September was a busy month, working on the Champion Bold project. Specifically, working a lot on my Blender (3d modelling) and Krita (drawing) skills to develop aliens and spaceships. My editor got sidetracked by some personal issues (hey, it happens; my book is a side-project, which I understand). I found an artist to do the last bit of artwork I didn’t trust myself to do, and I’m knocking off the ones I think I can do one by one. And I ended the month having finished my active shows and most of my active books, meaning I start October getting to chose what I start.

Writing Projects

I’m only a few chapters away from finishing editing Champion Bold. Then there’s a list of book-wide edits to check: things like spelling consistency, ensuring the math works, the page counts match, stuff like that. A lot of things I don’t want to work on until I can go through the book and do them all at once.

I’m also working through the supplement books, processing the artwork and articles. My Blender and Krita work is getting better, which is nice. I’m glad to be knocking this items off my to-do list, but it’s not the writing I like to do.

I got some good feedback for Book 3, which I’m folding into a revision plan for NANOWRIMO. Some of the feedback was what I expected; some of it was a surprise. But, it’s good to get feedback.

I’ve done some prepwork on other projects. Nice to just stretch the creative mind.

October Goals

• Start formatting Champion Bold for publishing
• Get supplement books to 80%+ complete
• Knock 10 Items off Minor to-do list
• Two non-book report Blog Posts

Books

• Fool Moon (Dresden Files, Book 2, Audiobook, Fiction, Started)
• The Rook (Fiction)
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind (Non-Fiction, Started)
• Red Storm Rising (eBook, Fiction, Started)

I read a few good books this month. Sapiens I started (and got about 1/4 way through before my Libby rental expired). It’s about the development of culture and civilization. It reminds me a lot of ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’, except it doesn’t sound like it’s lecturing me.

Once that expired, I switched over to re-reading Red Storm Rising as my ebook, which was one of the most influential books of my youth. Re-reading it, it made me consider some story ideas I’d been thinking about,

The book of the month has to be The Rook, a supernatural thriller that really takes the cake. A cross between X-files and X-men, it was an excellent book that has several sequels I’m looking forward to reading.

October Goals

• Finish audiobook
• Finish two fiction books
• Finish one non-fiction book

Movies and Shows

• The Expanse (Season 3)
• Star Trek Prodigy (Season 2)
• Wonder Woman 1984

I finished both my active seasons this month: the Expanse Season 3 and Prodigy Season 2. Expanse continues to be a good show I just don’t resonate with. I like it, but I can’t binge it like I can other shows. Prodigy is fun Star Trek. I wish it got better support from its networks. I’m not sure we’ll get a Season 3, but I’ll watch it if we do.

The last weekend of September I watched Wonder Woman 1984, mostly because it was on my fit-it podcast. It was…so bad. I wanted to like it, but I can’t. My only fond memory was a personal response to them stealing a medium-ranged jet to travel across continents. Otherwise, it was a terrible movie. Still, only the third-worst sequel in my opinion.

October Goals

• Finish one started TV Show
• Start one new TV Show
• Watch one new Best Picture Winner
• Watch one new Movie

Games

• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Assassin’s Creed: Odessey
• Warhammer 40K: Armageddon
• Command and Conquer
• Stellaris

Did not play a lot of games this month. I played some Stellaris for nostalgia’s sake, and played through some missions in the Command and Conquer remaster I hadn’t beaten before. But most of the time I was at my computer, I was working on modelling projects.

The RPGs continue to go well. My new character in Frozen Flame survived his first session. My players in the Atonement game gave me a lot of sudden praise for the story, which I appreciated. And the Delta Green game continued to be weird but fulfilling.

October Goals

• Play something
• Enjoy it

What’s Next

October will be filled with finishing up Champion Bold and the supplement books. I’ll also be doing Inktober ( a month-long drawing challenge), preparing for a NANOWRIMO project, and knocking off other minor writing bits. I did apply for some 2025 conventions, but I haven’t heard back from some of them.

We’ll see how it goes.

Cheers!

Michael