An Unfortunate Tweet

Camp Nano has been one heck of a journey for me this year. Normally, my editing takes the process of reading my book, assembling it in the correct order, and editing page by page from there. However, when I was working with my new editor on my last book, I found a new way. I went over the book and wrote what each chapter was, put them on post-it notes and stuck them inside my notebook while I played around with it. It helped me to really see where I was missing plot points and make sweeping changes if needed from a top-down approach that my old way of working wouldn't have allowed. I decided to see if it helped me with editing this next book. 

I should start by saying I knew it had problems. I was expecting a lot of rewrites. However, I was not expecting this method to show me that my entire plot was wrong and needed to be rewritten essentially. And I'm only exaggerating a little when I say that. I just finished the top-down overview and I have 17 chapters that are listed as "rewrite from scratch"... there could be more by the end of this pass, but that's what I'm working with now. 

Despite that daunting number, I'm actually pretty hopeful. Fox's Facade was a really difficult book to write in the first place. It was going a few different places, but at the time, I don't think I was a good enough writer to anticipate what exactly it would need. Regardless of the actual reason, I think the way I have restructured the plot will work a lot better now. I began rewrites a few days ago. Hopefully, it won't take me too long to do them. I'd like to have the edits out to my beta readers by September, if possible, though I'll have to see how my editing is going before I set that as the goal. 

That finished, I'd like to talk about a tweet that was posted earlier this week. 

This tweet from @dntmakeitworse to be exact. If you've read my blog for any amount of time, I'm sure you know how false this is. Yes, women tend to be overlooked in publishing. I'm not saying that isn't a problem. I've read the story all too many times about fans walking up to female authors and thanking them for writing under a pseudonym or their initials. "I never would have picked up your book if I'd known a woman wrote it" is something that all too many have heard. 

That said, while I think this was what the tweeter was trying to convey, they are horribly wrong. Even leaving aside solid staples such as Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Anne McCaffery, and Agatha Christie, there are hundreds of others. Margaret Atwood, Harper Lee, Ursula K. LeGuin, Baroness Orczy... this isn't even counting that the first novel in the world was written by a woman; my personal hero of Murasaki Shikibu, the lady-in-waiting who wrote The Tale of Genji. 

If you think women haven't always been there, doing the same things men were, you are sorely mistaken. Our tale often isn't told; the women warriors of Shaka Zulu's armies, the female samurai of Japan, the women of Scotland trained to defend the homestead when the men were away. 

And that I think is where I'll end it today. Let me know who your favorite female author as a kid was. Personally, I will also hold a place in my heart for Anne McCaffery. I loved her story of psychics, dragons, and cats. 

Eeek! Lord's Curse Release Day!!!

It's finally here! I am so excited It's been a long journey, filled with more mistakes on my part than I want to admit to. Despite that, I am so pleased to finally be able to share the end product with all of you! Its been an intense year, but there is something so uplifting about finally getting it out to you guys. I don't have kids, but I have always assumed that it's like sending your child away to school or college. You won't be there to guide it anymore and it has to stand on its own. Fortunately, I think I have managed to prepare it adequately, with some great help from my editor and beta readers.

Not only that, but the proof copy arrived yesterday, and it's even more gorgeous beside Hunter's Gambit than it was on its own!

It's my wish that you'll all settle in with it after work and enjoy the adventure. Definitely let me know of course! I love seeing pictures and would love to see how excited you guys are. Use the hashtags #lordscurse, #kitsuneken, or #kitsuneken2 anywhere online to share your pictures! I'll be following along, hoping to read when you find a new favourite quote or as you're knocked for a loop by a twist in the story. 

Speaking of that, would you guys be interested in having a temporarily pinned post on FB to discuss the book, hash out conspiracy theories, or just to post your thoughts on it? Let me know and I can make one for you guys. 

And that's it for me! Go out and get your copy of Lord's Curse. It should be available everywhere you buy ebooks. 

Sneak Peek - Lord's Curse

I promised you a bit of the book today to whet your appetite for the main course next week. So, without further ado, here is the first chapter of Lord's Curse! Set your calendars for the 12th and remember that the ebook is on pre-order! 

Chapter 1

     Deckard knew that healing people wasn’t easy. It took skill, patience, and knowledge to mend bones, close wounds, and stop disease. His innate abilities helped, of course, but he refused to rely on their power. Mainly because he had always wished that he didn’t have it at all. Blessed were rare and prized; they could heal anything short of true death. Unfortunately, due to their rarity, they were treated much in the same way a rare animal was; they lived fine lives in gilded cages. A beautiful contraption, so long as you didn’t think too hard about the fact that it was still a cage.

     He had never been kept that way. Instead, his mother had taught him to use his ability sparingly, gently encouraging the body to mend itself faster while he healed with more conventional means rather than let his secret out. He was the youngest healer in Hidan, but he had studied hard, trained for years to learn the trade and gain the trust of the community. He had built himself a normal life.

     All that work and effort… wasted.

     Dark thoughts fouled his mood, and the weather seemed to follow suit, bringing winds that chilled him to the bone. He shivered, pulling his jacket snugly around him. Deckard turned the corner with relief as he saw the warm glow of the Lucky Koi Inn. The chill of spring hadn’t been replaced by summer’s warmth yet and wouldn’t be for another month or more. The cold had gotten to him more than he liked lately, a condition he hoped the fire burning in the Koi’s huge stone fireplace would be able to solve.

     He studiously ignored the fact that the cold he’d been feeling had nothing to do with the weather.

     He jogged to the heavy door and opened it, slipping inside.

     The lamps were lit in the center of the room, the area most densely filled, leaving dark, lonely spots against the walls where young lovers could pretend they had privacy. The stone fireplace sat against the far wall, beside the door that led into the kitchen. The fireplace was a two way, open to both rooms and through it, the scent of old fish stew and new bread with melting butter wafted into the main room.

     As the door closed behind him, every eye turned his way. Their eyes judged him warily; the same as they would Tieni simply for being one of the Corvidae. He waited to be recognized and his heart skipped in an unhealthy way when he realized that while they knew him, they weren’t sure if he was a friend or a stranger anymore.

     Deckard had been living in Hidan since he was eleven. He’d fought hard to be accepted, to be welcome in their places. It had taken years and becoming a healer to do it. The idea of working his way back to that acceptance among them seemed insurmountable.

     He would have left were it not for seeing Tieni in the far corner, near the kitchen, strumming her lute. Her hair and face were dark, but her clothes were bright, garish when compared to the rest of the townsfolk. She saw him and smiled. That smile still made him feel giddy. She quietly played another measure and then shook her curly hair out, thanking everyone. Even from the door, he could hear, faintly, the sound of her thick hair beads clicking. She gestured towards the bar with the instrument and quickly began tugging a thin string through its bridge. She bit her lower lip as the cord stretched.

     Deckard walked over to the bar focusing on Tieni’s strong hands rather than the stares of people he’d thought of as friends. As he neared the bar, Kenneth caught his eye, an expression of pity on his face.

     “They’ll get over it soon enough, Deckard,” he said, cleaning a glass. “It’s only been a week, after all.” His expression was friendly, and Deckard relaxed seeing it. At least one person didn’t think he had suddenly changed just because they’d found out he was a blessed.

     Kenneth had been the bartender here since Deckard had moved here, but he thought the man was wrong in this case. Nothing had been right since the stranger, Richard, had come to town. With the way things were going, he didn’t think they’d get any better when he finally left again.

     Richard had been searching for a ship lost at sea decades before. While in Hidan, four men had nearly succeeded in murdering him. It had been Kuzunoha, his own ex-girlfriend, who had saved the stranger’s life by bringing Richard to Deckard. Once healed, Richard had convinced her to go treasure hunting with him. Deckard had thought that neither of them would be his trouble again. Until the stranger had returned to town a week later with Kuzunoha nearly dead in his arms.

     During their adventure, she’d gotten herself infected with a mold that had been turning her insides to jelly. His heart had been caught in his throat, choking him as he’d felt her heartbeat stutter and stop. He shivered remembering the feeling of her dying in his arms. He’d been lucky that the healing itself hadn’t killed her. He hadn’t considered the consequences before he’d made use of his power, forcing the mold and sickness out through her pores.

     Everyone thought he’d brought her back from the dead.

     He hadn’t, of course. There were limits to his power and death was one of them. Kuzunoha had been on the brink, unconscious with a heart stuttering to a stop, but it was close enough for his power to restart it as the sickness was forced out of her body. Everyone had seen him do it, his body practically glowing with the magic released.

     Of course, he didn’t regret saving Kuzunoha’s life. He just hoped that people would come to their senses soon; that saving her wouldn’t end up costing him the life he’d built here.

     “I hope so. Could you have a couple of drinks and some stew brought over to my table?”

     Kenneth nodded.

     “The usual drinks for you and the cro– and Tieni?”

     Kenneth was a good man, but he still referred to Tieni as a crow. Strangers were always treated with a mix of suspicion and attraction, and that held double for the traveling folk known as the Corvidae. Fortunately, Tieni could sing and play the lute more than passably well. Since she’d left her family, they let her play in the inns, walk around Hidan and outwardly, people welcomed her like they would have any other traveling bard. So long as she didn’t steal their men, their children, their coin, or caused any trouble. Of course, his relationship with her was seen as proof of the other three and some people were becoming vocal about it.

     Kenneth’s eyes flicked to Deckard’s left, noting someone walking up to the bar and gave Deckard a nod.

     Deckard glanced behind him to see who was coming and smiled, recognizing Carol, the smith’s youngest daughter. She was younger than him, wearing her bright hair bound into a matron’s hair clip. Her wool dress was undyed, other than a single tiny handprint in bright blue. She carried her young son in her arms.

     He knew her from around town, but the first time he'd spent time with her was when he'd helped deliver her son a few months back. What had she named the boy again? Calvin? He hoped the child hadn’t taken ill. It was all too easy for cold to get into the lungs when they were that young.

     “Good eve, Master Healer,” Carol said, pausing when her voice caught. She could be terribly nervous at times. He tried to smile warmly, even as he stepped back towards the bar.

     “Good eve to you, Carol. How is Calvin doing?”

     She’d come in much closer than she usually preferred to. Her expression was intense; wide unblinking eyes and the rest of her face set as if rigor mortis were about to set in. Before he could worry about what might be wrong, she thrust a thick set of blankets at him. The baby burbled happily inside, smiling as if he recognized Deckard, at least enough to know that he was a friend.

     “I didn't ask before; I didn't know to ask... can you bless my baby? I want him to grow up strong and handsome and skilled with bow and fishing rod...”

     Deckard held up his hands and moved away.

     “Carol... I helped you deliver him. I'm the same guy I was then.”

     Her eyes filled with tears of relief and she pulled Calvin towards her chest, hugging him.

     “You blessed him when he was born? Thank you!”

     That was not what he’d been trying to say. He tried again. “Carol, I didn't... I can’t…”

     She looked confused and then her expression turned stricken and she squeezed Calvin to her chest protectively. The babe squeaked and then burbled at his mother in annoyance.

     “You don't approve of my son?”

     “Calvin is fine-”

     “Is it me you don't approve of?”

     Calvin had started to whimper now, not sure why his mother and friend were arguing. In any other situation, he would have taken Calvin from her, playing with him to make him smile again. He wouldn’t do it with Carol acting so erratically.

     He had to stop this before it got out of hand. Tieni stepped in front of him and gestured at Carol’s baby.

     “The blessed doesn’t feel worthy of your thanks but he knows that you will be a perfect mother to the little one.”

     Carol pulled Calvin closer to her breasts as if worried Tieni might try to reach out and grab him. She looked up to Deckard for confirmation. She smiled after he nodded and glanced back at her baby as she walked away.

     “Thank you,” he whispered.

     He was normally better with words, but the idea that he could do what Carol had asked was ludicrous. He was just a man. One with a God-given gift that could heal nearly any sickness, but a man, nonetheless. Who would have come up with the idea that he could grant wishes and make people’s lives easier? Everyone’s eyes were still on him.

     Tieni pretended not to notice.

     “You need to learn how to escape from people like that.”

     At her words, every eye turned to glare at her. More than a few of those included him in their wrathful stare. Kenneth growled loudly behind them.

     “Hey! No one messes with one of Hidan’s healers. Blessed or not, he's safe in my establishment. Go back to your drinks.”

     There was a pregnant pause before everyone returned to their food and talk. Deckard let out a breath.

     “Thank you.”

     Kenneth picked up another glass, filling it.

     “My momma nearly died of the flu; didn't because you helped her. Whether you healed her or blessed her, I got nothing to say either way. You got the job done and that’s what matters. Now, go take a seat.” He slid their drinks towards them.

     Tieni smiled at Kenneth and grabbed the ale he’d pushed towards her with one hand while he grabbed the light-colored wine. Tieni led the way to one of the dark tables, near enough to the fire that Deckard started to sweat. He put his drink on the table and pulled his jacket off, tossing it on the back of his chair before sitting down. This close to the fire, it should be thoroughly heated by the time they wanted to go back home.

     “Thank you Tieni. I’m sorry you had to see… that.”

     “I hadn’t expected anything else. I mean, I waltzed in and took the best-looking guy in town from them. They were never going to like me,” she said, pretending as if he’d meant the glares she’d received, rather than his embarrassment. She continued, “I will say that I'm surprised to get it from the menfolk too. Normally it's only women that are the vindictive ones, fearing I'll steal their husbands and sons.”

     He wanted to argue, but even if it hadn’t been true before, with his status as a blessed known, he would certainly be Hidan’s most eligible bachelor. Some were treating his newfound status as if he were a gift of the heavens, but even the ones that distrusted him were willing to thrust their daughters at him. Elder Zeisolf had begged him to consider his twelve-year-old granddaughter for a betrothal since she wouldn’t be able to legally marry for another five years.

     “They don’t seem to understand that if I was going to marry someone here, I would have done it already.” His tone had venom to it.

      Tieni took a drink from her mug and licked the ale froth from her upper lip.

     “No one wanted you to marry her, but they still would have preferred her to me.”

     It was a nice assumption, but he wouldn’t have bet on it holding water. Most people in town wanted nothing to do with Kuzunoha. They tolerated her, would accept her spending her family’s money in their establishments, but that was as far as it went. Even her beauty and her family’s wealth hadn’t been enough to entice more than one or two to offer, unsuccessfully, for her hand. He admitted that after he’d broken it off between them, that realization had cheered him, petty as it was.

     “I'd hoped they would start accepting you as one of them.” He told her.

     She scoffed. “Deckard, some of these people still refer to you as the ‘new boy’.”

     The new boy… while he preferred wine, with the way this conversation was going, he wished he’d ordered something harder.

     “What are they saying about Kuzunoha?” He asked.

     “What you would expect; you healed her for old times’ sake, that you still love her and are using me,” she snorted. “I don’t mind admitting that I had wondered. Now that she’s been with us for a week, I see those rumors are just that. Speaking of, how long before she can go home?”

      Deckard frowned, looking to his drink again.

     “The sickness that nearly killed her is gone. Unfortunately, it did a lot of damage before I pushed it out. Her body is weak and thin, her blood flows sluggish and her muscles could take weeks to fully repair themselves. And don’t get me started on that leg injury.”

      “You could heal her faster, couldn’t you?”

     He resented the question. First, he didn’t want to rely on his power that way, had trained hard for years so he wouldn’t have to. He also didn’t want to set the precedence that he would. Healing was difficult enough the way he used it, bolstering all his patients to heal a little faster than they would have naturally. He didn’t even know if he could use it the way she suggested, and he wasn’t going to put any energy into finding out.  

     “I don't want her in my home any more than you do, but I won’t turn her out until she’s well.”

     He was also concerned that she wouldn’t stay at her sister's, meaning that she’d be staying with Richard. In addition to the Koi being less than optimal for someone convalescing, he also didn’t think that sharing a room with that man would result in the rest she needed.

     Tieni nodded and hesitantly put her hand on his. “My father’s letter arrived. He’s wondering when I’ll rejoin the caravan.”

     Deckard sipped his wine again and leaned back. The Corvidae didn’t settle often. They might for a season, maybe two, but if they stayed longer, they tended to stay forever. Tieni had been here since the festival of light, a full season already.  

     “What did you tell him?”

     “I’ll wait until he gets here and see how things are if I haven’t decided before then.” She shrugged. “He should arrive by late summer.”

     “That wasn’t what I asked.” He moved a hand to hers and wrapped it around her fingers.

     She looked away. “I can’t stay forever, Deckard. I like you. But if you’re asking if I’d ever give it up and stay in one place…” she shook her head. “I can’t answer that yet.”

     He kept his hand on hers, but she turned hers so that he could caress her wrist. She knew how much it soothed him. 

     “Would you consider leaving Hidan?” she asked.

     The idea nearly gave him hives. Travel was dangerous; his father had died on the road and his mother had never been the same. Inside the walls, there was safety… but even more than that, Hidan was home now. His heart was pounding. Could he leave town, leave everything that he knew for her?

     “Can I think about it?”

     He saw a shadow move out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Kenneth’s wife bringing out their dinners. Tieni leaned over the table and kissed him over the bowls of thick stew and fresh-baked bread.

     “Of course.”

Reading for the Self-Isolating

We're all finding ourselves with more time on our hands right now. But what to do while you're stuck inside self-isolating? The obvious answer is your favorite streaming service, but as a reader myself, I'm calling on all of you to try to read a little more. One of the benefits of reading in a situation like this is also that you won't feel quite as locked in your house. For a few hours a day, you'll feel like you're out of your home and in a completely different world. While I would love to hear that some of you are reading Hunter's Gambit, there are a lot of other great books out there for you to pick up. Many authors are discounting their ebooks specifically during the pandemic to give people something to do while they're stuck inside.

Laura VanArendonk Baugh is offering sales for physical books on her website and her books on Kindle are very cheap, as well. In particular, I can suggest her Kitsune series (Kitsune Tsuki & Kitsune Mochi) and her Shard of Elan series (Shard & Shield & Blood & Bond). The nice part about her Shard of Elan series is that the third book is coming out soon, so you'll have another out soon after you finish the first two.

Starla Huchton is offering most of her Kindle books for very good prices as well and I saw a post about her cutting three of those down to $0.99. In particular, I can suggest her Evolution series; think superheroes dealing with adult issues and throw in a bit of sex and romance. I found them very entertaining and like the way Starla writes her romances. Of those, I've read the first book of her Endure series, Maven and loved it as well.

Ana Johns's novel, The Woman in the White Kimono is also on sale in the Kindle store for under $5 and that was the best new book that I read last year. Consider it highly recommended by me.

As for what I'm reading right now, the book I'm reading from my 100 TBR list is Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra and so far, I'm rather enjoying it. Digitally, I'm reading The Hidden Princess by Georgina Makalani. As soon as I finish that book, I'll be reading my way through Annette Marie's Guild Codex: Demonized series; book 3, Hunting Fiends for the Feeble, is coming out on April 4th. For audiobooks, I'm currently listening to CE Murphy's Urban Shaman series, which is one of my favorites to date. I have also purchased and will be listening to Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs soon. This is the newest book in her award-winning Mercy Thompson series, another favorite of mine.

If you want to join me in reading any of these books, I am always looking to discuss books and share favorite quotes from them, so let me know if you decide to pick up any of these.

A Mis-Binding of Epic Proportions Makes for a Cool Gift

          Hello, Hello everyone! I hope that you've had a rocking holiday so far. I have been busy with family, shopping, getting ready for the holidays and, of course, editing my novel. And for the first time in a very long time, I can say I'm finished. Literally, all I need to do now is to give it a quick read through, to make sure that all of my changes work well and then it will be ready to go. I think I have a title now, so I'll probably be ordering a cover in the next four or five days. Which means I should be able to start sharing hints of it in the next week or so! I am super excited. 

          That said, this will be a super quick update so that I can get back to work. I've been working on some artwork over the holidays, and it's all turning out really well. I got some really kickass books to read as well as one book I'm keeping with the weirdest error I've ever seen before. The book is labelled and covered as Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare, but the actual book inside is Stephen King's 11/22/63. I could return it and pick up an un-erred copy of the novel, but I totally think I'm going to keep this one and see if I can get it signed by both authors. 

          Oh, my Jolabokaflod gift for this year was Jade City by Fonda Lee. I remember that a friend of mine, Calvin Jim, had mentioned it during a panel at last year's When Words Collide on Asian fiction. I can't remember exactly what he said, but I remember being super interested in reading it and so I was exceptionally pleased to receive it. I gave my husband a hardcover of John Scalzi's Old Man's War. He seems to be enjoying it so far. I can't wait to start mine, but I'm about a quarter way into a re-read of Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan right now, so I have to finish that up first. 

          Okay, with that said, I'm going to sign out now and start editing. Reading should only take two to three days at most and then I'll be able to start doing things like giving you guys dates for release and cover reveals and fun stuff like that. 

          In the meantime, tell me what your favourite gift was, or what books you got or gave this season that you were excited about and why? Or perhaps a story of misprints you've found in a book? 

Keeping busy

          My tendinitis is acting up... again? Still? At any rate, I'm under doctor's orders to not abuse it and take painkillers steadily until it starts feeling better. The doctor said a week or two and it been nearly double that now, so hopefully it will be fine soon. On the one hand, I though I'd be dying without my ability to write. And while I will be soon, I have found things to keep me occupied.

1. Reading
          Okay, so this is always my first fall back and this time it came with the added bonus of allowing me to start editing it since every edit includes one full read-through to see where it currently stands. I put the second novel of my Kitsune-Ken series on my Kindle app and 5 chapters in, I can say thats its well written but I will need to rewrite/replan the beginning of it. I changed one thing in my first novel and completely killed the original conflict the novel started off with. That's why I always start off with a base level read through.
          I also picked up a few books, the Howl's Moving Castle series, Your Name and Romancing the Inventor. I haven't started the series yet, but the other two are amazing so far and I would totally recommend them. Fair warning if you do pick up Your Name; it doesn't explain the cultural context of pretty much anything and assumes you'll already know it (sort of like a book set in modern day England wouldn't explain what a biscuit was or why they were having it with tea). So if you know something about Japan, this is an awesome read. If you don't, be aware, its going to take you a bit longer to wrap your head around it.

2. Inktober
          Inktober, if you missed my last blog post, is a monthly challenge to improve your inking skills. Annoyed by my pens inability to blend at all, I went out and picked up some copic markers. They are amazing. If anything, its my art ability that limits their potential. (See pictures below).

3. #WIPJoy
          Unable to do anything by half, I am also filling my resting time with the #WIPJoy challenge. Created by an author who wanted to interact with her story a bit differently, #WIPJoy challenges you to answer questions about your current work-in-progress everyday. I didn't start it until yesterday, so I'm currently behind, but I am catching up. Check out my author page on Facebook for all of those updates.

          So, yeah... this is how I fill up my resting time. What's keeping you busy this week?

Baby Steps

          I'm going to start doing small posts to get back into doing this on a weekly/twice-weekly basis. To that end, today's post is just going to be a quick update on where my writing is. I have been writing, nearly every day since I finally finished reading Anne Bishop's latest novel, Etched in Bone. I'd been waiting a year to read it, so from the moment I received it, there was very little writing being done.

          Since then, I've written a rough draft of a new chapter and written some on a new one. Right now these are very rough and honestly, I sorta hate them (one I finished and realized that what I had learned from that chapter was one way NOT to write that chapter), but I think the main issue with them right now is that they feel like puzzle pieces that don't fit. A lot of it is transitions and some of it is the fact that they are still rough, without the faintest of editing yet. I think that once I've worked on them more I'll fall in love with them and as I work on making them fit in with my novel, they will start fitting in a lot better. Right now though, I have the difficult task of working when I feel like I can't write. But I am determined to get this done, and so I'm hoping that these added chapters will be done soon and I can start the editing. I really want this book to be done, sent to my editor and out for the rest of you soon. I also don't want to send out an inferior novel just because I'm impatient. Its a difficult line to walk. Not perfect, but not inferior either.  Hopefully you'll agree with me that its been worth it when you read it.

          But that's enough for now. I'll see you all next time!

Grateful

          Today, I received the loveliest compliment today from a fellow writer. Kate Larking on Anxiety Ink was talking about feeling thankful for all the great people she knows, specifically today, the writers. She included me in that list, with the one of the nicest compliments that I have received. Seriously, I've included the link just above for her page and I suggest you go check it out. I know at least a few of the other writers she thanks on there and they are all great people (with links to all their sites as well).

          Also, I totally squee'd when I saw that she thanks CE Murphy. I have read her urban shaman series and it completely rocks (that series is also why I now own a white leather jacket). The writer community is reasonably tight so as you make friends, you'll find you are able to meet and greet with authors that you may find squee-worthy and are way above your pay-grade (meaning, usually, that they can make a living off this). Sorta cherry-topped that awesome feeling, especially since I started reading her Urban Shaman series again (in fact, I started Coyote Dreams yesterday).

          The other absolutely awesome thing that happened today is that I ordered my business cards. I've been working on their design for a few weeks now, to the point of actually designing a logo for my "press" when I start publishing. I'll have more on that after I've registered my company name and its officially mine (I needed to update some of my identification before I can finish putting the register through). I can't wait to receive them! The estimated shipping time said 7 days, so with a bit of luck I'll be able to do a full reveal of both sometime next week.

          As a final note, I picked up Isuna Hasekura's final novel in the Spice & Wolf light novel series yesterday. Volume 17: Epilogue. Due to that, I did not work on my editing much when I got home yesterday or today. I am 40% of the way through the read through so far, with one character deleted and two to three chapters I'll need to write in so far and I'll definitely be working on it more tonight or, at the latest, tomorrow, depending on how late my company stays tonight. Here's hoping that I can have the read-through finished for my next post on Sunday.

The Road Not Taken

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less travelled by, 

And that has made all the difference

-Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

          I don't know if I could honestly say this is my favourite poem by Robert Frost, though he is hands down my favourite poet. Fire & Ice, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Take Something Like a Star, even the old fan favourite, Nothing Gold Can Stay... these are epic poems; beautiful, simple and powerful. Still, the one above is the one that I'm resonating with today.

          As a writer, you want the passion and power seen in Fire & Ice. However for editing... you want something calming and The Road Not Taken has that in spades, as well as the feeling of discovery and that unnameable (or at least, that I know of) feeling that we may have missed out on something great due to our choices, while still being happy with our choices.

          Editing is that feeling intensified. 

          Its my favourite part of the process actually, taking something that sucks and making it great. Though I am left sometimes wondering at the roads I didn't take, the paths I didn't follow. Would they still be there if I went back? The words would be, but I don't know if the same burst would come to me, wavering my conviction. 

          In the end, as Linkin Park says, it doesn't really matter.  You need to choose a path and follow it to the end. Going back to the beginning just to see could-have-beens may be interesting, but you can't live there (though I feel a short story burgeoning through me with that line).

          In my editing this week, I made a decision to delete a character. Inarguably important to the creation of my main character, he no longer had a place in my novel. I replaced him and felt almost fragmented. I will never, except in memory, in past writings, see that character again. 

          And I, I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.

          Lets go make a difference.

Read Through Editing: 30/110 or 28% completed

When do what you must is all you can do...

          I'm sorry I missed my Sunday post... Another bout of flu is going around the city and this one is kicking my ass. I got everything; cough, trouble breathing, sore throat, fatigue, excessively runny nose, lag(ie-my head is stuffed with cotton). I will say that from Friday till Tuesday I did not get a full nights sleep; waking up multiple times each night to blow your nose or change position because you can't breath is a bitch.

          Anyway, it means that I've only gotten an extra 1000 words or so finished, bringing my total up to 57,221 words. I did try to write... the results were laughable enough that I just decided to concentrate on getting better. My doctor has said that I can try going back to work tomorrow, so hopefully tomorrow or Friday I'll be able to get started again. 

          I did realize I had a few extra scenes to write so the sick time hasn't been a total waste. And three months to write a book while working full time is entirely reasonable, so I'm still very proud of myself. 

          One thing sick time as been good for is reading. I've now read 37 books this year with another two on the go and a few books in my to-be read pile. In particular, I've found an urban fantasy series that I have to share with you. It's called the Fated Blades series by Steve Bein. 

          The first novel, Daughter of the Sword, is about a female detective in Tokyo working in the narcotics department. Her new boss, a misogynist, assigns her to a case from another department when they ask for help; an attempted theft. The sword in question is undoubtedly worth quite a bit of money, but its most important quality is that the sword has become imbued with kami(spirit). When she finds a link between the attempted theft and her current case(a massive shipment of cocaine being brought into Tokyo by an unknown dealer), its up to her to solve both cases before time runs out.

          If you're at all interested in Japanese culture, history or just want to read an urban fantasy that isn't your typical werewolves/vampire fare this is it. A solid four star read. Here are some links to pick it up on Kindle or Kobo, if you're interested. (Before you ask, nope, I'm not getting any money from this, I just really enjoyed the book. I mean, just look at that cover!)

Reading and Writing...

          I haven't been around much this week and I apologize for that. I found out last weekend that 7th Sea had a Kickstarter event (which was successfully funded at 1.3 Million bucks just a few minutes ago), and then two books that I have been waiting on came out on Tuesday (Anne Bishop's Marked in Flesh and Patricia Briggs' Fire Touched), so I've been reading insanely! I finished both on Friday, I believe, but yesterday was filled with cleaning, writing and research... on tablets.
          Yeah, I don't normally do research on tablets, since I have one (I have multiple electronics actually). Unfortunately, on Friday it stopped working. It was at 70% power, so that wasn't an issue and I didn't bump it on anything. It won't turn on, won't charge (or at least the lights are lighting) and I decided that it was time for a new one.
          In the end, I decided on a Lenovo 7". It's a low end 7" Android tablet, which for what I want is more than enough. Literally, I use it to read on and occasionally I'll use it to game with (since I have a physics dice roller). I have twitter and FB on there, but mainly so I can share from my reading apps to them. Essentially, I wanted a glorified ereader, and thus the fact that its a bit cheap is fine.
          On the other hand, I've been using it today and  OMGosh, I am loving it. Its a great unit (and the book I'm reading on it is pretty awesome as well) and I'm very happy so far.
Finally, something completely non-writing related. I have recently taken up poi (many people know the fire spinning version of this) and I got my first set in the mail! One day, when I have any skill in it at all (since I'm still learning how to move a single poi around without smacking myself or looking silly with it) I'll post a video of me doing it.
          So, that's what I'm in currently up to. I have been writing, but not 1000 words a day. I have high hopes for this week. I'm currently at 48,000 words though, so I am doing well... this part is just a bit of a slog to get through. Most of my instructions here were "they travel and things happen" which is never an easy part of the writing process to get through. Still, I'm working through it. Another scene and then I may be very near the end, which means this book may come in (rough draft) at closer to 60k words than 70k. Which is no problem for me since I'm sure I'll realize stuff I missed or can add in later.
          Today's question is about your reading habits. What is your preferred format to read by and if you have a device you use to do ereading on, what is it?

Finally Better!

          Bleh. That cold was horrible. Even after I was finally better, I still spent the next week feeling tired for no good reason. Fortunately, my strength is back now. I've even started writing again (though I have not managed a thousand words in a day yet). However, despite February being so miserable, I did manage to finish some significant things accomplished.
          First off, during February as a whole I got about 13,000 words written. Considering the tendinitis and then getting seriously sick, that still means that I was writing whenever I could. I have reached 44,000 words and even hit page 100. Since the first novel only got to 175 pages on the rough draft, I can say that I'm more than half way through this novel. I'd say I'm probably approaching the 60% mark. My characters who had split off to go their different ways have found each other again and the story is progressing quite well.
          One thing that is making this novel a bit more difficult to write is that this novel originally was plotted more as a travelogue than anything else. Now the story seems to be coming together as a lot more than that. It means that I'm finding some parts that hardly get mentioned and that some places end up seeing a lot more care put to them than they received in the outline. It's pretty awesome though.
          I think I have another 30k to finish up this rough draft, which means that if I dedicated March to finishing it, I could conceivably finish this month, though most likely it will be finished the first week of April.
          I will say that half a month of not writing has been good for my reading. I'm read 30 books this year so far. According to Goodreads, that's 13 ahead of where I need to be. I'm glad for the extra though, It means that when I have weeks of no reading (or an insanely long book), I'll have a bit of a cushion to rely on. The full list is below if you're interested.

A New Chapter

          Getting back into writing is always more difficult than falling out of it. Despite that, I have written some this week and have made sure to rest my hands as well. I'm still reading insane amounts, 24 finished already, 2 on the go and another just waiting for me to pick it up on Monday.

          I know, not much of an update. Mainly because as I've said, getting back into the habit of writing is much more difficult than falling out. I did realize that I've only taken 10 days off so far, which isn't a lot. Also, I got a full 1000 words in yesterday, despite working which is awesome. In fact, Kitsune-Ken book 2 is already over 40,000 words, so I don't think I need to get too down on myself.

          In fact, I think I'll get back into it and leave you with a little bit that I wrote. As usual, its a mostly unedited bit this one from book 2. Which reminds me... I was thinking of starting a monthly newsletter where I can keep you all updated on my schedules, when my novels will be out and share short stories or chapters with you in. What do you think? Would you be interested? What else would you like to see in a newsletter?

          Jocelyn smiled at the children as they rushed back to their homes inside the city. They grinned and waved back to the dancers, but behind them, he could see their parents. They glared at the troupe as though they had tried to kidnap the children, rather than entertain them. 

          It was the same in every village they stopped in. The people liked to shop the small amount of goods they carried from town to town, they liked the dancing and entertainment their group put out. The problem came afterwards. There was no trust sent their way afterwards.

          He may have never bought into the belief that all of them were thieves and sorcerers, but it was obvious that all too many did. Surviving beyond the walls wasn't as difficult as people who lived in towns thought. In the month that he'd been on the road, they hadn't even been attacked. Monsters had some intelligence obviously. Why attack a group of obviously skilled and armed humans when you were bound to lose?

          He turned back to the carts, glad that the day was over. When they were near a town, everybody had to work. With his skill at healing, he sold 'cures' to the people. Nothing that would hurt them, but more alcohol than herbs generally. Jocelyn had added actual tinctures and creams to the business, so that some of their cures would actually work, making it less of a snake oil proposition to sell. 

          He turned and saw that not all of the villagers had returned home yet. Two young women were still talking to Lady Marda. He wasn't close enough to hear the conversation, but he did see the girls leaning forward, their eyes wide while she spoke. They finally looked at each other, a knowing look and each glanced around before taking a bracelet off their hands and passing them over. 

          Though Marda took these with the proper amount of solemnity, they were almost certainly not worth much. Most likely, they would be cleaned up and then sold a few cities away for a pittance.

          He smiled and nodded at the girls as they walked past him. The taller girl, a rare beauty with dark hair and a naturally dour expression flushed and then turned away, rushing her steps. Jocelyn fell back a step. It had been like the first time he'd ever seen Kuzunoha.

          Like then, he wanted to help her, to make her smile. He could have slapped himself. Kuzunoha had cheated on him and broke his heart. The last thing he needed was to be thinking about her. He felt a hand touch his shoulder he turned, his teeth bared in a smile.

          "You ain't 'ngry t'at herr." Lady Marda said, her accent as thick as ever.

He nearly snapped at her; almost lost it. He was very proud of the fact that his voice was only tight.

          "You are correct, Lady Marda."

          "So? Wat's 'ou 'ngry 'bout? Who'd you left behin' to burn like 'dis?"

          "Everybody." He whispered. Then he glared at her. "Shouldn't you know already?"

          Fairy tales told in her cards. He didn't believe in cards that told the future. Maybe a god's oracle could, but not a woman with a pack of painted paperboard. He expected her to get angry at him. Instead, she barked out a laugh, as grating as the rest of her.

          "Wha didn' you chus say you wanted a reading, boi? I could see my way to dat."

          "I don't want a reading." He ground out.

          How did you tell someone you were making fun of them and not sound like a dick? The answer was despairingly simple. You didn't. He stayed quiet, watching her face go from smug to a little bit sad.

         "Ya. You sad you ain't going to see dem again. Twon' ease you heart to know, but you ain't gots to worry 'bout dat."

          "Yeah, you said I need to worry about killing people and mourning a monster."

          "It was true." She told him. Statement of fact, not the defensive whine it should have been.                   "You gonna find dem freends and den, one of 'ems gots to die. You'll mourn and you'll kill the one dat do it. I ain't gots to pick up a card to tell me you future. It written in every line o' muscle."

          "If I believed you, I'll be more worried." he told her.

          She shook her head. "Jocelyn, you be 'ngry, so 'ngry. It burn de air 'roun you and make a corona 'a hate. You gonna destroy youself dis way. I worry you gonna take that gurl over de edge wit you."She turned to Salla, putting away her swords. She didn't sell anything. She was there to make sure that nothing was stolen that wasn't supposed to be. A guard on their side. 

          Jocelyn was struck silent for a moment. "I would never do anything to hurt Salla."

          Marda raised an eyebrow. "You don get to decide. You a'ready made da choice.... you chus don know it yat."

          "How would you know?" He hissed.

          She looked confused. "You don believe dem gods dat gave you your powah would let you be free, do you?"

           His eyes widened. She waved him off as if she could read his mind.

          "I ain't gonna tell. T'ain't my secrat. But da gods... de harsh mastahs when you don listin. You gotta know who dey is to know what dey want."

          Salla's voice interrupted them. "Jocelyn, Lady Marda? Are the rest of the townies gone? We could use your help in the camp. In particular, Clive will need your help tonight Jocelyn. A lot of those townies brought their stuff in for us to fix."

          Jocelyn nodded and turned away. "Good evening, Miss Marda."

          He didn't wait for a response. Instead he moved off towards the smithy. Talking with Marda always made him want to hit something. His vision blurred and he saw the snake-like dragons again. No god he knew had a symbol like that. But if Marda was right... then he was on the right track. He'd find out what this god wanted of him, then he'd do it and demand that the powers be taken away.

          He would finally have the life he craved. With a nod to Clive, he put on the thick apron and gloves eagerly, picking up the pincher from the fire where Clive had set a bit of iron for him to heat. 

He put it on his anvil and paused hearing the sound of a bell. He tapped Clive and both heard the call over the dying sound of Clive's hammering. They paused. Two bells meant strangers, but this late on the road, who could be coming up? Even the townspeople had returned home already. They paled as the bell rang a third time.

       "Mongrels." Clive swore.

         Jocelyn was already turning, a gutteral barking, like sick foxes, behind them. Coming towards him and Clive were four creatures, a little bigger than a child of ten, with brown mottled skin, big ears and teeth dyed orange with old blood. Their clothes looked like they had pulled them out a human garbage, stained and ripped in places, none of it matching.

         Jocelyn's hand reached down for his blade and found nothing. He must have forgotten to put it on. He swore and chose the hammer as a better weapon than the hot tongs. Clive had a curved sword in his hand, though Jocelyn hadn't seen him draw it. 

          The creatures howled, realizing they'd been spotted.

          With a sinking feeling, Jocelyn tried to grip the hammer tight in his hand. As the first creature neared, he swung at it. The creature didn't even stop and he realized that he'd swung before the thing was close enough to hit. He cursed, trying to bring the hammer back around. It was so heavy it was hard to control but he managed to get a glancing hit in on the next one. The thing shrieked and jumped back grabbing its ear and crying out its pain at a level that hurt Jocelyn's ears. Still, so long as it was screaming, it wasn't fighting. It meant he only had to deal with the one creature.

         He turned trying to see the other one and felt it's claws run over his back. He hissed feeling the cloth rip and dig into his flesh. Dragons flew before his eyes and he could feel the cuts on his back burn slightly, healing him. He pulled back on the power before it healed him completely. If he healed it completely there would be questions. 

         He snarled at the stinging pain and hit the monster in the cheek with his hammer.

         The creature's skull didn't crack. Instead, it dented the things head in, but didn't seem to damage it. The thing hissed at him and bit at him, catching his hand in its mouth. Jocelyn could feel the sharp teeth chomping at his hand, but fortunately, the thick leather gloves he was wearing stopped the teeth from digging into his flesh. 

          He pulled his knife and stabbed it into the back of the creatures skull. Where the hammer hadn't done much more than frustrate the monster, the knife slid into its head with ease, parting its skull like it was some sort of jelly.

          He pried the teeth away from his wrist, seeing that the teeth had almost made it though the leather. He dropped the hammer and swallowed back the bile filling his throat. It was acidic, tasting like the cheese from his sandwich at lunch. He took a deep breath and spun towards the sound of distorted barking behind him, just in time to see Clive slice the last thing's head off.

          Sickeningly, Jocelyn could see its bones deforming, almost as if they were melting. He turned away, throwing up. He shivered and heard the bell ringing in another pattern. He couldn't concentrate on the pattern though. Were there more of the things coming for them?

           Clive's heavy hand on his back helped. "It's alright man, we repelled the attack. Finish throwing up. The first time is always the most difficult."

           He shook his head and swallowed. Clive passed him a cup of water. Jocelyn took it gratefully.

          "Thank you." he said after a sip. "I was fine until I saw..."

            He gestured towards the creature and Clive nodded.

          "The mongrels do that whenever they're hit. They form back up solid soon after, but it makes them almost impossible to kill with a hammer."

           Jocelyn shook his head. "I meant the... melting."

          Clive's response was casual. "Yeah, most monsters leave behind actual bodies. Mongrels just melt away though, leaving nothing but the junk they were carrying, pitted and scarred to hell. Why'd you use the hammer anyway?"

          "I don't have my sword on me."

           "That's a stupid thing to do on the road, even if an attack is rare. Where's your sword?"

           Had it been in his room? He remembered taking it off the night before. Jocelyn shook his head.

          "I can't remember right now..."

          "Grab it before dinner, if you don't want Marcus and the others ribbing you all week. You head to the centre and make sure nobody needs to be stitched up. I'll take care of the bodies over here. Tell Marcus you left your sword here if he asks, in the creature you killed. You'll still get ribbed, but it'll be less than it would if he knew you'd forgotten it completely."

           Jocelyn nodded. His heartbeat was slowing finally, but his stomach was still roiling. "You'll be alright?"

          He had work to do and he could process what had just happened when people weren't injured. 

          "Hey, you got hurt? You okay?"

          Jocelyn glanced at Clive. The man was staring at his back. Jocelyn stretched out his shoulders, trying to make the move look casual. 

          "I hardly even feel it. I'll ask Marda to take a look if its still hurting later though."

          Clive nodded and Jocelyn headed towards the centre area, stopping only long enough to grab his healing kit. 

Setbacks

          Bleh, its been too long, though I do have an excuse. A few year ago, I developed tendinitis. While February is always a bad month, I had hoped that this year would be an exception. And while its been a light month for pain thus far, tendinitis is one of those things that you can't just medicate away. It takes rest and that means not using your wrists for things. Which you wouldn't think would be difficult.
          Just don't write is what I hear all of you saying. How hard can that be?
          First off, I will respond to that by asking you to look at what you do right now during your evenings for fun. Now imagine you can't do it. Watching TV? Imagine you have a migraine for weeks that even Tylenol 3's don't fix. Music? Imagine you've fired a gun without the proper ear protection making you all but deaf for a while. Regardless of what your hobby is, being told you can't do it for a week or two is hard. (You runners or workout buffs know exactly what I'm talking about. Everyone slips or pulls a muscle eventually.)
          Secondly, if it was just my writing, it wouldn't be too bad. But I can't use my wrists. No cross-stitching, no reading, less house cleaning since lifting plates can be too heavy and hurt. No hours web-surfing... using a mouse hurts too, since it's primarily wrist movements.

I can't want to finish my current books to start reading this.

          One that has been enjoyable in the last week or so is my Goodreads book total. When I first developed tendinitis I found that having an e-reader saved by wrists. Thus, I can still read while (mostly) resting. Anyways, I'm up to 20 books so far. 16 novels and 4 graphic novels with 4 more novels in various states of "currently reading". Even at just 16 books this is a great total. It means that when I hit those weeks when I read absolutely nothing, I have a few novels already read to cover it.
          At any rate, I've taken about a week off, so I'm doing much better now. Still not pain-free, but I am when I'm not using them. As a trial, I wrote last night. Only until I started hurting, which ended up being about 400 words. I finished laying out the thought I was on and got to around 500 words.I consider that a complete win. I figure I'll now start adding writing back in to my daily schedules again. Only until I start hurting and then I rest for the rest of the day though. I'll work my strength back up slowly that way and still get stuff done.
          As an update, the Kitsune-Ken, book 2 manuscript is up to 38,318 words, around halfway through the novel, already, so I'm doing rather well. Considering that amount is just since January and I've been working full-time, I don't consider that a total to laugh at.
          So, that's been me (and my wrist is starting to feel it after all this work), so I'll sign off here. What have you been doing? Do any of you have any fixes for tendinitis beyond resting it?

What I've Been Up To (Part Three)

          This is the one where I talk about what I've been reading! Yeah, I know, this is the part that tends to leave people feeling like they do nothing with their lives, but the honest truth is that I love reading and thus, I tend to read a lot. I joined Goodread's 2016 Reading Challenge this year and set myself a goal of a 100 books for the year. It's a little less precise than saying 2 books a week, on average, since I know that sometimes I'm insane for reading and sometimes I don't even want to consider picking up a book.

          However, oddly enough, the Goodreads challenge counts the Manga I read, which gives me a bit of a boost, since normally I don't count them towards my books read each year (though I count the graphic novels, which could simply mean I was making life much more complicated than I had to) 

          Anyway, the picture below is of some of the books I've read thus far according to Goodreads. For a more complete list, check out the right side of the panel where there should be an infograph of my novels read so far this year. It's missing my manga, but if you're interested I have a shelf under my account titled "Graphic Novels read in 2016" that you can check out.

          As you can see, I've read a few different genres here. Steampunk, paranormal romance, science fiction, light novels (science fiction), humour and fantasy. I usually stick much closer to the realm of paranormal romance and urban fantasy, but for the beginning of the year, its a good start.

          The Martian is the book here that I would most recommend. 5 stars, must read, all of that, even if science fiction isn't usually your thing. I would totally suggest listening to it; the audio book is fantastically done.

          The Colour of Magic is a hilarious book, a fantastical comedy of epic proportions. Despite it being so awesome, I find these sorts of reads a bit too out there for me, so I only read one or two every year like this. Not in my usual taste but Pratchett was one of the best! I would totally suggest it, if comedy is your thing.

          Tart Magica is a manga based of of Puella Magi Madoka Magicka that plays around with the idea that Joanne of Arc was a magical girl. While the idea is interesting, this first volume misses the tone of the anime that I've come to adore so much. I probably won't be reading any more of it. The characterization is slim and the main character feels too stupid to be believed.

          Mystic is a fun fantasy coming of age novel about a young girl, who has the potential to learn magic. When she is offered a chance to become an apprentice rather than the noble girl in her village she is told she will have no home to return to if she leaves. Despite this threat, she leaves to begin her training hoping to beat out the other applicants to the position. This was well-written, a quick read, and fun to boot. Not the most in-depth book I've seen, but the promise was fulfilled but it is definitely worth a spot on your reading list if you like coming of age fantasy novels.

          Storm Born is an erotic paranormal romance. Despite being very pleased with the authors Succubus series, the writing of this book felt stilted, the twists were obvious from a mile away and we walked into more than few info dumps. It also suffered from the reverse harem trope, except that everyone except the two main love interests either propositioned her straight out or threatened rape. It's saving grace was a hunk of kitsune as one of the love interests. I won't be reading any more of it, but if it interests you, go for it. I'm known to be a bit harsher on my paranormal erotic novels than others.

          Sword Art Online: Phantom Bullet is the forth book in the SAO light novel series and honestly, it was my lease favourite part of the anime. The writing feels a bit stilted (though I think that is due to being translated from Japanese, than any fault of the writers) and I occasionally want to yell at Sian, the new girl for these two books. Worth reading if you're into the series, but if you aren't you might want to skip it. I fully admit that I felt like I had to power through this one.

          Agatha H and the Voice of the Castle is the third book in the translation of the Girl Genius comics to novels. As a steampunk, its long, awesome, hilarious and unbelievable. This is a series worth reading to. As with a few others of these, if you can, go and listen to the audio book. Totally worth it. If you like wild steampunk rides of fancy where everyone and their neighbour is an evil genius (even the good guys) find these novels and read them! Check out the comic while you're at it. These guys are talented all around!

          How to Seduce a Naked Werewolf and How to Run with a Naked Werewolf are fun paranormal romances with a little bit of erotica thrown in. Though both are decent reads, the plots are not as well put together as I had wished for and some of it seemed to happen, literally, "because plot". Also, I came into this series from reading a few of Molly Harpers other paranormal romances. I must say, while I like her voice, all of her heroines are way too similar. They all react the same way for the most part and I don't feel as much was done as could have been to differentiate between them. In the books defence, I listened to this series and the others audio books and I believe they were read by the same person, which could be why they feel too similar. A problem with the same reader emphasizing the same things for each heroine, rather than a problem with the words themselves. Still, a decent read and I enjoyed them, if not quite as much as her other series. I would suggest the Jane Jameson series by this author rather than the Naked Werewolf series as a better introduction to the world as well.

          What have you read this year? Do you have any suggestions for good books for me to read? In particular, I'll be looking for more science-fiction than I usually prefer, since I can still listen to it while writing without compromising my writing style. Let me know in the comments below!