Reading Report: April 2026

April finds me writing in a cafe, as I often am, with something my phone tells me is Afro House music_playing. It’s good writing music, which to me means it's got a rhythmic beat and not too many distracting words. I’ve been ploughing ahead on my revisions like an old dray through a field of stones, slowly, but still moving. Happy reading. ~EM_

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Butt in Chair Time

I'm a sucker for a big goal. Last year I only got one story written for Story A Day May, but it turned out to be a good one (more on that later). This year my goal is two stories a week, and three days of revision a week. That's a lot. But any writing is more than would have happened otherwise. If you'd like to join me you can sign up at storyaday.org.

Year of Joy

• Moments of Beauty - Light moves at the washington national cathedral
• As Above, So Below - The cosmos in a microscopic chemical reaction
• Shaunmjex - Dingers and Double Plays, the Poetry of Baseball

(Tea)TRPGs

• Friday Afternoon Tea - Defeat the Dungeon - Dungeon Crawler Carl themed teas dropping Saturday morning from the amazing Friday Afternoon Teas.
• Last Train to Bremen - I recently got to play this amazing and atmospheric rpg about doomed bandmates who made a deal with the devil and are now trying to outrun their bargain.
• WriterUnboxed - Failing the Perception Check - How not to fall into the container trap while in revisions.
• Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher) has written an Asterion Novel, a prequel to Balder's Gate 3, which will be coming out in a few months

Writing Bits and Bobs

• Ink, Coffee, and Regrets - Bingeable Battles & Sleepless Nights - A podcast exploring writing craft and the works of new novelists.
• Bobby Mallane - Crafting compelling travel scenes in fantasy
• Literary Hub - On writing and knitting
• Bluesky - What Niche IP would you like to write for?

Books and Reading

• The Art of Fiction - Gardner - This one Did Not Spark Joy (review in process)
• The Bedlam Bride (Dungeon Crawler Carl 6) - Matt Dinniman
• Lavender House - Lev AC Rosen - a killer queer mystery set in the speakeasy gay bars of 1950's San Franciso
• This Kingdom will not Kill Me - Ilona Andrews writes a portal fantasy and its dark and funny and has a twist that made me gasp so loud on the train. They are always a must read for me, but this one is stellar.
• Wolf Worm - T. Kingfisher - I am a wimp. I am not entirely sure I will finish this but her writing is so good its worth the scare. A botanical illustrator gets a job with an entomologist who studies parasites and maybe there’s something else in the woods.
• Fake Query Letters by Dead Authors - David Griffin Brown and Michelle Barker

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Accountability

• First chapter rewritten (again), 6 chapters revised (still)
• StoryADay May kicks off today. I'm writing two stories a week, and revising three days a week.

⬅️Reading Report March 2026 ➡️Reading Report May 2026 👉All