2014 Reading List

2014 Reading List


Over the past year I've kept track of all the novels, books, and short fiction I've read.  I wanted to see what, if any, patterns emerged and also because I've never kept track of that before.  It turns out I read a lot.  At least compared to what I've read in the past.  I found a couple authors I'd never read before that I really enjoy.  If you are a fan of sci-fi and thrillers, I highly recommend trying out John Scalzi and Luke Smitherd. 

I learned of Scalzi from listening the "Writing Excuses" podcast.  I started with his first book and after devouring it over a week-end, I knew I had another author to follow.  I came across Luke Smitherd through Twitter and the blurb about his book "The Stone Man" sounded intriguing enough.  After reading it, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love his work.  As you'll see from the list below, I read several of his books.  He's an independent author but don't let that stop you.  Give him a try. 

That's another trend I found out about myself this past year.  I started trying out many different independent authors (or self-published if you prefer that term)  Most of it was good, entertaining, writing while some weren't that great.  But to be completely honest, that's no different than traditionally published authors.  If you are looking for something new and off the radar of the general reading public, I encourage you to try independent authors.  There are a lot of talented writers just waiting to hear from you.

The last trend I found out about myself was my growing interest in flash fiction.  I started following two different flash fiction sources sometime in late winter and I've been fairly impressed with the work.  I started receiving daily emails with flash fiction stories from Daily Science Fiction and Every Day Fiction.  Between the two of them, I estimate I've read between 400 and 500 stories.  Add the few I've read from the site 365 Tomorrows and the total grows closer to the 500 mark.  If you've not tried flash fiction, I strongly urge you give it a shot.  It's a growing source of entertainment because they are easily digestible stories that come in around the 1,000 word mark and take a few minutes to read.  Most every genre has a source for these so if your thing is horror or romance, do a quick search and find what appeals most to you.

What follows below is my 2014 reading list in the order I read them.  Almost all are novels, though there are a couple works that are non-fiction and there is one magazine issue listed (I had to include it.  If you picked one of those up, you'd know why!)  Check it out and let me know what you found most interesting and what suggestions you might have for 2015.

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George R.R. Martin: Game of Thrones (Book 1)

Stephen King: On Writing

Daniel Arenson: Blood of Requiem

Troy Blackford: Flotsam

Teresa Lo: Hell's Game

Charmain Mitchell: The Lust for Blood

Luke Smitherd: The Stone Man

Bernard Cornwell: The Winter King

Luke Smitherd: The Man On Table Ten

Andy Duncan & Ellen Klages: Wakulla Springs

Dan Brown: Inferno

H.G. Wells: The War of the Worlds

L.M. David: The Promise of Tomorrow (Unpublished Manuscript)

Brandon Sanderson: Mistborn-The Final Empire

Various: Fantasy and Science Fiction July/August 2014

Bernard Cornwell: The Pagan Lord

John Scalzi: Old Man's War

Robert Lewis: Raising a Modern Day Night

John Scalzi: The Ghost Brigades

Scott Ian: I'm the Man

Luke Smitherd: A Head Full of Knives

L.T. Ryan: Affliction Z: Patient Zero 

Jeff Seymour: What Lies In Darkness, A Horror Novelette

Flickr Story 3: Aimee's Quest

This month's Flickr story is a fantasy piece with a familiar twist at the end.  As I wrote it, I wasn't sure how it was going to end, but after some thought, the ending came to me.  I'm sure many of you will pick up on the inspiration.  (If not...we need to talk!)  I have no idea where the picture is from but it caught my attention when I found it on Flickr.

I hope you enjoy it.  Please share and leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.

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 Aimee's Quest

I stood on the cliff’s edge with my long brown hair blowing in the wind, shielding my eyes against the sun as I stared at the dark forbidding castle below.  It was my destination.  I’ve travelled many days in search of Castle Morrigan, and there it stood in all its gory beauty.  I knew all along going there might mean I never return.  It was the price I intended to pay.  I had no choice.

Borma the dark wizard kidnapped my beloved Aimee and brought her to this decrepit castle.  I followed the trail, alone but for my unfailing partner Brida.  Brida is a snowcat, immense in size with a temper just as large.  She protects me fiercely.  I’ve had her since she was a cub and now in her full grown state, she inspires fear in others and safety in me.  Without Brida, I might never have made it thus far.

And there we stood, the wind blowing her white fur this way and that while I looked at that castle of misery.  

“Brida, we’ve made it,” I said.  She turned her head upwards at me and back towards the castle, growling as though she knew what lay ahead.

We followed a well worn path that ran down the cliff, zig-zagging and crossing back and forth until we reached the bottom.  I knew we would be spotted by any guards at the castle, but at this point I didn’t care anymore.  My mind was singularly focused on Aimee.

In my head I envisioned her chained in a dungeon, dark and afraid.  It fueled my anger.  More than once I used that anger to push myself harder and farther in search of her.  Now that I could see the means of her captivity, it blinded me with rage.  Nothing would stop me now.  Not even a heard of snowcats or a kith of giants.  My anger burned ever brighter.

I unsheathed my sword and approached the castle, its dark gloomy walls rising higher in the air.  It was settled in such a way as to force visitors to climb down into a shallow valley making the castle rise higher giving the illusion of power and magnificence.  I felt its weight hovering over me but I couldn’t let it overcome my singular focus on recovering Aimee.  The castle itself was partly in ruins, hardly ever used anymore.  It was so far away from anything that its significance long ago faded.  

It was perfect for Borma, the dark wizard of the mountain.  Once forced from his refuge deep in the snow capped Middle Mountains, he retreated to this desolate dwelling, knowing none would stop him.  I believed he’d have some guards serving him and approached as though he did, wary of a crossbow bolt yet still carried forward by my anger and rage.

Its gate was open and I heard no sound from inside.  Brida growled a low menacing sound, the kind that often forced her prey to flee in terror.  We walked inside and found ourselves in a large courtyard.  It was grey and dirty, the walls rising up all around us.  I noticed many of the crenellations were crumbling or missing altogether.  

It was so quiet leading me to think maybe the occupants were gone.  I hoped at least Aimee still resided within those drab decaying walls.  The only place we could go was up a flight of stone steps off to our right, so we did.

At the top of the steps, there was a small landing with a large wooden door.  We approached wary of the impending ambush.  Brida moved slowly and stealthily at my side.  As we neared the door, I jumped and held my sword in front of me as a raven that must have roosted in a broken section of the wall near the door suddenly burst out, flapping its black wings and cawing at us madly.  My heart beat faster and faster until I calmed myself when I realized what happened.  Brida’s eyes were wild.  “It’s fine Brida, just a filthy raven,” I said calming her.  

I stepped to the door fearing the worst.  I knelt closer listening for sounds on the other side, but it was quiet.  Wary of any hidden surprises inside the door, I crashed into it, hoping to catch the guard inside unexpectedly.  I tumbled forward into darkness, falling to the floor.  Brida followed me inside, growling and scanning the room.  

It was empty and silent, no sign of anyone.

I stood up confused, dusting myself off.  Surely I was in the right place.  “Brida girl, where are they?” I asked.  She sniffed around and suddenly broke off down a dark hallway.  “Brida, wait!” I called out.  

I noticed a torch on the wall.  I sheathed my sword and reaching into the bag around my waist, I took out the flint and steel I carried and struck it, igniting the tar soaked torch.  I pulled out my sword and carried the torch in one hand while my sword I held in the other as I followed down the dark corridor in search of Brida.

I tracked her paw prints in the thick layer of dust on the stone floors until I came to a large room that had a small cot and a desk with a chair.  Brida stood in front of the desk sniffing and growling.  “What is it girl, do you smell something?”  She didn’t turn her head.  I saw a small piece of parchment on the desk and approached it.  I lay my sword on the desk and picked up the parchment, reading it by the torchlight.  

You are persistent Myrddyd.  However I am much too clever to let you catch me here.  Your darling Aimee is alive but no longer here.  By the time you read this, she will be with me in another castle.  Her blood is important to me.  I need her pure crimson blood for my greatest spells.  Fear not, I will not let her die.  I wish you could understand, but alas I know you do not.  

-B

“No!” I cried out loud, my arms raised high.  “Aimee…where are you?” I bemoaned.  Brida howled a hideous, terrifying sound.  

My beloved was gone, taken to another castle.  

Red filled my vision.  I vowed to never stop searching until I found her and killed that wretched Borma.  

My search continues to this day.

Useful and Interesting Podcasts

As I've continued to write more, I've also been on the look-out for resources to help me improve my craft.  One of the more useful ways I've found are podcasts specifically for published and unpublished writers.  It's been helpful to me to listen to the advice of authors and professionals in the industry.  The convenience of listening to a podcast while doing other things such as yard work, the dishes, or working out at the gym has helped me to maximize my time and grow in my knowledge of the craft.  I wanted to share a few of those with you today.  Hopefully you'll find them as useful as I have.


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The first podcast I have to mention is the "Writing Excuses" podcast which bills itself as being "Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart."  I highly recommend this podcast for any writer, regardless of genre.  The team behind the podcast are authors Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Tayler.  Though the four authors are more sci-fi and fantasy in nature, they offer helpful tips in a condensed format.  They are fairly regular in posting and since I've been listening, they have only continued to grow in popularity.  Check them out!

The "Writer 2.0" podcast by A.C. Fuller is a great resource for writers.  A.C. Fuller interviews authors and other professionals in the publishing world to give writers an inside look at the industry.  The podcasts are full of tips for the writer and I can't wait to see how it progresses.  It's only been out for a couple months, but so far has been informative in my process of growing as a writer.  New episodes come out every week so you will have plenty of content to tide you over.

Much like the "Writer 2.0" podcast, "The Writing Coach" podcast by Kevin T. Johns is another excellent podcast that I hope grows in popularity.  Kevin brings together authors, editors, and others in the publishing community to open up and share with writers about all kinds of things from blogs to agents to marketing.  The podcast started off with seven or so episodes in the first week and will be going to once a week.

The "Odyssey Writing Workshop" podcast comes from the six week long workshop for science fiction, fantasy, and horror held at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire.  The episodes are recordings of lectures and talks held by industry pros and authors.  Though they aren't released regulary (kinda makes sense since it's a podcast from a six week long event) it is helpful to hear what the professionals have to say about the process of writing.

"The Narrative Breakdown" podcast by James Monohan and Cheryl Klein is an excellent podcast for writers.  They cover not only novels, but television and movies as well.  They seek to explore the narrative in all forms of entertainment.  A few recent episodes even dealt with the narrative in video games.  It's a well produced podcast with tips for writers of all kinds.  Though the episodes are longer than most of the others on this list, it's definitely worth your time.

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These are the podcasts I've found most useful.  There were others that I've tried but I didn't get much out of them or they weren't interesting enough to keep my attention.  If you are looking for more advice or just want to listen to something different to keep you motivated as a writer, I suggest trying these out.  You never know what will work for you.  And if you have any suggestions of podcasts that you enjoy and help you with your writing, please add them in the comments below.  We all have room to grow.