This Week on the Balcony: Back from the ocean journey...
More on Japan, the ocean voyage following Japan, and the new writing project now in full swing after a few weeks of work/writing 🇯🇵🌊📚
Hey, writing balcony friends!
So I’m back! :) I’m slowly pulling my brain back together. Unfortunately, that’s been complicated by me catching Covid the last day of my trip, so I’m also sick as a dog right now.
I honestly wasn’t surprised I got sick - most of the ship had a hacking cough by time we’d traversed the Pacific, and although I spent a lot of time writing, it was pretty hard to avoid the coughing people entirely.
Japan itself was absolutely amazing. You’re probably tired of hearing me say it, but I loved it even more than I thought I would. I especially loved Tokyo - really that was the best part of my trip, between all the art, the tranquil parks, the amazing food, the interesting fashions and people. I leaned much more towards art and nature on this trip. The sumo wrestling, while interesting, I could have skipped and it wouldn’t have altered my experience much, but the art and nature experiences really made the trip for me. Studio Ghibli was a standout, of course, but so were the TeamLab art installations, the fish markets, the Tokyo MOMA, and just wandering around the different neighborhoods and discovering little gems here and there, including a lot of lovely parks and art and coffee shops in the nooks and crannies.
I really liked Osaka, too, and Nara. Kamakura was also very pretty, had a huge Buddha, some nice hiking trails, and gave me my first view of Mt. Fuji. Kyoto, which I thought would be the highlight of my trip, was probably my least favorite, if only because the crowds were incredibly bad, and while it was beautiful, the overall vibe was the least tranquil, and the most over-touristed. My sister was there during the cherry blossom season, and while that was likely even crazier as far as the number of people, I suspect it would have been better, if only because I was told more Japanese people go to that. I don’t know though, that’s just a guess. As it was, Kyoto was hot and dusty, with a lot of pushing, shoving, annoyed Westerners, which made it stressful. That said, there is a LOT of beautiful stuff to see in Kyoto. To do it right, you’d really need to go for a few days.
Nara was much more chill, despite my getting nipped by hungry deer (lol). I went on a very peaceful hike to a waterfall there and rewarded myself with an amazing meal afterwards, and watched them pound mochi. I didn’t get to see everything I wanted there, either, but had a great time and was really glad I went. In Osaka, I visited the castle, ate amazing food, and got probably the best massage of my life ($48 for like 2 hours from this older Japanese guy). I also went shopping and walked around a number of really cute neighborhoods. In Shimizu, I went on a long walk, and that’s where I met my two Canadian buddies, who I went out to lunch with that day onshore, and ended up hanging out with for most of the cruise.
The ship was… a mixed bag, lol. I loved my cabin. I loved the friends I made, the interesting people I talked to, the staff, and I got a lot of writing done. It was (more than) worth it for those things, and frankly, if I’d ONLY gotten a lot of writing done, that would have been enough, as that was kind of the point of doing the cruise at all. The other things were just a really nice bonus.
I also liked some of the areas of the ship, particularly the Solarium. The food was… shockingly bad, to be honest. The crowd overall was definitely a mixed bag. There were a lot of grumpy Americans, including many who didn’t leave their hotel rooms in Japan until it was time to board the ship. I was very much the anomaly in that I ran around Japan beforehand - I figured it would be half and half, and boy was I wrong about that. I got astonished, blank looks when I enthusiastically described my experiences in other parts of the country. I abandoned my assigned dinner table after one night because… well, I won’t describe it all in detail here, but it was wild. I somehow got seated with living caricatures of rude, bad travelers, including a drunk racist lady who spent the whole dinner trashing Japan and Japanese people. Luckily, I was able to eat meals with my new pals, instead!
As for the writing part, I’m super squee-level excited about the new project, which is for the brand new series, Bones and Shadows (under pen name Jules D’Or). I ended up spending a lot of time fleshing out the characters and the world and everything in it, so I maybe didn’t get down as many words as a result, but the foundations feel really solid now, and I feel like the vision is strong there, too, which doesn’t always happen at the beginning of a new series (the last time I think it was this solid was the Bridge and Sword series, which is when I created seers/the first seer world).
I’m not sure how many books this new series will be, but I can “see” the overall arc, and it’s going to be a ride, so I can’t wait (even though I’m nervous about pulling it off, of course).
I actually have a “vision” (I know that’s woo-woo, but I don’t know any other way to describe it), a sharply visual, movie-like scene in my head, of the climax of the SERIES, not just book #1, which, again, hasn’t happened since Bridge and Sword. It kind of gave me chills.
So yes, excited about the new project!
I ALSO now have notes drafted on the next Quentin Black book. :)
Anyway, I really hope everyone likes what’s in the works!
I’ve posted a few Japan photos and other treats below!
My latest release ~
Briefly, he considered just running. He considered making a dash for the dimensional door. But he couldn’t do that. It was already too late.
The exciting conclusion to the Vampire Detective Midnight series!
Nick stood mere feet from the portal when the racial authorities descended. He stood mere feet from the dimensional door that should have taken him and his family away for good. He’d been close enough to touch it, close enough to feel it.
But it all got snatched away.
Now he’s back working the streets as a Midnight, a vampire owned by the human police. His bosses definitely grip his leash tighter since his near-escape, and tensions between vampires and humans ratchet higher all over the city. Hints of another race war are getting louder, but still, all Nick wants is to go home.
He’s investigating a double homicide at the edges of the vampire ghetto when a series of events make it clear things are changing far faster than he realized. War is coming, and Nick’s starting to remember his past, a past he did everything in his power to forget.
Can he outrun a world that wants to annihilate everyone he loves?
Can he make it back to his own world and the people he left behind?
VAMPIRE DETECTIVE MIDNIGHT is a gritty, romantic science fiction mystery series set in a futuristic, dystopian New York populated by vampires, humans and psychics trying to rebuild their world after a devastating race war nearly obliterated the previous one. Written by USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL bestselling author, JC Andrijeski, it features vampire homicide detective, Nick Tanaka, who works as a “Midnight,” or vampire in the employ of the human police.
Found Family - Dark/grey hero - Twisty plot - Lots of action! - Soulmates
Available in Kindle Unlimited!
Japan Photos (just a few! I’ll link to a post with more next week!)
Books from friends ~
I’m doing a promotional swap with a friend this week, and her book is being offered for a special price of only $0.99 for a limited time! Check out the summary below, or click the image, or the button below to go directly to the sales page!
Be careful whose coat you pick up...
When Niahm, the beautiful stranger who saved her from danger, drops his cloak to the floor, Leo battles her anxiety and picks it up for him.
She doesn’t know Niahm’s cloak is actually his Selkie skin, and that her act of kindness is a marriage proposal of sorts.
Niahm doesn’t hesitate to pop the question, turning Leo’s world upside down. She is not ready for commitment. Her broken heart can't take another blow. Still, Leo can't deny her connection to Niahm is magical. Literally.
Will Leo be able to let go of her past and give into Niahm's charm? Or is their future star-crossed?
Fire and ice sizzle to steam...
Morgan is Leo's best friend/fierce protector. And she will make damn sure Niahm doesn't hurt Leo. This makes her collide with Gwyn, Niahm's sister—a beautiful, icy female who infuriates her. After an epic row, Morgan and Gwyn settle on a truce that becomes much more. They burn and melt each other's barriers with every fiery kiss. But when Morgan's darkest secret is revealed, will her relationship with Gwyn survive or sink?
FREE BOOK OF THE MONTH!
As a special treat in 2025, I’m going to be featuring a free book every month for the next twelve months, from an author friend. Here is this month’s free book!
Brand was raised to rule the Broods of Fenrir, but he’s shunned his destiny for decades, repelled by the brutality and discord within the wolf shifter society. But when a grisly murder stains the streets of Denver and one of the brood is implicated, he’s dragged right back into the heart of the passion he’s been desperate to avoid.
While investigating the murder, the disappearance of shifters in the local area, and a strange red wolf that stalks the shadows of the winter nights, he encounters the one thing that might finally bring him to his knees—and she has silver eyes.
With this new tempting distraction and the full moon approaching, unraveling the mysteries before him becomes more treacherous when the friend Brand swore to protect vanishes, and an old enemy is to blame. Challenging this particular foe will draw the attention of the most powerful of his kind and paint a target on the back of the woman he’s falling for.
As danger threatens those he cares for most, he’s faced with an impossible choice. Will he take up the throne he once denied or watch his world spiral further into chaos?
Broods of Fenrir is the first book of a gripping saga that delves into betrayal, redemption, and the primal forces that bind us all. Prepare to be enthralled by a world where loyalties are tested, and the fine line between humanity and savagery blurs.
Okay, I think that’s more than enough for now! 🖤
I’ll have a lot more photos for you once they all finish downloading/uploading and I get them semi-organized. With no internet for 2+ weeks, it’ll take a while for everything to synch up, which is probably a good thing since my brain is pretty squishy right now.
In the meantime, hope you enjoyed the few I’ve got, and thanks so much for reading! Can’t wait to share more about the upcoming books, both the JCA ones and the new series!
And, as always, I appreciate you all so much! It was weird to be cut off for so long, and I’m glad to be back!
