Upstream Updates 2020: January Review

For lack of a better idea, I'm returning to doing these things once a month. I do have quite a bit planned for each month, and the accountability will help.

January in Review

Words Written: 18,623/20,000

Books Read: 2/4

WIP-Of-The-Month: Priscilla Sum

I was trying my best to get as much of this series written as possible, because I knew I was going to swap over to working on The Last Inkweaver as soon as February hit, and I wanted to be able to at least finish this by March so I could submit it for an anthology in April...

So... that's not going to happen. I'm still writing this one, though, for sure! I stretched and scraped my way up to the really exciting part where a character almost dies and Pris unwittingly uses an amulet with "healing" properties... but it actually releases a demon who is intent on gaining control of the divine essences of her "gods-in-hiding" adoptive parents... but now we're back to the "boring" bits and it's kind of slow going unless I can figure out how to make it more exciting. There are a few things I can do, so let's hope it works! I'd really like to see if the ending I have planned is one that I can still pull off--there's no telling if my imagination exceeds my ability at this point!

Anthology Announcement: Myths And Monsters up for pre-order!

>Pre-order link<

Speaking of the anthology, though, I'm going to take this moment to announce that the anthology in question is available for pre-order! Just looking at the lineup of participating authors makes me really excited!

Instead of Priscilla Sum, I'll be submitting a previously-written story, The Water-Man. It's one that I've talked about before, that I reserved exclusively for posting on Wattpad (so check out the Wattpad Works page in the tab bar above if you're curious!) and while it may not deal with mythology per se, the way I see it is:

-the main character/focal point is a shapeshifting aquatic cryptid--so although he takes a human form for this story, he's not naturally human;

-I took inspiration from Celtic mythology, particularly the lore behind selkies, kelpies, and undines, to come up with my own variety--a "leonie" (from the Gaelic "Lìon-Aos" or "tide people"), so there's a bit of that involved;

The only thing I don't know is how much editing it actually needs--so the more eyes I have on it in the next month or so, the better! Meanwhile, be sure and hit the link under the cover image, to reserve your copy in advance!

February's Challenge: Editing The Last Inkweaver!

Now that my editor has finished going through the whole story and leaving comments, I have commenced following up with comments and editing notes-to-self of my own!

The main thing that she recommended was re-tooling the beginning, to avoid info-dumping and to get right into the heart of the story--to which I heartily agree! The problem that arises, though, is where to begin? She's recommended starting at a particular point, but there are things that happen before that point that wouldn't work as well in flashback form... unless I made sure to start at that point... It gives me a lot to think about, for certain! Meanwhile, I've been able to re-tool some segues into smoother transitions, leave myself a couple paragraphs of scenes that need to be included, and all in all, these first two weeks of editing have been pretty productive!

Another Day, Another Blog Hop!

The Bookish Blog Hop group is gathering for another go-round, this time in the month of March! I'm in the process of getting my answers together over the next few days, and I'll try to be more on top of things for the coming month! The last few times, I had a bit of difficulty, but this time, I'm hoping to have all the links lined up ahead so I can share them on the day of, rather than the week after (or missing out on them entirely)! Spring is coming, folks!

Reading

As I mentioned above, I've finished only ONE ebook out of the two I wanted to read over January, and ONE of the two library books I wanted to finish. Of course, there at the VERY end of the month, I suddenly found my lacking wherewithal and blazed through the other library book, and a few short ebooks in the last couple weeks, bringing my total to 5 titles read this year (6 if you count Lethal White, which I finally marked as "Finished" on January 1).

Prey by Michael Crichton was every bit as disturbing and fascinatingly detailed as I expected it to be. Saving Faith was a rollercoaster of political machinations and double-dealing government officials and agents, typical of David Baldacci's style. (What was not so typical was the graphic rutting--to put it mildly--that went on... so it falls unfortunately into the same bin as Absolute Power... I guess maybe he must have had a phase in his writing life where someone tried to convince him that his books needed to be more steamy to be accepted? Luckily, those are few and far between... He sure knows how to write a good one, without dithering over smut!)

The ebook I managed to finish last month was one that's been on my TBR for a while, Hugo by Pamela Poole. She's one of a handful of Christian authors I still read regularly, and feature on my "Reader's Reviews" (Along with the likes of Pauline Creeden and more recently Lisa Rae Morris) and her series is definitely the caliber of a "novice Jan Karon", and though it's not quite the typical style of novel I enjoy (I'm less "Hallmark", more "SyFy"), it's pretty good in its own right, and does it's duty to satisfy the reader. Check out my review here: Reader's Review: "Hugo"by Pamela Poole

In these first couple weeks of February, on the other hand, I've managed to finish a few more titles: the Halloween-themed short story "Head Over Heels" by S. E. Anderson, which ties into her Starstruck Saga series (the characters are still as delightful as ever!), and the prequel novella to the Judah Black series, Fortunate Son by E. A. Copen. I also recently finished One Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster--so that review is coming tomorrow! Stay tuned!

On my nightstand for the next month are five titles, four came from the library and one borrowed: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, Veiled Rose by Anne Elizabeth Stengl, Magnus Chase and The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan, The Stars Below by David Baldacci (that one I'm especially intrigued, because I had assumed the Vega Jane series was a trilogy, so when Book 3 ended with so many questions unanswered I was disappointed--here's hoping Book 4 can redeem it all!), and Until We Meet Again, by Michael Korenblit (the one I'm borrowing.) Tune in next month to see how many of those I've read, and what I thought of them!

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All in all, I'd say it was a pretty rough start to the year... but I'm still hopeful that I find more of a rhythm in the next few months! Wish me luck! As always...

Catch You Further Upstream!