Jane Lindskold's Blog, page 6

FF: And Also…

Peering Peerless Persephone

In addition to what I’m reading for fun, I have printed the manuscript of my fourth Over Where novel, and am starting my read-through.  I’m looking forward to finding out how this novel flows, since I had to take a break from it while I recovered from my rotator cuff surgery.  Reading this is work, but fun, too!

And the usual reminder…  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the Comments section, because I enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles.  I also don’t usually list my scattered research reading.

Completed:

Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln.  Secret History—so you can decide if you’d call it “fiction” or “non-fiction.”  Breezily written and a fun enough read, although since it even contradicts itself, I’m leaning toward the “non-fiction” designation. 

The Ghostway by Tony Hillerman.  Fiction.  Audiobook.  Mystery plot weaker than some, but Jim Chee’s personal journey is very interesting.

The Squire’s Tale by Gerald Morris.  This was given to me years ago by a fellow who used to show up in the comments on the FF.  I quite liked it, and decided a re-read would fit right in with my non-fiction reading.

In Progress:

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan.  Heroes of Olympus Book Three.  Audiobook.  Numerous points of view bothered some readers, but I rather like seeing how different characters view similar issues.

DreamForge Anvil latest issue.  Just getting into it.

The Icarus Job by Timothy Zahn.  Third or fourth book (depending on where one fits in The Icarus Hunt) in the series.  Breezy SF action adventure, well-written.

Also:

Finished the December 2024 Smithsonian, at last, and am now reading the latest issue.

Microclimate Creativity

Very Early Apricot Blossoms

When I went out last week, I was startled to discover that Spring was beginning to make itself known, since most of the trees had been grey and brown just a few days before.  Mind you, all the flowers I saw were on not-native to this climate trees.  The native plants are still very much dormant.  They know we’re not done with the cold.

The apricot blossoms in the photo are in a very sheltered area of our backyard that is its own microclimate.  Parts of the same tree don’t even have visible buds.  However, a few flowers are enough to attract the bees, as you will see if you take a close look!

In addition to enjoying flowers, I’ve been finishing off various projects.  My novella for a forthcoming Honorverse anthology—due for release this November—is done and even has a title: “Deadly Delusions.”  I’ve sent it off to Tom Pope, who is acting as first line editor and continuity expert.

With that done, I’m taking care of a lot of small tasks, and one not-so-small task.  This last is starting to polish the manuscript of a fourth Over Where novel, which I finished writing in mid-February.  I find that letting a manuscript lie fallow for a couple of weeks means that I do a much better job with my edits.

I’m also going to feed my Muse by doing some purely for fun projects, like organizing material for the role-playing game I run.  I’ve part of the same group for thirteen years now.  Most of the time, I’m run the game, but I have had a few breaks, such as this last year while I recovered from rotator cuff surgery.  At those times, the very able and talented Rowan Derrick has stepped in, as she did over pretty much all of the last year, when my rotator cuff surgery set me back.

Take care!  I’m wandering off to write.

FF: And Now

Roary on the Spot

This week’s reading is largely a continuation of last week’s, although I did plow through a bunch of audiobooks. 

And the usual reminder…  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the Comments section, because I enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles.  I also don’t usually list my scattered research reading.

Completed:

Cabinet of Curiosities by Aaron Mahnke.  Non-fiction.  Trivia of the “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” sort.  Amusing, but if I were going to use anything as a story seed, I’d research the heck out of it first.

Game On (Tempting Twenty-Eight) by Janet Evanovich.  Fiction.  Audiobook.  Hackers and Diesel.  An amusing way to fill an idle hour.

Going Rogue by Janet Evanovich.  (Stephanie Plum Twenty-Nine.)  Fiction.  Audiobook.  A bit uneven in content, as some very serious issues are turned into jokes that didn’t quite work for me.  Overall, though, pretty good.

In Progress:

Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln.  Secret History—so you can decide if you’d call it “fiction” or “non-fiction.”  Breezily written and a fun enough read, although since it even contradicts itself, I’m leaning toward the “non-fiction” designation.  Almost done.

The Ghostway by Tony Hillerman.  Fiction.  Audiobook. 

Also:

Finished the most recent Archeology magazine.  Discovered I’d only read the letter column in the December 2024 Smithsonian, so reading the rest.

Indeed! It’s Out!

Liana and Fava: Friends Indeed!

The big news this week is that Friends Indeed (long known to readers of these Wanderings as SK5) the latest of the Star Kingdom/Stephanie Harrington novels which I write with David Weber, was officially released on March 4th.

Here’s a variation on the original copy.

THE TROUBLE WITH TREECATS

Stephanie Harrington didn’t discover treecats—they were indigenous to the planet Sphinx, a colony of the tiny Star Kingdom of Manticore. But at age eleven she was the first human to bond with one. Now, almost seventeen, she is the species’ greatest champion.

To the rest of the human galaxy, if they are known at all, they are recognized as fierce hunters, tool users, socially organized, fuzzy little creatures, with no known method of communication. But are they sapient? Because if they are, that would have all sorts of repercussions for the families who have settled on Sphinx—the Harringtons not the least.

There will be winners, and there will be losers. And Stephanie is there to make sure the treecats don’t lose out.

But Stephanie, the treecats, and Sphinx itself may be caught up in an even greater conspiracy than the one to help the fighting ‘cats survive, one generations in the making . . .

Weber and I will be doing a chat with Baen Free Radio.  We recently did a special edition of the Honorverse Today podcast, if you’re interested in learning a bit about how we work together.

On other fronts, the short story I mentioned working on is now a rough draft in the area of 14,000 words, which I think makes it a novella.  My job this week is getting it polished, then handing it over to Jim to get his feedback.  Oh, yeah, and figuring out a title.

With much to do, I will wander off to Writer Land.  Catch y’all later!

Not Directly

Persephone Paper Bane

Often when I list that I’m reading a lot of non-fiction, I’m asked if I’m researching something in particular.  Sometimes I am but, as with this week, sometimes I’m feeding random information to my Muse.  It may emerge years from now, or not at all.

And the usual reminder…  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the Comments section, because I enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles.  I also don’t usually list my scattered research reading.

Completed:

Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan.  Second Book in the Heroes of Olympus cycle. 

Knights Templar Encyclopedia: The Essential Guide to the People, Places, Events, & Symbols of the Order of the Temple by Karen Ralls, Ph.D.  Non-fiction.  Seriously non…  The conspiracy theories about the Templars are alluded to, but the emphasis is on what they really were.

In Progress:

Cabinet of Curiosities by Aaron Mahnke.  Non-fiction.  Trivia of the “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” sort.  Amusing, but if I were going to use anything as a story seed, I’d research the heck out of it.

Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln.  Secret History—so you can decide if you’d call it “fiction” or “non-fiction.”  Breezily written and a fun enough read.

Game On (Tempting Twenty-Eight) by Janet Evanovich.  Fiction.  Audiobook.  Hackers and Diesel.  An amusing way to fill an idle hour.

Also:

Archeology magazine.  I think I finished that Smithsonian, but copies do get moved around, especially to protect them from Persephone, who loves to bite paper.

Sprinting!

Roadrunner!

I’m sprinting my way through a short story.  Actually, I just looked up the word count, and it’s going to be a novelette, since I suspect it’s going to hit over 10,000 words.  (That’s forty or so pages.)

When I’m writing a novel, I tend to write fewer words per day, because if I don’t pace myself, I get worn out, physically, mentally, and emotionally.  The way my creative vibe works, a shorter work is more like a sprint, while a novel is a marathon.

Before I get back to the work-in-progress, I’d like to remind you that Friends Indeed, my latest collaboration with David Weber in our Star Kingdom/Stephanie Harrington series, will be released on March 4th.  That’s this coming Tuesday…

Now, off to the races once more!

Oh, in case you wondered…  Yes, the skies here really do get that blue!

FF: Fact and Fiction

Mei-Ling the Irresistibly Fluffy

This week is pretty varied.

And the usual reminder…  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the Comments section, because I enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles.  I also don’t usually list my scattered research reading.

Completed:

Listening Woman by Tony Hillerman.  Audiobook.

Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez.  Quirky and sometimes very funny.  (The arcane use of Pig Latin got me.)  However, not without “heart,” which can make or break a book for me.

In Progress:

Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan.  Second Book in the Heroes of Olympus cycle. 

Knight’s Templar Encyclopedia: The Essential Guide to the People, Places, Events, & Symbols of the Order of the Temple by Karen Ralls, Ph.D.  Non-fiction.  Seriously non…  The conspiracy theories about the Templars are alluded to, but the emphasis is on what they really were.

Also:

Finally finished that American Archeology.  Now reading the latest Smithsonian.

Gave up on Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany.  The writing is brilliant, but there’s just not enough story for me in my current mood.

From Amid the Stories

Hawk Surveys the Neighborhood

Rather like our local hawk, I’m peering out from amid the stories, surveying my creative terrain.

Last week, I finished my rough draft of a fourth (as per usual) as yet untitled Over Where novel. 

I thought I’d take a break, but the Muse is feeling feisty after being so darned coy for several months after my rotator cuff surgery.  The surgery was in at the beginning of April 2024, and it wasn’t until late August of 2024 that the stories started flowing again.  Those were four scary months for someone who loves to tell stories.

My current project is a short story (or possibly not so short) for a forthcoming Honorverse/Star Kingdom anthology.  It’s proving very interesting, and I am enjoying working with different characters, setting, and issues.

But a talk with my friend Mike Collins about his job got me thinking about an idea for another story, probably short, but who knows?  We’ll just need to see if the seed germinates into a story.

Now, off to the planet Sphinx, about a year after Stephanie and Lionheart first meet.  It is late spring, and out in the wilderness…

Later!

FF: As Time Goes On

Mei-Ling Admires Mary’s Secret Door

This week, I’ve been re-reading a lot.  However, I read the Delany books so long ago that I remember only flashes—a phrase, an image—that lets me know I’ve been there before, but very little about the details.  Delany is interesting to me in that he is a writer for whom setting/idea generates plot and characters, but neither of the latter is flattened by this.

And the usual reminder…  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the Comments section, because I enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles.  I also don’t usually list my scattered research reading.

Completed:

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan.  Audiobook.  The start of his Heroes of Olympus series, which comes after Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  A long-time favorite of mine, and one that fits right in as I’m longing for Spring.

The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany.

In Progress:

Listening Woman by Tony Hillerman.  Audiobook.

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany.

Also:

Still working on that American Archeology of which I’d only read half.  I’m almost done, but I interrupted myself to scan through the new AARP magazine.  When I started the Over Where series (in which several of my characters are not young), I had people question whether an older person would be capable of doing so much.  AARP provides a great reminder that age does not equal inadequacy.

Friends Indeed

Persephone Faces the Hexapuma!

Last week, I received my author’s copies for my Friends Indeed, long known to readers of these Wanderings as SK4 (for the fourth Star Kingdom novel).  The official release date is March 4th, 2025 but, for those of you who can’t wait, the e-ARC is available on the Baen Book’s website for a little while longer.

So much goes on in this novel that the publisher’s copy could only cover part of it.  Let me start by sharing what the official release has to say.

THE TROUBLE WITH TREECATS

Stephanie Harrington didn’t discover treecats—they were indigenous to the planet Sphinx, a colony of the tiny Star Kingdom of Manticore. But at age ten she was the first human to bond with one. Now, almost 17, she is the species greatest champion.

To the rest of the human galaxy, if they are known at all, treecats are recognized as tool using, socially organized, fuzzy little creatures, with no known method of communication—who also happen to be fierce hunters. But are they sapient . . .? Because if they are, that would have all sorts of repercussions for the families who have settled on Sphinx, the Harringtons not the least.

There will be winners, and there will be losers. And Stephanie is there to make sure the treecats don’t lose out.

But Stephanie, the treecats, and Sphinx itself may be caught up in an even greater conspiracy than the one to help the fighting ‘cats survive, one generations in the making.

As if this isn’t enough, there are some major life changes in line for Stephanie, as well as several of her friends—both human and non-human.

Whenever a new collaboration comes out, I get a lot of questions about how Weber and I work together.  In January, we did a podcast with Honorverse Today in which we went into various details.  You can find it here: HVT-029 Interview with Jane Lindskold and David Weber – TPE Network.

Weber and I have one more book in the series under contract.  Although we’ve discussed how several major plot points will develop, we haven’t started yet.

Meanwhile, I’m nearly done with my fourth Over Where novel, so close to the end that I hope to finish the rough draft by the end of this week.

Feel free to ask any questions about writing projects.  Meanwhile, I’m off to write!