Currently

Welcome to another

 

Loving

Went to Bath & Beyond to get new soaps for the second half of the year, and ran into this cutie. My old hand sanitizer holder is a glow-in-the-dark ghost with an orange bow tie. I’ve carried him everywhere since I got him, but I wanted one that was less Halloween-y for a change. This lovely blue owl hooted at me from the stand, and once he was in my hand I couldn’t put him down.

 

Reading

Nine gods ruled the world, until the ultimate betrayal resulted in their destruction. Now, the world is dying and only by restoring the Lost Gods can it be saved.

In the island nation of Kundou, a prince condemned to a dark fate is determined to use it to set free the power his family has long kept enslaved. The fiery kingdom of Pozhar has worked for centuries to forever destroy the god who once tried to kill them, but others are determined to see the last remaining pieces never reach the sacrificial altar for much more dangerous reasons…

In Piedre, zealous cults are determined to either kill or abuse the notorious Basilisk Prince, mortal reincarnation of the lost god of death… Verde, the only country to still love their gods, are preparing yet again to try and restore them in a ceremony that instead always ends in violence and tragedy… And far away in Schatten, sealed from the rest of the world by a dark shadow, the long banned powers of chaos begin to stir…

I’m kinda in love with Megan Derr’s fantasy stories, so last week I started another of her series. I’ve also read her Empire of Kria series, and Tournament of Losers. I’m already saving up to buy her Tales of the High Court series as well! Like I said, love.

 

Watching

This week I continued feeding my obsession with sentient or semi-sentient mecha with another Netflix exclusive—Kuromukuro. This anime has a mix of future tech and mythology with the story revolving around the legend of Japanese oni or demons. The mechas were very interesting. Upon entering the cockpit, the AI injects both the pilot and the navigator with nano machines that create a link between human and machine. This link primarily serves as the key to activating the mecha itself, preventing any random person from stealing the machine and using it, like I’ve seen done in other shows. But it also seems to work a bit stronger, as the main character often calls the cockpit (which is separate from the rest of the robot) and the box flies to wherever he is to pick him up. I’m very excited with the anime and hope it gets a Season 2, because OMG THAT CLIFFHANGER!

 

Listening

In Kpop, I mostly go by sound and tune first to like a song, but sometimes a song will catch my eye because of the lyrics. I very much like the message of EXO’s Can’t Bring Me Down, which is about never giving up and going against those that try hard to bring us down. The best lines in the song are:

I’m getting up again, my heart’s racing again
Lift your head to a higher place now
Oh the beautiful courage that is born again

Also, earlier this week I tweeted the link to Florence + The Machine’s new song for the movie Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children! Who’s excited?

 

Thinking

Although I’ve heard many times write for yourself and not for the market, there are certain genre conventions that I think one has to be aware of. For example, while it’s normal for YA stories to come in present tense (says, runs, laughs), but it’s less common, and even a bit frowned upon, to find that in Adult Romance where almost all stories are in past tense (said, ran, laughed).

When I switched from writing YA and started with my MM stories, I wasn’t fully aware of this convention, and so my stories are 3rd person POV present tense (he says, he runs, he laughs). And unfortunately, the most recurrent advice I’m getting from betas is “change it to past tense.” So, that’s what I’ve been doing lately!

It’s stressful and it grates, especially since I believe that any story will sell as long as it’s well crafted and entertaining. But in the end it comes down to making the smartest business choice, and changing it means readers won’t pass it up just because of its present tense.

 

Excited For

A lord in danger. A magician in turmoil. A snowball in hell.

Exiled to China for twenty years, Lucien Vaudrey never planned to return to England. But with the mysterious deaths of his father and brother, it seems the new Lord Crane has inherited an earldom. He’s also inherited his family’s enemies. He needs magical assistance, fast. He doesn’t expect it to turn up angry.

Magician Stephen Day has good reason to hate Crane’s family. Unfortunately, it’s his job to deal with supernatural threats. Besides, the earl is unlike any aristocrat he’s ever met, with the tattoos, the attitude… and the way Crane seems determined to get him into bed. That’s definitely unusual.

Soon Stephen is falling hard for the worst possible man, at the worst possible time. But Crane’s dangerous appeal isn’t the only thing rendering Stephen powerless. Evil pervades the house, a web of plots is closing round Crane, and if Stephen can’t find a way through it—they’re both going to die.

Not exactly a new book , but A Charm of Magpies is a new series to me. I’m also told I’ve been sorely missing out by not reading KJ Charles before, so I’m excited to dig in!

 

Wanting

Since I’ve been binge watching The Great British Bake Off on the side, I’ve been itching to try some of the recipes. I might try to bake some biscotti or attempt one of the breads, because they all look delicious and it’s something I haven’t baked yet. Just look at these!

 

Making me Happy

Quality time with the women in my family! It’s very nice when we get to go out and enjoy our collective fem power. For this outing, we went to an artisan fair and had a blast browsing through all the tables. There was also music, food, and a giant mosaic (top right) which one could contribute by paying $2, placing a piece, and signing a log as a contributor to the art piece. I also got some neat glass-tile jewelry.