Busting Through That Series TBR List

Trying not to pat myself on the back too much, but guys I am making such good progress on my "finishing up all the series" list!!!

(If you're looking for a WIP update, go back one entry.  This one is all about reading life.)


So here is my list as it stands right now:
Finishing Up My Series TBR list.  Let's take a look, shall we?

1. The Lotus War books.  There is no good reason for why I haven't finished this series.  The main character is AWESOME.  The world is AWESOME. AND I OWN ALL THREE BOOKS.  Like what is wrong with me?
2. The Lunar Chronicles.  I loved these books, but for whatever reason whenever I look at how long Winter is, my brain fails.  But this year I will read the last book!!!
3. Under The Never Sky. I got partway through the last book and just quit.  What is wrong with me??? I really liked the other two books.  *sigh*  I have a problem.
4. Dust Lands.  I really loved the first book in this series, but the second book and its sibling drama (not to mention that whole rapey type scene at the end) really turned me off.  Still, I do want to find out what happens to Saba, so I need to buckle down and finish that one.
5. The Fifth Wave.  I was absolutely blown away by the first two books in this series, but I admit I am terrified of what might happen in the conclusion.  I will face my fear and read that book when it releases in FOUR DAYS??? EEP!
6. Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Honestly, why in heaven's name haven't I finished this series?  I freaking LOVE Laini Taylor.  Is it just that I'm a coward and I can't face how it might end?  Not sure.
7. Penryn & The End Of Days. Okay, I'm just afraid that Pen and Rafe don't end up together, so if someone could just spoil that detail for me, I'll finish this series posthaste.
8. The Heir Chronicles.  It's been so long since I read the last one that I really can't even remember what happened.  I just need to see if they have it on recaptains or something.  Because I loved every one of those stories. :)
9. Lumatere Chronicles.  I read the first of these books, but honestly, Finnikin didn't excite me very much.  But EVERYONE AND THEIR BROTHER keeps telling me I have to read the other two because they are amazing.  So I added this series to my list.  

So I only have 3 left!  There are two to finish in Lotus War, and two in Lumatere.  There is just one in Dust Lands, so I'll probably go with that one next. :)  I am all about the easy wins.

That's all on my update for now.  I'm reading a lot of unrelated stuff too, and you can check out my goodreads for that. 

Happy Reading!

Ask The Author: Readers Rock!!

I usually try to make these entries light and amusing.  I mean, I've read a lot of author blogs, and the ones that keep things short and sweet are the ones that I enjoy coming back to again and again.  I think, however, that I will fail utterly today.

Words have power.  I think we know this.  We go through our days, bombarded by words (especially we who are bibliophiles) and many times, unfortunately, those words are not kind.  They do not help us or uplift us, instead they bring us into darkness.

This all sounds like I'm trying to be deep and introspective, but really I'm just trying to say is... I don't think we're always aware how much power our words have in this world.

As a writer, I struggle all the time with the idea that people are reading my words and are affected by them.  Like wow!  People read my words and respond to them and some even hate or love them.  That is AMAZING to me.

Today, I want to honor my fans who send me their messages.  If you've sent me an email, I've read it (probably twice! haha)  If you've left me a comment, I've noticed.

You may not believe in the power of YOUR words, dear readers, but they affect me all the same!  Many times I feel such strong gratitude for all of you.  I know you are out there, but sometimes, I admit I forget.  I feel like I'm writing words into the void and it's such a great reminder to get pulled back to earth by your kind words.

Thank you.  Thank you all.  It seems like such a small thing to say when your wonderful words left me in happy tears, but thank you.

And in return, I offer this news:  I'm at 84,276 words for Ignis.  I have a bit of middle stuff to clear up, and a few ending chapters to write after I figure out how to fit Luka's storyline into the main storyline, but I'm really happy with the progress I've made, considering how busy I've been over the past 4 months!

I will make a post later about my reading list progress (and there has been some, so yay!), but for now, I just wanted to say how much I love and appreciate my readers.   What you do for me is magic!

Progress Report: So Far So Good!

June has been a tricky month in our house.  Summers are always tricky, actually.  I don't know what it is.  Every summer approaches and I really intend for it to be laid back, with the kids out biking and swimming, but not much else.  That never seems to happen for us, though.
Before I know it, we're fully booked with trips here and there and everywhere and I feel like I'm about to fall over.

Ah well.
Still, progress has been made!  Yay progress!

Progress on the book front: Zyan and Nikka have become too difficult for me at this point what with their complex intertwinings and to be honest a lot of delicate details that I have to iron out every step of the way, setting up for the final book.
So I set their storyline aside (although I got an idea of how to fix something, so I may pick it up later this week) to work on Luka.
Luka, you beautiful man griffin you.  In case any of you forgot, Luka's storyline is going to be heavily griffin this time around and it has been a lot of fun to write.  I've got about 27,000 words written in his story, so I'm over the halfway point now.  Luka is on the island of the griffins, so I get to write about a society from the ground up and boy howdy is it fun!

In other news, I've been steadily working on getting rid of that Finishing Up My Series TBR list.  Let's take a look, shall we?

1. The Lotus War books.  There is no good reason for why I haven't finished this series.  The main character is AWESOME.  The world is AWESOME. AND I OWN ALL THREE BOOKS.  Like what is wrong with me?
2. The Lunar Chronicles.  I loved these books, but for whatever reason whenever I look at how long Winter is, my brain fails.  But this year I will read the last book!!!
3. Under The Never Sky. I got partway through the last book and just quit.  What is wrong with me??? I really liked the other two books.  *sigh*  I have a problem.
4. Dust Lands.  I really loved the first book in this series, but the second book and its sibling drama (not to mention that whole rapey type scene at the end) really turned me off.  Still, I do want to find out what happens to Saba, so I need to buckle down and finish that one.
5. The Fifth Wave.  I was absolutely blown away by the first two books in this series, but I admit I am terrified of what might happen in the conclusion.  I will face my fear and read that book when it releases in FOUR DAYS??? EEP!
6. Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Honestly, why in heaven's name haven't I finished this series?  I freaking LOVE Laini Taylor.  Is it just that I'm a coward and I can't face how it might end?  Not sure.
7. Penryn & The End Of Days. Okay, I'm just afraid that Pen and Rafe don't end up together, so if someone could just spoil that detail for me, I'll finish this series posthaste.
8. The Heir Chronicles.  It's been so long since I read the last one that I really can't even remember what happened.  I just need to see if they have it on recaptains or something.  Because I loved every one of those stories. :)
9. Lumatere Chronicles.  I read the first of these books, but honestly, Finnikin didn't excite me very much.  But EVERYONE AND THEIR BROTHER keeps telling me I have to read the other two because they are amazing.  So I added this series to my list.  

So, I'm making good progress here, too.  Right now I'm on the last Veronica Rossi book in the Never Sky series, and hopefully I'll finish that up pretty soon.  I'm also hoping I won't make any more additions to my list or this will take me MORE than the rest of the year to finish up.

Hope you all are making similar progress on your personal life goals!

Happy Reading!

Obligatory Marketing Post

Hey, so, I wrote a new book.  It's been in the works for like 18 mths, but now it's up on Amazon!

Here is the awesome cover:

(It's so pretty it makes me want to weep)

Um, so let's see.  Basically, it's a giant mish-mash of Regency, Fairytale, Murder, and Sexytimes.  (yes, there a few, but it's mostly like pg-13 stuff).  I had a lot of fun writing this one, as it is kind of a divergence from what I usually write.  It's very fluffy and nonsensical and you will breeze right through it, if you care to read it.

Right now it's on the Amazon KDP thing, but I'm only gonna leave it there for the 90 day agreement, and then it will migrate to all the other sites you know and love.  Now I'll just post the book blurb and make my way back to the novel I'm currently reading...

Cat was perfectly happy as the pampered pet of her devoted mistress—even with the irritating Hound in residence—until Fairy Godmother changed her to a young woman to help servant girl, Cinderella, catch her duke. That success has now gifted the animals temporary humanity and released them into the world to fend for themselves. 
Cat hatches a scheme to find herself a rich husband—with help from the other animals and a secret stash of her owner's money. Hound's only plan is to ruin Cat's plan. As if learning the rules of polite society weren't difficult enough, London is awash with murders, courtesy of Shadow Man. He kills his victims to leech magic from them and transformed animals are chock full of magic. 
When circumstances throw Cat and Hound into the path of Shadow Man, they must find a way to escape his clutches and end the Season with their human forms intact. Through the candlelit ballrooms of society's upper echelons and across the dark and narrow streets of London, Shadow Man will become the predator and Cat and Hound, his prey. 

Happy Reading!
-Kate:)

You Got Me Beat

I am not writing an update on Ignis right now.  This book has become far longer and more complicated than I initially planned.  (Yes, I'm sure you're shocked by this development.)

(This is you.)

But the good news is I am still plugging away.  As per my WOTY, I am steady as she goes.  Steadily writing.  Steadily plotting.  (steadily crying over my naivete when clocking this book at a mere 120k)

Today I want to talk about lack of follow-through when reading.  Here is my problem.  I frequently neglect to finish series.  It makes no sense, really, because I can read an AMAZING book (like Stormdancer, for instance) but I only read the first one and it takes like a MILLION YEARS for all the books to come out (see: Throne of Glass) and by the time they are all out, I've gotten excited about other books that pop up on my radar and I just never seem to finish them.

BUT THAT IS ABOUT TO CHANGE, my dear readers.  I have determined that this is the year I will, WILL finish a bunch of the series that I promised myself I would finish and won't keep putting it off.

So here is the listicle type thingy I came up with to keep myself accountable:

1. The Lotus War books.  There is no good reason for why I haven't finished this series.  The main character is AWESOME.  The world is AWESOME. AND I OWN ALL THREE BOOKS.  Like what is wrong with me?
2. The Lunar Chronicles.  I loved these books, but for whatever reason whenever I look at how long Winter is, my brain fails.  But this year I will read the last book!!!
3. Under The Never Sky. I got partway through the last book and just quit.  What is wrong with me??? I really liked the other two books.  *sigh*  I have a problem.
4. Dust Lands.  I really loved the first book in this series, but the second book and its sibling drama (not to mention that whole rapey type scene at the end) really turned me off.  Still, I do want to find out what happens to Saba, so I need to buckle down and finish that one.
5. The Fifth Wave.  I was absolutely blown away by the first two books in this series, but I admit I am terrified of what might happen in the conclusion.  I will face my fear and read that book when it releases in FOUR DAYS??? EEP!
6. Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Honestly, why in heaven's name haven't I finished this series?  I freaking LOVE Laini Taylor.  Is it just that I'm a coward and I can't face how it might end?  Not sure.
7. Penryn & The End Of Days. Okay, I'm just afraid that Pen and Rafe don't end up together, so if someone could just spoil that detail for me, I'll finish this series posthaste.
8. The Heir Chronicles.  It's been so long since I read the last one that I really can't even remember what happened.  I just need to see if they have it on recaptains or something.  Because I loved every one of those stories. :)

Well, that should keep me busy for the next year. :D

What about you?  Do you have any series that you've left unfinished?  Get to it!

Happy Reading!

Hello From The Other Side (Of Christmas)

Uh... I think it's too late to say Happy New Year, so Happy Valentine's Day!  I guess.

Things are busy over here.  Over the holidays I (of course) got less done than I thought I was going to.  Such is life.
I'm still going.  I finished all my query stuff and I'm pessimistic about what the results will be, because I'm a pessimist.  I mean, the odds of success are like... 1 in 10,000 or something.  So it may be that in about 3 or 4 mths, I just put out another book.  I mean, I think I've learned by now that I tend to write stuff that is a bit... unusual.  Which is good for those of you who are fans, but for strangers I bet they scratch their heads and wonder what in the world goes on in my imagination.


I wrote a short fic for funsies, because nothing else would help me get over my angst over The 100 (if you don't know what I'm talking about WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN??? IT'S SUCH AN AMAZING SHOW!!!  GO WATCH IT ON NETFLIX NOW!!!), but I'm finally getting back to Ignis which has been haunting my dreams with its insistence.

I'm hopeful it will go quick.  I'm so close to finishing up this part of the Five Tribes that I can almost taste it!  Just typing that feels good.

Finally, I chose my word of the year, which is STEADY.  Because lord knows I need some steadiness in my life right now.  Steady pace.  Steady intentions.  STEADY PROGRESS. STEADY RESULTS.

I think it's a good word for me.  That's all for now.  My time is pretty tight these days, so I'm putting most of my free time into writing.  (Yes, I know, it's all good news over here, isn't it?)

Happy Reading!