A. M. Shilling

What a busy month! I started off August with my birthday—quite possibly my favorite time of year. My husband took me around on an all-day adventure, during which we enjoyed pedicures, brunch, a stop at our local indie bookstore, window shopping at antique stores, sushi, and sweets. I was so tired after our long day that I went to bed early.

Our trip to the bookstore included a “blind date with a book.” I picked the one that promised a Little Red Riding Hood retelling and romance with a stranger. It turned out to be A Curse of Blood and Wolves by Melissa McTernan, with four chili peppers on the explicit content scale. I’m a slow reader, so I’m about 1/4 of the way through it right now, and it’s been a decent read so far.

I also started a new job at the end of the month, so I’ve been busy acclimating to a new schedule and responsibilities. My hope is that everything will settle down in the next few weeks, and I’ll have a good rhythm again between work, writing, and other hobbies.

---

Writing update

As I mentioned last month, conversations on Bluesky helped me understand how to maintain my voice while going through line edits of The Devouring. I continued that throughout August, encouraged by the #SummerOfStory writing prompt game hosted by Charlotte Francis. It really taught me the subjective nature of all writing “rules” and how balance is best. As a result, there’s much less red pen in the front half of my manuscript than the back half. While I retype, I’m taking care to double-check my red pen marks and ensure they’re actually what I want.

That’s right—despite the chaos of the past week with my new job, I did manage to start retyping my manuscript, making this its fourth draft. I’m a little bit behind, but I’ve vowed to catch up and give myself a little buffer during this long Labor Day weekend. I’m actually quite surprised that retyping is more boring than line edits were… but, in retrospect, I guess it makes sense. I’m not engaging in any creative effort, just transcribing words from paper to the computer. Though, funnily enough, I find myself editing even as I retype. Sometimes it’s a sentence I glossed over during line edits, and sometimes I’m editing the line edits themselves. I suppose that’s normal.

Let’s hope I can finish retyping the whole manuscript before the end of September.

---

Recent delights

• In preparation for drafting Sharp of Fang, Long of Claw, I read Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman, highly recommended by fans of werewolf stories on Reddit. Despite being a self-professed slow reader, I finished it in less than a week. I had zero expectations and came out of it really impressed by the story and writing. Bravo, Mr. Buehlman!
• My husband and I started watching Mr. Sunshine, a political K-drama set in 1902 during the Joseon Dynasty. It’s a slow burn romance, too, which is not usually my favorite but is pretty much a staple for Korean dramas. The acting and writing has been excellent so far, and I really enjoy the beautiful set and costumes. We’re a little less than halfway through the series, and I’m hoping for a beautiful story with a satisfying conclusion.