I was over at Here Be Magic the other day, talking about the importance of reading widely to keep the pot of inspiration bubbling. Recently I’ve been so busy writing and promoting my books (self-publishing my books is like being a small business owner: I am constantly doing something) that I’ve been re-reading old favourites rather than diving into new books. There’s something so comforting about re-reading.
I’ve re-read Anne Bishop’s The Others series. I’m a huge fan of her wolves – speaking of whom, they often feature on her Facebook page, Anne Bishop’s Courtyard. It’s a lot of fun if you’re a fan, so check it out. The wolves howl. Well, they chat.
But I also read the start of a new series by Faith Hunter, and I’m hooked. Blood of the Earth was awesome. It’s paranormal romance, the issue of abuse sensitively handled. And I’d love the hero (I think he’s the hero and will be very disappointed if I’m wrong), Occam, to call me “sugar”. Texas accents, gotta love’em.
I’m still wading through Carthage Must Be Destroyed. Don’t get me wrong, Richard Miles has written a great book, but I’m so tired that getting my brain to cover all that ground, geographically and across time and empires, is hard.
But the sacrifice of my reading time is worth it. Hollywood Demon will be out August 27, and Alchemy Shift is on track for its October 27 release — yep, ready for Halloween. Boo!
I was going to finish the post here, but I can’t resist a tease. I have some amazingly cool news, but it involves other people and that means it’s a super-secret till they have all their ducks in a row. Then I can share the news! Let’s just say that 2017 is set to kick off on a fun note and that a dream I’ve had for a long time will be achieved.
Also, if you haven’t entered the Strong Women in Fiction Giveaway, the cash prizes are gobsmacking.
Oops! I almost forgot pre-orders. Do you have any books for which you’re counting the days till they come out?
I’m waiting on:
Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews, out September 20.
The Ghoul Vendetta by Lisa Shearin, out January 31.
Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop, out March 7.
The Unyielding by Shelly Laurenston, out March 28.
What should I read before then?
P.S. I ran away from my computer this morning, but it was totally worth it!
6 responses to “Not Writing, Reading”
You’re the fourth author on my blog list who’s been talking about what they’ve read (or about to read). ??? Maybe everybody needed a break from writing. 🙂
Maria – I think you’ve diagnosed it! Here in Australia, it’s almost the Romance Writers of Australia conference weekend. I’m not going, but I think it’s distracting me anyway — or at least, that’s my excuse of the week! 🙂
At the moment:
Magic Steals: Ilona Andrews Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Wild Embrace: A Psy-Changeling Nalini Singh Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Hollywood Demon (The Collegium Book 6) Jenny Schwartz Saturday, August 27, 2016
Alien Mine (Zerconian Warriors Book 7) Sadie Carter August 30, 2016
Blaze Suzanne Wright Thursday, September 1, 2016
Apprentice in Death J.D. Robb Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Project Elfhome Wen Spencer Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Magic Binds: A Kate Daniels Novel Ilona Andrews Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Dragon Fire (Sea Captain’s Daughter 2) Bianca D’Arc Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Cast in Flight Michelle Sagara Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Echoes in Death J. D. Robb Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Black Wolves of Boston Wen Spencer Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Elizabeth – thank you! How could I have forgotten “Wild Embrace”? Nalini Singh writes excellent novellas. I’ve heard great things about Wen Spencer … off to investigate 🙂 I love chatting about books – I get great recommendations!
Wen Spencer is fantastic, very addicting and thorough but doesn’t frequently release new stories. Her original series with Baen books Elfhome – Tinker #1, Wolf Who Rules #2, Elfhome #3, Woodsprites #4 – should be available in the library and used if the ebook prices aren’t great. Prices used to be better with no DRM buying directly at Baen but they had to change to meet amazon’s criteria.
She frequently posts snippets on her facebook page as well as writing tidbits. https://www.facebook.com/wen.spencer/
Chatting with people on facebook keeps increasing my TBR mountain by leaps and bounds.
You convinced me, Elizabeth – Tinker just downloaded to my kindle! But my credit card panicked when I saw how many books are in the series – I’ll have to cross my fingers the library has them if I like it 🙂