L.R. Lam's Blog, page 13

Shadowplay’s Paperback Re-release

 

Today is Shadowplay‘s official re-publication day! It first came out in January 2014 and has been out of print since the end of 2014, so I’m excited for it to be back in stores with it’s spiffy new cover. I signed a few copies in Waterstones Inverness on Tuesday and had the very fun experience of handselling 3 copies of my books (2 of False Hearts and 1 Pantomime) to customers as I did so. This is my second book and, like all my books, holds a special place in my heart. It’s the first one I wrote to a deadline, the first one I properly arced and plotted, and I had a lot of fun researching Victorian magicians for the content.

In case you missed it, this version does has some minor textual and narrative changes from the previous edition. See this post for details.

Note to American readers: It’ll be distributed in the US next March, but if you’d like to get it before that,you can order the paperback via Book Depository, which has free international shipping!

As before and with every book, there is only so much I can do to jump up and down and wave my arms  and hope people give it a chance. I’d be so, so ecstatic if you’d consider doing any of the following:

Buy a copy for yourself (it’s very pretty and has a matte cover), or for a family or friend for a gift. If it’s not at your local (UK/Aus/etc) bookstore, they can always order it in for you.
Leave a review on a vendor site (Amazon & Goodreads are the two biggest ones. The more Amazon reviews it has, the more it’ll be picked up by algorithms for others to see. Just a rating and a few words is more than enough). Amazon deleted most of the old reviews of Shadowplay. I used to have about 20 and now I have 2.
Ask your local library to order in a few copies, either now or in March if you’re in the states.
Tell a few people who you think might enjoy steampunk fantasy starring an intersex genderfluid protag set in a circus that Pantomime is out there

You can read the first chapter of Shadowplay on the Tor UK website.

Read the opening of Pantomime, book 1 in the series!

Book 3 in the series, Masquerade, will be out March 9, 2017!

All the extra information about the book, including blurb, purchase links, and quotes are below. Thank you so much.

Old magics are waking. But will the world survive their return?

Micah Grey almost died when he fled the circus with Drystan – now he and the ex-clown seek to outrun disaster. Drystan persuades his old friend Jasper Maske, a once-renowned magician, to take them in. But when he agrees to teach them his trade, Maske is challenged to the ultimate high-stakes duel by his embittered arch-nemesis.

Micah must perfect his skills of illusion, while navigating a tender new love. An investigator is also hunting the person he once seemed to be – a noble family’s runaway daughter. As the duel draws near, Micah increasingly suffers from visions showing him real magic and future terrors. Events that broke the ancient world are being replayed. But can Micah’s latent powers influence this deadly pattern?

Purchase:

Amazon UK  / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Booksamillion / Waterstones /Fishpond / Kobo / iBooks / Book Depository

Add on: Goodreads / Booklikes / Shelfari

Accolades:

Nominated for the ALA Rainbow List 2015

Gay YA Book of the Month November 2014

Longlisted for the James Tiptree Junior Award 2015

Praise:

“[Pantomime] stars Micah Grey, an immediately likable and somewhat naive runaway who has some completely understandable trust issues. It’s a very personal story . . . at the same time, it’s also a HUGE story . . . Seriously, the worldbuilding is so excellent: rich and sprawling, but not overpowering . . . I very much enjoyed spending time in Ellada again, and I especially loved being behind the scenes of a magic show and a fake seance or two . . . So if you haven’t read Pantomime yet, DO. Go out and read it, and then read Shadowplay.” – Bookshelves of Doom at Kirkus.com

Monthly Roundup: October & November

Writing:

October: I wrote the grand total of 1740 new words of fiction & 1041 of nonfiction, for a total of 2811 words. However, I also had Masquerade proofs and Shattered Minds copyedits, which kept me busy. Fiction-wise, I worked a little bit on my current thriller, codename Memory Book, and also started re-writing a short story.

November: I planned to do #devilwrimo, which was the modified NaNo goal Julia Ember and I came up with (666 words per day). I almost made it, but to be honest, the election results really threw me for a loop and affected my productivity. I wrote 17,704 words of fiction and 3863 words of nonfiction for a total of 21,567 (so I won #devilwrimo if you count my nonfic work!). Fiction-wise, I continued work on Memory Book, finished rewriting the short story, and worked a bit on Space Book, the project I’m co-writing with Elizabeth May. The month ended on a slightly sour note because I accidentally deleted 3k words while changing the batteries for my Alphasmart Dana. Lesson learned: transfer EVERYTHING off just in case before switching batteries. The words I ended up rewriting were better anyway.

Yearly subtotal: 247,290 words

Travel & Life: 

October was a busy month. I went down to London for a few days to meet my friend Amanda and to see Cursed Child with Amy Alward and her husband, Kim Curran, and my agent, Juliet Mushens. We also did loads of other HP-themed, like the studio tour. It was fun–I wrote nothing while down there. Nearish the end of the month, we finally moved properly from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, which affected work, and then I went and got bronchitis and felt like death to cap off the month. Yay!

November was a weird month. Like many, I felt absolutely devastated on November 9th. I just wanted to sleep for a few days to try and forget about it. My writing spreadsheet just says “F*ck everything” for a few days next to the 0 of words written. I ended up running away to the Isle of Skye after Elizabeth and I met up with Lindsay Cummings and Sasha Alsberg in Edinburgh and got along so well they invited us back to where they were staying. It was a really wonderful break that I desperately needed. Once I got back, I started writing properly again, instead of little fits and starts. I also kept teaching at Napier of course, and had a few extra visits; one at Gilmerton Library and another for the LGBT YA event for Book Week Scotland.

Plans for this month:

Keep on trucking—draft more Memory Book, hopefully getting near the end of the (very rough) first draft. Keep working on Space book, again hoping to finish the draft at the end of January or so. I’ve been commissioned to write a nonfiction piece for an anthology, so that’s another mini-project. Finish the trimester at Napier. My brother, his girlfriend, and my mom are all coming out to Scotland for Christmas, so I’ll probably be taking some time off for the holidays. Should be a nice end to the year J

 

Books Read in November

1. The Seafarer’s Kiss – Julia Ember

An upcoming YA from Julia. Cover & cover copy to be revealed this month, I think! Definitely keep an eye out for it. In a Norse retelling of the Little Mermaid, Ersel must outwit the God of Lies to save the shieldmaiden she’s come to love.

2. The Robber Bride – Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood’s The Robber Bride is inspired by “The Robber Bridegroom,” a wonderfully grisly tale from the Brothers Grimm in which an evil groom lures three maidens into his lair and devours them, one by one. But in her version, Atwood brilliantly recasts the monster as Zenia, a villainess of demonic proportions, and sets her loose in the lives of three friends, Tony, Charis, and Roz. All three “have lost men, spirit, money, and time to their old college acquaintance, Zenia. At various times, and in various emotional disguises, Zenia has insinuated her way into their lives and practically demolished them. To Tony, who almost lost her husband and jeopardized her academic career, Zenia is ‘a lurking enemy commando.’ To Roz, who did lose her husband and almost her magazine, Zenia is ‘a cold and treacherous bitch.’ To Charis, who lost a boyfriend, quarts of vegetable juice and some pet chickens, Zenia is a kind of zombie, maybe ‘soulless'” (Lorrie Moore, New York Times Book Review). In love and war, illusion and deceit, Zenia’s subterranean malevolence takes us deep into her enemies’ pasts.

3. Cranky Ladies of History – edited by Tehani Croft Wesseley and Tansy Rayner Roberts

*Disclaimer: I have a story in this, but didn’t get a chance to read the other stories until now*

Warriors, pirates, murderers and queens…

Throughout history, women from all walks of life have had good reason to be cranky. Some of our most memorable historical figures were outspoken, dramatic, brave, feisty, rebellious and downright ornery.

Cranky Ladies of History is a celebration of 22 women who challenged conventional wisdom about appropriate female behaviour, from the ancient world all the way through to the twentieth century. Some of our protagonists are infamous and iconic, while others have been all but forgotten under the heavy weight of history.

Sometimes you have to break the rules before the rules break you.

4. Unveiled (Turner #1) – Courtney Milan

Ash Turner has waited a lifetime to seek revenge on the man who ruined his family – and now the time for justice has arrived. At Parford Manor, he intends to take his place as the rightful heir to the dukedom and settle an old score with the current duke once and for all. But instead he finds himself drawn to a tempting beauty who has the power to undo all his dreams of vengeance….

Lady Margaret knows she should despise the man who’s stolen her fortune and her father’s legacy – the man she’s been ordered to spy on in the guise of a nurse. Yet the more she learns about the new duke, the less she can resist his smoldering appeal. Soon Margaret and Ash find themselves torn between old loyalties – and the tantalizing promise of passion….

5. Aesop’s Fables – Anonymous

The fables of Aesop have become one of the most enduring traditions of European culture, ever since they were first written down nearly two millennia ago. Aesop was reputedly a tongue-tied slave who miraculously received the power of speech; From his legendary storytelling came the collections of prose and verse fables scattered throughout Greek and Roman literature. First published in English by Caxton in 1484, the fables and their morals continue to charm modern readers: Who does not know the story of the tortoise and the hare, or the boy who cried wolf? They are two of the many fables from Aesop, made legendary by time.

6. The Fallen Kingdom (Falconer #3) – Elizabeth May

The long-awaited final book in the Falconer trilogy is an imaginative tour-de-force that will thrill fans of the series. Aileana Kameron, resurrected by ancient fae magic, returns to the world she once knew with no memory of her past and with dangerous powers she struggles to control. Desperate to break the curse that pits two factions of the fae against each other in a struggle that will decide the fate of the human and fae worlds, her only hope is hidden in an ancient book guarded by the legendary Morrigan, a faery of immense power and cruelty. To save the world and the people she loves, Aileana must learn to harness her dark new powers even as they are slowly destroying her. Packed with immersive detail, action, romance, and fae lore, and publishing simultaneously in the UK, The Fallen Kingdom brings the Falconer’s story to an epic and unforgettable conclusion.

 

Total: 96 books

Tracking my Reading:

Character diversity: The Seafarer’s Kiss (F/F romance), Cranky Ladies of History (some diversity in the stories), The Fallen Kingdom (two or three bi characters, PTSD)

Books by POC, queer, and/or disabled writers (as far as I know): The Seafarer’s Kiss, some of the Cranky Ladies of History authors, Unveiled

Books by female writers: The Seafarer’s Kiss, The Robber Bride, some of the Cranky Ladies of History authors, Unveiled, The Fallen Kingdom (5/6, unless Aesop was a woman)

Books by people I know: The Seafarer’s Kiss and The Fallen Kingdom

Nonfiction: N/A

Shattered Minds Cover Reveals + False Hearts Paperback Cover Reveal

Last week was busy!

Over on tor.com, the UK & US covers of Shattered Minds were unveiled, along with the cover copy and a bit more about the book from my editor, Bella. What do you think?

Click to view slideshow.

I also finally got around to making a Shattered Minds book page on this website with the pre-order links I could find so far.

Additionally, the UK paperback cover of False Hearts was unveiled on torbooks.co.uk. It’s still got the fingerprints, it’s just a bit bolder.

The paperback will be out in April 2017. Also, False Hearts is listed as one of Forbidden Planet’s top ten books of 2016!

I realised last night that next year’s lineup is:

Feb: US distribution of the Pantomime paperback (it’s the UK Tor editions but through their US distributor)

Mar: US Shadowplay paperback

Mar: UK Masquerade paperback

April: UK False Hearts paperback

May: US False Hearts paperback

PB Jun: US Masquerade paperback

Jun: Shattered Minds hardback in the UK & the US

I’m also subbing some short stories and a nonfiction piece, which might end up in there somewhere. And I’ll be teaching across 3 or 4 modules next trimester! Goodbye, sleep. It’s really exciting though. Back in early 2014, I worried I’d never release a book again. By the end of next year I’ll have 5 books out and quite a few short stories, and I’m hoping to finish two drafts and make a start on another. Bring on the words.

 

 

Pantomime on Wattpad & Minor Narrative Changes in the New Edition

Good morning and happy Tuesday!

First, I’m continuing my Wattpad experiment, and the first 6 chapters are going to be going up over the next few weeks.

Chapter 1 is here!

Reads, votes & comments are all greatly appreciated. I update on Friday lunchtime.

Secondly, the new paperback version and ebook of Pantomime and Shadowplay are slightly different to the original 2013 version published by Strange Chemistry Books. Since it was changing publishers, I wanted to give it another going over and amend a few things. I wrote the bulk of Pantomime when I was 21-22, and now at 28 I’ve grown a lot as a writer (written 6 books since then!) and also learned more about representation. Over the years I had a few notes from readers on things I didn’t quite get right. They weren’t angry letters by any means, just pointing things out so I’d know for next time, and I appreciated that. Most of the time, writers release books into the world and that’s it–they’re done. You can’t change it. I did get the chance to smooth over a few things, and I’m grateful for that, since they were niggling at me. So, find out below the cut what’s different. I wanted to lay them out here so those who say, read the old version of Pantomime & the new version of Shadowplay, are aware of what changed.

SPOILERS AHOY!

 

Remember, here be spoilers.

Pantomime:

 

Early on in the book, Micah Grey goes to R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic and looks around at everything in wide-eyed wonder. He uses the word ‘exotic’ a lot, both in terms of animals & people. One, it was repetitive. Two, it can be Othering to refer to people as exotic, especially if they’re POC. I didn’t realise that. I removed all references to people as exotic, plus lessened the overall repetition.
I used the word ‘gypsy’ to refer to the woman introducing the gawkers to the freak show tent. Roma people consider it a slur. Off it went.
Biggest change: I made it clearer that Micah is intersex AND magical, not magical BECAUSE they’re intersex, and also made it clear that Chimaera are human, not an alternate species. Never intended him to be, but some read it that way as it wasn’t super clear and they found it Othering. I’d done some work to combat that in the first edition of Shadowplay, but I went back and made that clearer in Pantomime. I also subtly shifted Micah’s feelings about their gender identity, etc, so they’re not as conflicted–instead, more annoyed a the world trying to shove them into binary boxes. He’s still really coming to terms with everything in this first book–acceptance continues in books 2 & 3.
Bil made a few slut-shaming type comments and they annoyed me in retrospect. Obviously, he’s not a particularly nice character and is a misogynist, but I took most of them out anyway. He’s awful in enough ways.
Another big change: I brought Frit, Bil’s wife, back from the dead. Having her as a domestic violence victim was an unthinking decision in the original edition. With Aenea also dying at the end and Mara being thrown out of the circus, it made a lot of women victims in this book, which again wasn’t my intention but hey, hindsight. The new version has it that Drystan helped Frit escape. She’s now living somewhere happily, which I like much better. Her death didn’t affect events later in the series. Basically, she was originally fridged, and I un-fridged her because I could. The power! I’m sorry–Aenea still dies.
Little line edit things. I used ‘got’ or ‘gotten’ a few times, which I think sounds too American for the pseudo-Victorian register I used. I had some repetitions or sentences that in hindsight I thought were a little too wordy or clunky.

Shadowplay

Not as many changes, as I’d already learned a lot about writing between book 1 and book 2.
I had Drystan and Micah disguise themselves with a Glamour to look slightly Temri (aka non-white). I was trying to comment on how common it was during the Victorian magic era for people to do things like this, so the audience could feel like they’d travelled abroad during the performance. I did run it by some sensitivity readers, and most readers have seemed fine with it, but a few people understandably side-eyed it. In retrospect, it didn’t add much and was unnecessary. I changed it so Drystan and Micah change their features to look like different Elladans, and pretend they grew up abroad in Southern Temne as the sons of merchants. Cyan, who is Temnian, still instructs them on her culture so they don’t make a hash of it. It was a case of trying to work in research for research’s sake. This is carried over into Masquerade.
More smoothing out things at the sentence level.

 

None of this required much shifting or edits at all. A sentence here, a sentence there, and things that were bothering me are now bothering me less. It’s still earlier work and there’s other things I wish I could change, but that’s the case with all writing. “Art is never finished, only abandoned,” as Leonardo da Vinci said. On the whole, I’m still pleased and proud of this series. Now, it’s time to let it go.

Gratitude and Thankfulness

It’s a good time to make a list of all I’m thankful for. 2016 has been a year of disappointment and fear for many, but it’s important to also take time to focus on the positive.

This year, in no particular order, I’m thankful for:

My new start in Edinburgh
My health
My family
My career as a lecturer and an author
My readers
My friends, both near and far
That California and Scotland, both my homes, voted how I wanted both in Brexit and the election
My cats
Books as an escape from the darker parts of this year and a way to help the next generation

Today I woke up in a foul mood, but I’m turning it around. I’m going to a friend’s house for some food and enjoying the cold, sunny day in Edinburgh.

What are you thankful for today?

Pantomime’s Paperback Re-Release

This week sees the paperback re-launch of Pantomime! It’s official release date is tomorrow Thursday, November 17th. It first came out in February 2013 but has been out of print since the end of 2014, so to see it back in physical form at its new publisher with its beautiful new cover is the best. This is my first book, and though I wrote it years ago when I was a younger writer, it still holds a very special place in my heart and I’m glad it has a second chance. If you order it via online distributors like Amazon, they already have it in stock, and it’s appearing in several Waterstones and other bookstores.

Note: It’ll be distributed in the US next February, but if you’d like to get it before that,you can order the paperback via Book Depository, which has free international shipping!

As before and with every book, there is only so much I can do to jump up and down and wave my arms  and hope people give it a chance. I’d be so, so ecstatic if you’d consider doing any of the following:

Buy a copy for yourself (it’s very pretty and has a matte cover), or for a family or friend for a gift. If it’s not at your local (UK/Aus/etc) bookstore, they can always order it in for you
Leave a review on a vendor site (Amazon & Goodreads are the two biggest ones. The more Amazon reviews it has, the more it’ll be picked up by algorithms for others to see. Just a rating and a few words is more than enough)
Ask your local library to order in a few copies, either now or in February
Tell a few people who you think might enjoy steampunk fantasy starring an intersex genderfluid protag set in a circus that Pantomime is out there

There is currently a Goodreads giveaway for 10 copies (UK only).

There is an extract of the first two chapters on the Tor UK website.

All the extra information about the book, including blurb, purchase links, and quotes are below. Thank you so much.

In a land of lost wonders, the past is stirring once more.

Gene’s life resembles a debutante’s dream. Yet she hides a secret that would see her shunned by the nobility. Gene is both male and female. Then she displays unwanted magical abilities – last seen in mysterious beings from an almost-forgotten age. Matters escalate further when her parents plan a devastating betrayal, so she flees home, dressed as a boy.

The city beyond contains glowing glass relics from a lost civilization. They call to her, but she wants freedom not mysteries. So, reinvented as ‘Micah Grey’, Gene joins the circus. As an aerialist, she discovers the joy of flight – but the circus has a dark side. She’s also plagued by visions foretelling danger. A storm is howling in from the past, but will she heed its roar?

Purchase:

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Book Depository / Barnes & Noble / Booksamillion / Indiebound / Waterstones / Hive / Fishpond / Kobo /

Books Read in October

1. Right of First Refusal (Radleigh University #2) – Dahlia Adler

On the lacrosse field, Cait Johannssen gets what she wants. Off the field is another story. Because what she wants is the school’s hot new basketball student-coach, Lawrence Mason, who also happens to be the guy who broke her heart in sports camp two years earlier.

But it’s Cait’s new roommate who’s got him.

Cait and Mase agree it’s best to keep their past a secret, but she doesn’t expect him to completely ignore their history…or how much it’ll hurt when he does. So when a friend on the basketball team asks her to pose as his girlfriend for a night, Cait can’t turn down the opportunity for distraction. (Okay, and a little spite.) But what starts as an evening of fun turns into a fake relationship with more lies than the usually drama-free Cait can handle, and it’s only keeping her from the one truth that’s nagged at her for years: Why did Mase cut her out of his life to begin with?

And is it really too late to get him back?

2. Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) – Vic James

Not all are free. Not all are equal. Not all will be saved.

Our world belongs to the Equals — aristocrats with magical gifts — and all commoners must serve them for ten years. But behind the gates of England’s grandest estate lies a power that could break the world.

A girl thirsts for love and knowledge.

Abi is a servant to England’s most powerful family, but her spirit is free. So when she falls for one of the noble-born sons, Abi faces a terrible choice. Uncovering the family’s secrets might win her liberty, but will her heart pay the price?

A boy dreams of revolution.

Abi’s brother, Luke, is enslaved in a brutal factory town. Far from his family and cruelly oppressed, he makes friends whose ideals could cost him everything. Now Luke has discovered there may be a power even greater than magic: revolution.

And an aristocrat will remake the world with his dark gifts.

He is a shadow in the glittering world of the Equals, with mysterious powers no one else understands. But will he liberate—or destroy?

3. Daisy in Chains – Sharon Bolton

Famous killers have fan clubs.

Hamish Wolfe is no different. Locked up for the rest of his life for the abduction and murder of three young women, he gets countless adoring letters every day. He’s handsome, charismatic and very persuasive. His admirers are convinced he’s innocent, and that he’s the man of their dreams.

Who would join such a club?

Maggie Rose is different. Reclusive and enigmatic; a successful lawyer and bestselling true-crime writer, she only takes on cases that she can win.

Hamish wants her as his lawyer, he wants her to change his fate. She thinks she’s immune to the charms of a man like this. But maybe not this time . . .

Would you?

4. The Man in the Iron Mask – Alexadre Dumas

A swashbuckling novel of political intrigue.

In the concluding installment of Alexandre Dumas’s celebrated cycle of the Three Musketeers, D’Artagnan remains in the service of the corrupt King Louis XIV after the Three Musketeers have retired and gone their separate ways. Unbeknownst to D’Artagnan, Aramis and Porthos plot to remove the inept king and place the king’s twin brother on the throne of France. Meanwhile, a twenty-three-year-old prisoner known only as “Philippe” wastes away deep inside the Bastille. Forced to wear an iron mask, Phillippe has been imprisoned for eight years, has no knowledge of his true identity, and has not been told what crime he’s committed. When the destinies of the king and Phillippe converge, the Three Musketeers and D’Artagnan find themselves caught between conflicting loyalties.

5. Ravishing the Heiress (Fitzhugh Trilogy #2) – Sherry Thomas

Millicent understands the terms of her arranged marriage all too well. She gets to be a Countess by marrying an impoverished Earl. And in return, the Earl Fitzhugh receives the benefit of her vast wealth, saving his family from bankruptcy. Because of her youth, they have agreed to wait eight years before consummating the marriage–and then, only to beget an heir. After which, they will lead separate lives.

It is a most sensible arrangement. Except for one little thing. Somehow Millie has fallen head over heels in love with her husband. Her husband, who has become her very best friend, but nothing more…Her husband, who plans to reunite with his childhood sweetheart, the beautiful and newly widowed Isabella, as soon as he has honored the pact with his wife…

As the hour they truly become husband-and-wife draws near, both Millie and Fitzhugh must face the truth in their hearts. Has their pact bred only a great friendship–or has it, without either of them quite noticing, given rise to a great love?

6. Kafka on the Shore – Haruki Murakami

Kafka on the Shore is powered by two remarkable characters: a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom.

As their paths converge, and the reasons for that convergence become clear, Haruki Murakami enfolds readers in a world where cats talk, fish fall from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodies to make love or commit murder. Kafka on the Shoredisplays one of the world’s great storytellers at the peak of his powers.

7. A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) – Becky Chambers

Lovelace was once merely a ship’s artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who’s determined to help her learn and grow.

Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matter how vast space is, two people can fill it together.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet introduced readers to the incredible world of Rosemary Harper, a young woman with a restless soul and secrets to keep. When she joined the crew of the Wayfarer, an intergalactic ship, she got more than she bargained for – and learned to live with, and love, her rag-tag collection of crewmates.

A Closed and Common Orbit is the stand-alone sequel to Becky Chambers’ beloved debut novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and is perfect for fans of Firefly, Joss Whedon, Mass Effect and Star Wars.

Total in 2016 so far: 87

Tracking my Reading:

Character diversity: Right of First Refusal (black love interest and SCD), Daisy in Chains (character with an eating disorder), Kafka on the Shore (all Japanese characters, I think, plus a disabled viewpoint character), A Closed and Common Orbit (always lots of diversity in her work)

Books by POC, queer, and/or disabled writers (as far as I know): Right of First Refusal, The Man in the Iron Mask, Ravishing the Heiress, Kafka on the Shore, A Closed and Common Orbit

Books by female writers: Right of First Refusal, Gilded Cage, Daisy in Chains, Ravishing the Heiress, A Closed and Common Orbit (5/7)

Books by people I know: Right of First Refusal

Nonfiction: N/A

#DevilWriMo – A #NaNoWriMo alternative

50,000 words in a month is a lot of words. Each year, I’ve tried NaNoWriMo. The only time I “won” was 2014, and even then I had to somewhat cheat and also include the words I wrote for my university essays (so I wouldn’t fail), which was about 10k of it. I’ve had to admit that I am not good at sprinting at a pace of 1667 words a day consistently. I like to stop. I like to think. I like to research, or re-outline if I feel something’s gone wonky. I’m a tortoise, not a hare, as I keep saying, and that’s fine. I still manage to write at least a book a year, and that’s a fine pace for me.

The last few months, though, I’ve barely been drafting. Between a move to a new city, starting a new part-time job, two autumn colds, and having lots of edits, copyedits, and proofing, progress on my latest WIP has drastically stagnated. My friend Julia Ember and I were chatting on Twitter about how we wished we could do #NaNoWriMo, but our schedules just wouldn’t permit that amount of frantic drafting this time around. So we compromised.

#DevilWriMo keeps the Halloween fun alive. The goal is to write 666 words per day, adding up to about 20k. I’m hoping to finish a short story rewrite and make a dent in Amnesia Book, which is the code name for my WIP.

Julia and I will be checking in frequently on the hashtag (I’m @LR_Lam and she’s @jules_chronicle), and other people have already joined in. So if you want the camaraderie of #NaNoWriMo without the guilt that you’re not able to do the full 50k, please join us!

Image credit on the #DevilWriMo Pinterest board I made (procrastinating already? Damn it.)

Links & Such

A few things:

Once a week, I’ve been putting snippets of The Snake Charm up on Wattpad. It completed yesterday, so if you want to read it all, please take a look and please vote and comment if you’re a member of Wattpad. I’m considering putting up other Vestigial Tales if this goes well.

Rae Cowie wrote a blog post about the Writers Room, a Continued Professional Development course for writers within Aberdeen that I took part in. It was a great course and really nice to have something that focuses on the business side of writing as well rather than solely on craft. (We do that too at the Napier MA Creative Writing programme–another reason I’m so excited to be teaching on it)

Pantomime received a nice review–nice to see some trickling through. Rose Quartz Reads calls it a “splendidly rare gem of a book,” which is nice. The paperback of this is coming out next month, hooray.

One More says of False Hearts: “I strongly recommend starting this book when you’ve got a nice clear day ahead so that it won’t matter if you refuse to put it down again.”

False Hearts has also had recent reviews in Locus Magazine and Lightspeed, but I haven’t seen them. So hopefully they’re positive

Shattered Minds also has a UK cover, so that should be revealed soonish!