It is hard to believe 2020 is already coming to an end. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for the new year, but I did have some highlights this year…
I published my first book “Goodnight, Little Grubb”
I started querying my first romance novel “Rhys of Novia”
I sent “A Second Chance” off to be professionally edited for indie publishing
I started a new Tarot Reading Business to help me cover editing/publishing costs, and…
I read nearly 80 books!
As much of a dumpster fire as 2020 was, I did have those highlights and some AMAZING books that I read this year. I figured with the year nearly over it would be the perfect time to share my TOP 10 READS OF 2020! If you are looking for some new novels to dive into in 2021, might I interest you in these?!
#10: “Norse Mythology” by Neil Gaiman
I have always had a love for Norse Mythos, so this book was perfect for a night in of reading. So creative and fun, while also sharing classic stories!
#9: “Desperate Measures” by Katee Robert
A sexy romance that shows the strength of women and the irresistibility of the villains. Read my full review here!
#8: “The Scarlett Letters: My Secret Year of Men in an L.A. Dungeon” by Jenny Nordbak
An amazing memoir by Jenny Nordbak showing the world of BDSM, Sex Dungeons, and what it means to truly be sex positive!
#7: “The Pigman” by Paul Zindel
Paul Zindel has been an all time favorite of mine, ever since I read “Loch” (which is my favorite novel). When I found this gem, I knew I would love it!
#6: “A Promise Beneath the Kissing Bough” by Tabetha Waite
A fantastic historical romance that brings in the spirit of the holidays and fluffy love! Tabetha Waite always writes the BEST romances! Read my full review here!
#5: “The Duchess Deal” by Tessa Dare
If you are a fan of romance and haven’t read one of Tessa Dare’s books yet, DO IT NOW! Try this one out, it will forever sit on my favorites shelf!
#4: “Future Fake Husband” by Kate Hawthorne & EM Denning
An AMAZING book co-written by two AMAZING authors showing love through that amazing romance trope, fake lovers! Read my full review here!
#3: “Priest” by Sierra Simone
This is the sexy romance you didn’t realize you were waiting for until now. This book has it all and it makes you just fall in love with each word! Read my full review here!
#2: “Tampons: Aisle Five” by Rae Matthews
This book was one of the first I read in 2020 and it is STILL the top of my list. This book had me rolling on the floor laughing! A must read for every woman who needs a laugh!
#1: ACOTAR – A Court of Thorn and Roses (Series) by Sarah J Maas
Yes, my #1 read of 2020 is an entire series! Sarah J Maas wrote a fantastic romance series that leaves little breadcrumbs and signs throughout that leads to the BEST ending you could imagine. If you haven’t yet read ACOTAR, I recommend this be your first read in 2021!
I had such amazing adventures through all of these amazing books in 2020, I can’t wait to see what stories 2021 has in store!
I can’t believe it is already December! NaNoWriMo was such a blast–even if it was a bit chaotic. I am happy to announce that I was successful in drafting over 50,000 words of my new novel “Justice”!
Below is a short sneak peek at the novel…but please remember it is a first, UNEDITED draft. I hope you enjoy it!
He was filthy. His pants were torn and tattered in many places with blood. His shirt was ripped open, barely hiding his form underneath. He was young, perhaps around her age, and he had such a desperation in his eyes.
His face had been darkened with mud, or bruising, she couldn’t tell. When the Peacekeeper pulled on the rope once again, he fell prone on the ground and cried out in a hoarse voice. Arra moved without thinking, going to step forward towards him when the boy met her eyes. Crin stopped her, pulling on her arm to keep her next to him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He whispered harshly to her. “Don’t interfere!”
“He’s being dragged through our town. That isn’t right!” Arra wanted to scream, but she knew she wouldn’t get through to Crin. “What could he have done to warrant such punishment?”
“I don’t know, but if he’s being punished by the Justice’s Peacekeepers, it must have been bad.” Crin seemed so sure of himself before he went to step away, pulling on her arm to guide her away. Arra wouldn’t let him sway her. Her feet planted firmly in the ground against his pull. In the back of her mind, she heard her father’s words from yesterday, “There are going to be many times in the future where you will have to sacrifice a part of yourself for the greater good of someone else…don’t rush into it unless you must.”
Now that NaNoWriMo has ended, it is time for me to turn my attention to my December projects. This month, I wanted to take a little break from my novels and focus on poetry and short stories. I write so many throughout the year and never do anything with them…NOT THIS YEAR!
This month I will be working on editing a few poems and short stories I already have drafted–as well as finding a place to submit them if I don’t publish them here on my blog. I’ll also be writing some special stories for special anthology submissions to Black Hare Press. I’m excited to get back to shorter stories and poems!
I don’t have many updates other than that! I hope all of you are staying healthy, safe, and warm! Until next time, Happy Reading!
I look forward to November every year–not because of Thanksgiving or to start preparing for Yule, but because of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). For those of you who don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it’s a free event and platform that takes place through the month of November where writers like myself strive to write 50,000 words in just 30 days! You can find out more by clicking the button below!
In the past couple years, I have been a NaNo Rebel. Instead of writing a new story, I would edit novels to get them ready for the next step of publication. However, this year I am drafting a completely new novel idea. I’m really excited to be starting on this novel. It has been brewing in the back of my mind for months now. I spent time each month plotting and planning and I feel I have a great foundation (which is code for saying I have a three-ringed binder full of maps, outlines, pictures, and more!).
You can follow my progress this month by following me on NaNoWriMo or checking out my profile page. If you are also doing NaNoWriMo, be sure to send me a buddy request so we can cheer each other on!
The images above are NOT mine. They were created by very talented artists — but I found them online and have been using them as inspiration for my novel. Image 1 (Left) — “Fire Keeper” by CatCouch (DeviantArt). Image 2 (Middle) — “Ash” by WLOP (DeviantArt). Image 3 (Right) — “Dark Souls” by Kristin Toxicpanda (DeviantArt).
While I am hoping to get to 50,000 words at the end of the month, I have a different goal pushing me forward this month. Through the NaNoWriMo website, I am tracking my word count. My goal is to update my word count every day and stay “on track” with my word count (meaning I will have to write 1,667 words each day). I’d love to say there is a special prize for doing this, but my true motivation is to receive to special digital badges for reaching both of these goals!
When I reach my goal for the day, I then turn my attention towards more prep. I’m hoping this novel will be the first in a trilogy, something I never thought I would tackle. It is rather intimidating so I’m fighting those nerves and anxieties by doing some extra preparation for the future of the first book or the series. My binder is growing bigger each day as I add a couple pages of preparation each day.
I have been trying out a couple writing platforms to help keep everything together, but haven’t found one that I work well with quite yet. Right now I’m checking out “World Anvil”. It is a platform more so for Dungeons & Dragons and Tabletop Gaming, but it has a lot of promise for writing as well. I’ll be sure to give an update later on how it goes. You can check out the platform yourself by clicking the button below.
I can’t believe it’s already October. I feel like I blinked and September was gone. However, I’m excited to be into my favorite month of the year. Autumn is letting itself be known as the cool weather moves in, the leaves are changing, and I’m beginning to see carved pumpkins and decorations on my neighbor’s steps.
I’m especially excited for October as I will be revisiting my novel “A Second Chance”. As you know, this novel is being published chapter-by-chapter in Magpie (see “Stories” page). I sent it out to my beta-readers a couple months ago and I now have it back with notes and thoughts. I’ll be taking October to do my own personal edits while also querying some professional editors for the future. I’m so excited to be working on it and getting it closer to final publication!
Hopefully the novel will be ready next year!
Official Image from NaNoWriMo (Nanowrimo.org)
I will also be using October to prepare for NaNoWriMo — National Novel Writing Month. I have participated the last few years and will be returning as my region’s co-ML (Municipal Liaison). With everything being virtual this year, I’m excited to try out some new writing, plotting, and meeting techniques on a BRAND NEW NOVEL IDEA!
If you’re doing NaNoWriMo this year, or have been thinking of joining, be sure to click the button at the bottom of this post to add me as a writing buddy. That way we can cheer each other on as we work to write 50,000 words in the month of November!
This year, I will be working on a completely new novel idea that I am titling “Justice”. This idea came to me when I saw images of the character above on Pinterest (of all places). I’d never played Dark Souls before so I didn’t realize who the character was or what she did in the game (I still don’t, actually). To be honest, the images struck me and an entire trilogy came to my mind.
Yes, you did read that right. A TRILOGY!
This NaNoWriMo I’ll be working on Book 1 of this Fantasy Novel. There will be some romantic themes, but this will NOT be a romance, just in case you were wondering. I’m stepping out of my comfort zone of HEAs (Happily Ever After’s) and romantic settings to write in the dark and twisted setting of this new novel.
I have actually been plotting and preparing this story for the last couple months. Some of you may have seen some sneak peeks on my Instagram posts! I am excited to get working on it soon!
Official @NaNoWriMo #InstaWriMo Instagram Challenge
As a part of my preparation for NaNoWriMo, I will be participating in another Instagram challenge, #InstaWriMo. Throughout the challenge I will be giving sneak peeks about the story, characters, and settings I’ll be writing in. To make sure you don’t miss ANYTHING, be sure to follow me on Instagram by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post. You can also follow me on Pinterest to see image inspirations and story boards for ALL my current works in progress.
I hope you all are as excited for October as I am! Be sure to keep an eye out for this month’s book review (“Desperate Measures” by Katee Roberts), cover and content reveal for a special book I’m publishing in November, giveaways, AND MORE!
My apologize for such a short post, but I had to share some exciting news…
I HAVE A LOGO!
This has been something I’ve been wanting to get done for a while now, as the logo is an important step in creating my “brand”. I was so excited to sit down with Mandy from “I Liked It, So I Made It” and she put together a variety of logos for my site and future use. I hope you like them as much as I do!
Below are the new logos. I plan to use them in different instances. For example, the red and pink ones will be used for my romance brand, whereas the blue and purple ones will be reserved for other projects (coming soon!). And of course, we have the blank one so it can go on a shirt or tote.
Hopefully, as I start getting my stories published I can start thinking about getting some exciting merchandise or swag for events. For now, they will be nice additions to the website, newsletter, and social media. Hopefully this brings a little joy to your day as it did to mine!
Stories by Shanna Pikora 