Hey everyone!

In 2020 I made a month-by-month TBR. This year's will be simpler, but I'll be thrilled if/when I can get to these particular books. Some of them are new releases, but a LOT are backlog books for me, so we'll see how this shapes up!

The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black

Destroy the Day by Brigid Kemmerer

I am DESPERATE for this book. I need it yesterday. Oh my gosh. I cannot wait and I NEED IT NOW OH MY GOSH. That's about all I have to say after the ending of book two ripped out my heart and stomped on it.

Into The Fire by Hayley Reese Chow (cover is not yet revealed)

Into the Churn was one of my top books of 2023, so I'm on the edge of my seat for the sequel. It functioned pretty well as a standalone, but I can't WAIT to find out what comes next.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

This one looks like a not-so-great Greek myth retelling, and I like my mythos faithful to the source material, but I'm willing to give it a try, if only because Greek mythology is my favorite thing.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

2024 is going to be the year I finally catch up on Austen. I still need to read this one, Persuasion, and Emma, and I'd like to reread Sense and Sensibility. Austen was one of the greatest early novelists and kind of invented the genre, so I love the concept of delving deeper into her work.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

This is another classic I'd love to read this year. It's a THICC boi, hence why I haven't gotten to it yet, but I'd like to delve more into history and literature and their intersections (as that is my preferred field of study) and this feels like a great starting place.

A Crown of Chains by Erin Phillips

I had the privilege of meeting Erin last summer, and I can't wait to actually read this book. It's an Esther retelling and it just sounds so so good. Biblical retellings are my jam.

So there you have it: 8 books I'm making a priority in 2024. What's on your 2024 TBR? Let me know in the comments!

 Hi friends! The TIME HAS COME. What time, you ask? The time for that yearly wrapup I do every single year!

I absolutely love these posts--they're such a fun little time capsule for me as a person. I've changed so much since 2017, and it's been super fun to look at the six (6????!!!) years of blogging I've done and see all my change and 

Music of 2023

Hey y'all! I'm here to drop a few book recs for 2023. So far, these are my top 5 star books. I haven't actually read a lot of new 5 star books this year--I have a ton of nonfic/classic/for-school 5-stars, but those don't really count. So here are my top five fiction reads for this year--almost all of which are indie (!!)--and I'll be dropping any further top books in my Year-End wrapup!

A Name Long Buried by C.M. Banschbach

motorcycles in the West//that cover is Monument Valley, come on//fantasy Western//found family (in multiple ways)//5 stars and a perfect sequel

Into the Churn by Hayley Reese Chow

sci-fi game show//family bonds//sci-fI DOG//interplanetary stuffs//Hunger Games vibes!!//5 stars

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

magical typewriters//rivals to lovers//absolutely gorgeous prose//mythology!//book 2 comes out in December and I can't WAIT//5 stars

Of Sea and Smoke by Gillian Bronte Adams

MAGIC HORSES//multiple POVs//huge cast//epic fantasy done right//the THEMES//5 stars

5-star memoirs/nonfic:

Surprised by Joy//C.S. Lewis

What is a Girl Worth?//Rachael Denhollander

Becoming Free Indeed//Jinger Duggar Vuolo

Munich, 1938//David Faber

Hey guys! NaNo/FicFrenzy/whatever you're participating in is in full swing, so I'm writing from the cave to report my progress (hint: none). I always do Know the Novel, but this is honestly not much news. But I shall share anyway :D

1. How’s the writing going overall?

I haven't written much in October-November because...busy. I've had work, school, lots of babysitting, and a principal role in my school's play (actually the biggest time-eater). But I'm at over 50k at this point, and the midpoint twist is close. Very, very close. At least...I think it is? I am the Struggle with the actual plot of this book.

2. What’s been the most fun aspect about writing this novel so far?

3. What do you think of your characters at this point? Who’s your favorite to write about?

4. Has your novel surprised you in any way?

5. Have you come across any problem areas?

6. What’s been your biggest victory with writing this novel at this point?

7. If you were transported into your novel and became any one of the characters, which one do you think you’d be? Would you take any different actions than they have?

8. Give us the first sentence or paragraph then 2 (or 3!) more favorite snippets!

9. Share an interesting tidbit about the writing process so far! (For example: Have you made any hilarious typos? Derailed from your outline? Killed off a character? Changed projects entirely? Anything you want to share!)

10. Take us on a tour of what a normal writing day for this novel looks like. Where do you write? What time of day? Alone or with others? Is a lot of coffee (or some other drink) consumed? Do you light candles? Play music? Get distracted by social media (*cough, cough*)? Tell all!

Hey guys! It's that time of year: Time for the Know the Novel linkup! Christine Smith hosts this every year, and it's one of my favorite blogging events. 

I'll be introducing my current novel today :D I've shared some things on Instagram already (@rfgammonauthor if you're curious) and I'll continue doing that as time goes on. But here it is: a formal introduction to my book, 

DRAGON TALES

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

2. Share a blurb (or just an overall summary)!

3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects of the setting?

4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).

Princess Delphi

Fun fact: Delphi was going to have white hair until I realized that was /too/ similar to GoT!

broken heart//soft and sad//swordsman//flames on the side of my face//oldest sister//you can't do it anymore//colors (stripped) by halsey

Oliver Meadows

Fun fact: Oliver was originally going to be all kinds of different things, but now he's a mental health icon. Go figure.

the darkness is devouring me//do you ever wonder why?//guardian//give me something worth living for//love with his entire heart//hurt is real but love is realer//somebody to die for by the hurts

Nicolas Kingston

Fun fact: Nic was inspired by my own food allergies and the fact that I've never seen a character with food allergies in fantasy!

yeah, i'm disabled, so?//brother first, everything else second//believes in love at first sight//would be a pacifist if it were an option//scream into the void//miracle by the score

Elizabeta Kingston (Z)

Fun fact: Z was originally inspired by Jinx from Arcane, but I wanted to not make her a carbon copy, so now the resemblance is invisible.

gambling addiction//loves the spotlight//frustrated but not by Nic//secretly in love//wants to get out and see the world//there is MORE out there//hard to kill by beth crowley

Salyssa (has no last name)

Fun fact: Sal was specifically inspired by a sermon illustration.

The Eternal Maiden//dark secret//lonely dance//sometimes you wish you could feel again, you know? even if it's a bad feeling//gilded lily by the cults

Lord Cyril Alexson

Fun fact: Cyril is the least interesting person, and my strategy to make him cool is to make him just like Zuko :D

Father, are you proud of me//loneliness is the only thing//she left me//brokenness isn't real//technologically brilliant//born to die by lana del rey

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

Darius 

Darius is kind of evil, okay. I love him dearly. But he's so so so evil.

It's been a while since I've written the kind of villain who actually was willing to do whatever it took to get what he wants. He's a control freak in a way very few of us would ever be able to be. He's raising an army of people that have to trust him implicitly to be controlled. I just scream.

6. What excites you the most about this novel?

7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?

8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

9. Name a few unique elements in this story.

10. Share some fun “extras” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).

It is midway through September. I am almost always tired by now. Depending on what kind of school you attend, you might feel the same way. If you're out of school, it's probably a little different, but only so different.

It's very difficult to see the way ahead sometimes. It's even harder when you're tired.

Recently, I made a mistake. I delved into the internet looking for some character research, and realized just how ugly some of my own Backstory makes things for me. It can be easy to assume that because my life wasn't "as bad" or whatever, my pain is not real. So I get more and more tired as I shove that away, pretending it doesn't exist, etc.

But that's not how this game works. That's never been how I played this game.

It's really painful to look at things sometimes and realize that I'm broken. I like writing extremely broken characters--it makes the conflict more painful, it makes things harder for everyone. How painful to look at my life and realize that I'm just as bad.

I might be "well-adjusted." I might be independent and somewhat mature. But it's all a facade. It makes me tired and weary. Keeping that smile pasted to my face when the world is burning around me? It feels next to impossible sometimes.

That's why it's good that I don't have to do this alone.

I say that and it feels cliche. Why do I always keep running back?

Because without God, my life is truly empty and meaningless. What's the point of all this pain? I don't have an ending to the book. I can't just say "and then they lived happily ever after." It's a day-in, day-out affair. I'm struggling and that is life.

I need a reason.

He is the reason. The air in my lungs. He is the one who put me here, and He knew what He was doing. Even when I am tired. Even when I am aching. Even when I am broken.

I hold on.

Because He is still good.

 Hello guys! I'm back with another Agatha Locksley, Ghost Slayer adventure. This time it is in the third person because I have no continuity and no sense of reality. I hope y'all enjoy!

“The ghost has the magic lamp.” Alexander’s eyes shifted toward the cave. “Do you truly think there is something you can do to get it back?”

Agatha Locksley folded her arms and stared down the mouth of the cave. Her daughter was at home, safely stowed away with the nanny. Her husband would be on a business trip for the next six months. That gave her lots of free time for dealing with ghosts.

Unfortunately, the ghosts hadn’t come out. Until now.

“Ma’am.” Alexander was a government official, and it showed in the hurry of his clipped tone. “Can you recover the lamp?”

Agatha flapped a hand. “Of course.” She eyed the utility belt he wore. “Might I borrow that torch of yours?”

Moments later, she was in the depths of the cave, a rope tied to her waist attaching her to the railing at the top. Alexander and his crew had not followed her, but since the rope was many feet long, they’d be able to pull her out if anything happened.

She had not told them that if they were pulling her out, they’d be getting a corpse.

The cave was quite dark, and the electric torch in her hand only illuminated a circle in front of her. She walked at a rapid clip, ignoring all of the gold on each side. Stacks of chests, golden coins, and other treasure glimmered in the faint light. That was not the goal. She had no need for money.

A voice hissed in the darkness.

Agatha did not pause. She held up her torch and walked even more quickly.

The voice drifted past her, moaning the words: “Why have you come here?”

“Let me guess.” She rolled her eyes. This was quite silly. “You will curse me to wander for eternity? Is that it?”

“No. Far worse. You will—”

“Lose all my skin when you shriek because it rots off my bones? You could try being creative.” She hadn’t seen a creative ghost in years.

The ghost moaned again and swooped past her. Now she could see it—a faint mark against the darkness, completely transparent. It didn’t really have a form. That was always fun. It made things just slightly easier.

The only part of the ghost that was not transparent was the lamp dangling from its fingers. The genie’s lamp.

If the ghost rubbed the lamp and summoned the genie, it could become infinitely more powerful. Genies couldn’t bring people back to life, but it could make the ghost corporeal, give it power to actually carry out its threats.

That wasn’t very likely, because a ghost didn’t have fingers, but she’d have to figure out how to get the lamp from it without touching it herself.

She reached to her pocket for the matches.

“You’ll regret coming in here,” whispered the ghost.

Then Agatha heard it: the rattling. The avalanche.

Coins were rolling toward her in every direction, a tidal wave of gold.

Agatha reached into her pocket with an eyeroll. The coins were cascading around her feet. “This is truly the best you can muster?” she yelled.

The ghost appeared before her, still transparent, a smirk on its shadow of a face. “You die here,” it hissed.

The coins were up to Agatha’s knees. Now or never.

She struck the match and hurled it at the ghost.

The ghost went up in flames. They always did. The lamp fell from its hand, but the coins continued their rain.

That wasn’t supposed to happen. Agatha seized the lamp and rubbed it. Never mind that she’d been told no one was supposed to do that. There really was no other way out of here.

The genie shot out a moment later, spinning into the sky. It was bigger than most of the ghosts she’d fought, and its tail was attached to the lamp, but that was about all she had to worry about. “WHO HAS AWOKEN ME?” it yelled, its voice filling the cave.

“Me.” Agatha waved the flashlight. “I get three wishes. I know that and I know the conditions. Make these coins stop falling on me. I wish it.”

“WHAT A WASTE OF A WISH.” The genie snapped its fingers and the coins stopped their rapid descent. “WHAT ELSE DO YOU SEEK?”

Agatha eyed the lamp. She didn’t need wealth or fame. She had fame where it mattered. There was only one thing she could use.

“I wish for more ghost-hunting cases.”

 Hey guys! I'm back with more books for your TBR (if you haven't already read them; I hope you have, because they're just that good). I have MORE indie books from the greats today and I really can't wait to rave about them! 

Fierce Heart by Tara Grayce

marriage of convenience//gaslamp again//character-driven!//elf-human relations//war//sharpshooter vibes//touch her and die trope

I've heard about this one all over the interwebs for a while now, and I loved it just as much as I'd hoped to. It was so fun, and the characters were all awesome. I didn't realize just how much I enjoyed the grumpy-sunshine trope until reading a few examples this year, and this was a particularly good one.

Shield of Shadow (and the Blade of Ash series) by C.F.E. Black

prequel//emotion/truth-based magic//secret royals//canyons!//training montage//grumpy-sunshine again//forbidden love?????

This is the prequel to a series, and I own the first one (still need to read it, sadly). It was a very quick and easy read, and I loved it. Aly is an AWESOME protagonist and I can't wait to continue her story in the rest of the series.

Searching for Sparrow//K.A. Emmons

sequel/spinoff series//dystopian future//secret powers//love triangle trope//lots of twists//found family//Finn (yes he gets his own category)

This was so fun. I definitely like the first better than the second in this duology, but it's a spinoff from the Blood Race series--about the MCs' kids--and I love that always. Blood Race left enough threads that it doesn't feel contrived, and I really enjoyed this second trip to this dystopian world.

Then Comes a Drifter by C.M. Banschbach

western fantasy//motorcycle gang//missing family//long-time relationships//complex backstories//PTSD handled better than I've ever seen//BAD bad guy

I will never shut up about this duology. It's one of my absolute favorites and I am obsessed. Like...I need y'all to understand how much I love fantasy set in the Wild West. I will always, always read it. This isn't a Western, but it's fantasy set in basically a post-apocalyptic version of the American West, and I'm in love. Please read it.

Y'all read any of these? Let me know! I hope these recs are fun for everyone--I love shoving books at people :D

 Lord God,

It is difficult to watch the summer fade for the first little bit. The heat is still blazing, and our hearts long for it to end. But as the flames of orange begin to overtake the trees, I realize what this means. In wishing away the seasons, we have wished ourselves into the cold of winter.

Autumn is the transition. How gracious you are to give us a transition. A lesser creator would have simply flipped the seasons on their head, dropped us straight into the ice and cold. But you are greater than that. You have given us an entire season to function as a time of reflection. And it's beautiful. You did not just let the leaves drop in death. Their fall is beautiful, another sign of the endless cycle you have given us.

Teach us to count our days, Lord. Help us not to look at this world as an endless race. My heart so often longs for one season to end, for the next to begin. But you give every season for a purpose. And in wishing away the heat and slowness of summer, I hurl myself into the reality of cold, dark winter. This is why your plans are better than mine. Your plans will always be better than mine. Help me to remember this without getting lost in the future.

Teach us to number our moments. Each leaf that falls from the trees feels like a smaller and smaller sacrifice. Their glory fades. Their color is gone as they crunch below our feet. Like the leaves, we are temporal beings. We also will fade. But you never fade. You never grow weary or old. You are eternal, outside of time, a God as unchanging as we are changing. And yet you do not grow weary with us in our change. 

As the leaves fall from the trees and the temperatures begin to sink, let us be filled with thankfulness, and not with dread. You set this world to spin, and it spins as you created it to do. Your timing is always perfect and this world functions exactly as you command. We think we know all things. We think we know what is best. Help us to see that you and only you can create the patterns of the stars.

We live in between the spinning of planets and under the changing of solar systems. This is infinitely greater than we can understand. These bodies are so much higher and larger than we are. No matter how many zeros we place behind a number, we will never understand how big and far apart and immense the distances and spaces are. But you are greater still, and you do not leave us to the mercy of the planets. No--you set the planets spinning to your will, and used that to make us a home. All praise to you, Lord. 

Teach us to count our days and to number our moments, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Amen.

We'll be using Deal of Knives as an example (because that's the current editing project). I'm super excited to get through this one and get it to a point where it's actually good to attempt publishing. So let's get going!

Step One: Pretend Everything Is Good as I Draft.

Step Two: Have a breakdown.

Step Three: Read Back Through and Outline.

Step Four: Color code.

Step Five: Write the new chapters.

Step Six: Re-outline with the new chapters.

Step Seven: Keep rewriting through a tighter and tighter lens.

Tears filled Abby's eyes. “I can’t be what you want. I want to be…but it’s not possible.”

Mother sat down and stared at the wall. “I don’t want you to be anything but yourself,” she said, her voice flat. It wasn’t true. They all knew it wasn’t true. Mother wanted a perfect little dancer and gymnast and ballerina. The perfect child, to be what she’d never been able to do.

It wasn’t Abby’s fault that all she’d ever wanted was to get married. It wasn’t her fault that try as she might, she still wasn’t a good enough dancer to be professional.

She was eighteen. It was time to figure out what she wanted, not what her mom wanted.

Mother was sleeping in the easy chair when Abby loaded up her jeep that night. It was a quick jaunt, a quick trip to the highway. She didn’t have a lot of things that she actually wanted to take with her—a can of extra gasoline from the garage, her books, her laptop. Really, all she wanted was to get in the car and drive as far as she possibly could.

Time to choose her own way in the world.

She got into the driver’s seat and started off, pedal to the metal, as fast as she could go.

The highway blazed by under her. Arizona was hot and the desert was endless, but she left the top down anyway, drinking several bottles of water as she went. Her phone rang a few times—Mother, probably, looking to find her before she had to go to the trouble of reporting her missing—but she ignored it.

The highway opened up in a swirl of golden light. Abby hit the brakes, hard, but not hard or soon enough. The jeep’s brakes squealed. Someone behind honked.

The swirl of light engulfed her jeep, devouring her whole.

Abby gasped for air, hanging on to the steering wheel with both hands. The road was gone. Now, instead of being in the desert, she was in a forest. A huge, dark forest. Nothing in sight besides tree trunks.

Abby swallowed hard. “Hello?”

This was not how today had been supposed to go.

Her Jeep’s gas still worked, she discovered when she hit it. But with this many trees and no road, that didn’t feel like a very safe course of action. Abby got out of the Jeep and started walking, searching around for any sign of life.

There was nothing.

Finally she saw it: a tiny billow of smoke, out there in the darkness between trees.

Abby walked slowly toward the smoke. It’s coming from a tiny cabin nestled in the woods, made of logs. The shutters are painted bright green, and ivy grew over the walls. The whole place looked cozy and inviting.

Abby raised both fists. That was exactly the kind of place where a kidnapper would live. She’d read Hansel and Gretel. She might not be any good at fighting, but she could turn some flips and do some jumps if she needed to.

The door opened and a creature emerged. 

Abby shrieked and raised both fists. It wasn’t human. It was far smaller, only up to her knee, small enough that she could have picked it up and thrown it.

It screamed, too, a loud scream so shrill it could have shattered glass.

Abby grabbed it before she could stop herself and raised the thing over her head. It was a very small man, with a long white beard. Joke was on them. She’d read Snow White, too.

“Wait!” the thing shrieked. “Wait!”

She paused, but left him raised above her head. “Talk fast, thing,” she growled. “I’m not in the mood to play around.”

“What are you?” the thing asked.

“What am I?” Abby laughed out loud. “What are you?” 

“But it is a valid question! You are so big.”

“You’re so small! I was just driving on the highway and then I got pulled through…a portal or something? I don’t want to be here! I was on my way to Phoenix!”

“To Phoenix?” The thing’s tone brightened. “Set me down! I must fetch my brothers!”

Abby kept her hands raised. “No! Absolutely not. You’re not fetching anyone.”

“Too late,” the thing said, far more cheerful. “I am Loris, should it matter. And you are?”

“I’m not saying.” This thing already had too many ideas.

The door to the house opened. Abby’s jaw dropped as ten more tiny creatures, the same size as the one she held prisoner, swarmed out onto the lawn. Their shrill cries filled the air, and she set Loris down so she could cover her ears.

“It’s her!” Loris shrieked.

“Someone tell me what’s going on!” Abby yelled back.

Loris cleared his throat and raised a hand. The shrieking ended. Thank goodness. Abby rubbed her sore ears.

“Legend has it that a girl will come from another world. She will be on a quest for the great phoenix and be fleeing the way things were to form her own destiny. Does that sound like you?”

Abby swallowed hard. “Yeah, it does.” SHe didn’t want another destiny. She was her own person—she had to be. “Do I have something I’m supposed to do? Is there a…quest to fulfill? I don’t want it, if there is.”

The things exchanged glances. Whispers filled the air. After a moment, Loris shrugged.

“The quest is of your choosing,” he said finally. “All we must do is help you get to the city.”

A quest that she got to choose. In a different world entirely.

Abby smiled.

“Where do we go?” she asked. “Let me get my Jeep.”

I've kind of gone into most semesters flying blind at school. I'm really bad at being intentional with my school, so I'm setting exactly 5 goals for the semester. There's one for each of the main categories of my life. They're kind of the big five: Academic, Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Financial. (We all have these, although next semester I suspect I'll have to add another category: career. That feels wildly vomit inducing and I hate the idea, but there's only so much a girl can do to keep herself from getting a job).

Let's talk about my goals! 

1. Academic: Finish Senior Fall with a 4.0 GPA (FOR THE SEMESTER).

2. Spiritual: Start going to adult Sunday School and doing one other church thing per week at school.

3. Physical: 3 workout plan every week.

4. Emotional: actual willingness to change when it comes to therapy/cousnseling/etc.

5. Financial: stop obsessing over money.