I can’t believe it’s been three weeks since I shared my latest reads. But, to be honest, all of my reading plans went out the window. Well, not out the window; they just went so slow that I had to re-read chapters to remember what happened in the days since I’d last read.
I go through the odd month of barely getting any reading done, but I’d thought that wouldn’t be an issue given that I was reading two of my favourite authors. But, I know why I’ve struggled to get much reading done.
Okay, that last statement sounds like I did some deep thinking about the issue and came up with some startling revelation… nope. As I was reading my Fun read–a book I know I love because I’ve read it multiple times–I suddenly remembered that I don’t read fiction when I’m writing fiction.
It probably sounds insane. Wouldn’t reading fiction, especially a well-written novel in my genre, be helpful? For me, no.
While I was writing my scenes, I noticed a different tone slipping in. It was present in the narrative, the dialogue, and the characters. It wasn’t a crappy tone. It was just a bit darker than mine and with less humour. Basically, it wasn’t suitable for my story. (H. R. D’Costa calls it tone tampering.)
So, with my lesson learnt, I’ve decided to give fiction a by while I’m in writing mode.
[FYI: The book links are free from affiliate codes.]
The Work Read
I haven’t had much chance to read this book on midpoint fulcrums by H. R. D’Costa. But, now that I’m in purely non-fiction reading mode for the moment, I know that I’ll devour this pretty fast.
Midpoint Magic on Kindle (£6.99)
Midpoint Magic on Kobo (£6.99)
The Fun Read
Once I’d recalled that tone tampering was a thing and that it had affected me, I had planned on putting this book on hold until I was finished writing. But I couldn’t do it. I had to finish it. There was no way I was walking away from Bastien and Chloe’s happy ending–especially with the blood and violence to get there. I’m still in the warm fuzzy glow of it as I write 😊
If you want to get stuck into a dark romantic suspense series filled with heroes who do what has to be done, get reading the Ice Series by Anne Stuart–starting with Black Ice. Oh, and if you do, you can thank me later when you move onto her Fire Series and meet my favourite character of hers, James Bishop, in Consumed by Fire. 💖
Black Ice on Kobo (£3.49 on Kobo)
Black Ice on Kindle (£2.99 on Kindle)
The Me-Time Read
Well, with fiction off the menu, I think it’s time to bring back my Me-Time books.
I’m starting back with book three of John Braddock’s A Spy’s Guide series. Book three is all about taking risks. In it, we get to see the inner thoughts of a spy as he navigates the world of his mission as he travels under an alias for the first time.
A Spy’s Guide to Taking Risks on Kindle (£2.11 or free for KU subscribers)
Do you have times when you have to avoid reading fiction or non-fiction? What do you replace it with?
I’d love to hear your reading plans for the next week…
Until next time, take care, and happy reading!
I’m still intrigued with these spy books, Susan!
Gosh, though, I’m glad my fiction reading doesn’t interfere with my writing. I need both! I’m reading my second Maggie Orford book at the moment. She’s an SA author writing books set in Cape Town, very dark, very gritty – drug smugglers and gangsters, rapists and murderers. Not for the faint-hearted, but totally page-turning. Not a great ad for my adopted country!
I can’t get enough of spies; absolutely daft for them 🤪
Maggie Orford’s books sound very intriguing.
I think it’s a great ad for SA, well, I don’t think it detracts from the country at all. Every country has a dark underbelly that authors love to explore, but we all know that even if rooted in reality, it doesn’t reflect the country as a whole. I’m definitely putting her books on my TBR list. Thanks for the rec!
Just that the underbelly spills over a little too often… I’m sure you’ll enjoy Orford’s writing. You might have to google some of the ‘things in Afrikaans’ (I did).
That sucks.
I like what you did there! 😜 I look forward to learning some more Afrikaans–a lot more. I mainly catch the Dutch words, but that’s only because they’re similar to some Scots words.
When I’m writing contemporary romance I read Historical romances. When I’m writing historical romances I read contemporary romance. 🙂
That’s a great way to do it!
I tried HR while writing at the end of last year, but my dialogue got more and more formal as I went 😄 I get so sucked in when I read that I live in the book world even when I’m not actively reading it. It’s a gift and a curse 🤪
🙂