☃️ Second Sundays - January 2023 ☃️

Happy New Year and first Second Sunday of 2023! 🥳

Thank you for joining me on this adventure. My intentions this year for the newsletter are to bring you more discoveries and inspiration, more detailed book reviews from my "read" pile, and of course, to keep you updated on all of my writing and drawing pursuits and nerdy obsessions. 😅 The creative path is an odd and winding one, and I hope this small but mighty piece of it will bring some joy to your corner of the world each month.

Welcome to a new year of writing, reading, drawing, and nerdom! 🤓

The first thing I want to talk about right out of the gate is the last book I read in 2022. Legends & Lattes is tied (with One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig) as my favorite non-Tolkien read (because, I mean, TOLKIEN) of the year. It's basically a Dungeons & Dragons Hallmark movie as a book, in all of the best ways possible. The main orc character Viv and all of the supporting characters are not only likable, but loveable and endearing in their own unique ways. The whole book is a warm and fuzzy slice-of-life cup of coffee with just enough Ghibli-esque conflict and action thrown in to make you wonder how Viv is going to make her dream a permanent reality. And let me tell you, the FOOD descriptions in this book are enough to make anyone want to grab a cup of something warm and a high-carb treat to go with it while they read. I loved this book so much and read it so quickly that I'm seriously considering making it an annual winter solstice reading tradition. 10/10!

Next up, here is my TBR pile for January & the first half of February. I would like to read a book a week this year, but I also acknowledge that some books are larger than others and I will have fluctuating amounts of time to read, so this is a fluid intention.

All of these books (except The Princess Bride) are fairy tale or myth retellings. I'm a few chapters in to The Stardust Thief, which is a fun twist on themes and characters similar to 1001 Arabian Nights, and I am definitely hooked!

I've been mulling a lot over how I want to approach my drawing practice this year. I felt very scattered last year after school ended, so I decided it would be important for me to create some projects that I could stick to with clear next steps. One of those projects is illustrating the Tolkien bestiary, and a second is illustrating the bestiary for my own world of Quaison. To help me decide what creature to draw next if I get stuck, I'll be paying attention to holidays as well as monthly challenges throughout the year such as Mermay, Journey June, Smaugust, and Inktober.

This is the Year of the Rabbit on the Chinese calendar, and luckily I knew right away what creature to throw myself into for this month - the Rhosgobel Rabbits from The Hobbit. While these animals aren't exactly canon for the books, they are one of my favorites from the films, and honestly, that's all that matters!

So far I've only gathered references, but you can check those out on my Pinterest board if you like: https://www.pinterest.com/fabletalecreations/tolkien-verse/rhosgobel-rabbits/

Revising Dragonstone came to a stop during the holidays, but I've started easing myself back into it this week and so far I've written about 200 words. My present intention is to write 3 pages per week, which like all of my intentions this year is malleable depending on daily circumstances. The idea is ease and consistency over pressure and anxiety. 👍

A reminder too that you can now read my revised draft as I go over on Wattpad!

Something I don't think I've shared yet in a newsletter, but if you follow me on Instagram will know I have a fondness for, is a small treasure of a book called The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Macksey. It's full of lovely ink illustrations beside handwritten nuggets of poignant yet simple wisdoms, delivered in an entirely humble way.

The book was recently adapted into an animated film, and it is gorgeous. Either would be a well-filling way to ease into the new year.

Wishing everyone ease, joy, and good health this year!