February was filled with a lot of collecting artwork for the Kickstarter, trying to finish the Colonel Lieutenant, and just knocking things off my to-do list. That being said, I think I could have knocked a few more off. I’d like to see new goals for next month: finish some games and projects I’ve been working on and starting new things. So, I’m highlighting the goals from each one I absolutely want to get done.
Writing
I worked some on the Champion Bold manuscript, but most of my work this month has been on the Kickstarter campaign. I can do the prep-work, the text, and the planning, but I need to accumulate some artwork to get it done. Art isn’t something I do well, so it’s contacting artists on Fiverr and commissioning the work.
I’m closing in on a full draft of The Colonel Lieutenant. I imported the scenes I needed from previous drafts, now I just need to link everything, and start ironing out the story. Just a lot of grunt work.
Because of my focus on the two big projects, I didn’t get too much done with the minor projects. But that’s okay; they’re minor projects for a reason.
February Goals
- GET KICKSTARTER FOR CHAMPION BOLD RUN
- Get Complete Draft of The Colonel Lieutenant
- Knock Ten Things off my Minor Activity List
- NEXT WRITING PROCESS BLOG POST
Reading
I completed only one book this month, a non-fiction book called the Empires of the Steppes. The book is about the various people and empires that rose on the Eurasian Steppe and how they influenced and interacted with the empires around them. I read it as research for my fantasy stories, and it included a great deal of useful information.
Moved through another section of chapters for the audiobook of The Count of Monte Cristo. The book has moved into the revenge phase, where the Count is putting his plans in motion. So far, I haven’t figured out what he’s going to do, but things are moving along.
February Goals
- FINISH THE LAST TUDOR
- Finish One Other Fiction Book
- Finish One Non-Fiction Book
Movies and Shows
I continued to work through new episodes of Masters of the Air as they come out. I still liked this show. It follows characters in such a way we get to experience the terror of combat, the frustrations of command, and the anxiety of being shot town to escape or be captured. Two more episodes, and we’ll see how it ends.
Ran through a chunk of episodes of the Expanse. The story is growing on me, especially now that many of the disparate characters are coming together. I do hope all the villains of the story get some sort of comeuppance, but we’ll see.
Finished Season 1 and into Season 2 of Halo. I still have mixed feelings about this show, though it’s a mixture of anger and whatever feeling translates as ‘where are you going with this and can you pull it off?’ I don’t want to give spoilers about the show, but how I interpret the season as a whole will be decided by how they end it. If everything comes together, it could be cool. I don’t know that it could be great.
The only new movie I sat down to watch this month was The Marvels, the newest MCU movie. I had heard not great things about this movie, but I disagree. Yes, there are a lot of things they could fix, and some things that don’t make sense, but it was a fun movie. The characters worked well together. And I hope to see many of the characters in future installments.
February Goals
- Watch two movies
- FIRST EXPANSE SEASON 3 AND 4
- Finish three other season
Games
It’s weird that Gears of War Tactics doesn’t hold my attention for long. It has so much I should enjoy. I played through two story missions and the supporting missions needed to advance. I believe I have four story missions to go. I’d really like to finish this and move on to a new game.
I’m also picking away at Red Dead Redemption 2. I’m usually not a fan of games where you play criminals and outlaws. In this game, it depends on the mission. Some of the missions don’t sit well, but others are fun to play through. I can’t say I get all the mechanics, however. Some things just never seem to work for me.
In terms of RPG’s, one of my Pathfinder games is taking a break and switching over to Delta Green. Sunday night ‘Quest for the Frozen Flame’ continues to be fun, and I’ve started the Monday night Pathfinder 2 game, which I’ve titled Atonement. The players really got into character creation, and they’re off on the story. I am excited to see what we do with it.
February Goals
- Ten Hours of Red Dead Redemption 2
- FINISH GEARS OF WAR TACTICS
- Start another Story Game
What’s Next
I’ve got two events.
Minicon 57, the weekend of 29th to 31st. I’ll have a small table for selling books and access to the Kickstarter.
On April 13th, I’m running a Pop-Up Bookstore at Number Twelve Cider. Four hours, fifteen authors, and lots of fun.
March will be focused on the Kickstarter. I want to get that up, because up means publishing.
Wish me luck.
Cheers!
Michael