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Of Summer Heat and Surprises

July is simultaneously one of my favorite and least favorite months. For one, in the south, the heat is at its all time high, humidity is nearly a solid, and there is simply not enough ice to go into one’s iced tea.

But it’s not all bad. July means we’re deep into summer. I can finally start to relax. I find myself spending my evenings outside listening to the crickets and frogs, watching the stars and fireflies flicker together. There’s also a number of birthdays to celebrate during the month, mine included. While I’m hardly a party person, there’s something wonderful about being with loved ones and getting to celebrate them. And of course, there are those strange summer surprises that always seem to sneak up on me.

But you get surprises too! The first is a month long sale. From July 1st (today) until July 31st, Of Secrets and Sound is half off exclusively on Smashwords. Instead of $1.99 it’s now priced $0.99. Smashwords allows you to download e-books in a number of formats, including the formats required for Kindles and Nooks, so you don’t need to worry about compatibility with your preferred device.

The year is 1873 and society has no room for deaf Edward Rollin. Despite being a social outcast, Edward is desperate to help his friends Ambrose Walsh and Abigail Hunt stop a growing plague. As Edward and his friends hit more dead ends in their investigation, he decides to try a new method of searching. This brings him closer to a cure, but far closer to danger.
Told through both Edward’s letters and third person, Of Secrets and Sound is the long awaited sequel to Of Secrets, Letters, and Lions.

A number of other authors are also putting their books on sale, so browse a while and see what’s up for grabs. This is a brilliant time to support authors and find new books.

Tomorrow will hold another surprise in the form of a second post. I’ll be sharing a bizarre summer surprise life recently tossed me and address the frequently asked question of inspiration. Things will go back to normal in August, with only one post on the first Monday of the month.

I hope you enjoy the sale and find new stories to fall in love with. Life is full of surprises, but may you find the good in each of them.

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Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

“…I wish I had it in me to feel remorse for the dead thing. But this was the forest, and it was winter.” ~Fyere

I have no words for this book. The beauty, depth, darkness and light within it, all deeply moved me. Even so, I’ll do my best to review A Court of Thorns and Roses. After all, I’m the sort of person that when I fall in love with a book, I must talk about it.

A red and black book with silver text on it. On the left side of the book a young woman in a black dress stands, a black flowering tattoo on her arm. The text reads "A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas

Synopsis: Fyere is a 19 year old woman who kills a wolf in the woods to help provide food for her family. Her world is shattered when a powerful beast comes to claim her as retribution. Taken to the half of the world where no human has ventured and come back alive from, Fyere discovers her captor is none other than Tamlin, one of the immortal and exceedingly powerful Fae. But Tamlin and his companions hold secrets, secrets of a power that is slowly destroying the world of the Fae, and Fyere’s human world. As Fyere learns more about Tamlin, she starts to realize just how little she knows about her world, the Fae, and how little power she has to stop the rising evil.

Thoughts: I had a number of hesitations coming into this book. For one, while “Beauty and the Beast” is one of my favorite stories, it’s also one of the more popular retellings. Secondly, while Fae mythology has always interested me, I’m quite worn out from the watered down Fae. I was afraid that despite the hype surrounding the book, it wouldn’t appeal to me. So somehow, I began reading with high expectations, but low hopes. By the end of the first chapter I was enamored, and my love only grew as I read.

The first thing that captured me was the narration. Maas made a wonderful choice by telling the story from Fyere’s point of view. Fyere’s practical, stubborn, hurt, and yet she’s deeply loyal, desperately trying to hold on to what little beauty life has to offer. From the start, Fyere knows herself and her motivations are clear. As the story progresses and her world view is challenged, Fyere starts to question her motives. This is one of the driving forces of the plot. I personally loved this element because it lead to a lot of character interactions and each one of those pushed the plot forward, adding depth to the story.

It’s impossible to talk about Fyere without talking about the other characters. To go into detail about each one would make this post quite long, so I’ll simply summarize. As much as I enjoyed seeing Fyere and Tamlin’s growing relationship, I still felt that Tamlin was too distant overall. He was certainly interesting, but I still couldn’t fully get behind him. I have a feeling this is purposeful on Maas’ part. I do appreciate that the depth of his actions (or lack of actions) is clarified as the book continues. This leads to some lovely conflict and plot twists.

But it was Nesta and Rhysand that became out of the blue insta-faves for me. At the start of the book Nesta, the oldest of Fyere’s sisters, is cold, selfish, and yet she shows a shocking amount of love and loyalty to Elain, the middle sister. She mostly remains so, and yet she still shows a delightful amount of growth throughout the book. Her relationship with Fyere broke and mended my heart. And then there’s Rhysand. I was surprised with how quickly I fell in love with his character. Sassy, smart, always thinking a few steps ahead, Rhysand is shrouded in mystery. And for someone who is so mysterious, he still was an extremely fleshed out character, and a delight to read.

Of course, characters cannot exist in a void. The world building that went into A Court of Thorns and Roses is breath taking. It brings to mind the detailed fantasy worlds of Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. Not because this book is anything like them, simply because the magic, the belief system, the politics, and the geography are all so well thought out. Even from the first chapter there is a darkness hovering. I wasn’t expecting a terribly dark book, but this book was darker than I anticipated on a number of levels and I loved it. This book also pulls on a number of fantasy tropes and is a fascinating take on the original “Beauty and the Beast” story. But there are also other faerie tales that are referenced in the book, which I found to be an absolute delight.

For a number of reasons this book broke and mended me. I can’t point to any one thing and say “This is what made me love this book.” All of the elements, the way they were woven together, made me fall in love. The elements all tied into the plot. Nothing was mentioned needlessly, and that will always win me over in a book. A Court of Thorns and Roses hits on everything I want in a fantasy book. It pulls on old troupes and transforms them into something formidable and unique. It has a detailed, character and world based plot, suspenseful plot twists and a plethora of other things. If you haven’t read this series yet and are looking for fantasy with an edge, I highly recommend A Court of Thorns and Roses. It’s a deeply immersive book that holds your heart and keeps you in its world long after the book is finished.

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Dear Reader,

If you’ll give me a moment to be more honest than I’m comfortable being, I think you’ll find it worth your while. Especially if you’re interested in my writing and what the future holds in that respect. Even if you’re here mostly for the book reviews (and I won’t be upset in the least if you are! I would take it as a complement), I hope you’ll find this at the very least entertaining.

The name "A. E. Moseley" is written in a silver white text, tree branches coming from the "A", "M, and "Y". On top of the letters, in the center, is a crow.

As you can see I have new logo design. Obviously, I have to take this opportunity to show it off. I absolutely adore it and all its variations (FB , Twitter , and Instagram all sport the new logo). Whimsical, mysterious, and dark, it truly touches on everything I want and need it to. The team at Deranged Doctor Design did a brilliant job capturing the essence of my current work and long term creative goals.

But I digress. I promised to be honest and to talk about my writing.

I have always loved the darkness. Even so, it took time for me to learn that the darkness wasn’t to be feared. That it adds beauty to life. The darkness is our shadow, the shade of the trees. It helps the moon and stars shine more brightly, it lulls us to sleep at night. The darkness does not hurt us, it is what is in the darkness that is to be feared. If you have ever stepped on a Lego barefooted in the dark, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

But I was always encouraged to be interested in other things. Polite things, less morbid things. After all, as a child, and to this day, I’m a kind and optimistic person. My interests by and large clash with my personality, or so I’ve been told.

And when you are told things enough, lies or otherwise, eventually it becomes hard to ignore those words. And so I held back. And back. And back.

I’m quite done with all of that. I am no longer holding myself back. It is not fair to myself and it’s certainly not fair to my readers. After all, if I’m holding back, I’m limiting the stories that I can and want to tell. Considering the fact that I write to give back, to give back to the writers who have indirectly healed and helped me through their works, by writing my own stories so that others may grow and heal, well to hold back is unacceptable.

I still adore the stories I have written previously. They have taught me so much and I will certainly finish the Secrets of the Lion series (although if I’m honest, it’s giving me a bit of trouble at the moment, hopefully my other works will inspire the final story in that series). But, they only touch on what I want to explore.

For many years I have wanted to expand my writing. Go deeper, darker, edgier. Life is full of sharp edges and jagged rocks. It’s filled with seemingly bottomless pits and black nights. I want to explore that. Not for the shock value, but because that’s true of life. Jagged rocks can be gems, the bottomless pits do indeed end and lead to the most extraordinary of places. And of course, we all know that the darker the night, the brighter the moon and stars. There is a beauty in the darkness. I want to try to express that in my writing.

I’m so very excited for the future. I’m already working with close friends to expand what I bring to you, in both my stories and other outlets. The book reviews and blog posts are not going away. I will simply be adding on to what I already do.

I hope you take this as an invitation. I hope you decide the darkness is worth exploring with me, that through exploring the darkness we can learn to love the light all the more. Whatever the reason that brought you here, thank you. Thank you for your time and your curiosity. May we always find something beautiful and appealing, even in the darkest of moments. And may we never hold ourselves back.

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Book Review: The Silence of the Lambs

“Problem-solving is hunting; it is savage pleasure and we are born to it.”

I adored the movie Silence of the Lambs when I first saw it years ago and have seen it many times since. I promised myself that one day, I would hunt down the book and read it. When I finally got around to reading it, I devoured the book.

Book cover with a woman's hand is held out and above it flies a yellow and brown moth with a human skull on its back. The cover reads "Thomas Harris, The Silence of the Lambs"

Synopsis: Clarice Starling is a bright young woman, a hardworking student at the FBI Academy. Thanks to her work ethic and skills she is asked to do a seemingly impossible task: go to a maximum security prison and talk to the renown serial killer Doctor Hannibal Lecter. Starling’s surprise success opens doors for her. But these doors lead to Buffalo Bill, a serial killer just as twisted as Doctor Lecter. Buffalo Bill keeps is victims alive for only a short time. His latest victim is the daughter of a powerful senator who is putting pressure on the FBI to work like they never have before. To save lives Clarice must make deals with a number of people, including Doctor Lecter, a man hellbent on regaining his freedom.

Thoughts: This book is everything I want in a mystery/thriller. It’s intricate, twisted, and dark. I found it delightfully easy to sink into the story.

This book is both strange and delightful. The characters, the setting(s), the underlying themes, all are deeply relatable, and yet seemingly removed from real life. I think a fair bit of this can be attributed to the writing style. It goes from past tense to present tense, but if you’re alert, you’ll catch on to where this happens and it’s easy to see why. It took a couple of chapters for me to get used to it, but I found it delightful overall. It added to the suspense and fast pace of the story.

If serial killers and psychology weren’t enough to capture my attention, the way that these topics and others were handled certainly did. While Harris brings up excellent points about how people treat one another through his characters, the book never once falls into the trap of preaching. Whatever is said is always tied into the plot. This was not only incredibly refreshing, but it also heightened the suspense.

One of the key elements in the book is trans-sexuality. There are very few, if any transsexual characters, but the topic is integral to the plot. I was happy to see statistics, acknowledgement of the struggles that those who transition go through, and how people stood up to protect their privacy. That is a huge and welcomed difference from the movie.

Speaking of the movie, if you’ve seen it but haven’t read the book, fret not. The book is hardly spoiled for you. Although I knew the ending, there were many more details and twists that I didn’t see coming. The ending is a fair bit different than how the movie portrays it to boot. I was delighted by the book’s ending.

From start to finish The Silence of the Lambs is an immersive book. The characters, even the most minor of them, are fleshed out, challenging topics are handled with grace, and the pacing is as close to perfection as one can get. This became an immediate classic when first published, and the book is certainly deserving of such praise. This became an instant favorite for me. No doubt I will enjoy reading it many times in the future.

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A Long Short Month

The month of February found me curled up in bed with either a trashcan or a box of tissues nearby. My glorious plans of a timely post and finishing chapter four of my current project were thoroughly dashed by drain on my inspiration, a stomach bug, and a week later, the flu. Needless to say, for such a short month, February was a long one for me.

And yet, it wasn’t an entirely unproductive month.

I got ready for Read An E-Book week by putting my books on sale on Smashwords. Two of my stories are on sale this week (March 3rd-9th) : Of Secrets, Letters, and Lions is free, and the sequel Of Secrets and Sound is half off at $0.99.

I also came to an odd realization. The more ill I am, the more inspired I become. Maybe it’s the fever induced dreams, or maybe it’s because I do so little aside from lying in bed and letting my mind wander. In an odd stroke of inspiration I decided to go back and edit what I had of my current project.

Although I’m still editing (it’s near impossible to edit when one is running a fever), the idea to go back and work on what I had has really worked for me. I also decided to share a bit of my editing process on Instagram. But now I want to share more details. While writing is a solitary experience, it’s more fun when parts of the journey are shared.

Three papers are on stone tile, each paper is labeled from bottom to top "2nd draft: Chapter one" "1st draft: Chapter one" and "Chapter one". The topmost paper has many notes written on it. On top of the papers are three books, each related to thrillers, psychology, or murder.

My editing process consists of me reading through the chapter and making notes in different colors. In this case blue was what I wanted to add, and purple was what I needed to change. Once that’s done, I go back and I read over my edits. If it doesn’t flow the way I like, I edit my edits. Eventually I’m satisfied and type it up.

I was pretty content to keep going forward with my second draft. But I’ll repeat the process quite a few times before I release this into the wild. Regardless, I’m looking forward to it. I love writing, the pouring out of words, but I also love editing. I love carving away what’s not needed and getting closer to how I envision the book.

Of course, if I’m sharing this picture from my Instagram, then clearly there’s a reason I chose those books to star in the picture. The three books (Zodiac by Graysmith, Outliers by Gladwell, and The Tattooed Girl by Burstein, De Keijzer, Holmberg), all touch on elements in my WiP. While there are no serial killers, there’s obsession, mystery, powerful people, and a darkness that I haven’t touched on in my other works. In a way that makes the book easier to write. There’s no limits, except my own. On the other hand, it’s more difficult. How far can I push myself? How do I write about very real, very dark topics, with respect? Like any story, it’s a journey, and despite some lingering sniffles, I’m quite enjoying it.

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This is Not a New Year’s Post

I promised myself I wouldn’t write a New Year’s post. This is largely because I don’t celebrate the holiday. Taking stock at New Year’s has never made sense to me personally. I’ve always had other ways to track my goals and progress. I’m also rather private about those sorts of things. After all, my heart and my goals are my own. I figure it will all come to light when I’m ready to share.

I am happy with where I am. After many years I’ve become fearless in what I want to read and write. I’m not afraid to put a book down if I don’t enjoy it, and I certainly am in no competition with myself or others to write a certain genre or write at a certain pace.

If I have any bookish goals at all for this year, it would be to finally read Lord of the Rings. There is little else more appealing to me than a thick book, especially when it’s high fantasy. Currently I’m reading a chapter a night. It’s a lovely way to end the night…usually. It’s slightly less appealing when I dream I’m being chased by Ringwraiths.

Of course I can’t talk about books without talking about writing. I’ve always loved exploring the darker side of life. I’m more fearlessly embracing this side of myself and channeling it into my writing. Of course the Secrets of the Lion series is not all sunshine and roses, but my current project is quite different from anything I’ve written thus far. For one, it’s darker, and for another, it takes place in modern times. It’s also a novel. I’m in the earliest stages of it, only a few chapters in, but I am in love with this story. As the year goes on I’ll be sharing more about it, but for now, let’s just call this foreshadowing.

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Book Review: A Simple Favor

“Your mother is a monster.”

December is a time for companionship of all sorts. Family, friends, significant others, pets, it doesn’t matter. Of course this season can also be extremely trying. So it’s important to do simple, loving things for yourself. Simple favors you might say. I found the book A Simple Favor shortly after I saw the movie by the same name. I adored the movie and had to hunt down the book. The book did not disappoint.

ASimpleFavor_Bell_Cover

Synopsis:  Brought together by their young sons, Stephanie and Emily quickly become best friends. Their afternoons are spent bonding over motherhood, work, and love. They tell each other everything, and are more than happy to help each other. One day Emily calls Stephanie to ask for a simple favor: pick up her son from school and she’ll pick him up from Stephanie’s house after work. Midnight comes and goes, a day passes, then two. Suddenly Stephanie wonders how much she knew about Emily, and how much she can rely on Emily’s husband to help. Motherhood is lonely, but now it just became deadly.

Thoughts: If you’ve seen the movie, don’t worry. The movie does the book justice, but the book is a dark and beautiful beast of its own. Even if you’ve seen the movie, you won’t see the ending coming. If you haven’t seen the movie? Read this review, read the book, then hunt down the movie.

A Simple Favor hits on hard topics. That’s what makes the book so fun, yet so disturbing. Normal people are involved in abnormal things. Death, suicide, incest, affairs, abuse. Somehow, the cast is convinced they’re normal, and yet they’re convinced that they’re anything but due to their involvement in these issues. These are hard and ugly issues, yet I felt the book handled them well. After all, as difficult as they are, these issues are deeply real problems.  The dark realism is what makes this book work. But it did lead to a few slow parts at the start. Thankfully the book picked up speed rather quickly once Emily vanished.

At the end of the book I was left wondering who the real victims were. How do we measure the value of life when we can so easily warp it, twist it, and create excuses for the inexcusable, convincing ourselves we’re sane? It’s an odd question to be pondering at the end of a domestic thriller, but weeks after I closed the book, I’m still thinking about it.

There’s no question about it though, life is valuable. How valuable it is, well, maybe that’s up to us. Or in the case of this novel, our dear narrators.

I’ve always been a sucker for unreliable narrators, and this book is a glorious study of them. I loved the narrators. They seemed like horrible people, but at the same time they were deeply relatable. Some were insecure, some thirsted for power and love, and others weren’t quite sure of what they wanted. Bell does a fantastic job of crafting characters that we know are wrong, but we can’t help but root for. There’s just enough redeeming or relatable qualities to each character. As the lines between reality and right and wrong blur for our narrators, those lines blur for the reader as well.

If you’re turned off by the idea of domestic thrillers, thinking them tame, this book will no doubt help you think differently of the genre. This is Bell’s first book, and I surely hope it’s not her last. I’ve found a new author to add to my favorites. I’ll be treating myself with re-reads of this book for many years to come.

TL;DR: If you’ve seen the movie, don’t worry. The book will still hold plenty of surprises for you. The book is a masterful dark domestic thriller, with twists galore. The characters are perhaps unlovable, and yet, they are deeply relatable. The pacing is a little slow out the gate, but when it picks up, the pace is breakneck and brilliant. Get your fuzzy blankets, your favorite hot beverage and treat yourself to A Simple Favor. You can thank me (and yourself) later.

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The Most Frenzied Time of the Year

Ah yes. November. Thoughts turn to Christmas shopping, and a good number of us Americans start thinking about Thanksgiving. Yet if you stand close to a writer there’s a fair chance you’ll see furrowed brows and a distracted look. Not to mention that undeniably distinctive smell of adrenaline and anxious longing. Clearly they aren’t thinking about presents and turkey. But you can’t blame us for that. After all, it’s November.

It’s time for NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month.

NaNo-2018-Writer-Facebook-Cover

But For those of you not familiar with it, the idea is to write 50,000 words in thirty days–the standard size of most novels. If you win, you’ll come out with a draft of a novel and serious bragging rights. By the time you read this, we’ll already be five days in. Ideally by the end of today, we writers will have at least 8,337 words under our belt. Some of us (like me) will be behind, some of us will be on target, and some of us will be miles ahead. But we’ll all be having fun doing what we love. Writing.

Some people swear by NaNoWriMo, and others decry it saying you can’t get anything beyond trash if you try to write a novel in a month. Of course, both sides claim the other is spouting rubbish.

Then there’s me, firmly in the middle.

When I first ventured into the depths of NaNoWriMo in 2009, I won. What I came out with was…rubbish. To be fair, I was young, I had little to no experience with novel writing, and yes, I was quite idealistic. That idealism worked wonders for me while writing, but I was under the impression that I could bang out a draft and it would be set to go to the presses. Like I said, I was young.

I put my novel aside when November was over and pulled it out a few months later.

I was mortified. Oh, the idea was good. But any reader will tell you plot alone won’t save a story. My characters and dialogue had me baffled in places. It was too hard to tell who was who if I didn’t constantly name them, simply because I didn’t flesh out the characters enough. To be so confused by one’s own writing is quite embarrassing.

And yet, I still have that draft. Off and on for the past nine years, I’ve been doing the world building, the character sheets, and creating a full on outline for the book and the series it will be a part of.

I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo nearly every year after that, although I’ve only ever won one other time. But I’ve never considered those times a loss. I’ve come to find that no matter how awful the writing is, you still come away with something. Each time I’ve learned more about writing, myself, and my local writing community.

But the goal of NaNoWriMo isn’t to get to 50,000 words or to even come out with a workable draft at the end of it all. The goal is to enjoy writing. To take the time as often as you can to write. To push yourself and your story forward. There’s no shame in not “winning.” You tried. You decided to take a chance. And heaven knows, there’s no shame in saying that this year there’s no way you can hold on to your  mental and physical health and write that much. The goal is to have fun, to write, and to take care of yourself in the process.

I personally think that anyone interested in writing and those who want to make it part of their lives (whether publishing their writing or work in the publishing industry) should give it a go. After all, the greatest adventure is to take a chance on yourself.

 

 

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Book Review: The Ribbajack and Other Curious Yarns

“Gentle reader, heed my plea, pray witness now this shocking tale…”

Apologies for the terribly belated book review. But have one last treat before the night ends. I’ve been a long time lover of Jacques, and it seems a disservice to his memory to not bring to light his little book of curious short stories. And while this Halloween night is creeping ever closer to its finish, there’s always time to pull out a delightfully unsettling story collection.

Screen Shot 2018-09-30 at 3.04.04 PM

Synopsis: From the mastermind behind the bestselling Redwall series, Brian Jacques invites us to explore a darker, creepier side of life with six short stories. Each story explores a different element of the human experience, each experience more bizarre than the last. Enhancing the mood is a short poem that preferences each story. Long time fans of Brian Jacques, and those who are new to his works will be able to see why Jacques is considered a master storyteller.

Thoughts: There is nothing like Jacques’ writing style. Despite the stories being dark, there is a warm, welcoming feeling to the stories. This is what made me devour the tales growing up. As an adult, I’m still in love with the collection.

While the horror aspect of the collection initially attracted me, it’s the twists and morals of the stories that have helped this set of stories dig its way into my heart. The welcoming writing style keeps you reading, and then something slightly unexpected happens then is built upon. Of course, it’s not Jacques if there’s only one twist. It’s the ultimate twist that leads to the moral. Yet this moral is hardly a slap on the wrist, and more of an invitation to think, to muse and mutter over what you just read, to walk a little more cautiously, or a little more bravely.

As for the stories themselves…”The Ribbajack” is by far my favorite. It’s the longest of the seven, and the darkest. Revenge tales are old hat at this point, but the revenge of the Ribbajack is unusual and fresh, despite the plot drawing from historical elements. The Ribbajack is a monster worthy of the Monster Hall of Fame.

I deeply appreciated “The Mystery of Huma D’Este”, and “The all Ireland Champion Versus the Nye Add”, although these stories didn’t seem quite as magical as they did to me when I was younger. Perhaps it’s because I re-read them so much as a kid that they’ve lost a bit of their appeal now that I’m older. After reading them so many times I’ve come to see how the twists are inevitable, not surprising.

“Rosie’s Pet” and “A Smile and a Wave” are oddly humorous. There’s something deeply childlike and relatable in each. The twists are predictable after reading them so many times, yet the enjoyment for me was enhanced, knowing what was coming. “Miggy Mags and the Malabar Sailor” must be mentioned with these two as well. The humanity and humor in this story is wonderful. Even though these stories are more lively than the others, there’s a seriousness and darkness to all three. When read together with the others in the collection, it makes sense how they would be included.

Overall this is a lovely set of stories, perfect for reading aloud around bonfires, or for hiding under the covers and reading by flashlight. Dark surprises, wicked humor, and a warm writing style make this short story collection an excellent pick.

TL;DR: Those familiar with Jacques’ works will no doubt delight in this collection. While it’s a step away from the Redwall and Castaways series, there’s no denying the enjoyment these seven tales give. If you’re new to the author, The Ribbajack and Other Curious Yarns is a brilliant introduction to him. Told in a unique style, these stories are twists on classic ideas and questions we sometimes dare not ask ourselves. If you’re into the darker and more curious things in life, then this is a book well worth investing in.

 

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Updates

Hello again dear reader, it’s been quite a while and I owe you some updates.

First things first, the absence: I have a wonderful job that inspires my writing. But due to the work load and yearly adjustment period, I had to drop most things to focus on work and readjusting to it. I also took this time to plan writerly things, including the blog/website. At any rate, I missed this month’s post. Next month, I’ll be starting up again, back on schedule (first Monday of the month).

Now on to the stuff I most want to talk about. I’m a writer through and through, but I’m also a reader. I’m passionate about dark fiction, both reading and writing it. Therefore, I’ve decided to add book reviews to the mix. Every other month (starting next month), I’ll do a book review. The months I don’t do book reviews will be the usual. Post talking about the writing life, my inspirations, and upcoming projects. I’m really looking forward to this, and hope y’all will enjoy it as much as I will.

One final thing: I had opened up a giveaway in July, but despite leaving it open longer than planned to allow more entries, there still weren’t enough entries to merit a giveaway. I love giveaways, so we’ll try again in the future.

Well there you go. Now we’re all on the same page, and hopefully that answered any questions y’all might have had. See you in October!