Danielle Thamasa's Blog, page 11

NetGalley Review: First Test Graphic Novel by Tamora Pierce, Devin Grayson, and Becca Farrow

Hey all, Sam here.

Back in the early days of my blog, long before it became Free State of Geek and long before Mondays became Manga Mondays here…it used to be Middle Grade Monday. Even now, as an almost 36 year old woman, I still hold a great affection for Middle Grade books. They are so fun and adventurous and filled with friendship and beginning to figure out who you are and maybe who you want to be (although there’s no time limit on figuring all of that out).

So, in lieu of a manga review post today, let’s have a nice little throwback to talking about MG books, specifically by talking about a very cool upcoming release, for this Middle Grade Monday. Today’s book review is for a book that will be out in the US on July 2nd, so there’s not much longer to wait…although, since this is a graphic novel adaptation, you can already get the novel that inspired it.

Let’s get started.

This eagerly awaited graphic novel adaptation of the iconic fantasy novel, First Test, reimagines the classic knight’s tale, but with a twist. In a world not quite ready for her ambition, a determined girl seeks knighthood and finds herself on a mission to prove it.

Keladry is the first girl who dares to take advantage of a new rule in her homeland, Tortall–one that allows women to train for knighthood. She knows she’s ready for the traditional hazing and grueling schedule of a page, but standing in her way is the Knight’s training master, Lord Wyldon.

The training master is dead set against girls becoming knights, and in an attempt to further hold Kel back Lord Wyldon decides that she must pass a one-year trial that no male page has ever had to endure. But she is not to be underestimated. She will fight to succeed, even if the test is purposely unfair.

The Protector of the Small series gets its first graphic novel adaptation, bringing to life Tamora Pierce’s best-selling First Test in an exciting new format. This graphic novel story about believing in yourself and overcoming all odds, combines action and adventure in a way that new and old fans of the series will love.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

I read quite a bit of Tamora Pierce when I was younger. I know I read the Immortals and The Circle Opens, and I think I read the Song of the Lioness books, but I don’t have any recollection of The Protector of the Small series…which is a shame, because this was GREAT. Rest assured, I do plan to start picking up Tamora Pierce and reading/re-reading them.

This was a lovely and quick read, with very nice art throughout. The characters and the story were quite compelling, and I just had such a good time reading it…even if I was annoyed by how some of Kel’s fellow pages and some of the training masters treated her. Honestly, I love a main character who knows what their goal is and is determined to find a way to make it happen.

Kel wants to be a knight, and darn it, she’s going to work as hard as she needs to in order to make it happen. No matter what challenges they put in front of her, no matter what anyone else thinks or says or does to try and hamper her progress, Kel refuses to give up.

Honestly I wanted more. This story was great and easy to follow, but I wanted more details and descriptions (which obviously means I need to go read the novel–it’s not a criticism of the graphic novel at all).

I don’t know how quickly I’m going to get around to reading/re-reading Tamora Pierce, but I know it is something on my to-do list, so perhaps I’ll be bringing back Middle Grade Monday and alternating between Manga and Middle Grade on Mondays. We’ll just have to see what happens.

All righty…well that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

Book Review: The Last Available by Sean R. Frazier

Hey all, Sam here.

Here we go…hopefully I’m starting to get the review train rolling down the tracks again. I have a few posts prepped already that I’m trying to finish writing and get scheduled, and then when I get my “weekend” again (which is Tuesday-Thursday) this week, I’ll try to get my posts prepped and partially written for the next work week. Hopefully I can make that schedule work. If I focus on writing my posts on my days off, maybe I’ll be a little less stressed on the days that I do work. Maybe.

Anyway, I hope you are all having a lovely day. Today I bring to you a book review for a book I discovered last month thanks to AuthorThreads–as a side note, I’m really enjoying my use of and scrolling through Threads so far. I’m sure it has problems like other social medias, but so far it’s just been a rather nice place for me. So, obviously I bought myself a copy and then I read it fairly quickly at the beginning of the month.

All that to say that I definitely owe you all a review for this book, so let’s just not waste any more time and get started with that.

An orc warrior, a halfling rogue, a priest, a pyromaniac wizard, a female barbarian, and a bard walk into a tavern … it’s a small miracle they didn’t burn it down.

They were hired to save the world but might accidentally end it. Follow the bumbling adventures of these unlikely heroes as they attempt to quest their way into defeating Gobthorak the Eater of Worlds.

Are they the heroes for the job? No, definitely not. Can they get the job done? Unlikely. Are they the world’s last hope? Unfortunately for everyone, yes.

When the final battle looms will the Last Available heroes stand and fight or heed the call of a tankard of ale? Will they even make it out of the tavern and show up for the final battle? Nobody’s certain but whatever happens, it won’t be pretty.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4 stars

Was this an entertaining book? Yes. Did it have a massive amount of shenanigans and puns and word-play? Also yes. Are these the types of “heroes” I would want to adventure with/play in a TTRPG with? Absolutely NOT.

These are not heroes…but there was something about them that compelled me to keep reading. They only did the bare minimum when hired for a task. If a monster had been kidnapping people and holding them captive, and these adventurers were hired to take care of the monster, they did…but then they left the captives locked up (because it wasn’t something they were tasked to do and paid for).

They were only in these jobs for the money and other loot. It wasn’t out of some heroic moral conviction. They are liars and thieves and cheats…but man if they weren’t fun to follow on this journey.

To me, these characters did not feel like well-rounded or deep characters. They were shallow archetypes, and we didn’t ever really feel like we knew any of them particularly well by the end. Which, honestly, has made me think back to many a D&D game I’ve had, with players who didn’t really worry about crafting a backstory for their character or worrying about anything more than hacking and slashing and then gathering loot. And that’s fine, if the whole table is good with that play style. I’m in tabletop role-playing game for the role-playing and character/story development. So while this was an enjoyable story for me to read, because it was only a couple hours of a time investment, this is not the sort of campaign that would work for me.

I wanted to know more about these characters, and I wanted more for the worldbuilding too. Yes, everything was fine for the purposes of this story. It plays out how you’d expect for a group of adventurers who are in it for the gold, not the glory. As stated in the book’s back cover copy, this story isn’t pretty, but it is effective.

I did get quite a few laughs out of this while reading, and I didn’t find myself wanting to set the book down to read something else instead, so I’m still ranking it as a very good book. But I can say that and still imagine more. If I had felt like I got to know the characters more, to understand their backstory and how they ended up in this position, I probably would have loved the book instead of just liking it.

But it was fun and ridiculous and certainly worth a read.

All right. Well, that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

NetGalley Review: An Outbreak of Witchcraft by Deborah Noyes and M. Duffy

Hey all, Sam here.

My review list just keeps getting longer, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re reading a lot and just not blogging a lot, so it’s entirely my fault. I’ll just need to keep trying to set aside some time for myself to prep up a handful of posts, and then a little more time to finish writing them and schedule them for publication. It’ll just take a little time for that to become a habit again.

Anyway, today’s review is for a historical graphic novel that was released at the beginning of June. I read it last week and am trying to get back into writing my book review posts more regularly again, so here I am with this today. If I can keep going and get the other prepped posts finished, then I have at least three or four more posts ready for the next handful of days, so we’ll see if I can actually stick to my plans this time around.

Let’s get started with the review.

A gripping tale of paranoia at its worst, An Outbreak of Witchcraft visually imagines the haunting details of the Salem witch trials in this bewitching narrative nonfiction graphic novel.

From 1692 to 1693, fear reigned in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts. The night Abigail Williams and Betty Paris first accused their servant of witchcraft was only the beginning. 

Several more accusations would follow suit, sparking a widespread panic that consumed Salem in one of the longest cases of witch trials in America, where more than twenty innocent lives were lost, and mistrust ran amok.

The community was in ruins, from the afflicted who fanned the flames of superstition to the judges who used their power unjustly and the accused who were falsely charged and hanged in consequence. In the absence of due process and with hysteria abounding, no one in Salem was safe.

Journey into how it all began in this arresting, true-to-life look at how lies became facts, friends turned to foes, and loved ones turned to enemies.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4 stars

Did I request this because I’ve always had an eerie fascination with the witch trials of the world? Why yes I did. I don’t know when this became a topic of interest to me, but it was either junior high or high school, but I do remember being assigned a project in World History during my second year of high school and declaring that I was going to do my paper on the witch trials…only to have my teacher tell me that I needed to pick a world topic, and the Salem Witch Trials wouldn’t qualify. Cue up me retorting with the fact that there were more witch trials than just what occurred in Salem, and I was only planning a few paragraphs on Salem after covering the events in other regions.

This graphic novel runs us through the events of the Salem Witch Trials, and has a few pages of just text, giving some of the basics of what happened and who was involved and other details that might be a little more difficult to fit into panel-ed storytelling. Then we have a majority of the book split up into the various panels like one would expect from a comic or graphic novel, which gives a more narrative and visual depiction of the events.

So we get to see those within Salem Village having fits and accusing neighbors. We get to witness the trials and some of the sermons and meetings. It allows us to view these historical events as if we were watching something more like a movie or TV mini series. Instead of just facts and figures and discussions, the information is given as if telling a story.

Honestly, this is still just such a mind-boggling time in the history of the world, thinking to all the hysteria and the wild accusations, leading to all the pain and fear and trauma and death. It was a time of neighbor turning against neighbor. What we see in the graphic novel is pretty much all of the accusers saying the exact same things as proof of the wrongdoing of the accused. It was basically always the same specters and visions with practically no deviation.

Obviously there’s no way to know exactly what was going on in these people’s minds and hearts during this, but from the outside perspective of someone living centuries later, you can see how one person makes a statement or an accusation and then others pick up on specific phrases and just begin repeating and reciting them over and over, using them as truth and gospel against anyone they might not like or believe to be different.

While this read VERY quickly, because it is a graphic novel and only a couple hundred pages, thinking about the Salem Witch Trials is something that lingers because it is so terrible and troubling.

Well, that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

Weekend Writer: Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity by Felicia Day

Hey all, Sam here.

Have you ever wanted to have a creative life but it always feels like there’s just something in the way? Because lately I have just felt like writing is such a struggle. I want to write, and I can feel the words sitting in my mind, the scenes wanting to play out on the page and the characters wanting to go on this journey with me….but the words just feel stuck in my head.

So it seemed very appropriate to grab this book on writing and creativity and expression as my Weekend Writer focus this month, because I do take inspiration from creative folks I’ve met and known and watched achieve a personal/professional level of success. So I look at my friends who are authors, and I look at people like Felicia Day or Ginny Di or everyone at Critical Role. While I don’t imagine myself on par with them when it comes to having a successful creative life, I do aspire to my own version of a creative life I can be proud of.

All that being said, let’s go ahead and jump into today’s Weekend Writer post.

An instant New York Times bestseller

In Embrace Your Weird , New York Times bestselling author, producer, actress, TV writer, and award-winning web series creator, Felicia Day takes you on a journey to find, rekindle, or expand your creative passions.

Including Felicia’s personal stories and hard-won wisdom, Embrace Your Weird offers:

—Entertaining and revelatory exercises that empower you to be fearless, so you can rediscover the things that bring you joy, and crack your imagination wide open

—Unique techniques to vanquish enemies of creativity like: anxiety, fear, procrastination, perfectionism, criticism, and jealousy

—Tips to cultivate a creative community

—Space to explore and get your neurons firing

Whether you enjoy writing, baking, painting, podcasting, playing music, or have yet to uncover your favorite creative outlet, Embrace Your Weird will help you unlock the power of self-expression. Get motivated. Get creative. Get weird.

Let’s Chat

My husband and I picked up copies of this book when it was released back in 2019. We went to a book signing in Cincinnati, and it was a great time.

HOWEVER, I must stress that if you want to use this book to its full potential, don’t get it signed by the author…or if you do, make sure you get a second unsigned copy.

This book is set up like a workbook in some ways. There are so many exercises in it. Some will have you doodling or writing in the book. And some will have you…*GASP*…rip out pages.

And this may be surprising, because I am not somebody who typically writes in or marks up books–I cannot do annotation with my physical books (which is one of the reasons why I love my Kindle Scribe)–but I did actually follow Felicia Day’s instructions with this book, and when it said to rip out a page…I did it. I could only do this because I had purchased a second copy of the book specifically so I could fully follow the directions.

I do have a proper review for this book on the blog already, from 2019, and you can check that out here.

I didn’t fully go through the exercises back at the time of the previous review. At that time I only had my signed copy, but had ordered a second copy for proper use. Even then, I didn’t do every exercise at that time, so I was able recently to go through this book again and complete some more, which helped me to get back to thinking about having a creative life more and trying to work through so many of the fears and feelings and blocks that have been keeping me from my writing recently, because it has been a ridiculous struggle, and I’m working on ending it.

Perhaps next week I will show you some pictures from my used copy of this book.

That is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

Weekend Writer: June 2024 Prompts

Hey all, Sam here.

Once again, we have reached the beginning of a new month, and that means it’s time for new Weekend Writer prompts! Eagle-eyed followers will know that this post was supposed to be up yesterday (AKA the first Friday of the month). I blame myself for that; I didn’t prepare in advance for how tired I would be after working a one-day street festival in our hometown on Thursday, and I was just too exhausted on Friday to get a post up.

So the first weekend of the month, I will have this prompt post up, and the final weekend of the month, I will share some of my writing: sometimes based on these prompts, sometimes based on whatever novel I’m writing, and sometimes both.

For the other weekends of the month, I will be talking about the writing craft, whether that is sharing writing craft books I’ve read and giving a general review for them, or having a writing related topic to discuss. I’m not strictly planning any of these other weekends. Some of them might even end up being extra prompt shares. So who knows what will happen…I’m just trying to figure out my new process and enjoy myself as I do it.

All right…I currently have seven different creativity generator tools in my collection/arsenal. Some of them are technically aimed at TTRPGs, BUT I’ve found that for the most part they work for creative writing just fine as well, which is why I include them all. With each prompt, I take a photo of the prompt randomization (whether that is dice rolls, card draws, or whatever), type up the prompt below the photo, and then I include a paragraph where I give you information about the generator tool I used.

If you know of any other useful tools like these, please let me know. I’d love to keep expanding my collection. It’s cool to see what sorts of ideas can be generated when you use a randomization method for creation.

Story Engine Deck

Prompt: An Arcane Scam Artist Wants to Unmask the Conspiracy of An Ethereal Archive But They Will Have to Stop Living a Lie.

This prompt comes from this storytelling deck from The Story Engine, which is a prompt and idea generating tool that I adore for both creative writing and for TTRPG plotting.

Tarot/Oracle Decks

Prompt: Illusion, Play, Battle

Once again, I used my Urban Crow Oracle Deck by MJ Cullinane for this prompt. I really like using this oracle deck, because the card names are different from a tarot deck. I do have a few different tarot decks as well, and I might use those at some point for future draws, but for now I’m really enjoying my crow deck. What can I say? I just like crows.

Roll & Play

Prompt: The song being performed is all about a day in the life of the most boring man alive. The band is called Raining Explosions and they mostly play comedy parodies. At least one member plays a feathered sparkly accordion.

This month I decided to roll the dice on the Busking Bards pages in the Roll & Play book. You can use the dice I rolled, or if you have your own dice, you can roll on the chart yourself. Or heck, if you want to then you can just choose whichever option sparks your interest. 

Basically, I am playing around with more worldbuilding and fleshing out towns and regions in my current WIP, so I figured I would continue that by giving myself (and all of you) some prompts to help with designing areas to write adventures in, and what worldbuilding doesn’t include the arts with artists and musicians and performers of all varieties?

Sidequest Decks

Prompt 1: Message From Beyond — A dead enemy and a dead ally return aboard a ghost ship, luring PCs into a trap.

Prompt 2: Hold It Together — Teleport out to a foundering ship and use magic to keep it afloat so the heir to the throne is not lost at sea.

The Sidequest Decks from Inkwell Ideas are another wonderful accessory designed for TTRPGs, but can easily be used for writers as well. This time around decided to use the new-to-me Coastal Town deck, and again, I went with two options as prompt inspiration. You can use either option, and you can either use the basic concept at the top of the card, or you can use the various encounters at the bottom of the card to expand upon the adventure/story further.

The Oracle Story Generator

Prompt: A Mage Will Steal A Magic Weapon To Sell To Another But They Are Compelled By The Item.

Next, we have The Oracle Story Generator by Nord Games. I’ve enjoyed playing around with these cards the past couple months, and look forward to doing even more with them in future. With this prompt, you can make it even more specific by either rolling a four-sided die for each card, or by simply choosing which option you like best.

Deck of Worlds

Prompt: In the Port of the Lost, known for its sea caves, is a lighthouse that was originally a smuggler’s hideout, and maybe it still is while still doing its duty as a lighthouse. But the winds or tides (your choice) are now behaving strangely (unusual highs/lows, sudden shifts, or odd timing–again, your choice).

A newer addition to the prompt generation is the Deck of Worlds by The Story Engine, and it works in a very similar way to the story deck, but it helps you think about and build either micro settings or small words or huge words with numerous countries throughout. It’s pretty cool.

Since I’m still new to using the Deck of Worlds for prompt generation I chose not to use the full deck. Instead I only used the Worlds of Tide & Tidings coastlines expansion deck. These decks are designed so you can use an expansion deck alone or build it into the main Deck of Worlds. One upcoming month (maybe next month? Do we want to do a big world creation to play around in for the rest of 2024?) I will do a full setting instead of a micro setting, and give us a larger world that we can explore for a few months of writing.

The Oracle Character Generator

Prompt: Transporter, Optimistic, motivated by Pride, happens to be Unlucky, and is familiar to at least one of the MCs/PCs (depending on if you’re using this for creative writing or for tabletop gaming prep).

The newest addition to this is Nord Game’s The Oracle Character Generator, which finally arrived just before last month’s post, so it is making its Weekend Writer prompt debut here. They don’t have The Oracle Character Generator up on their page yet, but you can follow the link up in The Oracle Story Generator to find all of the cool TTRPG accessories that Nord Games and friends have created.

All right, well that is all from me for today. As a reminder, I share what I wrote based on one of these prompts the last Friday of the month, and I encourage you to join in with me. I honestly don’t know which one of these will be the one I choose for my writing this month, because there’s a few that I’m decently interested in, so I guess we’ll find out at the end of the month which one won out. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

Manga Review: Manga Classics – Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare, Crystal S. Chan, and Julien Choy

Hey all, Sam here.

It’s Manga Monday once again! And yes, today’s review is for a very recently completed read….as in, I read this whole thing yesterday, although I imagine none of you are surprised by that because I have said many times that I read manga rather quickly.

Anyway, I really enjoy reading the Manga Classics series. I’ve completed almost every one that I’ve found on NetGalley, and there are some that I’ve definitely added to my personal library. As someone with degrees in English and in Library Science, of course I find myself drawn into reading and re-reading literary classics. (Although, I think it’s time for some changes in what is considered popular classics).

I must shout out a big thank you to UDON Entertainment and NetGalley for approving me for this book. And I will say it again, getting access to a digital copy of this book in exchange for a review does not affect my rating or review at all. The digital galley is in exchange of a review, but that review does not have to be glowingly positive. I shall always be honest about how I feel about things.

Okay, let’s get started.

Romeo and Juliet is a classic romantic tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is a tale of two young lovers from Verona, Italy who defy the wishes of their feuding families, get married then, and tragically end their own lives in the name of love. It is their deaths that ultimately help the rival families of the Capulets and the Montagues find reconciliation. Manga Classics brings an incredible new experience with this adaptation of Shakespeare’s most popular and frequently performed plays: Romeo and Juliet.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4 stars

Oh man, it’s been a few years since I last read “Romeo & Juliet,” and obviously I remember the main framework of the story and the characters, but there’s small details that slide away, so reading it again just reminds and refreshes the story for me.

The older I get, the more I truly believe that this is absolutely NOT a romantic story. Even when I first read this back in my high school days, I didn’t find it to be all that romantic. It’s a three-day love story that ends with so much death, which is terrible. Juliet is a couple weeks away from her 14th birthday, and Romeo is 16 years old. And they are both so dang dramatic.

Frankly, many of the characters make dramatic leaps to the worst possible scenario any time something comes up. Oh, so Romeo is banished from Verona…of course Romeo wishes he was dead because now he’ll be separated from his new bride FOREVER!!!! Why not just have Juliet pack a bag and leave town too? Nope, let’s not even discuss things rationally. We just jump to conclusions and react wildly.

Oh, Juliet’s parents want her to marry County Paris in a couple days (when she’s already secretly married to Romeo). Do we just take them to the church and there with Friar Lawrence, tell them the truth to avoid being forced into a second marriage? NO, that would be RIDICULOUS! Instead, let’s take a vial of liquid that will simulate death, so that we can smuggle Juliet from her family’s crypt and take her to her banished husband.

This is definitely a story that is all about lack of communication and miscommunication. What I will absolutely say is that I loved the manga adaptation. Since “Romeo & Juliet” is a play, there isn’t really description of the scenery, and since the manga is all about art as well as story, we get to see what the characters are doing and where they’re having these conversations. It’s beautiful to look at.

I will say, that this adaptation gives pretty much the entirety of the original spoken text in speech bubbles, so it is one of the truest adaptations I’ve read from Manga Classics, because you know that some of them have to reduce down the loquaciousness and verbosity of the characters. The only thing this adaptation is missing is the scene directions from the play, and you get to see that through the movement in the art.

This read quite quickly. I thought the art was stunning. And I’m glad to revisit a story that I’ve read many times, and that I’ve read and seen many adaptations of over the years. It made for a good time.

All right, well that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

May Wrap Up

Hey all, Sam here.

May has been quite the reading month for me, and I am not at all complaining. I think this was one of the best reading months I’ve had in a long time (second best month this year). I have completed 19 books in the month of May, and was actually in the middle of a couple others, which should make me start the month of June off with a couple quickly completed reads.

Even with all of that, there are still so many of these reads I still need to review, so I will be trying to write them up and slate them into my blogging schedule as soon as I can accommodate all of them. If I already have a review up, I will include the link below, but I’m not going to try and set dates for the rest of the books, because that hasn’t worked out well for me so far this year. Just know that I’m hoping to get the rest of the reviews written at some point.

Let’s get into everything I read in May…

Bound by Ravens by Jesikah Sundin — 5 stars

Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth — 5 stars

Queen of None by Natania Barron — 4 stars

Critical Role: Tales of Exandria: Artagan #3 by Matthew Mercer, Cris Peter, Aviv Or, Eren Angiolini, and Sam Maggs — 5 stars

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse — 4.5 stars

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis — 4 stars

The Raven and the Rush by Sarah M Cradit — 4.5 stars

The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond — 4 stars

The Last Session by Jasmine Walls, Dozerdraws, and Micah Myers — 5 stars

How to Draw Your RPG Character: A Step-By-Step Guide to Bringing Fantasy Characters to Life by Chrissa Barton — 5 stars

The Linchpin Writer: Crafting Your Novel’s Key Moments by John Matthew Fox — 4 stars

Tidal Creatures by Seanan McGuire — 4.5 stars

Mined in Magic by Jenna Wolfhart — 4 stars

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (re-read) — 4 stars

Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Beauregard Lionett by Mae Catt, Marisha Ray, Matthew Mercer, Guilherme Balhi, Diana Sousa, and Ariana Maher — 5 stars

Dear Writer: You Need to Quit by Becca Syme — 4.5 stars

Raven Born by Bree Moore — 4.5 stars

Vox Machina Origins Series 4 Issue 1 by Matthew Mercer, Jody Hauser, Noah Hayes, Diana Sousa, and Ariana Maher — 5 stars

To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn (re-read) — 3.5 stars

Whew, that was a nice wrap up. How did your reading go in May? Let me know in the comments because I’d love to hear about everything you read. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

Weekend Writer: April 2024 Prompt Share

Hey all, Sam here.

It has been a little while since we’ve had one of these posts, and that’s completely on me. I dropped the ball on my Weekend Writer blog posting in the month of May. I’ve been getting overwhelmed more easily this year, I’ve noticed, and that sometimes makes keeping up a reading, writing, or blogging schedule a little more difficult. But I’ll keep trying…I just might disappear for a little bit first.

Anyway, I did still manage to talk about my Weekend Writer craft book this month, which The Linchpin Writer: Crafting Your Novel’s Key Moments by John Matthew Fox, so you can check back on that post if you’re interested in my thoughts. And of course, since I’m covering my April Writing Prompts today, if you’re interested in participating, you can find all of the prompts here. I’m thinking I should have a page where I collate all the monthly prompts posts together, because this is my second year doing this which means there’s quite a few prompts to check out and use.

Let’s get started…

Deck of Worlds

Prompt: The Sundered Apothecary, home to a well of Nature Magic, lies in the Vale of Dreamers, shaped by the Fae and ruled by triumvirate. A strange enchantment seems to have fallen over the land.

A newer addition to the prompt generation is the Deck of Worlds by The Story Engine, and it works in a very similar way to the story deck, but it helps you think about and build either micro settings or small words or huge words with numerous countries throughout. It’s pretty cool.

Since I’m still new to using the Deck of Worlds for prompt generation I chose not to use the full deck. Instead I only used the Worlds of Sand & Story deserts expansion deck. These decks are designed so you can use an expansion deck alone or build it into the main Deck of Worlds. One upcoming month I will do a full setting instead of a micro setting, and give us a larger world that we can explore for a few months of writing.

There are many who speak of the Vale of Dreamers, ruled over by the Moon, the Star, and the Dark, but even more speak of the renowned home of one of the great wells of Nature Magic. This home is a shop called The Sundered Apothecary. To any who step inside the building, walls crawling with holly and ivy, the place looks more like an overgrown garden than any sort of shop, exuding a magical aura that is potent and awe-inspiring.

At least, most of the time.

Lately, rumors dance through the region, carried by gusts of wind, and the tidings they bear are concerning at best and deathly at worst. The winds speak of a shift in the Dark, one brought on by some change in the magical ecosystem, one only those with a specific sensitivity to the balance and whims of the weave of magic have been able to detect.

And it isn’t just the Dark that is noted to be affected by whatever is plaguing the region’s magic. The winds say that the Moon is likewise affected, though not at the same time. For the Moon the shift waxes and wanes, much like her namesake.

Most say that the news is distressing. What will the Vale of Dreamers do if these rumors are true?

“There was a flicker! I’m telling you that I was headed to The Sundered Apothecary and I felt a break in the flow, a fraying to the weave of magic. It was only for a moment but I’ve never felt such dread before. Chilled to the marrow, I was. We need to take this to the Star at once; they’ll know what to do.” The half-elf lad was clearly a bit frantic and frazzled, but most walked past without pause. A few had stopped to listen and perhaps to try and calm the boy down.

“Easy now, Valen. You don’t want ol’ Bell to hear that you’ve been causing a commotion out here. It isn’t good for an apprentice to be spreading rumors and building panic amongst the citizenry,” one of the onlookers, a catfolk, replied gently.

Valen spun around and grasped the front of the catfolk’s tunic in both hands. The grip was tight and his eyes were wide. “Who do you think sent me out here to get aid?”

All right, well that is all from me for today. Feel free to share your own writing from one of the prompts in the comments or in a post of your own. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

June TBR

Hey all, Sam here.

So….my entire TBR for the month of June is NetGalley reads for releases in June and the beginning of July. I know. I know. I typically select some NetGalley books and then choose a few from my physical TBR that I’d love to read. I’ll explain the reason for this switch-up a little later in the post, because this month is my most ambitious TBR of 2024 yet. I certainly hope to finish all or most of these books, but I’m fully aware of the fact that I’ll probably be lucky to read half of them.

All right, let’s talk about the books.

Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen (June 18), We Shall Be Monsters by Tara Sim (June 25), The Daughters’ War by Christopher Buehlman (June 25), First Test Graphic Novel by Tamora Pierce, Devin Grayson, and Becca Farrow (June 25)

I imagine that the Tamora Pierce graphic novel will be the fastest and easiest book to complete in June, so it’ll probably be one of my first completed reads for the month. But I am also really excited for Christopher Buehlman’s release, because I really enjoyed The Blacktongue Thief and this is a prequel to that story, which should be rather interesting. I’m also looking forward to reading Amber Chen’s book and Tara Sim’s newest release, because I’ve been rather enjoying all of the wonderfully diverse fantasies that I’ve been reading this year.

The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen (July 2), Black Tide Son by H.M. Long (July 9), These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low (July 9)

Yes, these NetGalley reads take us into the month of July, but I’ve been trying to read the early releases for the month in the previous month so I can (hopefully) have the reviews up in an appropriate window around their releases.

I am so so excited about these second books in the series from both Megan Bannen and H.M. Long. I think they will be fantastic and quick summer reads with some action, some adventure, and some romance. And then I’m very intrigued by this upcoming release from P.H. Low, because it seems like an interesting Peter Pan story, so I’m curious what I’ll think about it, and besides…the cover is really cool.

Okay…here’s where the TBR gets weird. These last four books are ones that I’ve been approved for on NetGalley BUT I actually haven’t read their first books yet…so technically if I want to read these in June then I’ll need to read their preceding books (which I already own, hence the not adding books from my physical TBR this time around).

The Fire Within Them by Matthew Ward (June 11), Hearts That Cut by Kika Hatzopoulou (June 18), Masquerade of the Heart by Katy Rose Pool (June 18), The Unrelenting Earth by Kritika H. Rao (June 18)

I still put these books in their publication order, but to be completely honest, Matthew Ward’s book is probably the least likely to be completed in June…because they are chonky fantasy reads, so I’d be more likely to pick up the shorter books, which are more likely to be quicker reads.

All right…well, that’s obviously a pretty big TBR. If you count the unread first books for the books on this list, then I technically have 15 books on my TBR, which is technically doable. I usually put 12 books on my monthly TBR, and my wrap-ups tend to be around 10-15 books…so I guess we’ll find out at the beginning of July if I manage to tackle all of this TBR or not.

That’s all from me for today. Feel free to let me know what books you’re hoping to read in the month of June, because I’d love to hear all about it. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

NetGalley Review: The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond

Hey all, Sam here.

So here’s something interesting. I’ve been making myself sit down at least a few times a week and type up a blog post or two and then prep another one or two. When I prep, I basically set up the post, so for a book review I add in the cover photo, the book summary, and then add in the section for my review and put in my star rating. I also go ahead and add in the post details like date/time of publishing, and the categories and tags for the post. Sometimes in the prep I’ll draft up the intro section here, but other times I won’t. Getting a post prepped up in this way means that I only need to spend a few more minutes drafting the body and then it’s ready to be scheduled.

What I’ve noticed in the past week, especially the past couple of days, is that I’m starting to feel the more creative writing section of my brain wake up and be a little more active now. Yes while I read books, there’s certain aspects of story craft that I find myself pondering, but I guess as I focus on thinking of these books for the purposes of review, I’m finding that my own novel, my long awaiting draft, is really starting to move to the front of my mind and start telling me more scenes that I need to write.

I’d be okay if that continues. I miss creative writing. It has sucked to want to write, and to know that I should be writing, and then I sit down at my notebook or my computer and just stare at the page or screen. The words just either don’t come out at all or they sound so wrong that I know I can’t continue with them like that.

Anyway, let’s go ahead and jump into this book review…oh, and this book was released in the US yesterday, so if it sounds interesting, then you can pick up your own copy now.

Kill the dragon. Find the blade. Reclaim her honor.

It’s that, or end up like countless knights before her, as a puddle of gore and molten armor.

Maddileh is a knight. There aren’t many women in her line of work, and it often feels like the sneering and contempt from her peers is harder to stomach than the actual dragon slaying. But she’s a knight, and made of sterner stuff.

A minor infraction forces her to redeem her honor in the most dramatic way possible, she must retrieve the fabled Fireborne Blade from its keeper, legendary dragon the White Lady, or die trying. If history tells us anything, it’s that “die trying” is where to wager your coin.

Maddileh’s tale contains a rich history of dragons, ill-fated knights, scheming squires, and sapphic love, with deceptions and double-crosses that will keep you guessing right up to its dramatic conclusion. Ultimately, The Fireborne Blade is about the roles we refuse to accept, and of the place we make for ourselves in the world.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4 stars

This was an interesting novella. I thought the way this story was told was intriguing, but it also made it all flow less easily. Basically we jump between written transcripts of knights and dragon encounters, Maddileh’s journey from months ago, and Maddileh’s journey now.

It takes most of the novella for the pieces to truly fall into place, and I didn’t even see it coming until it was revealed to Maddileh, although obviously, I am not going to speak to specifics because I try to avoid discussing spoilers in my reviews.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed that this was only a novella, because I did want to know more, but considering the split story and timelines, I don’t know that this story would have worked as well if it had been longer.

We met some interesting characters in this story, and some I liked, some I thought were fun and fascinating, and some I definitely disliked, so I always appreciate when the characters make me feel something. That is especially true in a novella where there’s only a couple hundred pages to really get a reader invested in the characters and the plot.

I read this pretty quickly, and I think it was a good introduction to this world and the magic and the dragons, as well as some of the deceptions and betrayals. I will say that I already put the next installment on my anticipated releases list, and I’m looking forward to reading it in October. I want to know what will happen next for Maddileh and Saralene.

All right, well, that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.