Sep. 17th, 2025 12:53 pm
WIP Wednesday
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Finally--FINALLY!!--back to our usual routine and it's been glorious. Life stuff does unfortunately continue. My car died again so I'll need to for sure deal with that before Mr FTS goes on a work trip soon, and I did have a cold last week, and then I got my Covid shot this week which always knocks me on my butt for a couple of days afterward. But there's been words! Actually, quite a lot of words!!
New words this week : 7503 words which is pretty awesome and I am delighted. This was a wonderfully productive week.
WIPs worked on this week : 2, with no new WIPs (yay!)
The Old Guard
☆ food truck au : 5353 words which brings the total to 21,871 words and I am pretty sure that it's going to go past 25k, but I think that I can keep it under 30k? I don't even know what I'm doing anymore with it, partly because it still feels like a 5k idea and somehow it's gotten enormous and I don't know if that's a good thing or not? First chapter is completed and off to beta, though, so I'm really hoping that some feedback will help.
☆ werewolf au : 2150 words which brings the total to 7969 words and all of them were smut.
New words this week : 7503 words which is pretty awesome and I am delighted. This was a wonderfully productive week.
WIPs worked on this week : 2, with no new WIPs (yay!)
The Old Guard
☆ food truck au : 5353 words which brings the total to 21,871 words and I am pretty sure that it's going to go past 25k, but I think that I can keep it under 30k? I don't even know what I'm doing anymore with it, partly because it still feels like a 5k idea and somehow it's gotten enormous and I don't know if that's a good thing or not? First chapter is completed and off to beta, though, so I'm really hoping that some feedback will help.
☆ werewolf au : 2150 words which brings the total to 7969 words and all of them were smut.
Sep. 14th, 2025 04:31 pm
Book 90, 2025
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My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Last night I completed the book What the Cat Dragged In by Miranda James. It’s the 14th “Cat in the Stacks” book, with main characters Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel.
Charlie always assumed his grandfather sold the family farm, but when the longtime resident dies, Charlie learns that Martin Hale had been granted a lifetime lease and that he, himself, has inherited the farm. Charlie barely recalls the house from when he was a boy, but when he goes to inspect it, he finds memories coming back to him. However, when Charlie and Diesel discover skeletal remains in the attic, he finds himself questioning everything he knew about his family history. The plot thickens when Hale’s grandson is found murdered on the property. Charlie believes the deaths are connected, prompting him to do some investigating of his own.
Again, I am boggled by the shift in Charlie’s character. Early in the series, he was a reluctant sleuth, but recently he’s been all too eager to poke his nose where it doesn’t belong. To be fair, virtually all amateur sleuths in cozy mysteries are poking their noses where they don’t belong, but coming from this particular character it is jarring. That being said, the narrative was smooth and engrossing. It was fun to reconnect with familiar characters and meet new ones.
Favorite lines:
♦ “Not a good citizen, that man, though I reckon he paid his taxes on time.”
♦ “I’d eat a pickled ox about now.”
♦ “Shades of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Secret cellars.”
Good book, and a good addition to the series. Four stars.
Sep. 12th, 2025 10:39 pm
Book 89, 2025
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
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There was precious little left of my work book after lunch today, so I brought it home and finished it. The book was Zombie Moon by Lori Devoti. It belongs to the Silhouette ‘Nocturne’ line of paranormal romance. Main characters are Samantha Wagner and Caleb Locke.
Samantha never believed in things that go bump in the night until she receives a video of her BFF, Allison, reacting with fear to someone she calls “the Doctor”. The video convinces Sam that zombies are real, and that she needs the help of Caleb Locke, the most infamous zombie hunter out there, to rescue Allison. What Samantha doesn’t know is that Caleb is a werewolf.
Caleb chose to become a werewolf to better hunt and destroy zombies. His parents were killed by zombies, and he’s made it his mission to eliminate them. If only he could find out where they were coming from. Enter Samantha, who seems to have an inside track via her friend Allison. Caleb doesn’t want to work with Sam, but if she can help him find where the Doctor’s lab is, he will. Unfortunately, his wolf has decided it wants Samantha.
Nothing soft or humorous about this story; it was violent and gritty. It would have made a better urban fantasy than a paranormal romance. I could have done without Caleb and Sam falling in love over the course of about three days. Not everything was resolved by the end, which irked me. The female lead wasn’t sexually assaulted, however, which is refreshing for a Nocturne book.
Favorite lines:
♦ The heyday of zombies was fifty years past; ghosts were the new supernatural black.
♦ She had jumped out of one fire and into the arms of an inferno.
The story was well-written but not my cup of tea. Average score of three.
Sep. 10th, 2025 01:03 pm
WIP Wednesday
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Into week #4 of disruptions and horror of horrors, I woke up today with an irritated and gunky throat. Pray with me it's not covid because the last time Mr FTS went into the office (he's work from home like 95% of the time) he brought home covid and because life is unfair he always has a day or two of mild cold symptoms and bounces right back and I spend a week feeling like I got hit by a bus. I have so much stuff to do this weekend I can't afford to be sick right now.
New words this week : 5237 words which is a little behind where I wanted to be but yesterday's wordcount was 82 so accounting for that I'm still being pretty consistent on the days I do get words done.
WIPs worked on this week : 3, with no new WIPs (yay!)
The Old Guard
☆ food truck au : 624 words which brings the total to 16,383 words and idk why my stupid brain has switched away from this one it's So! Damn! Close! To! Done!! I've got it all down it's just a matter of filling in the missing bits and it's silly and it's fun and I'm having fun writing it and yet here we are.
☆ werewolf au : 3719 words which brings the total to 5589 words and I guess we can see what my brain's latched onto recently. I've got more of a plot worked out but it's going to be like 80% pining and smut. I am okay with this.
☆ Old Kingdom au : 894 words which brings the total to 15,235 words and this one continues to benefit from having some brainstorming time on walks and while doing dishes etc.
New words this week : 5237 words which is a little behind where I wanted to be but yesterday's wordcount was 82 so accounting for that I'm still being pretty consistent on the days I do get words done.
WIPs worked on this week : 3, with no new WIPs (yay!)
The Old Guard
☆ food truck au : 624 words which brings the total to 16,383 words and idk why my stupid brain has switched away from this one it's So! Damn! Close! To! Done!! I've got it all down it's just a matter of filling in the missing bits and it's silly and it's fun and I'm having fun writing it and yet here we are.
☆ werewolf au : 3719 words which brings the total to 5589 words and I guess we can see what my brain's latched onto recently. I've got more of a plot worked out but it's going to be like 80% pining and smut. I am okay with this.
☆ Old Kingdom au : 894 words which brings the total to 15,235 words and this one continues to benefit from having some brainstorming time on walks and while doing dishes etc.
Sep. 9th, 2025 09:35 pm
Book 88, 2025
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My rating: 2 of 5 stars
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Stayed up a tad late last night to finish reading Seashells & Suspicions by Merlin Newton. Honestly, I was just done with it at that point. Main character is Lana Tidewell.
Lana has returned to Coral Bay after inheriting her late aunt’s seashell shop. When a body washes up onshore, Lana finds herself drawn into a mystery that stretches back years, one brimming with strange shells, cryptic messages, and a cult-like order. The sea is hiding secrets, and it has memories of its own. It’s up to Lana to expose the secrets and calm the sea.
The story was odd and eerie, compelling at times and vexing at others. It was fractured and disjointed with precious little continuity. It was like reading the narrative of someone’s fragmented dream. The story was chaptered, but each chapter read like a stand-alone, short story; there was no smooth transition between chapters. Characters were not fleshed out, and I don’t believe I really learned what any of them even looked like. The author was good at describing the atmosphere around Coral Bay, but not so good with the characters. It was a difficult story to sink into. Not helping were several irksome things:
( Yikes )
Favorite lines:
♦ That was the thing about small towns—they didn’t change much.
♦ Max tried to lighten the mood with a muttered joke about cursed pirate treasure and Scooby-Doo mysteries.
And, of course, the “breath” line: Lana finally let herself exhale, the kind of breath you don’t know you’ve been holding until it leaves your lungs like smoke after fire.
I wanted to like this book. It was eerie bordering on creepy—perfect to read while curled up beneath a blanket, but the story was all over the place. Many things were not resolved at all, which was frustrating, and not much made sense. I can’t condone scoring this higher than a 2.
Sep. 5th, 2025 03:46 pm
FWF: Shocktober Edition
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Mark your calendars! FWF is returning on Friday, October 3rd @ 5pm EDT | 10pm BST. We hope you can join us for a fun night of drinking, conversation, and oh yeah, creating your masterpieces!
More info and prompts will be posted the week before (though it will be a lot like it's always been). Hope to see you here!
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