It’s Friday, friends, and you know what that means… let’s talk about what we’re reading!
Friday snuck up on me this week. I just realized it’s Friday, and I forgot to put together my Reads post last night. We had a small tragedy in our neighborhood, and we were focused on trying to help. And then I couldn’t sleep, replaying it again and again, so I’m a bit sluggish today.
But, I have been reading, and loving, Rebecca Yarrow’s second book in the Empyreum series, IRON FLAME. My copy didn’t arrive until early evening Tuesday, and though I’d planned to take a couple of days off to read, I started it and realized I didn’t want it to end, so I’ve been going a little slower than planned. It is so stinking good. I love this series and love thinking about the broader social and cultural implications I’ve read into the text. We do tend to rewrite our histories, don’t we?
I’ve also spent much of the week compiling/reading research for the new book, and I’m starting in again on John Truby’s THE ANATOMY OF GENRE to help me build out the outline for the new book. It is a slightly daunting tome, but a quick pass-through helped me land the plane on my last book, so I’m going at it from a different mental space this time. And speaking of writing the new book…
I have started a brand new craft series, 22 Steps, which will follow my journey as I write my new novel.
Why 22 Steps, you ask? When I started thinking about the lifecycle of a book, I wrote down all the steps it takes and realized that for me, a story moves through 22 distinct phases from concept to publication. I will document them all, and hopefully, you can follow along with your latest work in progress. It will be my Book Journal come to life. I’ll also talk about the Jayne series because building books is building books, regardless of genre. Since these are craft-specific posts, I will keep them behind the paywall. If you’re interested, consider joining up. I will say I am so thrilled by the response thus far, and I appreciate every one of you who has subscribed to this newsletter. You’re awesome! I promise I’ll only link to the posts from here on out, but since this is just getting started, forgive me for the marketing push.
That’s it from me this week. How about you? What’s on your reading plate this weekend?
Concentration isn't great lately. Enjoying The Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo. Just started The Enchanted Hacienda by JC Cervantes. Finished How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix last night.
I’m finally reading Vicious by VE Schwab and loving it. I cam see why it is a fan fave. I’ve been hearing a lot about Iron Flame and will have to add it to the TBR pile.
Concentration isn't great lately. Enjoying The Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo. Just started The Enchanted Hacienda by JC Cervantes. Finished How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix last night.
I also started Iron Flame. I'm only about 10% in...such a great series. I'm putting it up there with Sarah J Maas loving it!❤️
I’m finally reading Vicious by VE Schwab and loving it. I cam see why it is a fan fave. I’ve been hearing a lot about Iron Flame and will have to add it to the TBR pile.