Down the TBR Hole and a book review

Back in 2017, at the former location of this blog, I took part in a regularly-scheduled bloghop called "Down the TBR hole." The objective was to highlight books the blogger intended to read, highlight books the blogger intended to purchase, and/or highlight the fact that we have huge piles of books we intend to read (to-be-read= TBR) but fail to make the time to do so (hilariously, by spending time making a list rather than reading). I used it for the buying purpose, as my Amazon wishlist (https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/ZRW0Y5LGHMN9) grows out of control and I forget why I intended to buy certain books!


[My "Price "wishing" for: $ (US 💵💰)" section is because I'm cheap lately as income has decreased significantly over the last five years, and is in NO WAY a reflection of the value I know books have, but rather the 💸 lack of my own funds.]

1. TITLE: The Gilded Ones
   LINK: https://amzn.to/3IuRuIG
   Interested because: SFF, 422 pages, reminds me of the Red Queen (Aveyard) series.
   Price "wishing" for: $4 (US 💵💰)
2. TITLE: Echoes of the Ascended: Crown of Defiance (Elysian Realms Book 1)
   LINK: https://amzn.to/4pz4fCE
   Interested because: Local Author, UF, 487 pages, sounds like a musical version of my Existence series
   Price "wishing" for: $3 (US 💵💰)
3. TITLE: The Invitation (1) (Kepler62) Hardcover
   LINK: https://amzn.to/4pTbPIH
   Interested because: SF, 128, Reminds me of Ender's Game, fully illustrated, looks beautiful, sounds hopeful
   Price "wishing" for: $8 (US 💵💰)
4. TITLE: Because No One Noticed
   LINK: https://amzn.to/4nkMOV0
   Interested because: A fav author, 271 pages, YA, school shooting heartwrenching story
   Price "wishing" for: $3 (US 💵💰)
5. TITLE: The Starving Planet
   LINK: https://amzn.to/3IBfPfR
   Interested because: Eco thriller, crime, 407 pages, "contribute to the planting of trees in biodiverse forests" - purchase makes a difference
   Price "wishing" for: PURCHASED
6. TITLE: THE POWER OF TOUCH: A STORY OF REDEEMING LOVE
   LINK: https://amzn.to/4mqDzRJ
   Interested because: Romance, a fav author, 29 pages,
   Price "wishing" for: $ PURCHASED (US 💵💰)
7. TITLE: PRICK: A Taggart McGill Mystery
   LINK: https://amzn.to/46HblN0
   Interested because: mystery, 338 pages, Author friend
   Price "wishing" for: $3 (US 💵💰)
8. TITLE: The Cat Who Saved Books: A Captivating Fantasy Novel with a Feline Twist, Embark on a Magical Adventure to Save the Books!
   LINK: https://amzn.to/4nLKqq5
   Interested because: UF, 207 pages, (I freaking hate descriptions in titles, and really hate that this one drew me in), Books and cats -- two of the best nouns ever!
   Price "wishing" for: $2 (US 💵💰)
9. TITLE: Rattlesnake
   LINK: https://amzn.to/4gApmk5
   Interested because: SFF, 290 pages, a fav author, inherited a ghost with a problem
   Price "wishing" for: $3 (US 💵💰)
10. TITLE: Wielder's Prize (Wielder's Storm Book 1)
    LINK: https://amzn.to/4pvVCZv
    Interested because: IWSG author, Pirate action, 287 pages,
    Price "wishing" for: $3 PURCHASED (US 💵💰) {The actual price matched my wish, so... 🛒🛍️}

This has been productive! And resulted in some purchases.

---

GOODREADS
THE POWER OF TOUCH: A STORY OF REDEEMING LOVE by Pat Garcia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Trigger Warning- suicide. Love the observation that people can be so inattentive and distant. Aniyah is a forty-two-year-old plus-sized woman with dark-brown skin; Gianluca has been in an explosion and is now deaf (Diverse Book!) and has wavy black hair. Two different sign languages mentioned, love that!
"He needed a friend to talk to, and she decided to be that friend." I absolutely love this about Aniyah.
Gianluca has never touched a woman he wasn't taking to bed, which results in a funny moment (though how sad is it that we live in such a world- that scene holds up a mirror to our society).
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who appreciates music, cares about the deaf community, or wants an uplifting story full of heart.

View all my reviews

Still can't leave reviews on Amazon. 😒

Did not find the book on BookBub or StoryGraph.

---

📚💙 — J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge

https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://amzn.to/41QBB4P Author page on Amazon — please consider following and supporting this indie author!
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  BookBub author profile— I'd be grateful if you'd follow me.
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website. Watch for special features: 

Sept 17- Condiment Month - J

Oct 8- Family History Month - Csenge Oct 22- Eat Better, Eat Together Month - John

Nov 5- Gaming - Jayden Nov 19- Dream Destination - J

Dec 3- Books Make Great Gifts month - Ronel  Dec 18- Keith Richards 🎂 - John

Jan 7- International Creativity Month - Arlee Jan 21- National Be On-Purpose Month - J

Feb 4- Women's Role in History Month - Csenge Feb 18- Fondue Month - Jayden

Novella -Novelette News and #IWSG AI Writing

InsecureWritersSupportGroup.com

Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Diedre Knight!

September 3 question -

What are your thoughts on using AI, such as GPChat, Raptor, and others with your writing? Would you use it for research, storybible, or creating outlines\beats?

I'm not cool enough to know what any of that actually is, so I don't have any thoughts on it. I don't use it. I do use Grammarly, which I have been very open about, and even have a link on my sidebar. I use it for spelling and editing. I don't use any of the "write it for me" features. 

August 18 - August 24 report:
Interesting statistics. 97 of my 111 words were unique??? 

TOPIC CHANGE!
Time to talk about my novella, or novelette, Jewels of Darterra.

 
Before writing, I discovered this term, STARGENDER.
"In more accurate terms the word may also refer to worldly non human gender that is beyond which genders are discovered, coined or comprehended by earthly terms."

I considered the possibilities of this when writing the story. The characters do not technically have genders, as reproduction is handled entirely by the moon world. (Yes, they have emotions, feel love, and express it. But they do not get pregnant, give birth themselves, or have reproductive organs. And I did use pronouns- though it's debatable if those pronouns are accurate.) 
Consider the Orcs in the LOTR movies.

And then I read this information on Paper Genocide.



As a Native American, I considered how I could tie this knowledge into my world-building. Which is how the antagonist Jaildarn was created. Those with a gold jewel were depleting in number, no longer relevant to the world. Unable to deal with this reality, they get all genocidal. This gave me Belp, the protagonist, and the question "Could Belp have prevented all this death, and if so, why didn't he?"

While it is a speculative fiction story set on a moon world, it's easy to draw parallels to social issues here on our real world, if one is so inclined. 

(A "race" that was known for exploration and discovery is declining in population and generates a villain, and a "race" known for their connection to the stones, rocks, the very world itself, produces a hero.)

Has a word or concept you had not previously encountered ever inspired you to write a story?

9798231627950 ISBN

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241082039-jewels-of-darterra

Please 👏 add to your "want to read."

Expected publication September 9, 2025

https://books2read.com/u/mZOjGy

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1845486

---

🕮 - J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge

💖Thank you to the 37 friends who wished me well on my Facebook profile timeline facebook.com/j.lennidorner

https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://amzn.to/41QBB4P Author page on Amazon — please consider following and supporting this indie author!
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  BookBub author profile— I'd be grateful if you'd follow me.
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website. Watch for special features: 

Sept 3- Intergeneration Month - Arlee Sept 17- Condiment Month - J