Briar WestWelcome to the first Sunday Brew.
I’ve wanted to add a post like this to the blog for a while, mostly because I like the idea of having one day each week when I can talk about whatever has been happening around here without needing the post to have a bigger purpose.
Sunday Brew will be my weekly, or mostly weekly, check-in about what I’m reading, what I’m writing, what I’m making, and what I’ve learned while trying to do all three at once.
This week, I finished another Dungeon Crawler Carl book, made my first batch of freshies, and spent more time than I care to admit thinking about glitter.
Let’s get into it.
What I’m Reading
I finished Carl’s Doomsday Scenario this week, and the series officially has me.
When I finished the first Dungeon Crawler Carl, I downloaded the second book almost immediately. I wanted to see whether the dungeon could keep surprising me once I understood the basic rules and knew what kind of story I was getting into.
It could.
The game mechanics are still fun, the achievements continue to be completely unhinged, and the situations Carl and Donut find themselves in keep getting stranger. What surprised me this time was how attached I’ve become to the characters. I expected the ridiculous monsters and dark humor. I did not expect Princess Donut to nearly make me cry.
I talked more about that in my full Carl’s Doomsday Scenario review, including the moments that made the second book work so well for me.
Next up is The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook. I’m not taking a break between books because apparently I have accepted that Carl and Princess Donut are in charge of my reading schedule now.
What I’m Writing
Most of my writing attention is still going to Thirteen Kinks of Halloween.
I’ve been working through the stories one at a time, and I’m happy with how the collection is taking shape. I won’t share any spoilers yet, but each story has its own setting, characters, and version of Halloween trouble. Some have been easier to plan than others, and a few have required me to sit with the idea for a while before I could see what the story needed.
I’ve also been thinking about what I want to publish here between book updates and reviews. I have plenty of ideas. The trick is organizing them, writing them, and resisting the urge to plan twenty future posts when I should be finishing the one currently open on my computer.
Sunday Brew is part of that plan. It gives me somewhere to share the smaller updates that may not need an entire post of their own but are still worth talking about.
Creative Corner
I finally made freshies.
After buying the supplies, choosing molds, and letting everything sit untouched while I found other things to do, I baked my first batch this week.
I made six Midnight Ice freshies in a mixture of round, pumpkin, butterfly, cat, and book molds. They came out of the oven looking like actual car air fresheners, which was my main requirement for attempt number one.
Were they perfect?
Absolutely not.
One was difficult to remove from the mold. A few came out uneven. I had to put the first one back in the oven because the beads did not look melted enough, and I spent a good portion of the process staring through the oven door while trying to decide whether the bubbling was normal.
I also used too much glitter.
This will surprise no one who has ever watched me approach a craft project. At the time, the glitter looked reasonable. Once all six freshies were finished and sitting together on the counter, the evidence suggested otherwise.
Still, I made them. They held together, they smelled good, and I learned quite a bit from the batch. That counts as a successful first attempt in my book.
I also mixed two mason jars of aroma beads with fragrance oil. Those need to sit until at least August 12, so I am doing my best to leave them alone and let the oil absorb. Once they are ready, I’ll be able to try Pumpkin Pecan Waffle and Sweater Weather.
The next batch will involve less glitter and more paint pens. That is the plan, anyway.
What I’m Figuring Out
I’ve spent a lot of time trying to decide what belongs on an author website.
Book news obviously belongs here. Reviews make sense because I’m a reader as much as I am a writer. I also enjoy talking about publishing, marketing, freshies, vendor events, and the creative business I’m building alongside my books.
For a while, I thought I needed a tidy label that explained all of it. I kept trying to sort every idea into the correct category before I gave myself permission to write about it.
I don’t think I need to make it that complicated.
Briar West Books is going to be about books, writing, and the creative work happening around them. Some weeks that may mean a review. Other weeks I might talk about my latest story, preparing for an author event, trying something new for the business, or making six extremely glittery freshies in my kitchen.
That feels like a better fit for me and for the blog I actually want to maintain.
Looking Ahead
This week, I’ll be reading The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, continuing my work on Thirteen Kinks of Halloween, and trying not to bother the two jars of freshie beads before August 12.
There will also be more reviews and plenty of fresh content coming to the blog. I have several ideas I’m excited to work on, but I’m attempting to behave like a reasonable person and finish them one at a time.
We’ll see how long that lasts.
Until Next Sunday
This week I’m:
Reading: The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook
Writing: Thirteen Kinks of Halloween
Drinking: A homemade concoction made with two LaCroix, two Sonic Limeade water enhancers, and filtered water in my 40-ounce tumbler. It is delicious and only ten calories, so I will absolutely be making it again.
Looking forward to: Baking Pumpkin Pecan Waffle and Sweater Weather freshies with less glitter and more paint pens.
What are you reading, writing, or making this week? Tell me in the comments.
Until next Sunday,
Briar