February Updates

Yeah, I know it’s March. February sucked.

I spent the last week fighting off a virus (not THE virus, but a virus), work was overwhelming and stressful, and I didn’t read as much as I had aimed for. I had a stack of four books to read, and I read one of them. Granted, I finished two ebooks that I’d been slowly reading.

I read Hall of Smoke by H. M. Long, and it was amazing. It gave me Skyrim vibes, but with a little dash of Avatar: the Last Airbender. It is a Norse-inspired tale of revenge and redemption, with beautiful writing, great plot, wonderful world-building, and well-rounded characters. Sure, I could have used a bit of romance, but it was still incredible. 5/5 stars

I finally finished the third book in Brigit Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker series, A Vow So Bold and Deadly. It’s been on my kindle for months, and I’ve been creeping along a few pages at a time. I’m not sure why I put this book off. True, the series did take a turn I wasn’t expecting, and Grey went from side character to main character, and Harper, the main character from the first book, became a side character. I still enjoyed the series, the world building, the character development, the writing. The whole series gets 5/5 stars.

I’ve also added about six books to my TBR. I’ve discovered I am a mood reader. I have to be in the mood for whatever book I’m reading. Hall of Smoke was a bit heavier, and I didn’t want to jump into another heavy book, so I’m currently reading Heartless by Marissa Meyer, a YA Fantasy about how the Queen of Hearts became the Queen of Hearts.

Writing wise, I sent book 1 of my currently titled Kingdom of Thorns series to a new editor. I finished the rough draft of book 3 and realized it likely won’t be a trilogy. I don’t think I can wrap up the series in three books. So, I’ve started notes for the fourth and final book. Right now, I am revising book 2 while the notes are fresh in my mind.

I’m not sure if I want to self-published this or if I want to try for the traditional route. The first book in my other Fantasy series, Empire of Storms (I’m not dead set on that title) is still sitting in an agent’s slush pile, so the traditional publishing dream is still alive!

I haven’t made any goals for March, because I feel like I failed my February goals. If I don’t make goals, I can’t fail them. Booyah.

Next Release: Strong as Steel, book 3 in Hard as Stone trilogy, Fall 2022