My childhood BFF once said to me, “I don’t think you’re really reading all these books you say you read. No one can read that many books that fast.”

It made me feel bad and question my reading habits.

For about 10 seconds.

Then I got over it and picked the novel I was reading at the time up again.

The truth? Yeah, I did read that fast because I was a story obsessed book nerd with no voluntary social life.

There wasn’t anything else I wanted to do other than immerse myself in a book.
(I also drew, and rode horses, but those passions were story fuel as well.)

When 2020 hit, I thought, “Lockdown? Fantastic. I've trained for this moment! I’ll just read my way through COVID-19.”

HAHAHAHAHAH!

If only.

I don’t know about you, but for every six books I purchased on Kindle or checked out from the library, I only read one or two.

My budget line item for purchasing books rolled over every month.
​(Some people save for snazzy mochachino frothy double tall triple lattes, I save for books.)

At night instead of reading, I scrolled social media for cat memes.

One night, my husband asked, “Should I be worried? You’re not reading. I’ve never seen you without a book.”

It was funny when he said it, but he was right. I was in a funk.

Then I started working with a client who is writing an urban fantasy series.

I know this is going to sound like overkill to you, when I work with a client, I always read the genre they’re writing to immerse myself in comp titles for genre conventions, audience, publishing, marketing, and controversy.

And there I was, chewing through the Chicagoland series by Chloe Neill.

Before I knew it I’d picked up and reread the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire.
​(There are more new books in the series since I stopped reading it.)

And then the Nix series by Shannon Mayer.

And more . . .

I feasted on all these delicious popcorn reads.

Popcorn books are books I can read in a day or two, enjoy, and pick up the next in the series.

They’re cozy books. Not like the cozy mystery genre, but cozy like pulling on a pair of slippers, a snuggly pair of sweats, and curling up on a comfy couch with a mug of hot chocolate (don’t forget the whipped cream).

All those popcorn reads jump started my reading engine.

Eventually, I read my way out of my reading funk.

Now that my reading engine is up and running again, here’s what I read in January:​
​

• The Lesser Dead, Christopher Buehlman
  1970s Vampire coming-of-age story in the sewers of New York.
  (Can you do something new with the creepy vampire child trope?)
  ​

• Troubled Blood, Robert Galbraith
  Coming in at over 900 pages, this novel is like eating a whale.
  (Can you separate the art from the artist? And do you really need 900 pages to tell a story?)
  ​

• A Deadly Education, Naomi Novik
  Boarding school story about delicious tasting teenage wizards and the monsters that want to eat their tasty magical selves.
  (Can an author write diverse characters successfully?)
  ​

• Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  I read this book with a book club full of writers and we had quite the lively conversation about the conventions of the gothic genre.
  (Is there a place for modern women in traditional gothic conventions?)
  ​

Keep going!

​

Hello!
My name is Jocelyn.

Story warrior, book lover, day dreamer, gardener, and creative. I help serious writers roll up their sleeves, get their novel ready for publishing, and reach readers. When I’m not elbow-deep in the story trenches, I’m outside world-building in my garden and battling weeds with my three criminal mastermind cats.