Dez Schwartz Blog: December 2017

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Top 5 Favorite Reads of 2017

We laughed, we cried, we went on adventures, we fell in love, and we reviewed it on Goodreads. That's right! 2017 was, hopefully, full of great reads for all of us. Though not all of these books were new releases, here's a list of my Top 5 Favorite Reads this year:

5.) FISH AND GHOSTS by Rhys Ford

This book was sexy and surprisingly fun. I had no idea what to expect going into it which was probably part of what made it so entertaining. I had never read Rhys Ford before but now I definitely get the appeal. While the main characters were pretty standard fare as far as Romance novels go it was the setting of this one that ultimately won me over. I won't spoil anything for you but if you like truly imaginative ghost stories with a side of erotica then this won't disappoint.

4.) LEO LOVES ARIES by Anyta Sunday

I read a lot of Romance this year, what can I say? Venturing bravely out of my usual Paranormal Fiction genre, I picked up this charming Contemporary Romance by well-known M/M author Anyta Sunday. It was a sweet, non-perilous (There's always peril in Peril-normal Romance), slow-burn story that had me hooked pretty quick. The characters (All of them, not just the MCs) were completely lovable. It'll leave you with that warm, fuzzy, feeling that any HEA romance should.

3.) THE MAGPIE LORD by KJ Charles

This dark, steamy, supernatural historical thriller took me entirely by surprise. A mystery disguised as a romance. I fell so very much in love with this one and KJ is now one of my favorite authors. Please do read it. PLEASE.

2.) THE SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller

I'm still crying nearly a full year later. This was my first read of 2017 and oh man, it will hit you hard. This isn't your average retelling of a classic. This is pure poetry. Invest in tissues first.

1.) ROMANCING THE WEREWOLF by Gail Carriger

It feels like a holiday gift that I would end up reading my favorite book of the year as my last book of the year. (Bonus points that it also took place during the holidays.) Add to that the fact that I've read all of Gail's books and this one is now my favorite to date. I might be biased since it featured my favorite couple of her's but this novella was SO GOOD! Not only do I think it's her best Romance writing but I also feel she's at the top of her Humor game in this one. I laughed out loud so many times. This was a reunion story worth the wait. Thank you for the Christmas present, Gail. We can definitely tell it was made with love.

What were your favorite reads of 2017? Did we happen to read some of the same titles?

Oh yes, and just for fun...

My Least Favorite Read of 2017

GEMINI IN DARKNESS by Clarissa Ross

There's a reason some books are out of print...

Here's to looking forward to more great reads in 2018! You can follow along with my reading journey on Goodreads if you'd like.

Cheers! x

Friday, December 22, 2017

Blog Revival & 2018 Plans

SURPRISE!

That's right. I've revived this old blog space. I gave the built-in blog platform on my website a try for nearly a year (That's a fair enough shake.) and didn't really like it. I prefer this format SO much more. As you can see, I'm still working on updating and adding things but this will be my blog home now. If you'd like to receive updates whenever I post, please scroll on over to the right-hand side and sign up through Bloglovin'. Thanks!

I'm not even going to worry about deleting old posts here. It's kind of fun to see the progress I've made. And I won't be importing the past several months of posts because they were mostly just updates. I think because I didn't like that platform it ended up deterring me from ever wanting to post anything there. One of my many plans/goals for 2018 will be keeping up with my blog a bit more. I've had a few people ask me in person if I blog or say that they would like to see me blog more. So, NOTED. Here I am.

2018 PLANS

The thing I'm looking forward to most in 2018 is the official re-release of ROAM through NineStar Press on July 30th! I'm so happy this story has the opportunity to find a wider audience and I can't wait to see what they do with the cover art. I feel insanely lucky to know that one of my favorite designers, Natasha Snow, is lined up to create it! She's one of the best out there and I've read a number of books that she designed covers for. Truly exciting! The cover pictured above is actually a mock-up from the first test print when I was self-publishing. I threw it together really quick just so I could try out a printer and see if they would work out for me. There are only two physical copies that exist with this cover and one sits on my bookshelf in my writing nook to remind me of where I started.

Here's what else I've been planning and contemplating for the coming year:

WRITING GOALS

I'll probably be fairly busy in this area with the ROAM release. Any other designated writing time I have will be put toward writing The Dead Oaks: Book Two (Which I've already started.) and a super secret manuscript that I plan to submit to my publisher once it's finished. Also, as mentioned earlier, building up this blog space.

ART GOALS

At the end of this year, the thing that I feel I lacked doing most in this area was actually keeping up with my Etsy and Redbubble shops. Thank you to everyone that bought something with that Riverdale Jughead illustration on it because I sold a number of those and that kept me motivated! I think selling art can be difficult because you just want to draw what you feel like drawing and worrying about how well it will fit onto a marketable product is both annoying and, at times, stressful. Right now, I'm only really offering the items Redbubble can make and mini-prints in my Etsy shop (Plus, a few sketchcards.). I haven't made a solid decision on what other forms of art I could offer but I do have a couple of ideas that I might explore. If there's some specific item you'd like to see, let me know! Mostly, I just want to keep drawing and painting and see what happens from there.

I will have three pieces on display at the Stranger Things Art Show at De Nada in San Angelo, TX this coming March. So come check it out if you're in the area!

PERSONAL GOALS

Oh, you know, the usual culprits. Fitness is definitely on the list along with eating healthier. Those should just be daily goals in general but holiday snacking is what makes you think of it more. *guilty smile* Scrapbooking, organizing, and hopefully taking a trip.

Another personal goal will be to allow myself time to actually relax every now and then and to enjoy my successes without immediately feeling the obligation to jump into a huge new project. I left myself feeling burnt out and exhausted many times this year or feeling like I hadn't achieved enough (When my achievements were actually insanely awesome!). No more. I'm going to start being as nice to myself as I am to everyone else. Self care isn't just a trend. It's important.

And I'll end this list off with a fun one. MORE READING. I have a new Instagram Author account (Still have the old account but it's just for art now.) where I'll be updating all of my Current Reads along with doing so on Goodreads. I've toyed with the idea of posting book reviews here but I don't really think people engage with those as much. You're going to read what you're going to read no matter what anyone else's opinion on it is. So, I might try to find some other fun way of sharing what I'm delving into. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! Thank you for all of your support and friendship this year and I definitely look forward to seeing what we all accomplish next year!

Cheers! x

NEW RELEASES