Hello from a surprisingly comfy hotel near Sheremetevo airport in Moscow!
Well, the vacation on the family estate in sunny Belarus has come to an end. There were tears aplenty, more than enough stress at the airport (you know those annoying people who come aboard your flight at the last possible second? Yeah, that was us), followed by a late arrival, two extremely rude airport employees who tried to make us pay for new flights out of our own pocket, then bliss at a nice hotel paid for by the airline.
The kids seem to like it:
Anyway, these last few days have been full of opportunities for assessment, for contemplation, for thinking about the future. This is, I feel, going to be a very special last quarter of the year. There is a lot I’m planning to do and have already done. First among these is a new short book on interesting stories from Russian history that I’m excited about. Here are two covers I’m considering (if you have an opinion, go ahead and share it with me by email, I’m counting votes as we speak 🙂
Then there’ll be another short book on interesting tidbits from Russian folk culture, and a short list of book recommendations from me, which will be a prelude to that book club I’ve been planning for a while. You’ll hear all the details about that very soon, I promise.
And here are all the other things I’m planning for the next few months:
- a new novella set in the Raven Son universe (yes, I know I’ve been promising you that for a while, sorry!)
- The final book in the Raven Son series (I’m working on titles, but maybe something like The Throne of the Powers, but I'm not sure yet)
- Two new short stories a month, which I will share exclusively through a new Patreon subscription before shopping those stories to traditional magazines
- A new podcast based on Russian/Slavic fairy tales (still working on the concept for that)
- A new interview series with fellow authors on facebook
- A book club with a once-a-month book review/cultural rant and a recommended reading list for subscribers (there will be a free and a patron-exclusive version of this)
And you thought I was on vacation! Hahahaha! 🙂
Links of Internet Interestingness
During these two months, I’ve had a lot of time to read. Some of that was books, some articles. I know I’ve said this before, but the amount of high quality free long and short form content on the internet these days is truly staggering. Here are some of my favorites:
Oops on my part…
My last email included a link for the paperback version of my updated novella, The Rusted Blade. Unfortunately, the link was a bad one (Amazon did an oopsie on me, and I didn’t check. my bad). So if you wanted to get a paperback version of this novella, which is technically a prequel but really better read after book 1, here’s the link.
Here are some of the recent and lovely reviews of that book, if you’re still on the fence and haven’t read it:
“It's quite a story! A worthwhile read from a wonderful writer." K. Tolf
“The Rusted Blade is a prime example of the author's ability to write with balance. The descriptions are beautiful and insightful, without being extraneous. The story line has action and excitement, but these moments are balanced with scenes of thoughtfulness and conversation. This balance makes the novel flow very well." A. Rovny
If you like what you read, go ahead and buy The Rusted Blade here.
What I’m reading
I’ve enjoyed reading some comic books recently, with at least one (Batman: Year One, which his free on Amazon Prime right now) really surprising me with its storytelling excellence. The much-touted Black Panther reboot written by Ta-Nehisi Coates just didn’t do it for me (it feel very pretentious and a little preachy). I finally finished Gardens of the Moon (Book 1 of the Malazan Book of the Fallen) and I both loved and hated it. But seriously, the worldbuilding in it is some of the best I’ve ever read. I’m definitely continuing the series.
Oh, and I finally watched all of Star Trek: Discovery. I have very, very mixed (and strong) feelings. I think I’ll share them on a video or a blog post. Stay tuned.
As always, thanks for coming along with me on my writerly adventures,
~Nicky
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