Monday, 20 January 2025
DAUGHTERS OF THE BLUE MOON by Millie Abecassis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'd like to thank the author for sending me a copy of this lovely novella with such a beautiful cover.
Just like her husband, Carmine is one of the village hunters. The day she goes searching for a wolf, that's been attacking the local sheep, by herself, she ends up getting badly hurt. As Carmine heals, she starts to remember long forgotten fragments that will change her life forever...
I started reading this book the other day to get a taste for it, and then picked it up again today and couldn't put it down. It's such a fantastical story that takes the reader into the heart of the woods, where the lives of wolves and humans collide in violence.
Carmine is such a great main character. She's strong, stubborn, caring, and determined. I really enjoyed getting to know her as she uncovers several long-buried family secrets that resurface after the trauma she suffers from her injuries. How she deals with everything intrigued me at every step.
I also think that the sense of location was lush, and I could feel the cold climate the characters found themselves in, and got lost in the dark woods with them, too.
Little Red Riding Hood is one of my favourite fairy tales, so I always love reading retellings... and this one didn't disappoint!
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Friday, 17 January 2025
My latest WIP is done!
- Monday: 84,164 (+4,941w)
- Tuesday: 90,554 (+6,390w)
- Wednesday: 92,542 (+1,988w)
- Thursday: 92,907 (+365w)
Saturday, 11 January 2025
Word Count Update!
No, wait a sec! It's past midnight here in Sydney, so I suppose it's technically Saturday. LMAO.
Either way, it's time to weekend. 😁
So, how are ya? What have you been doing this week? How's the new year treating you? I've been busy writing, but the world is such a fucking mess right now. Between people idolizing loser billionaires who have no fucking clue, greedy haters who can't mind their own business, and intense climate change events... I just don't know where the fuck we're going. Or WTF we're doing.
I really wish we paid more attention to history, instead of repeating the shitty parts over and over. Ugh.
Let me get back to the writing. I'm working on my current WIP and still having a blast.
Here's my progress:
- Monday: 58,120 (+4,521w)
- Tuesday: 62,584 (+4,464w)
- Wednesday: 69,251 (+6,667w)
- Thursday: 73,961 (+4,710w)
- Friday: 79,223 (+5,262w)
Not bad, right? This was actually the first full week of writing I've had for a while after so many cool public holidays. And because I'm so caught up in what's happening, during every session this week I churned out high word count additions.
I stopped at a good spot tonight. The downward spiral to the end is going to be intense and very bloody. I can't wait to write it, but won't go back until Monday.
Also, if you follow me on social media, you might have noticed that this week I started posting graphics & small quotes from my upcoming short story collection. I'm having a great time sharing bits and pieces about each individual tale. There are 17 of them, and I've already shared five.
Oh! The first Goodreads review for MELANCHOLY DELUSIONS has been posted and it's fantastic! Check it out HERE! I absolutely LOVE it! Thank you, Rose Devours Books.
One last thing, since a lot of crap has been going on with Meta—ranging from AI bullshit, removal of fact checking, allowing hate speech—I'm seriously thinking about signing out of the two social media accounts I have with them. I haven't decided yet, but I'm certainly getting sick and tired of fucking asshole tech-bros.
In the past two years I deactivated accounts at NaNoWriMo (gross behaviour with minors), Substack (gave nazis a platform), Twitter (destroyed by a dickhead) and Discord (nothing related to the actual app, more a bad association because of assholes).
No matter what, you can find me on Bluesky, which is where I post the most. ☺️
Okay, that's it for today. Have a great weekend!!
Tuesday, 7 January 2025
SAGA #71 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Might as well start the week with the latest installment of this awesome series.
Yikes! There's SO much packed into this one, but everything feels like a preview/tease of more serious/important things to come. Like the bubble is building and very soon, it's going to burst.
As always, the art is beautiful in this issue. I absolutely love the aesthetic, style and colours in this world. It captures the wonder, danger and violence very well.
Apparently there's one issue left to end this current series and I can't wait to see what happens!
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Saturday, 4 January 2025
Still writing...
So, how's the new year treating you? It's a shame to see that the world insists on carrying forward the crappy violent and vile stuff. Between stupid people who don't understand how the world works, shitty 'politicians' and all the AI BS, it's sometimes really frustrating.
That's why I'm trying to concentrate on the good stuff. On all the things that make me happy: my awesome husband, writing stories, reading, cozy games, and going for nice walks. The simple things in life are often the best and most fulfilling.
BTW, in case you're interested, this is how my 2024 Goals turned out, as well as the books I read last year. And here are my 2025 Goals.
Wednesday was a public holiday, so I only wrote four days this week. The only thing about taking a break is that when I get back to it, I end up doing quite a bit of backtracking. I don't mind because when I do, I end up adding details that I missed during my initial word frenzy.
Anyway, here's my word count progress:
- Monday: 41,523 (+4,667w)
- Tuesday: 47,570 (+6,047w)
- Thursday: 50,018 (+2,448w)
- Friday: 53,599 (+3,581w)