Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What Are you Reading?
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Jordan
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Jan 17, 2018 01:17PM
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I've just finished
.So deeply satisfying!
But writers like JCP, Ginn Hale or Josh spoil us. Now I have to be careful what I read, because I might find it lacking in comparison...
I am laughing at myself because I have some Pringles hidden out of sight. I am going to munch them on Saturday while reading. :) They must be on my mind though.
Josh wrote: "Anne wrote: "Josh wrote: "Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "Josh wrote: "I'd mentioned I've been reading Mr. and Mr. Smith. What I find fascinating is this very abbreviated almost shorthand that Di..."It is very true. Last year I read and reviewed quite a few mm books from Netgalley and although I was really pleased about getting advanced copies of books quite a few of them were just so so.
None of Josh's books are so so. Ever time I read one I know I am going to get a very good mystery and feel very satisfied at the end.
Josh wrote: "It's almost a kind of shorthand designed for voracious consumption of fiction where the reader, frankly, is not going to want to invest too much time or energy because she wants to move on to the next book...."OK, guilty as charged. But I maintain that if it's a really good book, we are willing to invest the time and energy. I just re-read "The Lord of the Rings" (I do this every couple of years or so) and it seemed far shorter than the TJ Klune I'm currently struggling through. I actually read LOTR as a break from the Klune.
I do like TJ Klune, but his books do tend to drag on forever. Great characters, yes I'm crying, but something better happen soon. It's like the freaking The Goldfinch.
Edit: I guess I better be careful what I wish for. In my current book (still on a break from the Klune), the MC has contracted a deadly disease, been kidnaped by pirates, been cured of the deadly disease, freed, imprisoned, and freed again, and I haven't even gotten through 1/3 of the book yet.
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.So deeply satisfying!
But writers like JCP, Ginn Hale or Josh spoil us. Now I have to be careful what I read, because I might find it lacking ..."
I just started it very late last night. Getting back to it soon...
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Inspired to re-read The Boy Next Door this weekend. :)
I am a great fan of the Hamilton musical. I have the two CDs from the musical and I shall be seeing the musical for the second time next month. I decided to read the book on which the musical is based
I dont read a lot of historical books and this one is about 800 pages long and the print is so small. Sometimes I think the book grows pages in the night. It is a brilliant book and it is also gripping. It has given me a new appreciation for the musical and really helped me learn about the US political system.At the same time I am listening to
because I need a book to relax with. The narration is lovely. Josh's books are always such a pleasure to read and listen to. :)
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LOL!
Mymymble wrote: "What is it, Sam? Sounds right up my street!"It's Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas but I'm not recommending it. In fact, I've stopped reading it, at the halfway point. You expect your typical pirate captains to be scoundrels, and maybe a bit free with the lash, but not (view spoiler)
SO now I'm slowly working my way throgh the Christmas Codas, and going back and rereading some of the short stories or novellas upon which they are based, if I can't remember the original stories or characters too well. Josh's writings can be such a peaceful oasis sometimes.
One book I read recently that I thought showed a lot of promise, but it's really hard to find a copy (sometimes I could find it on Goodreads as a free read, other times it would disappear), was The Case of the Insufferable Slave. Sort of an alternative universe (in which the South won the Civil war) hardboiled fiction. Cute.
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A coworker recommended Silas Marner by George Eliot, so I’ll be reading that next before I embark on a six book YA LGBTQ adventure.
But, I’m not ready for something new just yet, I think.
Jordan wrote: "I just finished rereading The Left Hand of Darkness for the second time... I forgot how it ended. How could I have forgotten? Anyway, I’m left with that weird feeling that I don’t know what to do after finishing it."I loved Ursula K. Le Guin's Annals of the Western Shore YA series (Gifts, Voices, and Powers), if you haven't read it yet (I'm assuming you've already read all of the Hainish and Earthsea cycles. If not, get to work).
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TLHOD was/is for my book group, which meets next Tuesday, otherwise I likely wouldn’t have reread it for another few years at least. But I’m glad I did get to it again already. It’s such a good book!
I read a lovely novella yesterday--Angel Martinez's Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists. It's a delightful little story with an ace main character. If you're looking for something short and nice and light-hearted, have a look at this one.
FINISHED THE RIFTER SERIES! Major book hangover going on. I need more Kyle. Like, right now.Where do I go from here?
Alison wrote: "I read a lovely novella yesterday--Angel Martinez's Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists. It's a delightful little story with an ace main character."Thank you for the rec!
Haldis wrote: "FINISHED THE RIFTER SERIES! Major book hangover going on. I need more Kyle. Like, right now.Where do I go from here?"
That's a difficult question...
Have you read also the free short A Basawar Holiday? And all other books by Ginn Hale?
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Where do I go from here?"
RIGHT?!?!
I recommend Feral Machines, if you haven't read it yet. But it's short. And you'll likely still have a hangover going on. lol.
Antonella wrote: "Alison wrote: "I read a lovely novella yesterday--Angel Martinez's Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists. It's a delightful little story with an ace main character."Thank you for the rec!"
Anytime. :)
Haldis wrote: "FINISHED THE RIFTER SERIES! Major book hangover going on. I need more Kyle. Like, right now.Where do I go from here?"
I had the same feeling when I finished. It's so good!
Antonella wrote: "Haldis wrote: "FINISHED THE RIFTER SERIES! Major book hangover going on. I need more Kyle. Like, right now.Where do I go from here?"
That's a difficult question...
Have you read also the free s..."
No, I haven't. Thanks for link!
Jordan wrote: "Haldis wrote: "FINISHED THE RIFTER SERIES! Major book hangover going on. I need more Kyle. Like, right now.Where do I go from here?"
RIGHT?!?!
I recommend Feral Machines, if you..."
I think it's on my TBR. I will move it up the queue.
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Where do I go from here?"
RIGHT?!?!
I recommend [book:Feral Machines|8..."
This is one I can't help by reread multiple times. :-)
Alison wrote: "I read a lovely novella yesterday--Angel Martinez's Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists. It's a delightful little story with an ace main character. If you're looking for something short an..."I think decided "delightful" is just what I need! Just started it!
Haldis wrote: "Alison wrote: "I read a lovely novella yesterday--Angel Martinez's Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists. It's a delightful little story with an ace main character. If you're looking for som..."Cool. I just looked up what I read after Rifter and it was LB Gregg's Romano and Albright series--lightweight fun could well be the way to go after the Rifter experience. But then after that I went right into a Scott Lynch big epic fantasy (fingers crossed for more Scott Lynch big epic fantasy someday!). I always find it fascinating to look back through GR at what I read when.
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Ugh.
I have been doing a lot of thinking (and posting) about this very thing. About the pressure to write more and faster.
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ETC.
And I have come to the conclusion that the answer for me is quite the opposite. To slow the hell down. To take my time writing--however much time I need--to interact more closely and personally with my readers, as I used to (yes, readers are customers, but that's not historically how authors and readers interact), to strategize how I will loosen Amazon's stranglehold on my business by taking back print, by putting a shopping cart on my (new) website, etc.
I have tons of ideas right now. Ideas for books and ideas for my business. None of them include cranking books out like I'm a vending machine.
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I love a can of Pringles now and then.
YES, I DID SAY CAN.
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.So deeply satisfying!
But writers like JCP, Ginn Hale or Josh spoil us. Now I have to be careful what I read, because I might find it lacking ..."
Jump to non-fiction or poetry. Perfect palate cleanser. :-D
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What a lovely thing to say. But this is why I'm rebelling against the current publishing dynamic wherein we publish a book every month and price it at peanuts and rinse and repeat till our brains fall out. I can't do it. I don't want to do it. And if I can't make it in this current publishing environment doing it my way, well... I'll figure something else out.
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My jaw dropped at that final paragraph. :-D Your current read sounds...busy.
But yes, I do actually agree with you. If there were not lots of readers who are happy to switch from chips to steak on a regular basis, I'd have been out of the book making business long ago. ;-)
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:-D :-D :-D
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It's Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas but I'm
not
recommending it. In fact, I've stopped read..."
Uh...yes. The things characters get up to these days. ;-D
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I loved the Earthsea books so much. Talk about influential.
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Where do I go from here?"
It's like having to leave a trance state, isn't it?
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Josh wrote: "And I have come to the conclusion that the answer for me is quite the opposite. To slow the hell down. To take my time writing--however much time I need--"I endorse this approach! Don't let the pod people influence your work! If nothing else, work to your own speed to keep you from burning out. I speculate deadlines undermine intrinsic motivation and warp creativity because when writing at your best you might write at a natural pace not pinned to deadline but pinned to daily satisfaction with the work. I want the great work when ready, but I think it is probably right (as noted in your blog) to not mention deadlines to fans generally...so little out there keeping me happy , I start to hyperfocus on my favorite authors and count down the hours. And I think I am a more rational fan than some! :p
The pile of m/m books out there continues to grow exponentially (with some more recent authors pumping out monthly (!!) volumes), the pod-like formulaic irritating but boring books....leave me with less and less to read :(. In het book world, I find it easier to sort out types of books I will enjoy...in m/m book world I keep making more mistakes (resulting in DNFs or sulking). I think this may be an artifact of ever increasing number of books, but an increasingly smaller ratio of good to not good books? Potentially its a problem with coming to the genre just a year and half ago, scarfing down a ton of the great stuff...then shuffling around poking at miscellaneous attempts looking for gold. I could whine and speculate on this (e.g. misleading blurbs, books that outline characters of interest but do nothing with them but fall in love and HEA, books that have great opening chapters and fall apart...etc.). Thanks to this group for helping me glean good options more often.
Sulking, I did another round of trawling through the m/m romance thread "free reads good enough to publish"...though it is a mixed bag and many are extra raunchy, it can be fun even when I hit something too shocking to finish.:D
Josh wrote: "Jump to non-fiction or poetry. Perfect palate cleanser. :-D"In fact I've started a massive book about ACT UP:
Moving Politics: Emotion and ACT UP's Fight against AIDS
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I endorse this approach! Do..."
I pushed WAY back--for the final time--the dates on TGHECO and Blind Side. I don't believe it will take me nearly that long to write them, but I'm as worn out with the drama of not meeting deadlines as readers are. It's awful. I hate doing it.
But yes. The Monet Murders ran so late because of injury and so forth, so then Blind Side started behind schedule--and it was complicated and not coming as I'd hoped and then BANG! we hit the start date for Murder Takes the High Road--and that had already been delayed from the previous year, so there was no wiggle room. But then THAT took so much longer than I had anticipated. So Ghost was so late getting started and then it ALSO turned out to be more complicated than anticipated. So then it hit the start date of the Magician Murders--and that's when I began to feel genuinely sick.
I could see that this was going to be ANOTHER year where I simply couldn't catch up.
And I just couldn't take it.
I can't do my best work -- or any work lately! -- when I'm feeling that pressured and stressed. It starts to impact how the stories are written and whether I'll even consider doing projects.
It's about as uncreative a mindset as you can have.
Anyway, it took me quite a few months to get to that moment of epiphany. :-D But I'm there now and feeling pretty ruthless about getting what I need in order to do the work the way I feel it needs to be done.
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I endorse this approach! Do..."
This is why I continue to hang on to my Kindle Unlimited subscription even though I believe it is a disaster for writers in the long run.
As a reader, it's fun. It's an inexpensive way of rummaging through the cyber book bins to my heart's content.
Josh wrote: "WMD wrote: "Josh wrote: "And I have come to the conclusion that the answer for me is quite the opposite. To slow the hell down. To take my time writing--however much time I need--"I endorse this ..."
Good on you, Josh. This all sounds excellent. You can't do your best work if you're not at your best, so take care of yourself and work the way that works for YOU. :)
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Josh wrote: "I love a can of Pringles now and then.YES, I DID SAY CAN."
Every bag of potato chips is a single serving bag of potato chips.
Also Oreos.
Finally read His Quiet Agent...thank you all for the fierce recommendation. I followed up with Eden Springs, a short story by the same author. Classic western tale, post civil war. Reminded me of Jess Faraday's historical mm series, starting with The Affair of the Porcelain Dog. I really enjoyed those.
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YES, I DID SAY CAN."
Every bag of potato chips is a single serving bag of potato chips.
Also Oreos."
Yes.
Oreos not so much for me. But potato chips. Yes. Also, cheese puffs, especially Smart Puffs and Pirate's Booty. LOVE them!
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Oh good! So glad you enjoyed them.
I've not read anything else by her yet.
I'm still reading some Josh books, but the next non-Josh M/M I want to pick up is Dream. I'm a big fan of H/C, and I read the free sample and liked it (maybe minus the hardcore sex cold open). It'll be good to get more familiar with some British M/M romance.
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