This month’s writing didn’t add up as much as I hoped for. I have a lot of beta reading going on because of critique swapping and I needed to put in more time on the board game side of things because I was trying to get the game’s Kickstarter Preview Page up. Which, by the way, I successfully did! Do check it out!
There are also unforeseen circumstances going on in my family which requires me to pause all work related activities for a week. I lost my grandma this month. It has been a long week and I’m writing it down here to be as transparent as I can.
Anyway, here are updates in more details.
Unhallowed Crown #1 — Betas
I managed to secure a lot of readers this month, which is a huge surprise for me. A lot of it came from critique swapping with another author from posts I made from Goodreads. I am actually really glad that so far the comments made have been in line with what I expected, meaning I don’t have to do another major rewrite for the manuscript. I also received a fair share of feedback for new scenes I have written on my second draft. So that’s really great. Allowed me to know what works and what doesn’t.
Unhallowed Crown #2
As for the second book, I completed a total of 11,000 words this month. Not great as I was aiming for at least 25,000 words. Regardless, that’s still about a 6% contribution to the progress bar.
Snippet of the Month
From his belt, he unslung a rope with a rock attached to one of its ends and began twirling it. Slow at first but became more vehement every second.
“Hey! Hey!” Olivia raised her arms in surrender. “We meant no harm!”
“Durn gal! Get da’ hell out! There is a bear behind ya!” The man bellowed and swung his roped rock at Olivia.
Olivia ducked. Behind her, Roose rose to his hindlegs and knocked the incoming rock down to the ground. He let out a roar which sent the man trembling. The man staggered back, tripped on a rock and fell arse first.
“Damn it! Roose, calm down!” Olivia scowled at Roose.
The bear returned her scowl and it looked as if it was raising his eyebrow, complaining, The man started it!
Olivia vaulted the fence and offered a hand to help the man up. “Hey, you alright? I’m really sorry about that. My pet can get a little overprotective.”
“Ya’ pet is a bear?” The man gawked.
Reading Journeys
Here are some books (excluding Beta Reads) I’ve read this month! And a little comment alongside it.
The Box Man by Kōbō Abe
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Epic Fantasy, Action & Adventure
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1973
The Box Man is an eerie book which depicts a man who is trapped by his demons. Or so I thought… Because halfway in the book, there seems to be a shift in perspective. In fact, it becomes very difficult to understand whose story we are following. This book is ‘too meta’ for me. It couldn’t understand it and so I can’t possibly recommend it. It’s a vast difference compared to one of my favourites from Kōbō Abe: The Woman in the Dunes.
“Of course, it was nothing at all to get out of the box. And since there was nothing to it, I felt no compulsive need to leave it. Yet I wanted someone, if possible, to lend me a hand.”
Keep Me Breathing by U. R. Holm
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Sci-Fi Adventure
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2024
Keep Me Breathing is a heartwarming adventure about finding a lost son. I initially thought I would be reading another Romance book, but it was something completely different. Not necessarily a bad thing because it kept me thoroughly surprised. There was something about this book’s premise—two best friends fulfilling each other’s promises—that tugs your heart in a pleasant way.
“People like us don’t get happy lives. At least let us have a decent one.”
The Heirs of Terrison by C. J. Rhinehart
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YA Steampunk
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2025
The Heirs of Terrison is a hidden gem in Steampunk Fantasy. I expected a spicy love story in an airship. But I got so much more. The Heirs of Terrison introduced many lovable characters caught in an adventure of their lifetime. On top of Romance, this book is a story of friendship, brotherhood and overcoming adversities. Three themes I thoroughly enjoyed.
I am really looking forward to the sequel. I wish to see the characters I fell in love with grow and curious to discover more of the deep and lurking political scheme going on behind the scene.
“Do not choose to suffer about this. Choose to accept it, and to beat it. No one benefits if you tell yourself that you are powerless. You are not powerless, and you never have been.”
The Crimson Fire by Abel Montero
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Epic Fantasy
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2025
The Crimson Fire is an ambitious Epic Fantasy with deep and intricate world-building. The setting has a potential to be an amazing playground for a wonderful story. My biggest complain is the copious amount of lore-dump and poorly structured chapters and sub-chapters which drew me away from the POV of the main characters. I struggled a lot reading this book because I couldn’t grasp the plot until I hit the 60-70% mark which becomes a huge bummer to my overall enjoyment.
“Legends are distorted reflections of ancient truths, often terrible in their simplicity.”
Joshua Dharmawan 