I’m Better?…for the most part. What Have I Been Doing?

Hello all you wonderful people!

First, I know I’ve been absent from wordpress for the better part of two months (or something? a month maybe?); however, no apologies from me; I had to work on my mental health (which was in a state of complete disarray for practically the entire month of December), and for that I will never apologize. Anyway, let’s get into a post!

Through the month of December I didn’t do much. I was riddled with anxiety attacks and some slight depression, and hardly slept. I think (around three weeks ago, right before the new year) I was sleeping an average of three hours a night, with constant anxiety attacks keeping me awake, until my body couldn’t handle the stress and I would crash for eleven or twelve for a single night. And then it would start again like some savage cycle hell-bent on making my life as miserable as it could. So, what did I do through December? I read and wrote. And I read and wrote plenty.

Before Christmas came around I was with my dad, and he decided we should go Christmas shopping, because I told him I didn’t really care if I opened gifts on the day or simply got them without opening boxes and throwing wrapping paper around. So we did that. I got some awesome stuff, but what I was most excited about were three novels I’d been planning on getting for the better part of two years:

The Red Queen’s War trilogy

• Prince of Fools
• The Liar’s Key
• The Wheel of Osheim

The author? Mark Lawrence. I just had a small conversation about his novels, but I will say that these were fantastic in many ways. There are strong male characters; very weak male characters; strong, yet also obviously flawed males who had no idea what they were doing; strong female characters (two of the most powerful characters in the trilogy are women); and flawed, (and sadly) under-developed female characters. In all, I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy, although I enjoyed his first trilogy more to an extent, even though these three were probably the better written novels.

I also started reading Red Sister, another Mark Lawrence novel, which has a female lead named Nona–and she scared me right off the bat. In one sentence I was hooked; I was intrigued, I was horrified, I was questioning what might happen and what happened to bring about the circumstances we’re thrown into, and want to know more about this protagonist. I’m not more than thirty pages in right now, so I can’t quite comment on anything, but a single line struck me and now I want to know more.

My cousin was too nice to me for Christmas and got me more than I asked for… I asked for one novel, because I really wasn’t sure how I’d be able to split my time reading too many at once (I tend to devour books and start too many at once, losing my place in many as I zoom through one in particular), and she got me three. On Writing by Stephen King; The Night Angel trilogy 10th anniversary omnibus (which has black-edged pages and a beautiful glossy cover!) by Brent Weeks; and Death Note all-in-one edition. I’ve read Night Angel in its three-book release format and loved it, so the 10th anniversary edition will be an amazing addition that I’ll read again when I find time.

My brother got me Red Sister, which was very kind of him, and another fantasy novel from a writer of which I’ve not heard much, but I know of him. It’s titled Age of Myth and I’m curious to know what this is about. It’s first chapter was intriguing enough, and I believe I’ll enjoy the characters, but I’m not sure when I’ll start the novel. Perhaps in a few days I’ll get around to starting it, even though I’m reading two others at the moment…

So, aside from me reading and spending my time watching tv shows I’ve done practically nothing. Reading is a passion for me, and it’s really what I live for, so I’m okay with taking the time off to fix my riddled mind and focus myself by immersing my mind and emotions into novels. They’re one of my few escapes and that’s always a good thing to have. I have, however, started another novel. This time: fantasy. I actually believe I have a decent premise, and the characters have come along nicely thus far, but I know I’ll have to tweak things. I am constantly jotting notes down in my notebook, wondering how they’d react in certain situations, and really just having fun playing with them in my mind.

(It’d be better if you got those thoughts down on paper, Alex… Yeah, I know, shut up, Alexie…)

So, for now, I’ll post sporadically on here, read my books, and write my novel.

IN CASE YOU’RE CURIOUS: My novel is a story about two brothers who have been unwillingly thrown into a race against time by their father; two brothers with magical abilities to control specific elements, hunted by a secret organization for the abilities they can’t yet control, and have the fate of three kingdoms resting in their hands.

 

That’s about it for me! Just a small update and talk about what I’ve been doing since I’ve been gone for so long. I hope you’re all doing well and having a great time with your lives!

 

Thanks for reading!

Alexie 🙂

P.S. I saw Aquaman yesterday. Aquaman was wonderful. And Aquaman is a beast, always has been. He doesn’t just control fish…