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Vacation post #1

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You remember me saying that I was going to spend my vacation reading and writing? Yeah, about that, ha ha ha.

I finally sat down yesterday and did a little bit of writing. I also wrote quite a bit today, and I’m raring to write some more. It’s hard to get started, but once I do I don’t want to stop. I usually only stop when I get myself stuck. I have a habit of only starting once I’ve figured out where to go next. It’s a bit of a hassle, to tell you the truth, but it’s moving me forward. I’m under no obligation to write anything, nor do I have a deadline to write it in. I’m a free man, writing at my pace for my own enjoyment.

 

Remodel

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12717709_10205967206406401_12074319970344093_nI have not been writing as of late. Don’t get me wrong, I want to, but I started a project that I’ve been putting off for several months. I began remodeling my bedroom this week, and my writing space is a disaster. It’ll continue being a disaster for a few weeks yet.

My bedroom was done back in the 80’s for my grandfather. It was a nice room when it was built, but time has taken its toll. The paneled walls that once looked amazing were dated, and the tile floor was beginning to fall apart. The ceiling was bowing, due to rain the seeped in a couple of years ago, back when the roof was redone.

I gutted my room completely. Ceiling came down, as did the walls. I replaced my windows a few months ago. Hail broke one of my windows last summer. I boarded it up temporarily, but finally got around to replacing both of them. That done, I knew I would have to upgrade my room.

So I’m roomless at the moment, which is fine with me. It’s a small price to pay to so that I will have a space that is my own. Too bad materials cost so much, so I’m having to buy everything a little at a time, but even so, I’ll manage.

I finished putting up the ceiling a few hours ago. Tomorrow I’ll replace insulation in the walls before starting to drywall. After my next paycheck, I’ll look at getting my flooring bought.

Once everything is done, I’ll replace the desk I built a few years ago. I’m planning on building some shelves to match my desk. I need someplace to store my books. I love books. But until I’m done, my writing will be impacted. I’ll try to do what I can, but most of my time will be spent working on my room.

Until this get back to normal, I’ll work things out in my mind. Once I’m done, I hope to start again and grind my way to the end. I just wish it wouldn’t take so long to get my room back.

Book Review: Illusion

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IllusionImagine waking up in an unfamiliar room, not knowing where you were or even not knowing your own name. This is the predicament our heroine finds herself in to start the book, Illusion, by Christa Yelich-Koth. Daith Tocc, a young woman and daughter to Jacin Jaxx, has been kidnapped, her mind erased, by Commander Trey Xiven, once second in command to her father.

Trey, trying to maintain the army her father established in order to impose peace in the galaxy, is on a mission to bring order to the chaos that erupted after Jacin’s death. Hoping his offspring may possess their father’s mental gifts,  Trey searched until he located Daith, wiping her memory, and testing her in the hopes that he could use her for his own ends.

The commander brings in his estranged brother, Dru, to test and guide her, to hone her skills. Though he’s uncomfortable with lying to Daith about her true identity, he’s drawn to her, the first woman that has interested him since his wife’s death. He’s torn between familial bonds, and his growing attachment to his patient, struggling to maintain some semblance of clinical detachment.

But with Daith’s power growing beyond what they had imagined, keeping her identity a secret from her becomes more difficult. Trey resorts to desperate measures to ensure she stays under his control, and no one’s life is safe while he attempts to bring peace back to the galaxy. He believes everyone is expendable, a small price to pay in order to free worlds from war, but will he be able to sway Daith? Will she stay and give up her hope of discovering who she really is?

When I started reading this book, it wasn’t with any sense of expectation. It was only because I agreed to read and review it for the author. It quickly became apparent that the book was well thought out, well-written, and was actually gripping. I became immersed in her story, needing to know what came next, needing to see what exactly Trey’s plan would be, and if Daith would regain her memory.

Illusion is a book whose antagonist believes himself to be the hero, while he plots and schemes, having no trouble killing those who stand in his way, including his own crew should they disappoint him in any way. He’s a tyrant rather than a leader. Daith, however, is a mystery to herself, discovering the truth of her powers as she is guided by the lies of a man who doesn’t care about her, except by how she could be of use to his plans.

As as sit here writing this, is occurs to me that Illusion is one of the better books I’ve reviewed. I read until I could no longer stay awake, and finished it as soon as I could. My only complaint is that I have to wait until the next book to come out to know what happens next. I came to loathe Trey while I rooted for Daith – and to a lesser extent, Dru – to be able to free herself from his grasp.

Christa succeeded in creating an interesting story, one that I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to read. It’s definitely one of my new favorites!

 

List of Book Reviews
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Previous Review – Levant Mirage

Finally inspired

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WritingI’ve spent most of the past two days in bed. I haven’t been feeling all to great, and I haven’t had much energy. I even called out of work this morning. My stomach was a bit topsy-turvy and I didn’t think work was the best place for me. I’m hoping I feel better in the morning, but for now, I’m trying to relax and hoping I start feeling better.

Other than doing as little as possible the past couple of days, I spent a considerable amount of time working on my book. I’ve written close to five thousand words, and I’m still going strong, finally finding the stakes of the story, the machinations implausible, but in light of recent events, not altogether impossible.

I just finished writing the scene where my two main characters meet, at a dinner party, where the host surprises his guests with a wild claim, one that seems improbable but one they admit can happen given the right circumstances. My main characters first meeting seems to go well, until it devolves towards the end.

Maybe it would be easier were I to plot the story out, but nah. I have my antagonists in place, the plot is moving forward, and soon things will begin to happen, pushing my characters together until….

The end hasn’t been written yet, except that I have the next book in the series already written. I know where it’s going, I know the destination of the relationship, and I know the fate of my characters, the destiny they both are chasing.

I’m finally excited to be working on this project. I’ve been reluctant to write it because I didn’t have an idea of what would happen, or why, but now I do. I’m figuring out the plot structure as I write, inspiration kicking in at the right time. All it took was for me to stop forcing the story along, and to stop writing long enough to find the hook.

I’ve passed 21,000 words today and I’m pleased with the progress. I still have a long way to go before I’m anywhere near done, but for now, I say I’m well on my way.

Am I a Jedi?

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Maybe I am a Jedi…

 

…and a master at that!