No matter what holidays you may or may not observe, I wish you happy ones, my lovely people.
Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, Winter Solstice, Zarathosht Diso, Bodhi, Kwanzaa, if you’re simply enjoying a non-denominational break, or if life conspired to not give you a break, I hope that right now, you’re living your best life.
If you’re wondering why this month’s newsletter is hitting a few weeks later than normal, I assure you it isn’t late. I deliberately timed it to hit on Christmas Eve (my time zone, naturally). That’s what I keep telling myself at least, but I ain’t buying what I’m selling. This newsletter’s late, okay.
Let’s just chalk it up to the time of year and the chaos that leads to us living our best lives on the road to 2024, and leave it there. I will say that because of the late December newsletter that I’ll delay the January one until around the middle of the month, before getting back on schedule in February.
As you may have noticed, content on the website has continued to be a little sparse as I continue my stretch of minimal productivity. Sure, there have been book reviews, but no blog posts, and it occurs to me that I haven’t penned a short story all year—and no, I’m not planning on spending the rest of 2023 crapping something out to check it off my list. And I still haven’t finished that Luminary draft.
On the plus side, I did somehow get about 5,500 extra words written in November than I did in October, so I’ll take that small win. But ever since Camp NaNo, my writing’s been on a downward trend, and December’s looking like it’ll be less than October for a new record since I’ve been tracking my monthly word count. There’s no escaping it; 2023 is ending not with a bang, but a whimper.
Those of you who’ve been around for a while may recall that aside from my obligatory happy new year post, I avoid posting anything on the website in January. That’s a tradition that will more or less continue next year. There will be no book reviews, but I might try and get a blog post or two written. No promises, though.
While I always aim to take January easy, next month will be used to recalibrate, with the aim to come back swinging in February, ready to once again knock my goals out of the park. To finish that draft of Luminary. To take another pass at Luminary. To look at what needs to be done with my next draft of Till Death Do Us Party. To write something new. To write something else new. I have goals, and I intend to have greater success with those goals than the second half of this year.
Given the time of year, I won’t take up much more of your time with my ramblings. The fact that I’m sitting down to write this with only a couple of days to go until Christmas might also have something to do with it. So, onwards and upwards, or at least to my reviews through November and most of December. There’s one more review to hit the website in the coming days, but I’ll have to save that for the January edition.
Book reviews
Various science fiction elements play into my November reviews, while various Christmas elements play into my December ones. If you’re looking for something to read while enjoying your break, why not check these books out?
Judgment of Blood is the second book in Timothy Black’s Gearteeth Trilogy and presents an alternate history where steampunk reigns supreme, and so do werewolves. Read it if you enjoy juxtaposing genres blended in a way that feels entirely natural.
Forger of the Sun, forming the first act in Adrian P’s Punk series, takes the road less travelled by telling a dieselpunk tale. Read it if you enjoy the cyberpunk attitude and steampunk’s retrofuturistic view of the world, especially if you get a kick out of mech-on-mech combat.
Super-Earth Mother by Guy Immega tells the unique story of an artificial intelligence that determines the best way to save humanity is to recreate the human race. Read it if you enjoy multi-generational stories that provide a view of human nature.
Sorceress for Hire is the second book in Sedigitus Swift’s Tales from Ondiran series, focusing on a sorceress’ misadventures as she embarks on a quest at the behest of her employer. Read it if you enjoy fantasy stories, particularly those with a keen sense of humour.
Awakening by Jacob M. Callcut features many of the tropes young adult fans enjoy: a young lead character, a coming of age story, and a dystopian world. Read it if you enjoy your sci-fi to have a healthy dose of YA themes, even when some of the subject matter is incongruous to the genre,
Silent Night and Christmas Wish form two books in J.E. Taylor’s Silent Night series, telling stories surrounding monster hunter and daughter of Santa Claus, Chrissy. Read it if you enjoy Christmas stories; particularly those that take a different approach.
Krampus Comes to Town by Jeff Chapman explores a pair of children contending with the Christmas threat of Krampus. Read it if you enjoy dark fantasy tales that will increase your pulse without resorting to explicit horror.
The Wish That Saved Christmas is a children’s novel by Kate A. Harvey about a toy coming to life with an aim to save the holiday season. Read it if you enjoy Christmas or children’s books, or if you have a child who enjoys Christmas.
Book Reviews
Various science fiction elements play into my November reviews, while various Christmas elements play into my December ones. If you’re looking for something to read while enjoying your break, why not check these books out?
Judgment of Blood is the second book in Timothy Black’s Gearteeth Trilogy and presents an alternate history where steampunk reigns supreme, and so do werewolves. Read it if you enjoy juxtaposing genres blended in a way that feels entirely natural.
Forger of the Sun, forming the first act in Adrian P’s Punk series, takes the road less travelled by telling a dieselpunk tale. Read it if you enjoy the cyberpunk attitude and steampunk’s retrofuturistic view of the world, especially if you get a kick out of mech-on-mech combat.
Super-Earth Mother by Guy Immega tells the unique story of an artificial intelligence that determines the best way to save humanity is to recreate the human race. Read it if you enjoy multi-generational stories that provide a view of human nature.
Sorceress for Hire is the second book in Sedigitus Swift’s Tales from Ondiran series, focusing on a sorceress’ misadventures as she embarks on a quest at the behest of her employer. Read it if you enjoy fantasy stories, particularly those with a keen sense of humour.
Awakening by Jacob M. Callcut features many of the tropes young adult fans enjoy: a young lead character, a coming of age story, and a dystopian world. Read it if you enjoy your sci-fi to have a healthy dose of YA themes, even when some of the subject matter is incongruous to the genre,
Silent Night and Christmas Wish form two books in J.E. Taylor’s Silent Night series, telling stories surrounding monster hunter and daughter of Santa Claus, Chrissy. Read it if you enjoy Christmas stories; particularly those that take a different approach.
Krampus Comes to Town by Jeff Chapman explores a pair of children contending with the Christmas threat of Krampus. Read it if you enjoy dark fantasy tales that will increase your pulse without resorting to explicit horror.
The Wish That Saved Christmas is a children’s novel by Kate A. Harvey about a toy coming to life with an aim to save the holiday season. Read it if you enjoy Christmas or children’s books, or if you have a child who enjoys Christmas.
Bowie album song of the month
David Bowie never recorded a Christmas album, meaning the world continues to be inundated with Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” He did, however, perform “Little Drummer Boy” with Bing Crosby, so I’ll just leave that here.
And that’s it for the year. A brief newsletter, which, like my year’s writing, has ended with a whimper, not a bang. Bring on 2024!
TTFN,
Was