C.M. Martens's Blog, page 13
April 24, 2019
What Gets You in the Mood?
April 23, 2019
Avoidance as a Motivator
April 21, 2019
Find yourself a little over-chocolated…
April 20, 2019
Did you see…
January 3, 2019
Fine, Then I Won’t
Or not.
Or, at least not yet…
I’ve gotten (back) into the habit of sleeping in until 10 or 11 am wake-up. Somewhere along the way (I can’t remember ExAcTlY why at this exact moment. Probably something I heard someone say so naturally I had to enact it as it is that time of year to reform and re-construe ourselves) I decided to get up before 10.
Seriously though, I was getting a lot of work done in those hours before everyone else was awake. Especially being back in a warmer climate, it’s nice to sit on the deck before the sun turns my porch seat into a convection oven.
So, an earlier bedtime.
11 pm second wind
So after laying in bed for an hour (I did manage to get a spectacular meditation session in, which is maybe why I’m energized), I’m up, cooking bacon as a midnight snack, and opening a project I haven’t quite got nailed down yet. Maybe it’s my muse keeping me awake…
Tomorrow is another day. Maybe if I stay up all night, my bedtime will naturally be early tomorrow and this will all work itself out.
Yeah, right…
January 2, 2019
Book Review: Echo Volume 4: The Last Edge of Darkness, by Kent Wayne
Echo Volume 4: The Last Edge of Darkness, by Kent Wayne
SciFi. Dystopian. Military.
5 stars.
A perfect conclusion to a fantastic story.
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From the first, I was caught in Mr. Kent Wayne’s world of Echo. I am a sucker for SciFi military drama, and this one pushed those boundaries and added elements not typically delved into at this level. I appreciated that, though I wonder if many might find it preachy. But those people are not my problem 
December 31, 2018
Tomorrow Never Comes
For so many years, too many, I wanted to be a writer, but I never actually wrote. Sure, there were random blips in time when I would sit down and vomit out key portions that rattled their cage in my brain. But that would be all, and I would go about my life, ignoring the caged beasts as if waiting for them to release themselves…
After many, many, many days of forcing the verb write, rather than dream of the noun writer, I’ve made writing something that can’t be ignored. No longer to I have to force myself to sit down to the preverbial pen and paper, but I have to force myself to stop, to the detremint of the rest.
This Writing Compulsion
This compulsion to write hits me as soon as I wake. Often, I skip coffee or breakfast or showering or dressing to get to my writing. The beasts have been uncaged and won’t suffer being held again.
Yet, my workout schedule has gone so far as to be some vague memory. My food choices are limited to as fast as possible which typically means some drive through dribble I know is posioning me, but well, writing. Thankfully, my life mate uses cooking as his downtime, mental-break time so I do get more real food that I would if forced to take care of myself.
Make Tomorrow Right Now
So, it’s the new year. What a fortuitous time to re-install old habits (that sounds counter-intuitive, but in my case, it’s good. I swear I used to meditate and journal and workout and go to a job [though that last one isn’t really a life goal it just implies that at some point in my life I got more than 400 steps in a day]).
Right, all I’m saying is it’s time to add some necessary things back into my life. All things I’ve, at one point or another, been very good at, even enjoyed. Why now? Why not yesterday? Well, so far, I’ve only managed some cheap words in a virtual world, so we’ll see…
It’s not like the thoughts weren’t there. It’s not that I haven’t been aware that I gained twenty pounds in 4 months, or I that I can feel my muscles atrophy, but tomorrow never comes. Time to do it today, or risk falling to a pile of squish. Youth’s genetic superiority is fading and only effort will get keep me alive. Maybe therein lies my reason. Have I glimpsed the end of my life as this avatar? Maybe so, but that doesn’t necessarily matter. What I’m concerned about is being able to get out of bed without groaning (I’m not quite there yet), being able to tie my shoes without tweaking something, and carrying my groceries in one trip.
Well, that took a twist. Thanks for listneing. Thanks for being here to hold me accountable. Let’s see if I make tomorrow today, or just throw it out there as another thing “I’ll get to.”
Blessings and constructive obstacles to you and your new year 
December 27, 2018
Tear It From My Soul
Gah! These doubt demons are killing me today! Editing book three… there’s quite a step outside the line of what the story has been so far… I feel like it’s true to the journey… but I know people are going to have some issues…
I’m trying not to worry about it. I’m trying to just write it as I felt it; write it down the path I mapped out from the beginning. I really love the second half of this book- the “after” this that has me screaming inside my head. I actually really like the parts that have me nervous. It’s crazy how much this “outside observer,” the knowledge that there will be readers is screwing with my head on this one.
Whew! This is stressful…… but I’m going to keep on keeping on.
December 26, 2018
The Wolf Queen, By Adrian Tilling
Teen Fantasy.
3 Stars
A fun Story with a little bit of everything.
Laneyth is home to the Ozera family and an impending rebellion. To save his country, King Svetozar sends an invitation to William Starker, a young but well-known general. William strikes a friendship with Channin Ozera, heir to the throne. Together, the girl in the orchard and the boy on the battlefield will start a fire that may just consume all Laneyth.
The Wolf Queen, by Adrian Tilling was a fun, classic fantasy tale. I felt like I was reading a some side story of Morrowwind!
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I enjoyed the third person multiple perspective. I hear most are not a fan of this, and I’ve found it seems to have dropped out of favor in the publishing world, but I enjoy it. It always makes the story move along smoothly, as if I’m watching it from the outside, rather than forced behind a single POV.
There were some technical problems along the way. Structural, more than grammer, etc which hitched the story a bit and brought my rating to 3 stars rather than 4. Some smoothing of the narration or something needed to be done to bring this story to the next level. Not a deal breaker, I very much enjoyed the story.
The MC, Channin, I felt, went through a weird progression. Where she starts out strong and fierce, I feel she ends at the opposite end of the spectrum. I’m curious to read a next installment to see how that might play out. Brave and idealistic, by the end, I thought she kind of turned into a sniveling brat. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this…
Overall, a fun, classic fantasy read with vampires, dragons, werewolves and strong heros.
Happy Reading
December 21, 2018
Book Two has Released!
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Only 99 cents on Kindle!
Also available on paperback through Amazon. Click the book image to get your copy.
I love hearing your comments and thoughts! Scratch out a messege for me below, or contact me through my contact page (link in menu above).
Happy Christmas and Merry Winter celebrations to you!
