Ishness: Random Things I’m Enjoying Edition

Long time no blog, eh?

I thought it would be fun to toss a random list onto the blog, of some things I’ve been loving lately, in an attempt at something upbeat. *nervous laugh* And because blogging! It used to be a thing! So here we are.

In no particular order, and with no attempt at being an exhaustive list, here are . . .

Some things I’ve been loving lately:

Book

The Windward King by K. T. Ivanrest — I recently finished this and it was SUCH a delight! Buddy story, shapeshifting, castles, pirates, fabulous characters, betrayal, royalty, snark . . . it had everything! ❤

Music

The Rose (Cara Dillon) — Replace “love” in this song with writing and it felt . . . something. I could also listen to Cara Dillon’s voice all day long!

My Land (Celtic Thunder) — This makes me think of returning to my storyworlds and hanging out in my WIPs again. ^_^

Movie

I’ve been catching up on some movies including several superhero things. It’s been fun. 🙂

The Batman (2022) — I finally saw this one and aside from some dark stuff I just . . . really enjoyed how Batman-y it was. Just. Yesss! Because Batman. XD

Blog Posts

I really enjoyed this amazing post about Noblebright Fantasy and a return to blogging. Let’s do this, people! Wonderful read from K.M. Carroll.

I related so hard to this wonderful post by the lovely Emily Grant about being stuck. I feel like she said everything so much better than I can and sort of summed up a lot of how I feel about being stuck on blogging, writing, etc. It made me feel less alone, so maybe it will help others who may be in those trenches. ❤

Upcoming Events

FicFrenzy (March 15-April 15) — I’m super excited for a writing challenge my dear writing buddy Christine Smith is hosting! Check out the page about it here. ^_^

March Magics — The creator of March Magics (a celebration of the books of Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett) is hosting this one last time and I’m sooo looking forward to it. I even tracked down another short story by DWJ that I hadn’t read yet and I’m saving it for that.

A Kickstarter

The image kind of says it all, but I had the chance to read The Orb and the Airship early and it was definitely one of my favorite reads last year! I am SO excited about this gaslamp fantasy series and I totally recommend checking out the Kickstarter page and following it to be notified on launch (which is February 20). Any interest or sharing is sooo appreciated! I love this world and these characters SO MUCH just from the first book and I can’t wait to see where they go in the rest of the series. It’s seriously so good. 😀

A snippet from one of my WIPs

“What are we doing, again?” I whispered, quieter this time, as we turned a corner and made our way up a steep, narrow white marble staircase up toward a gallery of white stone columns.

“Being very, very quiet,” he breathed in my ear, giving me the urge to smack his face even if it might result in both of us toppling off the steep stairs. “And,” he went on, “avoiding the honestly alarming librarian. But mostly,” he finished, as we came out on the gallery and hid in the shadow of column, “looking for a book.”

“A book,” I repeated, and looked at him. He raised one eyebrow very slightly, as if in a shrug.

As one, we craned around the pillar, poking our heads out to lean enough to see over the long gallery railing of white marble—and gazed down from our new vantage point at a literal maze, so large that it looked a little shadowy and hazy at the far end. A literal maze built of bookshelves overflowing with books.

“Well,” I said, a little scathingly, “I think you’ve found one.”

unedited snippet I wrote last month for my WIP The Other Half of Everything

Thanks for Reading!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little look at some things I’ve enjoyed lately.

Normally I’d try to make it perfect, extensive, with more pictures and other proper-marketing-things but . . . I just want to blog. A bit. And not worry about perfectionism or likes or any of that sort of thing. (We will not discuss the writing update post I haven’t posted due to its now-out-of-date nature… Ahem.)

Have a lovely Wednesday, readers. ❤

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Ren: The Girl With the Mark – Season 2 Kickstarter! #FantasyMonth

Hey, friends!

As some of you may know, it’s February #FantasyMonth, and what better time than now to share about one of my favorite fantasy shows?

Namely Ren: The Girl With the Mark, an Indie-made show which can be viewed for free online on YouTube (or on Amazon Prime)!

I feel like there aren’t enough fantasy shows out there, and I absolutely loved this amazing production from Mythica Entertainment — all the more so because it’s short (the first season features five 10-minute episodes) and because it’s an independent production, which just makes it more awesome!

I adore the characters (Karn and Hunter, y’all!), the fantasy world setting which looks so cool (filmed in the UK!), the music (I bought the soundtrack and listen to it all the time!), and of course the excitement and accents and the fact that it’s made by the people who did the Lord of the Rings fan film Born of Hope!

(Check out my post Ten Reasons Why Ren the Series is Awesome if you need more reasons to watch it, because honestly, what are you waiting for? You need it in your life!)


Well, I’m SUPER EXCITED to get to share about the Kickstarter that just launched to provide crowdfunding for new episodes of Ren, so that we fans will hopefully finally get a second season! I’ve been wanting more ever since that epic cliffhanger at the end of the first season, and now it’s up to us fans to help get more of the story onto the screen.

Do check it out! Watch the first season if you haven’t yet (it’s less than an hour in total!), and consider supporting the Kickstarter if you can! (It runs through February 29 and new episodes only happen if it gets fully funded.)

Here is more about it from a recent press release:


Produced and filmed in Cambridgeshire, UK, Ren is a short-form fantasy-adventure series about a young woman marked by an ancient spirit. It’s the brainchild of Kate Madison, also known for her phenomenally popular Lord of the Rings fan film Born of Hope.

Like Season One, the new episodes will be funded by the general public through the popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. With this system the filmmakers set the target they need to fund their series, then fans pledge their support, and the money only changes hands if the target is hit by the deadline, in this case February 29th.

“Crowdfunding is great because it cuts out the gatekeepers,” Madison explains. “Our loyal community of fans made Season One such a rewarding experience, and through Kickstarter they have the chance to say, ‘Yes, I want this show to be renewed!’”

You can find out more about Ren: The Girl with the Mark and support the show by visiting kickstarter.com/projects/mythica/ren2


Also, fantasy fans, be sure to check out the fifth annual February is Fantasy Month, hosted by Jenelle Schmidt, to celebrate all things fantasy, as well as a blog tag, Instagram challenge, and giveaway! (I’m hoping to return with more posts throughout the month.)


Who’s excited about hopefully a new season of Ren? 😀 *fangirling*