L.R. Lam's Blog, page 14

Monthly Roundup: September 2016

Yet again I’m late on this. Oh well.

Writing:

September was another one of those months where I did a lot of work but technically didn’t write many new words. I did a line edit on Shattered Minds, turned in Masquerade copyedits that I did at the end of the month before, and did 9306 words of my WIP (mostly the draft, but some drafting of the various arcs and acts, too). Nonfiction came to 2770. Monthly total: 11346.Yearly total: 222,912 words.

Travel & Life:

Life was what got in the way this month. We moved from our flat in Aberdeen that we’re renting out to Craig’s parents, where we’ve been staying for the last few weeks. I had a writing deadline and Craig had his final project due around the same time, so that week was basically nonstop stress. I also had the autumn trimester start at Napier, so it was a lot of coming to terms with teaching and getting into the groove there. Lots of commuting on trains, but I didn’t travel anywhere other than Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Plans for Next Month:

Lo, this is halfway done already. But so far I’ve had Masquerade Proofs and Shattered Minds copyedits. I’m hoping to type up and edit the bits of my WIP I’ve been scribbling in my notebook. I also have a lot of uni marking and prep to do, plus moving down to Edinburgh properly, so it’s another busy but exciting month!

Books Read in September

This month does a good job illustrating my rather varied taste in books, hah.

1. Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut’s absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut’s) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden

2. Wild Magic (Immortals #1) – Tamora Pierce (re-read)

Young Daine’s knack with horses gets her a job helping the royal horsemistress drive a herd of ponies to Tortall. Soon it becomes clear that Daine’s talent, as much as she struggles to hide it, is downright magical. Horses and other animals not only obey, but listen to her words. Daine, though, will have to learn to trust humans before she can come to terms with her powers, her past, and herself.

3. Fingersmith – Sarah Waters

Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a “baby farmer,” who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. Mrs. Sucksby’s household, with its fussy babies calmed with doses of gin, also hosts a transient family of petty thieves—fingersmiths—for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home.

One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives—Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. Once the inheritance is secured, Maud will be disposed of—passed off as mad, and made to live out the rest of her days in a lunatic asylum.

With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to pity her helpless mark and care for Maud Lilly in unexpected ways…But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.

4. The Jane Austen Book Club – Karen Joy Fowler

In California’s central valley, five women and one man join to discuss Jane Austen’s novels. Over the six months they get together, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. With her eye for the frailties of human behavior and her ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Karen Joy Fowler has never been wittier nor her characters more appealing. The result is a delicious dissection of modern relationships.

Dedicated Austenites will delight in unearthing the echoes of Austen that run through the novel, but most readers will simply enjoy the vision and voice that, despite two centuries of separation, unite two great writers of brilliant social comedy.

5. Transmission and the Individual Remix – Tom McCarthy

Sub-titled “How Literature Works” this essay by the renown novelist is a provocative and entertaining work of postmodern theory that re-evaluates literature and literary meaning from Aeschylus to Kraftwerk.

6. Saga Volume 1 – Brian K. Vaughan

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.

From bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan, Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults.

7. Saga Volume 2 – Brian K. Vaughan

From award-winning writer BRIAN K. VAUGHAN (Pride of Baghdad, Ex Machina) and critically acclaimed artist FIONA STAPLES (Mystery Society, Done to Death), SAGA is sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the universe. Thanks to her star-crossed parents Marko and Alana, newborn baby Hazel has already survived lethal assassins, rampaging armies, and horrific monsters, but in the cold vastness of outer space, the little girl encounters her strangest adventure yet… grandparents.

8. Saga Volume 3 – Brian K. Vaughan

From the Hugo Award-winning duo of Brian K. Vaughan (The Private Eye, Y: The Last Man) and Fiona Staples (North 40, Red Sonja), Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the universe. Searching for their literary hero, new parents Marko and Alana travel to a cosmic lighthouse on the planet Quietus, while the couple’s multiple pursuers finally close in on their targets.

9. Saga Volume 4 – Brian K. Vaughan

From the Eisner Award-winning duo of Brian K. Vaughan (The Private Eye, Pride of Baghdad) and Fiona Staples (Mystery Society,Thor), SAGA is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the universe. As they visit a strange new world and encounter even more adversaries, baby Hazel finally becomes a toddler, while her star-crossed parents Marko and Alana struggle to stay on their feet.

10. The Chimes – Anna Smaill

The Chimes is set in a reimagined London, in a world where people cannot form new memories, and the written word has been forbidden and destroyed.

In the absence of both memory and writing is music.

In a world where the past is a mystery, each new day feels the same as the last, and before is blasphony, all appears lost. But Simon Wythern, a young man who arrives in London seeking the truth about what really happened to his parents, discovers he has a gift that could change all of this forever.

A stunning literary debut by poet and violinist Anna Smaill, The Chimes is a startlingly original work that combines beautiful, inventive prose with incredible imagination.

11. Once Upon a Marquess (The Worth Saga #1) – Courtney Milan

The last man Judith Worth wants to see again is Christian Trent, the Marquess of Ashford—the man who spent summers at her family home, who kissed her one magical night…and then heartlessly ruined her father. But when a tricky business matter arises, he’s the only one she can ask for help. With any luck, he’ll engage a servant to take care of the matter, and she won’t even have to talk with him.

But Ashford has never forgotten Judith. He knows she will never forgive him for what he’s done, but when offered the chance to assist her, he arrives in person. His memory of Judith may have haunted him, but it pales in comparison to the reality of the vivacious, beautiful woman he rediscovers. Throughout his life, he has always done what is correct. But now, he finds himself doing something utterly wrong…falling in love with the one woman he can never have.

Total in 2016 so far: 80

Tracking my Reading:

Character diversity: Slaughterhouse Five (PTSD), Wild Magic (secondary character diversity), Fingersmith (lesbian leads), Saga 1-4 (POC leads and lots of SCD), The Chimes (everyone is illiterate, gay leads, one of whom is POC, and disabled characters)

Books by POC, queer, and/or disabled writers (as far as I know): Slaughterhouse Five, Fingersmith, Once Upon a Marquess

Books by female writers: Wild Magic, Fingersmith, The Jane Austen Book Club, The Chimes, Once Upon a Marquess (5/11)

Books by people I know: N/A

Nonfiction: Transmission and the Individual Remix

 

Monthly Roundup: August 2016

Another month down. Quick update, as I barely have time to breathe these days.

Writing:

Almost all of the work I did this month wasn’t heavy on word counts. I re-proofed Shadowplay for the December re-release, finished a short story then re-drafted it, and did Masquerade copyedits and Shattered Minds line edits. Fiction: 5900 words; nonfiction: 3175. Total: 9075. Yearly total: 211,566.

Travel & Life:

I started my new job at Napier in Edinburgh on the 18th, so I commuted down three times for work and to start scoping out places to live. We also went to Copenhagen for a friend’s wedding. Life has been packing, getting ready to move, and overall it’s exciting and very stressful.

Plans for next month:

Move out of our Aberdeen flat and into Craig’s parents until we can enter our Edinburgh flat. Start the new academic year. Eat a lot of chocolate.

 

Edinburgh Signing & The Snake Charm on Wattpad

Happy Monday!

A couple of things:

I have a signing and talk at Waterstones this Thursday on Princes Street in Edinburgh at 6.30 pm. It’s with my friend and talented author Elizabeth May. Do come if you’re local! More information here.
I’ve decided to experiment with Wattpad, and have put up part 1 of The Snake Charm here. I’ll be updating it each Monday, and once I finish, I’ll likely move onto the other Vestigial Tales. I’m curious to see how it goes and if it helps more people know about my work, but I’m still very much learning how the site functions. That’s another plus of self-publishing things on the side is that you can try new things and see how it goes. Please feel free to give it a read

 

Books Read in August

1. The Bones of You – Debbie Howell

A stunning, wonderfully assured psychological thriller that evokes Gillian Flynn and Alice Sebold, The Bones of You revolves around a young girl’s murder and one woman’s obsession with uncovering the secrets in an idyllic English village.

I have a gardener’s inherent belief in the natural order of things. Soft‑petalled flowers that go to seed. The resolute passage of the seasons. Swallows that fly thousands of miles to follow the eternal summer.

Children who don’t die before their parents.

When Kate receives a phone call with news that Rosie Anderson is missing, she’s stunned and disturbed. Rosie is eighteen, the same age as Kate’s daughter, and a beautiful, quiet, and kind young woman. Though the locals are optimistic—girls like Rosie don’t get into real trouble—Kate’s sense of foreboding is confirmed when Rosie is found fatally beaten and stabbed.

Who would kill the perfect daughter, from the perfect family? Yet the more Kate entwines herself with the Andersons—graceful mother Jo, renowned journalist father Neal, watchful younger sister Delphine—the more she is convinced that not everything is as it seems. Anonymous notes arrive, urging Kate to unravel the tangled threads of Rosie’s life and death, though she has no idea where they will lead.

Weaving flashbacks from Rosie’s perspective into a tautly plotted narrative, The Bones of You is a gripping, haunting novel of sacrifices and lies, desperation and love.

2. Talk Sweetly to Me (Brothers Sinister #4.5) – Courtney Milan

Nobody knows who Miss Rose Sweetly is, and she prefers it that way. She’s a shy, mathematically-minded shopkeeper’s daughter who dreams of the stars. Women like her only ever come to attention through scandal. She’ll take obscurity, thank you very much.

All of England knows who Stephen Shaughnessy is. He’s an infamous advice columnist and a known rake. When he moves into the house next door to Rose, she discovers that he’s also wickedly funny, devilishly flirtatious, and heart-stoppingly handsome. But when he takes an interest in her mathematical work, she realizes that Mr. Shaughnessy isn’t just a scandal waiting to happen. He’s waiting to happen to her…and if she’s not careful, she’ll give in to certain ruination.

3. The Novice (Summoner #1) – Taran Matharu

When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world, he travels to Adept Military Academy. There the gifted are trained in the art of summoning. Fletcher is put through grueling training as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against orcs. He must tread carefully while training alongside children of powerful nobles. The power hungry, those seeking alliances, and the fear of betrayal surround him. Fletcher finds himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with only his demon Ignatius for help.

As the pieces on the board maneuver for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands. The Novice is the first in a trilogy about Fletcher, his demon Ignatius, and the war against the Orcs.

4. The Governess Affair (Brothers Sinister #0.5) – Courtney Milan

She will not give up…

Three months ago, governess Serena Barton was let go from her position. Unable to find new work, she’s demanding compensation from the man who got her sacked: a petty, selfish, swinish duke. But it’s not the duke she fears. It’s his merciless man of business—the man known as the Wolf of Clermont. The formidable former pugilist has a black reputation for handling all the duke’s dirty business, and when the duke turns her case over to him, she doesn’t stand a chance. But she can’t stop trying—not with her entire future at stake.

He cannot give in…

Hugo Marshall is a man of ruthless ambition—a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner’s son to the right hand man of a duke. When his employer orders him to get rid of the pestering governess by fair means or foul, it’s just another day at the office. Unfortunately, fair means don’t work on Serena, and as he comes to know her, he discovers that he can’t bear to use foul ones. But everything he has worked for depends upon seeing her gone. He’ll have to choose between the life that he needs, and the woman he is coming to love…

5. White Teeth – Zadie Smith

On New Year’s morning, 1975, Archie Jones sits in his car on a London road and waits for the exhaust fumes to fill his Cavalier Musketeer station wagon. Archie—working-class, ordinary, a failed marriage under his belt—is calling it quits, the deciding factor being the flip of a 20-pence coin. When the owner of a nearby halal butcher shop (annoyed that Archie’s car is blocking his delivery area) comes out and bangs on the window, he gives Archie another chance at life and sets in motion this richly imagined, uproariously funny novel.

Epic and intimate, hilarious and poignant, White Teeth is the story of two North London families—one headed by Archie, the other by Archie’s best friend, a Muslim Bengali named Samad Iqbal. Pals since they served together in World War II, Archie and Samad are a decidedly unlikely pair. Plodding Archie is typical in every way until he marries Clara, a beautiful, toothless Jamaican woman half his age, and the couple have a daughter named Irie (the Jamaican word for “no problem”). Samad —devoutly Muslim, hopelessly “foreign”— weds the feisty and always suspicious Alsana in a prearranged union. They have twin sons named Millat and Magid, one a pot-smoking punk-cum-militant Muslim and the other an insufferable science nerd. The riotous and tortured histories of the Joneses and the Iqbals are fundamentally intertwined, capturing an empire’s worth of cultural identity, history, and hope.

Zadie Smith’s dazzling first novel plays out its bounding, vibrant course in a Jamaican hair salon in North London, an Indian restaurant in Leicester Square, an Irish poolroom turned immigrant café, a liberal public school, a sleek science institute. A winning debut in every respect, White Teeth marks the arrival of a wondrously talented writer who takes on the big themes —faith, race, gender, history, and culture— and triumphs.

6. Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) – Leigh Bardugo

Total in 2016 so far: 69

Tracking my Reading:

Character diversity: Talk Sweetly to Me (black female lead), The Novice (some secondary character diversity), White Teeth (follows characters that are Caribbean and Iraqi, one of whom is disabled), Six of Crows (several POC leads, a disabled lead, sex worker leads, possible gay characters)

Books by POC, queer, and/or disabled writers (as far as I know): Talk Sweetly to Me, The Novice, The Governess Affair, White Teeth, Six of Crows (5/6)

Books by female writers: The Bones of You, Talk Sweetly to Me, The Governess Affair, White Teeth, Six of Crows (5/6)

Books by people I know: The Novice, Six of Crows

Nonfiction: N/A

My Second Dream Job: Or, I’m No Longer a Full-Time Writer

I was a full-time writer from Christmas Eve 2014 until August 18th 2016, so over a year and a half. In that time, I really enjoyed having a break from traditional employment. I wrote a lot, I had the time to deal with personal tragedies, such as my father passing away in March 2015. Since I had time during the day, I could do school visits around Scotland and connect with students and took up occasional freelance editing. I made my own schedule, had the peaks and dips in deadlines that meant I had some downtime and a better work/life balance. There were a lot of naps. Naps are brilliant.

It was also a little terrifying. Money would come in globs or dribbles. In 2014, I made a nice chunk of change (most of it paid near the end of the year in October), but in 2015, I technically made 20% of that amount just because of how the payments came. Money I thought would come in at one point would come in a year or more later (foreign tax forms slow things down for translation money, for example).

Luckily, I had a nice, generous book deal so I’ve had a nice cushion of savings the entire time and can’t complain, but I don’t know how long the money needs to last. It might be awhile before my next book deal, it might be lower or higher than my previous one. For someone with chronic anxiety, that makes me nervous. That was exacerbated when my husband was made redundant in the oil crash in Aberdeen in April–suddenly I’m supporting both of us on writing income. Doable, but it means that cushion is shrinking faster than I thought it would. It’ll be fine. Craig will get another job, but it’s still a stressor.

I’ve applied for a few part-time jobs while I was a full-time author and came close with a couple. Job hunting is a strange and disheartening business. Then my second dream job came up–a part time job at Napier University. I’d visited the uni a few times as an author, and loved that it was a genre-friendly masters and focused on learning the business as well as the craft.

I got the job and started last month. Here’s a nice blog post my colleague, David Bishop, wrote about me joining the team. So far, the job has been excellent. Sam and David are great co-workers. I’m still finding my feet and the students don’t arrive until September 8th, but I’m excited to meet them. I’ll be teaching on several modules and doing one-on-one mentoring, and it’ll be wonderful to see the students grow and learn more of the craft. In the process of teaching, I’m sure I’ll learn more about writing as well. I love doing school visits, which are usually one-off sessions, so it’ll be excellent to work with the same group of students over a longer period of time.

Writing full-time is, to many, the ultimate dream. I found out that it’s not for me and that’s okay. I found it a little lonely, a little hard to find the right schedule. A little too easy for writing to become my entire life rather than having other things to refill the creative well. I don’t want to have to really rush a novel and have it suffer for a paycheck, and steady monthly income takes some of that pressure away. I write more now than when I worked full-time, but not that much more. I can’t actually sit at the word mines for 40 hours a week unless I’m under tight deadlines. Napier is be part-time and a perfect balance of things I enjoy. It’s a win-win.

So bring on the new academic year! I will have first day jitters.

Recent Links

I’ve been out and about on the web recently, so here’s quick roundup of some nice reviews and interviews/guest posts:

Fantasy Faction says of False Hearts: “What Laura Lam has come up with in False Hearts is a book that is as retro as it is modern [ . . . ] If you want a fast, compulsive read for the summer, you can’t go wrong with False Hearts.”

Fantasy Faction also interviewed me on their site as well.

Bookworm Blues says of False Hearts: “This is an exploration of personal identity, sibling relationships, and love. This one really blew me away. False Hearts was stunning in every respect.”

Biblio Sanctum says of False Hearts: “This part-thriller, part-mystery story is addictive as hell.”

I appeared on the Midnight in Karachi podcast with Mahvesh Murad last week.

I wrote an essay about the real-life conjoined twins that inspired False Hearts for tor.com.

Kassidy Voinche gave a great video review of False Hearts on YouTube.

I wrote about representation in fiction for Bloomsbury’s Writers & Artists website.

I have a guest post on Reviews Coming At YA about the female main characters of False Hearts.

This is also the French cover of False Hearts aka Coeurs Artificiels, which drops in 2 days!

I think that’s everything!

 

 

Monthly Roundup: July 2016

Writing:

This month was a bit slower than last month, mostly because I was utterly exhausted from launching. However, the first few days were a very intense spell of finishing up the Masquerade edit, concluding in my first all-nighter in . . . a long time. But I managed! Masquerade has now been structurally edited as well as line edited and will be coming out next March. Feels strange to finally be almost done with it after working on it off and on since 2013. I also wrote a bit of a short story, prepared for a job interview, and edited most of an issue for an art magazine. My monthly totals were around 15,903 words of fiction, 8780 words of non-fiction, for a total of 24,683 words.

Travel & Life:

I spent the very beginning of the month in Findhorn for a friend’s hen do, then on July 4th I flew down to London to go on Radio 2 with Simon Mayo to talk about False Hearts, which was exciting and terrifying. Later in the month I went down to Edinburgh for said job interview. I got the job and I’ll be starting and announcing it next week! My friend Erica was still out visiting, and she left from Edinburgh to go down south and see a few places before flying home from London.

Since then, we’ve been preparing to rent out our flat–packing away things, decluttering, doing some DIY. It’s currently being advertised, so if you know anyone looking for a 1 bedroom flat in Aberdeen, contact me directly!

Plans for Next Month:

Start the job! Finish a short story! Hopefully find someone to rent our flat and move down to Edinburgh! This is definitely a new chapter, but I’m excited. I’ve made wonderful friends in Aberdeen but have always loved Edinburgh.

Books Read in July

1. Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Albertalli

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

2. We Have Always Lived in the Castle – Shirley Jackson

Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiosity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp.

3. Teaching Creative Writing: Ideas, Exercises, Resources, and Lesson Plans for Teachers of Creative-writing Classes – Hene Stockton

If you teach creative writing or facilitate a writing group, you will want to inspire, inform and encourage would-be writers. This book is a unique, practical resource offering guidance, ideas and exercises to help you do just that.

It moves from planning and structuring courses to giving ideas and exercises on all the key aspects of creative writing, providing a wealth of really useful advice and tips. It will enable you to pass on your particular expertise and enthusiasm imaginatively and professionally to all your students.

4. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories – edited by Stephanie Perkins

Maybe it’s the long, lazy days, or maybe it’s the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.

Featuring stories by Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.

5. Congress of Secrets – Stephanie Burgis

In 1814, the Congress of Vienna has just begun. Diplomats battle over a new map of Europe, actors vie for a chance at glory, and aristocrats and royals from across the continent come together to celebrate the downfall of Napoleon…among them Lady Caroline Wyndham, a wealthy English widow. But Caroline has a secret: she was born Karolina Vogl, daughter of a radical Viennese printer. When her father was arrested by the secret police, Caroline’s childhood was stolen from her by dark alchemy.

Under a new name and nationality, she returns to Vienna determined to save her father even if she has to resort to the same alchemy that nearly broke her before. But she isn’t expecting to meet her father’s old apprentice, Michael Steinhüller, now a charming con man in the middle of his riskiest scheme ever.

The sinister forces that shattered Caroline’s childhood still rule Vienna behind a glittering façade of balls and salons, Michael’s plan is fraught with danger, and both of their disguises are more fragile than they realize. What price will they pay to the darkness if either of them is to survive?

6. 60 Seconds and You’re Hired!: Revised Edition – Ryan Robin

For the past decade, 60 Seconds & You’re Hired! has helped thousands of job seekers get the perfect job by excelling at the crucial job interview. Now, in this new edition, America’s top career coach Robin Ryan offers proven strategies to help readers take charge of the interview process and get the job they want.

7. The Countess Conspiracy (Brothers Sinister #3) – Courtney Milan

Sebastian Malheur is the most dangerous sort of rake: an educated one. When he’s not scandalizing ladies in the bedchamber, he’s outraging proper society with his scientific theories. He’s desired, reviled, acclaimed, and despised—and he laughs through it all.

Violet Waterfield, the widowed Countess of Cambury, on the other hand, is entirely respectable, and she’d like to stay that way. But Violet has a secret that is beyond ruinous, one that ties her irrevocably to England’s most infamous scoundrel: Sebastian’s theories aren’t his. They’re hers.

So when Sebastian threatens to dissolve their years-long conspiracy, she’ll do anything to save their partnership…even if it means opening her vulnerable heart to the rake who could destroy it for good.

8. The Suffragette Scandal (Brothers Sinister #4) – Courtney Milan

Miss Frederica “Free” Marshall has put her heart and soul into her newspaper, known for its outspoken support of women’s rights. Naturally, her enemies are intent on destroying her business and silencing her for good. Free refuses to be at the end of her rope…but she needs more rope, and she needs it now.

…a jaded scoundrel…

Edward Clark’s aristocratic family abandoned him to die in a war-torn land, so he survived the only way he could: by becoming a rogue and a first-class forger. When the same family that left him for dead vows to ruin Miss Marshall, he offers his help. So what if he has to lie to her? She’s only a pawn to use in his revenge.

…and a scandal seven years in the making.

But the irrepressible Miss Marshall soon enchants Edward. By the time he realizes that his cynical heart is hers, it’s too late. The only way to thwart her enemies is to reveal his scandalous past…and once the woman he loves realizes how much he’s lied to her, he’ll lose her forever.

9. Parable of the Sower (Earthseed #1) – Octavia E. Butler

When unattended environmental and economic crises lead to social chaos, not even gated communities are safe. In a night of fire and death Lauren Olamina, a minister’s young daughter, loses her family and home and ventures out into the unprotected American landscape. But what begins as a flight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny… and the birth of a new faith.

10. Romancing the Duke – Tessa Dare

In the first in Tessa Dare’s captivating Castles Ever After series, a mysterious fortress is the setting for an unlikely love . . .

As the daughter of a famed author, Isolde Ophelia Goodnight grew up on tales of brave knights and fair maidens. She never doubted romance would be in her future, too. The storybooks offered endless possibilities.

And as she grew older, Izzy crossed them off. One by one by one.

Ugly duckling turned swan?

Abducted by handsome highwayman?

Rescued from drudgery by charming prince?

No, no, and… Heh.

Now Izzy’s given up yearning for romance. She’ll settle for a roof over her head. What fairy tales are left over for an impoverished twenty-six year-old woman who’s never even been kissed?

This one.

11. Blame – Simon Mayo

What happens when society wants you banged up in prison for a crime your parents committed?

That’s the situation in which Ant finds herself – together with her little brother Mattie and their foster-parents, she’s locked up in a new kind of family prison. None of the inmates are themselves criminals, but wider society wants them to do time for the unpunished ‘heritage’ crimes of their parents.

Tensions are bubbling inside the London prison network Ant and Mattie call home – and when things finally erupt, they realize they’ve got one chance to break out. Everyone wants to see them punished for the sins of their mum and dad, but it’s time for Ant to show the world that they’re not to blame.

A new nail-bitingly taught YA suspense thriller, from author of the bestselling ITCH series, Simon Mayo.

12. Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel

An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.

One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production of King Lear. Jeevan Chaudhary, a paparazzo-turned-EMT, is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur’s chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside an apartment, watching out the window as cars clog the highways, gunshots ring out, and life disintegrates around them.

Fifteen years later, Kirsten is an actress with the Traveling Symphony. Together, this small troupe moves between the settlements of an altered world, performing Shakespeare and music for scattered communities of survivors. Written on their caravan, and tattooed on Kirsten’s arm is a line from Star Trek: “Because survival is insufficient.” But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who digs graves for anyone who dares to leave.

Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty. As Arthur falls in and out of love, as Jeevan watches the newscasters say their final good-byes, and as Kirsten finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the prophet, we see the strange twists of fate that connect them all. A novel of art, memory, and ambition, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.

Total in 2016 so far: 63

Tracking my Reading:

Character diversity: Simon Vs (gay lead, diverse secondary characters), Summer Days & Summer Nights (several diverse stories wrt race and sexuality), The Suffragette Scandal (lesbian romance subplot), Parable of the Sower (black lead and diverse secondary characters), Romancing the Duke (blind love interest), Blame (Haitian/German leads, diverse secondary characters), Station Eleven (several diverse secondary characters).

Books by POC, queer, or disabled writers (as far as I know): several authors in Summer Days & Summer Nights, The Countess Conspiracy, The Suffragette Scandal, Parable of the Sower

Books by female writers: Simon Vs, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Teaching Creative Writing, authors in Summer Days & Summer Nights, Congress of Secrets, 60 Seconds and You’re Hired, The Countess Conspiracy, The Suffragette Scandal, Parable of the Sower, Romancing the Duke, Station Eleven (11/12)

Books by people I know: Congress of Secrets

Nonfiction: Teaching Creative Writing & 60 Seconds and You’re Hired

 

 

Monthly Roundup: June 2016

Wow, almost a whole month late. That’s a record. Though this has been an uncommonly busy few months, between book launch, tight deadlines, and more.

Writing:

Last month was devoted to frantically editing Masquerade, which was due July 10th. I started editing at the beginning of June, and by the end I was at 74,683 words in. I ended up thirding the word count of what I edited unless I knew the section I wrote that day was all new words, so my subtotal was 28,263 words of fiction. Nonfiction work came up to 3,968 words, for a monthly total of 32,249 words and a yearly subtotal of 177,808 words. Whew.

I also had a lot of False Hearts release work to do, including several events.

Travel & Life:

Lots of travel this month, as detailed in this roundup post. Basically it was Glasgow, London, Findhorn, and Glasgow again. I had my mother visiting and then my friend Erica. Findhorn was a hen do for my friend Hannah. Life was a lot this month. Lots of highs, but also rather overwhelming at times. All I can say is thank goodness for anxiety medication and beta blockers.

Plans for next month (well, this month by now):

Finish Masquerade (check!), catch up on various other projects. I’ll write about what I did in a few days, hopefully a bit less late this time!