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What Am I Working On?

My Tolkien Origin Story

I recently posted on Patreon and Ko-fi about how I came to be a Tolkien fan. It starts like this:

Those who know me well will not be surprised when I say my favorite book is The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

My mom introduced me to the world of Middle-earth when I was probably ten or eleven. I was just figuring out what I liked to read (fantasy, as it turns out), so she recommended The Hobbit. I immediately fell in love with the book and considered it one of my favorites from that point on.

I probably would have gone on to The Lord of the Rings on my own at some point in my teen years, but my personal timeline was sped up with the release of The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001. I saw the movie having only read The Hobbit, but it was so easy to fall in love with this continuation of the story.

After that, I remember we made a trip to our local Books-A-Million (a rare thing; my parents almost never took me to bookstores when I was younger), and I got a copy of The Lord of the Rings. It had a movie tie-in cover, all black and blue with a Black Rider on it. By the time The Two Towers movie came out, I had already read the book at least once, maybe twice, and was the expert in my family on all things Middle-earth.

The Enchantment of Swan Lake by Mark Helprin

I finally wrote the Swan Lake post I mentioned! It will be published on both Patreon and Ko-fi this Saturday, so be sure to check it out!

In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of the beginning for you:

I came across Swan Lake by Mark Helprin when I was in third or fourth grade.

It was the cover that drew me initially. I found it in the public library of my hometown, a dark blue hardback with gold lettering tucked away in the children's section. I was drawn to it, but couldn't explain why. I didn't know it at the time, but it was missing its dust jacket, which would've told me what the book was about. As it was, all I had to go on was the title.

I had seen The Swan Princess many times at that point in my life, and assumed (correctly) that it was another retelling of that tale (The Swan Princess itself is a retelling, based on the ballet Swan Lake, whose music was composed by one of my favorite composers, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky).

A nebulous connection formed in my mind: one of my favorite movies was (and still is) Disney's animated version of Beauty and the Beast. At the beginning of the movie, Belle goes to her local bookshop and picks out a book that the shopkeeper says she's already read twice. She gushes over it and he gives it to her. For whatever reason, I connected Belle's book to Swan Lake (although the stories are nothing alike, as far as I know). It was less about what the books were about and more about their mysteriousness and appeal.

I don't remember if I checked the book out right away or if I waited. I was attracted to books, but hadn't yet figured out what I liked, which made me hesitant. Eventually, though, I gave in and checked the book out.

Prepare Thyself for Merriment!

One of my favorite times of the year is almost here: the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival!

I’ve been attending since 2014, which means this should’ve been my tenth year of attendance, but the pandemic caused a gap year, so it’s actually my ninth.

I absolutely my local Renaissance Festival; it’s definitely one of my happy places. If you’re in the area, be sure to say hello! (I mostly lurk in The Cave with Music the Gathering. 😂 )

Future Bestseller Podcast

Some of you may be following my podcast, but if not, consider yourself invited! On Future Bestseller Podcast, we talk about the craft and business of writing and feature various guests.

On our recent episodes, we’ve spoken with authors R.L. King, Nic Lishko, Paula Lafferty, musician, podcaster, and author Olivia Harding, and literary agent Stacey Kondla. Give them a listen if you haven't already!

Language Corner

I love languages, both learning to speak them and learning how they work. I minored in linguistics in college, and have been studying Irish for about eight years now. While I've also been learning Norwegian and Finnish, I've been focusing more on Irish lately.

Here, I like to share words I've learned in the various languages I'm studying.

Patreon & Ko-fi

Want more regular updates and sneak peeks at books I'm working on? Consider joining my Patreon or Ko-fi groups! I typically post once a week and share snippets of drafts once a month.

And that's not all!

I post exclusive short stories to both my Patreon and my Ko-fi accounts (don't worry, it's the same content on both platforms, so there's no need to join both).

I also plan to start sharing regular music-related videos, and I'll have more news about that once I have the details ironed out. I hope to see you there!

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Thanks for reading!