Now that the sun is shining here in my California backyard, it feels high time for a little update post. Here’s what’s new for me in this season of life!
Books
For the past year or so, I’ve been on a major reading kick. I usually have at least three books going at any given time: an ebook for reading in bed at night, a physical book for cozy couch sessions, and an audiobook to entertain me whenever I’m on the go. I also usually keep the genres different, so I don’t get mixed up on what I’m reading. But lately, I’ve just been too obsessed with sci-fi to care!
Here are the books I’m into right now:
- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: This is a re-read for me. It’s been like 10 years! I love the cozy, optimistic sci-fi vibe, with a focus on characters. The aliens have vast, fascinating cultures, and the relationships across species are beautiful. The real world feels dark sometimes, and I’ve been battling some anxiety, but this book is like a warm hug.
- Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski: This year I decided to tackle a full read-through of The Witcher series. I even created a Fable book club for it (feel free to join!). I haven’t been quite as invested as I’d hoped, but I already know I love this series. I listened to the first few audiobooks several years ago, and have played the games — some of my favorites ever. So I’m eager to dive deeper into the series in the coming months!
- Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid: This is about a 37-year-old retired tennis superstar making a comeback to hold her tennis record against a newcomer. I just finished this one in four days. The perfect summer read! (Side note: I’m a big fan of Reid and highly recommend Atmosphere if you enjoy space stories!)
- The Odyssey by Homer: With Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of this famous Greek story coming out this month, my husband and I are officially on an Odyssey kick. I just finished Stephen Fry’s incredible retelling (as an audiobook — it’s fantastic), and next up is the Emily Henry translation, which I will also listen to (narrated by Claire Danes). I don’t know a lot about Greek mythology or history, so this is all new to me and quite a challenge, which I love.
Video Games
After dabbling in several new games like Luma Island and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, I felt like I needed some comfort food gaming. On a particularly moody night, I fired up Mass Effect Legendary Edition… and now I’m hooked.
Replaying Mass Effect is a balm for my soul. Seriously. Sure, it’s old, so the graphics look a little dated. The first game’s shooting mechanics are so clunky, trying to take cover physically pains me. But the worldbuilding, the characters, the stories — it’s beautiful. From the very first scene, with the epic thumping music and the overture to who Commander Shepard is, followed by the barbs between Joker and Kaidan Alenko on the bridge, I was invested. There is just nothing like it.
Movies
As a parent, one of the hardest things to do is get to the movies. Seriously. If you have a young kid, and you want to see a grown-up movie, and you have no regular babysitters… I feel your pain!
But my husband and are have been lucky this month. While my son was in preschool one morning, we skipped out to see Toy Story 5, which we loved. (As usual, it made me tear up, and even more now that I’m a parent!)
This weekend, we are going out to see The Odyssey which should be so fun. We are big Chris Nolan fans. Interstellar is my favorite film of all time. So I’m sure this will be an epic amount of drama, emotion, and fun.
At home, we’re working our way through all of the Studio Ghibli films. We actually started last year with Ponyo and Totoro, as movies to watch with our three year old. But since then, we’ve had at-home date nights watching other ones. Some favorites so far are Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and From Up on Poppy Hill. But honestly, they are all so good. I have a whole spread in my bullet journal with my ratings and thought about each film. I’ll definitely to a tier ranking when I’m done with them all!
Writing
Some of you may know I’m a writer. For the last few years, I’ve been writing a series of historical fantasy books about three Viking sisters with interwoven fates, starting with Song of the Shieldmaiden in 2022. I love writing those books.
BUT I have now officially launched a new pen name! I am writing gamer romance books under the name Ashley Quinn. I’ll tell you more about it in another post, but if you’re curious, you can find out more on my other website here.
So I’m currently in the middle of two main writing projects:
- The Last Valkyrie: A Viking retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with a young shieldmaiden on a dangerous quest in a post-Ragarnök world. It will be published later this summer/early fall under the name Ashley Hagood. :)
- Safe Zone: This is my WIP name for my first big gamer romance book, inspired by You’ve Got Mail but with an MMO twist. It’s really fun to bring my experience working in video games to this story, since it’s set in the industry. This is my Ashley Quinn debut (although I already have a free novella out called High Score).
Part of my goal for this year is to reconnect with my creativity. To do that, I’m re-reading Felicia Day’s Embrace Your Weird, which is SUCH a fun book on being free, a little rebellious, and creative in your own way.
What have you been up to lately? Let me know the games, books, movies, and projects that are bringing you joy right now!
– Ashley
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