It's over, and I can finally breathe again. 

There are still a few days left in May, but the absolute crunch I've been facing ended yesterday. It was more physically punishing than I expected, but nothing I couldn't handle, but that's thanks to my two best friends in the world being by my side. 

Let me get back to the start though. May would be intense, I knew. My every weekend plus Memorial Day were to be spent working at the TN Renaissance Festival. Long days outside, being a social draw, performing the whole time, being enthusiastic and all... it's a lot. It was a ton of fun and a great challenge, but I feel like I needed it quite badly. I am, at my core, an entertainer. I live to put smiles on people's faces, which is what I was doing all month. But not really getting to be "off" is exhausting, especially when you're out of practice. It's been at least 10 years since I got to be on stage or in any real acting capacity.

Every night, I went home mentally and physically fatigued and crashed pretty hard. I loved it, honestly. 

But it's not something I can keep up indefinitely. I'm grateful for a break now. But more than anything, I'm grateful for my aforementioned two best friends, who were right beside me the whole time. Erin and Theo, I love you guys more than anything, and I couldn't have done any of this without you guys by me.

Aside from the Renaissance Festival, this was also the final wind down for my local Joann store. I spent my last couple weeks there cashiering, which is a whole other social demand that I'm glad is over. Getting constantly misgendered (I think largely because people assume only women work at craft stores) is a drain. Plus the dumb customer questions that come with a closing store... it's a trial. As sad as it is to see craft stores dying, I'm glad my experience there is over. It became a job I dreaded in the final days, but I got through that as well. RIP Joann Fabrics.

I'm about to get thrust into The Chain Nerd convention season, but that's a very familiar job and one I thoroughly enjoy. We've got two conventions coming in June (Nashville Comic Con and Metrotham Con), one in July, and one in August. That will be a totally different kind of drain while also being a different kind of recharge. I'm eager to get back behind my own table, selling my own products.

In the meantime, I'm going to get back to pushing hard on my gig life, trying to crack out more writing, voice auditions, and D&D study and work. It's fallen by the wayside this month, but I've managed to at least eke out some progress on all fronts. This past Friday, my D&D Bard campaign group got to play, and it was one of the first adventures I did with them with the new planning method I'm refining. It went UNBELIEVEABLY well. The players and I all really enjoyed it, which was a huge brain boost.

But the last change that will affect things is that also in the insanity of last week, I trained for my new weekend part time job. I'll be leading party events at my local climbing gym! I shadow a party this coming weekend, but after that, I'm free to pick up parties on my own! Along with that, I have a membership to the gym now, so I'm going to be doing more climbing and getting some much needed exercise again.

May was a huge challenge, but it's past, and I can breathe again. I'm ready to sink into my projects again and really start cracking out new writing. Look out for next week's monthly progress update. I have something new to go into!

I promised it eventually, so here we are. I’ve been an avid reader since I learned to read, around age 4 or so, and well… I’m pushing 41 now. Many of my favorite books are ones I chose a long time ago, but that doesn’t mean I have stopped adding to the list. So, this is going to be a somewhat eclectic mix, but I’ll try to cover a variety and give some insight into why I love them. Don't be surprised if there are additional posts like this one in the future, detailing other books I love for various reasons. These are just some of the ones that have either spent a long time in my favor or exploded onto the scene so strongly I can't not love them.

Phantom (Susan Kay) - I found this book when I was in high school and fell in love. It’s a retelling of Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera and goes into much more detail of the characters and creation of the Phantom himself. Those of you who know me know I love prequels and how-does-this-come-to-be stories, and this is very much one. The book is broken into sections from different points of view: the phantom’s mother, the phantom as a young boy, a companion, Christine, and others. I’ll admit that it’s a format I adopted myself for Starsigns, telling the story from different POVs.

Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card) - Yeah, I know this one is problematic. Not the book itself, but the author. As much as it sucks, I fell in love with Card’s writing over 25 years ago, well before the world was alerted to his horrible opinions on humanity outside his narrow view. I am proud to say he hasn’t gotten any money from me since I found out. The books are good, just buy them used so he’s not getting money for them.

Anyway, there is still a lot of this story (and the extended Enderverse) that gripped a young me. First of all, it’s centered around games, but it’s also got a varied cast (heavily male, but that’s explained in the book). The few female characters are very memorable and strong. 

But it’s largely the psychology of the whole book that’s its strongest draw. Through conversations, you get a lot more information on what’s going on in the greater world and insight into the minds of many of the younger characters. There’s also a big shock reveal towards the end that in retrospect, couldn’t have happened any other way. I know it’s sort of silly to attempt not to spoil a 40-year-old book that’s already been adapted to film, but I’d simply prefer not to risk it.

The Eyes of the Dragon (Stephen King) - I’m probably more attached to this book for nostalgia reasons than anything else. I’ve read a double handful of King’s books and generally, his stories are great, but I’m not overall a big fan of his writing style, and personally, I have yet to be truly satisfied with the ending of any of his books I’ve read. I love the premises he comes up with.
The Eyes of the Dragon is a fantasy novel he wrote for his daughter when she was young-ish. In many ways, it’s told as if it were a story being passed orally to the next generation, which I love. It reads like a bedtime story in a lot of ways. 

I think, at least as far as writing is concerned, I keep this book close because it’s a good reminder of the idea of small details meaning big things. There are a lot of early plot details that become critically important as the book develops to its climax, and the way so much is woven is is pretty great. But I can’t ignore how abruptly and somewhat unsatisfactorily the story ends. It does sort of lead into the greater body of King’s work, involving a villain that spreads across many of his works. Sadly, I lack the temperament to enjoy the other books the character is in, but that’s a me thing.

I still love this book. I have the audio version and listen to it probably once a year or so. It might be familiarity that breeds contempt, but what outgrowing of it I’ve done as a reader and writer is more aimed to dislike the last fifth or so of the book. Maybe even not that much. The climax is so darn good! It’s just the denouement that leaves me unsatisfied. 

Which is also something I recognize in my own works. I struggle with endings. Maybe this is part of why I’m so aware of it.

Fuzzy Nation (John Scalzi) - Now we’re getting into books I discovered more recently than my late teens and early 20s. I found Fuzzy Nation when I was in my early 30s, but then again, this one was published in 2011, so it didn’t even exist until more recently than the previous three.
Fuzzy Nation is a reboot of a 1962 novel called Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. Honestly, I think one of the biggest draws of it for me is that it has the same sort of woven ends effect as The Eyes of the Dragon does. The tiniest details from the beginning come back to build the climax in the most massively satisfying way, I can only hope one day I’ll be as skilled a wordsmith. It centers around a planet being mined for resources at the expense of the its natural flora and fauna, and it’s… it’s just a whole lot of legal corporate bullshit versus environmentalism and ethics and I am here for it. 

Again, I mostly consume it via audio format. Wil Wheaton does the narration and does a fantastic job, honestly. 

This book is witty and heartfelt on so many levels. The characters feel very fleshed out, layered just like actual people are. That’s something I can very much say Scalzi does well. I’ve read a few of his books, but Fuzzy Nation is one that brings me to laughter and tears (both joyous and sad) every time I read or listen to it.

Dungeon Crawler Carl (Matt Dinniman) - Okay, I’m counting the whole series in this one, or at least what’s come out so far (up to book 7, This Inevitable Ruin). This is very much a new addition to my favorite book lists, as I’ve only been a fan for about two or maybe 3 years now (I honestly forget). But I've already talked about it on this blog, too. It's that good.

DCC is irreverent, gory, violent, absurd, and has made me cry more than I would have thought a series described that way could. Its premise is that Earth’s apocalypse is going to be televised; aliens have laid claim to Earth’s natural resources, but there is a slim chance humanity can regain its claim over our planet. If someone completes the 18-floor dungeon, they have a right to claim Earth. The dungeon is essentially one of the most popular reality shows in the greater universe, with quadrillions (or more) aliens of all types tuning in. Popularity and profitability are major draws, and the protagonist Carl (who get stuck with his ex-girlfriend’s show cat) has to navigate a universe much bigger than him while simply trying to stay alive in a video-game-like dungeon.

The characters, settings, and style Dinniman have cultivated for this series are absolutely enthralling. I eat these books up, but they’re ones I’m more than happy to wait for with each new installment. If you’re not sensitive to foul language and a hell of a lot of violence, blood, and gore, read these. The audio versions are brilliant (voice actor/narrator Jeff Hays is phenomenal). I also know there is a full audio immersion version  that I haven’t listened to yet. I need to.
This is the kind of book I wish I could write. The fan base Dinniman has cultivated is incredible. His writing is lean, descriptive, and… okay look, I don’t know how he did it, but the man managed to write an entire book where the actual setting cannot be fathomed… and it makes sense… somehow.

I’m just flat out in awe of Dinniman and this series. I need to read his other words, but based on what I’ve heard of Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon, I need to be very VERY mentally prepared for it.

A couple weeks ago, I talked about convincing myself that effort can be used in small chunks. Long stretches of craft, be it writing, crafting, exercise, or whatever aren't the only good use of my time and energy. 

I've been making some good strides on that front. I'm one of those chronically early people, so I always set my morning alarms to give me more time than I need. On days when I work, I usually end up with 30-40 minutes to myself after getting ready and eating. I know that amount of time isn't "small," but for me, it's less than I'm accustomed to. I've been so long of the mindset that 2 hours is the minimum functional working time that making good on 30 minutes is big for me.

And I've been doing it. I might not manage to edit a full chapter, but I can edit some, or write a few paragraphs of a story in that time. It's getting easier again to find that train of thought and then note for myself where to pick up next time.

In short, I am a work in progress myself, and I'm improving. A few minutes at a time.