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Book Review: The Wandering Inn
Mar 17, 2023 by HL Bernabe
Last week I finished reading The Wandering Inn by Pirate Aba. I have wanted to review more independent authors, and Pirate Aba wrote all of their works as a serial on their website. All nine volumes are available to read for free there, or you can read them in ebook format on Kindle. I read mine on the Kindle app on my iPad. The Wandering Inn came under my radar because of my search for comparative titles to my own work. I wanted to find characters and situations that were similar. This book has an inn and is a fantasy. Alas, other than that, there was very little in common with mine.But I read it anyway. This book is 1200+...
Two Summits, One Week
Mar 10, 2023 by HL Bernabe
Last week was a doozy, y'all. I attended two writing summits in one week. Now, back in October, I attended three summits over two weeks. And while there was some overlap, I never felt completely overwhelmed with the number of seminars/workshops/etc. on offer.
This time was different. ProWritingAid had their fantasy and science fiction writer's week from February 27 - March 2nd. The Women in Publishing (WIP) Summit was scheduled from March 1st through March 4th. The fantasy summit had about 5-6 workshops per day. They touched on editing, marketing, structure, and basic craft, as well as topics specific to fantasy and science fiction, like world building. The WIP Summit blew the PWA Fantasy Week out of the water...
Housework, Kitty Edition
Mar 03, 2023 by HL Bernabe
Doesn't Tribble have the cutest Star Trek nametag?
Gray sheets and blankets are a must with a gray kitty. What cat hair?
Look at that precious face!
Tribble was a helpful kitty. She enjoyed helping me make the bed. The resulting chaos drew Meli like a honeybee to the nectar, and she had to butt in, too. Never a dull day with my floofy girls.
Gray sheets and blankets are a must with a gray kitty. What cat hair?
Look at that precious face!
Tribble was a helpful kitty. She enjoyed helping me make the bed. The resulting chaos drew Meli like a honeybee to the nectar, and she had to butt in, too. Never a dull day with my floofy girls.
What I'm Reading
Feb 17, 2023 by HL Bernabe
In the home of my dreams, I have an enormous library, with a fireplace, an oversized cozy reading chair, big windows, and a secret passage to a comfy hidden room that I can hide in when I don't want to be bothered when I'm reading my books.
Last year, I spent so much time taking workshops and courses on writing and publishing, that I didn't have as much time for reading as I would have liked. I decided this year I would make time and gave myself a goal of finishing one book per week.What I've read so far this year:
Currently, I'm in the middle of reading Space Team by Barry Hutchison. And a few other books that I've got in...
Tech Terror
Feb 10, 2023 by HL Bernabe
The moment I decided to become an author, I knew my lack of computer savvy would be a detriment to my work. I required a technological transformation. I know enough to get around the computer for most things I need. But being an author required knowledge in social media apps that I did not have, as well as design programs, formatting programs, writing programs, publishing platforms, and so on. Since March last year, I have created accounts on most of the social media platforms and attempted to familiarize myself with how they work, though I still feel hopelessly outgunned, especially on Instagram and Tiktok and on marketing planning programs like Tailwind. Social media is such a... a thing. My kiddo...
It's On Amazon!!
Feb 03, 2023 by HL Bernabe
read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B0BTCH8V7Q&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_W4039FS3G10W889TH43W
My novella is on Amazon! AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHH! I am so excited. Can you tell? You can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited, or the ebook is available for purchase for $2.99.
By Her Grace is the prequel to book one in my epic fantasy series The Dell Chronicles. The novella is great for people who like Legends and Lattes. It has kind and sympathetic characters that you love to love, and takes place in a cosy fantasy setting. Please read it. And I would be most grateful if you wrote a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads (super doubly wonderful if you did that on both).
My novella is on Amazon! AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHH! I am so excited. Can you tell? You can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited, or the ebook is available for purchase for $2.99.
By Her Grace is the prequel to book one in my epic fantasy series The Dell Chronicles. The novella is great for people who like Legends and Lattes. It has kind and sympathetic characters that you love to love, and takes place in a cosy fantasy setting. Please read it. And I would be most grateful if you wrote a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads (super doubly wonderful if you did that on both).
January Ramping Up
Jan 27, 2023 by HL Bernabe
So many cogs and wheels make writing and publishing possible.
January and February are starting my year off with lots of stuff to do. By Her Grace: A Dell Chronicles Novella is going to be moved onto the Amazon platform at the beginning of February. As soon as it is available there, I will let you all know. I would be deeply grateful if those of you who have read my novella would write a review on the Amazon site when it is up. Oh, and on Goodreads, too!
If you haven’t read By Her Grace: A Dell Chronicles Novella, you can still get it free through Book Funnel. You also have access to a bunch of other free books on a...
January and February are starting my year off with lots of stuff to do. By Her Grace: A Dell Chronicles Novella is going to be moved onto the Amazon platform at the beginning of February. As soon as it is available there, I will let you all know. I would be deeply grateful if those of you who have read my novella would write a review on the Amazon site when it is up. Oh, and on Goodreads, too!
If you haven’t read By Her Grace: A Dell Chronicles Novella, you can still get it free through Book Funnel. You also have access to a bunch of other free books on a...
Grandfather Anonymous Review
Jan 20, 2023 by HL Bernabe
a.co/4cFI4SF
I joined a Book Funnel promo with a bunch of other fantasy and sci-fi authors and we are collectively offering 73 different books, novellas, anthologies, and so on for free until the end of January (click to check it out). I checked out the offerings and downloaded probably 20+ books that were in subgenres I liked. From those, I recently finished reading Grandfather Anonymous. I may have gotten it free, but this was not one of those free book for a review type situations. The author and I don't know each other, and he doesn't even know I'm writing this. I just want to write more reviews of indie published books, because I want to boost authors whose books I've...
I joined a Book Funnel promo with a bunch of other fantasy and sci-fi authors and we are collectively offering 73 different books, novellas, anthologies, and so on for free until the end of January (click to check it out). I checked out the offerings and downloaded probably 20+ books that were in subgenres I liked. From those, I recently finished reading Grandfather Anonymous. I may have gotten it free, but this was not one of those free book for a review type situations. The author and I don't know each other, and he doesn't even know I'm writing this. I just want to write more reviews of indie published books, because I want to boost authors whose books I've...
Kitty Cuteness
Jan 13, 2023 by HL Bernabe
It's been a while since I posted anything about my kitties, so here you are! The girls are all grown up.
Boop the nose!
Kitties are so angelic looking when they sleep. Don't let that fool you!
Meli loves to climb under the blanket I always have on whenever I work and cuddle me. Unfortunately, that means she takes up my entire desk and blocks my keyboard. I have had to get very creative to get work done.
Tribble says, "Get to work!" (Actually, it's more like, "Scritch me now, lady!"
Tribble likes to put in her two claws on my edits.
You're spelling it all wrong. Here, let me.
I'm boring today. Yaaawwwn.
The girls stole my blanket and are cuddling on the filing cabinet...
Boop the nose!
Kitties are so angelic looking when they sleep. Don't let that fool you!
Meli loves to climb under the blanket I always have on whenever I work and cuddle me. Unfortunately, that means she takes up my entire desk and blocks my keyboard. I have had to get very creative to get work done.
Tribble says, "Get to work!" (Actually, it's more like, "Scritch me now, lady!"
Tribble likes to put in her two claws on my edits.
You're spelling it all wrong. Here, let me.
I'm boring today. Yaaawwwn.
The girls stole my blanket and are cuddling on the filing cabinet...
WHAT I'M READING
Jan 06, 2023 by HL Bernabe
courtesy cottonbro studioWhen I searched pexels for "sexy man reading book" this was the image that came up. Ummm...
I read a lot last year, but I didn't really keep track of it. Most of what I read was writing craft books for research. And smutty erotica books to figure out how to write sex scenes. (Also, how not to write them—some of that stuff is so awful it's hilarious.)
To help me come up with a good reading list, I created a spreadsheet of the winners of the major awards in sci-fi and fantasy from 2017 to 2021: the Hugo, the Nebula, the World Fantasy Awards. To round it out, I also included the top 20 Goodreads fantasy books for...
I read a lot last year, but I didn't really keep track of it. Most of what I read was writing craft books for research. And smutty erotica books to figure out how to write sex scenes. (Also, how not to write them—some of that stuff is so awful it's hilarious.)
To help me come up with a good reading list, I created a spreadsheet of the winners of the major awards in sci-fi and fantasy from 2017 to 2021: the Hugo, the Nebula, the World Fantasy Awards. To round it out, I also included the top 20 Goodreads fantasy books for...
HAPPY NEW YEAR! GET FREE BOOKS!
Dec 30, 2022 by HL Bernabe
Wow. This year is done already. It's hard to believe. It swept away like the seeds of a dandelion in a wind gust.
I've been working on my epic fantasy series since 2020. It feels simultaneously like I've been working on them forever, and yet also like I'm just getting started. This year has been a year of learning for me. I feel like I've been in grad school, learning the publishing and writing business. I have learned so much, sometimes I think my brain won't be able to hold it all.This year is also the year I started to get some things done. I wrote the prequel to my series, a novella called By Her Grace. It's published and...
It's here! It's done!
Dec 16, 2022 by HL Bernabe
My fantasy novella By Her Grace is finished! You can get it free. Please read it and comment below. Let me know what you think!
Get Free Copy Here
By Her Grace Cover Reveal
Dec 09, 2022 by HL Bernabe
The cover is finished, and now I'm just waiting for the formatting to get done. Hopefully, they will have it formatted before the end of the year! I'm so stinking excited! I can't wait to share my novella with you all.
Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to get a free copy! hlbernabe.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Here's the blurb:
Halfling chef Paisley Dell lives in Aspenwood, a small town at the meeting of two major trade roads. The Dells own the Rosebud Inn and are pillars of the halfling community.
Paisley is happy, but... something is missing. She feels unfulfilled and restless. On her Becoming Day, she meets a mysterious young human, pregnant and on the run, and through her Paisley glimpses a...
What We Did On Thanksgiving
Dec 02, 2022 by HL Bernabe
Bottom left orb I call the Twilight Zone. Bought it from a glass artist on Etsy.
Rocket ship Santa!
Pineapples are very Christmassy. Didn't you know?
There's no place like gnome.
Farmhouse fun!
Hanging with a nice cuppa joe.
Kitty temptation. Uh-oh.
We're done! Tired kiddo.
Can you tell what we did? These are pics of some of my favorite ornaments this year. We change our color theme from year to year. A few years ago, it was black, red and silver. Then blue, white, and sea themed. This year it's black, red and green. Next year we'll probably do blue and green. We try not to go too differently from year to year because I'm not made of money. Though I wish I was, because there are...
Rocket ship Santa!
Pineapples are very Christmassy. Didn't you know?
There's no place like gnome.
Farmhouse fun!
Hanging with a nice cuppa joe.
Kitty temptation. Uh-oh.
We're done! Tired kiddo.
Can you tell what we did? These are pics of some of my favorite ornaments this year. We change our color theme from year to year. A few years ago, it was black, red and silver. Then blue, white, and sea themed. This year it's black, red and green. Next year we'll probably do blue and green. We try not to go too differently from year to year because I'm not made of money. Though I wish I was, because there are...
NaNoWriMo 2022 NSFW Version
Nov 24, 2022 by HL Bernabe
NSFW You have been warned!
I'm taking part in NaNo again this year. For those of you who don't know what that is, NaNo is National Novel Writing Month, where a bunch of us writers all get together in spirit and write our asses off, with the goal of reaching 50,000 words. I have participated the last two years, and "won", i.e. I reached the target goal and then some.
For my last two NaNos, I worked on my fantasy novel series. This year I needed a break to refresh. Working on one thing for so long, even when I love the project, can be tedious. I needed to do something different, something to take myself out of that world, so...
I'm taking part in NaNo again this year. For those of you who don't know what that is, NaNo is National Novel Writing Month, where a bunch of us writers all get together in spirit and write our asses off, with the goal of reaching 50,000 words. I have participated the last two years, and "won", i.e. I reached the target goal and then some.
For my last two NaNos, I worked on my fantasy novel series. This year I needed a break to refresh. Working on one thing for so long, even when I love the project, can be tedious. I needed to do something different, something to take myself out of that world, so...
The Only Way I get Any Work Done these Days
Nov 11, 2022 by HL Bernabe
Meli being a pill
The things we do to keep our cats happy. I swear. She loves to burrow under the blanket. I always have a blanket on when I am at my desk, because there's a draft near my desk and I'm cold. So she burrows under my blanket and when she's there, there is no place for my keyboard.
As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Viola! My new desk. She didn't seem to mind, and slept right through me typing away.
The things we do to keep our cats happy. I swear. She loves to burrow under the blanket. I always have a blanket on when I am at my desk, because there's a draft near my desk and I'm cold. So she burrows under my blanket and when she's there, there is no place for my keyboard.
As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Viola! My new desk. She didn't seem to mind, and slept right through me typing away.
By Her Grace Update
Nov 04, 2022 by HL Bernabe
courtesy pexels and Cottonbro
Exciting things are brewing with my novella. I finished it, and edited the crap out of it using ProWritingAid (PWA), had it beta read by several people, did some developmental edits, edited the crap out of it some more, and sent it off to a proofreader.
During one summit I went to recently, people were the extolling the virtues of AutoCrit, another editing software like PWA. And quite a few said they had both PWA AND AutoCrit, and that they found having both was helpful. I was hesitant, but they were offering a lifetime license on something that is normally a yearly subscription, and that subscription is spendy. So I splurged.
Wow! I'm glad I did. Running By...
Exciting things are brewing with my novella. I finished it, and edited the crap out of it using ProWritingAid (PWA), had it beta read by several people, did some developmental edits, edited the crap out of it some more, and sent it off to a proofreader.
During one summit I went to recently, people were the extolling the virtues of AutoCrit, another editing software like PWA. And quite a few said they had both PWA AND AutoCrit, and that they found having both was helpful. I was hesitant, but they were offering a lifetime license on something that is normally a yearly subscription, and that subscription is spendy. So I splurged.
Wow! I'm glad I did. Running By...
Heads 'Sploding Everywhere
Oct 29, 2022 by HL Bernabe
courtesy pexels and Nadezhda Moryak
Oh, my goodness. I am soooo tired. These last two weeks, I've attended THREE different writer summits. So much content, so much stuff to learn, so much well, MUCH.
Ray Brehm and Paul Brodie hosted the first one, and it was called the Platform Building Summit. It was all about building an author platform, getting readers, marketing, etc. The second summit was called Escape the Plot Forest and hosted by Daniel David Wallace. It was about things related to plotting, outlining, and so on. The actual craft of writing. The last one I went to I haven't finished yet, because some of these summits overlapped each other. ProWritingAid had a romance writers summit. And even though it...
Oh, my goodness. I am soooo tired. These last two weeks, I've attended THREE different writer summits. So much content, so much stuff to learn, so much well, MUCH.
Ray Brehm and Paul Brodie hosted the first one, and it was called the Platform Building Summit. It was all about building an author platform, getting readers, marketing, etc. The second summit was called Escape the Plot Forest and hosted by Daniel David Wallace. It was about things related to plotting, outlining, and so on. The actual craft of writing. The last one I went to I haven't finished yet, because some of these summits overlapped each other. ProWritingAid had a romance writers summit. And even though it...
Portal Series by K. S. Wood Book Review
Oct 21, 2022 by HL Bernabe
K. S. Wood has written 15 books and novellas all set within the same world. Well, no, that isn't correct. This is portal fantasy fiction, so the books and novellas are all set in different worlds, all within the same universal setting.
I first read Halfling, because I have a halfling main character in Cooking Up Magick and I thought it would be fun to read another book about halflings. I was wrong in my assumption about the halflings—Wood's halflings are not the same as my halflings. My halflings are a race of people that are about half the size of humans, but are otherwise like them in every way. Her halfling in this novella was a half human, half...
Finishing Novella
Oct 14, 2022 by HL Bernabe
Work on my novella continues. I'm thinking about changing the title to Grace. I like it better, but it doesn't give much of a fantasy vibe. By Her Grace is only marginally better in that regard. We'll see. Having a picture of a cast-iron skillet on the cover will give it even more of a fantasy appeal. Not. But... this is a prequel to Cooking Up Magick, an epic fantasy about a young halfling woman who goes on a quest to learn the world's cuisines, so... it seems appropriate. And this novella is all about how Paisley Dell gets the courage to go on that quest, and how she gives her favorite pan a name.
I got some great feedback from...