Finished Reading “Redshirts” and Questioning…things

So… Alien Desires isn’t doing so well. Ghostly Protector did better last year, but not by much. Making me wonder why I publish my books at all. But I continue writing, except…

I am at a crossroad in The Alien’s Change of Heart. I knew what I wanted to do with a certain character at the beginning of writing it, but now I don’t know if it’s the right choice or not.

This is why I don’t plot. I can’t even stick with what I have in my mind. Imagine if it were on paper??

I know I could just write it one way and see if that works. If it doesn’t, try writing it the other way. Right? But my mind is still thinking about which way to go first.

I need to tell it to shut up and just start writing. And I need to stop making other excuses, too. I now have a deadline to finish this book. Although, I’m beginning to doubt it’s reachable.

I will be in Columbia, SC on March 28^th for a book signing. No other details are known at this time. Just the city and date. It would be so nice if The Alien’s Change of Heart were available then. But that means I need to finish the book NOW.

Nothing like adding stress to the mix, huh? Especially when Alien Desires tanked. I will certainly not end book 2 with any kind of unresolved issues, just in case it’s the last of that series.

Which is sad. I had such high hopes… Might have helped if I marketed it better, but when your newsletter subscribers don’t even purchase it, makes me wonder if that would have helped.

Oh well… At least I’m still writing. Sort of. Hahahahaha.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 22

Dates read: September 7-13, 2025
Title: Redshirts
Year of publication: 2012
Author: John Scalzi
Genre: Sci-fi comedy
Series: N/A
# of Pages: 302
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, with the chance to serve on Away Missions alongside the starship’s famous senior officers.
    Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to realize that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s senior officers always survive these confrontations; and (3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed.
    Unsurprisingly, the savvier crew members belowdecks avoid Away Missions at all costs. Then Andrew stumbles on information that transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.
Recommend: Yes!
My thoughts: What a fun book! I loved it. Not at all heavy on the sci-fi. If you’ve ever watched “Star Trek” (especially the original series), you will get this. Sort of like how Galaxy Quest riffed on the series. Almost. It’s funny and totally whacky!

Just an FYI about Alien Desires. Yes, it’s listed as sci-fi romance. Or alien romance (if that genre is available at the vendor). But it’s as much sci-fi as “Mork & Mindy” (or even “My Favorite Martian”) was sci-fi. I just don’t know how to market that. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

 

Finished Reading “Don’t Back Down” and Fun at Dragon Con

Dragon Con was great this year! One of the best I’ve attended (been going since 2010). I think because the weather was soooooo much cooler than other years, it made a huge difference. People didn’t congregate in the air-conditioned areas. They would venture outside more! Plus, I think there were soooooo many awesome guests (of which their panels were against each other, because of course they do that), that the lines weren’t too long a half-hour before the panel that you could still get inside. I really enjoyed seeing the guests from “Evil,” “Bones,” “Back to the Future,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Star Trek Voyager,” Star Trek TNG,” and the Arrowverse (John Barrowman!!). Next year is Dragon Con’s 40^th event and I’m kind of sad that I won’t be going. We have a 28-day cruise out of San Francisco, which we’ll fly to on 9/9. If we went to Dragon Con, we wouldn’t get back until 9/8. That just isn’t enough time to get ready.

Yeah, yeah, you feel sooooo sorry for me, right? Hahahahahaha.  

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 21

Dates read: August 26 – September 6, 2025
Title: Don’t Back Down
Year of publication: 2023
Author: Sharon Sala
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Jubilee, Kentucky #1
# of Pages: 257
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Free from B&N
Blurb from Goodreads: Army veteran Cameron Pope arrives back in Jubilee, Kentucky, for the first time in years. He barely has time to catch his breath when he becomes embroiled in a race of life or death for his little niece and a deadly hunt for the human traffickers who are destroying the peace of his mountain town. When he's reunited with Rusty Caldwell—a woman from his past who he's never stopped thinking about—he wants to believe they can finally be together. But Cameron is shocked to find out that Rusty belongs to one of the rich families in Jubilee—the same rich folks who scorn the rural families living on the surrounding mountainside, in spite of knowing nothing about them. With their community in the crosshairs, Cameron and Rusty will have to find a way to end the feuding and take down the human trafficking ring if they're to have a chance at happiness.
Recommend: No
My thoughts: I struggled to get through this. And it seemed to go on and on and on. I kind of expected better from her. She’s not a newby author. Then again, maybe she writes all her books this way. If so…Ugh. I won’t be getting another.

I was with Daughter when she got David Boreanaz’s autograph (which was just before we got our pictures taken with the cast of “Bones”), and she wore her Penguins cap and I wore my Penguins shirt. He saw them and just shook his head. She said, we purposely wore them for the photo later. He said, “I may just turn my back to the camera.” He didn’t, but he DID remember us at the photo shoot! Yay!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished Reading Two Stories and Dragon Con Starts THIS WEEK

On Wednesday, Daughter, Hubby, and I will leave for Atlanta and Dragon Con! I’m so excited about this one. The cast of Bones will be there. And so will some actors from Back to the Future as well as Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. Mainly David Boreanaz! Daughter and I plan on getting pics with the cast of Bones, so the question I need to answer… do I wear a Steelers jersey or a Penguins jersey? Only fans of Bones will get that, I think.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 19

Dates read: August 15, 2025
Title: To the Stars
Year of publication: 2024
Author: Leah Lore
Genre: Cozy Sci-Fi Short Story
Series:  Possible, but not written yet
# of Pages: 34
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Goodreads: In the far future, Earth is ravaged by war. Deadly skirmishes between isolated human civilizations are frequent. New technologies are discovered, but others have been lost to time.
    Paige is trying to find her place in a shattered world. She’s a flight-school cadet determined to impress her military father, but she yearns to explore the stars. Her determination and constant practice in the cockpit rocket her to the top of her class.
    Still, she questions herself.
    When Paige takes a dangerous risk, she’s left grounded. At a crossroads, she must look inside herself to decide what's important, but the question remains—will she ever fly again?
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: Entertaining. I know the author (she is in my writer group), but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this short story. I look forward to her novel (which she says is in the works).

Book 20

Dates read: August 16-25, 2025
Title: The Summer Guests
Year of publication: 2025
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Genre: Thriller
Series:  Martini Club #2
# of Pages: 325
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: When former spy Maggie Bird retired to the seaside hamlet of Purity, Maine, she settled in for a quiet life with breathtaking views. But enemies from her past soon threatened to destroy everything.
    Maggie survived, thanks to her wits and the collective intelligence of the Martini Club, the circle of ex-CIA friends in her cocktail-sipping book club. Their handiwork, however, caught the attention of young police chief Jo Thibodeau. Now Jo and her neighborhood ex-spies have an uneasy alliance.
    After a teenager vanishes—and Maggie’s neighbor becomes the prime suspect—she joins the investigation, determined to prove her friend’s innocence. But the girl’s wealthy family pushes for an arrest. And when authorities discover a long-dead corpse in a nearby pond, the case becomes doubly complicated, with unthinkable ties to long-buried secrets.
    As Jo grapples with two unexplained mysteries, the Martini Club races to uncover the truth behind shadowy secrets…before more lives are lost.
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: The people in the Martini Club are a hoot. I guess we all fight getting older, though, huh? This story is more mystery than thriller, but an enjoyable read. And I had no idea who did what, so I guess that makes the twists good? And there are some twists.

Writing is going well. Sales of Alien Desires is not, however. I am apparently marketing it wrong and I don’t know how to fix that. I mean, when your own newsletter subscribers aren’t even buying it… Yeah, it’s not pretty. Well… I will be at Dragon Con and there is a writing track. Hopefully I can get some tips there. But when BookBub doesn’t even have a genre for that book, I’m thinking I may be doomed.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished Reading “Immortal by Morning” and Back on the Road

I’m currently in Indiana, near the Indiana Dunes. Hubby and I are visiting some sort-of local-to-us National Parks. Drove through a lot of Indiana and Illinois country. Or rather…farmland. Saw Lincoln’s boyhood home (in Indiana) and his first home (in Springfield, IL). Also visited the George Rogers Clark Memorial. I never realized that the American Revolution came all the way out to Indiana (at the Illinois border) and Clark (who is the older brother of the Clark from Lewis & Clark) was responsible for getting Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and part of Minnesota added to the U.S. without a single person dying. See? I learn something new every time I visit a park!

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 18

Dates read: August 1-14, 2025
Title: Immortal by Morning
Year of publication: 2025
Author: Lynsay Sands
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series:  Argeneau Vampires #37
# of Pages: 360
Paper or plastic: Mass market paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Crispinus Delacort is an immortal rogue Enforcer and a homicide detective. But in his quiet city, he’s more likely to be found rounding up truant teens than investigating murders. So when he learns that human bones have been found in the garden of a sprawling rural home, it’s unexpected to say the least.
    Abril Newman can’t believe her bad luck when she discovers a body buried on the grounds of her boss’s home while chasing after Gina’s mischievous lab, Lilith. She was just supposed to be house-sitting for a few days! And then Detective Delacort arrives. She knows she shouldn’t be thinking about love when there’s a crime scene outside the door. But ignoring her attraction to gorgeous Crispin is easier said than done.
    When Crispin realizes that a rogue is involved, he knows this won’t be a simple investigation. Especially because he’s so distracted by Abril’s presence that all he wants is to kiss her senseless in every room of the manor. But he can woo her, solve the case, and stop a dangerous rogue by morning…right?
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: It’s hard to believe I’ve just finished the 37^th book in this series! And I still love them. So easy to step back into this world.

Tomorrow we will visit the Pullman Historical Park in Chicago and then drive up to Racine, WI to pick up the Kringles we ordered from the O&H Bakery before we head back home. Yum yum!!

FYI: It’s cheaper for us to buy a bunch for the freezer when we’re in the neighborhood (yes, Chicago is considered in the neighborhood). If bought online, they cost $22-25, plus shipping (of over $20). In person? $9. We get enough to last at least a year.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished Reading “Amplified” and Feeling Ho Hum, but I’m Back at Writing

I am in some kind of a funk. At least it’s not affecting my writing. I finally opened up The Alien’s Change of Heart and am working on it. I was kind of hoping writing would get rid of the funk, though. It hasn’t. And man, it doesn’t take much to take me deep down in the funk, either.

Can’t pinpoint exactly what is causing it. I think it’s just a lot of little things that have finally just overwhelmed me. I wish it would stop, though. I hate feeling this way.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 17

Dates read: July 20-31, 2025
Title: Amplified
Year of publication: 2024
Author: Cassie Sweet
Genre: Sci-fi mystery
Series:  Mage Corp, Inc #1
# of Pages: 224
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased from author
Blurb from book: Dead Bodies – they’re a job hazard for overworked and burned-out Mage Corp Agent Nolen Trex. When the deceased is one of his informants, caused by the fry from an illegal magical amplifier, Trex tends to take the death personally. Add to that the body was found in another informant’s quarters and it opens a whole can of space garbage he’d rather not deal with. The only way to get information off the dead is to hire a necromancer to wake the dead, and boy, he’s not looking forward to dealing with one of those.
    Necromancer Raakyr Glis has done some shady things in his past, but none as bad as working as a courier for a crime lord distributing illegal amps. When he’s called by Mage Corp to wake a dead man he recognizes as a recipient of an amp he’d delivered, he must skirt the line between his duties to the brotherhood of Necromancers and concealment from his clandestine activities, which could cost him everything—including the lives of his remaining family.
    As more bodies pile up—all with amp malfunctions—Raakyr must throw in his lot with Trex to bring a larger galactic conspiracy to light and stop the crime lord for good.
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: I enjoyed this story. I had asked the author if she had any male-male romances (because I was looking for a book for my daughter) and she indicated this one was the closest she had. Not that it’s a romance (far from it) or much of a male-male story (there is attraction there, but that’s about it). Still, it was a fun read. Yes, I had to read it first because the story looked fun. And it was. Now, I’ll give it to my daughter. She thought the story looked fun, too. Hopefully, she won’t be disappointed.

I mentioned a few posts ago that Ghostly Protector was a finalist in a contest I entered it in. I got word that it did not win. Oh well. It’s not like I have been a finalist all that much (once before), so that was great. I can only hope that those who had to read the book liked it enough to want to read the others.

Happy Reading!

Stacy