I’ve been doing a manuscript review this week, but upcoming I’ll be at a local writers’ retreat where I plan to do the revisions based on my Rio Hondo critiques.

YA Fantasy 4-/5

Young teen, Lyra, must travel to the far north to rescue her best friend, one of a growing number of children abducted by unknown forces experimenting with a mysterious substance known as “dust.” There are some super-cool ideas in this novel, including the idea of each person having their own magical animal-daemon-soul. However, I found the pacing slow and the plot wandering

Started my latest editing project (just a manuscript review) and toying with ideas for Book 5 of my series, which I plan to start in July or August more seriously, once Book 4 revisions are done and the ms. off to the publisher.

Not much to report this week. Getting non-writing stuff out of the way so I’m ready for the revisions I’ll be doing soon.

Alternate History 4/5

The lives of many characters intersect in a 1962 America following the Axis victory in WWII—but a novel exists postulating a world in which the Allies won. Although this Hugo-winner’s plot wanders without a clear conclusion, the individual stories are fascinating.