Reading Challenges

I'm not doing well in my reading challenges for 2026 at all.

Part of the problem--and I'm not sure it is a problem--is how much writing I'm doing. I feel like every minute where my brain isn't shut down for the night, is spent creating new words or editing existing words.

And the part of my brain I use for writing is apparently the same part that reads. Once I'm done writing for the day, I don't feel like reading.

Also the library ebooks stress me out because I feel like I'm under the gun to read them. Possibly I need that spur? Because like I said, I usually don't feel like reading after writing. But also when I feel stressed, it makes it hard to enjoy what I'm reading.

Like right now? I have a library ebook due back in three days and I haven't started it yet. I also spent last night power reading another library ebook that had 15 people behind me on the waiting list.

This month, one of the reading challenges I'm doing has a read-a-thon where the idea is to read a lot of books in 31 days. Last year? I kicked butt, but last year my book was with my editor for a couple of rounds of revisions for most of that month, and I had a lot of downtime. This year? Book was with my editor in March, so no downtime.

The one thing that might impel me to read more--my book journal--has been sitting untouched for months.

I'm failing 2026 reading intentions. By a lot. 

Building a Fictional Country

Those of you reading my Paladin League series have spent a lot of time in Puerto Jardin, my fictional South American country where the vast majority of the action takes place. There are a few reasons why I created it.

The biggest reason is the freedom it gives me. If I need drug cartels, I can set them where I need them. Arms dealers? They control the city.

It also let me create my fictional cities inside my fictional country. Rio Blanco, the capital of Puerto Jardin, near the middle of the country. Set in the mountains so it isn't as humid there.

In the south, I have Trujillo. This city goes from the foothills of the mountains to the edge of the rainforest. This allows me a variety of climates and rain levels. This becomes very important in Wicked Temptation for the climax of the suspense plot.

Then there's San Isidro, the town set in the rainforest. This location has played a smaller part in the series, but it's the closest town to the ruins and a drug lord is close at hand. And because the place is fictional, it allows me to have the people of the city keep the bad guys out. Their city is safe and crime-free because they don't allow trouble.

I'm deliberately vague about some of Puerto Jardin because I don't want to rewrite South American geography completely. I also don't want to be nailed down to any details I don't need for the story I'm working on. Earlier in my writing career, before I learned a valuable lesson, I would put in a throwaway line that didn't matter for the book I was working on, but when I went to write another story in the series, that unimportant toss in would bite me in the butt.

After seven books that take place primarily in Puerto Jardin? The country feels pretty darn real to me. I've been reusing locations all along. The mercenary bar where the heroes have meet-ups to check in with their team. The open-air market. The convent. The coffee shop with the couches. The estates the bad guys have that are more compounds than mansions. The arms dealer's in the foothills north of Trujillo. The drug lord's near San Isidro.

Creating my own places? Creative and fun! And something I'll likely do in the future, too. Just makes life so much easier in so many ways. 

The Music Fueling Me Right Now

I fell down another algorithm rabbit hole recently. I'm not sure how it happened or what triggered the topic, but I found myself watching Queen perform at Live Aid in the 1980s.

Wow, was that a fun concert to watch and the way the crowd got into it was awesome.

Naturally, this had me streaming Queen on my phone as I clean up the kitchen or straighten up the rest of the house.

I can't even pick a favorite. Sometimes I'm singing Bohemian Rhapsody. Other times it's Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Another One Bites the Dust, or Radio Gaga.

It's been years since I power listened to Queen like this, but it's fun!

How long will this last? No idea. Right now, though, it's Queen and Freddie Mercury time.

FYI: I can't listen to music while I write, not unless it's instrumental, because words yank me out of the story. But I do like something playing when I'm doing boring chore stuff.

Kanban Quarterly Wipe Out

The picture to the left is old, but the board is mostly the same. The word of the year in the center of it all is gone. I finally got around to removing it. Taking vinyl off walls is a pain and I no longer play around with making decor with my cutting machine.

The other change I made to the board is the Post-it Notes. Instead of using regular notes, I've discovered page flags. They're smaller and take up less room, but since I only write down the name of the book and the chapter number, I don't need a full-size note. 

My kanban board is my absolute lifeline when it comes to keeping myself on track when it comes to writing.

The biggest plus is that this wall is in my face every time I walk out of my office. With my ADHD, it's out of sight, out of mind too much of the time. If it's right there every time I leave the room, it's not out of sight.

I clear the finished section every quarter.

Which means April first, I wiped everything off the section that makes me smile and think, Look at how much I got done this quarter! It hurt a little more this time around because I got more done than usual.

I'll just have to finish up more writing so that I can refill the Finished section again. 

Time

I've mentioned before about how I keep track of the day in my books by using a calendar and writing down the chapter number on a particular day. This is the cleanest, easiest way I've found not to mess up.

Well, guess who didn't do this for a quick, side project? Not until the midway point.

Then I started reading through what I'd written and marking all the chapters in on the calendar. And discovered that I messed up the timeline.

For real.

So I'm whiting out all the chapter numbers I wrote in based on where I thought I was and putting in the correct numbers.

Plus side? I guess at least I didn't mess up the entire book. Just half of it.

Another plus? At least I've only had to make one correction to the quick project. So far. I have a few more chapters to read before I get through what I've written.

I seriously need to not do this again. I lose track of book time as easily as I lose track of time in real life.

Lesson (hopefully) learned.