IWSG - April

 It's the first Wednesday in April, so it's time for the IWSG!

The awesome co-hosts for the April 2 posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Lane, L Diane Wolfe, Jenni Enzor, and Natalie Aguirre!

This month's question really had me scratching my head.

What fantasy character would you like to fight, go on a quest with, or have a beer/glass of wine with?

You see, I don't really read fantasy.  I've never enjoyed fantasy books much. I've tried reading The Hobbit about 10 times, and never got far into it.  I think there are two types of people in the world - the ones who like The Hobbit, and the ones who don't.

I've tried reading other fantasy too, thinking maybe I just don't like Tolkien, but I've had the same reaction to most other fantasy books I've tried.  Just. Not. My. Thing.

Interestingly though, one of my longest-term CPs, Breanna, is a fantasy author.  High fantasy too.  With complex magic systems and wizards and battling tribes.  The stuff I usually find a complete turn off if I come across it in a book's description.  And I love her books.  She has a unique voice and an even more unique way of making what are probably fantasy tropes something specific to the worlds she's created.  In her published novels, the way magic is used and the effect it has on users is something I've never come across before.  And her new stuff...  well, you fantasy lovers are in for an absolute treat when these books come out.  

So, to answer this question, I'd have to say, if I had to go on a quest or sit down for a bevvie with a fantasy character, it would have to be one of Breanna's. I have a specific one in mind - he's one of the heroes of her newest book that I'm reading for her at the moment, as she writes it - but as the book isn't finished yet, I'm going to have to go with one from one of her published novels: Corcoran Gray from Lord of Secrets.  He's kind of a scoundrel, but a loveable one, in his own way.

But to be honest, there are characters in a bunch of books I'd love to spend time with, even some of my own characters.  By the time I've finished writing them, they kind of have lives of their own and I'd love to know more about them.  But fantasy characters?  Not so much...

Who would you pick?

Weekly goals 31-3-25

 I ended up going up the line on Saturday after all, so my writing time this weekend was a little limited.  I did almost finish the chapter I was working on, and I've written a whole lot of bits and pieces for later in the book.  I do feel like it's taking too long to get my main characters to meet.  I'm over 10K into this book and they haven't even seen each other yet.

Which is always the thing that happens to me when I start at the beginning of a story - I take 10K or so to find the actual start of the book.  Although, I'm not entirely sure that's the case this time.  I feel like everything has been happening quite organically up until now.  Just slowly.  I guess we'll see how it all turns out.

So my goal this week is to keep going, get some more words down.  It's only a couple of weeks until Easter and my 10-day writing marathon to try and get this finished.  The more I get done in advance, the better.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 28-3-25

It's the end of the week, so it's time to Celebrate the Small Things.

What am I celebrating this week?

It's the weekend!

I was going to be heading up the line for a day or so to catch up with some old colleagues, but my ride has fallen through, so I guess I'm staying home now.  Which is actually fine because I can get more work done on my book.  I've been a little naughty and written some pieces from later in the story during the week, mainly because the prompts for the daily flash fiction competition I do lent themselves to those sections of the book.  This little flash fiction thing I do is very useful for exploring parts of the story and the voices of the characters in little 1000 word or less chunks!

Other than that, I have nothing planned except my usual gym time and chores.  I've been feeling a little unwell for the last couple of weeks - nothing specific, just feeling off - and I think it has a lot to do with how little sleep I've been getting, so hopefully I can clock a few extra hours in bed.

I went to a really cool, innovative show on Wednesday and to the orchestra on Thursday, so it has been a busy week of activities already.

So that's probably enough to celebrate this week.

What are you celebrating?

Books I've Read: The End of Men

A friend lent me this book, saying they thought I'd enjoy it. It's something I probably would have picked up myself if I'd seen it, just because of the tite - I consider it aspirational - but I hadn't come across it.  And boy did I enjoy it!

It was written pre-pandemic, yet so many things that happened, especially early in the book, resonated so much because of what we went through in 2020.  This is actually the second book written pre-2020 I've read since the pandemic that eerily echo the reality we lived through.

In this book, a deadly new virus first come to light in Scotland.  One doctor identifies the salient feature of this particular illness is that it only affects men.  But when she tries to alert the authorities, the scientific and medical community, the world at large, she's dismissed and being an hysterical woman.  And by the time the world catches up with what she'd been trying to tell them, it's too late.  The virus has spread too far to contain easily and men around the world are dying in droves.

The book uses the perspectives of a shifting group of women who are left to deal with the consequences.  These are all very different women with very different skills and interests and come from all walks of life.  Through these various different eyes, we get a very good idea just what challenges the world might face if all the men - well, most... 10% of men in this world are immune - disappeared.

There are the initial stages of the plague where women are forced to face the fact their husbands, brothers and sons are likely to die, then the grieving that comes when they inevitably do. But what's more interesting is the society that develops in the wake of the pandemic, a society where all the roles usually taken by men are filled by women.

There are so many fascinating things this book delves into - global politics where all the world's leaders are now women, the workforce where suddenly all the heavy manual jobs men traditionally do have to be done by women, what happens to love and sex when there are so many more women than men.  Even little things, like redesigning seatbelts in cars so they are more effective for female bodies and re-thinking what families might look like.

I really enjoyed this book and found it incredibly thought provoking. Especially with having a real-world version of this scenario in the very recent past.  It made everything hit home that much harder than it probably did when people read it back in 2018.

So I'd recommend it.  My 13-year-old niece heard me talking about it when I was reading it and decided she wanted to read it too.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

Set in a world where a virus stalks our male population, The End of Men is an electrifying and unforgettable debut from a remarkable new talent that what would life truly look like without men?Only men are affected by the virus; only women have the power to save us all. The year is 2025, and a mysterious virus has broken out in Scotland--a lethal illness that seems to affect only men. When Dr. Amanda MacLean reports this phenomenon, she is dismissed as hysterical. By the time her warning is heeded, it is too late. The virus becomes a global pandemic--and a political one. The victims are all men. The world becomes alien--a women's world.What follows is the immersive account of the women who have been left to deal with the virus's consequences, told through first-person narratives. Dr. MacLean; Catherine, a social historian determined to document the human stories behind the "male plague;" intelligence analyst Dawn, tasked with helping the government forge a new society; and Elizabeth, one of many scientists desperately working to develop a vaccine. Through these women and others, we see the uncountable ways the absence of men has changed society, from the personal--the loss of husbands and sons--to the political--the changes in the workforce, fertility and the meaning of family.In The End of Men, Christina Sweeney-Baird creates an unforgettable tale of loss, resilience and hope.

Weekly Goals 24-3-25

 I finished Chapter 6 yesterday, but I think I'm going to change the ending.  I didn't get as much writing done as I would have liked,  but I knew that was going to be the case.  I'm not too worried about it.  It's only about three weeks until Easter and I'll have 10 full days then to immerse myself in this story.  Very much looking forward to that.

So the goal this week is to just keep the momentum up.  Write another chapter or two.  Fix the ending of the one I wrote yesterday, to start with.

I'm still waiting on a few people to finish reading A Stranger to Kindness, so that's kind of on hold right now.  My goal is to finish the new now, then to start querying Stranger while I let the new one rest.  Feedback so far has been very positive.  Everyone seems to love my boys almost as much as I do.

And that's about it for goals this week.

What do you want to achieve?

Celebrate the Small Things 21-3-25

It's the end of the week, so it's time to Celebrate the Small Things.

What am I celebrating this week?

It's the weekend!

I have a few things on this weekend, including seeing one of my favourite musicians play in one of the most beautiful venues there is in Wellington. So looking forward to that!

I haven't had a chance to get much writing done this week, but will try to get chapter 6 finished on Sunday before I go to the gig.  Not too big a job, I don't think.

I don't have much else to celebrate this week.  It has been a quiet and rather boring one, to be honest.  Hopefully more exciting things to talk about next week.

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Read: Take Me With You When You Go

 

I read this one a couple of years back, but decided to revisit it because it has some things in common with the book I'm currently working on.  It's also a really good book.

It's epistolary in form - the whole book is told through a series of emails between the various characters.  Which makes it a little "tell-y" in places, but the things the characters are telling each other about are so engrossing, it almost doesn't matter.

Ezra wakes up one morning to discover his older sister is gone.  She leaves him a secret email address in a place she knows only he will find it, making him promise he won't tell anyone else about it or where she is.

Ezra and Bea have grown up with just their mother - their father left before Ezra was even born - and their mother's new husband who abuses them.  Their mother turns a blind eye to her husband's cruelty, devoting herself to his needs while ignoring the needs of her children.

Finding himself alone with this cruelty and neglect, Ezra soon flees the house too, not running as far as Bea, but getting away from a place he feels is increasingly unsafe for him.  Meanwhile, Bea is figuring out how to live on her own in a new city without any friends or family.  As she becomes more comfortable navigating life on her own, she admits to Ezra the real reason she ran - not away, but to.

The things both Ezra and bea discover about their family and themselves rock their worlds to the very foundations, but maybe being torn apart like this is exactly what they both need to be able to find a way back to one another.

As you probably already know, I'm a sucker for a sibling story.  Love sibs that fight, who love, who pull apart and come together.  Most of my own books deal with some kind of sibling relationship, even if it's a subplot to the main story.  So this book was right up my alley to start with.  Add to that the fact it's written by Jennifer Niven and David Leviathan, and it's a double whammy.  I've loved all Jennifer's books, and David is a YA legend.

This one had me on the edge of my seat too.  I was so worried for Bea and what she was running toward.  And so worried for poor Ezra, left behind with those awful people. And then nothing turns out the way you think it might, which was refreshing too.

I enjoyed the email format for telling the story.  It felt very immediate and relatable and the various other voices that came in from time to time made for a nice change.

So I'd recommend this one.  Especially if, like me, you love an angsty sibling relationship story.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

From the New York Times bestselling authors of All the Bright Places and Every Day comes a story of hope, family, and finding your home in the people who matter the most.

Subject: You. Missing.

Ezra Ahern wakes up one day to find his older sister, Bea, gone. No note, no sign, nothing but an email address hidden somewhere only he would find it. Ezra never expected to be left behind with their abusive stepfather and their neglectful mother - how is he supposed to navigate life without Bea?

Bea Ahern already knew she needed to get as far away from home as possible. But a message in her inbox changes everything, and she finds herself alone in a new city - without Ez, without a real plan - chasing someone who might not even want to be found.

As things unravel at home for Ezra, Bea confronts secrets about their past that will forever change the way they think about their family. Together and apart, broken by abuse but connected by love, this brother and sister must learn to trust themselves before they can find a way back to each other.