Weekly Check-in #50

Friday, April 17, 2026

 What I've Been Writing:

Defectors and Queens - I've been so busy this week that I didn't think I'd get anything new written at all, but I finally snuck in some time and finished chapter 34. My favorite line I've written today is, "Never question why I love you again." (You may have to be in the thick of the scene to really feel it, though!) Word count: 104,000.


What I've Been Reading:

Guess what? I finally finished the entire Throne of Glass series with Kingdom of Ash! Woot. It was good. Empire of Storms was my favorite book in the series, but it's also nice to be free to read whatever I want now and not be stuck in a big commitment series. (Which is making me wonder if people hate me because I have a 10-book series and am five deep in a 7-book series. Except those are standalones that don't really rely on the other books to keep going if you want to wander off for a while, so maybe that makes them different, I'm not sure.) 

Anyway, I received The Tempest Blade - Book 6 in the Bridge Kingdom series - and I'm plowing my way through that right now. It was my very top, most anticipated read of the year, and it IS living up to my very high expectations. I am loving it and could read 20 books in this series, I think, and still want more. (Which makes me now wonder if it's just how invested a person is in the series that makes them feel tied and dragged down to it, or like they could continue it forever. Hmm...all interesting thoughts.)


What I've Been Stacking on my Shelves:

I got The Tempest Blade this week, since it released on Tuesday.  And then two books with 3D-decorated spines from the ACOTAR series came from the company AcryliPics that I'd ordered back in January.

And that's been my week. Happy Bat Appreciation Day to you. Hope you enjoy it. 



Weekly Check-in #50

Friday, April 10, 2026

What I've Been Writing:

Defectors and Queens - I'm pretty sure I don't love this title. But I'm gonna keep calling it this until something better comes along. I definitely love the story more than the title right now. I'm feeling all the romance in it. Word Count = 100,000. Chapters Completed = 33.


What I've Been Reading:

Hey, hey! I finished my tandem read of Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn. It had been an okay series for me up to this point. I wasn't seeing why it had quite the fandom it did, but there were some good parts. After Empire of Storms, however, I decided wow, it's an amazing series. The end of that book finally just pulled all the other stories together and made me glad I went through that whole journey to get to that point. Brilliant.  

And then Rites of the Starling came in this week, so I had to drop everything and read that.  More brilliance! I knew what was coming, but it still hit hard when I read the last cliffhanger paragraph. Need Book 3 as soon as it comes out, though I'm not sure I'll ever be emotionally ready to endure it. 

Until then, I'm working my way through Kingdom of Ash.


What I've Been Stacking on My Shelves:

I got three new releases this week. It was very bloody!  There's Blood Bound (that came from Book of the Month Club), Bloodsinger, and Rites of the Starling (Green blood, anyone?)



Weekly Check-In #49

Friday, April 3, 2026


 What I’ve Been Writing:

Defectors and Queens - It was a productive writing week for me in Book 2 of the True Heir Duology.  We fought off some new monsters, got a little bloody and muddy, found a lost person, had a fun, steamy shower and—eek—experienced a first kiss. The first 30 chapters are fleshed out, and a total of 93,000 words have been written. 


What I’ve Been Reading:

I’m still working my way through tandem reading Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn. EoS is more exciting for me so I have to push my way through the ToD chapters, and then I have to make myself slow down so I can more fully savor the EoS chapters.  Manon and Dorian scenes are definitely my favorites. 


What I’ve Been Stacking on my Shelves:

Got five newbies added to the collection this week! 

  1. Hollow by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti 
  2. Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
  3. When Life Happened (signed) by Jewell E. Ann
  4. Terms and Conditionsc by Lauren Asher
  5. Starside by Alex Aster