Happy holidays from our house to yours! I hope this holiday season brings you peace, joy, and all the best presents from Santa. 💕
I’m so grateful for your enthusiasm and support this year, and I can’t wait to see what 2023 and beyond brings! With that in mind, I maaaay have included a new tiny little snippet of Capture the Sun below, but you won’t tell my editor, right? ;)
Happy holidays and happy reading!
I blinked my eyes open to a room filled with dim light. When I lifted my head, I saw that the glass panels had darkened, shading the room from the blazing sun outside. I glanced down at Nilo and found him watching me with an unreadable expression. “What time is it?” I whispered, unwilling to break the fragile peace.
“Midmorning,” he replied just as softly.
I hummed an acknowledgment and then lay back down. Nilo froze as my head returned to his shoulder, then he slowly, carefully wrapped his arm around me. I wasn’t touch starved, not exactly, but it’d been a while since I’d trusted anyone enough to just cuddle.
Not that I trusted Nilo completely, but I trusted that he wouldn’t take advantage of this.
“You don’t have to stay, if you want to get up,” I murmured a few minutes later. Then I reluctantly added, “I should probably get up, too. We have things to do today.”
Nilo’s arm tightened around me. “I’m exactly where I want to be. Stay. Just for a little while longer.”
The ebook of Eclipse the Moon is on sale for $4.99 on Amazon only, for a limited time. I don’t know how long the sale will last or why it’s only Amazon, but if you’ve been waiting for a sale and you have a Kindle, now’s your chance!
Later today I’m having a happy hour with friends from my former company, so yesterday I spent the day baking because we always do a cookie exchange. After a two-year hiatus, I forgot how much work it is.
And I forgot all the tricks I’d learned but didn’t put into the recipe. 🙈
I cut my millionaire’s shortbread while the chocolate was a little too soft and it’s not very pretty, but at least the kiss cookies turned out nice. Behold, one of two wire racks I filled up:
I use the America’s Test Kitchen recipe for both, but I think I might look for another millionaire’s shortbread recipe. They’re super good, but also super crumbly, so I think maybe the shortbread base needs updating. And we’re not going to talk about how many sticks of butter I used, lol.
With the holidays just around the corner (hoooooow????), I thought I’d make a little post with some of my favorite things from the year, then ask you all to share your faves, too. That way, if someone is looking for a last-minute gift, there will be some options!
It’s me, I’m someone, and I’m looking for gift ideas. :)
Here are some of my favorites from the year, with fair warning that there is definitely recency bias because the first half of the year was kind of a deadline blur.
Reading this year has been very hit and miss for me, and while Goodreads assures me I’ve read forty-six books, it doesn’t feel like it, because there are probably that many or more just languishing on my Kindle, partially read. And most of the books I have read have been in the last six months, once my brain was far enough out of the deadline haze to focus.
Or at least kind of focus.
So my theme this years is cosy books. Fated Blades might not seem cosy on the surface, but a book from Ilona and Gordon is always a gift, and they manage to combine action and emotion in a way that rivets me to the page, so I’m counting it.
Dance with the Devil is maybe more cathartic than cosy—a found family working together to take down a tyrannical government—but it’s my list, so I’m counting it, too. Legends & Lattes felt like a hug in book form, perfect for fantasy fans, and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches was absolutely jam-packed with found family feels and a simmering romance. Any of these would be excellent gifts for a reader in your life!
Mr. M and I typically play a lot of video games, usually co-op games on PC where we can play together. This year, we spent the most time in V Rising, No Man’s Sky, and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, all of which we loved. Then we restarted Terraria for the umpteenth time because why not?
But we also bought Steam Decks this year, which was a splurge, and suddenly, we could not only play all the games we already owned on PC, but we could also easily play single player games while still hanging out together on the couch. I played so much Littlewood, then Graveyard Keeper, and now I’m deep into Rune Factory 5. I have pet monsters and a farm and love interests and I get to go on quests! Best. Game. Ever. :)
A Steam Deck is not a small investment, especially when a Nintendo Switch is cheaper, but if you have a lot of games on Steam already, it is fun to be able to take them with you. I love my desk, but I spend a lot of time at it. Being able to play PC games elsewhere is really nice.
Other
My Black Friday impulse buy was a Ninja Creami for $100, which is probably what I would pay for it again because I’m cheap, so watch for a sale if you’re interested. But y’all, this thing is kind of magic. I dumped in a can of crushed pineapple, and AMAZING came out.
It’s not a traditional ice cream maker, in that it doesn’t slowly churn the mixture as it freezes. Instead, you freeze the mixture solid, then a powerful blade cuts through it, aerating and creamifying it. Apparently there is a professional tool called a Pacojet that does the same thing in commercial kitchens.
So far we’ve made strawberry ice cream, pineapple ice cream, and both peach and pineapple “sorbet,” aka canned fruit dumped into the freezer jar. Both ice creams were incredible, and the pineapple sorbet was divine, but the peach sorbet wasn’t quite sweet enough, probably because our canned peaches were in juice instead of syrup. If I make it again, I’ll probably add a little bit of sugar.
If you like Dole Whip (aka Pineapple Whip), then you’re going to love this thing. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s still soooooo good and all it takes is a can of pineapple.
But be warned: it’s LOUD. If you have thin walls, invite your neighbors over for some ice cream goodness or they’re going to curse your name for the few minutes it runs.
So what about you? What have you loved this year? Self-promo is allowed, but if it feels too spammy, I’ll remove it, so consider recommending others in addition to yourself. :)
Edit: If you include several links, your comment may go into moderation, but I’ll keep an eye on it and fish out the legit comments, so don’t worry if it happens!
I turned in my copyedits yesterday, which means that if you mosey over to the Capture the Sun book page, you’ll find a freshly copyedited first chapter. Happy reading!
Every time I read this book, I’m struck anew by how much I love it, especially since writing it was a bit of an endurance test. But I think it turned out great, and I hope you do, too! If you’d like to ensure your copy arrives in a timely fashion, here are some handy preorder links: 😉
Signed book preorders will be happening, but probably not until sometime in the new year. I’ll post the link when I have it.
Now I’m probably going to work on my fantasy romance for a bit because the short story started giving me trouble, and I need a change of pace. Plus I’ve been itching to write it, so that’s always a good sign.
Speaking of fantasy romance, I read The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy in two days this week and adored it. Two bitter enemies end up anonymous pen-pals thanks to magical mail, and they find they have more in common than they thought. I never expected to cheer this hard for a main character who was an undertaker, and yet, it was a delight. Plus, it’s on sale for $2.99 right now! As always, try a sample first to see if it’ll work for you. :)
Copyedits for Capture the Sun landed last week, as expected, and I spent Thursday and Friday doing the first pass. This is the stage where the copy editor checks for repetitive words and continuity errors, or, in my case, deletes about one million extraneous uses of “that.” You might think I’m joking, but here is a tiny sample of the track changes review pane in Word:
🙈🙈🙈
If you look carefully, you’ll see I put one back because the sentence sounded better with it. But I let most of them go, lol.
Today and tomorrow I need to do once last full read-through of the book, looking for any lingering errors, then it’s off to be made into ARCs (digital only this time, sadly), and then real books!
In other news, you may have heard about the waves that ChatGPT AI is making with its ability to mimic natural language. Mr. M has an OpenAI account, and he let me log in and play with it.
My first request, naturally, was to ask it to tell me a story. It had to think for a while, which means it’s more like a real writer than is probably comfortable, but this is the story it created, based on the prompt “Write me a story about a princess who rescues herself.”
Once upon a time, in a far-off kingdom, there was a beautiful princess named Aurora. Aurora lived in a castle high atop a mountain, surrounded by a deep, dark forest.
Despite her royal upbringing, Aurora was a strong and independent young woman. She was determined to prove to herself and to others that she did not need to be rescued by a handsome prince.
One day, Aurora decided to venture into the forest on her own. She had heard rumors of a fierce dragon that lived deep within the forest, and she was determined to confront it.
Aurora traveled for days, braving the dangers of the forest and facing many challenges along the way. She used her wits and her courage to overcome obstacles, and she never once thought of turning back.
Finally, Aurora reached the dragon’s lair. The dragon was enormous, with sharp teeth and fiery breath. But Aurora was not afraid. She stood her ground and faced the dragon head on.
The dragon and Aurora fought fiercely, but in the end, Aurora emerged victorious. She had rescued herself from the dragon, and she returned to the castle as a hero.
From that day on, Aurora was known throughout the kingdom as the princess who had saved herself. She became an inspiration to others, and she continued to use her strength and determination to overcome any challenges that came her way.
Not bad at all! It reads like a fairytale, and while it’s pretty generic, it is a story, with all the required parts. But what if I asked to “make it a science fiction story”? Behold!
Once upon a time, in a distant galaxy, there was a beautiful princess named Aurora. Aurora lived on a planet called Solaria, which was ruled by her father, the wise and just King Orion.
Despite her royal upbringing, Aurora was a curious and adventurous young woman. She was fascinated by the mysteries of the universe, and she spent hours in the castle’s observatory, studying the stars.
One day, Aurora received a distress signal from a distant planet. The inhabitants of the planet were in danger, and they needed her help. Aurora knew that she had to act quickly, but she also knew that she couldn’t do it alone.
She gathered a team of the bravest and most skilled space pilots in the galaxy, and together, they set off on a mission to save the planet. The journey was long and treacherous, but Aurora and her team never wavered in their determination to help those in need.
When they finally reached the planet, they were faced with a fearsome alien race that threatened to destroy everything in its path. But Aurora was undaunted. She used her knowledge of science and technology to devise a plan to defeat the aliens, and she led her team into battle.
In the end, Aurora and her team emerged victorious. The planet was saved, and Aurora returned to Solaria as a hero. From that day on, she was known throughout the galaxy as the princess who had rescued herself and others. She continued to use her knowledge and bravery to protect the people of Solaria and beyond.
Yep, that’s science fiction. Still a little on the generic side, but it could be refined if I wanted to take the time. Instead, I asked it to “make the story a poem.”
Princess Aurora, brave and bold In a far-off kingdom, she did hold A royal upbringing, yet strong and free She proved that she did not need rescuing
One day, she ventured into the forest deep To face the dragon and its fiery keep She braved the dangers and never looked back With courage and determination, she did attack
The dragon and Aurora did fiercely fight But in the end, Aurora emerged victorious and right She had saved herself and returned a hero Throughout the kingdom, her tale did grow
Princess Aurora, brave and true A shining example, for all to view She showed the world what one can do With strength and courage, she came through
Well, it’s certainly poem-like. 😂 And it went back to the original story rather than the sci-fi version of it, which is kind of interesting.
I don’t think we’re to the point where I’m going to be out of a job any time soon, mostly because there are a lot of unanswered questions about copyright and infringement based on how they train the AI.
The same kind of questions are being asked about generated art, too. The line between inspiration and infringement is fairly clear right now, but AI models trained on copyrighted material fall into a weird gray area in the middle that is probably going to be the genesis of a multitude of lawsuits.
And I think unscrupulous people who don’t care about those questions could start using these AI chatbots to churn out books in the not-so-distant future. They might not be good books, but the framework is there to be improved on.
And technology marches ever onward, so it won’t be long before they actually are good books. Maybe in the future, writers who write books “the old-fashioned way” will be hailed as antiquated, or more kindly, boutique or artisanal.
