Fixes for a draconic mid-life crisis #2 – Challenge that unbearably cocky lord to a game of Who Can Dive Longest Without Opening His Wings. Ensure there is a lake or thick forest at the foot of the cliff just in case…
Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my short story Picky Eaters, written to provide a humorous escape from all the stuff that isn’t happening on Wyvern Peak… All proceeds for the duration of its publishing life are donated to mental health charities.
If you’ve eaten a bad goat, a good long drink of seawater should fix your problems.
Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my short story Picky Eaters, written to provide a humorous escape from all the stuff that isn’t happening on Wyvern Peak… All proceeds for the duration of its publishing life are donated to mental health charities.
When interceding in a family quarrel, don’t be afraid to roar louder than anyone else.
Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my short story Picky Eaters, written to provide a humorous escape from all the stuff that isn’t happening on Wyvern Peak… All proceeds for the duration of its publishing life are donated to mental health charities.
Fixes for a draconic mid-life crisis #1 – Find a pretty young dragon queen to polish your scales for you. Maybe polish hers too…
Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my short story Picky Eaters, written to provide a humorous escape from all the stuff that isn’t happening on Wyvern Peak… All proceeds for the duration of its publishing life are donated to mental health charities.
Do remember that these days, you aren’t allowed to give the pesky lizards a good old-fashioned singeing. A fact they don’t need to know…
Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my short story Picky Eaters, written to provide a humorous escape from all the stuff that isn’t happening on Wyvern Peak… All proceeds for the duration of its publishing life are donated to mental health charities.
Lockdown is slowly easing and right at the end of the month, we actually went to a café together and had a cup of tea and cake. It’s been lovely to meet up with my daughter and the grandchildren and have them over to stay, again. But most of the time, I’m still at home reading and writing, while Himself has continued to go out to work.
Reading
I read fifteen books in July, which used to be an outstanding number for me, but isn’t anymore. No DNF’s and once again, it’s been a great reading month – particularly for space opera and space adventures in general. My Outstanding Book of the Month was The Relentless Moon – Book 3 of The Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal and my Outstanding Audiobook of the Month was Deep Roots – Book 2 of the Innsmouth Legacy by Ruthanna Emrys. My reads during June were:
Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell – Book 1 of the Embers of War series. Review to follow
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson. Review to follow
Scarlet Odyssey – Book 1 of the Scarlet Odyssey series by C.T. Rwizi. See my review
Skin Game – Book 15 of the Harry Dresden files by Jim Butcher – reread
AUDIOBOOK The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. Review to follow
Velocity Weapon – Book 1 of The Protectorate by Megan E. O’Keefe. See my review
End Game – Book 8 of the Fallen Empire series by Lindsay Buroker. Review to follow
Peace Talks – Book 16 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. See my review
Chaos Vector – Book 2 of The Protectorate by Megan E. O’Keefe. See my review
AUDIOBOOK Deep Roots – Book 2 of The Innsmouth Legacy by Ruthanna Emrys. Review to follow – OUTSTANDING AUDIOBOOK OF THE MONTH
Seven Devils – Book 1 of the Seven Devils series by Laura Lam and Elizabeth May. See my review
Last Dragon Standing – Book 5 of the Heartstrikers series by Rachel Aaron. Review to follow
The Relentless Moon – Book 3 of the Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal. Review to follow – OUTSTANDING BOOK OF THE MONTH
The Outcast Dead – Book 6 of the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths. Mini-review to follow
AUDIOBOOK The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents – Book 28 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Review to follow
Writing and Editing
I had intended for Picky Eaters 2 to be a novella, but though I’ve written a reasonably comprehensive outline, the writing has fallen into the rhythm and pacing of a longer piece of work. Oh well. So rather than polishing off the first draft during the first fortnight of July, I found it has been something I’ve been picking up and putting down between the final two editing passes of Mantivore Warrior. Mhairi has now produced the cover, which I’m very happy with – and I’m on track to publish it at the end of August, as planned. Again, due to all the editing I’ve been doing, my writing wordcount is way down in comparison to the beginning of the year.
Overall, I wrote just over 35,500 words in July, with just over 20,500 on the blog, and just over 15,000 on my writing projects. This brings my yearly wordcount to date to just over 288,500 words – which completely justifies my decision to step away from my regular Creative Writing stints at Northbrook, because that is over 92,000 more words than this time last year.
Blogging
I am more or less back on track with commenting, though I still struggle to get around and visit as much as I’d like – sorry to those of you who I’ve neglected! But again, I’m finding it such a lifeline to be able to chat about books to other folks – it certainly cuts down the sense of isolation. Take care and stay safe.x
Swallowing a whole flock of birds in one go generally causes indigestion. And feathers between the teeth.
Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, or Casta the Grey as he used to be known as, features in my short story Picky Eaters, written to provide a humorous escape from all the stuff that isn’t happening on Wyvern Peak… All proceeds for the duration of its publishing life are donated to mental health charities.
This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.
It’s been a sociable week. On Wednesday evening, my writing group was able to meet in Debbie’s garden and I read parts of Picky Eaters Part 2. It was great meeting up in real life again, though we noticed how much earlier the nights are drawing in, already. On Thursday I visited my friend, Sally and saw Tim for the first time since the lockdown – to discover he’s grown a beard! And it really suits him😊. We were celebrating the fact she has now received the proof copy of her book Miracle in Slow Motion, which looks absolutely fantastic. It was lovely catching up with her – it’s been so long since we had a chance to talk face to face.
On Friday, I drove up to see my daughter and the children – after lunch, we visited Washbrook Farm, where they keep animals for children to see and an amazing swing park. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, ideal for such a visit. The great thing about this place is that we could walk there. Eliza took all the animals in her stride – but was far more excited about the small tractor and rushed across, wanting to clamber aboard. All the children then spent time at one of the biggest swing parks I’ve ever seen. I was impressed at how much steadier she is on her feet and how adventurous she is. We had the loveliest time.
This weekend is a bit tense in the garden, as the young gulls nesting next door are fledging. The trouble is, if they land in our garden, they are trapped as they cannot take off again and we need to gently herd them through the sidegate and out to the front where they are able to fly. Himself is a dab hand at this, even freeing one that got tangled in the hedge early on Saturday morning. Meanwhile the adults are wheeling overhead, calling frantically. But they never try to attack us while we are helping – they seem to know we mean them no harm.
The pics this week are featuring the different types of yellow-coloured foliage I have in the garden, including my choisia, spotted laurel, golden-leaved ivy and my Amber Wave heuchera.
Last week I read:
Chaos Vector – Book 2 of The Protectorate by Megan E O’Keefe
Sanda and Tomas are fleeing for their lives after letting the most dangerous smartship in the universe run free. Now, unsure of who to trust, Sanda knows only one thing for certain — to be able to save herself from becoming a pawn of greater powers, she needs to discover the secret of the coordinates hidden in her skull.
This is the second book in this foot to the floor epic space opera adventure. Review to follow.
AUDIOBOOK Deep Roots – Book 2 of The Innsmouth Legacy by Ruthanna Emrys
Aphra Marsh, descendant of the People of the Water, has survived Deep One internment camps and made a grudging peace with the government that destroyed her home and exterminated her people on land. Deep Roots continues Aphra’s journey to rebuild her life and family on land, as she tracks down long-lost relatives. She must repopulate Innsmouth or risk seeing it torn down by greedy developers, but as she searches she discovers that people have been going missing. She will have to unravel the mystery, or risk seeing her way of life slip away.
I was thrilled to discover this sequel to one of my favourite reads in 2017 – Winter Tide. My excitement was well-founded – I absolutely loved this one, and the narration was spot on. Review to follow.
Seven Devils – Book 1 of the Seven Devils series by Laura Lam and Elizabeth May
When Eris faked her death, she thought she had left her old life as the heir to the galaxy’s most ruthless empire behind. But her recruitment by the Novantaen Resistance, an organization opposed to the empire’s voracious expansion, throws her right back into the fray.
Eris has been assigned a new mission: to infiltrate a spaceship ferrying deadly cargo and return the intelligence gathered to the Resistance. But her partner for the mission, mechanic and hotshot pilot Cloelia, bears an old grudge against Eris, making an already difficult infiltration even more complicated. When they find the ship, they discover more than they bargained for: three fugitives with firsthand knowledge of the corrupt empire’s inner workings.
This action-packed space opera adventure is great fun – and that climactic ending… oh my word! Review to follow.
My posts last week:
Castellan the Black and His Wise Draconic Musings
*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of Oranges and Lemons – Book 17 of the Bryant and May: Peculiar Crimes Unit series by Christopher Fowler
Friday Face-off featuring The Many-Colored Land – Book 1 of the Pliocene Saga by Julian May
*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi
Can’t-Wait-Wednesday featuring Inconquerable Sun – Book 1 of The Sun Chronicles by Kate Elliott
*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of Peace Talks – Book 16 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Tuesday Treasures – 5
Review of AUDIOBOOK The Mirror and the Light – Book 3 of the Thomas Cromwell series by Hilary Mantel
Castellan the Black and His Wise Draconic Musings
Sunday Post – 26th July 2020
Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:
Short story: SINEW AND STEEL AND WHAT THEY TOLD, by Carrie Vaughn https://spaceandsorcery.wordpress.com/2020/07/21/short-story-sinew-and-steel-and-what-they-told-by-carrie-vaughn/ This is an amazing short story by a fabulous SFF author, whose writing I love – see my review of The Wild Dead…
Thursday Doors – Castle Saunderson Again https://jeanreinhardt.wordpress.com/2020/07/22/thursday-doors-castle-saunderson-again/ Jean’s photo-tours of tucked-away doors around Ireland is always a treat – and this one is no exception…
Blogging Kindness https://mythsofthemirror.com/2020/07/23/blogging-kindness/ Diana confirms what I’ve already known – the book blogging community is filled with lots of thoughtful, kindly folks. It bears repeating, though – given that some parts of social media are so very angry…
Writers, Pay Yourself First https://writerunboxed.com/2020/07/23/writers-pay-yourself-first/ While this article is aimed at writers, it occurred to me while reading it that a lot of folks I know – particularly women – would benefit from this advice…
Love-Fi https://luv-fi.com/2020/06/28/rock-and-water-abstract-digital-art/ Feast your eyes on these amazing abstract designs…
Thank you for visiting, reading, liking and/or commenting on my blog – I hope you and yours have a peaceful, healthy week. Take care.
There aren’t many problems in Life that can’t be improved by a good FLAMING
Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, or Casta the Grey as he used to be known as, features in my short story Picky Eaters, written to provide a humorous escape from all the stuff that isn’t happening on Wyvern Peak… All proceeds for the duration of its publishing life are donated to mental health charities.
Make sure all young dragons perform full abasement when necessary. Make sure it’s always necessary.
Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, or Casta the Grey as he used to be known as, features in my short story Picky Eaters, written to provide a humorous escape from all the stuff that isn’t happening on Wyvern Peak… All proceeds for the duration of its publishing life are donated to mental health charities.
Roaming the Library One Book at a Time
Thoroughly reviewing Old TV Shows, Movies, and Books Before You Forget Them
Thinks and again mumbles!!
Decorated veteran turned author - Genre: Espionage
Thirty Years of Wonder
Tired of being ordinary, then here are some tips for becoming extraordinary.
Cindy Knoke
Author of contemporary & mystery fiction: where family drama meets suspense
everything bookish
free food recipes for vegetarian and healthy food lover.
struggling through one book at a time
Writer. Blogger. Reader. Dreamer.
No vase can overflow if you never fill it up.
Life is make believe, fantasy given form
Female/Feminine authored | identified | fronted | dominant
scapa de lucrurile care nu sunt amuzante
