December was busy, not only with writing projects but with holiday events.

Writing

My work on Champion Bold was to continue run the story through a decent editor program. Turns out the Scrivener, as great as it is for writing and organizing, has a terrible spellchecker and no grammar program to speak of. Nothing I can’t work through, but it took some time.

With the Colonel Lieutenant, I wrote and worked through the middle section of the book, connecting the threads between the beginning and the end. I’m close to having a draft ready for heavy revisions, if I can just sit down and knock it out.

I snipped at my various other projects last month. I added research notes, wrote more chapters, and did world building exercises to prepare the secondary projects for if and when they become primary. I’m also working on several extra blog posts for the year that are something other than monthly updates and book reports.

January Goals

• Prepare Kickstarter Campaign for Champion Bold
• Complete Draft of the Colonel Lieutenant
• Knock 10 things off my Secondary Project List
• Post one writing blog post

Movies and Shows

I finished Loki Season 2 this month. It was quite an exciting ride, one that stretched the rules of the multi-verse and time travel as the MCU seems to use it. It was a bit of a shame I didn’t remember many aspects of the first season, because there were parts of the second that didn’t connect as well as they should have. Still, it was a fun show to watch.

Next came Good Omens Season 2. This was the opposite of Loki, in that I really enjoyed the first season, so I was excited for the second. I was curious what they’d do for their second season, given that they would have to come up with a whole new story within their universe. The story they told was a fun mystery. I think they might have relied a little heavily on flashbacks, but I still loved it. I’m looking forward to Season 3.

Continuing to work through the Expanse. I’m past the episodes I’ve seen and I’m into new episodes, though still in the Second Season. Oddly enough, I found the show more likable once I got past the last episode I saw; I guess I stopped just one episode short of the crest. Still, I’m liking how the factions develop, and how the characters are surviving (or not).

January Goals

• Finish Two Seasons of the Expanse
• Finish one other TV show
• Watch one new movie
• Complete one remaining Best Picture Winner (Coda or Nomadland)

Books

Oddly enough, I didn’t finish reading any books in December. My reason has to do in part with trying the Libby app to get free ebooks. Since I only have the books for three weeks, and I have to fit them into my current reading schedule, I started several but didn’t finish. I’ll have to wait for the next renewals to come through and then power through. But I did start several books.

Top of this list is Declare, a paranormal thriller set during and after World War 2. The story is set in two different timelines. The later timeline is happening in 1963, where the characters are dealing with the end results of their actions in the previous timeline, set in the 1940’s. It’s a nice mixture of spycraft and Lovecraft.

Also on the list, I started (and stopped due to Libby timeout) The Last Tudor, the next novel in the Philippa Gregory series. The novel follows the the short reign of Lady Jane Grey — Queen of England for only nine days before Mary and Elizabeth — and then her sister Katherine, who lives through the early days of Elizabeth’s reign. I was enjoying the book before it times out; I look forward to getting back into it.

All the other books I’ve been picking at the last month were research books for one project or another. Gathering notes and assembling stories. Good times.

January Goals

• Finish one eBook
• Finish one physical book
• Finish one research book

Games

I completed the story for Farcry 6, where I played Dani, a revolutionary who is fighting for the liberation of her island, Yara, from the oppression of a cruel dictator. I’ll be honest, I was disappointed with the ending. all through the story, characters were discussing what would happen when the revolutionaries won. How it wouldn’t be easy or bloodless. And when they get there, and the story just skipped over any consequences.

Not much else to bring up for gaming last month. Worked through a few more sections of both Anno 1880 and Gears of War Tactics. Didn’t lose any RPG characters. Had some ideas for campaigns or encounters I added to my list of ‘wouldn’t it be cool?’ Still, glad to knock one story game off my list.

January Goals

• Finish one story game
• Get into Red Dead Redemption 2
• Have fun

What’s Next

I have a table at Minocon 57 the last weekend of March. I’m hoping to get a Books and Beer even in sometime soon. And I’ll be prepping for the next Kickstarter campaign for Champion Bold.

Looking to start 2024 with a boom.

Cheers!

Michael