Danielle Thamasa's Blog, page 19

Weekend Writer: August Prompt Share

Hey all, Sam here.

Okay, so I missed out on doing this post last week, due to an unexpected break thanks to stress and burnout.

If you’ve been around here for a little while then you know that this particular Weekend Writer post (normally the last Friday of the month, but made into a bonus post this time around) is time to share some writing and creativity that has been created over the month.

That’s right. For the first Friday of any month, I use a few different creativity and inspiration generators to create some prompts to help spark creativity…and then the final Friday of the month, I share some of what I’ve been writing. Then for all the other Weekend Writer Fridays, I study up and discuss different aspects of creativity, inspiration, and the craft of writing. This could be books on writing, episodes of podcasts, lectures, panels, workshops…or just a general discussion about a topic related to writing and creativity.

If you missed out on the August prompts, you can find them here…and I’ve already posted the September prompts as well, so feel free to join in the creativity fun with me.

Tarot/Oracle Deck

Prompt: Insight, Bond, Warning

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.

Here’s the writing snippet…another for my WIP Harbingers of Death…

“Rúna?” I called out, my voice much softer and rougher than I’d prefer. My throat felt raw, torn apart by how much of the death wail had been released. From the time we woke in the morning, we had known that it was not going to be a good day. Clusters of actual crows had gathered in various trees around the flatlands that had become a battlefield.

At least we knew enough to pick up the signs. There was a chill in the air, despite the warm temperatures. Add to that the gathering murders, all croaking and cawing, and the low keening that kept escaping from my lips, a sound that I was learning came before an uncontrollable death wail…well, it didn’t mean anything good.

In the past few weeks, despite the nearness of numerous skirmishes, things had settled into a routine that was almost normal. The panicked need to get away and to be alone no longer overwhelmed me. I supposed it was harder to feel that sense of fear when you had a tall fierce warrior at your back.

I had to admit that being near the Battle Crow left me feeling more right than I had in years. There was a sense of belonging that came from being around Rúna, and even near her fellow Crows, although I was still rather cautious around them. I was introduced as another Harbinger and it was left at that, thank goodness. We were all bound together by the weave of life and death, but even still, I knew it would be dangerous to reveal my full identity to them.

Hopefully Rúna would be returning soon. She had been here for the beginning of my latest stream of death wails, and we had both been able to tell that they were not meant for her, but the sounds of battle had waned and then dissipated completely and she still was nowhere in sight. It made me uneasy, especially when I could feel the lingering chill, the hint of more to come, the beginning edge of my keening building up within and begging to be released.

There had been too many signs, too many omens, too many warnings lately, and I was tired of it all. All I wanted to do was to run away from it all, to take Rúna away with me and seek out some peaceful corner of the world, a place where we could both escape the paths we were on and forge some new life and future together.

I allowed myself a moment to indulge the luxury of that daydream, but even that moment was cut short as I heard the snapping of wooden branches behind me. And as I turned, the wail began anew.

Two figures, large brutish men, were moving in quickly, and there was really nowhere for me to run. They would catch up all too soon…but I was no fighter. Running was the only option left to me, because it was clear they had spotted me, and there was no place to escape their gazes in order to hide.

Run, Maeve. Run! My mother’s voice echoed in my mind once again and I obeyed, turning and taking off, hoping to outrun them long enough for help to come. Perhaps one of the Battle Crows would see me, see us, and intervene.

I had to hope, anyway.

“Rúna!” I yelled as soon as my death wail receded. “Help!”

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.

Spooky Season 2023 TBR

Hey all, Sam here.

All right…second and final post for today. Since my August TBR didn’t go so well, I’m trying things a little bit differently right now, and we’ll see how that works out. I already posted my September NetGalley TBR, and those are books releasing in the month of September that I’ve been approved for by the publisher on NetGalley. I’d really like to get those books read and reviewed this month.

But though I sometimes do well with creating TBRs and following them, I am also a pretty big mood reader, and right now I am craving books that help usher in the Spooky Season.

I went into my library—speaking of, I do have a library tour video on TikTok (@SamRushingBooks), so you can check that out—and started pulling books off the shelf that felt like the vibe I wanted.

Obviously there is some variation. I have some books that seem a little more light and fun, and others that are more serious and historical, as well as plenty of books with magic. But I’ve also picked books that I hope will have a magical, mythical atmosphere to them. And okay, some of them might even be eerie and monstrous.

Since this is a “seasonal” TBR and not just for one month, these are books I’m hoping to read over the next couple months or so…I’d say basically September through November. Fall vibes for me definitely go through Thanksgiving, and then it’s time for chilly winter reads.

Anyway, let’s get started. And I should note that these books are in no particular order; it’s just the order I had them set on the floor for my Spooky Season TBR photo I made for my Instagram (@SamRushingBooks).

Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck, Duel with the Vampire Lord by Elise Kova, Threadneedle by Cari Thomas, Raising the Horseman by Serena Valentino

Witches and magic and vampires and a twist on the Headless Horseman tale? Yep, seems like the right way to start this list.

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto, Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian, The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore, The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec

I’m actually currently reading Sutanto’s book, and I’m not usually a mystery reader…but a mystery rom-com? Well, that sounds interesting, and I did buy it when Book Twitter and Bookstagram went wild for this one a couple years ago. Then there’s witches and myth and lore with these other picks.

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig, A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross, The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid, Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T.L. Huchu

Monsters, ghosts, an enchanting lyrical tale, books inspired by history and mythology…I’m definitely excited about finally getting around to these.

Small Favors by Erin A Craig, The Bone Orchard by Sara A Mueller, The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones, The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

Craig’s book feels like a late summer read to me, so I’m hopefully reading it soon, and then there’s books with skeletons and death and a bit of mystery, and of course magic and witches.

Cackle by Rachel Harrison, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore, Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland

Magic and found family and romance, and witch hunts, and soul-walking in dreams with mystery…there are so many options for fun Spooky Season reads.

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson, The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling, The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton, Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper

Witches, witches, and more witches…I have romances, I have alternate histories, I’m just ready to have a witchy readathon.

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott, Only a Monster by Vanessa Len, The Witch is Back by Sophie H. Morgan, The Wild Hunt by Emma Seckel

And to finish off this list, I have more reads centered around myths and monsters.

Whew…what a list. I’m honestly really excited about this whole TBR, and just looking at all the books I’ve selected, I’m filled with this giddiness, so hopefully I’ll have some nice reading updates for you all over the next couple months.

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.

August Wrap-Up

Hey all, Sam here.

It’s post one for today…don’t worry I still have my Spooky Season TBR coming later this afternoon. But since we’ve started a new month, it is definitely time to take a look back and see what all I managed to read over the last month. As it turns out, I read 16 books in August, so that’s pretty good.

August is also the month where I reached my original Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 100 books read, so now I need to figure out what is a good yet still achievable new goal for myself.

Anyway, with these wrap-up posts, I try not to make them too long. I’ll run down each book I read and the rating (1 star to 5 stars). If I already have a review posted then I will also include the link back to the review, and if I have a review planned and scheduled, I’ll tell you the date the review will go live. For all the other books, they’ll be added to the review backlog and will be used whenever I feel like doing a bonus post or whenever I need to fill a gap in my blogging schedule.

Let’s get started.

Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans — 4 stars

The Heretic’s Guide to Devotion & Divinity by Eventyr Games — 5 stars

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher — 5 stars

Strength Check by Katherine McIntyre — 4 stars

Wisdom Check by Katherine McIntyre — 5 stars

Face the Night by Lani Forbes — 4.5 stars

Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes — 3.5 stars

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston — 4 stars

The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol 5 by Kyouka Izumi, Oumiya, and Reiko Sakurada — 5 stars

The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent: The Other Saint Vol 2 by Aoagu and Yuka Tachibana — 5 stars

The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent Vol 7 by Yuka Tachibana and Fujiazuki — 5 stars

My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s Vol 4 by Hiroyuki Aigamo, Matsuri Akai, and TOZAI — 4.5 stars

The City of Dusk by Tara Sim — 4 stars

Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank — 5 stars

I Got Caught Up in a Hero Summons, But the Other World Was at Peace! Vol 2 by Toudai, Jiro Heian, and Ochau — 4 stars

Tales of the Valiant Alpha Release by Kobold Press — 4 stars (coming Sept 5th)

What books did you read in August? Let me know in the comments, because I’d love to hear all about it.

Well, that’s all for now, but I will be back later today with more geeky content!

Weekend Writer: September Prompts

Hey all, Sam here.

It’s Friday again, and honestly there’s a lot going on right now…and sadly a lot of it is stuff I’m not talking about in my weekly wrap-ups because it involves shows I’m watching, and I’m not talking about those until the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike has concluded. So I guess I’ll just say that there are a couple recent streaming releases that I am absolutely loving right now.

But I also ended August and started September with reading some manga, and I have a really cool stack of books that I’m starting to dive into, so things are looking pretty okay for me at the moment. I’ll have my Spooky Season TBR post up tomorrow, as well as my August reading wrap-up post. So it’s a full weekend of blogging goodness.

Anyway, welcome back to Weekend Writer, a weekly series I host here on Free State of Geek that is fully dedicated to creative writing. On the first Friday of the month (like today), I use several story generator tools to create various creativity prompts for both you and I to use to help kickstart your creative projects (your choice if you want to write something or draw something). Then, on the last Friday of the month, I share snippets of what I’ve been working on over the month…it could be from the prompt generation, or it could be from some other project I’ve been working on…or it could be from both. I’ve had a couple months where I’ve shared a couple passages from different writing projects.

For the rest of the Fridays of the month, I do a deep dive breakdown that focuses on some aspect of creative writing. That has mostly been deep dives into sections of books about the craft of writing, but sometimes might be a deep dive into a lecture or an episode of a podcast or a YouTube video or just a general discussion about some sort of creativity/writing topic.

Oh…and since I missed out on sharing my August prompt writing last week because I burned out and skipped several days of blogging, I will be sharing that on Sunday, so you’re getting a double dose of Weekend Writer this week.

September Prompt Time

All right…I currently have six different creativity generator tools in my collection/arsenal, but I haven’t really had the time to play with the Deck of Worlds from Story Engine just yet, so I’m still just using five tools for making prompts right now. 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: A Guardian Wants to Find Redemption In/For A Shape-Shifting Forest But They Will Have to Learn Something Difficult

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 Deck

Prompt: Isolation, Community, Balance

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.

I saw this post on social media the other day and it basically said that by age 30 everyone should have an animal that they like and will collect, so if anyone is ever stuck on a gift to get them they can just get something with that animal and they’re good to go. I’m a crow…well, technically any of the corvids are great. Of course, my people all basically know that gift cards for books are also always a good idea.

Roll & Play

Prompt: A long, jagged portal appears in the air. A raiding party from another world burst forth and furiously attack!

This month I decided to roll the dice on the Corrupted Encounters page in the Roll & Play book, and there are two different dreamy options to choose from. You can use the dice I rolled, or if you have your own d12, you can roll on the chart yourself. Or heck, if you want to then you can just choose whichever option sparks your interest. 

Sidequest Decks

Prompt 1: Side Effects – The party’s foes have used them in a summoning ceremony. But spiritual forces raise them from the dead as a way to balance the scales.

Prompt 2: The New World – The party discovers that the “afterlife” is actually an entirely different world, and that souls are born into it as adult beings who, if killed, return to their original world to be reincarnated.

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 I went back to the After the Total Party Kill 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.

And apparently Inkwell Ideas has a Kickstarter going live soon and it will add a couple more Sidequest Decks and a couple more NPC decks to their arsenal. I’m pretty excited about it, because it adds Desert Adventures, Tavern Quests, Castle Quests, and Mini-Lairs. I’m most likely going to be backing it

The Oracle Story Generator

Prompt: A Celestial Will Dominate A Realm To Become a Ruler But They Will Be Undermined by Their Most Dedicated Followers.

Finally, we have a new addition to the prompt generation: The Oracle Story Generator by Nord Games. They have a Character Generator as well, but that one won’t be shipped out for another couple months. 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

((Coming Soon to the monthly prompt post))

I have finally gotten my hands on a physical copy of the Deck of Worlds from The Story Engine, and I’ve just been overwhelmed with everything else around me, so I haven’t really spent time playing around with it. Hopefully I’ll be adding these prompts into the mix soon…perhaps in October.

All right, I don’t know which of these prompts I’m going to choose. I honestly like the sounds of a few of them.

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

September NetGalley TBR

Hey all, Sam here.

I pretty much majorly failed with my August TBR. Of the 12 books I had on my list, I read….two. That’s not to say that I only read two books in the whole month. I did read more than that, and I’ll have my August Wrap-Up posted in a couple days…but I was just starting to feel a little overwhelmed and burned out…and I didn’t stick to my TBR, which means I also didn’t stick to my hopes of continuing to keep up on my NetGalley reads.

Part of the problem is that I can only stand to do so much reading on my e-reader. I like my e-reader, and it is especially useful when traveling, but I also miss out on some of the book reading vibes I enjoy…curling up with a nice chonky book, actually turning pages instead of swiping, and even having to readjust reading position every so often. Plus you can actually see how much progress you’re making as you turn pages. –And yes, I know that you can see your percentage read and all of that on an e-reader…but it’s not the same sensation.

I’m going to try and get back into the swing of things for September, but I’m also trying to let myself read for my enjoyment and review, not just trying to keep to a review schedule because of my NetGalley approvals.

So, today I’m posting this TBR of books that are on my NetGalley shelf for September release. These are books that I’d like to get to and review this month, but I’m also not going to force myself into it. I have another TBR coming and it’s a bigger one, and that’s because I’m in a Spooky Season mood, so I’m making a Spooky Season TBR of books I’m hoping to read over the next couple of months. Yes, a few of these books are on my overdue NetGalley review list, but mostly they’re books that I just find myself wanting to read.

Anyway, let’s go over my September NetGalley books. As always, I’m including the release date as posted on NetGalley. Let’s get started.

Daughter of Winter and Twilight by Helen Corcoran (Sept 4), City of Bones by Martha Wells (Sept 5), Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo (Sept 12), Heart of Night and Fire by Nisha J. Tuli (Sept 15)

The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft (Sept 26), The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie (Sept 26), The Art of Destiny by Wesley Chu (Sept 26)

As you can see…seven books isn’t all that bad, and I probably can keep up with this…but I also know that I need to read The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu before I can read this one, and I’m debating if I need to do a re-read of Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran first. After all, I read it in September 2020, so it’s been a little while (and like 600-ish books ago).

There are some authors I’ve read before on this list, as well as some new to me authors who I’m excited to try.

I’m just hoping that the breaking point of August is a short one and I can bounce back to my reading and blogging mood. I really don’t want to land in another reading and blogging slump.

All right, it’s a bit of a short post for today, but I guess that’s all from me. Are there any books you’re looking forward to reading in September? Let me know in the comments in case I need to adjust my TBR.

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

WIP Wednesday – Aug 30

Hey all, Sam and David here again today.

Well…we broke our blog streak, just shy of 200 days straight of posting. I’ll be completely honest…I had a burnout moment, where I was feeling overworked and overwhelmed and so drained that I couldn’t do anything. Part of it was the heat wave that came through the area, but part of it was just the stress of 2023 weighing down on me.

Welcome back to WIP Wednesday, the weekly series where David and I do a check in and discuss everything we’ve been doing over the past week. This includes what we’ve been reading, writing, watching, playing, making, and doing. It’s a lot to get through, but it also helps us keep track of everything that we seem to do week by week, because otherwise the days, weeks, and months have a tendency to blur together.

But that’s not all…we’d love to hear about what you’ve been up to as well! Chat with us in the comments and tell us something cool you’ve been up to lately, whether that’s something “geeky” or not.

All right, let’s jump into the post.

Sam

Again, I’m just going to apologize for the lapse in content the past week. That’s all completely on me. This year has been really tough for me, and for some reason, this past week hit me really hard. I just felt sad and worn out and I lost all motivation in pretty much anything.

So it honestly feels a bit silly to try and do a weekly update post, because I haven’t done much this past week, but I did do a little reading today, so that’s better than nothing.

Reading: The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent: The Other Saint Vol 2 by Aoagu and Yuka Tachibana, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent Vol 7 by Yuka Tachibana and Fujiazuki, The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol 5 by Kyouka Izumi, Oumiya, and Reiko Sakurada, My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s by Hiroyuki Aigamo, Matsuri Akai, and TOZAI

Manga is quick and easy to read, so picking up a few volumes always seems to help me when I’m feeling like I’m in a rut. And I have plenty more I still need to read, so hopefully things will feel better in my mind and I can have better updates next week.

Watching: Sorry…still nothing being discussed in this section. I know I could talk about the Actual Play TTRPG shows I watch, or the anime that isn’t covered under the current WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike productions, but I’m making it simple for myself and just not talking about anything until the strike ends.

Writing: I’ve had thoughts of what to write, stories I want to work on, but it’s like they’re still stuck in my head and I can’t get them on the page.

Other: I finally started creating content on TikTok. I only have two videos so far, and they aren’t anything too spectacular just yet. I’m still figuring out how the social media works…but something is better than nothing. You can find me @SamRushingBooks there as well.

Yesterday we made a trip up to the Quad Cities, where David took me to Barnes & Noble and just followed me around the store while I browsed for a little while. I’ll have a book haul post coming soon. Then we went to a FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store) and checked it out. I picked up a few stickers, and David got some stuff too, but I’ll let him talk about it if he wants to.

When we got home, I was trying to take book haul photos, and Miss Luna had to once again claim my bag. It’s her favorite part of us coming home with bags or boxes of books…claiming the bag or box for her own.

And, that’s all from me.

David

Painting: Painting has still been a big thing for me right now. I am down to the last two of the Oathsworn and have almost finished the Oni for Forbidden Fortress. I am also working on the Kill Team Kommandos.

I just finished The Penitent figure and The Warden will be the last one to be painted. I am having a hard time figuring out what colors the bases will be. The Penitent’s base ended up being a light green. Dark green was taken by one of the others. I think for the Warden I will choose black as his base rim color.

The oni are each being painted a different color still. I had pictures of them as WIP paints last Wednesday. I think having the different colors is really nice to have when choosing which enemy you are focusing on,

The Ork Kommandos are being parade ready level painted since they are going to be my personal set for playing Kill Team. I am having a lot of fun painting them and cannot wait until they are done.

Social Media: In other news I have finally gotten into making little TikTok videos for our page. I am still working out what kinds of other stuff to post on there, but the music selections are always easy to choose from. I have some ideas for a few possibly funny TikToks to post and if I do post them it will hopefully showcase all the nerdy stuff we are in to. I had some people suggesting me doing quick videos of me painting or of my printers printing stuff but I haven’t figured out how I would do that yet.

Watching: As I am sure Sam has mentioned we have been watching One Piece to get ourselves ready for the Netflix live action version. I for one am super excited to watch it as we have seen the final trailer. I cant wait to see the actor they got to play Mihawk in costume since I have always thought Mihawk was a good looking cool character.

The Dragonball Z rewatch continues as the gang is now fighting Cell after he has absorbed Android 17 and is searching for Android 18. Goku and Gohan have just entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber in hopes that they can become more powerful. A year in the chamber is worth a day in our world so hopefully it is enough.

Well, that is all from us for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and please let us know what you’ve been up to in the comments. We’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

WIP Wednesday – Aug 23

Hey all, Sam and David back again today.

Sorry for the wonky posting schedule the past week or so. I’ve felt pretty out of sorts, just run down from the schedule shifts after coming back from Gen Con, and the long hours at work plus the weather…it has left me feeling pretty drained overall. Anyway, we’re going to try and get back on the proper schedule, but we’ll see what happens.

Welcome back to WIP Wednesday, the weekly series where David and I do a check in and discuss everything we’ve been doing over the past week. This includes what we’ve been reading, writing, watching, playing, making, and doing. It’s a lot to get through, but it also helps us keep track of everything that we seem to do week by week, because otherwise the days, weeks, and months have a tendency to blur together.

But that’s not all…we’d love to hear about what you’ve been up to as well! Chat with us in the comments and tell us something cool you’ve been up to lately, whether that’s something “geeky” or not.

All right, let’s jump into the post.

Sam

Reading: Wisdom Check by Katherine McIntyre, The City of Dusk by Tara Sim, The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston.

It was sort of a slow reading week. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to read while at work (some days/weeks I get lucky, but others it’s busy, busy, busy), but I still feel like three books for the week isn’t the worst number. And I’ll try and get reviews up pretty soon.

The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu, Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim, Forged by Magic by Jenna Wolfhart, and The Midnight Kingdom by Tara Sim are on my current and soon-to-be read list.

I’m sort of having difficulties right now, mostly thanks to the weather. It has been extremely hot the past few days and I’m unfortunately having to deal with migraines every day, which is making it difficult to do the things that I want to do. But I’m trying to push forward with some reading and such, especially once my migraine medicine kicks in.

Watching: Still nothing here, although there’s plenty I’ve been watching, and more still that I’m counting down to being able to watch.

Writing: Sadly, I have not gotten much done on the writing front over the past week. I need to buckle down and focus on it a bit more. I’d really love to get my edits done for my Project Death books before NaNoWriMo comes around. I also need to actually put together my playlists for my potential NaNo projects so those are ready before November. I can’t really write to silence, so I need to figure out my tunes that match the characters, plot, and vibe of my stories. Hopefully I’ll have a better update next week.

Other: We did some board game playing this week, playing Tanto Cuore and the Back to the Future board game. That Back to the Future game is not easy to play…well, it’s easy to play, but not easy to win. And it says it’s a 2-4 player game, but I think you only have a chance to win if you’re playing with 4 people, which we were thanks to a board game night with our friends Winter and Tundra.

I also finished my first playthrough of Stray Gods on my Switch…although I definitely need to play a few more times because I want to try different options and make different decisions…and romance different characters.

And I just got my Woobles bundle in the mail…so I’m going to try to learn how to crochet. I’ve been seeing these kits on my social media timelines for too long, and I’m really curious about them. And who knows, if I get the hang of crochet and I like it, then maybe I could start making scarves or mittens or hats or something. I don’t know.

Oh, and I guess this counts as an other. Sure. We finally managed to get over to our local Pizza Hut for the lunch buffet. It’s been a while since either of us has been able to go eat-in for a pizza, breadstick, and salad buffet. It was really nice. I’m sure we’ll be back again at some point.

David

Painting: Painting has been most of the past week for me. I have painted more of the Oathsworn figures and have painted almost half of the twenty or so Tyranid Termagants from the Warhammer 40k board game.

So the Oathsworn figure there, is actually an elemental companion that the Hunter can bring forth to help in combat apperantly I wanted to have a few different colors on the figure as if different aspects of the deepwood.

The oni figures are from Forbidden Fortress, a game that can stand alone or be used in connection to the original western themed Shadows of Brimstone. We have the Viking themed version of this game series I will be painting figures for soon enough.

The Tyranid Termagants I got from a Warhammer 40k board game, it seems like it mostly a simplified rules of 40k meant to serve as an introduction to the full game. I wasn’t about to pass up getting some good figures for a decent price. It also gave me a nice Ultramarine figure so I am not going to complain.

Watching: I am still taking a break from One Piece and watching Dragonball Z. I am literally on the episode right after Goku reveals the Super Saiyan form during his fight with Frieza. I never understood how 5 minutes until the planet explodes takes so many episodes. I think I will stop the rewatch after the Nameks are given a new home which will be just before the next arc begins.

So one thing I found out that I did not realize though since last week was that Laura Bailey also did Dende’s voice not just young Trunks. Also that Christopher Sabat ended up playing so many voices in this series. He even did the voice of Mr. Turtle which makes me super happy since he is another one of the characters I have always loved in this series as well.

Also as a little side not here I cant wait to try out the WOOBLES, they are cute and seems like they make it easy to grasp a new hobby. I think me and Sam will enjoy them a lot.

Well, that is all from us for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and please let us know what you’ve been up to in the comments. We’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

Book Review: Rising Fire by Terri Brisbin

Hey all, Sam here.

All right…we know what day it is…basically it’s one of the many days each week that I spend talking about books. What can I say? I read quite a bit and that means that I have quite a few books to talk about at any given time.

Honestly I just wish it was easier to get the reviews written up and scheduled, so I could have a little more of a buffer on my blog schedule. It would be nice to read a book and write up the review with the knowledge that it was going in the scheduled bank and would be going live in a week, instead of writing it so it will go live that day or the next day. I don’t know. It just feels like there’s more pressure on it if it needs to be done quickly.

I’ve actually been tempted to just take a week off from blogging day by day. You know, take a week and any posts I do during that week will be scheduled for the future. But I don’t know.

Okay, let’s get into it.

What if the standing stones and stone circles across the old Celtic world had a secret origin and use? What if some opened into another world? What if the goddess of fire was trapped beneath one?

Lovely and innocent, Brienne of Yester has always been able to manipulate fire, but when her powers suddenly surge, the simple life she once knew explodes.

Handsome, fearless, and commanding, William de Brus has been summoned by the king to investigate a nobleman rumored to have powers linked to the fabled fire goddess. When he chances upon Brienne, his desire for her is immediate. But as his mystical quest unfolds, William realizes that she is at the center of it — for Brienne possesses the very power he has been sent to vanquish….

As their attraction deepens, William attempts to free Brienne from the dark force beginning to control her — even when his duty demands that he treat her as an enemy. With emotions flaring, fire rising, and evil threatening at every turn, can the two lovers survive the coming battle and save all of humanity?

My Thoughts

Rating: 3.5 stars

I have had this book on my shelves for far too long. This book came out in 2015, and I got it around that time, but then I just didn’t read it. But back in June of this year, I decided to pick it up, figuring it would be one of those quick fantasy romance type stories.

And I was mostly right. It was a quick read, and it was a fantasy in that some people had powers, and it was a romance in that the two main characters are basically immediately attracted to each other…and in the case of our male protagonist, he felt this need to protect the female protagonist.

Because that’s how these work.

But for the most part it felt basically surface level. We didn’t really have a lot of time to really connect the characters and their relationships and all of that. The story was just over 300 pages, and it had to introduce us to the way this slightly magical version of our world works, banking on the mysticism around the UK history, introduce the characters and their positions in the world and society, have them meet each other where the instant spark between them is evident, then show the dangers of an evil magical group seeking to bring back a locked away god.

It had the potential to be great, having so many elements of myth and legend and descendants of gods and magic in it that I generally enjoy.

But these elements all played out as just okay to me. I was interested enough to at least finish the book, but I didn’t feel that urge to simply keep reading. It wasn’t a desire to watch this couple fall in love and fight off the forces of evil. It was just like watching a predictable play where people simply play their roles instead of embodying their roles.

I don’t know if I’ll pick up the other books in this series or not. They do each follow a different couple…but I’m not fully sold on it.

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: Writing with Emotion, Tension, & Conflict by Cheryl St. John Chapter 2

Hey all, Sam here.

Where does the time keep going? The past couple of weeks it has felt like time has just sped past…and it’s like I haven’t been able to do nearly as much as I hope to do. I keep hoping things will settle down a bit and I can mark a bunch of things off my to-do list.

I am starting to prep up for NaNoWriMo, and trying to focus a bit more on creative output, so hopefully the rest of this year is filled with bonus Weekend Writer posts, as I work through writing craft discussions and deep dives and sharing writing snippets with all of you.

So welcome back to another installment of Weekend Writer, the series where I focus on the craft of creative writing. The first Friday of each month I utilize several random prompt generator tools to create some prompts to spark creativity (for art or stories or song or poetry… it’s whatever you want to use it for). Then the final Friday of each month, I share some of my creative writing–usually a snippet inspired by one of those prompts, but there also might be other snippets shared from other projects too. Then, for all the other Fridays, I dive into a creative writing discussion, whether that is based on a lecture, a panel, a video, or a book on some topic around creativity and the craft of writing.

Thank you so much for stopping by…and let’s get started with this week’s writing chapter deep dive.

Craft an Emotionally Charged Story That Will Resonate with Readers

Emotional impact shouldn’t be dropped into your novel as an afterthought or forced upon your story with a pair of pliers and an iron grip. It should be carefully sewn into the fabric of the story to create tension-filled moments that will keep readers turning pages. In Writing with Emotion, Tension, & Conflict, you’ll learn how to layer emotional moments and deep connections to create a tapestry filled with conflict, pathos, and genuine feeling.

 • Create emotional depth, conflict, and tension in your novel by carefully crafting your plot, characters, setting, word choice, and more.
 • Learn what makes readers “tick”—and what will elicit the strongest emotional responses.
 • Write believable, emotional scenes and dialogue—and trim away the sappiness.

When writing a novel, your ultimate goal is to make readers smile, weep, rage, and laugh right along with your characters. Writing with Emotion, Tension, & Conflict will show you how to evoke a multitude of feelings in your readers—and keep them coming back for more.

Chapter Two: Motivation and Realism

Continuing on our main topic of writing with emotion, tension, and conflict, this chapter immediately starts with this first section on character motivation.

Character Motivation

A prime motivating factor or prime motivation is an event or a series of past happenings that shape a character’s personality.

Page 22

Basically the main motivation for a character should be tied into their backstory, to all those events that have shaped the character into who they are when we meet them in the story. Sounds both simple and complex, which I suppose is true of a lot of aspects of writing.S

So how do we do this? Well, their history and their motivation, and the events that have shaped them should give them strengths and weaknesses, flaws and fears, conflict, friends and family, all the things that help to build a character that feels like they could be real.

Create Characters with built-in conflict

Build in conflict as you personify your story people, and give them diversity. Use their pasts, their needs, and their fears as fodder for conflict. Use their strengths and their weaknesses against them. Their backstories, combined with characterization, will be motivation for everything they do. It will shape their goals and define the way they react to situations.

Page 22

This all makes sense. We are all a product of what has happened to us, what we’ve experienced, the people we’ve met…it helps to shape us, shape our thoughts and our desires and our goals. And if that’s true of us, then of course it should be true of our characters.

But, even more than that, we can have all of those past events and interactions and conflicts for the characters shaped how we want them to better reinforce the story.

I know I’ve thought of character and conflict this way with my D&D characters, and it does sometimes change or affect the way they handle certain conversations or encounters. It helps the character become more than just words and numbers on a character sheet.

Stick to Your Guns – a side note text box (Page 24)

Here St. John lets us know that while we need to be open to suggestions and new ideas, some factors of your story should be considered sacred. Before brainstorming with others, lay down the ground rules, letting others know what ideas you won’t budge from. Those things should be aspects that got you excited about the story in the first place, because you’ll need that excitement to keep you motivated to move forward.

I like that this is brought up, because I think it is valid and reasonable. Yes, we should be open to certain changes or shifts with our stories and characters…but we also need to know when an element of our story is essential to the heart of the story. Be ready to kill your darlings, when necessary, but also be aware of which darlings should be protected.

Conflict reveals your character’s emotions, and it’s emotion through which your reader identifies. If the conflict isn’t emotional for the character, it won’t be emotional for the reader. If you want the reader to care about these people–and you do–engage his feelings.

Page 25

I know for me, as a reader, I have an easier time being swept away in a story if I feel some sort of emotional connection to the story, which means there has to be something about the characters that I understand, or some sense of who they are that resonates within me. If I care about the characters then I can wade through slightly weaker plot to get to stronger plot, because I care about what happens to the people in the story. So, for me, yes, plot matters, but to me, plot is secondary to the characters.

Obviously there are other readers and writers out there who believe differently, and that’s fine. Do what works for you and what feels right to you. You know…love your best creative life.

Simple and Complex Conflicts

A simple conflict can be every bit as powerful as a complicated one; how the characters react and resolve it makes all the difference. A simple conflict relies more on internal conflict and characterization, while a complex conflict relies more on external conflict or plot.

Page 27-28

I like the contrast of simple conflict being internal and complex being external…but I feel like to me, a complex conflict is often complex because of underlying internal conflicts and inner battles.

And I also feel like many small simple conflicts can start to build up and compound on each other to become a more complex issue and conflict later. I guess it depends on your characters and the story you’re telling.

When readers know about the experiences your characters have had, it makes the characters’ goals and reactions motivated and believable.

Page 29

Again, this circles back to caring about the characters…readers care about them by learning about them and following them, and then because of caring about them readers want to know more about them…and soon readers not only understand the characters and their goals and motivations, but they also care about why they feel the way they feel.

Developing Backstory

When creating backstory, you need to think about factors and incidents that shaped your character. These can include:

A Belief SystemValuesFamily and FriendsFears and PhobiasPrime Motivating Incident

It is imperative to keep your character’s history in mind as you unfold the story. However, beginning writers often lay out all of their backstory right off the bat to make sure the reader gets it. Big mistake. This is known as an info dump. The reader doesn’t care yet, so he’s not invested for the time it takes to get through the backstory.

Page 30

This is something I still need to get better about, not info dumping when it comes to backstory. I think I’m getting better because of thinking about character arc during TTRPG campaigns, and now it’s just a matter of translating that into my stories better. It is definitely a good thing to think about a character’s previous encounters and history and mindset in order to understand where they are now, and where they are hopefully heading in future.

Well, that’s all from me for today. I’ll try to maybe start doubling up on some of the chapters for this book. Otherwise it’ll take like 7-8 months to get through everything. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.

Book Review: The Study of Poisons by Maria V Snyder

Hey all, Sam here.

Today’s blog review post is an interesting one, at least for me, because it is partly a review for a newer release, but it is also a throwback to my college days…which was a couple iterations of my blog ago. My former blogs never had any real viewership. I believe I had at most 7 followers, and I barely had any likes or comments or anything. What I can say is that they were nice learning experiences. I definitely learned a lot from them. I can also say that I still have learning and growth to accomplish. Because while this blog is an impressive success in comparison to those old blogs, I still don’t think I’ve reached my peak yet.

Anyway, I first started reading the Chronicles of Ixia in late 2006 or early 2007, and I quickly fell in love with the characters and the story. Today’s review is for a new book in the series that will feel very familiar to fans of the first book, Poison Study, so let’s just go ahead and jump in.

Fierce, determined, dangerous. No wonder her soul called to his.

As Chief of Security of Ixia, Valek has spent the last fifteen years keeping Commander Ambrose and his citizens safe. With his complex network of spies, informers, and soldiers, it’s his job to hunt down and capture criminals, including the intriguing Yelena.

Sensing there is more to the story of why she killed a general’s son, Valek arranges for Yelena to become the Commander’s new food taster, training her in the delicate art of detecting poisons. As mysteries and a devious plot to harm the Commander unravel, Yelena’s presence becomes crucial. Will her intelligence, stubbornness, and survivor instincts be a help to Valek’s investigation, or a hinderance?

A companion novel to Poison Study, The Study of Poisons reveals Valek’s side of the story. Return to the world of Ixia and discover just how the lovely Yelena got Valek’s cold heart pumping!

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

Okay, so if you couldn’t tell from the summary, this book is basically the first book all over again, but from the perspective of Valek. Now, sure, this has been done in so many series the past handful of years, but here’s where I think this one is different: for the other books, the romantic interest perspective book came out shortly after finishing the original series…but Poison Study came out back in 2005/2006, and here we are now in 2023, where we’re FINALLY getting more from Valek.

I feel like this was such an interesting way to do it, to make us wait and wonder for so many years. There were so many points where Yelena and Valek were apart in the original trilogy, and I found myself wondering what had happened. Sure, Valek made it sound like it wasn’t a big deal, but considering how reserved he was most of the time, I always felt there was more to the story.

So here we finally get everything from his point of view. We get to see how he thinks and processes things from the perspective of his own mind and insight. Plus we get to see more of his interactions with the Commander and more of his scenes with the Generals or just skulking around gathering information and working his information network.

This story perfectly complements the characters we already know and love, but also gives us a deeper understanding of everything that was going on behind the scenes. I was so absorbed into this book, and read through it so so quickly. It also made me hope that we would see Magic Study and Fire Study get similar treatments, because in those books Yelena and Valek are even more separated than in the first one, and I would love to follow on Valek’s adventures.

There was so much intrigue, with hints of action and a deeper understanding of the world-building and the characters with this release. I can’t help it. I want more. I’m also probably going to end up continuing my re-read of all of the Chronicles of Ixia again. I finished the original Study trilogy, and am getting ready to dive into the Glass trilogy, so there’s enough books to hold me for a little while…but I’m really really hoping that Maria V Snyder does continue with Valek’s perspective.

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.