well hello there!

Welcome to Forest for the Trees1, a monthly newsletter dedicated to readers and writers alike. I'm Austine and I'll be your guide on our shared journey.

You are receiving this newsletter because you either:

1) Signed up for it when I changed my old blog over; or

2) You were on the NovelKnight newsletter listserv and didn't unsubscribe.

A friendly reminder that you can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of this newsletter.

As this is the inaugural issue of this new venture, I wanted to share a few things quick before diving into the rest of the content. Don't worry, I won't be doing this all the time. 😉

A bit about me...

I'm your friendly neighborhood NovelKnight! Or at least I used to be. Until recently you might know me from or learned about this newsletter through my book blog, NovelKnight Book Reviews. I spent over 10 years as a blogger and reviewer, covering primarily fantasy, science fiction, and romance novels ― which you'll probably see recommended here!

I'm also a fantasy writer, as weird as it feels to say that with any sort of authority. I dabble in other speculative fiction but primarily focus on fantasy with vast worlds, unusual creatures, and the meeting of science and magic. 

And some more about the newsletter...

There's a saying I hear a lot as a writer ― "you can't see the forest for the trees." The idea being that you get so lost in the nitty gritty of something, you miss the bigger picture.

As someone who tends to get bogged down in the details in all aspects of my life (but especially writing and critical reading), I thought it a fitting name for this newsletter as I attempt to see the forest for the trees rather than staring at bark all day.

And what YOU can expect from this space...

This newsletter will be a collection of the things I love. I'll be focusing mostly on books, writing, and everything in between, but you can also expect some adorable animals, plants, and whatever else catches my fancy!

Ready to dive in?

There may be cute cat photos somewhere in this newsletter... 😻

BOOKS

recommendations

My reading tastes run from fantasy and science fiction to romance, with the occasional horror or literary novel thrown in for good measure. So you're going to get a little of everything here.

All book covers are linked to the book's listing on Bookshop.org. These are affiliate links and I do make a small commission off any purchases that go toward maintaining this newsletter!

A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry

historical fantasy

For fans of political intrigue and schemes, this book is an absolute must read. Following the French Revolution in an alternate history where magic exists and is causing problems (as it does), you're thrust on the ground of the uprising, getting an up-close-and-personal view of events from the perspectives of everyone impacted. The people, the government, and everyone in between. It's a slow start but I promise the payoff at the end is worth it!

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

gothic/modern horror

This was an unexpected joy for me. The story of the Brookhants school is told through a beautifully sapphic cast of characters, alternating between the early 1900s and modern day. I was hooked by the interesting narrative style and though the story has a tendency to ramble and get a bit more slice-of-life than my usual reads, I couldn't put it down. It kept me on the edge of my seat and is the sort of book I'd recommend to reader who don't like a lot of horror (just a little thrill). If you like stories within stories and thrillers with supernatural tendencies, you might enjoy this one. 

Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings

fantasy horror

Whimsy and horror blend in this fairy tale-esque story of a young woman searching for the truth and learning more than she bargained for about her family and the world. Very atmospheric, and it made me question what I did and didn't know from start to finish. This book reminded me a bit of what I love about fairy tales (the originals, not the Disney versions). It's dark, it will make you obsess about it well into the night, and is a perfectly delicious novella to devour. 

The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick

magical fantasy

This book is simply begging you to read it. With some of the most immersive worldbuilding I've read in recent years, you're thrust into the biggest con of this thief's life. Set in a city on the brink of great change, you'll find yourself trying to guess the mysterious identity of the Rook, falling in love with an adorable pet spider, and wondering who is wearing a mask and who's just that awful. There's also a little card magic for good measure, if you're a fan. All I can say is I couldn't put it down and the sequel is one of my most anticipated releases of 2021!

Lately I've been reading a lot (and I mean a LOT) of historical romances so when the Misadventures of Matchmaking series by Vivienne Lorret went on sale, I knew I had to snag all 3 books! I've read a previous series by Lorret (and learned that it's all in the same universe after noticing a particular character in one of these books that happens to be the leading gentleman in her newer series...). 

In any case, these books were a ton of fun! The first, How to Forget a Duke, is an amnesia story which I almost never choose to read but it ended up being a lot of fun (especially with those initial enemies-to-lovers vibes)! Ten Kisses to Scandal was equally as entertaining with the sweetest debutante reforming London's most notorious rake (I'm such a sucker for those). And last but definitely not least is the real enemies-to-lovers of the bunch, The Rogue to Ruin, which is packed full of sexual tension and enough drama to keep you reading into the early hours of morning. 

And yes, that's exactly what I did. For all 3 of these books. My sleep schedule has regrets but I do not!

anticipated upcoming releases

Featuring witchcraft, a haunted boarding school, and all the sapphic dark academia goodness, A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee (August 3, 2021) has it all! I don't usually go for thrillers but after reading Plain Bad Heroines I'm definitely open to the ones with a fantastical element not. 

I didn't hear about The Godstone by Violette Malan (August 3, 2021) until more recently but it promises "a tale of magic and danger" in the start of a new epic fantasy series and the synopsis promises all sorts of political intrigue I can't wait to dive into.

And with all this magic floating around, I'd be remiss if I didn't include Tori Bovalino's The Devil Makes Three (August 10, 2021) which includes an ancient book, a demon, another boarding school (I'm sensing a theme...), and strange magic. The synopsis reminds me a bit of The Library of the Unwritten so I think it'll be a good one.

Wildwood Whispers by Willa Reece (August 17, 2021) isn't my usual sort of book to pick up, giving the sense of a slower folk magic type of story, but I couldn't resist the cover and the synopsis sounds quite intriguing. A more heartwarming sort of magical tale.

I'm on a witch kick I think because this fall is packed with some magical goodness including Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis (August 24, 2021) with its Black girl magic and some casual talking to the dead. No big deal. I'm getting all the spooky feels from this one and it sounds perfect for fans of darker witchy stories. 

Giving me ALL the historical vibes is The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith (August 31, 2021). I'll admit I added this to my TBR purely for the comparison to Lisa Maxwell's The Last Magician (a fabulous series). Magic in early 1900's New York City? I'm sold. Also helps that there's a little mystery, a little murder, and a magic school!

WRITING

I tend to be a one-draft-at-a-time kind of writer so while I have all sorts of projects floating around in my head, I'm usually only writing the first draft of one at a time. Right now, that happens to be Project Thistle!

I give each of my projects a word that I associate with it for when I refer to it, go to name files, etc. Some of them also have working titles but I don't tend to do much with those until I'm finalizing the story. 

Project Thistle is an adult fantasy in the vein of Howl's Moving Castle and Labyrinth... but a little darker 😉 Think deadly fae curses, questionable wizards, a scheming goblin king, and some killer plants. Featuring a twenty-something demisexual botanist trying to figure out her place in the world, it's been my letter to all the readers out there (like myself) who are supposed to be adults now but still don't know what's going on half the time.

This month has been a test of how much outlining is needed to get the words on the page. I tend to be a plantser, outlining to a point then pantsing worldbuilding elements and smaller details within scenes.

Thistle... hasn't been a fan of that. I've done everything from extensive outlining of scenes to single sentence bullet points with this project to find the magic ratio which I think I've finally settled on. But it took a month to figure out. No two projects are the same and what works on one won't always work on another.

Currently I'm in the midst of my second (of four) Acts and learning about all the aspects of writing I need to work on. Knowing is the first step, though, so it'll be something I can examine further in revisions!

And on a more celebratory note, for my first newsletter, I created a new mood board for Project Thistle! 

over on discord...

I don't generally talk about my writing projects too much on social media beyond the general descriptions, but I run a Discord writing group where I chat about my project as well as work with other writers to help us all achieve our goals!

Our group is primarily focused on speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, and horror) but all genres are welcome as well as all levels of writing experience. We host regular events throughout the year and offer a variety of ways to interact from our channels covering every topic you can think of to weekly write-ins and more! If you're interested, click the button below!

future projects

I always have projects on the backburner. Each gets a notebook once I start brainstorming and outlining it so plenty to choose from. At this point I'm intending to start prepping/drafting either another adult fantasy with Indiana Jones/The Mummy feels or a historical romance with fantasy elements involving a fake relationship and very spooky catacombs. One will be my NaNoWriMo project this coming November but haven't decided which I'll work on first.

EVERYTHING ELSE!

Summer is in full swing and our poppies bloomed for their first year. I couldn't resist getting a photo since they're so fleeting. 

The plants have been so happy this year. Usually we're in a drought by now but we've had rain nearly every week. July was especially wet with storms rolling through every couple days. I'm not necessarily fond of the implications of the weather changes but it made for some pretty cool photos.

We're still working from home here and it looks like that will continue through the Fall semester, either 100% remote or some sort of hybrid schedule. I've honestly fully embraced work-from-home life and wouldn't mind if it continues like that for the foreseeable future (though hopefully more by choice and less because of health concerns...).

The cats are enjoying having us around. Gabriel decided he couldn't be bothered to pose for a photo this time around but Marlowe (left and top right) was all for the camera. Even Beelzebub (bottom right) stayed still long enough for a quick shot while I wrote the other night.

You made it to the end! Thank you for reading and if you have a minute to spare, I'd love to hear what types of content you'd like to see in future newsletters.

What would you like to see in future newsletters? Let me know in the comments!

have a great august!

💜 austine