Michelle Manus

michelle.m.manus

What I’m Working On-June 2021 Edition

So as you may have noticed, I skipped last month’s writerly update for fear of boring you out of your mind with my lack of excitement and enthusiasm, my wealth of ennui, and all other related emotions, preferably beginning with “e.” Because alliteration is cool.

I’m out of my funk, which is great because I now have a wealth of things to get done. I’ve finished up the substantial edits on Valkyrie’s Call, so now all that’s left is the copy edit, and I’m really really excited for the book to release in August. Valkyrie and Random’s story has been tumbling around in my brain for years, and I was worried I wouldn’t get it just right on paper. But they both started talking and wouldn’t shut up, and while doing the re-read for edits I was beyond thrilled to find I think I did them justice. It’s a rough road for them, but worth the journey.

I also got Guardian of Shadows, the second Nyx book, back a couple weeks ago. The editor and I talked a bit back and forth, and I’ve finally figured out what it needs, but wrangling the needs into the current book are proving difficult for me. Nothing needs to be cut, thankfully, just added, but the problem is the book flows pretty seamlessly as it’s written, and I’m having difficulty finding a place to insert a scalpel and splice in the needed improvements, so to speak.

I’m also panicking a little because I’d planned for it to be off my schedule long before now, and I’ve delayed starting Nyx #3 in case the edits to Nyx#2 held significant changes for #3. Which they do, so delaying #3 was a good call, but it fills me with the anxious sense that I’m behind on everything. The good news is, the smarter side of my brain plans for these delays, so every pub date I’ve set so far will still be met. Yay for small victories!

I’m still adding occasional wordage to my Trash Novel Series (Book1 and side-story novella finished, 1/4 into Book 2) and I’m embarrassed by how much I’m enjoying what was supposed to be sort of a joke series, if you couldn’t tell by the fact that I refer to them as the Trash Novels. I’m not sure what I’ll do with them yet, as I don’t really have the budget for covers and editing on them, but I’m having fun with them right now, and I’m enjoying the lack of pressure for getting them done on any sort of schedule.

Ooh, speaking of covers, I just sent off to get the cover for Guardian of Shadows into production, so I should have that to share in a couple weeks! I beyond loved the cover for Guardian of Chaos, so I’m really excited to see what the designers come up with for Shadows.

And that’s a wrap for what I’m working on this month. It’s getting super hot in my desert-riddled neck of the woods, so I’ll leave you all with the hope that, wherever you are, it’s not 118F like it is here. Or that if it is that hot, you’re into that sort of thing. Stay hydrated, my friends.

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May 2021 Reading Roundup

So you may have noticed I missed this month’s What I’m Working On blog post. I have no good excuse, save that my writing life did not seem terribly thrilling to me this month. I’m debating moving that section to a bi-monthly or as-needed post, mostly because I tend to be a very scheduled individual in terms of work, so a lot of times in my head my schedule is: Write 30k on X novel this month. So, when I go to talk about what I’m doing, it feels a little like I’m just parroting my very boring schedule at you. The last thing I want to do is bore anyone to tears, and if I’m bored writing a post, I’m pretty sure you’ll be bored reading it.

Ahem, okay, so on with the Reading Roundup! I have been trying so, so hard to find new authors, and I am failing miserably. I started probably ten books this month that I just had to put down and couldn’t finish. I wasted three-quarters of the month on books I couldn’t finish. I am in an undeniable reading slump. SEND ME YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS. I can’t promise I’ll read them, but I will definitely go check them out.

Okay, so as always happens when I’m in a reading slump, I fall back on authors I know I love, whom I’ve been stockpiling books from for just such an occasion. Ergo, the selection is thin this month. As in, two authors, four books thin. But as my boss would say, “It is what it is.”

Crossing the Line/Breaking the Rules by Lucy Score

Okay, so if you missed my initial reading roundup where I discovered Lucy Score, let me take this moment to say I LOVE LUCY SCORE. Like, I’ve never fallen so hardcore in love with a contemporary romance author before. Her books are snort-inducing hilarious, transport me completely out of my ordinary life, and I am incapable of taking longer than 24 hours to read one of them.

THE DISCLAIMER: All Lucy Score books are steamy as fuck. If you’re going to dive into one, make sure that explicit sex and lots of it are things you like in a novel.

Okay, so Crossing the Line and Breaking the Rules are a duet, so I’m just reviewing them here together. If you like the falls-for-her-bodyguard trope done with typical Lucy freshness, this one’s for you!

In the first installment, Waverly Sinner is a movie star with a stalker problem, and Xavier Saint is her assigned bodyguard, who is absolutely immune to the starlets he protects. . .until he meets Waverly, of course. 🙂 Chock full of hilarity, rivalry, and smoking-hot attraction, Score once again crafts two great characters I’m rooting for the entire book.

I don’t want to do anything spoiler-y, so I won’t say much about the second book except to say that you will want to start it immediately upon finishing book one, and you’ll be happy you did.

Undercover Love by Lucy Score

Undercover Love was apparently Score’s debut novel! I guessed that it might be while reading it, but I wasn’t one-hundred percent certain, which is surprising in and of itself. I can usually spot a debut a mile away, but Score is just such a natural storyteller, and her characters always have the most amazing chemistry, that there were only a couple minor things that made me think it might have been the debut.

It’s a little shorter than her later novels, so if you’re looking for a faster read, this is a great option. Technically falls into the billionaire romance category, I suppose, though it’s not super in your face about the money thing. It’s there enough that if you like billionaire romance, it’ll scratch the itch, but also not so there that if you’re not super into billionaire romance (like me) it’s not going to put you off.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows is the fourth installment in Maas’s Throne of Glass series. I read her A Court of Thorns and Roses series first, which I absolutely love, all though this series was her debut.

In full transparency, the first book in this series is one I might not have taken a chance on if I hadn’t read her other series first, but I’m glad I did. You really get to see Maas develop her writing as an author as the series progresses, and by the time you get to this book it’s all just flat-out amazing.

It’s a great series for anyone who likes traditional fantasy with a touch of fae. If you haven’t read the series and are interested, you’ll want to start with Throne of Glass.

Amazon | Kobo | Apple | Barnes & Noble | GooglePlay | IndieBound

Number of books I read this month I wouldn’t recommend: Zero, technically, but I started a veritable mountain of them I couldn’t finish.

April 2021 Reading Roundup

This was one of those reading months where I finished several books I didn’t really like. I used to be the type of person who had to finish a book I started, whether I liked it or not. In recent years, I’ve come around much more to the idea that life’s too short to read books you aren’t really enjoying. But for some damn reason, this month I just insisted on finishing books I didn’t like, because I felt like I really should be enjoying them.

You know how it is. Everyone and their mother has recommended X book to you, and you finally give in and read it. You don’t like it. You don’t understand why everyone else likes it, so you keep powering through, convinced their must be something wrong with you because you Just Don’t Get It, and you’re certain that at some point, a chorus of angels will jump out of the book singing Hallelujah and you’ll finally understand the appeal.

Guys, I give you permission not to finish that book. Don’t be me. Don’t read the book you hate and then wonder why you wasted that valuable time in your life. It’s okay. Taste is subjective (which is why I never point fingers and name titles of the books I don’t enjoy) and we’re all allowed to like what we like. Doesn’t mean you have to like what everyone else is liking.

Okay, off my high horse to report on the three books I read this month that I can actually recommend in good conscience.

Spark by Devon Monk

The West Hell Magic series is perfect if you’re looking for fun, well-written urban fantasy with little to no romance. Also perfect if you love hockey. I know absolutely nothing about hockey and this book made me want to go watch a hockey match. If I’m not mistaken, the author is a raging hockey fan.

This is one of those rare series where I actually liked the second book (this one) better than the first. Which is not to say Book 1, Hazard, isn’t good, because it totally is. They’re connected standalones about hockey players in the West Hell magic league, so the first book is about wizard Random Hazard (come on, how can you not love a book with a character named Random Hazard?) and Spark is about his best friend, werewolf Duncan.

I just really, really loved Duncan as the main character in this book. He is such a happy, goofy character, and his werewolf instincts make him super protective of his family, which is why he puts himself in a really bad position in order to protect Random.

At its core, this is a story about learning and accepting who you are, and understanding that it’s okay to ask for help. I highly recommend. While you can technically read this one without reading the first book, I always recommend starting at the beginning of a series.

Kobo | Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble

The Jaguar Knight by Ann Aguirre

The long-awaited conclusion to Aguirre’s shifter romance series, Ars Numina, finally came out in April! I’ve been waiting to find out what happened to Slay FOREVER.

So this will be more of a series review than a single book review, as I don’t want to give any spoilers to anyone who hasn’t read the first five. These are all connected standalones with an overarching theme that comes to fruition at the end of this book.

Set in a world with cat, bear, and wolf shifters, eldritch fae, and “monstrous” Golgoth shifters, the series starts at a tense time when the territories need to resign their peace treaty, and the Golgoth are threatening war on all the other territories.

Each book features a different pair of lovers finding each other, all from cross-cultural backgrounds except for the romance in the first book, which is two cat shifters from the same territory. As I’ve come to expect from Aguirre, the world-building is top-notch, the characters are well thought out, and the romance is sizzling.

I give the series all the stars. Especially since I’ve been waiting for Slay to get redeemed since he disappeared as a secondary character in Book 1. If you’ve been reading along, this conclusion is SO WORTH IT. If you haven’t been reading along and want to, start with The Leopard King.

Kobo | Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J. Maas is one of those authors it took me forever to actually pick up. Any time there’s a lot of hype around a series or author, and I didn’t read them before the hype happened, it’s hard for me to read them, because I’m always afraid I’ll be disappointed (ie, what happened with all the books I read this month I can’t rec).

But guys, I LOVE Maas’s Court series. I like her Throne of Glass series too, but they were a little harder for me to get into, and if you’re looking to start her books, I highly recommend starting with A Court of Thorns and Roses. These books are Fantasy, Fantasy/Romance about the fae.

This is technically the fourth book in the series. The first three focus on Feyre, and this book focuses on Feyre’s sister, Nesta. This is a mammoth of a book, and at its core, it’s a story about recovery and mental health. As you’ll know if you’ve read the first three, Nesta is a prickly character, and I wasn’t entirely convinced I could be made to like her, but there is so much to connect to in her character. She is very raw, and real, and I feel like everyone can learn so much from her.

Disclaimer: Smexy heat level goes WAY way up compared to previous books. Like, ratchets up x 1000.

Fun Fact: I met Sarah J. Maas once! No, she has no idea who I am. She was on tour for Queen of Shadows when I still worked at an indie bookstore, and had a signing there. The events coordinator neglected to tell her to come into the store through the back entrance, so I turned around at the registers and there was Sarah J. Maas. It was a good thing I hadn’t read her books then, or I probably would have fan-girled super hard. As it was, I just furtively herded her to the back of the store because I was terrified the throngs of her adoring fans would see and mob her, and then I would have to explain to someone how I allowed Sarah J. Maas to be mobbed by her fans. Based on the total two minutes I spent in her presence, she seems like a super chill, down-to-earth individual.

Kobo | Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Google Books

Valkyrie In A Nutshell

I’m working through the first round of edits on Valkyrie’s Call, and I ran across this little snippet that I totally don’t even remember writing (it’s strange, how often that happens when you’re re-reading in edits). The last bit of her dialogue is, as the title of the post suggests, so just Valkyrie in a nutshell.

“The first phone number is for the best Aspect defense lawyer in the country. His name is Random Tremayne. You want the girls to stay with you? He is your best chance of ensuring that happens. Should you have difficulty covering the legal fees, the second number is for The Savage Foundation. My sister-in-law is extremely invested in helping others like her. Explain about the girls, and she will assist you in any way she can,” Valkyrie said.

“That’s it?” Derek asked. Now that the shock of the situation was wearing off, anger was swiftly taking its place. “Just wait for a security team to arrive and hope our children aren’t taken away from us? We were attacked. In our own home. Lacey and Taylor could have been killed and you want us to, what? Pack and make a couple phone calls?”

Valkyrie understood his anger, but that didn’t mean she wanted it directed at her. She gave him a hard look and he backed up a step. “I’m not good at the emotional support side of things, Mr. Anders. You want your fears assuaged and your emotions soothed, call Tremayne and Savage. That’s what lawyers and philanthropists are for.”

What I’m Working On – April 2021 Edition

What am I working on right now? DEFINITELY the things I am scheduled to be working on. Totally those things. Not other things that are not on my schedule.

If you’re tempted to say, “The lady doth protest too much,” well, you would be right. On the bright side, I did finish Trash Novel #1 as intended. My brilliant plans to figure out whether I was moving on to Nyx #3 or Aspect #3 have. . . not gone as intended. Which is to say I haven’t decided.

I’m poking at revisions on Valkyrie’s Call, poking at Trash Novel #2, because it’s easy, and reminding myself that according to my Amorphous Writing Schedule (yep, that’s really what I named the document) I actually don’t have a decision to make between Nyx or Aspect, because it claims I’m supposed to be outlining Nyx #3 as we speak.

But hey, it’s an amorphous schedule, right? I mean, maybe I shouldn’t have named my writing schedule something that is literally defined as, “lacking a clear structure or focus.”

Given the givens, I don’t have a whole lot more to report this month. April has been chock-full of little fires, mostly in the form of expensive things breaking and me hyperventilating (okay, fine, not literally) about where I will find the money to fix them.

Unfortunately, my life does require a vehicle. Vehicles are expensive, and I no longer have the time to diagnose my aging beauty’s occasional ailments. Well, I still diagnose them, and fortunately I have a really great mechanic who actually listens to me when I say things like, “The current issue is with the fuel injection system and here’s why.”

He is a very nice mechanic. I have been going to his shop for six or seven years now, and though I desperately want to get out of the desert, I shudder at the thought of finding a new auto repair shop, because it’s just so rare to find one that does good work AND doesn’t treat me like I’m an idiot because I have boobs. Le sigh.

I’m going to cut things off there, because I suspect further typing will only lead to increased interludes of rambling nonsense. I’m going to go write a book now. You know, if I can ever figure out which one to write.