What I’ve Been Reading Lately (October, 2023)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews1 Comment

Happy almost-Halloween!  I think I’ll kick-off this month’s recap of reading with my one spooky book – Goosebumps: Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes by R. L. Stine.  My book club opted to go fun and nostalgic this month, and each of us picked a Goosebumps book to read.  I was actually never a fan back when I was the target age (although I later read Phantom of the Auditorium…of course) but this was a fun, silly read now.  It’s a basic enough premise of lawn gnomes who come to life, create mischief, and get the twelve-year-old boy protagonist in trouble until he figures out their secret weakness (spoiler: it’s the dog whistle).  I will say, though, I deeply, personally related to the boy’s older sister, who alphabetizes her books by author, and the main character and his best friend really were as obnoxious and annoying as the sister thought they were!  Fine to read, would drive me nuts in life I’m sure.

I finished out a trilogy with The Master Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg, trying to finish the sloooow burn romance of the previous two books.  They did ultimately get together, but there was surprisingly little pay-off for the long build-up.  The couple went from maybe to inevitable with very little fireworks about it.  The magic was good though, and the adventure was enjoyable too. Continue reading “What I’ve Been Reading Lately (October, 2023)” →

Writing Update (October, 2023)

On By cherylmahoneyIn WritingLeave a comment

It’s been a little while since I did a writing update – while projects were moving along, there wasn’t much new to report!  Drafts finally feel like they’re moving to a new stage though.

I made some revisions to Thorns 2, then sent that out for a second-round of beta reader feedback.  I received comments back without huge edits needed, so that’s always encouraging to see!  I made some final-ish revisions, then printed the draft out and have started reading it out loud to my husband, to find any final revisions to make.  The book should be on track to be out late 2023 or early 2024.  Depends on how the rest of life goes!

While Thorns 2 was being reviewed, I did some work on Thorns 3, making  revisions and plans for future revising, especially in the second half of the book.  I’m setting that aside for now, while I read through Thorns 2 and start making plans for NaNoWriMo – which, incredibly, is only a couple weeks away!!  I’ve done some character exercises, and now I’m working on building out more of the outline for my planned project: The Queen of Thorns, the fifth and final book in the series.  I have ideas, but I want to see if I can get more details worked out before I start on the actual writing.

So, lots of books in different stages, but it’s fun to move between the different parts of writing.  Hopefully I can make good progress reading Thorns 2, firm up my outline for Thorns 5, and be ready to launch into NaNoWriMo on November 1st!  I’ll let you know how it goes.

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (September, 2023)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews1 Comment

Squeaking in at the end of the month with an update on September’s reading!  Let’s jump right in…

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister was a very good time-twisty mystery.  Jen watches her teenage son commit murder – and then starts living her life backward, each morning waking up on an earlier day.  I really liked seeing her try to put the pieces together to unravel what had happened, and how to prevent the murder.  A couple twists I saw coming, but others surprised me.

My book club selected How to Take Over the World by Ryan North as our non-fiction read of the month.  It’s basically a pop-science book about the current edges of technology, loosely centered around the idea of pursuing a career as a super villain.  It’s a career strong on secret bases and low-to-nonexistent on actual villainy.  The final section on how to preserve a message for the future (on the order of thousands or millions of years) was probably the most intriguing. Continue reading “What I’ve Been Reading Lately (September, 2023)” →

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (August, 2023)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews2 Comments

Nearly the end of August, and hopefully cooler weather is ahead!  Time for some reading updates.

I finished reading After Anne by Logan Steiner, which I mentioned in my last update.  A novel based on L. M. Montgomery’s life, it was interesting and the people were portrayed very well – but I personally would have made a lot of different choices in what to focus on and how to interpret some of the more ambiguous things in her life.

I enjoyed Indexing Reflections by Seanan McGuire, sequel Indexing.  It was another very good, if dark, urban fantasy based on fairy tales, and I liked how much it delved into the backstories of the characters we met in the previous book.  I’d have enjoyed a touch more romance, but there were still some nice moments. Continue reading “What I’ve Been Reading Lately (August, 2023)” →

Writing Update (July, 2023)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Writing1 Comment

I’ve been deep in revisions this month, making edits to Thorns 2 based on beta reader feedback.  I added more conflict to hopefully make things more exciting in the earlier parts of the book, and made some tweaks and edits throughout.  I brought Chapter One into my writing group, and did a substantial rewrite of that chapter.  I think most writers will agree, Chapter One is the hardest!

I have one more scene I want to significantly rewrite, a fight with a dragon that I also brought into my writing group and received some helpful feedback on.  Once I handle that and a few smaller edits, Thorns 2 should be ready for its next round of beta reader review.  And I’ll see where we end up from there!  For the last several years at least, I always spend much more time revising than I do on the original drafting…

Once I get Thorns 2 sent off to be read again, I expect I’ll turn back to Thorns 3.  For, of course, more revising!  I want to add some scenes earlier on and do some reworking of the ending.  I’m thinking of bringing in a villain from earlier in the series who is currently absent in the third book but might be exciting to include.  So many decisions!