dark fantasy

atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: Editing!

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I’m up to three finished rough drafts, as well as parts to edit to post on Patreon. That means no real word counts of note to post. The good news is (is not having word counts ” bad news?) that I am aiming to post again on my Patreon this month. I am still tweaking my page. I’d like a better description and more art, but that’s not the most important part. The most important part is getting more books out.

Also, I’d like to thank everyone once again who has purchased my work during the Smashwords Sale. I really hope you enjoy them!

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WIP Wednesday: Lots of Updates!

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If you’re subscribed to my blog, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been fairly regularly posting reviews. That’s gonna continue. I have a lot to get through.

Next up is my Patreon! I’ve been editing a lot, and the next part is up! It’s on the paid tier, but the first chapters of all my WIPs that I’m working on will always be free. The first part of “Dewey” is here.

Smashwords has started their July sale! All my books are discounted or even free on that site! You can check them out here.

Now, time for the wordcounts:

  • First Brood 4: 19,914
  • Smut short story: 570 (published 2 stories last month)
  • Dewey: 17,316

I am doing my best to try to get out some good content. I need to treat it like a job if I’m going to make money from it like a job. It’s not going to be easy, I am going to be very tired, but I have debt and a kid to put through college. I gotta do what I gotta do.

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Lenni Reviews: “Champion of the Rose” Vol. 1, by Cat Aquino & Dominique Duran

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Princess Rosa’s brother tragically dies, making her hair to the throne of the Empire of Sagrada. As the largest kingdom in the Known World, Rosa looks forward to serving her people and the Dying God they all worship but instead, her father holds a tournament where the prize is her hand in marriage. Desperate to become queen and make real change, she enlists Rey as her champion. Rey is a swordsman from one of the kingdom’s colonies and only wants to earn enough money to return to his native lands.

It’s interesting that Rosa is a mixed-race princess of a kingdom fueled by colonizing others. She has to come to terms with what her kingdom has done to people who look just like her. She may have been relatively sheltered as a princess, but that doesn’t stop the whispers and judgment. Rey is a transman and a fucking badass, who literally and figuratively is infected by the evils done by those who’ve conquered his people. The combat is fantastically done. It’s ruthless and dark. It reminds me of Centuria, making this a damn good dark fantasy. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Black Night Parade” Vol. 4, by Hikaru Nakamura

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The reindeer exams end, and as our trio awaits the results, they go on break, and Miharu visits his mother.

Each volume is slowly building things up to some interesting lore that’s deeply connected to Miharu and his family. The abilities being handed out to the workers are intriguing, and I wonder how they’re going to function with the actual process of making and delivering toys for children. I am enjoying the backstories and the fun side story of Miharu’s mother deciding she wants to visit her son’s fancy new job. And Benjamin is such a silly goober. He provides some great humor. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Creatures & Corridors” Bill Sienkiewicz Premiere Edition, by Brandon Auman & Andrea Mutti

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

In the summer of 1992, a group of teenagers plays the game Creatures and Corridors, unintentionally releasing a real curse that forces them to play for their lives.

I had more fun reading this than I thought I would. It has excitement, humor, and just the right amount of chaotic energy. It’s not afraid to get violent and bloody. Think more dark fantasy mixed in with the horror. I was never a tabletop person, so it misses a bit of the nostalgic element for me, and I know it was trying to go for that. And – no spoilers – I give it credit for not holding back when it came time to up the peril by killing characters. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Choujin X” Vol. 13, by Sui Ishida

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

The Yamato Mori is in the upper level of the Tower of Mourning to eliminate Zora. When Zora makes an offer to go with the Yamato Mori, Batista has other plans.

Batista going berserk lets us go into his past and what happened to him to put him in this position. It’s a fairly classic tragic backstory. As that takes up a good portion of this, the battle against him isn’t concluded yet. The reality and time warping powers are amazing to see. You can tell it took a LOT of talent to make it look so overwhelming and off-putting. Very good volume. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Magical Girl Dandelion” Vol. 3, by Kaeru Mizuho

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

While Tanpopo and Peony are on a mission to protect Peony’s friend, Karakusa, Ice goes to great lengths to get back his old friend, Shade.

Prima and Stella are frightening. They have some amazing character designs. There isn’t much down time in this volume. Once Peony asks Tanpopo to help with Karakusa, the fiends show up and the action goes full throttle. I’m not happy about the cliffhanger but other than that, this was a lot of fun. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Centuria” Vol. 3, by Tohru Kuramori

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Angvall is forced into an impossible choice: obey the orders from the empire she’s pledged her life to, or protect her found family.

This does feel like an Oedipus situation (minus the incest) where by desperately trying to avoid a dismal fate, they’re running headlong into it. Elstri is so certain that Diana will destroy the kingdom, but maybe hunting her down and killing those she loves would give her good reason to? But she’s a zealot and this keeps the story going. It’s still action packed and gives us more characters with other powers. I am super hooked and if you’re into dark fantasy, this series (so far) does not disappoint. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Black Night Parade” Vol. 3, by Hikaru Nakamura

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The identity of the Red Santa who visited Miharu as a child is finally revealed as the intense testing to become a reindeer continues.

This volume also includes how other members of the cast were recruited into their current roles at the North Pole and how they relate to Miharu. I’m warming up to this series. It’s pretty fun and has some intriguing lore to keep things interesting. The humor is pretty good, too. I don’t wanna say too much to avoid spoilers. 4 out of 5

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Lenni Reviews: “Black Night Parade” Vol. 2, by Hikaru Nakamura

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Miharu has been working hard at The North Pole in his new role of punishing bad children and while the benefits, salary, and coworkers are miles better than his previous job, his old coworker shows up to throw a wrench in the works.

While Kaiser (the old coworker) and his antics rode the fine line between funny and annoying, the best part of this volume was the latter half when we see Miharu as a child. It’s cute and heartwarming and has some cool (if not predictable) plot points that I will not spoil. It’s all still an interesting premise and it’s a decent volume once Kaiser is set aside. 3.5 out of 5.

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