Has this ever happened to you? Let’s say you made a New Year’s resolution to improve in some way … and then all impetus peters out before January even ends. Or everything’s going swimmingly, then during the third week something crops up, and it interferes with your well-laid plans going forward. My goal was to finish the first draft of Wyldling Armor, book three of the Wyldling Dream series, by the end of this month. It’s slated for publishing on September 30, 2024. Today is the 18th of January. Guess what? I’m not even a third of the way done. 

I even applied what I’ve learned from writing and publishing two other whole books, and cut myself some slack. Consistency is key. Just keep plugging away, a little at a time. I broke the project down into steps – what I considered manageable writing chunks – and resolved to write at least 250 words every day and track my progress. Only 250 words. And track how much I write on my NaNoWriMo dashboard. Easy-peasy, right? Anyone can accomplish that much.

Ha! Well, nope. Not me. Apparently opening up a web browser and typing in some numbers is too much for me to manage. And be disciplined enough to write every day? That’s crazy talk!

I could blame my new job for piling on the work and occupying more time than I anticipated. I could blame the shorter days, the weather, my family, the alignment of the planets – any number of things – but that doesn’t solve my problem. And this begs the question: is there a problem? Perhaps I’m being too hard on myself. I’m managing a chapter a week, which is better than nothing. It’s not as if I’m failing to write at all.

Often, our expectations for a project are unrealistically high. We need to scale things back and make our goals more attainable. Wyldling Armor follows the struggles of Sir Thomas, a young man who fears he’s nothing but a failure. As a knight, he’s sworn an oath to protect and serve others. He considers himself responsible for the safety of two young people in particular. When one is abducted (in Wyldling Snare) and then the other is sucked through a portal (in Wyldling Trials) – both right in front of him – Thomas is helpless to save them. He blames himself for being too weak and struggles to make amends. How can he ever make up for this? He doesn’t know where his friends are – or whether they’re still alive. He fears they may be suffering. Will he turn to his elders and the Almighty Threefold One for hope and guidance … or will he fall back on his own untrustworthy devices?

There’s a moral in this for me. Instead of complaining about how I’ve failed, maybe I should pray asking God for help. He’ll surely bless my efforts. And in the meantime, I’ll just keep writing!

And NOW … without further ado … I bring you recommendations for reading material. 

Of course, you can always read Wyldling Snare and Wyldling Trials if you haven’t yet. However, if you’re caught up with the Wyldling Dream series and would like more fantasy books to read …

Clean Fantasy Books – YA, Epic, Portal, Adventure

The Fourth Scroll by Karen Grunst (The Sacred Fire Saga book 2)

I featured this book in my last post, and I’m bringing it up again because IT CAME OUT ON THE 16TH and is now available. As a reminder, this is also the second book in a series. I highly recommend reading Sacred Fire first, which is available on Kindle Unlimited. This tale is set in another world similar to our own in preindustrial times, and the religion is similar to Christianity as it might have been before the Messiah was born. Normally, I tend to shy away from books heavy on romance while light on dragons—there aren’t any dragons in this series thus far—but I definitely don’t regret agreeing to be an ARC reader for this book. It’s a sweet romance without the spice, and I love the world and the characters. I’m eagerly awaiting the third book … I hope this series continues because I’m hooked on it now! 

Books Available Now!

New Year New Bingeable Fantasy!

It’s a New Year, so I wanted to give my readers new fantasy/scifi series to binge! Check out these fantasy series and series starters.

Midwinter All -Fantasy Subgenre Mega Giveaway

Grab these books for FREE!

Disclaimer: I have not had time to read all these books, so I cannot vouch for quality or content. In the case you are dissatisfied, please don’t send the Brute Squad after me.

Have you read Wyldling Snare?

A knight’s first duty is to his realm. When another world calls, will he answer? The wrong choice might destroy all he loves.

Apprentice knight Enoch Northward isn’t ready to lead. But when he returns home to find his mentor dead and the heir-apparent missing, he knows he must rise to the challenge.

But the horrifying truth of his guardian’s death and disappearance of his friends leaves the grieving knight with no time to mourn. In search of answers, he ventures into the forbidden forest. There he discovers a portal leading to another world – and a girl who shares his faith and dreams.

The realm hangs in the balance as a mysterious enemy schemes to destroy it, but not all peril comes from the outside. Enoch himself harbors a secret that could destroy all he loves…

Obligatory Cat Photo

By the way, for those of you who – like me – suffer from chronically cold hands (CCH) a friend introduced me to the best invention since chocolate: rechargeable hand warmers.

That’s all for now. Have a great week!