May was a busy month. I finished sending out Champion Bold physical packages. I had a convention, QuantumCon, which was a bit of a last minute addition but worth attending. There were good books and good shows. And as always, writing, world building, and procrastination. the good news is, I head into June with more books published, a short story accepted into an anthology, and a launch party on the way.

Projects

Champion Bold is mostly done. The physical copies of the novel and the supplements are available. The ebook of the novel is up. I still need to finish the supplement ebooks and PDFs and get those up. I should have had them done by now, but once the book is up I find myself looking towards the next project. Lesson learned: get the minor stuff done before the big finale, otherwise you lose focus.

I got a good amount of work done on the Colonel Lieutenant, though not as much as I’d hoped. I’m running into some issues of ‘is this working right’ or ‘did I set this up enough.’ There’s no real way to get around it, so I’m putting my head down and running right into the issues. No way to finish it except by doing it.

And, happily enough, I managed to get a large number of items done off my other project lists. Either small world-building things, or a few scenes I banged out. And some brainstorming that got me past a couple of project blocks, allowing me to figure out major plot points for some very low-level projects. Very excited for how those will workout.

June Goals

• Finish Champion Bold ends
• Finish the Colonel Lieutenant
• Process Champion Impact Responses
• Complete revised synopsis of Orcfyre
• Knock 10 things of other to-do lists

Books

• Armageddon’s Children (Fiction)
• The Elves of Cintra (Fiction)
• War and Peace (Fiction, Audiobook)
• The Seven Basic Plots (Research)
• Complete Idiot’s Guide to Game Theory (Research)
• Without Remorse (Fiction, Re-Read)
• Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan (Non-Fiction)

I’m into the second trilogy of the Shannara series, which has gone from modern fantasy to post-apocalyptic fantasy. The world has gotten a lot bleaker, and there are factions of demons and paladins warring for control of the future. I’m kind of enjoying the series, but it’s not really grabbing my attention. I’m hoping this book picks up the pace a bit, so I don’t feel like I have to force myself to read. And I’m still five books away from the ones I read as a kid.

My re-read of Tom Clancy’s Ryan-verse is going okay. It’s been a long time since I’ve read these books, and it’s gone much as I’d hoped. I’m remember why I liked it, but after so long away, not only do I still enjoy it, but I’m picking up things I’d never noticed before, or didn’t understand. It’s a much different read now. And I’ve still got 10 more books before I hit the end of the main series and the books that Clancy himself wrote.

Hell to Pay is a fascinating history book. It’s covering the planned Allied Invasion of Japan, and it’s doing it pretty well. Each chapter covers one aspect of the plan, without worrying about chronology. So when we discuss Allied recruitment efforts or Japanese defense planning, we get to read everything important in one chapter, without jumping topics. I’m looking forward to finishing it.

June Goals

• Finish one fiction title
• Finish one non-fiction title
• Finish two research titles

Movies and Shows

• Last of Us (Season 2)
• Marco Polo
• Last Kingdom (Re-Watch)
• Andor (Season 2)
• Captain America: Brave New World

In Last of Us Part 2, we see the story of Joel and Ellie continue, much as it does in the second game. This season follows roughly the first half of that game, and it does it pretty well. It hits the emotional high points, but does so in its own way. I think the pacing was a bit off (another episode or two would have helped), but i don’t hate it. Expect a better blog post shortly.

And then there’s Andor Season 2, the last season of this show. Holy crap, talk about an amazing show. The show covers roughly four years of time, leading up to Rogue One and the original Star Wars movie. Great characters, amazing sets and costumes, and a story that just kept me wanting more. Even the last scenes gave us a good wrap up for the characters we wanted to know about. No complaints.

Finally, I saw the new marvel film, Captain America Brave New World. It was good, but not great. This movie had some high points, and some interesting connections to other films in the series. It didn’t quite feel as firm as other Captain America movies, but that’s a fairly minor complaint overall. I would definitely watch it again, but I wouldn’t start someone into the MCU with this one.

June Goals

• Watch one Best Picture Winner (three left)
• Watch one Fix-It Title (four left)
• Finish one in progress show
• Start one new show

Games

• Stellaris
• Space Marine 2
• Last of Us Part 1 (Re-Play)

Nothing much in gaming this month. I advanced Space Marine 2 but haven’t beaten it yet. I’ve been playing some more Stellaris with new DLCs, which is fun. And I started replaying the Last of Us Part 1, for fun.

RPG wise, all the campaigns are going well. My characters (French gambler, half-orc noble, half-elf oddity and otter water mage) are all still alive. The game I run is still fun and people are engaging with the story.

So, not much to tell, but it’s still fun.

June Goals

• Finish Space Marine 2
• Start new PC game

What’s Next?

Launch Party

I’ve got a launch party Sunday, June 8th, at Inbound BrewCo in Minneapolis. 1 to 5 PM. Hope to see you there.