
Man, the last of winter is flying by. We actually got a little snow this week. Snow is rare here even in the dead of winter. Even less so in March. Still it was neat to see, even if it didn’t stick around long or amount to enough to build a decent snowman.
Much of the coming weeks will be dedicated to my annual basketball obsession, although I have to admit that the scandals in the NCAA of late have dampened my enthusiasm somewhat. (Seriously. Either bring the hammer down equally on everyone, or just throw up your hands and say everyone can be paid, get benefits, and cheat academically and you, the NCAAA, don’t care. Pick one.)
Other than those oddities, life goes on as normal and, as usual, I’m up to a lot of different things.
Here’s what I’m up to this week:
Writing
Nothing much new to report here. I’m working on the second book in my new series, plus a novella that will bridge books one and two. I’m hoping to be able to show off more about the new book/series in the near future. The title reveal should be coming soon, hopefully followed not too long after by the cover reveal.
I’m also noodling around with an entirely new idea that may or may not become something. Right now it’s all back-burner stuff as the new books take priority, but it’s a YA urban fantasy/political thriller. Sort of… We’ll see if it actually grows into a book or joins the others in the “Land of Misfit Ideas” that populates a dark corner of my hard drive.
Reading List
High Voltage, by Karen Marie Moning. This is the latest in Moning’s Fever series which I have adored. I was surprised to get another book in the series, as I thought it was done after the last book. I hope this one is good and not just a last ditch effort to extend the series.
The Escape Artist, by Brad Meltzer. I started reading Meltzer way back in the 90’s. He started out as sort of a John Grisham knock off but now he’s transformed into a thriller writer. Some of his books are real hits with me and others are misses. This one’s about a person everyone thinks is dead but guess what… She’s not. Throw in some government plotting and secrets and you’ve got the gist of this story.
On the Gaming Table
We’ve gone on a dinosaur kick in the house. Dinosaur Island is a “build your own Jurassic Park and hope no one gets eaten” type game. Escape from 100 Million BC is what would happen if Bill and Ted went on an excellent adventure back to the dinosaur age. You can’t tamper with the timeline in this cooperative game too much, or history won’t be the same when you get back. (If you get back.)
Watching
I missed most of the big movies that came out back at Christmas. That’s what happens when you have all the holiday nuttiness going on, Nanowrimo, plus a book to finish. Now I’m catching up. I’m really excited about I, Tonya. I used to be a figure skater back in the day and the height of my “career” was just prior to that whole debacle so it was a huge topic of discussion in our rink.
Lego Building
It’s rained and snowed a lot lately, so that’s given me a chance to build the ’50’s Diner and the Old Fishing Village. Both were really fun builds, but I think I like the Diner best.
Review of the Week
Over on iSlaytheDragon, I reviewed Indian Summer, a gorgeous tile-laying game where you’re taking a lovely hike through the autumn woods and filling your board with forest treasures. It’s a little Tetris-like with cute animals.