Note: “Possession” was the working title for Pawns of Zier.
It’s that time of year when you realize that yes, a whole year did pass that quickly! Whew, where did the time go? The answer–at least my answer–is in this post, including the best 8 novels I read this year. Do share your own–I’m always looking for a good book. Or game. 🙂
This time last year, I had just about realized I was doing too many things, and had decided to slow down. I’m happy to say that now, twelve months later, I’m living a much more balanced life. I don’t work all the time! 😀 I also write fewer blog posts, as you might have noticed, but something had to give and it couldn’t all be the day-job, eh?
Writing-wise, it’s been a year of working on Possession. I tried out plotting instead of pantsing, and discovered I rather like it. I’m still working on the revisions, but the book is really starting to shape up. It’s been a lot of fun to work with–there’s just so much going on, and I love the characters. Idh joining the resistance, having blackouts, discovering he’s committing crimes… And Ehna taking him over and having quite a bit of fun of her own in his body. 😉 Of course, juggling all these characters, twists, and complications makes the revisions rather time-consuming, but I’m happy to say I’m past the half-way point, and I’ve got the plan all worked out for the rest (I hope!).
Outside of writing, I’ve played a lot of great games as usual. I put together this list of my top 5 board games for writers, so check that out if you need some inspiration. I also started trying out board games on my Android tablet, and I’ve found them to be a great complement! (Check out Ticket to Ride, Splendor–especially the challenges–and Elder Sign. Oh, and Pandemic.)
And now, my favorite books of the year! It’s always hard to narrow down the list, but here they are:
Fantasy and SF:
I finally read The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. It’s a great time-travel story about a historian who travels back to the time of the Black Death in England. Heartbreaking, but interesting.
Fluency by Jennifer Foehner Wells. Great first-contact space opera that has an SF-movie feel to it.
Redshirts by John Scalzi. Fun novel in a Star Trek-like setting about, you guessed it, the “redshirts” who have to die in each episode to prove that the protagonists are really in danger.
World War Z by Max Brooks. I haven’t seen the movie, but the book is great, written like a series of interviews of various survivors of the zombie apocalypse.
11/22/63 by Stephen King. High school teacher goes back in time to try to stop Kennedy from being assassinated. I do love a good time travel story, and this one is one of the best I’ve read!
Thriller:
Non-stop till Tokyo by K.J. Charles. Great thriller set in Japan with a romance subplot. The worldbuilding is wonderful and the setting really comes alive. And did I mention one of the protagonists is a Samoan-American sumo wrestler?
Romance:
I really enjoyed Luck be a Lady by Meredith Duran, a wonderfully written historical romance with a underground crime lord for a hero.
Another great romance was Think of England by K.J. Charles. (Yes, that’s the same author as the thriller above.) M/m historical romance set in England in 1904, where a discharged captain sets out to discover whether the military accident that killed his men was actually sabotage.
And there you have it! I hope you had as interesting a year as I did, and read lots of good books. Happy Holidays everyone!