Monthly Roundup: December 2015
And 2015 is gone. Here’s my progress this month:
Books Read:
1. Faithful Place – Tana French
Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin’s inner city, and living crammed into a small flat with his family on Faithful Place. But he had his sights set on a lot more. He and Rosie Daly were all ready to run away to London together, get married, get good jobs, break away from factory work and poverty and their old lives.
But on the winter night when they were supposed to leave, Rosie didn’t show. Frank took it for granted that she’d dumped him-probably because of his alcoholic father, nutcase mother, and generally dysfunctional family. He never went home again.
Neither did Rosie. Everyone thought she had gone to England on her own and was over there living a shiny new life. Then, twenty-two years later, Rosie’s suitcase shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place, and Frank is going home whether he likes it or not.
Getting sucked in is a lot easier than getting out again. Frank finds himself straight back in the dark tangle of relationships he left behind. The cops working the case want him out of the way, in case loyalty to his family and community makes him a liability. Faithful Place wants him out because he’s a detective now, and the Place has never liked cops. Frank just wants to find out what happened to Rosie Daly-and he’s willing to do whatever it takes, to himself or anyone else, to get the job done.
2. The Book of Dreams and Ghosts – Andrew Lang
A summary of dreams and ghosts and many stories of their appearances throughout the UK.
3. Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of Psychopaths Among Us – Robert D. Hare
Most people are both repelled and intrigued by the images of cold-blooded, conscienceless murderers that increasingly populate our movies, television programs, and newspaper headlines. With their flagrant criminal violation of society’s rules, serial killers like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy are among the most dramatic examples of the psychopath. Individuals with this personality disorder are fully aware of the consequences of their actions and know the difference between right and wrong, yet they are terrifyingly self-centered, remorseless, and unable to care about the feelings of others. Perhaps most frightening, they often seem completely normal to unsuspecting targets–and they do not always ply their trade by killing. Presenting a compelling portrait of these dangerous men and women based on 25 years of distinguished scientific research, Dr. Robert D. Hare vividly describes a world of con artists, hustlers, rapists, and other predators who charm, lie, and manipulate their way through life. Are psychopaths mad, or simply bad? How can they be recognized? And how can we protect ourselves? This book provides solid information and surprising insights for anyone seeking to understand this devastating condition.
4. More Than This – Patrick Ness
A boy drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments. He dies.
Then he wakes, naked and bruised and thirsty, but alive.
How can this be? And what is this strange deserted place?
As he struggles to understand what is happening, the boy dares to hope. Might this not be the end? Might there be more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife?
5. Far From You – Tess Sharpe
Nine months. Two weeks. Six days.
That’s how long recovering addict Sophie’s been drug-free. Four months ago her best friend, Mina, died in what everyone believes was a drug deal gone wrong – a deal they think Sophie set up. Only Sophie knows the truth. She and Mina shared a secret, but there was no drug deal. Mina was deliberately murdered.
Forced into rehab for an addiction she’d already beaten, Sophie’s finally out and on the trail of the killer—but can she track them down before they come for her?
6. The Wolf Princess – Cathryn Constable
Alone in the world, Sophie dreams of being someone special, but she could never have imagined this.
On a school trip to Russia, Sophie and her two friends find themselves on the wrong train. They are rescued by the beautiful Princess Anna Volkonskaya, who takes them to her winter palace and mesmerises them with stories of lost diamonds and a tragic past. But as night falls and wolves prowl, Sophie discovers more than dreams in the crumbling palace of secrets.
7. My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories – Stephanie Perkins and others
If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Year’s there’s something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.
Total: 75 books
Writing:
I ended up falling off the calendar sticker method I was using (from Victoria Schwab’s method) because I was finding it harder to keep exact track of what I was doing. So I switched back to a boring Excel spreadsheet. I was away the first week of December in Belgium and London and I actually took a few days off for Christmas (whut?). I also had a week where I wasn’t quite ill but felt like I was almost fighting something off, and that impacted productivity too. I wrote about 17,500 words of fiction and 3,700 of nonfiction (blogging, etc), for a total of 21,200 words or 683 words per day.
This month I played around with Shiny Project, which is now nearly half done, planned and started a novella, planned and started a thriller (though I think it’s gone back on hold to percolate a bit longer), and finally started Betwixt Book after planning it off and on the last few months. I’m bouncing around a lot at the moment. Since I turned in my option book, I’m out of contract, sort of–I still have two books to edit, copyedit, and proof. But I’m not really sure what to draft next, hence the floundering.
Travel & Life:
December started with the last day in Belgium (I wrote a short post with some photos of Belgium here) and a horrific case of food poisoning, which I don’t recommend. On the 1st, I was meant to fly from Brussels back to Aberdeen, spend the night, and fly back down to London the next morning because I’d had to book the flights separately. I felt so very ill when I got to London for the layover that I went to the British Airways desk and asked if there was any way I could just get off there and still take my return to Aberdeen on the 6th. Luckily, I had a very nice guy at the desk and I was able to go to my friend Kim Curran’s instead of suffering through a 4 hour layover and way too much extra travel on far too little sleep and food.
I went to my United Talent Agency’s Christmas party on the 2nd. I still wasn’t feeling that well. I looked pretty great though–I was staying with Emma Trevayne that night, and since I hadn’t gone home to pick up my planned outfit, she let me raid her closet and wear a pair of her amazing Fluevog shoes. It was a nice evening–Juliet Mushens’ other clients are all so lovely and it’s always fun to see them. I also was able to meet the other literary agent, Diana Beaumont, and her equally nice clients. I did end up having to kneel on a chair when the shoes started hurting.
With Jen Williams & Den Patrick (photo credit: Juliet Mushens)
I was 6’4″ in these shoes. It was awesome.
I stayed in London a few more days, bouncing around with Emma & Kim and seeing a few other author and publishing people and doing touristy things. Once I got back, I had to flump for a bit to recover as travelling while not feeling the best is twice as exhausting. The rest of the month I stayed at home, working on stuff, seeing a couple of friends now and again, doing my Christmas shopping, dragging myself to the gym a couple of times, but mainly just hermiting. When the weather’s cold, under my duvet with my cats, a book and a cup of tea is the best. I always get Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and this year’s has been a bit worse than usual. I haven’t had as much energy and just want to sleep all the time. I should use my artificial sunlight lamp more (those things do actually work).
I’m glad that slowly the days will be getting longer and warmer. Onward to 2016!
