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Here what I've finished so far this Fall, and what I have next on my list:
To keep posts short, click the links to the posts! The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert
There were quite a bit of flashbacks. Sometimes they were a bit confusing. A couple seemed random! But, by the time you get to the end, the flashbacks all come together. There were also somethings I felt were glossed over, such as the author's sleepwalking and the grandfather's predatory ways. These things never detracted from the over all story. I just wished there was more about it and the details of how it impacted the story were fleshed out better. Audio: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you are squeamish about gore, I would stay clear, as the murders are described. Especially the state of the bodies that have been found. If you are a lover of True Crimes, this is just up your alley (its always nice to break up real serial killers with fictional ones every once in a while). The book ends not on a cliffhanger, but its clear its being set up for a sequel. The story goes on and I can't wait. The Watchers by A.M. Shine
The last time I got so worked up over a book-to-screen adaption was Ghost Bride 😤. Would I have had such strong reaction about the movie had there not been a book? Probably. I feel like there's a lot missing in Shyamalan movies that are sacrificed in favor of "the twist," so I will forever rant about his movies, good or bad. Now... the book: Introverted/melancholic Mina likes watching people. She's an artist that has a thing for capturing the best (and worst) qualities of people through her sketches. While at a bar she frequents specifically to do her people watching, the drunken pub owner asks her to drive a Golden Conure cross country to a buyer. Without anything else to do, and slightly interested in the money she'd get upon completing the job, Mina does it. But, on her way, she enters a dark forest where her car stops working, and in that forest, she encounters an old woman who takes her to the safety of a random house in the middle of the forest where 2 others live. There is 1 important rule that she must adhere by: do not stay out past sunset. Thus begins The Watchers. The movie misses the mark on so many levels but the most glaring is Mina's bond with the other people trapped in the house. The book does a great job showing how Mina emotional changes and how she grows to rely on the people to the point where readers form that emotional connection, too. The movie paints her as a selfish victim who is only in it for herself to the point of putting others in danger. I kept waiting to see this side f Mina in the book, but it never came. It was the opposite, actually. Though she is cautious of the others, she respects, comforts, cares for, and even loves the others like family. They become her family even after they escape. I learned a lot about Irish folklore from this book, particularly changelings, and, like all Irish works of modern fiction (Edna O'Brien, Patrick Taylor, Sebastian Berry, Claire Keegan, etc.), the poetry of the prose is so beautiful. Shine writes beautifully and visually, and I was held at attention during every scene.
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You would think that a librarian would have more time to read. .... You'd be thinking wrong! But since changing library systems and departments, I've been catching up on my reading and getting back into binging. However, I really miss talking books with guests as was part of my previous role. So, lets talk books! Here what I've finished so far this Fall, and what I have next on my list:
To keep posts short, click the links to the posts! Paperboy by Vince Vawter
He is nervous because he has to interact with people he wouldn't normally interact with. He practices the words he will say, how he will say them, and agonizes over what will happen if he messes up. In fact, he literally passes out mid-stutter because he forgets to breath during a very hard word (I know how that is!). But, because of his stutter, he forms connections with the people on his route: Mrs. Worthington, a depressed housewife in a failing marriage, Mr. Spiro who patiently encourages Little Man's hunger for words, and a family with a deaf child that he eventually befriends.
It's not when he and his nanny are put in mortal danger that Little Man finds his words and launches in to action to save her and himself. There were many parts that made me want to cry. His earlier feelings about himself, how uncomfortable he is around his mother, what he desperate wants to tell her about himself. There was a scene where he has his first conversation with an adult and how Mr. Spiro helps Little Man recite a poem he wrote about his stutter. By the time school starts back up again, Little Man has a new outlook on his stutter. A new confidence about himself that he'd gained through the people he met over the summer and the support system he gained. Because of this confidence, Little Man is finally able to say his own name*. Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I listened to this book as an audio-- I highly recommend it! The narrator brings to life Little Man's stutter. Reading it just doesn't have the same effect! In addition, the Author's Note at the very end is read by the Author, who has a stutter himself. Audio: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I bought the book after listening to it. It's written without quotation marks, so it could be kind of challenging to see who is talking and when. Printed Book: ⭐⭐⭐ Paperboy is followed by Copyboy in which we see Little Man is a teenager. Vawter's 3rd book in the trilogy, Manboy, was released last year in 2023 and shows Little Man as a young adult in university. Both books are on my list! As light as this book is (its a MG book), it was a really heavy read for me that brought up a lot of emotions. I learned about this book years ago when it was first released in 2013, but couldn't bring myself to read it because of lingering issued I had with my own stutter. I'm in a much better place right now, and decided to pick it up at long last! *people who stutter have hard times with saying their names!  While I keep a pretty active Progress Journal on a website within a writing community, I've been letting this one slip. Actually, I haven't been doing a really good job of updating my writing progress on here from the beginning. So here we go, my first real update: TL;DR:
I’ll try to be brief with each point (no guarantees)! The Plan
Our friendship was the basis for The Plan: two inseparable childhood friends that find themselves losing touch with each other over the years when they take different paths in life. What was only supposed to be written as a collection of memories to help me grieve, morphed into a short story with nameless characters, which then morphed into a novella with a small cast of fictional characters and events. After 3 years and many layers, became a novel of two friends, so dependent on each other for survival, realizing after graduating high school that maybe they’d had feelings for each other all along. They try to be the family and support they wished they’d had, and try to begin the rest of their lives together. (Aside from little details of our childhood friendship sprinkled in there, the characters, their families, and story are completely fictional.) Since querying, I’ve had a partial manuscript request as well as a Full manuscript request. Fingers crossed! The Path of the Cave Stars |
| My first baby and the one that started it all. I kid you not, this novel has been almost 8 years in the making! I’d created this mars-like planet with its “alien” people back in college, writing about their city and culture and human colonization disrupting | What happens when your family tells you that, in order to save the rest of your clan, they will be sacrificing you to the Goddess of Death? |
their civilization. It was also a very much Romeo & Juliet-esque type of novel (I was taking both Shakespeare and Writing Popular Fiction in school, ha!). I wrote over 100k words on it before the thought occurred to me to write a prequel. This one would focus on the world pre-colonization, and delve into the mysticism of their lore.
But, my issue was that I bounced around to so many different ideas and projects that I never finished anything, including the ideas above. I joined a writing community back on 2018, though, and started a Progress Journal. I gave myself the goal of finishing this "prequel" novel and tracking its progress.
I finished the first draft in 2021.
But, my issue was that I bounced around to so many different ideas and projects that I never finished anything, including the ideas above. I joined a writing community back on 2018, though, and started a Progress Journal. I gave myself the goal of finishing this "prequel" novel and tracking its progress.
I finished the first draft in 2021.
What if, as you lay dying at the alter, you are rescued by a far away clan and made their priestess? | It has gone through dozens of iterations since then. At first Olun was supposed to be a bride in an arranged marriage, not a sacrifice to a deity. The “romance” was supposed to be “enemies-to-lovers” as she falls- |
in love with the man she’s been forced into marrying. The man, Didan, was supposed to be the “preist” of the village and someone of high esteem.
I realized that Olun was a very passive character who let things happen to her. She was not a very strong character at all. I won't bore you with the details (I could devote a whole blog post to the process of how this novel is what it is). After much stress, many flipped-desk gifs, critique, feedback, and support from my beloved writing community, I am quite happy with Cave Stars’s trajectory of my current revisions.
My characters have come a long way since its first draft. Olun is a more active character and giving her more agency. She is not an observer and does not play second fiddle to Didan (she learns to make her own decisions, rebels against authority, questioning the Gods).
I changed her love interest as well. I wanted them to be together because she chooses him, not because she was forced into choosing him. I also wanted her to be his savior and protector. This isn't to say Didan has become the passive character. He's becomes an outsider, one who is not entirely accepted in his community and one who harbors immense fear, anger, and hatred for the Gods and village tradition. It's with him that Olun can be rebellious, and in their secret rendezvous is where we see the pair grow closer.
Olun must contend with curses, vengeful spirits, love, and duty to a misunderstood Goddess in this science fantasy novel that I'm super excited to finish!
I realized that Olun was a very passive character who let things happen to her. She was not a very strong character at all. I won't bore you with the details (I could devote a whole blog post to the process of how this novel is what it is). After much stress, many flipped-desk gifs, critique, feedback, and support from my beloved writing community, I am quite happy with Cave Stars’s trajectory of my current revisions.
My characters have come a long way since its first draft. Olun is a more active character and giving her more agency. She is not an observer and does not play second fiddle to Didan (she learns to make her own decisions, rebels against authority, questioning the Gods).
I changed her love interest as well. I wanted them to be together because she chooses him, not because she was forced into choosing him. I also wanted her to be his savior and protector. This isn't to say Didan has become the passive character. He's becomes an outsider, one who is not entirely accepted in his community and one who harbors immense fear, anger, and hatred for the Gods and village tradition. It's with him that Olun can be rebellious, and in their secret rendezvous is where we see the pair grow closer.
Olun must contend with curses, vengeful spirits, love, and duty to a misunderstood Goddess in this science fantasy novel that I'm super excited to finish!
Photoshop/Gimp
As my sort of “stick it” to AI, I decided to explore my public library’s eLearning services and found a couple of photoshop courses on Linkedin. Since I’m the type of learner who learns by doing, the “homework” I gave myself was to create a book cover for Cave Stars applying the skills and techniques learned in the course.
I’ve learned a couple of things:
Honestly, the hard part was trying to find the right images and then the right concept.
I’ve learned a couple of things:
- I could lose myself for hours doing this!
- I need better equipment (my hand isn't steady enough to use a mouse)
- If I decided to self publish, I have the skills to make MY OWN covers
Honestly, the hard part was trying to find the right images and then the right concept.
Chapter Leader
 | As you know from my previous blog post, I am a stutterer, and I have struggled with lingering negative feelings regarding it. I have never looked at my speech with love, but loathing and embarrassment over the years. It was something I wanted to hide and hide from. However, in recent years, I’ve learned to be ok with my speech. I’m not at the point where I “love” it, but I am well passed “loath” and “embarrassment.” I'm at a place of acceptance and peace. For these reasons, I have applied to become a chapter leader for the National Stuttering Association and have attended virtual meetings each month. There is no NSA chapter in my area. Stuttering can feel like a lonely and isolating thing and its easy to hide when you feel like you are alone. That is why I wanted to start a chapter, and have been approved to start one! My first meeting is the end of the month! |
Also, if you haven't already, I recommend reading Paperboy by Vince Vawter. I’d known about the book since it first came out, but did not have the courage (or peace of mind) to read it. I did recently and OH MY GOD, the feelings! I feel seen and I feel heard for the first time. I recommend the audiobook; the narrator does a great job portraying the character. Also, the author, Vince Vawter, a stutterer himself, reads the afterword.
I needed that positivity and encouragement, and I recommend this book to those who stutter and for those who want to know more about the mental and emotional toll that stuttering has on a child.
I needed that positivity and encouragement, and I recommend this book to those who stutter and for those who want to know more about the mental and emotional toll that stuttering has on a child.
