Check in 54: 04.20.22

I did it! I self-published my first short story! The Reservoir: the Tagordian League #1 is available for

FREE on Kindle Unlimited. Or if you love it or you don’t have the service, you can always purchase it for 99₡. For more info on the story check out it out on Amazon, or the Projects tab on my website.

New Steps

In other business news, I am currently doing a final edit of the next story I plan to put out: Desert Love.

You have all probably heard me talk about this one before. I’ve queried it a few times, but it’s never been the “right fit” for the anthology. So, I’m making it the right fit for me. I have plans to upload this one on June 1st. Again, check out my Projects tab for a description.

The Breakdown

The Legend of Drizzt Book 1: Homeland-Exile-Sojourn by R.A. Salvatore

This time around, I’m doing this a little different. I have not read this one yet. In fact, I’ve been putting it off because it takes a certain mindset for me to really get into high fantasy. My last foray into the genre was Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time. To anyone out there who has read it all the way through, I commend you. There are fourteen novels, plus a prequel, and two companion books. Robert Jordan wrote the books, but passed away before he could complete them, so Brandon Sanderson, another great in the fantasy genre, stepped in and finished them posthumously. I had to stop after book seven because the cast of characters and story line got so complex it felt too much like work for me to continue it especially since each of those books were well over 600 pages a piece. The entire series is said to be over 4.4 million words! But, I digress.

This volume is a hefty 936 pages. Although, to be fair, it is actually the first three books of a staggering 36 book series about Drizzt Do’Urden. Drizzt is a dark elf of the Underdark (Dungeons and Dragons: Forgotten Realms), a place where light is scarce and scary shit dwells. Houses of the dark elves make it their business to eliminate each other and gain favor with the dark goddess. Intrigue, subterfuge, and cat’s paws abound. And, as long as you don’t get caught, or there is no proof, anything goes.

The reason for the change in procedure is that it suddenly dawned on me the other day that although I often give mid-read reviews of books in my check in’s, I never actually tell you all my final thoughts. To help with this, I’ve created a Goodreads account for my reviews.

I will still be announcing the next book I will be reviewing in my check ins. You can look me up on Goodreads and follow me to see my list and read the reviews as I finish the books. I have also thought a buddy read/book club type situation would be fun, so if you would be interested in that, shoot me an email with the subject “Reviews and Buddies” at mel.ashey.writes@gmail.com.

Living Life

Springtime is upon us. My allergies, which are a relatively new phenomena for me, are acting up. It’s kind of a bummer. This is the time of year I love to open my windows and get all the nice fresh air. I have stubbornly been cracking my window every night for the last couple of weeks, but this morning I woke up with my nose all stuffed up <sad face>. So, I might have to not do that at least until the trees are done budding out. I blame my sudden development of allergies on living in Salt Lake City. I never had them before I lived there. I think the bad air was hard on me.

But, I fear the real culprit is that I am simply getting older. I turned 40 a couple months ago. My understanding is that health wise, it’s now the time that I really, really need to start actively taking better care of myself. I’ve never really worked at it before.

A few years ago, I went through a time when I was going to the gym regularly. My favorite thing to do was swim. It was the reason I joined that particular gym in the first place. But the lap lanes were always full. My second favorite thing was the rowing machine. They were also always busy. Those two activities were my favorites because they are cardio and resistance training in one and they are both pretty low impact. Not wanting to waste a trip to the gym and since I was already there, I would inevitably end up on the treadmills which I loath with every fiber of my being. I have never been able to get used to the weirdness that happens in my body and head when I step off it. The whole feeling like I’m moving faster than I actually am thing trips me out and makes me dizzy. Plus, I have a tricky hip and knee, so it’s a crap shoot sometimes whether they are going to play nice. Inevitably, my sessions ended up petering off and then stopping all together.

I have also never been much of a dieter. I’ve been on diets, but I’m kind of a hedonist at heart, so they are torture and I lose my will to do them very quickly. But, turns out, based on the research I’ve been reading lately, the classic fad diets and yo-yo weight lose is actually way worse for you than holding a relatively stable weight even if it does creep up over time.

There is a reason I’ve never really worked at it before. Periodic joint issues aside, I’ve always been a relatively healthy person. I don’t often get sick. I’ve rarely had any health issues that were serious enough to go to the doctor, let alone the emergency room (knock on wood). In fact, I’ve never been to the emergency room… except that one time my sister hooked me in the face with a fishing lure. And before you say it, no, I was not standing in the wrong spot while she was casting. The line got snagged, and it swung in an arc around to the side and slapped me in the mouth. It felt like I got punched. The nurses got quite a laugh that morning.

All that aside, the other reason is it’s really hard! It’s hard to develop good for you habits and let go of ones that aren’t the best. Especially when you’ve had those not-so-great habits for YEARS.

Anyway, as stated above I am getting to that time in my life when its harder for my body to stay healthy without help or to recover from the abuse I rain upon it. So, I’m thinking I should start putting in the effect to doing something about that. I’m working on a plan… I’ll keep you posting.

Until next time, stay safe, be happy and read, read, read.

As always, thanks for checking out the site, and I hope everyone is doing well. If you feel so inclined, check out my social media and don’t forget to like/follow/subscribe and any other verb they use.