June 2023 Reading & Writing Wrap-Up

A quick round up of the books I read this month and an update on my writing projects.

Reading

NUMBER OF BOOKS READ = 10

Books I read in June 2023:

Weird Bristol by Charlie Revelle-Smith
March Comes in Like a Lion, Volume 1 by Chica Umino
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Orient, Vol. 15 by Shinobu Ohtaka
Rainbow Days, Vol. 4 by Minami Mizuno
Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 25 by Sorata Akizuki
Choujin X, Vol. 2 by Sui Ishida
BEAST COMPLEX III by Paru Itagaki
Goodbye, Eri by Tatsuki Fujimoto

What was my favourite read this month?

R.F. Kuang has become a go to author for me. I always love her work – The Poppy War has become one of my all time favourite fantasy series. I was interested to see what her first non-fantasy book would be like. Yellowface was very good in terms of plot, character and pacing – I flew through the book in under a week which is very rare for me these days. Having been interested in the publishing industry in over a decade, and therefore seen a lot of change in the types of books that are published, a more diverse range of voices being given a platform, and also a lot of discussion around who should be telling certain stories, it was very interesting reading a book that packs that discussion into a book and examines it.

What book disappointed me?

So, Tress of the Emerald Sea was a good adventure book with an interesting fantasy setting – the sort of thing you want from Brandon Sanderson – but I managed to guess the big twist surrounding the love interest before it was revealed, which spoiled the book for me a little, as it felt rather obvious to me. It was still a good book, but once I guessed the plot twist the book lost a little of its magic.

Did anything I read this month make an impression on me?

I will admit that I wasn’t blown away by the Chainsaw Man manga. It was good, but it didn’t overly impress me. However, I know the mangaka, Tatsuki Fujimoto, is a fantastic writer. His short stories are something else. They’re so well thought out, and they’re full of surprising twists. So, I guess Goobye, Eri was the book that made the most impression on me this month, in that I hope Tatsuki Fujimoto writes more short stories!

Did anything inspire me?

I read Weird Bristol for the purposes of research for the YA Urban Fantasy series this month, and I got quite a few ideas out of it. I’ve got the main characters for the series down, but I’m still getting to grips with the plot. Weird Bristol is full of Bristol’s history, myths and legends, so it’s a great source of inspiration for the series I’m planning to write next. I won’t tell you what struck me from the book, because that could be potentially spoilling my next WIP…

What are my reading plans for next month?

I was hoping to finish Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn this month, but because I had to read back through the YA Western, I had to put the book aside. But once my book is finished, Bloodmarked will be the first book next month that I pick up. Then I’m also hoping to read Boy Like Me, and The No Show. For the purposes of research for the YA Urban Fantasy, I need to finish reading More Weird Bristol. Aaaaand in terms of manga, I’m hoping to get to Shonen Note volume 4. That feels like a lot…

Writing

CURRENT WIP

At the time of writing, I’m doing a final final read through of the YA Western. I received the book back from the proof-reader a week or so ago, have gone through all the changes and now am just doing a double check. I’ll make any final changes over the weekend, and then will start formatting on Monday!

I’ve also received the proofs for the cover! It looks really good. I’m so excited to share the finished product with everyone. At the moment the cover designer is colouring the front cover, and then I need to send him the blurb and the spine width… Which I haven’t done yet… Because I need to format the book first… Which I can’t do until the book is finished… Not panicking!

In the weeks coming up to the launch, I’ll be sending some bits and pieces out in my newsletter – cover reveals, character profiles etc – so if you want to receive all of that, PLUS get a discounted price on the e-book on launch day, then please sign up to my newsletter!

LAUNCHED BOOKS

I ran a promo with The Fussy Librarian at the start of this month for Otaku Trash, and it did pretty well. I sold 12 e-books, which is the most I’ve sold in some time. I know, I need to do more marketing. I’m trying. But the YA Western is my priority at the moment and there are only so many spare hours in the day. Once that book is out in the world, I can get back into the groove of doing some marketing on a Sunday afternoon.