Goodbye Spooky Season…

Time to get back to fantasy books.

I went to the library earlier this month to grab a stack of spooky season reads, but instead of just running in and grabbing my hold requests, I spent about twenty minutes sitting on the floor in front of the SFF new release shelf.

When deciding what to read next, I tend to grab what I’m most excited about. But I keep a sharp eye on the ARCs and gifted books I’ve received from NetGalley, BookishFirst, BookSirens, publishers, PR agencies, authors, etc. so that I read/review in a timely fashion. I’ve also been working my way through several authors’ backlists and trying to grab some of my oldest ‘want to read’ books off my Goodreads list—from March/April 2021. This year I had a goal to clean up my backlog of ebooks too, some purchased and some freebies. I keep all this straight with Goodreads lists and a colorful excel spreadsheet. It can feel like a lot sometimes, but I refuse to let it become work. Reading is for pleasure first and foremost.

Yet as a writer, it’s also important to stay on top of what’s new in SFF—especially when querying, so I have recent comp titles to help pitch my book. Hence my visit to the library’s new release shelf.

As I sat on the floor reading every single SFF book jacket, I slowly added fifteen SFF books to my ‘new release’ shelf on Goodreads. Nine of those also went immediately onto my ‘library haul’ list, so that during the next several months, I can read both new releases and other books I’m interested in (including other genres).

I’m hoping this added priority placed on new SFF releases will help me continue to grow as a writer, and maybe even improve my query letter with better comp titles.

And after several weeks focused on mysteries/thrillers, I’m looking forward to journeying to magical places again!