Designation 932 review

    Lady Em with another Catherine Miller review. I had to review this book from the Wholeness Project because they're in the same universe as the Deridia series. You are even introduced to one of the Deridia characters at the end of the second book. And I apologize for being late again, I am really trying not to make a habit of it!

    

    In this book a group of men are created in artificial wombs and trained to be assassins with numbers instead of names. They are able to change their features, are implanted with languages and cultural norms of many varied planets. They are experts in poisons, in causing much pain if the client requires, or even making the target seem to die of natural causes.

These created beings are taught to be cold and unfeeling, except they failed in this last goal with 932. He is weary of his life, and bitter and resentful towards his captors (so called because he refuses to think of them as masters), but does his best not to show it, and just tries to carry out his assigned tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible so as to not incur further punishments.

    His "training" continue to unravel as he interacts with a scarred girl, Enys, a girl close to one of his targets, and he finds a way to break free from the Project. Not a lot is said about the Project, or the group that has been creating the assassins, in this first book, but it is explained more in the second. 932 becomes more human with his interactions with Enys, and even takes a human name. As in many of Miller's books, the inner monologue is very strong, while there isn't always much dialogue, but the reader is able to watch 932 access his softer feelings as he finds a way to save Enys, one of the few humans he has ever found to be kind and caring. 

    This book is slow-ish in the beginning, but if you can make it through the first bit, it gets more exciting and has a couple twists that may not be surprising, but are definitely interesting. 

    Finally, the romance is sweet; not a speck of smut here. 932 has sweet and tender feelings toward Enys, which eventually are returned, but the two barely have any physical interaction as they are mostly trying to find a way to stay alive and off the Project's radar. I will review a book with more "heat" next week, for readers who prefer to have such things in their books!

I found this book deserving of 4 out of 5 quills. If you want to take a look, click the link below. It's a free read on Amazon Unlimited.

 https://www.amazon.com/Designation-932-Wholeness-Project-Book-ebook/dp/B07DDNHH1G/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2M2RVBWG4IGL2&keywords=The+wholeness+project+catherine+miller&qid=1666721575&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjk2IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=the+wholeness+project+catherine+miller%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-2

 

    Preptober is flying by, and I'm deep into my preparations for NaNoWriMo next month.  So far, not only have I outlined about two-thirds of my NaNoWriMo project, I've managed to get my yearly evil illness out of the way.  That may not sound like much, but so far, every single NaNo that I've attempted has been sidelined by getting sick.  In my part of the world, the transition from Summer to the colder months usually happens in November, and it typically knocks me on my butt for a few weeks.  This year, it's already happened, about a month ahead of schedule, so I've spent the last week and a half feeling like complete death.  I have decided to look at this in a positive light and believe it means I will be healthy all next month.  😂 

I think I'm going to go back to wearing masks in public, just to be sure.  I don't want to get sick during NaNoWriMo!

I'm excited about this project.  I'm trying out a paranormal romance, which is kind of scary since I've never done romance before.  There will be magic-wielding lizard humanoids, political treachery, super-soldiers, and an abundance of warm fuzzies.  Or at least, that's the goal.  Fingers crossed.

Between now and November 1st, I need to finish my outline, give my characters actual names instead of the bizarre combinations of letters and numbers that identify them in my Plottr account, get my dogs' food ready for the entire month, and let everyone around me know not to talk to me for 30 straight days.  I also need to make sure that I don't get sucked into any amazing Netflix shows that will distract me from my work.  So, no one remind me that the last season of Dead to Me is supposed to come out next month! 

How's your Preptober going?  Any good tips you want to pass along?

Trade review

    Lady Em here. My apologies; we are on Fall Break here, and my days got all mixed up, and then I didn't get my review up on time. Or even slightly belated.

    This review is on the second book from Catherine Miller's Deridia series. Trade begins with a ragtag group of humans looking for a place to settle in the unforgiving and unwelcoming world of Deridia. They are the descendants of a colony of people who had meant to settle on a nearby planet, but the ship crash landed and they were stuck, the later generations still trying to find a safe haven. The humans contact the Marzon, hoping to settle near their territory, and are offered a deal. One of the female humans is to marry one of the Marzon, and the humans will be allowed to stay. This is one of the Marzon traditions; each treaty they have with the different peoples on Deridia is sealed with a marriage.

    The main character, Heather, is the colony's best option for this, as the other unwed women are too young or have children. Heather is a broken woman, having lost everything and everyone she loves, but she reluctantly agrees. Poor Heather is renamed Renna and matched with another broken soul, Machrus who is bitter from his own personal history. Renna is thrust into a completely new and strange culture, while Machrus has to adjust his hermit-like existence to another person. The two agree to coexist peacefully, more like roommates than a married couple, as neither truly wants to risk attachments to another person. This, of course, leads to a lot of miscommunication. 

    Honestly, this is where Miller shines. She takes the inner musings and observations from Renna, and as the reader I watched as two broken characters struggled, grew, healed, and made their way. The world building is minor, but the character growth is wonderful, and you ache with the characters as they overcome their inner demons. The entire series is like this. Each book is a standalone, introducing people from different areas of Deridia, and their struggles and culture. Some have been beaten down by life, some have been taught they are worthless because of their traditions and peoples' way of life, and some are actually slaves. Each book shows how a broken character, or sometimes, as in this case, broken characters, can find healing and happiness. Each book gets better, and the writing richer. 

    I chose the second book to review because the first one isn't my favorite. It's still a good story, but I found all the following stories more enjoyable. 

I found this story to achieve 4 out of 5 quills, if you are interested in reading it, click on the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/Trade-Deridia-Book-Catherine-Miller-ebook/dp/B06XF4C3BF

 Welcome to Preptober!!

As you may know, every November, writers from all over the world try their hand at NaNoWriMo, thirty straight days of frantic writing energy in the (often) elusive dream of getting 50,000 semi-coherent words onto the page before the calendar turns over to December.  Something that gets less attention, though, is what is colloquially called as Preptober, also known as October to the rest of the English-speaking world.  This is the thirty-one days preceding the madness of NaNoWriMo, when all good and responsible writers are meticulously planning their novel, developing their characters, creating storyboards, and doing whatever else gets their creative juices flowing, leading to a smooth and successful November competition.

I myself have never made use of the Preptober idea, because I usually remember that NaNo is coming roughly one week before it happens.  As a result, my endeavors have been less than impressive in the past.  But not so this year!  I have going to take full advantage of this prep month, so by the time November 1st rolls around, I should be able to write this book in my sleep.  What is the book called, you ask?  I have no idea.  But I have a whole month to figure it out!

I won't lie.  It's the third day already, and things have already hit a few snags.  I have never been great at organizing my thoughts ahead of time, because my brain usually feels like its full of demented pixies who've had way too much caffeine rather than nice, orderly ideas.  In an effort to turn over a new leaf, I found a program called Plottr, which is supposed to be full of tools like character plans, different outline formats, and beat sheets for different genres.  I don't have any first-hand experience, because I was unable to download it last night after I finished my yoga instructor class.  (Rural internet connection strikes again.)  I did manage to get it downlaod first thing this morning, but then I had to spend the rest of the day in CE classes necessary to keep my massage therapy license.  I have also managed to catch what feels like it's going to be a truly nasty cold, so I'm probably not going to get much done tonight, either.  But I've decided to see this as a positive thing.  Every year that I've tried NaNo, I've gotten sick within the first week and a half of starting.  This year, by taking advantage of prep month, I seem to have gotten an early start on the whole getting sick thing, too, so maybe I'll make it through November healthy.

I can dream, anyway.

Is anyone else planning on doing NaNoWriMo this year?  If so, what are you doing to get ready?  Leave your comments below!