Wednesday Pastimes

It is the middle of the week already. This year is ending faster than I thought. Seriously sometimes I wish I was jellyfish. I know with climate change and pollution the oceans are not the best place for sea creatures. The idea of just being in water floating wherever the waves take you is really appealing to me. It is also ironic because I don’t know how to swim. I would have loved to say neither do jellyfish but a quick google search dissuaded me of that whole line.

This useless paragraph was put together because I lost my thoughts on what was supposed to be in this post. Coming up with something interesting to write about is as difficult as reading.

At a loss of what to do for this entry. I will report what I’ve been listening to. I will apologize in advance because I fear some of my words may be redundant. I had completed the Forgotten Empires series by Jeffe Kennedy, the week before Thanksgiving. I enjoyed the whole series; the last book The Promised Queen had a twist I did not expect and one that I did. Overall, I enjoyed the three books and could listen to them again.

The day after Thanksgiving, I started to relisten to the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole but only the Lykae stories. The series includes all kinds of supernatural beings. Some I’ve heard of and others I have not. Some have been tweaked for the benefit of the series. There are seventeen books in print. The series is paranormal romances in the audiobook version – not safe for work or headphones only. The narrator was a man named Robert Petroff and he was very good. The tests are female characters and various male characters. None sounded wrong for the story, even when a scene got intense, the voice or voices were distinct and held up. The stories were not in print order: A Hunger Like No Other -book 2, Pleasure of the Dark Prince-book 9, Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night- book 4 and MacRieve, book 14. In 2022, the 5th lykae based story will be out for readers, Munro. I think it has been on hold for 3 years. I hope it comes out, but I am not putting all my hopes into it. This book has missed a deadline before. It was never clear why there was a delay, at least I never delved too deep into the business side of this issue. It could’ve been the author’s problem or the publishing house. Nothing was ever clear. Fans were just disappointed. So now we wait with crossed fingers. I also hope that whatever the situation was it worked out well for Kresley Cole. Even though I know how difficult it is to produce a book much less a series of near 20 books, I still get belligerent when I’m wearing a fan hat. I had fun for the last two weeks, reacquainting myself with the IAD universe. I might continue with the vampire stories next, because Robert Petroff is that good a voice actor. Or I might listen to something completely different.

As the year comes to a close, some of my plans may be clear. Wednesday is still a day for review posts. I know I have not said much about the books I have listened to. A more in-depth review may show up at a later date. What I have been doing to make that goal plausible is developing a reader journal. I had a stray composition notebook and decided I could make good use out of that book. It is something to look forward to next week.

That is all I have to write about my pastimes. Things that I do when I am not writing. I think I might give myself a reading or listening challenge to complete as much of the books I started but DNF’d. If the reason was neglect and not dislike. I will see how far I can get with this. If any of you remember the list I put up on this blog, suggest a book from that list. Constructive comments are also welcome. I hope this entry finds you all doing well.

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Updates November 15 – 26

Hello,

Thank you for the likes and follows.

I hope everyone is doing well. I am well. It is the third week of Nanowrimo and I am still in it to win it. I have reached the limit of the recycled words. All the scenes written now will be new words from my brain. Amazing right?

This time because I made friends through the Writer Mastermind Discord. I have more buddies. Some of the writers are 1000 words ahead of me and some are behind, but we are all encouraging each other to be all that we can do.

While listening to my manuscript, I do that once a day. I’m a nano rebel. I realized that I don’t have enough scenes in which my two main characters interact with each other. Overall, I have 4 scenes, the meet-cute, flirting, an ambush, and a confession. That is not how characters fall in love. I also have one character slow-burning and one character hyper-aware. It doesn’t feel like they fit but trust me, contemporary love is in there someplace. I have looked over the obligatory scenes list and I have four more to write with serious attention.

I think I have stated before that I am a linear writer. It has taken a lot out of me to break that habit and start writing from other angles in the story. It has helped but I have a scene that is one of my main characters dealing with his agent and another dealing with her mother. Usable scenes now but will they stay in the book. That is a revision question and since I am not there yet. I will wait to make that decision. Non-linear writing is difficult for me, and you will be reading about whining about it until Nanowrimo is done.

This week will be busy as usual. There is a thanksgiving meal to plan. I will not be hosting the meal, but the person hosting has asked me to prepare some dishes. I am still nervous about preparing meals for Thanksgiving. After being sick, the taste of some foods is different from what I remember. So, I am a little nervous.

The books I’m reading are the Promised Queen by Jeffe Kennedy; The Bromance book club by Lyssa Kay Adams and Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins. These are all audiobooks. I have started each one but haven’t finished it. The stories and the writing are not the problems it is me. I can’t listen when writing Star Crossed and I don’t want to listen before I go to sleep. I will fall asleep in one chapter and wake up in another. That is not fun. I am also listening to the Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass. It is a book about writing. I will also be reading Bewitching the Vampire by Selena Illyria. This will be an actual read. I don’t have this one on audio. It is a spicy ebook. I also think it is a short read as well. It has been in my library for months but after watching Khadija Mbowe on YouTube, she did an episode about Vampire Diaries creator Julie Plecc and how she treated her black characters. I felt finding and reading an interracial vampire/witch romance was called for. I have read other books by Illyira, they have explicit scenes, I expect this one to be no different. Not everything mentioned here will get done. They are mentioned here because they are on the list.

Besides the major writing project, there are 3 small projects, the Wednesday post, the outline for the place holder, and a short story. It is more difficult than I thought. As stated earlier, I am in to win.

That is what this week and the following will be looking like. Everyone has a non-traditional Thanksgiving traditional dish, ours is curry- it will either be goat, chicken, chickpeas and potatoes. I would be interested to read what are yours? Leave a comment.

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Short Reviews & Sundry 02

This is going to be more sundry than reviews. I still have the writing project for NaNoWriMo on the brain. I have not reached my personal word count for the project and I am still about 2,000 behind the NaNoWriMo official word goal. On Thursday or Friday morning I am going to do my best to catch up. I think I should pause for a moment and look over what I have in my outline for my characters. Romance may seem like an easy genre to write in however, looks are very deceiving. I know that for this event, done is better than perfect. I have come to realize that I am more linear than I would like to be. I can skip a scene every now and then but there is an internal narrative I follow. In Star Crossed II, I feel a little disconnected from my characters. I think if I don’t address it, it can grow to be a bigger problem and I don’t what that.

The distractions for this week have come in the form of Webtoon comics. I have been a member of the service for 3 or 4 years. There have been a number of notable comics, some that have even become hardcover books. I have subscribed to many comics on Webtoon but the two I am going to write about today are – It Was All You, created by I Soon Ki, and OH5HO, an original story by Jake Lee. It is set in future Korea. Clones are possible and a luxury item for the wealthy. We follow a woman who works for the company as an engineer and tester of the products which are the clones. While testing the newest model of clone, her marriage falls apart. She does all that she can with the help of the new model to exact revenge. The title gives me pause. I feel that she is being led to something more nefarious.

The other comic that pulled me away from Star Crossed II was put in the romance category. Perfect Marriage Revenge, original story by Yibambe, webcomic creation by So Young and Jerryball. This story is about a woman given a second chance to fix the things that went wrong in her life starting with her marriage. The main character dies in the first chapter in distress after realizing an ultimate betrayal. She wakes up a year before the incident with the opportunity to make different choices.

Neither of these comics is complete. It Was All You has been out longer than, it has over 30 episodes and Perfect Marriage Revenge has about 6 that are free and 2 or 3 under the coin paywall. One of the good things about Webtoon is that each episode or chapter eventually will be free to read. If you can’t wait coins are available for real money. I reward myself with a chapter when things in Star Crossed II go well.

There isn’t much going on with me besides the dash to write. I hope things continue to go well for you all. Please leave a comment, like and subscribe.

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Update October 18- October 29

Thank you for the likes and follows.

Home again, home again jiggety jig!

I made it back home. The flight was okay. The plane appeared smaller than the one that took us to Miami. And it flew steadier than the larger plane. I have accepted my wariness as a natural fear. It was only after it landed that I felt a little ridiculous. I don’t know about other people, but it always takes me a little bit of time to adjust to being home again. At the time of writing this entry, I am still in a transition period and feel kind of at a loss. Everything that was planned before the trip are still in play. However, the surety of the plans is no longer with me. And for a couple of days, I didn’t know where to start. Good News I started with this entry that will be posted on Monday.

I made a bullet list of what I wanted to write about for this entry and should have written an extra sentence or two on the subjects, because I don’t remember the point. Sometimes I want to blame the covid for me forgetting things. Other times I didn’t think about details. Something to work on in the future.

By the time there is a next update, it will be close to the end of the month. I will reveal if I would participate in NaNoWriMo or not. No matter what I will still be writing. I have a travel mug and water bottle for the event. I should level up to a t-shirt or mug this year. I have been watching several prep videos for the event. I have collected a few free worksheets. I like free worksheets like a I like pens, I only need one, but I get as many as offered.

This week’s goal is to complete writing projects started in September. That is a book review and two short stories. The word count-challenge this month will be low, 5000 words for this week and following. I will also be researching scenes for the romances that I’m writing. I will be listening to a craft book, The Fantasy Fiction Formula by Deborah Chester and narrated by Tanya Eby. This book was recommended by YT content creator and author, Tamara Woods. It was the author tube book of the month in the Summer, I think. The authors do discuss the book. I have decided not to watch that video until I read or listen to the book. I now have two weeks.

That is all for now. I hope this post finds you, healthy and content. Please like and subscribe, leave a comment if inclined. I accept all constructive criticism. Remember to be kind.

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Updates May 31- June 04

Hello,

Thank you for the likes and the follows.

The last two weeks I was kind of out of it. I have only been reaching about 1/3 of the goals set. I wonder am I being over ambitious. What am I doing wrong? I still haven’t figured it out yet. I will persevere and continue to work on. With the help of two create-along or write along on Twitch with friends, I was able to write my characters out of the uber they were sitting in for about two months. Also, I know these updates are horrible in structure. Have I been really updating anyone on my writing progress? My plan is to get better at them. I think when I make statements like this, my worst enemy is activated and works to self-sabotage my creative drive. The only positive thing about these brief notes is consistency. Sometimes I am not inclined to write on Sunday to post on Monday. At the same time, I need to form a habit. I can’t say when it will happen, but I don’t think I can maintain a weekly update. I might have to change it up a bit. The changes may be in August or September. I have to figure out what I am doing and what exactly am I giving and getting from this site. These are the thoughts going in my head concerning the JC Henry Universe.

In Reading news, I am stuck on the nonfiction. It means Guns, Germs and Steel has not been completed. Then because I have low impulse control, I started to listen to another, nonfiction book Sex, Race, and Robots: How to be Human in the Age of AI by Dr. Ayanna Howard and narrated by Amandla Stenberg. Both books are fascinating in different ways, one is about the past, and one is about the future and our places in it. The narrators are good. Not sure if it was mentioned before, I often listened to audiobooks during my commutes and workday. I am confined to my house and at one point I thought I would just be blazing through my books – audio, digital and physical. This was before I realized I might have a slight YouTube addiction. I am not endorsing or condemning what I have done. I noticed how time consuming it could be. It wouldn’t be a problem if all the information gathered was useless however I have learned things from YT that is useful for my over well-being and writing. That will mostly likely be another thing I have to monitor and seriously deal with.

I have listened to three fiction books, Audible recommended author Layla Hagen to me, her completed series is called Very Irresistible Bachelors. They are interesting pieces of escapism. The book universe is based in New York City. It is a different NYC than I know. Which is fun. The two books I have listened to are You’re the One and Just One Kiss. The other fiction audio that I was reading was My Twisted Fate by Piper Rayne. This is the prequel to the Greene Family series. I also read the short novellas by Piper Rayne, about the Baileys, Operation: Weddings, Babies and Birthdays. It concluded the series with the grandmother’s 90^th birthday. But also hinted on the continued romance that might connect the Greene and Bailey Families in Alaska.

These books tend to be easier to get through because I don’t think to much on them. I like the seamless beginning middle and end. Non-Fiction books are not that simple. They have ramifications that are not always obvious but always there.

This week’s goals are the same of last week. I will write 8000 words. I will be working on the romance novel Star Crossed. I will be doing research on how to make this website more useful to everyone and post quotes, encouraging being creative, healthy, and content with your life. I am praying that we all have a positive and safe week.

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