Tag: Books

The TBR

If you’re any kind of bookworm, you probably have a TBR Pile: The To Be Read Pile. The endless waterfall of books that you are going to read soon. Maybe it’s a list on your phone. Maybe it’s a section of your bookshelf. Maybe it’s a literal pile on your nightstand, looming overhead until you finally read a few to reduce the risk of the tower toppling over and smothering you in the night. Maybe your TBR Pile is all of your bookshelves.

You can probably guess which one is mine.

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump these last couple of weeks, but I’m hoping to get back into the swing of reading regularly again. So, in the spirit of that, I decided that this time I’m gonna be posting some of my current TBR Pile to maybe keep me accountable to finally reading some of them! So, here’s a sampling of my current TBR Pile that I’m hoping to work through in the future.

  1. The Way of Kings – Brandon Sanders
  2. The Sword of Shannara – Terry Brooks
  3. The Lies of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch
  4. Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
  5. What the Dog Saw – Malcolm Gladwell
  6. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet – David Mitchell
  7. A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir of Lady Trent – Marie Brennan
  8. Darwin’s Radio – Greg Bear
  9. The Aeronaut’s Winglass – Jim Butcher
  10. Armada – Ernest Cline

Alright, hopefully that’ll be some motivation for me to actually read through some of these! I’ve put a moratorium on buy new books until I get through some of my current ones, but I also work at a library, so getting my hands on those materials would be less challenging than it used to be (I’ve got my eye on Kaiju Preservation Society by Scalzi, but I’m holding off for right now).

What books are on your TBR Pile? Do you have a real pile near your bed or is your pile somewhere else?

Found Mysteries: In Your Hands!

You read that correctly!

If you follow me on any social media (which you should), I recently announced that my physical book came to my hands for approval! There’s a lot of emotions that came with that (namely shock), but it feels so good to have something physical in my hands! I had to make a few minor revisions that I couldn’t identify until I had a physical copy in my hands, but those issues have been resolved and I can comfortably say that the book is finally ready for you, dear readers!

You can get it online through the expected resources, but I highly recommend asking your local independent bookstore if they can order a copy for you! It’s available through IngramSpark and, if it’s needed, the ISBN is “978-1-7351463-0-0” (but it’s also the only book under my name).

I am so excited for everyone who was waiting for a physical copy to finally get their version, but I wanted to make sure that you were all getting the best possible product I could promise. If you bought a digital copy, don’t worry, none of the stories have changed.

Keep an eye out at the end of the month, as I’m going to be having a contest for the month of August for an opportunity to win a special prize!

Reflections on Release

If you’re here, you’re probably aware that my first book was published this week! Those are still available in the digital format and I’m hoping to have details on the release of physical copies. Covid has really slowed down things at the distributor, but believe me when I say, I can’t wait for it to be available for everyone. I know a few people are waiting to buy physical copies and I promise I’m working on getting those available as soon as I make sure there aren’t any issues with the printing process.

This experience of self-publishing has been a learning experience above all else. There are things that I might do differently looking back, but I can’t help feeling like Covid was a contributing factor to what happened this year. There are things I would have done differently, but all in all, I’m pretty pleased with how things have been going in the first week! I got a lot more planned, including a re-release event/giveaway when the option for ordering physical copies will be available.

It’s the first time I’ve ever published anything (and charged money for it), so to anyone who’s bought or read a copy of the book so far, I can’t thank you enough. It’s been surreal to see my book available and seeing responses and reviews from people who’ve read it. For all that’s happened this year, this has definitely been a high point and I’m eager to see where this goes. Even if that just means a few people get to read my stories? I feel like this was worth all the work.

Stay healthy out there and be kind to one another!

A More Mindful TBR

So…my To-Be-Read pile is out of control.

I’m not the fastest reader. I’d say I’ve read maybe…25% of the books I own (and I moved to a smaller place, so most of my books are in storage across the country for now). And between work, my writing, and this blog, it’s easy to forget I have a stack of books waiting on my nightstand. I need to be a better reader (surprising, I know), but I feel like I also need to read better. I don’t always pay attention to authors as I read, but occasionally an author sticks out for me more than most. Yet, when it comes time to pick up a new book to read, I never think of them.

So, here is a list of authors I’ve read and why I want to read more books by them:

  • Naomi Novik- This is an author that I really like, both Uprooted and the Temeraire series (which I can never spell correctly on the first turn). I’ve read a good chunk of the Temeraire series, but it’s one that I don’t normally think of when I’m looking through my TBR pile. So I’d like to finish her series because I love her style and her work is very unique, with rules governing her fantasy worlds and the mythical creatures that populate her worlds.
  • V.E. Schwab- I loved A Darker Shade of Magic. Admittedly, I don’t think I own any of her other books. However, I had the pleasure of hearing her speak when she visited the bookstore (I lurked in the back, hiding my nametag) and she was funny and genuine, like her writing. I’d like to read the rest of that series, but also want to branch out to more authors.
  • Ursula K. Le Guin- I know, I know. I am way behind on this one. Le Guin is one of the best known and most renowned writers of fantasy and science fiction. But hear me out. I’m currently reading The Left Hand of Darkness and I’m loving it. So I plan on reading a lot more Le Guin in the very near future.
  • Malcolm Gladwell- My first experience with Gladwell was in college, reading Outliers for an intro psychology class. It was probably one of the coolest nonfiction books I had the chance to read in college. He takes on a unique view of the world, our minds, and the questions that you might not think about.
  • Brandon Sanderson- Again, I know, I know. Sanderson is another huge name in the realm of fantasy. The books and stories by him that I have read have always been very entertaining, but I have trouble keeping up with buying his books when I do finally get a chance. But I intend to seek him out and find more of his books in the future.

I’m sure there are names that I’m missing and names that I should add, but there’s only so much reading a person can do at a time!

What are some writers that you’ve read, but haven’t gotten the opportunity to add? Do you sometimes forget writers you really like or do you only read one writer at a time? Leave it in the comments below.

You can follow my reading habits and more by following me on Twitter using the links to the right!

When does a story start?

As I’ve been working on editing Moon of the Huntress, I’ve been thinking a lot about when this book really started. Did it start with the idea or did it start at the first word?

I guess it really began in late January 2016 (maybe a little earlier). I had just moved out to Seattle and made some friends, but we were looking for something to do. And, I’m not ashamed to admit it; I suggested we start playing a game every week to keep our friendship together. Yes, I recommended we try to play Dungeons & Dragons.

For those of you who have been encased in glass for 30 or so years, Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules with Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. It comes with a basic set of rules that define the world and gameplay, but the players, the Game Master and the chance of dice rolls decide the end action. If you haven’t had any chance to play, I highly recommend it. Failing that, there’s lots of podcasts/videos on Youtube of other people playing which can be very funny and enjoyable. A couple I can think of off the top of my head include Critical Role (Geek and Sundry Youtube) or The Adventure Zone (Maximum Fun Podcasts).

But, back to Moon of the Huntress. This particular game of Dungeons and Dragons was started in late January or early February (historians can dispute this in the future). Our first official game was to create our characters and establish the world a bit. One thing I wanted to do for the game was to give everyone a ‘secret’ assignment, a reason why they were on the road that the other players didn’t know yet. My friend Kate chose to play as an elf ranger named Eryn, who was on the road looking for her sister. I started thinking about where her sister was and where that road would lead. And then, I had an idea.

Sadly, our group fell apart (fun fact: D&D actually stands for Distance & Duration, the true enemies of any long-term campaign). We still hang out frequently, but I was left with a stack of notes, a collection of characters and a few ideas rattling around in my head. With Kate’s permission, I decided to write out her story myself, adding characters from the campaign along the way. And so, on April 28th (if my hard drive is to be believed), I started writing.

Now, here we are. Depending on how you look at it, we’re either over a year or almost at one year from when we first started playing. Now, I’m in what I like to imagine is my final draft and starting to present my work to agents. I don’t know where this road will lead, but I’m happy to ride it for as long as it goes.

What’s your favorite story origin? Is it Stephen King’s Carrie? J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter?  Let me know below!

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