This update is very late in the month, due to moving, project work, vacations and then catch up. Suffice it to say, I’m feeling very tired. Accomplished, but tired.

Projects

I had two big projects this last month. One was to get Champion Bold to the proofing. I’m pretty much there. I’ve gone through each page looking for italicization errors, formatting issues, and trying to avoid large blank spaces. Now I’m waiting for the last backers to get back to me with their names (if they want to be included), then I will format as a PDF and start prepping for proof. This might take a few rounds to get done as the two programs involved have some different ways of interpreting the same data, but I’ll get it done.

The other was in regards to NANOWRIMO. I used the month as a chance to re-write Book 3 of the Renaissance Army series. This went well for about two weeks, when I had time to work on both projects. But when it came time to pick and choose, I had to pick Champion Bold. That being said, what I did re-write was a lot better. I’m looking forward to getting back into that soon.

December Goals

• Get physical copy of Champion Bold
• Finish supplement books
• Knock 5 things of Project To Do List

Books

• Running with the Demon (eBook; finished)
• A Knight of the Word (eBook; finished)
• Fire and Blood (Physical; started)
• Fool Moon (Audiobook; continued)

Since I had a week off from work, I missed out on a lot of my normal reading time. I finished Running with The Demon and then read through A Knight of the Word, the first two books in the longer Shanarra series by Terry Brooks. This was one of the first fantasy series I started reading as a child, so I’m interested to get through it as an adult and see how it reads.

Running with the Demon ended better than it started it; it took a long time to get into it. Introducing the characters and the rules took a while. Once it got going, it took off and ended pretty well. Though it reminded me more of a Stephen King novel than the fantasy stories I remember from my childhood.

The second book (A Knight of the Word) was mostly better story, largely because I knew the characters and the rules of the world from the first book. The series of twists at the end were a mix of what I expected (which I hoped he would have done differently) and what I didn’t expect (which I appreciate). Still, it was a good book.

Fire and Blood is a long narrative history of House Targaryen and its rule of Westeros. It’s not a story in the sense of the other books of the world, but it is a fascinating read. I’m enjoying it, especially because it has given me some ideas for non-traditional projects I could work on.

December Goals

• Finish Audiobook
• Finish One Non-Fiction Book
• Start one Research Book

Movies and Shows

• Deadpool and Wolverine
• Agatha All Along
• Star Trek Lower Decks Season 5 (Started)

Managed to find time this month to sit down with friends to watch a few things.

Deadpool and Wolverine was a great movie, filled with a lot of fun callbacks, fourth-wall jokes and action scenes. I found the initial premises a little hard to accept, but once I got past that (and it’s really easy to get past it) I loved the movie.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Agatha All Along. What I got was a great show that managed to follow the established rules of the MCU, and still provide enough surprises to be enjoyable. I’m looking forward to re-watching it to see what I missed the first time.

Star Trek Lower Decks is on its Fifth and final season this year, with one episode left to go at the time of this posting. This show has been fantastic since episode one, telling its own stories while making references and call-backs to previous series. It’ll be a shame to see it go, but better it leave by its own accord than it die of misuse.

December Goals

• Watch one Best Picture Winner (3 Remaining)
• Watch one Fix-It Movie (11 Remaining)
• Watch one Other Movie
• Watch one TV Show
• Watch one In Progress TV Show

Games

• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Madden 2025

As part of my moving process I invested in a PS5 and several games I had my eye on, including Baldur’s Gate 3 and Madden 2025.

Madden is a typical football game. My playing so far has either been with my roommate, or doing the skill tests to learn how to play the game. I haven’t done a season yet, so I can’t claim any great competency at it. But I am enjoying it.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a DnD 5th Edition game. I started the first Baldur’s Game way back when several times, but never got too far into it. This one I’ve heard good things about, and so far I’m having fun. I’m playing as a generic custom character, so I can make dumb mistakes and learn the game. I’ll replay later as the game characters, once I have an idea of how things work.

December Goals

• Make progress in Red Dead Redemption 2
• Make progress in Assassin’s Creed Odessey
• Make progress in Warhammer 40K Armageddon
• Make progress ins Baldur’s Gate 3

What’s Next

Working on the book. Planning events and projects for 2025. And surviving the holidays. That about it.