Reading Report: October 2025
This Month's reading report features craft articles from Ilona Andrews and C.L. Polk, a 2,000 year-old copper skeletong and 100 word memoirs.
I am writing this in the Denver airport, on my way to the Writer Unboxed Unconference in Santa Fe. By the time you read it I’ll be most of the way through a week of writing workshops. I plan to bring back a ton of new tidbits and tools and maybe a few more writing books.
I love traveling, yes for the exciting new places, but I love the in-between times too. There’s nothing quite so liminal as an airport or train station. October is an especially liminal time, poised between seasons, and as All-Hallows Eve approaches, between worlds. This Month's reading report features craft articles from Ilona Andrews and C.L. Polk, a 2,000 year-old copper skeletong and 100 word memoirs. Happy Reading ~EM
Surprise Short Story Announcement!
Scott's Planet is Now Available!
My short story "Trade Value" is in this amazing shared world anthology, telling the story of a colony abandoned on a world of two-meter-long bugs, giant fish, terror chickens, and the people who made it their home. Links to other retailers will be along in a few weeks.
Inspiration Station
- Writer Unboxed - Your Brain is a Story Machine - On keeping the human connection to story.
- Ilona Andrews - On hitting the “I hate everything” stage of learning to write - and why it's a good thing.
- C.L. Polk - How I Abandon Organization While Planning a Novel
- Industry info - There is no Amazon Boycott - on why indie authors are seeing a downtown, includes bookscan numbers for recent releases.
Strange But True
- Live Science - Momento Mori - a 2,000 year old copper skeleteon party-favor
- Bluesky - Eat the jelly doughnut
- New York Times - Teen Tiny Memoirs - winners of the NY Time's 100 word memoirs contest for teens. Brilliant, heartwrenching, inspiring.
October Reading List
- Testimony of Mute Things - Lois McMaster Bujold - A Surprise Penric and Desdimona novella when it seems like we just had The Adventure of the Demonic Ox a few months ago. Pen is younger here, but hot on the case of a murder threatening a peace treaty between neighboring princedoms.
- Blind Date with a Werewolf - Patricia Briggs - Lonely and Proud and Terrible, ancient werewolf Asil’s “friends” set him up on five blind dates over the Christmas Holidays. Hijinks ensue.
- The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association - Caitlin Rozakis - After a werewolf attack on their Kindergartener, two parents have to adapt to a new and dangerous environment, a new england private school’s parent teacher association. If you'd like a preview, Caitlin read a sample of this story at Fantastic Fiction a few months ago and it's available online as a podcast.
- Academy of Outcasts - Larry Correra - A fun new world playing on the magic school theme. What would you be like if you grew up on Lava World?
- Fledgling, Saltation, Ghost Ship, Dragon Ship - Sharon Lee and Steve Miller - A reread of one of my favorite series, and guess what? The first book, Fledgling, is free on Baen's website. A good entry point into Lee and Miller's Liaden Universe, that only gets deeper and richer the more books you've read.
- Ashenden or The British Agent - W. Somerset Maugham. Still working through this one. Excellent for time appropriate atmosphere. Not so excellent at keeping me awake.
