Audely Bensen Writes

  I can't believe winter is over and spring is breaking its way free. Our household spent the end of winter holed up at home, and it was glorious. Then March hit, and with it, one of the busiest work seasons I've experienced in years. I'm spending all my time at work, or thinking about work. It leaves very little left for the creative brain. There's a deadline at the end of the month that in theory should see things more settled. I have to hope that's true.  My writing accomplishments for this quarter feel slim, even though every word of this draft was hard-won, and I'm happy with what I got down.  January: Wrote 23,700 words of Predacide.  February: Wrote 31,300 words of Predacide. March: Wrote 15,600 words of Predacide.  The obligatory check-in on annual goals:  Revamp and continue querying Garden Party. Check-mark. Querying is going.  Finish Predacide and send to betas.  Draft 3 is finished, and this time it has an ending. It still needs anothe...

I got a copy of He Who Drowned the Moon by Shelley Parker-Chan from the World Fantasy Convention, and luckily managed to snag a copy of She Who Became the Sun from the library.  I drank up She Who Became the Sun in a matter of days. I'd sit down to read for 20 minutes and stand up an hour later, my mind still whirling through the alternating storylines. It's been ages since I've read this type of epic that follows a Hero from childhood through the motions that bring them to greatness, and the familiarity of that structure was comforting and let me sink easily into the story. I also enjoyed how grounded this story seemed to be in real history; unlike some other recent historical-based fantasy that I've read, I didn't feel like my unfamiliarity with the topic was a problem for understanding the story.  Other than the excellent writing and the fresh take on a familiar structure, I really enjoyed the themes of this book. The focus of the hero on her pursuit of greatne...

The Faithless by C.L Clark is the second book in the Magic of the Lost series. I loved book 1, so I was very excited to dive into book 2.  And then it took me nearly 6 months to finish it.  I just couldn't bear knowing that terrible things were coming for Touraine and Luca and Ghadin and all their friends and loved ones. From book 1, we know that Clark is an expert at making us care, and then twisting the knife. Every time I picked this book up, I'd read 3 pages with my heart in my throat, constantly skimming a few pages ahead to make sure everyone was still okay, before I could calm down enough to read onwards.  The audio book saved me. The slower pace and the resulting inability to skip forward and read out of order forced me to stay in the narration, and gave me the peace I needed to finish the story. The narrator was incredible and completely changed the tone of the book, making the prose lush and full of promise.  I listened to this book over several long drive...