What I’ve Watched

Continued watching Mystery Science Theater 3000:

814 - Riding With Death
815 - Agent for HARM
817 - The Horror of Party Beach
818 - Devil Doll
911 - Devil Fish
912 - The Screaming Skull
1006 - Boggy Creek 2
1010 - It Lives By Night
1011 - Horrors of Spider Island
104 - Women of the Prehistoric Planet
203 - Jungle Goddess
213 - Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster

And with that I’ve seen most of what I wanted to see of classic MST3K. I’m going to move onto other series. I think it’s also important for me to remind you that Doctor Who starts back up January 1, 2020, and I’ll be watching that as well.

Queen Maisy and the Hunters

Maisy, the Witch Queen of Hatham, now deals with the duties of both a ruler and a mother. A young man seeks her help as a Witch. The “Outlaw Dukedoms” seek her help as Queen. She must also cope with the schemes of the ruling family of the Kingdom of Farrengir. Maisy uses her wits, her magic, and her compassion to balance these many duties as she remains “The Witch Queen.”

This is now available; find it here:

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Recently Read

I’ve read a few more books since my last post on this topic.

I completed the last half of Gail Carriger’s Custard Protocol series, Competence and Reticence. I really enjoyed both books, and the series as a whole. There was quite a bit of building out the world, even up to the end of the last book. Both books had delightful character romances of quite different kinds (I won’t say more because spoilers.) I liked that both books were told from other point-of-view characters. Gail’s characters are good, but it was fun to get into lots of heads and see everyone from a variety of perspectives.

I also read three short books by Victorian author George MacDonald. He was one of the era’s pioneers in the fantasy genre. The books of his I read were The Light Princess, The Princess and the Goblin, and Phantases.

The first two are breezy little fairytales with a good sense of humor about them. The first is about a Princess who loses gravity (in both senses of the word) while the other is more of an adventure. The third book tells of a young man’s visit to Fairy Land and the strange, dark, and wondrous things he finds. It’s intriguing but also somewhat overwritten, which slows it down.

I’m not sure how much I’ll read coming up, but what I do read I’ll post about it. I hope you’re enjoying what you’re reading!

P.S.: You might notice that box on the right. Yes, I am going to restart my email newsletter. It won’t start until February so I can work any kinks out before the first newsletter goes out. I’ll post more later...

Writing Stats for November 2019

Almost to the end of the year! Here’s how much I wrote in last month.

November zipped along, much like October. I managed to finish two novellas (14K & 12K words) and 3 short stories (8400, 4200, & 7250 words). In addition, I’m about 2/3 done with a short novel (32K words as I write this post).

All that means I wrote 278 pages in November. That’s almost 50 pages more than what I did in October. I did pause for a week that month, so the numbers this month feel only a little ahead of normal.

I have a few more projects to tackle once this work is complete. I have some ideas on what to write after that. I think I should end the year in good shape.

What I’ve Watched

Been watching more Mystery Science Theater 3000 since the last post on this topic:

617 - The Sword and the Dragon
620 - Danger! Death Ray!
701 - Night of the Blood Beast
705 - Escape 2000
804 - The Deadly Mantis
806 - The Undead
807 - Terror from the Year 5000
808 - The She-Creature
809 - I Was a Teenage Werewolf
810 - The Giant Spider Invasion

Plus I snuck in the shorts “Out Of This World” and “The Chicken of Tomorrow.”

I get to these through the Club MST3K website. I still have more to get through, so there’s bound to be more posts. Nor have I forgotten about posting about other videos I’ve watched and enjoyed, so as they say, stay tuned...

Recently Read

I read some more books in October. As before, the links with the titles go to Goodreads. Here they are:

The One-Armed Queen

Imprudence

The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl

You can send me a friend request at Goodreads or follow me. Also, if you’ve liked the books I’ve written, you can rate or review them there, too.

Tradecraft: Revenge

Central Station is a gathering place for the artists, merchants, and politicians of the Galactic League. Aliens come from all over the galaxy to exchange ideas and resolve disputes.

Paolo Chelini transports a human to an unoccupied planet inside the Elsora Imperium. Buried on that rock in space is a fortune in gold and silver. The client claims a deceased Elsora criminal left the wealth to him. Sure enough, the claim checks out.

Chelini and his friends on Central Station find themselves puzzling over the connections between that client, scandals in the Elsora Imperium, and an ancient human novel...

Tradecraft: Revenge is now available in print and as an ebook. Check your favorite online store to get a copy!

Writing Stats for October 2019

Time for another update about how much I’m writing.

In the middle of the month I finished what I was working on. The project ended up being a 48,000-word short novel. I paused for a week to outline more stories and to get some publishing work accomplished. At the end of the month I started work on a new story, which ended up being a 14,000-word novella.

That means I wrote 231 pages in October. That is, oddly enough, about 14 pages less than what I accomplished in September. I had quite a few very productive days writing that short novel.

I’ve got a number of stories to work on moving forward. They do appear to be short, so I might have to plot out more to keep me going to the end of the year. That said, I think November will be fine.

Onward! And to those of you taking part in NaNo, I hope you achieve your writing goals!

What I’ve Watched

Some months back I decided to watch episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 that for one reason or another I’d missed when they first aired. I thought it might be fun to post here what I’ve watched. Here’s what I’ve seen (or raced through) since this started:

314 - Mighty Jack
322 - Master Ninja
407 - The Killer Shrews
414 - Tormented
415 - The Beatniks
418 - Attack of the Eye Creatures
421 - Monster A-Go-Go
502 - Hercules
504 - Secret Agent Super Dragon
505 - The Magic Voyage of Sinbad
508 - Operation Double 007
606 - The Creeping Terror
607 - Bloodlust
608 - Code Name Diamond Head

Recent skips: 609, The Skydivers; 614, San Francisco International

There’s still episodes I want to get through, so there’ll be more posts. I might also post about other things I’m watching, too. Keep checking in to see!

Recently Read

I got back to reading last month after a couple of months away. Like previously, the links are to the books on Goodreads. Here’s what I read in September:

White Jenna

Prudence

You can send me a friend request at Goodreads or follow me. Also, if you’ve liked the books I’ve written, you can rate or review them there, too.

Queen Maisy Rises

Maisy is now the Witch Queen of Hatham, and faces many challenges. One of her advisors seeks power for himself. A Prince is coming from a distant kingdom to seek an alliance, and possibly marriage. There are reports of one of the Fairy Folk enticing a village girl from her brother.

Maisy must use her wits, her magic, and her compassion to face these challenges. Though she had claimed her birthright, she must work to remain THE WITCH QUEEN.

This is now available; find it here:

Amazon

Kobo

PayHip

Barnes & Noble

Writing Stats for September 2019

Another month has gone by, so here’s another update of how much I’m writing.

By the way, check the new picture! I’m now writing on my new iPad Air 3. I’ve moved much of my publishing, social networking, video and podcast consumption, and few other things to this from the old MacBook Air.

I tried out the new tentative schedule of writing 3 sessions a day, Monday through Friday. I’ve been productive throughout each week, and the weekend breaks are allowing me to rest and recharge. This will be the new schedule for now.

All that means I wrote 246 pages. I finished two short novels, both around 35,000 words long.

I have one more project to work on. After that there will be a pause to plot out an idea or two, as well as proof some future releases. I guess I’ll see how October goes...

Alliances & Armies

Nemya is the daughter of Queen Nonya of Poneclia. Poneclia and the other kingdoms that used to be part of the Usaru Empire are swept with rumors of conflict.

Queen Nonya dispatches her daughter as a Royal envoy to make alliances. Nemya tries to make allies and arrange a marriage. She must also seek allies among the kingdoms of the Etoiya, who are little known to Poneclia and her neighbors.

Nemya is also a growing young woman, struggling to find her place in a complex and dangerous world. Will Nemya’s heart and head take her to her destiny?

This is now available; find it here:

Amazon

Kobo

PayHip

Barnes & Noble

Writing Stats for August 2019

Another month has gone by, so time to report on how much I’ve written.

August zipped along. There were a few missed sessions, and I took the last five day of the month to plot upcoming works. That means I wrote 284 pages. That’s 5 fewer pages than July. Among the pieces I wrote were some short stories and another short novel.

I have projects ready to go as the new month gets underway. I’m back to releasing new books, so keep an eye out for those. I’m also hoping to get back to reading.

Stay tuned!

Writing Stats for July 2019

It’s early in a new month, so that means an update on how much I’m writing this year.

July was the first full month of my attempt to write 3 sessions a day. Most days I was able to make the sessions. There were a few breaks and pauses, though. What all that means is I wrote 289 pages. Since the schedule isn’t official, I don’t know how that works out. But it sure felt good!

So what did I write? Two novellas (22k and 23k words), and three short stories (4800 words, 6100 words, & 5100 words). I like those last three because I haven’t written a short story in years.

Already I’ve made some good progress on new works in August. I have a few projects to get to, then it looks like I’ll have to figure out some new story ideas. And I have a new release to get out. Looks like another busy month!

Recently Read

I re-read a few books to get me in the right frame of mind for my current projects:

The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Expecting Someone Taller

Who's Afraid of Beowulf?

You can send me a friend request at Goodreads or follow me. If you've read and liked the books I've written, please rate them.

Happy reading!

Writing Stats for June 2019

Back again to tell you how much I wrote in the previous month.

In June I finished the novel I'd been working on. It turned out to be 109,000 words. That's the fourth novel in a row that came in for me at over 100K words. Seeing as I'd only gotten up to about 85K before, I'm pleased that I've stretched myself like that. Furthermore, the novel is a stand-alone, so not only can I do a series of books that long, but I can write a single novel of that length.

I completed the novel in the middle of the month. I paused for a while to rest and do other stuff, then I started on a new work. All that means I wrote 210 pages in June. That's 10 pages over what I would have achieved if I'd only met my session goals.

One reason for that is that I'm trying an experiment. I'm trying to add one more writing session per day. I want to try it out for at least one full month before I make this change permanent. But so far I haven't felt burnt-out from three sessions a day. I'll find out how it goes through July.

Whatever the number of sessions a day, I hope to continue to be productive as the summer rolls on!

Recently Read

Here's what I've read recently. As always, the links go to the individual book pages at Goodreads. The books:

Sorcery & Cecilia

Sister Light, Sister Dark

Space Opera

Embers of War

You can send me a friend request at Goodreads or follow me. If you've read and liked the books I've written, please rate them.

Happy reading!

Tradecraft: Theft

Central Station is a gathering place for the artists, merchants, and politicians of the Galactic League. Aliens come from all over the galaxy to exchange ideas and resolve disputes.

On the minds of all at Central Station are attacks on merchant starships by raiders, who steal cargo and rob passengers. One such attack on the ship of human Paolo Chelini has made off with technology from the advanced Alphans. The incident starts an investigation that shakes governments and societies.

Paolo Chelini thought he was just another starship operator. He and his ship Tradecraft are about to become more famous, more influential, and more pursued…

Tradecraft: Theft is now on sale. Here is where you can get it:

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo     B&N     Smashwords 

Writing Stats for May 2019

Here's another update on how much I'm writing this year.

May was another good month. I'm plugging away on the novel. As I write this post I'm three-fourths through. I might finish it early this month. Check my social media if you want to know exactly when that happens.

I wrote 234 pages in May. That's with losing a few sessions to errands to boot. Once again I was over what I would have written if I'd only hit my session goals.

Once the current novel is done I plan to take as brief a break as I can, then move on with the next project. I've written some largely serious novels of late, and the next project will be light, so I'm looking forward to the change of tone.

I hope the streak of good writing continues into June!