My reading agenda has been a bit derailed by WWDC podcasts and the realization that there is only a month until the final Super Powereds novel by Drew Hayes is out on audio, so I’m trying to reread the first three installments in anticipation. Such a fun series! 📚

I’ve spent the last few days exploring and playing with Pinboard, and I really like it. It’s a nice bookmark syncing and “read later” service, with a number of useful features. I think it’s going to replace Instapaper for me, among other things.

Song of the day — Sandalwood by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories 🎵

I have received the Haven Divided manuscript back from my editor! I wish I’d been able to work with her on Haven Lost originally, but I’m excited that she’ll be doing a new proof of that book soon. I cannot recommend her highly enough. 📚✍️

Next up on my reading list is the script to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I was waiting to be able to read it in Braille, since no audio edition exists. 📚

It would be next to impossible to write a meaningful review of The Outsider by Stephen King without giving something away, so I won’t even try. Instead, I’m going to stick to a few basic notes.

• The Outsider was thoroughly enjoyable—one of King’s best in years in my opinion. The twists and turns, as well as the ending, were all completely satisfying. 👍
• Some familiar faces from other King works make appearances, and when they do, you’ll cheer … I did, anyway. 🤓
• Yes, there are Dark Tower connections. 😍

I knew basically nothing about this novel going in, and I’m so glad that was the case. I loved every single word.

You can almost taste Samhain in the air. — Haven Divided, The Dragon’s Brood Cycle, Vol. 2

I’ve been reading Stephen King’s new novel The Outsider. So far, this is the most enjoyable novel from him since 11/22/63, which is saying a lot, as I’m a lifelong King fan. 📚

Between season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery 🖖🏽 and the new She-Ra ⚔️ series, this is the first year with multiple TV shows I am very much anticipating in a vary long time.

Song of the day – Going To a Town – George Michael 🎵

🔖 She-Ra and Girl Culture - Kimberly Hirsh

I’m a huge Masters of the Universe fan. I really hope this is good. A new She-Ra series is coming to Netflix!

🔖 This is a fantastic discussion and overview of accessibility for software developers. As a VoiceOver user, I appreciate mainstream devs raising awareness. – Under the Radar 132: Accessibility

Apple Pay on the web is magical. Can we get this everywhere? … On second thought, that’s probably a bad idea. 😨💸

Haven Divided: The Dragon’s Brood Cycle, Vol. 2

Coming soon!

If it’s your thing, I’ve launched an author newsletter. Join for announcements about new releases, sneak previews of upcoming titles (including Haven Divided), special offers, and giveaways. 📚

This song has been stuck in my head all week. This Old Guitar by John Denver 🎵

🔖 A Guide to Micro.blog For People Who Have A Love/Hate Relationship With Twitter, by Jean MacDonald

Episode 305 of 99% Invisible tells the story of the Laff Box, the contraption which was used to generate laugh tracks for TV for decades. It’s a preview of a new podcast called Decoder Ring.

I’m in the modern minority, in that I actually like sitcoms with laugh tracks, but I don’t understand why it has to be an either/or stance. Some people hate laugh tracks; some staunchly support them. I think there is room for both formats on television. Part of what makes I Love Lucy, Three’s Company or Friends so great is that they were all performed before studio audiences, some of the laughs being “sweetened” not withstanding. Those three shows are among my all-time favorite sitcoms, in no small part because the actors are playing to the audience. But I also love The Wonder Years, an early example of a show without a laugh track.

The history of the Laff Box is interesting and entertaining as presented by Decoder Ring. I only wish that it hadn’t been so biased against its use. I don’t think we need to start overlaying a laugh track on The Office or Modern Family, but I don’t think shows should be shying away from it either just because it isn’t in vogue.

I just finished reading Borderline, the first book in the Arcadia Project series, by Mishell Baker.

This book has been on my radar for a while. I’m pretty sure that the first time I heard about it was on Upgrade #174, recommended by Jason Snell. It kept popping up here and there since, and I finally picked up the audiobook.

I outline all of the above for an important reason; I enjoyed this book tremendously, but I think my enjoyment was somewhat lessened by the book being overhyped. It was a very good story, and I’m thoroughly looking forward to reading the rest of the Arcadia Project series, but I went in with the wrong mindset. I spent the first half of the book feeling mildly disappointed. I did eventually reset my expectations, and doing so made a huge difference to my enjoyment. By the end, I was hungry for more of the universe Mishell Baker introduces and the characters that inhabit it.

If you’re a fan of fantasy in general, and/or urban fantasy in particular, I definitely recommend this unique take on the genre.

Ah … yes … there it is! The whooshing sound as the manuscript for Haven Divided zooms away on the wings of an email to my editor, whom I highly recommend to any other authors out there. 🐉📚✍️😌

The first book in my Dragon’s Brood Cycle series, Haven Lost, is now available to read for free on Kindle Unlimited for the first time, if that’s your thing. The Kindle edition is now only $0.99 to purchase, too. 📚

“This is the year of the hungry man, whose place is in the past, / Hand in hand with ignorance and legitimate excuses.” —George Michael, Praying for Time 🎵

Started reading Borderline, the first book in the Arcadia Project by Mishell Baker. I’ve heard good things from several sources about this series. Only a few chapters in, but I’m enjoying it so far. 📚

My revisions to Haven Divided are complete! Next up: off to my editor. 🙌🕺📚