Offbeat Offline: October 2023

Welcome to Offbeat Offline, where I bring you up-to-date with what went on in my life during the month just gone, give you a sneak peek of my next shenanigans, and share my favourite posts of late!

What happened last month to yours truly? We got unseasonable heat; I joined Bluesky and had issues with MailerLite; I applied for an internship that wasn't exactly what I (and everybody else who did the same) expected...All the rest has been pretty stationary, including my husband's situation. I didn't even read much, because at the beginning of the month I was still wrestling with a review that I had started at the end of September (and that I had included in last month's recap though it was still incomplete), and it took me AGES to finish it - I don't know why (in case you're curious, the book was House of Hollow - see below). A nightmare experience that I hope not to have a second time...

📚 UNFORTUNATE CHOICES. I read 2 books in October, both ARCs, and I DNF 2. Speaking of ARCs, I got approved for 1 (which, alas became one of the books I abandoned early on) - but I also got another 1 directly from the author (the sequel to one of my September reads). Here's a rundown of my bookish activity for the month...

Approvals (1+1):

• The Prophet's Debt (Valcara Incorporated #2) by Michael Karolewski (Adult, afterlife/urban fantasy)

The sequel to The Soul Sector, provided by the author. I found it more confusing and less compelling than Book 1, but I still liked it!

• The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson (YA, supernatural/horror)

I spotted it by chance on NG, liked the sound of the blurb ("...a queer Black teen [...] discovers the sinister history of his boarding school and the corrupt powers behind it all") and decided to request it. Alas, I had hoped it could be the new The Honeys for me, but I was underwhelmed and DNF it early on. Maybe it will work better for its target audience in terms of age, but the supposed mystery totally lacks build-up...

Reads (2+2 DNF):

• The Prophet's Debt (Valcara Incorporated #2) by Michael Karolewski (see above)

Review to come in a few days.

• The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson (see above)

Mini DNF review to come later in the month.

• Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley (Adult, sci-fi/magical realism/metafiction)

Another ARC that didn't work for me. Mini DNF review to come closer to pub date (the book is due in January).

• The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland (YA, supernatural)

I was so giddy to get an ARC! Not as spectacular as House of Hollow, but I liked it. Review to come closer to pub date (it's another January release).

Reviews (3):

• The Prophet's Debt (Valcara Incorporated #2) by Michael Karolewski (see above)

Scheduled for Sat. 4th.

• The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson (see above)

In a mini-review round on Wed. 8th (I put it on GR for now).

• Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley (see above)

Mini DNF review in drafts for now - as I said, I'll post it closer to pub date.

Here are my scheduled reviews for this month:

• The Prophet's Debt by Michael Karolewski (on Sat. 4th);
• The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson, Lucid by Jay Bonansinga and Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky (in a mini-review round on Wed. 8th);
• House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland (on Sun. 12th);
• Mister Magic by Kiersten White (on Thu. 16th);
• Imaginary Numbers, Calculated Risks, Spelunking Through Hell and Backpacking Through Bedlam by Seanan McGuire (in a mini-review round on Wed. 22nd).

Reviews aside, I'll participate in the Tell Me Something Tuesday meme on the 28th (question: Which Books Are You Looking Forward to Reading This Winter? (December-February)). Again...sorry to be so scarce, but as you can see, I've been focusing on getting a few reviews off my chest lately...I'll read your posts and comment on them though! 

😐 LIVING IN LIMBO. Remember how my husband applied for attendance allowance and early retirement on the grounds of his health issues? Well, while we're still waiting for the first one to be granted, he's been summoned for a visit in December that should confirm he's eligible for the second (...more waiting...). In the meantime...we're facing a 50% cut of his stipend starting this month 😩. His leg situation is pretty much stagnant as well, but he's just had his bi-monthly check-up, and the doctor said it happens at times....this type of wound can take years to close properly...

😬 THANKS FOR NOTHING. There was a Recruitment Day at my local job center a couple of weeks ago, so I signed up for an interview regarding a part-time administrative employee internship. I thought it would probably come to nothing, or the timetable wouldn't be feasible due to my situation at home, but heck...trying wouldn't hurt either. Except it turned out that, after the internship, one was supposed to register for our version of EIN or VAT, and work freelance for the woman who offered the "job"...🙄 In case you're wondering, yes, it's legal. That's job market for you these days...

😠 FORBIDDEN ERROR. I got an email from MailerLite (which I use to send newsletters with my blog updates) saying that they were closing inactive accounts, plus terminating the classic version of ML, so one had to sign up for the new ML and eventually export the content of their legacy account onto the new one. It took me forever to sort things out (with the help of a ML employee), because my password had expired and the migration system was giving me headaches, but eventually I was settled with a new account and everything was in good order...except for the chance of sending RSS campaigns automatically not being an option anymore for free accounts - but I could live with that. Then I got an email from ML saying that Google and Yahoo had announced new rules "to combat spam and enhance inbox safety", which means that...

Bulk email senders are now required to adhere to authentication protocols by authenticating their email domain (the domain address used for sending). [...]  So with these new rules, you won’t be able to use a free email domain as your sender address. You will instead need to purchase your own domain.

So, in brief: since I have a free email domain and sure as heck I'm not going to purchase one, starting in February I won't be able to send newsletters anymore 😤. Of course, the spam excuse is risible - I get daily trash (as does everybody else) that isn't going to be stopped by own-domain bullshit anytime soon. The truth is, we're forced more and more often to SPEND for any single thing...I'm waiting for the day when even having a free blog will be impossible, and in that case, I'll HAVE to find the money somehow, because I'm not going to let go of the only good thing I have in my life. But for goodness' sake...spare me (us)...😢

🌞 SUNNY LANDSCAPE. Just a couple of small things to end this section...The month has been unseasonably warm (and cloudless) - summerish even. And speaking of summer and good weather...I've joined Bluesky! The place is still pretty bare, but in case you're on there, look for @offbeatya.bsky.social - and if you're not, but you'd like to join, keep your eyes peeled, because every time I get an invite code, I'll spread the word on Twitter! As a matter of fact, I do have an invite right now that no one has claimed yet, so if anyone needs it, just let me know!

PUBLISHING NEWS/TIPS

• The next three books in the Alchemical Journey series by Seanan McGuire have a title (and a pub date!), and the cover for the upcoming one got revealed.

THINK-PIECES, DISCUSSIONS, ORIGINAL FICTION

• Sam lists all the bookish ways she wastes time (spoiler: none of those involve actual reading 😂).
• Cee Arr discusses her kind of horror.
• Shannon asks if, in terms of books, new is always better.
• Sam muses about blog posts engagement.
• Cee Arr shares her Halloween flash fiction.

REVIEWS/RECOMMENDATIONS

• Kit recommends 5 popular gay space books worth the hype.

OTHER

• Shannon celebrates 10 years of blogging.
• Cee Arr just reached her 9th year of blogging instead.
• Lissa shares her creative Inktober art (Week 1 & 2 | Week 3 | Week 4).
• Last but not least: remember how one of my favourite 2023 books was Myriad by Joshua David Bellin? Well, he wrote a prequel short story that is currently available - and free - on Bookfunnel! All you need to do is enter your email address and claim the story - then the author will add you to his monthly e-newsletter, but don't worry: you'll be able to unsubscribe at any time. Here's the (killer) cover and the blurb...(please note: you don't need to have read Myriad to read Ghost Life, but I hope it will work the other way around...maybe the prequel short story will entice you to read the novel! 😉).

When you travel in time, everyone's a ghost.

Miriam Randle is a new field agent at LifeTime, a private law enforcement agency that conducts short-term time travel into the past. Her job: to reverse crimes that have already been committed. If she succeeds, lives will be saved. If she fails, her own life is in peril.

On her first major assignment to stop a convenience store slaying, Miriam discovers that there’s more to the case than meets the eye. What is LifeTime not telling her about the mysterious assailant? Why is her partner acting so strangely? And why does the case remind her of the tragic secret buried in her own past?

An action-packed sci-fi murder mystery with a killer twist, Ghost Life is a prequel short story to Joshua David Bellin's novel Myriad.

That's it for now. My next post will be up on November 4th, and it will be the review for The Prophet's Debt I mentioned above.

So, what were your highs/lows in the past month?