Hyba Is Writing

May 2021 Writing Update ✍️ It's the last day of May, which means that it's time I write up a reflection on what I've been able to accomplish this May.      As I've mentioned in my previous post, I've been hard at work on a couple of projects, one of them being an academic project that I have to complete this semester for my studies. The project has to do with books and publishing, and it involves a great deal of research. This past week alone I've created a research log of 43 pages (but it's still a work in progress and will most probably get much longer). I've also had to create about 7 separate documents as part of the research prep. In addition to all of that, my research write-up has passed 5,000 words, and I still have a lot of things to add to it that I haven't had the chance to add yet. So, a lot of writing, but not necessarily for my stories! However, that doesn't mean that I haven't written for my books. It's just that I haven...

As some of you might know, I'm not only a writer but also a student, and as such, there are times when I have to put more of my focus into my studies and put aside my writing. This has been the case lately, with my final dissertation deadline drawing near. I'm very excited about my dissertation and am truly enjoying delving into the subject of my research (which, surprise, surprise, is book-related). But it's a big project, and it will require more of my focus and concentration moving forward. In fact, it's already been taking up a lot of space in my life in recent weeks, which is why I haven't been able to upload new episodes of my podcast or share the next chapters of The Beast of Ildenwood . I'll do my best to get back on track with everything as soon as possible, but my priority right now is my studies. Anyway, I wanted to say that I may be on-and-off (and mostly off) the blog, and probably most of my social media, for the better part of May, June, and July...

 Book Review: Gathering Water by Regan Claire I've just got back to reading ebooks recently - and reading as a whole - with Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie, so I thought I'd check out my e-bookshelves to see what I still hadn't read (...it's a lot), and found this book, which I was excited to read.  Gathering Water by Regan Claire is a YA fantasy novel (not quite urban fantasy, but beachside fantasy, perhaps?) that follows the story of foster child Della as she learns the truth about who her mother was, and uncovers family secrets that will change her life forever. The Goodreads blurb: "Knowledge really is power when you don't know who you are." - Jane Doe.  It was all Della ever knew of her mother. No identification. No family to tie her to. Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Della's life was flipped upside down by one thin, manila folder. Growing up in the foster system, she never really had anything to call her own, not even a last name reveal...

Leisure Reading in 2021 and Beyond📚 Reading for Pleasure in 2021 is a short blog post about how reading habits have been impacted by the pandemic, why it isn't the only event we should be focusing on when making forecasts regarding reader habits, and how leisure reading will probably continue in the near future as younger generations struggle with a plethora of stressors. 📘 I've been doing a lot of research into reading habits, especially in terms of reading for fun (in particular, reading fiction for fun), in the past couple of weeks in preparation of a project I'm tackling. Evidently, in a pandemic, reading habits will present themselves in a different light relative to reading habits during normal, day-to-day life. That being said, while the initial pandemic scare of the first six months has died down and more people are easing back into their regular lives, helped in no small way by the presence of vaccines, reading habits might be expected to transform back into thei...

Character Backstories  Vol. 8 - Faris & James Out of the pencil case and into the author's blog today are two characters that are, once again, extremely different not only because of personality and psychology, but also because of the two very different projects they come from.  Faris ( The Pirates of Sissa ) James ( Apartment ) - spoiler alert So, let's dive right in.   Faris ( The Pirates of Sissa ) After the final expulsion of the Qorsan from the Empire of Sissa, many of them ended up in the harsh and dangerous Black Desert. Faris, like Sahra, ended up there as a child, though he had his father (a Captain of one of the many Qorsan communities throughout the Desert) to take care of him. After the passing of his father, it was Faris who took the title of Captain - and nobody really questioned it, for he was most definitely worthy of the title even before he'd received it. Because the particular band of Qorsan that Faris leads is in close geographical proximity to tha...

The Beast of Ildenwood  4. Return to Samat When they are but a handful of hours away from Samat, the Wanderer of Realms falls asleep – quite literally. She is walking and he is following when she hears the tell-tale thump. Lahab glances up at the stars. It is to be expected, at this time of night, and after so many hours of walking. He has been very strong-willed and disciplined, and has lasted longer than she thought he might, but even he cannot fight his limitations. She cannot stop. To stop now, when they are so close, and with nightfall upon them, would be ridiculous. She can make it to Samat before daybreak, and rest there at the home of the spellcaster who once knew her father. If she were traveling alone, she would have already arrived at the kingdom. So, she decides to do what she did the first time she met the Wanderer, and pushes him – as gently as she can – into her magic sack, where he is ...

   Literary Commentary: Apartment - Chapter 2 Please note that literary commentaries can include spoilers . If you haven't read Apartment yet but would like to, proceed at your own caution 😄 If you'd like to grab a copy and read it before continuing with the lit commentary segment, you can find it here . EDIT 21/05/2021: How do you like my first ever animation? I made it for this lit commentary tonight and decided to add it! 😁 Number 2: I See You 🌊 In that short, infinite moment, her apartment building was a ship, battered against the ocean waves, alone in the open sea.   Once again, isolation is highlighted in the book. The characters are truly alone in this place - each of them distanced from the other, distrustful of one another, and completely and utterly alone .  🛣️ Wallstone Avenue was a beacon of hope for her, once. Now, however, she felt stuck. Caged as much within these walls as she had been before.    One of the things that I wanted to really ...

Character Backstories  Vol. 7 - Mila & Sahra For this week's Character Backstories volume, my trusty old pencilcase has given me the names of two of my favourite original characters:  Mila from The Fall of the Black Masks (and many other books)  Sahra from The Pirates of Sissa (and, again, many other books) Shall we begin? Mila ( The Fall of the Black Masks ) Mila grew up in a single-parent home in the Empire of Belvatria. Under the care of her father, Qays , she learned the medical arts and began observing and helping him in his hospital as a teenager. Money was never an issue for Mila growing up, as her father's expertise and the respect the community afford him as one of the most accomplished physicians in all of the Empire provide them with a comfortable living. While growing up, Mila went to school and was taught by accomplished tutors in a variety of different subjects, including languages of the continent, the history of Qarra, the sciences and maths, and mor...

The Beast of Ildenwood 3. The Feral Lepur They have been walking for some hours when he sees Lahab freeze, her head popping up curiously. She holds a calloused palm up to silence him, and he, too, comes to a stop behind her. A few seconds pass before he hears the rustling, too, and it is rustling that is quite distinct from the normal whispers of wind and tree that he has become accustomed to. Off to their left, and approaching at great speed. In fact, lest his ears be tricking him, it is approaching faster than anything he has ever before encountered.   And how would I know? I can’t remember anything I’ve encountered.   Lahab tsk s. “It’s coming this way,” she whispers quietly, then looks around, her head swerving from side to side as she considers their predicament, dark brown eyes darting from here to there as she thinks of a way out. Her arms tighten around the bundle in her arms – the one she will not allow him to carry for her – whi...