June was filled with book work. Got a lot, and I mean a lot done. And there’s still more to do.
Writing Projects
I’m advancing Champion Bold and its companion books on towards completion. More than half the book has been edited. I’ve started work on most of the articles, and have commissioned much of the artwork. There’s still a good amount of work to do, but every day I move the spreadsheet closer to being completed.
I haven’t done much work on my other projects. I’m getting some feedback on Book 3 of my main series back. And I’ve picked at a few things here or there. But for the most part, it’s book work.
July Goals
- Get total Champion Project to over 50% Completed (Currently 25%)
- Two non-update blog posts
- 10 Things off the Minor List
Books
- Shogun Vol 2 (Re-Read; Finished)
- Story of a Regiment (Research; Finished)
- Robert E Lee and Me (Non-Fiction; Finished)
- Don Quixote (Fiction; Audio-book; Finished)
Finally finished the audio-book of Don Quixote. Now, don’t get me wrong, there were several great stories about Don Quixote’s adventures in this book. But there were also long segments where he wasn’t even in the story, but characters were talking about him, or about the genre of knight errant stories. It made it for a long and rough read to get through. I know that this is how stories were back then, but still. I think I’ll chose a more modern story for my next audio-book.
Also got through Robert E Lee and Me. This book is written by a retired US Army officer and former professor of military history at West Point. It’s about his journey as a raised southerner to identify and combat the Lost Cause narrative in his own life. It is a good, read, but it gets intense. He goes in depth into the slave trade and the history of lynchings. He even talks about how the statues and roads and base names were all in response to the growth of the civil rights movements. A good book to read, but it goes to dark places.
July Goals
- Finish one Fiction title
- Finish one Non-Fiction title
- Finish one Research title
Movies and Shows
- Godzilla Minus One
I can’t believe I only watched one new thing last month, but I guess that’s how it goes.
Godzilla Minus One is a good movie, surprisingly well done for it’s budget. I liked the characters, and the ending had just enough leeway for a sequel. And as a Japanese production, it wasn’t as ‘action packed’ as a Hollywood kaiju film would be. I’m glad I got a chance to see this movie.
July Goals
- Finish one TV show I’m watching (Witcher or Expanse)
- Start one new TV show
- Finish one TV show on hiatus
- Watch two movies
Games
- Frost Punk (Main Campaign Finished)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (In Progress)
Continuing my trend of not playing many video games, I only sat down twice to pick at Frost Punk. To my surprise, I beat the main campaign. Considering the game afterwards, I realized my big flaw was that I wasn’t passing enough laws. Basically, it’s a mechanic in the game that lets you shape the society: do you put children to work or not? Do you enforce order through authoritarianism or through a church? I was only passing laws when I had to, and so did not have a flexible society I needed to beat the game. It was only because I changed tactics halfway through the last play through I beat it.
My RPG games are all going well. They’re fun to play, and the stories are intriguing. My Atonement game is into the next chapter, which is an investigation-heavy chapter in a massive city based somewhat on ancient Rome and Constantinople. I’ll need to be careful; between the party splitting up, and the research-heavy sections, the game could slow down too much. I’ll have to trust my players to let me know if that happens.
July Goals
- Red Dead Redemption 2 to next chapter
- New Computer Story Game
- Finish Game in Hiatus
What’s next
Nothing exciting. Focused on book work. And readying myself to apply for conventions for next year.
Until next blog post, keep on writing.
Cheers!
Michael