Tag: goodreads

January Write Day: Same Routines

On By Steven D'AdamoIn Fantasy, On LifeLeave a comment

The holidays have come and gone, and we had a good time over several family engagements. Both of our boys were off school/daycare for over a week, but we managed to fill most of the time with activities or family gatherings. Now, it’s back to the routine.

I spent quite a bit of energy in December trying to organize/reorganize things at home: toys or clothes our boys have outgrown, storage space, holiday decorations, etc. These are the types of things that prick at the edges of my mind until I do something about them, so I’ve tried. There are a few more big items I’d like to tackle as well, such as getting a shed installed to help us organize our yard tools, our garage, and other storage areas.

Last Month’s Goals

  1. Read three books.
    • Current reads: A World of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, and The End of the Story, Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith, Book 1.
    • Likely next reads: I’m eyeing The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar in my Audible library. Not a series, but an intriguing fantasy novel nonetheless.
  2. All the routines, but more.

Read three books?

Yes! I finished four books in December:

  • Behind You is the Sea, by Susan Muaddi Darraj
  • The End of the Story, Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith, Book 1
  • The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  • The Good Turn, by Dervla McTiernan

That last one was less than two hours long, and I definitely chose to read it to meet my goal more than anything else. My decent December reading helped get just a bit closer to my GoodReads Challenge goal for 2024. I had set out to read 30 books this past year, an all-time high for me, but only got to 24. I’ve set my goal for 2025 to 24, as that’s clearly been within my usual range the last few years.

All the routines?

Somewhat. I was a bit more consistent with exercise in December, although not as consistent or dedicated as I would have liked. I didn’t do any writing (or perhaps only one writing session).

On the writing front, I’ve stalled in the midst of a read-through of Uprooted, the first of my novella duology. I came to a section that I wanted to rewrite and reframe entirely, to better introduce characters and backstory, and haven’t had the energy to dig into it.

I’m hoping focusing on this section early in January will help me get back into it more routinely.

Goals for January

  1. Read three books. Even though my GoodReads challenge is only 24 books, I’d like to beat that number this year.
    • Current reads: A World of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, and Blackfish City, by Sam J. Miller
    • Likely next reads: The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar, and not sure what else.
  2. All the routines, but more. Exercise and writing, while trying to stay organized around the house.

Steve D

My Goodreads Challenge 2023 Recap

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On StorytellingLeave a comment

Around this time of year, I usually do a bunch of recaps on my goals, my website stats, or my book publishing strategy for the upcoming year. I’m not doing any of that this year, because I like my monthly goal recaps, my website stats are underwhelming and not a key focus for me, and I’m still figuring out my next steps for publishing, as opposed to just writing.

One thing I am pretty stoked about from 2023, however, is my Goodreads reading challenge, in which I achieved my goal of 26 books read for 2023.

The Highlights

I’m not going to list each and every book; you can check out the detail above or on my Goodreads profile if you like. But it’s fund to look at my reading trend/mood for the last year.

I read…

22 fiction books, including…

  • 6 novels from The Last Kingdom series, which I finished in 2023
  • 4 collections of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories
  • 1 finale to The Wheel of Time
  • 5 other fantasy stories
  • 4 thrillers
  • 2 character dramas

4 nonfiction books, including…

  • 2 history books, usually a staple of my reading list
  • 1 parenting book
  • 1 book about writing

I didn’t really read any sci fi this year, but I did read a lot of historical fiction, as opposed to fantasy or just straight history. I’d like to continue reading historical fiction this year; the challenge is finding the books with the right balance of historical basis, fictionalization, and overall storytelling.

Anyway, I like that spread, but will probably try to read a bit more nonfiction and sci-fi this year, just to diversify a bit more. I’m also not sure whether or which type of super-epic fiction series I might get into this year. I haven’t yet identified a series that might dominate my reading list across the year, but we’ll see, of course.

Steve D

January Write Day: Keep Plugging Away

On By Steven D'AdamoIn FantasyLeave a comment

Man, another month, another year. December was a solid month. Our holidays were festive with plenty of time spent with family. We also got to experience our first real Christmas through our oldest son, who is three and at the perfect age to get excited for Santa and presents and Christmas lights and all that.

It was a decent month on the goals front as well.

Last Month’s Goals

  1. Write 8,000 words for New Earth.
  2. Read through Uprooted.
  3. Read 3 books.

So how did I do?

Write 8,000 words?

Not quite. I tried to cram a bunch of writing into the final week of the month and came up short at just over 7,000 words. Still a decent output, overall. The first half of December had me stressing a bit about getting everything ready for our holiday celebrations, which knowingly kept me away from writing. I thought I could make up for it in the final week, but no such luck.

I still did all right, though.

New Earth, The Herb Witch Tales #2 is progressing nicely at around 15,000 words, and I’ve hit a stretch where I already have a lot of content from my first draft I can pull from. That should help me stay on track and catch up a bit this month. I just want to get off to a stronger start and not fall behind again.

I did start to find a writing schedule again, slotting in time right after putting my oldest to bed, and then knuckling down on the weekends for bigger word count gains.

Read through Uprooted?

I seriously forgot about this goal. December was a busy month! I definitely want to complete this read-through, so perhaps I’ll have to pay to print it out — all 70-some pages of it – so I can focus on it when I’m away from my computer.

Read 3 books?

I’m going to say yes…? But let me check my Goodreads first.

Success! I finished three books in December, including book 12 of The Wheel of Time series, The Gathering Storm. Look out for that review next week. Spoiler alert: I loved it.

I also achieved my Goodreads 2021 goal of reading 24 books. That may sound paltry based on a lot of the book blogs I read, but that’s a lot for me, damn it! I’m aiming for 26 in 2022.

Goals for January

I feel like I rushed through this post, but this might be a good indication of where my head is at currently. I have a lot I want to achieve in the next few months, primarily finishing a solid draft of New Earth, and I just want to get down to it.

  1. Write 9,000 words. This feels achievable to me based on my writing progress the last two weeks, and it may be the start of escalating writing goals to start the year off. We’ll see how it goes.
  2. Read 3 books. Currently waiting for my copy of Towers of Midnight to arrive 😀
  3. Start working out again. My exercise routine really fell through the last couple months, so I want to get back on track. This is an open-ended goal for now until I can establish a decent routine again.

Happy New Year!

Steve D

Promote Your Book through Giveaways

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On Publishing, Writers - Steve D'Adamo2 Comments

Welcome to part two of my series on strategies to promote a new book release. This time, we’re going to take a closer look at running giveaways for your new book.

The idea of a giveaway may be a little intimidating for a number of reasons, but it can be a great way to build readership and get some attention on your book. Continue reading “Promote Your Book through Giveaways” →

Marketing Your Novel: 2019 Goals

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On Publishing, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

I know we’re already a month a and a half into the year, but I haven’t yet laid out my book marketing plans. I needed some time to mull over what my real goals were and how I can actually reach them.

Answering the first question is easy: Sell. More. Books. As for the second question, well, let’s discuss. Continue reading “Marketing Your Novel: 2019 Goals” →

Book Review: Caught by MLS Weech

On By Steven D'AdamoIn Reviews, Writers - Steve D'Adamo4 Comments

I picked up Caught directly from MLS Weech at his book launch in Glen Burnie, MD. I think that was back in early 2017, so I’m sorry to say it took me a while to get to this one.

So, yeah, in case it’s not clear enough, here’s my disclosure: Weech is a friend. He’s also an imaginative and vivid writer. Spoiler-free review follows. Continue reading “Book Review: Caught by MLS Weech” →

Song Share & Progress Update

On By Jessie GutierrezIn On Storytelling, Writers - Jessie1 Comment

Why hello there, lovely reader. Once again, I am reaching out to relay to you my writing, and life, status, paying for this attention with a song you will hopefully adore. If you do, be sure to check out the Hex Cougar remix, too.

Last we spoke, I discussed goodreads reading goals, hunting for the perfect editor and protagonist bios. Needless to type, I have failed at accomplishing quite a few of these. Shall we start with the lackluster and then mosey toward the better news? Continue reading “Song Share & Progress Update” →

Saturday Of Book Reviewing – Albom’s tuesdays with Morrie

On By Jessie GutierrezIn Reviews, Writers - JessieLeave a comment

I’ve seen this book many a time on ‘inspirational and uplifting’ book lists, but had never considered that my wheelhouse, and thus had never before bothered to try to mine the wisdom from its pages. I can honestly say, post reading of Mitch Albom’s tribute to his former mentor and friend, that this was mildly inspirational, but heart-soaring-ly uplifting. You can tell I’m serious when I start making up words. So let us begin on this 1997 hit. It’s mini throwback time. Continue reading “Saturday Of Book Reviewing – Albom’s tuesdays with Morrie” →

Song Share And Action Update!

On By Jessie GutierrezIn On Storytelling, Writers - Jessie1 Comment

Why hello there, reader! It’s been a bit since I held myself accountable and told you what I’m up to, thus: this.

To start, a bit of background music to enjoy whilst you read:

That’s better, now isn’t it? I think so too. And hey, if you stumble upon some extra time later and are Johnny Cash fans, check out Forever Words, both an album and a book devoted to the legend’s unpublished writing.  Continue reading “Song Share And Action Update!” →

Saturday of Book Reviewing – Heinlein’s Farnham’s Freehold

On By Jessie GutierrezIn Reviews, Writers - JessieLeave a comment

Awkward article heading aside, this book was all kinds of messed up. Robert A. Heinlein was from a ‘different’ time blah blah blah. His writing is straight up hard to digest; it’s hard to delve into and invest in a work so littered with racism and sexism. His female characters are flawed, often two dimensional, and his portrayal of minorities is downright insulting sometimes. These are major problems, however, the reality is, that if we got rid of and erased any and all books with these issues, I’m not sure we’d be able to read much from the past. And to be clear, the themes and ideas that Heinlein depicts in his novels are thought provoking and worth considering.
Saturdays are alllllll about the thinking and considering. Continue reading “Saturday of Book Reviewing – Heinlein’s Farnham’s Freehold” →