Heist Fantasy, 4-/5
Con artist, Locke, and his team of thieves spring an elaborate swindle that reveals a deeper socio-political conspiracy in the underworld of a fantasy city. This one was fun, with a convoluted plot that I really enjoyed.
Volunteer work, and working on Tastes of Waterfalls
Lots of work on Bouchercon (I’m Guest of Honour Coordinator) is a bit of a distraction right now, but I AM finding time to add scenes to the book! Progress is slower than I’d like, but it’s coming!
Book Review: Without You there Is No Us, by Suki Kim
Nonfiction, 5-/5
True story of Suki Kim, who went undercover in an evangelistic Christian organization so she could go undercover to North Korea and write about life there. This book could have been a re-write of George Orwell’s 1984…except it is all true.
Tastes of Waterfalls
Plugging away at Book 5. I have 5 chapters finished and I just revamped my outline. I have some cool tools to prompt me to look at how events cause characters’ thinking to change, leading to action, which I find super-helpful.
Book Review: At a Loss for Words, by Carol Off
Nonfiction, 4-/5
Carol Off goes into a deep dive behind the historical and morphed current-day usage (even weaponization) of key words that inform our modern world and politics: democracy , freedom, truth, woke, choice, and taxes. This book made me see much of modern politics in a new light.