August Review

 

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It is the last Friday of August. Kids are starting to go back to school, and I am one month into my new job. It's close to an hour commute, so I switch between taking the bus and driving on the days I work in-office. I get to telecommute Wednesdays and Fridays, so I get some semblance of rest between the tiresome driving. Our office is relocating next year about 7 miles south, but there's also going to be an office down the street from me, so maybe I can beg my way into there one day a week. We'll see.

My sister and I are preparing to amp up our housing search before anything else breaks down in this one. We had to replace our whole HVAC system last month, a highly unexpected cost. When we sell, we'll be able to pay off the loan we had to take out. We're looking at renting, because we don't want to live together forever, but the market is not for buyers or renters right now. Adulting is highly overrated.

I finally finished Black Leopard Red Wolf, and oh my God, what a story. Figuratively, I can't wait for the next book, which I think is out (*looks* yes, it came out in February), but mentally, I need a break from the density and rawness of Marlon James's writing. The action and the dialogue were my favorite parts of the story. Overall, it is not a happy one, but how many epic fantasies really are?

I officially finished the first part of Divided Princess, the sequel to Fractured Princess. (The books are split into three parts as a nod to my old Final Fantasy games that were three discs on Playstation One.) I had written "Book Two" much earlier in what I had been writing, but the scene I completed this week felt much more like a suspenseful ending. Whereas the first book has 15-16 chapters per part, so far Book One of Divided Princess has 20. A few are short, because Cyan talks a lot more this book. What does a Watchman do when his Watch no longer needs him for protection but is still his baby sister? Little things like that. I like getting to explore his mind more. He's my favorite character.

For the rest of the month, I plan to finish The Bellas' memoir that I started some time last year, do some more writing, get my next two Patreon posts ready, and slide into September excited for whatever will come. See you there!