The Cartomancer's Curse by Kaitlin Schmidt is part of an indie series called Cards of Passion. It's technically book 7, but each novella stands alone and is written by a separate author. Full disclosure, I met Kaitlin at a writing conference, which is when I heard about the book, but I paid for the book and my opinions are my own.

Meridian is a tarot card reader, although her deck of cards isn't traditional, and her power extends to being able to psychically taste others' desires, from the mundane "I want to go home" vibes to the sexually explicit. To escape the flavor soup of city life, she has a secluded cabin, but when that is broken into, her sense of safety dissolves. Wren was hired to ransack Meridian's cabin, but immediately confesses when she realizes who Meridian is. When Meridian reads cards for Wren, hoping to gain insight into her mysterious desires, the reading goes awry and curses them both. They can only solve the problem together, but all that time spent tempts them to focus less on the curse and more on their desires.

I thought the magic system of the book was really cool. One thing writers always try to do is to involve all five senses. Sight is usually easiest and overused and taste is the hardest to incorporate, since it almost always requires eating, but you can't have characters eat in every scene. So tasting desires is a really cool mechanism to use an under-utilized sense, and the flavors chosen were both specific and unique without getting so exotic that I had to go to the grocery story to find some weird fruit. I also loved the queer-norm aspect of the book. For those not familiar, queer-norm is where a book includes queer relationships which are accepted and treated socially like hetero relationships have been treated in our world--there's no worry the parents won't accept it, no being targeted by hate groups or the government or whatever. It's the true embodiment of the phrase "love is love."

My age old novella complaint shines again: it was too fast. That's just me and novellas. I didn't feel like I spent enough time getting to know why the curse was happening before it was fixed.

This book is for you if you're looking for steamy sapphic romance, a cozy fantasy novella, or a unique magic system/taste-based magic system. I'm wondering if this would be a cool read for someone with synesthesia who tastes a lot of things that others would instead see/hear or a good read for someone who lost their sense of taste (perhaps in 2020?) and wants a book to bring back flavor memories. This book is not for you if you're looking for chaste romance, fantasy on the more epic or lengthy end of the spectrum, or if you dislike enemies to lovers.


Have you read The Cartomancer's Curse? What flavor was never assigned in the book and what do you think it would represent? Let's discuss in the comments!

In January, I posted my reading and writing goals for 2023 and now I'm checking in to hold myself accountable. My reading list from 2023 is at the bottom and I'll share my favorites in another post!

Reading:
Goal: Read 15,000 pages. 
Reality: I read 19,608 pages!

Goal: >50% of the authors will be marginalized or different from me in a demographic way. 
​Reality: 50.9% were marginalized or different from me in a demographic way.

Goal: Read 9 indie books
Reality: I read 9 indie books (see reading list below)

Goal: Read 2 foundational scifi novels
Reality: I read 2 foundational scifi novels: Frankenstein and I, Robot

Goal: Read 4 scifi nominees/winners from the last two years 
Reality: I read more than 4 award winners/nominess, though I'll admit they aren't all scifi, and not all nominated in the last two years: Chain-Gang All Stars (National Book Award 2023 nominee); Babel (Nebula winner 2023); Woman of Light (multiple award winner/nominee 2023); The Sixth Extinction (Pulitzer Prize 2015), All Systems Red (Nebula and Hugo 2018);  Artificial Condition (Hugo 2019)

Goal: 5 debut novels
Reality: I read 7 debut novels: Woman of Light, Lessons in Chemistry, Please Report Your Bug Here, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself, The Blood Trials, Camp Zero, and Chain-Gang All-Stars

Writing:
Goal: Send >5 queries each month until I finish my potential agent list. 
Reality: Because some agents never opened in the time period I was querying, I didn't finish the list. However, that's beyond my control, so because I did send more than 5 queries per month until my list ran dry, I am counting this as a success.

Goal: Finish the draft of my current WIP
Reality: Success!

Goal: Continue to attend my critique groups and keep up with pre-reading
Reality: Success!

Goal: Attend one writing workshop or conference
Reality: I attended the PNWA 2023 conference. 

Goal: Get one short story selected for publication
Reality: Nope! I totally forgot this was a goal this year. I wrote a short story, but never shopped it around. Oops!

Overall, not bad. I only fell short on a couple goals.

​Below is my reading list from the year. My most popular genre by far was fantasy, followed distantly by scifi. Three of these books were DNRs, but at least 100 pages of each counted toward my page goal.

             Title                                          Author                    Pub Type              Genre                   Link

The Sixth Extinction                                Elizabeth Kolbert             Trad                     Non-Fiction            My Review

Woman of Light                                       Kali Fajardo-Anstine       Trad                       Historical              My Review

Arsenic and Adobo                                 Mia M. Manansala           Trad                       Mystery                My Review

Reminders of Him                                   Colleen Hoover                Trad                       Romance            Podcast

All Systems Red                                      Martha Wells                     Trad                       SciFi                    My Review

Chain of Thorns                                      Cassandra Clare               Trad                       Fantasy

Lessons in Chemistry                             Bonnie Garmus                 Trad                      Historical              My Review

Anastasia                                                 Sophie Lark                       Indie                     Fantasy                My Review

The Chemist                                            Stephanie Meyer              Trad                      Action                   Podcast

I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself        Marisa Crane                     Indie                     Scifi/Literary         My Review

Please Report Your Bug Here              Josh Riedel                        Trad                       Scifi                      My Review

Fevered Star                                           Rebecca Roanhorse         Trad                      Fantasy

The Blood Trials                                    N. E. Davenport                  Trad                      Fantasy                My Review

Murder Your Employer                         Rupert Holmes                   Trad                      Mystery                 Podcast

Artificial Condition                                Martha Wells                      Trad                       SciFi

Bird by Bird                                          Anne Lamott                       Trad                        Non-Fiction        My Review

Babel                                                    R.F. Kuang                          Trad                        Fantasy               My Review

Rogue Protocol                                   Martha Wells                      Trad                         SciFi

Six of Crows                                        Leigh Bardugo                   Trad                         Fantasy              My Review

Story Genius                                       Lisa Cron                            Trad                          Non-Fiction       My Review

Crooked Kingdom                              Leigh Bardugo                   Trad                          Fantasy             My Review

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi    Shannon Chakraborty       Trad                          Fantasy              My Review

Charlotte: The Price of Vengance    James Moore                     Pre-Pub                    Mystery              Podcast

Camp Zero                                          Michelle Min Sterling        Trad                          Scifi                     My Review

The Power of Babel                           John McWhorter                Trad                          Non-Fiction        My Review

Putting the Fact in Fantasy               Dan Kobolt et. al.               Trad                          Non-Fiction        My Review
 
Love, Theoretically                           Ali Hazelwood                    Trad                          Romance            My Review

The Terraformers                             Annalee Newitz                  Trad                          Scifi                     My Review

The Legacy of Yangchen                F. C. Yee                             Trad                          Fantasy

Toph Beifong's Metalbending        Multiple                                Trad                         Fantasy

Fourth Wing                                     Rebecca Yarros                  Trad                         Fantasy                   Podcast

Frankenstein                                   Mary Shelley                        Trad                         SciFi                        My Review

The Mimiking of Known Successes    Malka Older                   Trad                         Scifi/Mystery           My Review

The Raider Bride                           Johanna Wittenberg            Indie                         Fantasy

Starlet                                            Sophie Lark                           Indie                         Historical/Mystery   My Review

Throne of Glass                            Sarah J. Maas                       Trad                          Fantasy                     My Review

iRobot                                            Isaac Asimov                        Trad                          SciFi                          My Review

Of Cinder and Bone                     Kyoko M.                               Indie                         SciFi

Poisoned Primrose                      Dahlia Donovan                    Indie                        Mystery                       My Review

Chalice of the Gods                    Rick Riordan                          Trad                         Fantasy                       My Review

Sun and the Star                         Rick Riordan/Mark Oshiro    Trad                         Fantasy                        My Review

Crown of Midnight                      Sarah J. Maas                        Trad                        Fantasy

The Dictionary of Lost Words     Pip Williams                          Trad                        Historical                      My Review

When We Left Cuba                    Chanel Kleetan                    Trad                        Historical                      My Review

Chain-Gang All-Stars               Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah   Trad                       Fantasy                         My Review

My First and Only Love           Sahar Khalifeh                          Trad                       Historical

The Savior's Champion          Jenna Moreci                            Indie                       Fantasy

Iron Flame                               Rebecca Yarros                        Trad                        Fantasy                      Podcast coming soon!

The Throne of the Five Winds    S.C. Emmett                         Trad                       Fantasy

Grunt                                         Mary Roach                             Trad                       Non-Fiction

Heir of Fire                               Sarah J. Maas                          Trad                       Fantasy

Assassin's Blade                     Sarah J. Maas                           Trad                       Fantasy

We're All Monsters Here        Amy Marsden                           Indie                      Fantasy                      My Review

Queen of Shadows                 Sarah J. Maas                          Trad                       Fantasy

I needed to squeeze one more indie book in before the end of the year to hit my 2023 goals, and thankfully I found the novella We're All Monsters Here by Amy Marsden. At 99 ebook pages, I was able to finish it in one sitting. I'm so glad this is the book I picked up!

We're All Monsters Here is like Glass Onion (aka Knives Out 2) but with a vampire named Anna. She manipulated a corporate big wig into planning an exclusive executive getaway and inviting Anna, whose app he recently bought. It's basically a vampiric buffet. Anna's weekend even improves when she has a fling with one of the assistants, Saira. However, vampire hunters show up and Anna must navigate carefully to avoid being taken out. 

This novella had a great voice and premise. Despite killing people, I really liked Anna--I mean, eat the rich, right? While I often complain novellas are too short, I thought the length of this one was just right. 

The first half was a little too smooth for me. If nothing goes wrong for the characters, I start feeling like the story is too simple and maybe predictable. When things went downhill for Anna, it was much more fun. That being said, the voice and premise kept me going in the first half. 

We're All Monsters Here is for you if you enjoyed Glass Onion, if you're looking for a sapphic urban fantasy, or if you want a quick read. It's not for you if your favorite part of fantasy is extensive worldbuilding, if you are looking for lots of twists and turns, or if you aren't able to handle blood and gore at the moment. 


Have you read We're All Monsters Here? What was your favorite novella of 2023? Let's discuss in the comments!

Fall is spooky season and one of the main Halloween monsters is of course Frankenstein's monster, sometimes called Adam. Since it is a foundational text to scifi--the very first scifi, in fact--I decided to read the original Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Rather than review it, I decided to write about what I learned about writing irom this classic novel (or really a novella, it was about 110 pages). 

1) Don't be afraid of a unique story structure
Frankenstein is actually a letter written by a sea captain to his sister about meeting Dr. Frankenstein and that man's story. So the meat of the book is "story within a story" since you know in the end things will circle back to that boat captain. At one point, the story becomes the monster's story being told to Dr. Frankenstein being told to the captain. Like Russian nesting dolls. However, this complicated structure was made very clear and even acted as foreshadowing of excitement when the start of Dr. Frankenstein's tale got a little dry.

2) Don't overdo the backstory
While it may have been the style of the time, modern readers now don't need Dr. Frankenstein's life story to begin with his parents meeting. When I saw that was how the story began, I was dreading the rest. It didn't get interesting until Dr. Frankenstein left for college. So while it's good to read classics, keep in mind how very different the market is today, and don't accidentally pick up on very out of date style choices.

3) Build sympathy by showing what your characters wants most
We were all a little afraid of Frankenstein's monster after his first kill, naturally, because he's not on the page much to defend himself. However, he makes it clear exactly what he wants: a lover. He is so intensely lonely and in need of contact that after he explains it, you can't avoid sympathy. There is even some sympathy for Dr. Frankenstein when he just wants to protect others. Get your readers to choose sides by showing a deep want and explaining why--and why they can't have it (yet).

4) Keep up with the latest innovations
Mary Shelley was inspired by Galvanism and advances with electricity. If she'd only stayed aware of what was going on in the literary world, she wouldn't have run into the concepts that allowed her to conceive of Frankenstein. When looking for inspiration, look at innovations in fields that excite you: space, medicine, engineering, environmental science, oceanography, etc. Even keeping up with new historical finds in archaeology or anthropology, if you're more of a history/fantasy writer. You never know when you'll run into something that will inspire, so get out of your typical bubble.

Those are my big takeaways from Frankenstein for writers. I will admit I was very surprised that a lot of classic Frankenstein tropes weren't in the original book--no castle, no Igor, no villagers with pitchforks and torches. He literally made his monster in his dorm room. (Try explaining that mess to your R.A.) I think he was even described as yellow, not green. So the Hollywood-ization of Frankenstein has clearly overshadowed the original for my entire experience. Kind of wild! 


Have you read Frankenstein? What were your writing (or reading) takeaways? What are some of your spooky season favorites? Let's discuss in the comments!

All Systems Red by Martha Wells is a scifi novella that starts the Murderbot Diaries series. Series is made of nine novels, novellas, and short stories. All Systems Red won the 2018 best novella Nebula and Hugo awards, the American Library Association's Alex award, and was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award. It's also frequently cited on agent wish lists for its voice. 

The main character of the series is a security unit (SecUnit) who calls herself Murderbot. She was able to disengage her governing programming which would essentially keep her obedient so that she can watch space soap operas in her free time. She's still excellent at her job though; she's in charge pf protecting a team of scientists and surveyors who are exploring part of a planet. However, when they realize their maps are missing data and they were lied to about the planet's dangers, things quickly take a turn.

I see why this novella won so many awards and is big for agents. The unique perspective of Murderbot was funny and snarky without coming off as mean. The world was well built and the action was super clear. It's exactly the kind of scifi that I hope I'm writing! 

Downside was my complaint for every novella: I wanted more! It felt like it wrapped up so quickly and easily to fit into the size of a novella. 

You'll like All Systems Red if you enjoy funny/quirky scifi like Scalzi, or if you enjoyed the voice in Gideon the Ninth. It's not for you if you are looking for a novel length read (although with so many other entries in the series, you could just read more). 


Have you read any (or all!) of the Murderbot Diaries stories? Let's discuss in the chat!