Mid-Year Wrap-Up!

Hello!

A looong post for you today. June has crept up on me – how are we halfway through 2021 already? I’m going to be getting emails about Christmas stock soon at work (which feels even weirder as we missed Easter this year). Even with being back at work, time still feels very much out of sync and I’m sat here in June going…huh?

It’s been a challenging year. Lockdown #2 was far harder to endure than the first one, and I was climbing the walls far more than I care to admit, and I have never been so happy to be back at work (although it was a massive shock to the system). However, all that time at home has meant that I’ve done a huge amount of reading and I am currently sat on 130 / 200 for my GR reading goal (although I am still behind on reviews, as reading is often easier than the writing so I’m actually a dozen or so ahead of that but I haven’t added them yet). I’ve also had the opportunity to do some new bookish things this year. I’m a panelist for the BBNYA 2021, and just finished my round one reading and feedback. I’ve also had the chance to do some beta reading which has been fantastic, and I am hopefully going to be helping out with Norsevember later this year.

The Indie Fantasy Addicts Summer Challenge is also just around the corner, and I am busy building a TBR for that and trying to clear my backlog of netgalley and reviews so I can focus on this challenge – and I have some super titles that I’m really looking forward to diving into.

Currently Reading:

Writing:

One of my more recent goals has been to make sure that I talk about my writing project a bit more on social media – got to build that skill up because I would probably keep everything hidden in my sock drawer if I could, and I have been keeping to it. I shared a little bit about the world-building for the Citadel series during Wyrd & Wonder (HERE), and I’ve been challenged to finish the draft of my WIP by year’s end – which could be interesting because I am a pantser, and I also don’t write in order – I have a little under 180K written but that is scattered across three books and a dozen things that might or might not make it in by the end, but by the Gods (even the ones in this world) I am going to try. What I do have and I am in the process of editing and doing some reworking on at the moment is a prequel novella, and I’ve also got a possible cover… and I might be looking towards the end of October for that one to sneak out into the world.

So, in the vein of continuing to share some information about my WIP, I am delighted to share with you some character art that I’ve commissioned from my friend Tomoyo (Website | Kofi) who did a fantastic job (despite my less than helpful directions at times).

Wrap-Up

My personal series challenge I’m incredibly far behind on, because I have been a little bit of a mood reader but my motivation is back – and having made the decision to drop the Witcher Readalong I was part of as I am just not getting on the books, and I intend to see how much of a dent I can make in this challenge for the reset of the year.

However, on the other hand I have managed to complete my Spells & Spaceships 2021 SFF badge collection (although fun fact, being the organised person I am…I forgot to save the list of books I had used for the prompts when I did my check in, so not all of these books would have been the ones intended for the prompts although they do all fit. Note to self, make a list of books used for prompts as this is becoming a reoccurring problem).

The Artificial Intelligence Badge – All Systems Red – Martha Wells
The First Contact Badge – Shards of Earth – Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Space Opera Badge – Red Rising – Pierce Brown
The Epic Fantasy Badge – The Ventifact Colossus – Dorian Hart
The Non-Human Badge – The Grey Bastards – Jonathan French
The African Inspiration Badge – Son of the Storm – Suyi Davies Okungbowa (review to come)
The Monster Badge – Screams from the Void – Anne Tibbets
The Debut Badge – The Forever Sea – Joshua Phillips Johnson
The SPFBO Badge – Voice of War – Zack Argyle
The Big Battle Badge – We Lie With Death – Devin Madson
The New Release Badge – The Brass Queen – Elizabeth Chatsworth
The Animal Companion Badge – Castaways of the Flying Dutchman – Brian Jacques
The Big’un Badge – Gardens of the Moon – Steven Erikson
The Asian Inspiration Badge – Pawn’s Gambit – Rob J Hayes / Songs of Insurrection – J.C. Kang
The Uncovered Diamond Badge – Doors of Sleep – Tim Pratt
The Dragon Badge – The Dragon and Her Boy – Penny Chrimes
The Big Screen Badge – The Last Wish/Sword of Destiny – Andrzej Sapkowski.
The Sea Setting Badge – The Route of Ice and Salt – José Luis Zárate
The Standalone Badge – The Idiot Gods – David Zindell
The Post Apocalyptic Badge – Rise of One – Dixon Reuel
The Collector 2021 Badge – Flames of Rebellion – Aaron S. Jones