Reading and Book Reviews Archives | A.S. Akkalon

A plan for overcoming writer’s block

I’ve been struck by creativity paralysis, aka writer’s block. My plan for overcoming it is to binge read these highly recommended books.

About a week ago I was confident about my writing. I was excited about starting to write the sequel to my current WIP, and you guys convinced me it was okay to do that rather than working on my unrelated book.

Then with three hours free, I got ready to sit down for some brainstorming… and got some stressful news from work.

Fyi, I resigned from that job. I left that job several weeks ago. It should no longer be following and stressing me.

I tried to put all work thoughts aside and started brainstorming.

I came up with lots of ideas… and loathed all of them.

The problem with Harry Potter and why it doesn’t matter

Given his upbringing, Harry Potter wouldn’t have been a nice, well-adjusted kid. He would have been a nightmare. But that would have made a very different story.

Let me see if I’ve got this right.

We have Harry Potter, a kid who between the ages of 1 and 11 lived in a house with parental figures who hated, neglected, and emotionally abused him, and a sibling figure who bullied him.

I’m pretty sure he never got any love or affection at home.

He slept locked in a cupboard, for goodness sake.

We see no evidence he had any friends at school*, and, knowing kids, he probably got bullied for always wearing cast-off clothes that were too big for him.

* Okay, I haven’t read the books in years, so I’m mostly going by the movies. That still counts.

Ten self-help books I read so you don’t have to

I read ten self-help books and took away various insights, some of which are helpful. I summarise the helpful ones and the others here.

At their best, self-helps books are amazing because they literally teach you how to help yourself, and inspire you to do so. Want to become a millionaire by sitting on your couch playing video games? There will be a self-help book for that.

However, some self-help books would have been better if they’d remained blog posts, and some should never have been written at all.

I forget most of what I read in most self-help books, maybe because it isn’t relevant to me, or maybe because I’m too busy trying to put Princess on a diet without starving Runs from Jeans.

A year later I might remember one main point, and I’m fine with that. It was probably the most important point.

Today I’m going to share some of these main points.

Liars and Thieves by D. Wallace Peach is out now

I’ve been a fan of D. Wallace Peach since I beta read one of her books several years ago. Now her new fantasy novel, Liars and Thieves, is out, and it just jumped to the top of my TBR list.

Liars and Thieves

Behind the Veil, the hordes gather, eager to savage the world. But Kalann il Drakk, First of Chaos, is untroubled by the shimmering wall that holds his beasts at bay. For if he cannot cleanse the land of life, the races will do it for him. All he needs is a spark to light the fire.

Three unlikely allies stand in his way.

A misfit elf plagued by failure—

When Elanalue Windthorn abandons her soldiers to hunt a goblin, she strays into forbidden territory.

A changeling who betrays his home—

Talin Raska is a talented liar, thief, and spy. He makes a fatal mistake—he falls for his mark.

A halfbreed goblin with deadly secrets—

Gobbelino London & a Scourge of Pleasantries by Kim M. Watt

If you enjoy zany humour you might enjoy Gobbelino London & a Scourge of Pleasantries by Kim M. Watt, a hilarious urban fantasy about a cat private investigator. If you hate cats, you might not.

I finally got around to reading the first Gobbelino London, PI book by my prolific and talented friend, Kim M. Watt. (Did I mention I interviewed Kim recently?) This book has been on my to-be-read list for some time now, but you know how devious and ever-expanding those lists are.

Anyway, boy am I glad I did.

As we talked about before, I know you won’t believe any of my gushings about a book written by a friend, so instead of gushing I’m going to talk about who might and might not enjoy this book.

Yes, but what’s the book about?

Kim’s website has this to say:

“What’ve we got?”

“Tigers. Snakes. Alligators. Tears in the skin of the universe.” Susan shrugged. “I think I saw a kraken in the sink, too.”

Find a missing book.

That was the job the woman in the Doc Martens gave us. Easy money, right?

Only now it seems she’s actually an ancient, powerful sorcerer, and the book is a Book of Power that doesn’t want to be found. It wants to tear reality apart at the seams, and it’ll use anyone it can to do it.

So now we’ve got one spectacularly displeased sorcerer, a hungry, still-missing book, a dentist with bad hygiene, and a neighbourhood having some reality issues to deal with. Plus about a day before the book turns our world – and us – inside out.

We’ve totally got this. I hope.

This is the first book in the Gobbelino London, PI urban fantasy series, centred around the adventures of a mercenary feline PI and his human sidekick. It contains snarky cats and other gods, many bad jokes and terrible puns, plus a large serving of mythological and real creatures behaving badly. It will appeal to anyone who likes their fantasy funny, modern, and filled with friendship rather than romance – and also to those who suspect their cat may be living a great and secret life when they’re not looking.

Which, of course, they are.

Gobbelino London, cat PI — You did what to my heated bed?

Who might enjoy this book?

* Anyone who needs a zany, hilarious escape from 2020. I think everyone can agree 2020 has major personality problems, but don’t fret, here’s the escape you need. I laughed out loud so many times reading it. Sure, it’s ridiculous at times (okay, most of the time), but in a way that oddly makes sense. It’s urban fantasy with a capital F.

* Cat people. Yes, the main character is a cat. Smart, opinionated, and a little too knowledgeable about life. He’s probably more intelligent than his human sidekick, but he can still put on a brainless cute kitty act when cornered by a livid dentist. And he understandably hates getting wet. If you don’t fall in love with him, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.

* People bored with your average fantasy book that takes itself way too seriously. Gobbelino London (the cat, that is) does take the world very seriously, and that makes his snarky comments all the more funny. His world of Leeds, however, has seriousness (as well as reality) issues. Or maybe that’s just the Book of Power, bent on making the world a better place… before it destroys it. Enter pastel coloured rats, bewildered penguins, and so much more.

* People who enjoy physical humour in their books. Sure, the cat private investigator of the title does some cerebral sleuthing, but a lot of the laughs (and there are many) come from Gobbelino’s attempts to save the world while being, well, a cat. I would so love to see this book as an animated movie. Rich friends, where are you?

Flamingoes are ridiculous birds no matter where they’re located. But they’re twice as ridiculous in the middle of Leeds.

Who might not enjoy this book?

* People who hate cats. What can I say? Such incomprehensible people should go back to their dog parks and play catch with Rover.

* People who hate long book titles. I admit I didn’t think too much about the title before I read the book. But looking back now it’s kind of perfect–apart from being long. Leeds is facing a wave of transformations that make it a nicer place… but nothing so nice comes without a cost. (And sometimes it tries to eat you.)

* People whose hearts stop every time a cat runs across a road without looking both ways. I mean, I love you, Gobbelino, but please stop giving me heart attacks. I don’t care what you’re running from. Be more careful crossing the road.

* People who are offended by blasphemy. It’s not extreme by any measure, but it’s understandably there. I mean, you try teaching a cat polite language.

Watch out for the old lady next door. She has some new friends.

Have you read any of the Gobbelino London books? (Shortly there will be three!) Do you want to now, or are you a dog person?

Get my posts in your inbox. Dimension-chomping books need not apply.