2023 Progress

June 20, 2023

It is already part way through June (when did that happen???) and I thought it might be time to share a progress report. Sadly, life has been such a way that I haven't been sharing much on my socials (or here) and not even remembering to share something except with the thought, "I really should post something," and then putting it off because I'm busy and I want to do this or that post and it would be good to do it here then, oops, the time is past and I'm still putting it off and forgetting. So, after that rambly sentence, lets actually share what has been going on for life and writing.

What I've Been Watching

I just thought of this one as we start the 15th season of NCIS. We use to watch this a bunch when we had Netflix but when we canceled that streaming service we haven't watched it. But Mom started picking up the DVDs and we've been working through those for several weeks now. These characters are so fun, my personal favorite grouping being Gibbs, Tony, McGee, Ziva, Abby, Ducky, Palmer, and Vance.

Have you ever watch this or another show by Donald P. Bellisario? Interestingly enough, I've watched quite a few shows by this guy. I love Quantum Leap (original, haven't seen the remake) and grew up on JAG so I guess this is someone I've followed without conscious intention for a while.

What TV shows have you been keeping up with?

What Have I Been Reading?

Good question. Not nearly as much as I would like to be. Yet, I am currently sitting at 13 of the 30 books I would like to read this year and I have been collecting quite a few good reads, preordered more, and even visited a Free Little Library that recently went up not far from my house this year. I have a few more books I want to add to it. So far, my favorite reads this year has been Phoenix Down, Jim Heson's The Storyteller Shapeshifters, and The Snowcat Prince. I'm currently in the middle of Tide and Scale anthology which was edited by two friends and have contributions by several authors I know and Character Archetypal which is very interesting.

You can check out everything I've read on Goodreads. In my previous post, I shared two graphics on my goals to read certain types of books this year. It looks like I've accomplished three goals so far.

What have you been reading this year? Any new favorites?

What I've Been Writing?

And now, what you've all been waiting for, (it is what you really wanted to hear about, right?) what have I been writing? Well, I'm working on two projects.

The first project is my main one, Woven Fate, which tells the story of Tovi, a young man searching for a way to change his fate where he is prophesized to destroy the kingdom. It is a twist on Prophesized Hero/Reluctant Hero trope. If you follow my Facebook and Instagram you have probably heard me talking about it (and, if you add it to your To Reads in Goodreads, you can catch quotes from the chapters) I started it in 2019 and the goal is to publish it this year. I'm in the middle of my second draft and its going a bit slower than I'd like but I'm still hoping for a 2023 release.

The second I haven't talked about much and am still keeping pretty secret. What I can say is this story was inspired by board/role playing games and is planned to be an ongoing serial. It'll be released by chapter on Patreon, Kindlevella, and I'm looking into Wattpad (I'm looking into a few more platforms if you know other good webnovel websites, drop them in the comments and I'll check them out) and then complete story arcs will be collected into novellas/novels. I'll share more when I get closer to a for-sure release date but, until then, here is a sneak peak at some custom artwork I commission of the main character.

Any guesses about the story or the character?

I'm also still writing for Havok. I have a story recently accepted for their Legendary Creatures them in July and just finished some edits for my Staff contribution to their World Tour Anthology releasing later this year (probably October). Their most recent anthology, Vice and Virtue, released a month or two ago (did I mention I was behind on announcements?) and contains my story Courage Rendering. If you'd like to read it, the anthology is available now. If you'd like a signed copy of this or another anthology, I has have them in my shop. Catch a graphic and quote below from my Vice and Virtue story.