EEEK! I can’t believe it is fourth quarter. Soon Halloween will be here, then Thanksgiving, and OMG Christmas! Where did the time go? Third quarter was hectic for me.

Here’s a roundup of where I stand on reaching my 2018 writing goals.

Sadly, I read more two star books than is healthy for any human being.  Only the books worth posting about are below.

Reading Goals:

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Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t by Steven Pressfield: Despite what you may conclude from the title, this book was inspiring. It is part memoir, part writing advice, and part self-help book rolled into one. The tips are gold for fiction and non-fiction writers. While the book doesn’t share step-by-step, handholding advice for newbie authors, the high-level, general points will help all writers at any stage. The chapters are short and to the point. Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t is an easy read that boils down the elements of a good story to its bleached white bones.

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The Tinkerer’s Daughter by Jamie Sedgwick: The book kept me turning pages and I finished it in a few days. A significant drawback of the novel was that major problems were solved by deus ex machina. The main villain, Prince Sheldon, makes such a stupid and obvious blunder that the story fell apart at the end. The war between the three races concludes in an unrealistic way and while the main character—a half breed named Breeze—is very likeable, she is too perfect.

The Tell All (Locust Point Mystery Book 1) by Libby Howard: The first few chapters are slow. Not slow as in nothing is happening. Plenty is being set up, but it still reads as a bit dull. The mystery story kicks in starting at chapter 10, then rolls from there. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this cozy mystery. The protagonist is charming and reads like a real person. Overall, this was an easy book to finish with likeable characters and an adorable cat. I will seek out the next in the series.

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You Are Mine (Mine #1) by Janeal Falor: The heroine is slow and, more often than not, things just happened to her.

Nectar of the Gods (Beyond the Gods Book 1) by Mary Bernsen: The (dumb) heroine and (jerk) hero were boring. I couldn’t get into their instant love when mostly what they did was lie to and argue with each other. No typos or grammar issues, plus the cover is nice.

Ready to Were: Shift Happens Series Book 1 by Robyn Peterman: There were no typos or grammar issues. I was able to finish this book by skipping large chucks of it, which had no effect on the pacing or my understanding of the story. The hero, Hank, is an unlikeable, condescending, controlling alpha asshole who tells the heroine, Essie, what to do. She is also unlikeable and quite dumb. The first 40% of the book is about when she’ll “bang” Hank and the couple’s nonsensical “sexual tension.” There can’t be sexual tension when it’s obvious from the start Essie will drop her panties the moment Hank tells her to—which she does. There is also a cliché gay BFF, a feisty potty mouth granny, and easily defeated and glaringly obvious villains.

My Immortal Soul Book 1 by Odette C. Bell: No typos and I finished it. The main character, Celeste Ming, is an odious know-it-all Mary Sue. She has zero chemistry with her demon ex-lover, Thanatos. The plot had holes and made little sense. The most annoying part by far was the repetition and info dumps on every page. For example, Celeste broke into a dusty room in an orphanage. The dusty room is described as dusty over and over for no reason.

Betting Wilde: Immortal Vegas, Book 1 by Jenn Stark: This novel had potential to be 5-stars. It started off with a superhuman, international thief of magical artifacts named Sara Wilde. Where the story goes horribly wrong is with the love interests and the protracted ending. Sara has three dudes interested in her. All three are handsome, creepy, arrogant sexual predators who boss her around, invade her mind, talk down to her, lie, demand things or answers from her when they have no right to, and—worst of all—each one forcibly  corners her somewhere and either kisses or sexually manhandles her President Donald Trump style. Naturally, she enjoys it, even though she tells them to stop. (Ugh!)  Whenever Sara touches, thinks about, or is in the same room with said predators—especially the main creeper, Armaeus the Magician—she melts into a quivering puddle of lust. Nothing about these three men’s behavior is sexy, yet all Sara can think about is how hot they are and how much she wants to have sex with them no matter how many times they manipulate and–in Armaeus’ case—stalk her.

Writing Goals:

I finished self-editing the 4^th novel in the Primordial Realms urban fantasy series.  This is such a relief.  It wasn’t as bad as I’d feared, but it’s finally done. The name of the novel is, Trapped in a Broken Place.  I sent it to my editor, so there is still work to be done. The worst may not be over.

I’ve been writing consistently to finish the fifth novel in the Primordial Realms urban fantasy series. Final book in the series y’all! Since I handwrite my first drafts, I can’t say how many more words I’ve written since 2^nd quarter, but the notebook is almost full.

Author Goals:

Tattoo Switcheroo and Cerberus Confidential have been published in e-book and paperback formats! I couldn’t get any happier.

Here is the book trailer I created for Tattoo Switcheroo. Please let me know what you think.

The professional edits on Hound Dog Confidential was completed and it has been published in e-book format. The print version was also updated and is now available.

Three more short stories are up on the Short Stories page. You can read the latest one, Assassin, now.

Lastly, Through the Villain’s Eyes was pulled from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other stores in preparation for going all in with Amazon Kindle Unlimited.

Moving forward, I plan to:

• Write at least one flash fiction or short story (OMG! I still haven’t written any. What is wrong with me?)
• Hire a proofreader for Trapped in a Broken Place
• Publish the e-book of Through the Villain’s Eyes in November and update the print version
• Set up marketing for Through the Villain’s Eyes—AMS ads and 2-promo sites
• Publish Trapped in a Broken Place in December
• Set up marketing for Trapped in a Broken Place—AMS ads and 2-promo sites
• Finish writing the fifth (and final) book in the Primordial Realms series
• Outline next series

What goals did you accomplish in third quarter?

I hope you liked this week’s blog post. You can read my flash fiction on the Short Stories page. Also, you can buy my novels on Amazon.

Tattoo Switcheroo ($0.99) – BN, Kobo, Apple Books, Amazon

Cerberus Confidential ($0.99) & Hound Dog Confidential ($2.99) – Amazon kindle unlimited

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