Dusting this old thing off to once again bring you The Rough Draft, whereby I keep you updated on where I am in regards to my reading, writing, and other authorly goals. Unless, by some miracle, I actually start doing more ‘authorly’ things over the course of the month, I’ll be posting this review on the first of each month. Why? For no other reason than to keep myself accountable with all the things I’ll say I’ll do. But hopefully you’ll get a kick out of it every now and then too.
Reading
If you’re not already aware, I’ve recently started the 2020 A-Z Reading Challenge; which is to read a book per letter of the alphabet. I’ve had some great recommendations so far, but I’m still missing quite a few letters, so if you can think of a book you’d love to recommend, please do let me know either here, there, or over on FB.
This month I read:
The Hundredth Queen
by Emily R King
It had an interesting premise, a bit of a twist on the usual ‘bachelor/ette’ style fiction, whereby the women have to fight- not just for their place in the hierarchy of wives, but for their very lives. The main character suffers from the usual ‘I’m not anything special’, whilst of course, being special. This isn’t always a problem. It’s a trope you get used to in YA fiction. And don’t get me wrong, it was a good enough read, but there was something… some spark… missing. Aside from always putting herself down, the main character is utterly forgettable and what could have been a really great story just read as blandly as the MC herself.
I’m currently (Re)reading:
The Great Zoo of China
by Matthew Reilly
I love Matthew Reilly. He is hands down one of my favourite authors out there. And whilst I’ll be the first to say he’s maybe not the most amazing writer, he is one helluva great story-teller! If you like your action fast-paced and teetering on the edge of believability, then Reilly is your guy! I last read this book back in 2015, and after reading Jurassic Park at the start of this year I had a hankering to go back to this one. Because, let’s be honest. It’s basically Jurassic Park… just not with dinosaurs!
next month I’m Planning to read:
The Andromeda Strain
by Michael Crichton
This is a recommendation from J after I fell in love with Jurassic Park. He got so excited at the idea of me reading this book (it’s one of his favourites) that he made us watch the movie adaption XD I kind of feel like I already know what to expect, though he assures me I actually have no idea!
Writing
We’re heading into that time of year I like to call “Na-No-Wri-May”, which is basically National Novel Writing Month in November, except it’s… you know… in May?
I’ve yet to actually write 50,000 words in May, let alone finish writing an entire novel, but I usually make some pretty decent progress. Except, the last time I posted about this was way back in 2017, which, come to think of it… is probably also the last time I actually wrote anything of substance.
(I’m actually horrified it’s been so long!)
Back then I was trying to make some headway on my intended next novel, Tommy, but I’m ashamed to say I’m no further forward with that one than I was three years ago.
So, I’ve decided, instead of straying into Adult territory, I’m going to stick with Young Adult this year and try my hand at a little Urban Fantasy that’s been swimming around my head for the last year or so.
I don’t want to give away too much yet, as it’s still very early days. But I will say, if I manage to pull this one off it’s going to be the first in a trilogy, the series of which I’m hesitantly calling The Atlantean Experiments.
I’d love to know what you think this could be about!
Also, if you fancy joining me for Na-No-Wri-May, please let me know! It doesn’t have to be a novel you write; you could just challenge yourself to write for 10 minutes a day for the next 31 days!
Promotions
I haven’t done much with my published novels over the past few years, but with this lockdown-thing going on, I figured it couldn’t hurt to offer up a free copy of my very first novel.
The Ridge (Amanzimtoti 1)
Free on Amazon, May 1st through to May 5th
Set in Amanzimtoti, South Africa, the story follows Wayne du Preez as he starts his matric. Completing his final year of high school won’t be his only problem however when a boy from his childhood makes a surprise reappearance in small town Toti, throwing Wayne’s picket-fence dreams with girlfriend Jess into a tailspin and forcing him to deal with a part of himself he’s been denying ever since he shared his first kiss with Kyle way back when.
The promotion will go live from around 07:00 May 1st and last for 5 days.
I’ll be running a similar promotion in June for the sequel, Inyoni Rocks (Amanzimtoti 2), which should give you plenty of time to finish the first one! 😉
Absolutely no pressure to even let me know you’ve grabbed a copy, but if you do and you like it, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. It doesn’t have to be much, just one honest sentence would do! Reviews are the best (and sometimes only) way us author’s have of getting new readers to give our books a try.
That’s all for this month’s Rough Draft, catch you next month!
