Danielle Thamasa's Blog, page 14

NetGalley Manga Review: Manga Classics – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, M. Chandler, and Linus Liu

Hey all, Sam here.

That’s it! I’m finally getting this review written up and posted on here. I have been in such a procrastinator mood when it comes to this blog for far too long. I just can’t seem to find my rhythm, not after the past couple of years. But I miss having regular content going, which means I really need to figure out a blog prep schedule that’ll work for my life so I can at least get some posts up on a more regular basis.

I’d like to do more than just my Weekend Writer post each week. So let’s take today’s review post…I read this book in December 2023, and fully planned to make it one of my posts for starting fresh in 2024 with regular content. Obviously, today is April 1st….which means that I procrastinated on this for a few months. I literally had this thing tentatively scheduled for three or four different Mondays in February and March.

So here we go. I’m finally writing it and getting it posted. And no, this is not some sort of April Fool’s Day prank. There’s actually a review coming after this rambling intro, so let’s just get into it.

Obsessed with natural philosophy, the young Victor Frankenstein succeeds in creating life from its basic elements — and abandons the newborn monstrosity in terror when he cannot bear to look at it. The rejected creature vanishes, and Victor attempts to forget what he has done… But the monster survives. It learns. Deprived of everything, fated to forever be alone, it has nothing left but revenge. Manga Classics® presents a frightening new manga adaptation of Mary Shelly’s famous tale of creation and destruction!

My Thoughts

Rating: 4 stars

I honestly don’t know if I’ve read the original Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. I’m sure I’ve seen some TV episodes and movies that have focused on this classic tale, but that’s about it. So, obviously, I jumped at the chance to take in a manga adaptation.

I’ve read a number of classics in my life. From novels to novellas to short stories and even poetry, when you have a degree in Literature, it’s pretty standard to have delved into a number of literary classics. Since graduating with my degrees though, I’ve definitely strayed away from classics for the most part, only doing the occasional re-read.

That is why I enjoy this line of Manga Classics. It allows me to indulge the part of me that misses those college days where I did more regularly read classics, while also not getting bogged down in some of the writing style indicative of the time periods these stories were originally drafted and released.

I read manga quickly, and aside from combat/battle/fighting scenes, I find them very easy to follow. So a classic novel that might take me at minimum a few hours can be read in about 45 minutes in a manga format. It’s the same information, but easier to digest and comprehend thanks to actually being able to see the setting or character appearance, etc, instead of reading lots of flowery sentences describing such things.

This manga adaptation of Frankenstein is definitely the most foreboding, terrifying, and dark of the Manga Classics that I’ve read so far, which is keeping with the vibes of the story. And okay, aside from Frankenstein’s monster, the rest of the characters are in that kind of cute manga style. Although, I’d say the monster doesn’t look too terrible or horrifying, but he is different enough from everyone else that he definitely stands out.

The eerie feeling and slowly creeping horror and tension just build through these pages, and you can feel this panic and terror just grow the deeper you get into the story. It was absolutely compelling, and I just wanted to keep reading. I’m not typically a horror or suspense type of reader, but I found myself needing to keep going with this one. I wanted to know what was going to happen next, even when I suspected it was going to be terrible.

I’m glad I read this, and hopefully I have some more Manga Classics reviews coming to the blog soon.

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

NetGalley Review: Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson

Hey all, Sam here.

Working at a job that doesn’t ever close, not even for holidays, it always throws me off when other places actually are closed for the holiday. Take today for instance. It’s Easter Sunday, and I had planned to spend a few hours at Panera working on my novel…but because I’m scheduled to work today, even though I knew it was Easter, my mind wasn’t thinking about the fact that other places are closed for Easter.

Sure, I now live eight hours away from my family (obviously aside from my husband and our furbabies), so obviously we didn’t have plans, but it would be nice to actually have holidays off. Oh well.

Anyway, the end of March had a couple really great reads for me, and I’m talking about one of them today. Even better, you all don’t have long to wait for this book, because it is releasing this week (April 2nd is the US release date).

Let’s dive right in.

Nice Victorian ladies don’t run off to find legendary lost cities.

One trifling little arrest shouldn’t have cost Ellie Mallory her job, but it’s only the latest in a line of injustices facing any educated woman with archaeological ambitions.

When Ellie stumbles across the map to a mysterious ancient city, she knows she’s holding her chance to revolutionize Pre-Colombian history. There’s just one teensy complication. A ruthless villain wants it, and Ellie is all that stands in his way.

To race him to the ruins—and avoid being violently disposed of—she needs the help of maverick surveyor Adam Bates, a snake-wrangling rogue who can’t seem to keep his dratted shirt on.

But there’s more than Ellie’s scholarly reputation (and life) on the line. Her enemies aren’t just looters. They’re after an arcane secret rumored to lie in the heart of the ruins, a mythical artifact with a power that could shake the world.

Between stealing trousers, plummeting over waterfalls, and trying not to fall in love with her machete-wielding partner, will Ellie be able to stop the oracle of a lost empire from falling into the wrong hands?

Empire of Shadows is the first book in Jacquelyn Benson’s smart, swashbuckling Raiders of the Arcana series. Read it now and dive into a rip-roaring historical fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Romancing the Stone and The Mummy.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

I was hooked on this book from the very beginning! When this book uses The Mummy as a comp, it is completely accurate. If you enjoyed “The Mummy” movies or the movie “The Jungle Cruise,” or you like the TV movie/series “The Librarian” and “The Librarians,” then this book is absolutely for you.

Both Ellie and Adam are knowledgeable in different areas of expertise and that knowledge comes through on the page with their thoughts and descriptions, and even in conversation with each other.

Ellie is a fierce and intelligent woman, who fights for what she believes in, even if it gets her dragged into some less-than-savory positions. I couldn’t help but fly through the pages at the beginning of her journey. And then when she disembarks the ship on the other side of the world, that’s when we are introduced to Adam…and oh boy, how these two meet was entertaining as all get out.

I just want to gush about the specifics in this story, but I also don’t want to spoil it. There’s action. There’s adventure. There’s history and magic and culture. There were a couple chapters that made me really hungry for tamales.

According to Goodreads, this book is 585 pages long, but Barnes & Noble has it listed at 476 pages. Either way, this is a nicely sized book that reads as if it is about half the length it actually is. If it hadn’t been for work, I would have probably had this all read in a day. Instead, it took me two days because I was regularly being interrupted to do work. Yes, if work is slow then I am allowed to read a bit on the clock.

Jacquelyn Benson’s writing is lovely, and you can tell that a lot of care and research went into this book. The depth of information about historical lore and culture and events just burst from the page, and I was devouring every bit of it as quickly as I could. I kept telling my husband and my co-workers about this book, and especially telling my reading co-workers that they needed to add this book to their TBRs because it is fantastic.

It was a wild ride of highs and lows for Ellie and Adam. Things would be going well and then something would happen and they would have to recalculate and adjust their plans, and the longer they spent time together, the more you could tell that they were totally into each other, but they were both still trying to respect the bounds of propriety for the time….but really, I could tell that they were two peas in a pod, basically made for each other. The tension and anticipation between them only made me want to read faster, but I also didn’t want the story to end.

If you want the same action and adventure, with a fierce and intelligent FMC and a rough and tumble MMC who is also a big softie, as well as some hints at the magic of myth being real, then this is definitely a book to keep your eye on. I am definitely adding the rest of the series to my TBR, and hopefully the wait for book two won’t feel too long.

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.

Book Review: A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J. Penner

Hey all, Sam here.

In the past year or so, cozy fantasy has really been making a splash in the book world, and I’ve even seen some manga and anime getting in on the cozy fantasy subgenre….and honestly, I’m loving it. I’ve seen cozy fantasy ranging from low-spice, low-stakes, just cozy cuteness…to cozy vibes with some spice, or even cozy vibes with higher stakes. A lot of them seem to have a focus on food and community and friendship and found family.

So obviously I’ve been getting into a lot of them. Basically my social media feeds are becoming an interesting blend of cozy fantasy, steamy dark fantasy, and D&D style adventure fantasy, alongside indie authors talking craft and folks talking about TTRPGs. Now if only those socials would stop trying to give me sponsored ads for makeup and beauty products. I’ve never interacted with them and I’m 99% positive that I won’t be getting any of them.

Anyway, I have a list of books from the end of 2023 and of course the books I’ve read so far in 2024 that I still need to review, and I’m trying to get things written up and scheduled so I can catch up on all the content I’ve missed out on….and today’s book is one I read and loved last year, so let’s go ahead and jump into it.

A human, a dwarf and an elf walk into a bake-off…

In the heart of Adenashire, where elfish enchantments and dwarven delights rule, Arleta Starstone, a human confectionist works twice as hard perfecting her unique blend of baking and apothecary herbs.

So when an orc neighbor secretly enters her creations into the prestigious Elven Baking Battle, Arleta faces a dilemma.

Being magicless, her participation in the competition could draw more scowls than smiles. And if Arleta wants to prove her talent and establish her culinary reputation, this human will need more than just her pastry craft to sweeten the odds.

While competing, she’ll set off on a journey of mouthwatering pastries, self-discovery, heartwarming friendships and romance, while questioning whether winning the Baking Battle is the true prize.

Escape to for a delightful cozy fantasy where every twist is a treat and every turn a step closer to home.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4.5 stars

This book was released in November 2023, and I read it in December 2023. Basically it was showing up all over my socials, and it has a cute cover and sounded like a fun and interesting concept. And happily, when it comes to a lower-stakes cozy fantasy, this one was a delightful quick read.

But, much like with Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, this is definitely a story where you’ll want to have some baked goods or some sort of snack at hand while you’re reading. Which, I definitely expected because the story revolves around a baking competition. Oh, and there’s recipes in the back of the book, which is wonderful. I’m going to have to try them at some point.

Arleta’s neighbors, who enter her into this baking competition, are legitimately a bonus set of dads and they definitely treat Arleta as if she is their daughter, although she doesn’t fully recognize them as her found family parents until later in the story. We meet Theo, the love interest, pretty quickly, and he is adorable…but Arleta basically talks herself out of pursuing anything all the time. Her “poor me, I’m just a magicless human” mentality is probably one of the main detractors of this whole story. I’m just a human and I don’t have magic; I shouldn’t be in this baking competition (because nobody without magic has ever been in this competition before). I’m just a human; an elf couldn’t be into me. Wait, and if he is interested in me, then he’s going to leave me for someone else anyway, because elves have fated partners they meet in their dreams, and there’s no way that could ever possibly be me.

I understand the criticisms of Arleta. Really, I do.

But then we have fellow competitors Jez and Doli, and the side characters are really what make this story great to me. Jez acts all stoic and uncaring, but we know better. And Doli is so opposite to a stereotypical dwarf; instead of being grumpy and about mining or whatever, Doli is all cheerful sunshine and obsessed with tea.

I’ll also say that there’s definitely some elitist beliefs and prejudice going on in this book, mostly from the magical races towards the non-magical humans. There are a lot of folks throughout who treat humans as an “inferior race,” and sometimes that takes a reader away from the cute cozy vibes of the story.

And, I guess I should mention that it takes a while for the baking competition to start. I saw in a bunch of other reviews that it’s around the 40% mark, which means it happens later in the book than the synopsis would have you believe, and you don’t get as much time to really enjoy the different challenges. They do feel like they’re over fairly quickly. The beginning 40% of the story introduces us to Arleta, her home and the world in general, Arleta meeting Theo, and then the pair traveling to the competition. So, it is a tiny bit of a slow-burn start.

But I rated this based on the cute and cozy vibes, of which this book has plenty. A little more time with the competition, and perhaps a little better pacing throughout, and this book probably would have hit 5 stars for me. Still, overall I enjoyed the characters and the world, and I read it fairly quickly.

Luckily, this won’t be the only adventure into the world of Adenashire, because a second book is coming, with the focus shifting from Arleta to her dwarf friend Doli, who I absolutely adored. That book is being called A Fellowship of Librarians & Dragons and should be coming soon-ish. The date online says November 2024, but the author has said that it is a placeholder date and the plan is to release the book sooner.

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.

Weekend Writer: March 2024 Prompt Share

Hey all, Sam here.

On occasion, time really feels like it flies. Somehow we are already at the end of another month…which per my new schedule with these Weekend Writer posts means that we are at another prompt sharing post.

Basically, in each month, on the first Friday I will use various creativity generators to come up with a number of options to hopefully spark our interest and get us creating. I use these prompts for writing, but they could easily be adapted for poetry or music or art. I don’t want to limit anyone’s options here. Then, on the final Friday of the month, I’ll share some of what I’ve worked on for the month, and I encourage you to share your work as well…tag me in your blog post, TikTok video, Instagram post….wherever you share your creativity. I’d love to see what you come up with off these prompts.

For the rest of the Fridays in the month, I focus on topics related to creative writing, whether that is a review of a book on the craft of writing, or just having a general discussion about a writing-related topic.

And…that’s it. That’s Weekend Writer in a nutshell.

You can find the March prompts here, and this month I focused on The 5 Sentence Method: How to Write Your D*mn Book, Already by Rebecca Thorne as my writing craft book, writing up a review, my own attempt at the plotting method, and then a general discussion about plotting, pantsing, plantsing, and some of my writing goals for April.

Okay. It was an eventful month. Let’s go ahead and get into the prompt I chose, and then a snippet of what I wrote based on the prompt.

Sidequest Decks

Prompt 2: Death asks the characters to undo a great cruelty: return a city of the dead to Death’s peaceful arms. A powerful artifact is mounted at the top of a town’s central tower, turning all who stay there undead. The characters can avoid the transformation because of their current state.

Dying was supposed to be peaceful, or at least that’s what Evandren had always believed. Maybe not the actual act of dying, because that certainly depended on the circumstances surrounding the end, but what came after….yeah, that was supposed to be peace. Well, unless, perhaps, you had landed up in the bad side of the afterlife. But this just seemed more like what he experienced in life, just muted.

But no…they had died after a massive battle, in what should have been the rest and recovery time. They had been at their camp, patching up their wounds and trying to discuss next steps, and they had been ambushed. They should have expected it, should have still been on guard, but exhaustion had taken hold.

If Evandren had taken any stock in everything Amorra preached, then they should have been somewhere nice, held in the warm gaze of her goddess. Instead they were at camp, and Evandren was staring at an eight foot tall black cloaked figure with what appeared to be twin amber glowing embers for eyes.

“So…we’re dead, and you’re the embodiment of Death, right?” he finally questioned, already tired of just standing here in the camp where they had died.

–Good. You are knowledgeable in the afterlife, though perhaps not the wisest to speak so to an entity that has the power to restore life to your corpse.–

“Apologies,” Amorra said, jumping into the conversation. “But I also have faith that my goddess will step in at any moment and shine her divine light on our presences.”

–While it is indeed true that Linora has great power, the gods can only bring back their disciples if I give them the permission to do so.–

Well, that was unexpected. But, if this Death figure was here and talking to them, perhaps they could still get out of this. Evandren crossed his arms over his chest and squared off with the robed entity. “Okay, fine. What do we got to do for you to bring us back to life?”

–I need ones not living and not dead, a role that you currently fulfill. The great necropolis city has been removed from my gaze, torn away by the effects of a vile artifact, and if left in place within the city, the power of the artifact will expand and alter the whole of the world, turning all that lives into an undead hoard. Enter the necropolis. Remove the artifact. And then you shall be returned to your lives.–

I am obviously in the middle of another WIP right now, but this idea intrigues me, and I’d like to continue this story. It could become a novella or a novel; I don’t know.

All right. 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: Under the Smokestrewn Sky by A. Deborah Baker

Hey all, Sam here.

Okay, so to go along with today’s book review, I am so, so excited to say that I was approved on NetGalley for the third book in Seanan McGuire’s Alchemical Journeys series, titled Tidal Creatures, which is coming out this June. The reason this ties into today’s review is that this four-book series by A. Deborah Baker is an important book series within the Alchemical Journeys books, which is awesome.

I think I’ve already reviewed Middlegame and Seasonal Fears, the first two installments of the Alchemical Journeys series, and I should have reviews up for Over the Woodward Wall, Along the Saltwise Sea, and Into the Windwracked Wilds for this Up-And-Under series. Wow, okay, so writing up this paragraph has revealed that I actually have not reviewed a couple of these books. I’ll have to fix that, so I guess expect some out-of-order book reviews coming in future.

Anyway, this final book in the Up-And-Under series came out in October 2023, so you can read all four of the novellas in this series now. Let’s jump into the review.

The end of the improbable road.

Since stumbling from their world into the Up-and-Under, Avery and Zib have walked the improbable road across forests, seas, and skies, finding friends in the unlikeliest of places and enemies great in number, as they make their way toward the Impossible City in the hope of finding their way home.

But the final part of their journey is filled with danger and demise. Not everyone will make it through unscathed. Not everyone will make it through alive.

The final part of the enchanting Up and Under quartet reminds us of the value of friendship and the price one sometimes pays for straying from the path. No one’s safety can be guaranteed under the smokestrewn sky.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

I’m actually sad to have this novella series over with now. The Up-and-Under series within the Alchemical Journeys series is like nine books long, but that isn’t the case with this real-world version. But I think together the four volumes that make up this series makes for a great story overall.

We’ve spent the last three books meeting Avery, Zib, and the companions they’ve picked up along the way…and you can absolutely read this series without reading the Alchemical Journeys series. However, if you have read Alchemical Journeys without checking these reads out, then I fully believe that you’re missing out. There are snippets of the novellas in the main books, but to get the full story and the full picture, you need to read this novella series.

I can definitely say that I plan to do a binge re-read to get the full story of the Up-and-Under all together, since I’ve basically been reading these a year apart for the past few years.

This was a conclusion that wrapped up the story for Avery, Zib, and friends nicely, while still leaving some room for possible questions that might interconnect the two series together.

I like a complex story with fascinating characters, even if reaching the end of the story is bittersweet, and certainly a happy ending isn’t necessarily guaranteed here. If anything else, the whole journey that Avery and Zib have been on make it clear that sometimes our stories can be a little bit unexpected, and decisions can lead to complications, and perhaps the answers you find aren’t the ones you hoped would be true.

A. Deborah Baker(aka Seanan McGuire)’s writing is captivating, and I found myself obsessed with this story, wanting to read it until it’s conclusion, something that isn’t difficult because it is just under 200 pages. But this was a magical, whimsical, sometimes dangerous and scary, sometimes emotional and harrowing, but all around fantastical while still feeling wholly real story.

I will miss Avery and Zib. I will miss Crow Girl, the Drowned Girl, and Jack. I will miss traveling along the Improbable Road to the Impossible City.

If you like tales with vibes like “Alice in Wonderland” or “The Wizard of Oz,” then perhaps you will also enjoy The Up-and-Under series. I can’t wait to see what’s next in Tidal Creatures, book three of the Alchemical Journeys series. I’m sure that whatever Seanan McGuire/A Deborah Baker/Mira Grant writes, it will be something that fascinates and captivates me.

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.

April TBR

Hey all, Sam here.

Well, March was a bit of a mixed bag when it came to reading plans and reading actually completed. I had 12 books on my TBR, and as of right now I’ve completed 4 of them. Obviously I still have a couple days left in the month, so perhaps I can finish a couple more, but I don’t know. Obviously you’ll see in my wrap-up post (coming April 2nd), I felt a bit reading slumpy in March.

So, it just means that I’ll try again in April.

We’re starting off with the books on my NetGalley list. There’s quite a few for the month of April (and looking ahead to early May as well). I’m hoping I can get through these, because I’d love to start really catching up on my reading and NetGalley backlist.

The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten (April 9), Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger (April 16), To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X Chang (April 16), and Necrobane by Daniel M Ford (April 23)

For the earlier April books, I have two sequels, a prequel, and a debut. I’m really hoping that I can read the prequel to Elatsoe without any of the context of its previously released sequel, because I own it but still haven’t read it. I want to though, so perhaps this is what will get me there. I’m also excited about reading the next books by Hannah Whitten and Daniel M. Ford, because I enjoyed the first books of each of these series. And I’ve started hearing some mixed reviews on Molly X Chang’s debut, but I’m still excited to give it a try.

Next up, a few more NetGalley reads, taking us through the rest of April and into May a little bit.

Sound the Gong by Joan He (April 30), Relics of Ruin by Erin M Evans (April 30), The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo (May 7), The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields (May 14)

Oh look, three sequels and a debut. I don’t think I’ll have any issues with Nghi Vo’s next novella; they’ve all read fairly quickly. I’m excited to see what’s next in Erin M. Evan’s world, and I’m curious to see what happens in the conclusion to Joan He’s duology. And I am so very excited to get to read Sydney J. Shield’s debut, because it sounds like it’s going to be wonderful.

Finally, I have a few non-NetGalley options, but these are ones that I don’t honestly know if I’ll be able to squeeze in during the month of April. For some of them it depends on shipping times. But I also might just read some of my backlog or possibly some of the cool indie books I’ve picked up recently.

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao (April 16), Song of the Six Realms by Judy I Lin (April 23), Mined in Magic by Jenna Wolfhart (April 30), Evocation by S.T. Gibson (May 28)

Obviously for the releases by Ann Zhao and Judy I Lin, it really depends on how quickly my copies ship out on if I’m going to be able to read them in time or not. With the new Jenna Wolfhart book, it’s me racing the clock. I have already pre-ordered the e-book and it releases April 30th…so it’s honestly me hoping to just devour it all on release day, which is certainly possible because that is a day I have off work. Finally I have the upcoming release by S.T. Gibson. I have a physical ARC of this one, and I’ve been putting it off so I could read it a bit closer to release day. It comes out at the end of May, so I’d really like to be able to read it (and maybe even review it) in April.

Honestly, I think this is a pretty good list of reads for the month. Let’s hope I can actually read most (or all) of them. Even better if I can manage to get the reviews written after I read them. We’ll see what happens.

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: Plotting, Pantsing, Plantsing, and April Goals

Hey all, Sam here.

All right-y…well, I had this post ready to go for yesterday, and I guess I just didn’t remember to hit publish before I closed up my computer to go to work. Thank goodness this series is called Weekend Writer, because I can technically post it late (but still on the weekend) and it’s valid.

This is sort of a bonus week for Weekend Writer, because the first Friday of the month I share some creativity prompts (find March’s here), and on the last Friday I share some writing–either based on the prompts or something else I’ve been working on. For the other Fridays, one is usually a review of a writing craft book (The 5 Sentence Method review), and one is typically a deeper breakdown or trial of the concepts from the book. But this month has yet another Friday…so I’m just having a general discussion about a topic that is related to this month’s writing craft book.

Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Experience TikTok’s viral 5 Sentence plotting method, written by bestselling author Rebecca Thorne!

Discover the game-changing 5 Sentence Method in this straight-talking, no-BS guide to crafting fantastic fiction. In just 5 SENTENCES, you’ll nail your plot points and tie them to specific word count goals, ensuring your story has the pace and rhythm to keep readers hooked.Even better, this bite-sized book explores a 4 round editing strategy that will make your revisions a breeze. Expect comprehensive examples, a few curse words, and a ton of valuable insight! Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned author, this guide will transform the way you write, edit, and think about storytelling.

It’s time to make your book shine!

—-Feedback for The 5 Sentence 

“I had so many ah-ha moments reading it.” – Chris B.

“Incredibly helpful and immensely valuable.” – Sara M.

“So many eureka moments here!” – Amy N.

Discussion

The reason I’m partnering this discussion with this book is because Rebecca Thorne herself says that The 5 Sentence Method is for people who want to try plotting and don’t know where to start or for pantsers who want to have a little more structure and planning before writing.

There are so so many posts and videos and discussions out there about the Plotting vs Pantsing writing camps, and most people fall solidly in one camp or the other, but there are some that blend the two a bit. I’ve always thought that there are three camps, plus a blending of them….Plotting, Pantsing, and Percolating.

Plotters. These are the people who have fully formed outlines, possibly character dossiers and most or all of their story planned.

Pantsers fly by the seat of their pants. They might have a couple lines of plot or idea written down, and maybe even a few sentences about each character. For the most part though, they figure out the story as they go.

Percolators are the camp I connect with most. I percolate, ponder, think on what I’m going to write for a time…it could be days or weeks or months of daydreaming about it, but eventually I know enough about the characters and the plot and the setting to just sit down and write. In a way I guess this is like plotters, except I don’t usually write it down. To those who don’t know my process, I know it can seem like I’m a full pantser but I do have a plan in my mind.

I’ve never been able to make a full outline, at least not for a first draft. If I write too much of the scenes and plot down then it feels like I’ve already written the book and I lose all desire to fully draft the story.

That’s why I wanted to try The 5 Sentence Method. It really felt like the kind of plotting method that would be perfect for me, just enough to give me an overarching plot, but not so much that my mind would believe that the story is written already. You can see my attempt at The 5 Sentence Method in last week’s Weekend Writer post.

And honestly….I do like this plotting method. It is vague enough that my mind still wants to write the story, and I can expand on it a little bit with random bullet points. So, I can definitely see myself utilizing The 5 Sentence Method with future writing projects as well.

April Goals

I have a writing group on Discord. It was originally started as the Iowa Elsewhere region for NaNoWriMo…but considering some of the recent drama and changes within the organization, we have changed our name and will no longer associate with the writing challenge.

But we still wanted to set up a challenge for the month of April, one open to folks with plotting goals, writing goals, editing goals, marketing goals…basically whatever stage of the creative process each person needed to focus on at the moment. We have a thread in our Discord to announce our goal and then post updates.

Since I’m in the middle of drafting my current WIP, my goal for April is to add 30,000 words to the draft. Obviously I’m trying to spend a little more time writing, so hopefully I’ll do even more than this, but I think 1000 words a day isn’t a terrible goal. And I’ll try to keep a weekly update going here on the blog.

That means I’m spending the next week doing some rough plotting so I’m ready for it. Basically I’ll be taking my 5 sentences from last week’s post and jotting down whatever reminder bullet points I need for my upcoming scenes.

If you’re a writer and would like to be a part of our writing Discord, we’d love to have you join up. Tell me in the comments and I’ll get you an invite code.

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

Weekend Writer: Trying out The 5 Sentence Method by Rebecca Thorne

Hey all, Sam here.

Welcome back to another installment of Weekend Writer. Much like I did last month, I’m doing a little deeper of a dive into this month’s writing craft book. So, last week I did a general review of The 5 Sentence Method by Rebecca Thorne, and this week I’m actually trying out the plotting method with my current WIP.

If you’re new to Weekend Writer, hello and welcome. Basically this is a series focused on creativity and the craft of writing. On the first Friday of each month I use a series of creativity generators to come up with prompts to help get you writing (or creating–if you want to make visual art, then go for it!). You can find March’s Weekend Writer prompts here. The last Friday of the month, I share snippets from what I’ve been writing–usually based on the prompts from the beginning of the month, but sometimes from my other writing. For all the Fridays in between, I read a book on writing craft and do a review post, before going a little deeper. Going deeper looks a little different with each book. Sometimes I’m sharing quotes that resonated with me, and other times I’m trying the exercises or methods presented in the book. It really just depends.

That’s it. And if you’d love to share snippets of your own creative works (based on my prompts or not) or even your own attempts at some of the exercises in the writing craft books, I’d love to check your posts out, so send me a link to your blog or story or reel or video or whatever method you use to share your creativity.

All right, let’s go ahead and dive right into today’s post.

Experience TikTok’s viral 5 Sentence plotting method, written by bestselling author Rebecca Thorne!

Discover the game-changing 5 Sentence Method in this straight-talking, no-BS guide to crafting fantastic fiction. In just 5 SENTENCES, you’ll nail your plot points and tie them to specific word count goals, ensuring your story has the pace and rhythm to keep readers hooked.Even better, this bite-sized book explores a 4 round editing strategy that will make your revisions a breeze. Expect comprehensive examples, a few curse words, and a ton of valuable insight! Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned author, this guide will transform the way you write, edit, and think about storytelling.

It’s time to make your book shine!

—-Feedback for The 5 Sentence 

“I had so many ah-ha moments reading it.” – Chris B.

“Incredibly helpful and immensely valuable.” – Sara M.

“So many eureka moments here!” – Amy N.

Trying It Out

Okay, to start, before diving into the 5 Sentence plotting method, in Rebecca Thorne’s book she gives us seven questions to ask yourself before writing. Now, I will absolutely say that I did not ask myself these BEFORE writing. I’ve had the idea for this story since 2017 and even wrote a little of it back then, but the end of last year and into this year is when I’ve really started to focus on trying to get this book written.

How are you going to publish?What’s your hook?What is your book’s genre?Why that main character?Who is your villain?What’s your theme?Why are YOU the best author for this story?

All right, let’s get down to answering these, one at a time.

For Roll for Romance (I’ve been using this as the title for years, and I like it, but I still might change it if something else comes up. Because I know that there are other books and podcasts and such with this title/name), I already know that I will need to self-publish. To traditionally publish, your book needs to fit within certain genres and guidelines, and I worry that a publisher wouldn’t know how to market mine, which is something I’ve seen other authors talk about when it comes to books that blend or mash-up genres. I’ll answer this a little further in question 3.Okay, so your hook is what is going to grab your readers at the beginning. In this writing craft book, Rebecca Thorne uses the example of Gideon the Ninth and the hook of “lesbian necromancers in space,” which I’ll be honest was what made me want to read the book (and it was a great book, so the hook definitely worked). So, in one sentence, how do you grab readers’ attention?
Every time I have told people about this book I have said that it is a fictionalized adaptation of how my husband and I met and fell in love while playing Dungeons & Dragons, and people have absolutely responded positively to that quick pitch. But I think I’m going to have to make something even sharper for commercial use, for hooking people who might not have met us. So I have a rough hook at the moment, and I’ll try to edit and shape it before I actually reach the publication stage.Roll for Romance is split between two genres and follows two major plot lines, so it kind of feels like two separate but interconnected stories. This book is told over the course of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and it bounces between the out-of-game romance between the Dungeon Master and one of the players, and the in-game fantasy adventure tale. So it is a mashup of contemporary romance and fantasy. Yes, I have seen a couple of books that have had a similar set-up…books like The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall, Who We Are in Real Life by Victoria Koops, or Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce, but I’ve read all of those books and they only have brief glimpses into the in-game story. Because D&D is such an important part of the out-of-game relationship development, I have a much heavier focus on that in-game story compared to those comp titles.Why is the main character that I’ve chosen for this book this main character? Well the main two characters are based on my husband and myself. In the past couple years we have seen a few more books coming out with more representation and diversity in them, but we can still use more, and the character based on myself is on the asexual spectrum like I am. I want to see more ace rep in books, and if I want to see it, then I should be a part of making it happen (and I do that not just by writing my own ace book, but also by supporting other books with ace characters and by ace authors).Who is the villain? I’m not going to answer the in-game villain here, because that would be a spoiler. But for the out-of-game romance, there’s some communication misunderstandings that delay the romantic relationship starting. I don’t have a third-act breakup planned for this story. It happens so often in romances and it feels stale and predictable to me…plus we never had that point in our relationship, and while I’ve changed some things (like most of the in-game adventure because we were using a 5e adventure book and I decided to craft something original for the book), I don’t want to make major changes to our romance story, because I love our love story.This question is what’s the theme? I think the strongest aspect of this story is love and friendship, so I like to say for this book “sometimes relationships are just a roll of the dice.”Finally, why are YOU the best author for this story? I am the best author for this story because it is my story. I lived this story. I experienced all of it. I’ve always dreamed of that sweep you off your feet storybook romance, and though it took years of waiting to find my person, it actually happened. And I just want to share that with the world.

All right, with that done, we can look at the actual 5 Sentence Method for plotting. It is: 1) Inciting Incident, 2) Leaving Home, 3) Midpoint Reversal, 4) Beginning of the End, and 5) Conclusion.

And what I realized as I was looking at Roll for Romance is that this book has the feel of two separate but interwoven stories, and so I had to plot it that way as well…so I needed to do 5 Sentences for the out-of-game romance, and 5 sentences for the in-game fantasy adventure.

Here’s what’s really fun…I’ve only been writing the fantasy adventure so far, because I want to have that one done before I weave the out-of-game story in, mostly because there will be moments of talking about what happens in the game, so I need to already really know all of that. But there’s also the fact that I keep changing my FMC’s name. So, for the purposes of this post, I’m just going to use my name, Sam, as a placeholder. By the time this book is written and edited, there will be another name in that place for the FMC.

After an unexpected hiatus with her Dungeons & Dragons group, Sam has to find a new group. Thanks to a fellow player, she finds one and meets Dungeon Master Andrew. Though only looking for a gaming group and some new geek friends, Sam and Drew question if their relationship could be something more. With a little nudge from their friends, Sam and Drew decide to go on a date. As they spend more time together, they realize that they just might have rolled a Nat 20 on romance.

Okay, I am honestly terrible at trying to summarize a story into just five sentences, with each connected to a main story beat. But that’s basically it. And I don’t mind sharing all of the general details for the out-of-game story, because…well, my husband and I have been married for 2.5 years now, and also, it’s a romance story…a HEA or HFN is expected, so none of this is really a spoiler.

Now, the in-game fantasy adventure 5 Sentences….well, I don’t want to share all of those, because there would be spoilers in that one.

Meeting after stopping an altercation at a tavern, Mistwyn, Veeta, Reed, Ander, Ren, and Karrakh agree to become an adventuring party, though they have no idea what darkness looms in their future. While becoming local heroes, they also find themselves stumbling upon a plot by a group known as the Echoes of Eternal Resonance.

And….sorry that’s all you get. The Midpoint Reversal through the Conclusion could spoil some things.

But, okay, here’s a bonus….a really terrible placeholder cover that I designed. I promise, I will have something much much better by the time I am finished and ready to publish.

Haha….well, there you go. Enjoy my terrible photo/editing job. I actually have ideas for a proper cover, but I have to save up to hire the artist, and I know the artist I want is at least a couple thousand for a cover, but that is absolutely worth it.

All right, 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: The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton

Hey all, Sam here.

It’s my last day of work for the week. Woohoo! And then I get the next three days off work. I’m hoping to accomplish a decent amount of both reading and writing, although I might try and do some BG3 playing…and possibly I’ll do a little TV binging–I’m currently doing a re-watch of “The Vampire Diaries,” so I could probably just have that as sort-of background noise while reading or worldbuilding/plotting. We’ll see.

Anyway, I’m still trying to catch up on my book review backlog, since I did a lot of reading in January and February, and considerably less blog posting. On the plus side, that means I don’t have to worry about thinking over content for a bit; I just need to figure out the order to write the reviews in.

And the review backlog isn’t really getting smaller either, because it’s not like I’ve stopped reading or anything. Oh well. It’s just part of book reader and book blogger life, I guess. It feels like I was born with a never-ending TBR, and then ended up with generating more content than I can easily keep up with.

I’ve thought about trying to do little video reviews, like on TikTok, Instagram, and perhaps even YouTube. I’ve thought of starting a BookTube channel for about a decade now…but I keep psyching myself out on it. I admit it; I’m nervous about being in front of the camera. So I keep doing nothing.

Okay, this intro is getting to the point of being too long, so let’s just go ahead and dive into today’s review.

Moulin Rouge meets Holly Black in a thrilling sapphic friends-to-lovers romantasy!

For Sybil Clarion, the Belle Époque city of Severon is a wild, romantic dream, filled with cafés, cabarets, and glittering nightclubs. Eager to embrace the city’s freedom after running away from home, she’s traded high-society soirées for empty pockets and barren cabinets. At least she has Esme, the girl who offered Sybil a home, and maybe—if either of them dared—something more.

Ever since Esme Rimbaud brought Sybil back to her flat, the girls have been everything to each other—best friends, found family, and secret crushes. While Esme would rather spend the night tinkering with her clocks and snuggling her cats, Sybil craves excitement and needs money. She plans to get both by stealing the rare posters that crop up around town and selling them to collectors. With rent due, Esme agrees to accompany—and more importantly protect —Sybil.

When they’re caught selling a poster by none other than its subject, Maeve, the glamorous girl doesn’t press charges. Rather, she invites Sybil and Esme to The Absinthe Underground, the exclusive club she co-owns, and reveals herself to be a Green Faerie, trapped in this world. She wants to hire thieves for a daring heist in Fae that would set her free, and is willing to pay enough that Sybil and Esme never have to worry about rent again. It’s too good of an offer to pass up, even if Maeve’s tragic story doesn’t quite add up, and even if Sybil’s personal ties to Fae could jeopardize everything she and Esme have so carefully built.

Jamie Pacton, author of The Vermilion Emporium, dazzles in this lavish and decadent LGBTQ+ fantasy romance that will leave readers utterly enchanted!

My Thoughts

Rating: 3.5 stars

I’ve read a couple of Jamie Pacton’s books so far (and I think I’ve reviewed at least her The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly book), so I thought I knew what to expect with this one, and I liked how it sounded anytime I heard about it. I’ll be honest though, I was not “utterly enchanted” by this one. In many ways I feel like it under-delivered.

But, I am seeing other people who are raving about how great this book is and giving glowing reviews. I wish I was one of those people. And if this book sounds interesting to you, definitely still pick it up, and I hope you become one of those people gushing about this book.

The beginning was great. I enjoyed the set-up, and I thought the atmosphere and vibes at the early pages of the book was great. I enjoyed the stealing posters for money concept, and was really excited to see how the Fae elements of the story would be woven in. Plus, I really wanted sapphic roommates/friends-to-lovers pining and longing becomes romance story.

To me, though, the longing was good, but I didn’t really feel the yearning to be together. It just felt like both Sybil and Esme told us that they had feelings for their roommate and that was it. I wanted to feel how they felt for each other more, and instead it felt like I was just told how they felt. I mean, clearly they cared for each other, but I didn’t feel it the way I want to in a book that calls itself romantasy.

The build-up to going into Fae for this heist was nice, but I feel like the timeline was too short. We didn’t really get much time for any sort of sidequest, and there weren’t that many complications. The job/heist felt very simple to me, and that was unfortunate because I was so looking forward to it.

I wanted more of the Fae realm and to understand more of the realms relationships to each other, and the magic, and of course all the Fae politics.

I will say that I did read this book fairly quickly. It was only 304 pages, and I wanted to keep going, to follow along with Sybil and Esme’s adventure, and see how everything turned out. So, it held my interest enough that I wasn’t setting it aside for other books. I just wanted a bit more depth from it.

I’m still going to keep reading Jamie Pacton’s books, because her writing style is easy to follow, and for the most part I have really enjoyed her books. Besides, 3.5 stars isn’t a bad rating. This book just didn’t wow me as much as others have, and that’s okay.

Oh, I suppose I should say that this book is available now, as it was released February 6th, so if it sounds interesting then you can pick up your own copy wherever books are sold, or even pick up a copy from your local library.

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.

Weekend Writer: The 5 Sentence Method: How to Write Your D*mn Book, Already by Rebecca Thorne

Hey all, Sam here.

We’ve made it back to Friday again already, and since we’re in a new month, I guess I’m talking about another writing craft book. If you missed last month’s book, Stop Worrying; Start Writing: How to Overcome Fear, Self-Doubt and Procrastination by Sarah Painter, you can go back anytime and check out my previous Weekend Writer posts.

I think March is a fun month because of how the Friday’s landed–there’s 5 of them. Obviously last Friday was the March Creativity Prompts, and the final Friday of the month will be sharing writing based on those prompts…which leaves me with three weekends in-between. Today I’m doing basically a review on this book, and then next week I’ll be sharing my attempts at using The 5 Sentence Method. But I’m not sure what to do for the last open Friday.

What do you guys think? Do you want me to share quotes from this book like I did with last month’s book? Do you want a general writing discussion post about a related topic? What sounds fun to you? Let me know in the comments.

All right, I guess it’s time to get started…

Experience TikTok’s viral 5 Sentence plotting method, written by bestselling author Rebecca Thorne!

Discover the game-changing 5 Sentence Method in this straight-talking, no-BS guide to crafting fantastic fiction. In just 5 SENTENCES, you’ll nail your plot points and tie them to specific word count goals, ensuring your story has the pace and rhythm to keep readers hooked.Even better, this bite-sized book explores a 4 round editing strategy that will make your revisions a breeze. Expect comprehensive examples, a few curse words, and a ton of valuable insight! Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned author, this guide will transform the way you write, edit, and think about storytelling.

It’s time to make your book shine!

—-Feedback for The 5 Sentence 

“I had so many ah-ha moments reading it.” – Chris B.

“Incredibly helpful and immensely valuable.” – Sara M.

“So many eureka moments here!” – Amy N.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4.5 stars

I honestly feel like this plotting method might be one to actually work for me…but I won’t know until I try it, which I will be doing very soon (as in, I’ve already tried it and will be sharing my thoughts in another Weekend Writer this month). This book was a quick read, easy to follow, and very approachable. I liked all of the examples from movies and books, and the list of extra resources on writing craft.

I actually did a full read of this book the first time through, and then wanted to mark off sections and passages that I liked, so I did a second read that was just a skim read…but I used a whole packet of tabs to mark parts of the book, which means there’s a lot that I wanted to take note of.

One of the most important sentences that Rebecca Thorne emphasizes at the beginning of the book (and then reiterates a few more times in the rest of the pages) is that publishing is a business. Wait, I should do this the way she did it: PUBLISHING IS A BUSINESS. Okay, there. It has been shared with the proper emphasis.

Thorne also says that this 5 Sentence Method is one that will work best for the plantsers…as in the people who aren’t quite plotters but they aren’t quite full pantsers either. They’re this third thing, where you maybe want to plot but don’t know how to get started with that, or you don’t want the plotting to take away all the surprises in the story but you want to make the editing process a little easier.

I consider myself a percolator….things will brew in my mind for days, weeks, months before they find their way to the page, but I can also be considered a plantser. I try to write a super vague bullet point outline to give me some semblance of structure and then discover the rest of the story as I go…so when I started reading The 5 Sentence Method: How to Write Your D*mn Book, Already, it certainly seemed like this could be something that works for me.

Thorne says there are some vital questions you need to ask yourself before writing, and here they are:

How are you going to publish?What’s your hook?What is your book’s genre?Why that main character?Who is your villain?What’s your theme?Why are you the best author for this story?

That is all covered in chapter two, so if you want more information for each question, you’ll have to get your own copy of this book.

Then, after those chapters, we finally start getting into The 5 Sentence Method, beginning with the inspiration, which was part Three Act Structure, part Snowflake Method, part My Story Can Beat Up Your Story by Jeff Schechter, and then adding percentage points to form the complete 5 Sentence Method. Tada!

Here’s what the 5 sentences should be based on. Ready?

Inciting Incident (5%)Leaving Home (25%)Midpoint Reversal (50%)Beginning of the End (75%)Conclusion (95%)

Basically the Inciting Incident happens in early Act 1, Leaving Home is what starts Act 2, Midpoint Reversal is the middle of the book, Beginning of the End starts Act 3, and Conclusion is right before the book’s end. Thorne does spend time breaking down each of these 5 sentences and what they should encompass in your book, but if I put all of that information here then this review/overview will be very long. For more details on this method, you can read this book or Thorne has several TikToks up where she talks about her plotting method and you can get the information there.

Also, those percentages don’t have to be exact, but they should be fairly close.

Now, after all of that, you’d think that this book is done right? Wrong. We are only about 35% of the way through the book.

After that, Thorne takes you through how to tie word counts to those percentages, and the word count estimates will be dependent on what genre you write in, so those before you write questions are coming into play here. This leads to talking about overwriting and underwriting, and how to utilize that knowledge to figure out what your initial first draft word count should be versus your edited story word count.

As if you needed more information, Thorne then goes into a chapter talking about Trilogies and how to tie the 5 Sentence Method into planning those. Of course, and here’s another one of those important notes for the book: Keep your first books standalone…”with series potential.” At least, if you’re heading the trad pub route, and possibly if going indie pub route. Seriously, Thorne breaks both options down, so you get a wealth of information in this book (and she already said that she would have a full book on routes to publication as another craft book ready in probably Dec 2024).

Even after all of this, we’re still not done. Thorne then gives us a chapter talking about making a great beginning of your story, and then jumps into a chapter about editing, which is another section I used multiple tabs for. We are given information on structural edits, character edits, scene edits, and sentence edits/copywriting.

Finally, the book also has a chapter on writing diversity well, before ending with a nice list of other resources for writing craft.

Seeing how long this post is should give you an idea of how useful this book could be. I think it is extremely useful, and reading it gave me a little jolt of excitement and motivation to work on and think about my writing process a little more. I’m excited to explore The 5 Sentence Method a little more and see if this is actually a plotting arrangement that works with my process, because I’ve been using a passable ramshackle plantsing method for several years now, and I’d like to have something a little more solid and useable.

Anyway, that was a lot of words. That is all from me for today. I’m going to try to get a little bit of writing done before I go to work. I might even scribble down a paragraph or two (or more) at work, although I try to focus more on reading at work because it’s easier to slip in and out of that. When I get interrupted while trying to write it’s a little more frustrating.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.