Reading Report - April 2026
The poetry of baseball, light moving through cathedral windows, and a load of excellent writing articles.
April finds me writing in a cafe, as I often am, with something my phone tells me is Afro House music playing. It’s good writing music, which to me means it's got a rhythmic beat and not too many distracting words. I’ve been ploughing ahead on my revisions like an old dray through a field of stones, slowly, but still moving. Happy reading. ~EM
Butt in Chair Time
I'm a sucker for a big goal. Last year I only got one story written for Story A Day May, but it turned out to be a good one (more on that later). This year my goal is two stories a week, and three days of revision a week. That's a lot. But any writing is more than would have happened otherwise. If you'd like to join me you can sign up at storyaday.org.
Year of Joy
- Moments of Beauty - Light moves at the washington national cathedral
- As Above, So Below - The cosmos in a microscopic chemical reaction
- Shaunmjex - Dingers and Double Plays, the Poetry of Baseball
(Tea)TRPGs
- Friday Afternoon Tea - Defeat the Dungeon - Dungeon Crawler Carl themed teas dropping Saturday morning from the amazing Friday Afternoon Teas.
- Last Train to Bremen - I recently got to play this amazing and atmospheric rpg about doomed bandmates who made a deal with the devil and are now trying to outrun their bargain.
- WriterUnboxed - Failing the Perception Check - How not to fall into the container trap while in revisions.
- Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher) has written an Asterion Novel, a prequel to Balder's Gate 3, which will be coming out in a few months
Writing Bits and Bobs
- Ink, Coffee, and Regrets - Bingeable Battles & Sleepless Nights - A podcast exploring writing craft and the works of new novelists.
- Bobby Mallane - Crafting compelling travel scenes in fantasy
- Literary Hub - On writing and knitting
- Bluesky - What Niche IP would you like to write for?
Books and Reading
- The Art of Fiction - Gardner - This one Did Not Spark Joy (review in process)
- The Bedlam Bride (Dungeon Crawler Carl 6) - Matt Dinniman
- Lavender House - Lev AC Rosen - a killer queer mystery set in the speakeasy gay bars of 1950's San Franciso
- This Kingdom will not Kill Me - Ilona Andrews writes a portal fantasy and its dark and funny and has a twist that made me gasp so loud on the train. They are always a must read for me, but this one is stellar.
- Wolf Worm - T. Kingfisher - I am a wimp. I am not entirely sure I will finish this but her writing is so good its worth the scare. A botanical illustrator gets a job with an entomologist who studies parasites and maybe there’s something else in the woods.
- Fake Query Letters by Dead Authors - David Griffin Brown and Michelle Barker
Accountability
- First chapter rewritten (again), 6 chapters revised (still)
- StoryADay May kicks off today. I'm writing two stories a week, and revising three days a week.
