Published on YouTube on 12 September 2024.
Author Life Highlights of 2023
Published on YouTube on 7th January 2024
I think the biggest highlight of 2023 was author events. I got to meet YA Fantasy readers and chat about my books. I got to meet fellow authors and make new friends. I’ve learned so much and surprised myself.
Highlights:
💛 Dial Lane Books, Ipswich where I signed copies of Ocean Heart & the owner displayed a copy in the front window.
💛 Herts Book Festival, Hertfordshire was my first book festival. I had so much fun, I was buzzing! Was like an author getaway, meeting up with two of my long time author friends.
💛 Felixstowe Book Festival, Let’s Talk Fantasy – This was a long time dream of mine coming true & made a new friend that I shared the event with. 🥰
💛 Legends Comic Con, Stonham Barns where I got to befriend the Bury & Beyond Writers thanks to an intro by author Rachel Churcher. I’m looking forward to doing more with this bunch.
💛 MK Lit Fest, Milton Keynes was another excuse to meet up with some author buddies and we got interviewed about our books.
As a shy person, my dreams of being an author involve hiding in a cupboard to write with no peopling. I definitely did not want to make any public appearances! But, the author community is so welcoming and supportive, they gave me the confidence to get out there. Moving into 2024, high on my plans is to do more events. With each one, I get more confident and look forward to the next.
For 2024, I am already booked to do the Foreword Festival on 11 February in Bury St Edmunds’s. And, looking at another Comic Con in the Summer. Please come along and meet the authors. There’s such a good vibe, it’s infectious.
Which Reading App – My 2023 Reading Stats
Which is your favourite app for tracking your reading journey?
I have used Goodreads for years. I started using Story Graph this year, and very recently I started using Fable.
I thought I’d share what each is like and if I have time, I’ll also do a longer YouTube video comparing them. There is another reading app I use too called Litsy. However, at the time of writing, I cannot log into that app so shall not be covering it.
Which of these is your favourite? Is there another one I should check out?
Fable Reading App
I actually finished one more book after making this video and before the year was out – 2023 total was 25 books, that’s an average of a book a fortnight. I’m really pleased with that.
Fable Reading App
I discovered this app via Lemon8 but was reluctant to download another reading app. But, I kept seeing it, so in December I decided to give it a go. This app is VERY new to me. Initial reaction is I wished I downloaded it sooner. It has a really good community. It literally is a social media app just for readers.
I joined my first book club. We are reading IceBreaker by Hannah Grace. I’ve new been in a book club before but it’s fun to try new things.
The round up on this app asks you to pick your top 5 books to make a summary image. Oh my gosh, picking just five was sooooo hard. I’d struggle to pick only 10, but 5! Aghhh!
Blood Moon – Borrowed from the library. Thought it would be about shifters or vampires, but it’s a teen romance with coming of age themes like starting your period.
Scythe – This is a dystopian with a lot of gore. The world building and characters is epic, I loved the whole series.
The Diseased Ones – I’m currently reading this series but this is book one. It’s about a society that has put lawed super powers as a disease that must be irradiated. Think Marvel, seen in the future.
The Guidal – Another futuristic super power series. This one has a more magical feel, and more romance. There’s so much to love, and the series gets better and better.
Trouble – I checked this out as the author was one of YALC’s ambassadors, and the book blew me away. It’s a dual POV romance with coming of age themes like pregnancy and bereavement.
Sometimes my Top 5 also included Making Trouble by Rachel Churcher #dystopia , The Girl Behind the Glass #fantasy by April Grace, and Glass House #paranormalromance by Rachel Caine, Hunger Games #yadystopian by Suzanne Collins.
Fable: Follow what I’m reading on Fable–it’s free! https://fable.co/redfae-239209522672
Story Graph
Published on YouTube on 29th December 2023
What is Storygraph?
Someone on Lemon8 mentioned Storygraph earlier this year and I checked it out. I wasn’t ready to give up on Goodreads so decided to use both apps.
What I love about Storygraph is that it shares stats about your reading. Without this app I’d say I don’t tend to consume audio books, but it turns out I’ve finished more audio books than print books. I’m not surprised to see ebooks is my top medium.
I do read non-fiction but I don’t record it. The fiction genres chart shows I mostly ready YA and Fantasy, which is no surprise. And, I noticed I’ve been very into dystopia this year, however, I was surprised Romance wasn’t higher. I don’t tend to like books with no romance.
In the app, you can click on any of the chart segments to see more. For example, I can find out which books I read that were fast paced, or that I rated five stars. I think it’s fun to see my reading habits in charts. It’s been interesting.
Do you use Storygraph? Here’s my profile for Story Graph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/redfae
Good Reads
I’ve used Goodreads to track my reading for years.
I love how you can set a reading goal, and how at the end of the year it shares your stats. I set my yearly goal at 18 books. I am a slow reader and it can take me a month to finish one book! I didn’t want the challenge so hard that it was unrealistic and demotivating. I ended up reading 23 books and there’s a chance I could finish one more before the year is over.
I like tracking my progress on my current reads and seeing the percentage complete is rewarding for me. I love writing reviews so I can reflect on what I liked about the books. I’m good at choosing books I love which is why my ratings are high. I don’t force myself to read a book that doesn’t appeal to me. Most my reviews are 4 to 5 stars because I love them. 😍
I’m not surprised that Hunger Games is the most shelved book as it’s had so much publicity, whereas a Soul of Glass and Fire is a less well-known indie book. I’m going to continue using Goodreads, and will likely set my 2024 goal at 18 again, because it worked well this year.
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4150643
Mermaid Marathon Reads – Week two
I joined Maci Dierking’s Instagram challenge with a mermaid bookish theme. Her Instagram is thebrightsidegirl and I felt the prompts were fun and would encourage me to post more.
Click here to see my posts for Mermaid Marathon Reads week one. The challenge encouraged me to post everyday and that continued into week two (almost).
Current read
In hind sight, I could have used this for my Wednesday post as I currently have a few books on the go.
Vacay vibes
Boat read
Mermaid on the cover
Still to post…
Pirates
Island read
Fave read of the week
So that’s it for this challenge. But now would probably be a good time to remind you that Ocean Heart is currently half price in the Smashwords Summer Sale (July 2022).
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[kofi]
Mermaid Marathon Reads – Week One
I joined Maci Dierking’s Instagram challenge with a mermaid bookish theme. Her Instagram is thebrightsidegirl and I felt the prompts were fun and would encourage me to post more.
The plan is to read as many mermaid books as you can for the challenge. As a slow reader I knew I wouldn’t achieve much in that perspective, but it was an opportunity to connect with other readers that love mermaids and discover more books.
Mermaid TBR
Current read
Creature on the cover
Mermaid food
Ocean on the cover
Summer vibes
Beach read
Looking forward to sharing week two’s content and telling you about the new books I discovered from my new mermaid reading friends.
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[kofi]
My Birthday Book Haul
My birthday was back in November and my online writer friends clubbed together and got me an Amazon voucher. I didn’t spend it right away. I wasn’t sure if I might get books for Christmas. Plus my book Wishlist is insane so I took my time narrowing down my choices.
This post includes affiliate links. Check out my Affiliate Disclosure page for more info.
Here’s what I got:
Fiction
This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron
The Weavers by Ania Whiteley
World for the Broken by Elexis Bell
And The Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando
PREORDER: When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando
Non-Fiction
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes
The Rural Setting Theasarus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi
The Urban Setting Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi
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[kofi]
Catch up with a cuppa Ko-Fi (Jan 2022)
As I post more on Ko-Fi, I don’t want you to miss out so here’s a brief summary of what I posted over on Ko-Fi in January.
My 2021 Reads
https://ko-fi.com/post/My-2021-Reads-M4M77UIM1
This post had a link to my YouTube video that show cased the books I read last year and included a link to the template I created in Canva for you to use.
My 2022 Goals
I really struggled to set my annual goals. We had a lot of germs in January which demotivated me. I kind of surprised that I’ve already completed 66% of my goals for the first quarter.
Want to see my goals? Visit here: https://ko-fi.com/post/2022-Goals-X8X47WTD9
Editing Sky Heart
I had to give an update on how book two is progressing. Publishing Sky Heart is my big goal for this year. If you want to find out how it’s going, visit here: https://ko-fi.com/post/Editing-Sky-Heart-G2G27Z8K9
All The Twos
https://ko-fi.com/post/All-The-Twos-H2H17WTJI
I invite you to join in on my all the twos challenge. Read the second book in a series, or a second book by an author you’ve only read once. I thought this would be a fun way to celebrate Sky Heart (hopefully) releasing this year!
However, currently all my reads are first books.
Website Evaluation
I know my website needs updating. I evaluated how it currently looks, compared it to other popular authors sites, and made a plan to improve it. Check it out here: https://ko-fi.com/post/Author-Website-Evaluation-C0C085ZXN
Follow me on Ko-Fi
It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.
[Ko-Fi]
The Unfinished Books
This article contains affiliate links. To learn more, please visit my Affiliate Disclosure page.
There were a few books I started in 2021 that I never got around to finished. It was nothing wrong with the books, I just had a lot going on and then I lost where I was.
I hate the idea of logging a book as a DNF. It feels like quitting , especially as I really was enjoying some of these books. Some I still consider myself as currently reading. Hopefully, I’ll finish them in 2022.
Fish Bone Alley by David F Burrows
A satire historical detective novel. This isn’t my usual read but the author is a lovely person, and it is quite funny. The chapters feel like short stories so I feel this will be easy to come back to.
Court Out by Deb McEwan
This is marketed as YA Fiction but it didn’t feel like YA too me. It wasn’t what I was expecting, and that made it difficult to get into. I might try again with fresh eyes…
A Choice of Essence by Katelyn Uhrich
This MG Fantasy book is incredible. What I’ve read so far is amazing and I restarted it with my son. I have the eBook but I love it so much I might buy a physical copy too. ?
Fate of the Blue Moon by H B Lynn
This shifter fantasy book ticks all my boxes. It feels well researched and is a good grounding to the series. I have all the books so I want to get into this.
Forever Burn by Trinity Lemm
This complex college romance kept me entertained with my broken ankle. I stopped at a point where I was angry at the love interest, but as I have book two waiting for me, I’ll have to give him a second chance to make it right.
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
This is truly the book I am currently reading. It’s really good but it’s a big book and as a slow reader it’ll likely take me until the end of 2022 to finish. ?
[kofi]
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All The Twos Reading Challenge
This post contains affiliate links. To learn more, please visit my Affiliate Disclosure page.
I’ve set myself a challenge for 2022 to read as many book twos as I can. I often start a series and never get to the next book so I have plenty of choice. Join in with the hashtag #AllTheTwos
Check out the link at the end to get a free printable to track you books read!
I’m planning to publish book two this year. Enjoying amazing book twos is sure to keep me motivated to publish mine.
Here are ten, 2nd in the series, books I’m looking forward to reading in 2022:
Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning
You can read my review of book one, Sea Witch, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/book-review-sea-witch-by-sarah-henning/
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
You can read my review of book one, Red Queen, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/book-review-red-queen/
Holiday Date by Debbie Ioanna
You can read my review of book one, Blind Date, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/reading-challenge-blind-date-by-debbie/
Kairos by Naomi Kelly
You can read my review of book one, Meraki, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/book-review-meraki-by-naomi-kelly/
Essentia by Hannah Reed
You can read my review of book one, Tenebrasco, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/book-review-tenebrasco-by-hannah-reed/
Awaken by K.S Marsden
You can read my review of book one, Winter Trials, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/book-review-winter-trials-by-k-s-marsden/
This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron
You can read my review of this authors debut novel, Cinderella is Dead, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/book-review-cinderella-is-dead/
A Court of Mist & Fury by Sarah J Mass
You can read my review of book one, A Court of Thorns and Roses, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/book-review-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses/
Dance of Despair by Kara S Weaver
You can read my review of book one, Crown of Conspiracy, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/reading-challenge-crown-of-conspiracy-by-kara-s-weaver/
The Almost Boyfriend by Christina Benjamin
You can read my review of book one, The Practice Boyfriend, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/book-review-the-practice-boyfriend-by-christina-benjamin/
Bright New Penny by Grace Herbst
You can read my review of book one, Brave New Girl, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/reading-challenge-brave-new-girl-by-grace-herbst/
Wiccan Romance: Sam’s Story by Nicola Hebron
You can read my review of book one, Wiccan Romance: Amelia’s Story, here: https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/reading-challenge-amelias-story-by-nicola-hebron/
Forever Frozen by Trinity Lemm
I am currently reading book one, Forever Burn, but hopefully should have a review very soon!
FREE Book Tracker
I created this freebie for my followers on Ko-Fi. It’s free to follow me there and in return you will updates on my writing, be able to buy exclusive merchandise, and access to my Freebies.
Link to product in Redfae’s Ko-Fi Shop: https://ko-fi.com/s/31eb6ec8bf
[kofi]
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