This week, I wrote and posted a new short story, Roll for Initiative, about a D&D Dungeon. As in a dungeon in which D&D is played. It was a lot of fun to write and I hope people like it.
I also wrote a review of The Bedeviled Series by Shani Petroff that you can find on Andy Reads Things. It's a Middle Grade series about the daughter of the devil and the comical mishaps her supernatural powers lead to when she tries to use them to fight against the evil that is middle school. I also read Just Juliet by Charlotte Reagan this week, but haven't gotten the review up for it yet.
I have not worked on Faerie Story at all. I feel I need to fix that. Most of the month thus far has been eaten up by illnesses, mine and those of family members, but I'm hopeful next week is going to look better than recent ones.
1/14/2020
I've been either sick mysel or caring for sick people since New Year's, but I've written two short stories in that time frame anyway. The first, Defender of Earth, was a tale of a girl who goes to a Chinese buffet and is offered the chance to save the world. The second, The Chess Kitties, is a story about two cats, one chess board, and a mission from God.
I was told Defender of Earth was a bit dark, but I don't think anyone will say that about Chess Kitties.
I was told Defender of Earth was a bit dark, but I don't think anyone will say that about Chess Kitties.
12/18/2019
Since last I updated here, I have been mulling over changes to Faerie Story Book 1. I have a more solid idea of what I want to do now although I've only actually worked on the first few chapters. I've added some details about the different races of elf, figured out a new arc about the anti-faerie group that appeared in the last revision, planned a few new scenes to flesh out some stuff, and realized one of my characters was driving the wrong car.
I've also reviewed a few books on Andy Reads Things although I'm still trying to get back into the habit of doing that for most, maybe even all, of the things I read. Right now I'm on a holiday binge. I talked about two Christmas books this week already and have another one of those and a Hanukkah novel finished reading and ready to start talking about. I'm actively looking for something Winter Solstice related as the only book springing to mind is Terry Pratchett's Hogfather, which I first read many, many years ago. (Although maybe Pratchett's Wintersmith would also fit? I'm trying to remember...) Fiction about Yule is hard to find, if for no other reason than when you search for "Yule" you get a ton of things that are actually about Christmas as the word was appropriated a really long time ago. I may have to write something myself...
I realized today that Pride, Prejudice, and Curling Rocks overlapped Christmas. I'd forgotten that. So I've already written a Christmas book. A Yule book seems like a logical next step. Oh, wait! Faerie Story Book 2 covers Yule! So there we go. But maybe one day I'll do something focused on the holiday rather than merely including it in the timeline.
I've also reviewed a few books on Andy Reads Things although I'm still trying to get back into the habit of doing that for most, maybe even all, of the things I read. Right now I'm on a holiday binge. I talked about two Christmas books this week already and have another one of those and a Hanukkah novel finished reading and ready to start talking about. I'm actively looking for something Winter Solstice related as the only book springing to mind is Terry Pratchett's Hogfather, which I first read many, many years ago. (Although maybe Pratchett's Wintersmith would also fit? I'm trying to remember...) Fiction about Yule is hard to find, if for no other reason than when you search for "Yule" you get a ton of things that are actually about Christmas as the word was appropriated a really long time ago. I may have to write something myself...
I realized today that Pride, Prejudice, and Curling Rocks overlapped Christmas. I'd forgotten that. So I've already written a Christmas book. A Yule book seems like a logical next step. Oh, wait! Faerie Story Book 2 covers Yule! So there we go. But maybe one day I'll do something focused on the holiday rather than merely including it in the timeline.
11/05/2019
So apparently I've written and posted several short stories since the last time I remembered to update this blog. What happens is I tell myself, "You should write a post about this story as soon as you get it posted!" Then I post it to the zillion places I post to (I'm actually down to six after some culling, but it still takes a while and can't be automated) and inevitably forget. Last night it was because while I was posting to place number four, I realized I was burning dinner. Places five and six didn't get a post until this morning.
But, yeah... I wrote a short story yesterday. I started it in the local library while waiting for a ride home after accompanying a family member to get blood drawn and finished it after getting home. Then I decided to edit and post it around making dinner, which was probably a mistake. It would likely have been better to just wait until this morning to do it because I doubt having the story available earlier saved anyone's life or anything, but it did cause my skillet potatoes to cook too long.
It's a fun little story, though, and I enjoyed writing it. It's about a tentacle "monster" who would like to remind you to never use flash photography in places where it is expressly prohibited. You can read it on the story blog at https://andybrokaw-stories.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-tangled-tentacles-of-fate.html
This was the sixth week of Wording Wednesday Season 3, which means there will now be a break from short stories. This makes me a little sad, although I clearly need to spend some energy focusing on Faerie Story. If you want to catch up with the other stories this season, which included a tale of a rat who paints and that of an adorable baby nagi, you can find them here.
But, yeah... I wrote a short story yesterday. I started it in the local library while waiting for a ride home after accompanying a family member to get blood drawn and finished it after getting home. Then I decided to edit and post it around making dinner, which was probably a mistake. It would likely have been better to just wait until this morning to do it because I doubt having the story available earlier saved anyone's life or anything, but it did cause my skillet potatoes to cook too long.
It's a fun little story, though, and I enjoyed writing it. It's about a tentacle "monster" who would like to remind you to never use flash photography in places where it is expressly prohibited. You can read it on the story blog at https://andybrokaw-stories.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-tangled-tentacles-of-fate.html
This was the sixth week of Wording Wednesday Season 3, which means there will now be a break from short stories. This makes me a little sad, although I clearly need to spend some energy focusing on Faerie Story. If you want to catch up with the other stories this season, which included a tale of a rat who paints and that of an adorable baby nagi, you can find them here.
10/13/2019
I've been really busy this week, mostly with health-related stuff. (I'm fine. I just have acid reflux and a narrowed esophagus that we're having to take pictures of and such.) I did, however, manage to write a short piece that tackles the question, "What if Office Space had been set in Hell?"
Read A Promotion in Hell on my short stories blog.
Read A Promotion in Hell on my short stories blog.
10/7/19
My apologies for allowing this blog to fall by the wayside.
I have actually managed to write some over the last few months, even though I haven't been writing about having written...
I completed an entire season of Wording Wednesday without a peep here. For Season Two, we wrote to prompts inspired by the weather, starting with Sunny with a Chance of Pixies and ending with a snowy tale named Three Little Humans. You can find that entire series on my stories blog marked with WWS2.
Last week, I wrote a story about some monsters hanging in a cafe called Cafe All Souls at 6:36 AM and last Thursday saw a tale about a woman who walks into a teashop to find it manned by a giant spider called Along Came a Spider and Sipped Tea Beside Her.
I have also been reviewing books. I fell off that wagon for a while and have a long backlog of books to potentially write about. Last week, I talked about the fantastic Caraval series and today I posted about a Pretty in Punxsutawney, a mashup of the films Pretty in Pink and Groundhog Day.
So, you see, I have been busy. I just haven't been talking much about it for a variety of reasons. Most of my work on the faerie novel has been working out kinks in my head, but it is still on my mind daily and I hope to get into a new revision soon.
I have actually managed to write some over the last few months, even though I haven't been writing about having written...
I completed an entire season of Wording Wednesday without a peep here. For Season Two, we wrote to prompts inspired by the weather, starting with Sunny with a Chance of Pixies and ending with a snowy tale named Three Little Humans. You can find that entire series on my stories blog marked with WWS2.
Last week, I wrote a story about some monsters hanging in a cafe called Cafe All Souls at 6:36 AM and last Thursday saw a tale about a woman who walks into a teashop to find it manned by a giant spider called Along Came a Spider and Sipped Tea Beside Her.
I have also been reviewing books. I fell off that wagon for a while and have a long backlog of books to potentially write about. Last week, I talked about the fantastic Caraval series and today I posted about a Pretty in Punxsutawney, a mashup of the films Pretty in Pink and Groundhog Day.
So, you see, I have been busy. I just haven't been talking much about it for a variety of reasons. Most of my work on the faerie novel has been working out kinks in my head, but it is still on my mind daily and I hope to get into a new revision soon.
6/2/2019
Man, where did May go?
Over the course of the month, I've written a short story every week, all at https://andybrokaw-stories.blogspot.com if you want to read them and haven't. The one I wrote Friday left me shaking, which I hope means it was good. It was set in a world that I already know fairly well as I have placed two unfinished novels in it. I dreamt about one of those last night and there's a decent chance that when I finish Faerie Story I will want to return to my dragonverse.
As for Faerie Story... I still haven't finished this round of Book One. I am another chapter or two from done, but like the way it's shaping up in my mind. When I finish those chapters, I'm going to jump straight into another revision because I already have a list of alterations and additions. There's only one more week left in this season of short stories, so I'm actually optimistic I'll finally have something to send the betas by the end of the month.
Over the course of the month, I've written a short story every week, all at https://andybrokaw-stories.blogspot.com if you want to read them and haven't. The one I wrote Friday left me shaking, which I hope means it was good. It was set in a world that I already know fairly well as I have placed two unfinished novels in it. I dreamt about one of those last night and there's a decent chance that when I finish Faerie Story I will want to return to my dragonverse.
As for Faerie Story... I still haven't finished this round of Book One. I am another chapter or two from done, but like the way it's shaping up in my mind. When I finish those chapters, I'm going to jump straight into another revision because I already have a list of alterations and additions. There's only one more week left in this season of short stories, so I'm actually optimistic I'll finally have something to send the betas by the end of the month.
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