zest, which is even higher in vitamins than the pulp and the juice!
You might enjoy Shift Happens by T.M. Baumgartner — it’s more along the lines of Wizard’s butler than the sci/fi you write, but it’s safe for cozy and thriller readers alike. I enjoyed the heck out of it and am starting another series by T.M. I know the books are available on both Kindle and Kobo because I wrote a short review for my blog this morning and linked to both.
Go where your inspiration leads you. We’ll be waiting!
Keep on keeping on, friend.
Dear Natan, hope you keep getting better and get rid of the brain fog, to do as you like (writing included).
I don’t remember having recommended it here yet, and not LitRPG, but I think you’d like Lindsay Buroker’s books. I’m currently listening (read it a few times…) to her Emperor’s Edge series, one of the series that got me into reading self-published books . She’s since written other series in many settings (including SF), but mainly fantasy with a touch of tech. Some darker than others but on the whole good “happy” reads.
(Nathan !! should have re-read before posting))
I’ve known Lindsay since the Podiobook days. Her work is excellent!
thanks for the up date hear are four author for you too check out
Ed Nelson
geoff wolak
Andrew Wareham
Mackey Chandler
hole you get beater soon.
I’ve devoured everything by Mackey Chandler but the others are new to me. Thanks!
An other not LitRPG suggestion : Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide (to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons) (by Quenby Olson) a delightful romance/regency book with a touch of fantasy (Dragon). (Next book comes out soon)
Sounds like fine. I’ll give it a look. Merci
I saw that you recommended Honor Raconteur and thought you might like these authors. They are all self published, though Anderle has since set up a small publishing company and Ilona Andrews has diverged from their publisher….
Some of the authors have series I love and ones I don’t. Others I ravenously read everything they write over and over. I hope you find and enjoy at least one new author here. My prayers are with you.
Dorothy Grant,
Mel Todd
BR Kingsolver
Jenny Schwartz
Hailey Edwards
Helen Harper
Glynn Stewart
JN Chaney
Melissa F Olson
Michael Anderle
Audrey Faye
Ilona Andrews (their latest are self-published)
TA White
Thanks! Some new names for me here.
Aloha! I know I’ve waved Ursula Vernon at you before (and technically she’s graduated from self-published to publishing-house-published, so she might not fit your requirements) but she writes under T. Kingfisher, several of which are still self-published. I recommend almost any story from her ‘World of the White Rat’; the Order of the White Rat is a clerical order whose members specialize in, of all things, bureaucracy and defending those wrongly accused. In short, public defendants, and competent ones. The Paladin series is a good jumping off point, as is A Wizard’s Guide To Defensive Baking.
Seconded !
Hi Nathan, thanks for the update. If you are looking for a good RPGLIT read. I just finished ‘Jake magical market’ and I would give a big thumbs up. Like to the magic system, I felt it was a little something new and well levelled. The MC also had a great arch from Noob to Noob with a clue to noob who realised how small a clue it was… Hope your day is better then yesterday. Darren
Happy Birthday!
I have some book recommendations for you:
Bryce O’Connor and Luke Chmilenko: Iron Prince – progression fantasy set in the future. I’m super excited for book 2. (Coming next year) Bryce runs Wraithmarked Creative, so there’s tons of fantasy/litRPG by associated authors.
Jenny Schwartz – some of her stuff is a little corny, but I really enjoyed her The Adventures of a Xeno-Archaeologist series and Uncertain Sanctuary (Baba Yaga!) series.
Happy Birthday Nathan! Glad to hear that you are healing. Keep resting and taking care of yourself. An off-the-wall series you might like is the Familiar stories by Alma TC Boykin. Interesting characters, smart aleck familiars, sprinkled with humor.
I had to toss this in here. After your recommendation of Glynn Stewart’s Mages of Mars series (plural), i’ve been burning through the books. I got a major snicker partway through the second book in the Red Falcon series, when a chapter opened with “Call me Ishmael,” and by the end, there was a sales pitch for whelkies! So who has been selling to whom?? Is there a backstory to this? 🙂
Heh.
Yeah. Glynn asked me if he could do that. 🙂
I don’t know if you have read it already, but I have recently been enjoying “He Who Fights Monsters”; it’s a litRPG series.
No advice, just sympathy, smiles, and best wishes.
Hello Nathan, I want to thank you for recommending Honor Raconteur. I’ve since read all 8 of the Henri Davenforth books and the first of the Human Familiar series. I have enjoyed escaping into this author’s worlds.
I hope all continues to go better for you and your loved ones. I’m ever so grateful that you persist in spreading joy and kindness even in troubled times.