It’s Writing Wednesday! My weekly update on how things are going, if anything’s exploded, what’s on fire, where am I, who are you …AND MORE.

What I’m Reading

I finished Amanda Palmer’s THE ART OF ASKING earlier this week, and man, that’s an inspiring book for any writer who wants to think more about building a community of fans, or is interested in how crowdsourcing works successfully.

Then, a few days ago, Lisa at OVER THE EFFING RAINBOW pointed me to the Kushiel’s Dart readalong over at DAB OF DARKNESS.

I heard a lot of people raving about the Kushiel’s Legacy series when I was at Eastercon in Glasgow, and I picked it up on its current 99p Kindle sale. It’s a sprawling, romantic epic fantasy, aimed at fans of George R.R. Martin and Sylvia Day alike, which is impressive. Here’s the back cover copy:

In a kingdom born of angels, Phedre is an anguisette, cursed or blessed to find pleasure in pain. Sold to the Court of Night Blooming Flowers, her fate as a beautiful but anonymous courtesan was sealed. Her bond was purchased by the nobleman Anafiel Delauney, who recognized the scarlet mote in Phedre’s eye as the rare mark of one touched by a powerful deity. Under Delauney’s patronage she is trained in history, politics, language, and the use of body and mind as the ultimate weapon of subterfuge in a dangerous game of courtly intrigue.
Guided into the bed chambers of Terre D’Ange’s most influential nobles, Phedre uncovers a conspiracy against the throne so vast that even her teacher cannot see the whole of it. As her nation is besieged by invading hordes from the north, the most unthinkable threat to her beloved home comes from traitors within. Betrayed and blindsided by her own longings, only Phedre and her trusted bodyguard Josselin are left to cross borders and warring armies in a race to stop the final blow from falling.

I’m really excited to be part of the read along for this! I’ve never even done a read along.

Here’s everyone taking part on this wild adventure:

Week 1: May 10, Chapters 1-8, Hosted by DAB OF DARKNESS.
Week 2: May 17, Chapters 9-18, Hosted by Allie at Tethyan Books
Week 3: May 24, Chapters 19-26, Hosted by Lisa at OVER THE EFFING RAINBOW
Week 4: May 31, Chapters 27-36, Hosted by Caroline at Beauty Is a Sleeping Cat
Week 5: June 7, Chapters 37-45, Hosted by Igret at Igret’s Corner
Week 6: June 14, Chapters 46-54, Hosted by Grace at Books Without Any Pictures
Week 7: June 21, Chapters 55-63, Hosted by Dolce Bellezza at Dolce Bellezza
Week 8: June 28, Chapters 64-73, Hosted by Lynn at Lynn’s Book Blog
Week 9: July 5, Chapters 74-83, Hosted by ME! HELLO IT’S LOVELY TO MEET YOU~
Week 10: July 12, Chapter 84-END, Hosted by Lisa at OVER THE EFFING RAINBOW

What I’m Writing

Editing is going swimmingly this week! It’s good times, my friends. Just got to keep up the momentum.

What Works For Me

Barrelling through the bits I’m stuck on instead of spending days trying to figure out the perfect way to rewrite them. A dash of inspiring non-fiction helps too. (*waves ‘THE ART OF ASKING’ again*)

What Else I’ve Been Up To

Drinking a ton of tea. I got some glorious birthday cake rooibos from Bluebird Tea Co, and it’s basically my life right now.

Also, I’ve been reading a ton of comics and need to give a special shout out to MS MARVEL VOLUME 2. Not only does it continue to be an amazing comic about a Muslim-American super heroine, but the latest volume had some really fantastic points about the way we treat modern-day teenagers as if they’re an inconvenience.