Ronit J

Jan 2024 is almost up, and I’ve been fairly inactive on my social media. Honestly, I decided to take a week off social media to relax, and somehow just liked being offline. Plus, I got a lot of writing and editing done, so it worked in my favour.

So, what all have I been up to whilst I wasn’t doomscrolling. Yes, I was writing, but what exactly? Keep reading!

My WIPs as of Jan 2024

I’m going to get through the most important part of this post first—My WIPs as of Jan 2024.

Untitled Fantasy Stand Alone – 50% completed

This is my current WIP, and I hope to finish it in mid-Feb 2024. Originally, I was planning on finishing this for NaNoWriMo November 2023, but wasn’t able to give it the time and attention (because of my book launch).

With the new year, I’m all charged up, and ready to tackle this beast. It’s not going to be an epic story of 100k words or anything, but this one will be very different from what Help! My Dog Is The Chosen One! was. For starters, it’s grimdark and holds back no punches.

I had written 15,000 words before 2023 ended, and wrote another 20k in Jan 2024. I’m not sure how long this novel will be, but it should be around the same lenght as Help! My Dog Is The Chosen One!, which is ~70,000 words.

When I’m ready, I’ll do a title reveal and more, but for now, that’s it.

Short Story Collection – Rough Draft completed

In 2022, I wrote 12 fantasy short stories set in the fictional world of my other WIP (once I’m done with my stand-alone, I’ll get to that novel). These short stories don’t all fall under any specific subgenre (grimdark, low fantasy, high fantasy, etc.), so I’m only using the umbrella term of fantasy.

It started out as a world-building exercise, but as I wrote each story, they ended up becoming about the characters. These are all stand-alone tales of seemingly insignificant individuals with remarkable stories that were forgotten by history. That was the original idea behind writing those shorts, and I had told myself I would self-publish them if they were good enough. And some of them are!

One of these stories (titled “Dacoit, Son of a Noble”) was released in Dark Horses Magazine Vol 22: November 2023. I’ll be including it in my collection as well, along with three more never-before-seen shorts.

I know that I’m not including the remaining eight shorts in this collection. Frankly, they aren’t ready yet. I need time to edit and rewrite parts or whole of the stories. However, I’m not 100% convinced I want to develop every single story. Plus, I’m more motivated to start working on my main WIP once I’m done with these.

Maybe I’ll revisit the unpublished shorts sometime later in 2024, but for now, it’s the best 4 of those 12.

Untitled Novella – shelved indefinitely

In mid-2024, I started writing an urban fantasy novella, but I had to put it on hold because of my book release. I think I ended up moving on from the headspace I was in, and had a lot of trouble getting back into the world of this novella. I did finish writing it, but the amount of rewrites, edits, and work I will have to put in to make this one publishable is beyond what I’m ready to do.

Honestly, I don’t have enough motivation to tell this story. It’d be insincere even if I power through and launch it, so I’m shelving this project indefinitely.

Other undertakings as of Jan 2024

You read that right! I’m working on launching a Hardcover Edition of Help! My Dog Is The Chosen One!

I guess I could’ve worked on this simultaneously with the ebook and paperback versions, but being my first time my learning curve was very sharp. I didn’t want to juggle 3 separate editions of my book and then mess up. It’s a miracle that I managed to format 2 editions on time. Maybe when I release my next book, I’ll be able to launch all 3 editions together.

So far, I’ve formatted the interior, and set up the hardcover edition on KDP & IngramSpark. Even The Hyphn have done their share and reformatted the hardcover as per requirements. The only thing pending is the ISBN number, which I should get any day now (in India, ISBN numbers are allotted by the RRRNA, so I have to wait for them to approve my application).

Since my book is already out, I can’t schedule a release for my hardcover edition, but know that I’ll be sending out an announcement when it’s live. Subscribe to my newsletter below to stay updated!

Side note: Someone had listed a hardcover edition of my book on the Amazon US site. A fake hardcover priced at $217 (last I checked). Amazon has finally taken it down (after I filed multiple reports). I hope that’s the only time I have to deal with it in 2024. Listing my own hardcover should solve that issue (fingers crossed).

What I read this month

Jan 2024 has been great from a reading perspective. I managed to read every day, and finished 3 novels! I should be able to finish the fourth before the month ends, or maybe early February.

The year’s read actually started with JCM Berne’s Grimdwarf Magazine! He releases a chapter every week, along with some indie short stories. The best part? It’s FREE! And I have to tell you, I’m really enjoying Sturj’s adventures so far. They’re weird, whacky, and fun, and I can’t wait to see where this story goes! Sadly, Goodreads/StoryGraph doesn’t have Grimdwarf listed yet, so I can’t add it. I will definitely add and review it when Berne releases a collected edition.

Circe by Madeline Miller – ★★★★★

My actual first book of the year was Circe by Madeline Miller. Described as Mythological Realism, the rich tableaux that Miller has painted with her words made the start of my year magical. While it takes some time to get used to the writing style, the experience of reading this book is nothing short of fantastical. I don’t want to say too much, except that I absolutely loved this book, and my year has started off on a very high note.

I’m certain this book is going to make it to my top 10 list of 2024!

Wistful Ascending by JCM Berne – ★★★★

Next, I read Wistful Ascending by JCM Berne. It was a little rough around the edges, but it didn’t bother me. I had a lot more to love about this book, especially with the protagonist, Rohan.

The book read like a warm hug, with occasional action-packed scenes. I don’t want to call it cozy fantasy, but it definitely felt like that to me. The world took inspiration from so many pop culture media that it felt tailor-made for me. From Kaiju, to Star Wars, to Guardians of the Galaxy, to Goku (seriously, Rohan is one of my new favourite protagonists), this book was an absolute delight! Can’t wait to read more from JCM Berne!

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin – ★★★★

The last book I finished in 2024 was A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin. Now, I know this book is held in very high regard, and I can see why. But, I did struggle with the writing a little bit.

The book is definitely very much classic fantasy and reads like it too. It’s an epic fantasy coming-of-age story that reads like a poetic account. I think I would’ve appreciated it more if I had listened to an audiobook (except that I don’t really enjoy audiobooks).

However, I recognise and appreciate this book for what it is. It’s just not entirely for me.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

Finally, Good Omens ! This book has been on my TBR for years now. Can’t believe I waited this long to read this one because I am loving every moment of it. I mean, what else do you expect from a novel co-written by Pratchett & Gaiman?

I don’t know if this will make it to my top 10 of 2024, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it does.

Lastly:

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading! I’m trying to make it a habit of posting more regularly. This is my way of staying more active on Social Media, as well as keeping a check on my writing and projects. I’ve tried to do it a few times in the past, but in 2024, I hope it sticks.

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Thank you for reading, and have a great day!