so many days

Hello lovelies, it's been a while! As always, I didn't intend for it to be so, but life happens. I've been pretty preoccupied between day job, freelancing, writing, music, roommates, the state of politics in America today, etc. But there have been good things happening. I attended the Rainforest Writing Retreat in March, and wrote 27,000 words in five days! I've written a couple short stories! I'm on my second round of revisions on my novelette! 4th Street Fantasy was two weekends ago, and was amazing as always! My longest-standing friend in the world and her husband visited last weekend!

And of course, I've read some good books this year  (super short comments on each because otherwise I'd be here for hours):

1) Descender vol 1. WHOA good sci-fi graphic novel.

2) Pretty Deadly vol. 1. You dig weird Western? This is crazy good!

3) Nimona by Noelle Stevenson. This graphic novel got me right in the feels. Loved it!

4) Life Without a Recipe by Diana Abu-Jaber. I love everything she writes. She uses the English language so beautifully, I fall into her words.

5) Last First Snow by Max Gladstone. Everything Max writes is brilliant.

6) Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig. This was like reading an action movie!

7) The Archived by Victoria Schwab. Atmospheric YA. I need to get the sequel.

8) The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma. This is some creepy YA! So good!

9) Black Dog by Caitlin Kittredge. Action-oriented, out-of-the-norm urban fantasy. I just picked up the sequel.

10) The Silent Woman by Janet Malcom. REALLY interesting book about Sylvia Plath!

11) Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire. I love the whole Toby Daye series.

12) An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard. Kat blows me away, everything she writes is amazing!

I'll be focusing on my writing for the summer, but I'll be dropping by here every so often to update you all on how that's going. My goals are to finish revising the novelette and start submitting it, and to have a finished first draft of the novel I'm powering through. And to spend more time reading! What's everyone else's plans for the summer?

Time to get back to writing. Blood and kisses, everyone, I'll be back here soon.

moon-shaped

Agh, that frustrating moment when you had a blog post mostly written and then your draft disappears . . . Ah, well. I'll do my best to re-create it.
I feel as though I am continuing to improve, a little bit every day. I'm writing pretty regularly. Only a new project, though: I'm not prepared to revisit the projects I was so bogged down in before. I think it'll be a while yet before I do look at those again. Work has calmed, and so has home (as much as home can when sharing space with so many people). I was recently on vacation for a week, and it was very nice to not be in the city, to have some time away, to catch up with people. Of course I missed my cats terribly, though, and they were both angry at me when I got home!
I can't wait for autumn to really begin. I am very ready for chill, crisp air; for sweaters and boots; for the changing of the leaves, and bonfires, and tea, and cozy nights at home reading.
Books!
15) The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss. This is a beautiful story of love and magic. The language is lush, and both characters felt very real to me. Definitely a keeper.
16) Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone.I've nattered on about the Craft Sequence books before. They're brilliant, engaging, and very different from other fantasy series out there. Keepers, every one. Max is a great writer, and also a great speaker; if you get the chance to see him, be it a reading or a panel at a con or whatever, do it.
17) Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan. I devoured this YA novel of revenge and hidden identities. It's a fast, smart, dark read that you will fall into. Definitely worth reading!
18) A Green and Ancient Light by Frederic S. Durbin. This is a quietly beautiful book about war and love and loss and magic. It surprised me, to be honest; I felt very emotionally connected to the characters and the story almost immediately. Every action is believable, the love is palpable, and every moment of tension is had me in suspense. Please check this one out; it's lovely.
And now, on with my Sunday. I have today off from pool, hurray! So I'm doing some things around the house, some freelancing, and running a couple errands. I'm so used to my Sundays being occupied that having the entire weekend free feels decadent.
More soon. Blood and kisses!

too hot to be clever

It's been hot as hell in New York for the past week or so, and we are all slowly melting into the concrete. It's incredibly difficult to find the fortitude to work on anything at all when the heat is leeching away your will to live.
That said, I just finished a rush proofreading project. Can't wait for that check to arrive so I can throw it at my credit card! Between that and doing several critiques for writer friends recently, I haven't managed to finish reading any books. I'm working on it though; today I started reading The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss, and I'm partway through a few others. Book updates soon, my dears!
I've continued to putter around with whatever occurs to me, writing-wise, but I think in September I'll get back to Janny and Syska. I do rather like a couple of the things that I've been poking at over the last couple of weeks, though. . . .
Also in September I'm visiting family for a week. I can't wait!
This Friday is my last summer Friday in New York before said family visit. My plan is to sleep it, do some writing, do some reading, and maybe play a video game or watch a movie. Or maybe I'll go to the park, or the Cloisters. . . .
That's all for now. Sorry to be brief, but I don't have a lot to report. Hopefully I'll have more to discuss soon.
Blood and kisses, all!

august already

Happy Lughnasadh, all. I missed it; between work and other commitments I didn't have the time for a celebration. But I'm determined to get back to that part of myself more in the next couple months.
I've started writing again, hallelujah! It's slow, and I'm letting myself write whatever comes out, which means I'm not exactly progressing on the novels right now. But the important thing is to get back to enjoying writing and having a good rhythm and routine with it. Once I have those things, I can worry about the novels.
I read a book! 14) Vicious by V. E. Schwab. Holy shit, if you like superhero stories, READ THIS BOOK. I've enjoyed everything I've read by Victoria; she's consistently a very good writer. Her stories are awesome. And this has everything you could want in a superhero book: origin stories, archnemeses, superpowers, a big black dog, life and death.
I'm doing better overall. Work has calmed down. I've taken a step back in social obligations and travel, and that's helped. I'm really trying to focus on simplifying things. I'm visiting my family at the end of the summer; I'm taking my vitamins; I'm trying to be more active; I'm writing. Good steps!
One week ago right now I was at Madison Square Garden watching Radiohead perform. It was AMAZING. They are brilliant live; I'd never seen them before. They looked happy and comfortable and the music was SO. GOOD. I'm so thankful my bandmate/good friend decided I could be his plus one. That was definitely a highlight of this year! And just a couple days before that I was in Philly for twenty-four hours for writing time with a couple good friends, which was also really lovely.
Nothing else to report, really. August should be pretty quiet, which is going to be nice. And now, it's time to write.
Blood and kisses!

this is your wilderness

I wrote the following two weeks ago, and then was unsure to post because I don't want to sound whiny or like I'm asking for attention or anything. Sometimes things need to be purged, though, and blogging is a good way of getting things out of my system. Sometimes things seem more approachable once I write/talk about them. So, older part of this entry:

 

Last weekend was 4th Street Fantasy, and this year was every bit as good as last year. Great people, conversation, panels. Late nights. I stuck pretty close to my VP classmates who also attended; I've been feeling tentative and unsure about things lately, so I needed that level of familiarity this year. I did meet some lovely people, and renewed acquaintance with some others, but that was mostly alongside my VP tribe.
Why am I so tentative and unsure these days? I think it's a slurry of several factors. I've been exhausted for a long time: work has been busy as hell and went pear-shaped a couple weeks ago when a higher-up left. We're working it out, and I think it'll be fine in another week or two. But transitions are draining. Things at home have been stressful, but we finally found a new roommate!! And I'm changing how I approach certain things, in the hope that that lessens the stress. On a whole other level (I'm sorry if this is a bit much but I think it's important for me to address it), a week and a half ago in Manhattan I saw a woman in the street just after she'd been hit by a car. I saw her, not surrounded by paramedics or anything, just lying there beneath the bumper of the car. I saw where she was bloodied from the collision. And that fucked up my head pretty solidly. I think about her a lot. And last but not least, I don't feel good about my writing right now. It's difficult for me to do it at all. I'm worried that my ghost/witch novel is not the right story at all for those characters. I don't know that I've figured out the right climax for Emmelina, and I've no idea how to get Janny to the ending of the novel. I feel stymied.
I need quiet time this summer. Down time. Alone time with books and movies and long walks and more books. And writing, once I find a level of comfort with it again. Self-care is important, and it's time for more of it.

 

I've lightened up a little bit since then, though the writing struggle continues. This last weekend I went out of town, and though I didn't really get any writing time while I was away, at least I got a change of scenery and a few days off work.

I've read a couple books lately:

11) A Rose-Red Chain by Seanan McGuire. Another solid entry in the October Daye series, and I can't wait for the next one!

12) Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone. This is the second book in the stunning, original Craft Sequence. I really enjoy Max's writing; his characters are well-fleshed-out, his language is vivid, as his world-building is incredible. Haven't tried him yet? Start with the first book in the series, Three Parts Dead!

13) The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.Well-crafted characters, great court/political intrigue. I REALLY liked this one, and would happily read more in the series if more get written.

I've decided against Readercon this year, and Worldcon as well. There are multiple reasons, but the biggest one is that I have been pushing too hard for too long, and it's time for some self-care. So here's to a quiet, well-rested, creative July and August for us all. 

tattered lace and faded dreams

I'm thinking of taking a day off next week; I've been struggling with that overwhelmed feeling again. I think it's partially because I have so many problematic titles at work right now, and partially because I haven't been really on top of getting things done at home so I feel like I'm behind. BUT. I'm taking my daily vitamins, I'm drinking a lot less, I'm reading more. I'm not writing more yet, but I'll get there. I had a neat idea for a story the other day; hopefully I'll get around to writing that soon!
Two books to talk about:
9) Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel Jose Older. WHOA. This book is a crazy rush. It's intense, and amazing, and I totally fell into this book. It's about a guy, Carlos, who's an inbetweener; he works for the New York Council of the Dead, and then shit happens. I need the next one!
10) City of Savages by Lee Kelly. This story is built on a lot of despair and rage. It's New York, two decades after WWIII. The city is a POW camp. While following on family through a stretch of their lives, you also learn what happened during the war and after, and how it became what it became. It's definitely a good read. Not a keeper for me, because I probably won't read it again, but I certainly enjoyed it.
I'm not sure how it got so late already. Per usual, I didn't manage to do half of what I intended to do this evening. I should go squeeze in a few minutes of work on something. Blood and kisses!

far to fall

Happy belated Beltane, everyone! Did anyone celebrate it? We had a nice brunch on Sunday before heading to our pool match.
This week has been chilly and damp. It's nice to have the rain; hopefully that means a good gardening year for everyone. We're getting a late start on. Our garden. Between freezing temps through the end of April and a bad springtime cold sweeping through our house, we haven't planted anything yet. I want to at least get some tomato starts happily settled into backyard pots this Saturday, and maybe some morning glories to cover an ugly section of fence, but that depends on how much freelance work I get done in the next couple days.
I managed to read another book! 7) The Escapement of Blackledge by Mary a Robinette Kowal. And okay, novella, but that still counts! It was her April Fools joke this year; she posted in for sale on Amazon as fan fiction under a different name and then watched a people tried to figure out who wrote it. It's erotic Glamourist fiction. Amusing!
I also read the first episode of Bookburners, from Serial Box, and quite enjoyed it. I'm not sure how to count those in my book tally; maybe one season equals one book? So I'll put an (8) here and update you all when I read more of it.
Well. Time to settle in for the day. I'm hoping to carve out some writing time this weekend around the copyediting, since all I have left to do on my middle-grade project is to rewrite the climax and the ending. It's coming together.
Blood and kisses, everyone!