Book Reviews 2017 - Intro

I need to post more book reviews. (Pretty much everyone needs to post more book reviews, but I'll leave that in your hands.)

I took December off from... well, everything. This gave me time to read some books. I had plenty, thanks to the beauty of an ebook reader (I'm a Kobo girl. More on this later), and did my best to get through as many as I could.

Thanks to BookBub and the Fussy Librarian, I receive daily notifications of any book deals going down. Also, I thought I'd take a punt and trawl through Kobo's bookstore, picking up any freebies I came across. If (IF) I can remember how I found the book, I may mention it.

Now my TBR pile is rather large, but I'm going to do my best to get through as many books as I can. I'll post my reviews here, and possibly to GoodReads and/or Amazon, depending. I intend to be honest in my book reviews, and sometimes that means I will lay it out as I see it. If I find a book hard to read or full of problems, I will mention that here. Also, I am under no obligation to finish a book if it can't catch and hold my attention. Other readers may feel differently.  Feel free to share your reasons in the comments, observing good manners and etiquette. You're free to disagree with me, but not to act like a jerk.

So, what has My Grace read recently?  I tend to enjoy Historical, Romance (all kinds except contemporary) and SFF.  Occasionally I'll pick up a book outside these genres, because it's healthy to read books outside one's preferred stomping grounds.

Let's have a look at what I've been reading lately.


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Her Grace is looking for patterns.

What is your career vision?

Fellow writer John Scalzi recently made a deal with his publisher to deliver thirteen books over the next ten years. The money mentioned was a nice thing, but what impressed me the most was the time-frame.

Essentially, this guy just scored TEN YEARS of Job Security as an author. He knows what he's gonna be doing for the next ten years and won't have to worry about where/when the money is coming from to pay the bills, or if anyone's gonna buy his next book. He's set for a decade.

What a lucky guy. I wish I had that sort of stability in my writing career.  Chances are, when my backlist is as long as his, I might get that chance.

Whenever I hear news of this sort, I give a review to my 50-Year Plan (aka writing career). Is my career on track? What can I do to improve the little things?

I have a business plan. After reading Scalzi's thoughts on That Deal, I reviewed my plan. I take comfort in the fact that I didn't feel the need to alter or change much of that plan. I did feel a touch more motivation. And I'm lucky to be able to act on that motivation today.

Last week was a Very Busy Week with lots of non-writing stuff. I had to put writing aside for 160 hours. Now that I've got my regularly scheduled life back, Scalzi's news came at just the right time to let me indulge in a motivational reaction, instead of whimpering uselessly while Everything Else pushed my writing aside.

I'm 60% through my current WIP, right on target for my August 1 deadline.

Meanwhile, I am happy and thankful to have a backlist. Feel free to read and review my books. I've got more coming out soon.

Question for comments: What is your career vision? Do you have a plan?

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Her Grace dreams of the day she'll permanently be a full-time author.