Happy 2026, everybody.
::looks at her Inbox:: Aaaaa! We are just going to pretend the emails don’t exist for the next hour while I write this.
How did your holidays go? Ours were quiet and peaceful. Because of the kids having other commitments, we pushed the gift giving to New Year, and it was a smaller Christmas, but it went so well. The menu was easy, we ate, we hung out, everyone opened their gifts and it was lovely. Kid 1 is now engaged.
Since we chose to celebrate my milestone birthday as well, I wanted to make a big fancy dinner but I also didn’t want to spend the whole day in the kitchen, so I opted for stuff I could stick in the oven. We had prime rib, I found a duck at Costco, and on a whim, because not everyone likes the medium rare prime rib, I decided to make “Russian porkchops,” which are basically Schnitzel. I pounded some pork ribeye cuts, dipped them in egg, then in breadcrumbs, and pan-fried.
Duck, prime rib, and bread crumb porkchops. What do you think they all ate?
Yeah, everyone is getting Schnitzel for the next big dinner.
After the New Year, we worked for several days but it had nothing to do with writing. This Kingdom is getting several special editions, about which I can’t tell you because they won’t let us. Special editions usually have a signature page, and the publishing partners send us boxes of pages, which we sign and send back.
It takes us about 3 hours to go through 500 pages, and then my hand is completely shot. I had gone to the neurologist about it, and I can avoid surgery if I don’t strain it. So, unfortunately, signing will be very limited in the future. I need my hand to life, as the kids say.
The company that sent the boxes below is very accommodating, and that particular edition is stamped due to the large number of pages. I also thought it was very cool that the signature page says it is stamped on the bottom. This way there is no confusion.
It turned out that stamps and I are not friends. I got extremely nervous about stamping. I have stamped my hand. I stamped my fingers. I got ink on my face. My nails got stained black. But the many thousands of pages are done, and they are going back today, yay!
Other than the endless stamping, I got to read some books. My LitRPG streak continues, and somehow I ended up with two similar series back to back.
To clarify: sometimes we recommend books that we think BDH would like because they are similar to our work. These are different. They are books from my personal reading list. Some of you might like them, but I read widely and most of the time outside of our usual subgenre.
As always, Your Mileage Will Vary.
I read IRON PRINCE and the sequel by Bryce O’Connor and Luke Chmilenko.
Reidon Ward will become a god.
He doesn’t know it yet, of course. Reidon was born weak, sickly and small. Afflicted with a painful disease and abandoned by his parents because of it, he has had to fight tooth and nail for every minor advantage life has allowed him.
His perseverance has not gone unnoticed, however, and when the most powerful artificial intelligence in human history takes an interest in him, things began to change quickly. Granted a CAD—a Combat Assistance Device—with awful specs but an infinite potential for growth, Reidon finds himself at the bottom of his class at the Galens Institute, one of the top military academies in the Collective. Along with his best friend, Viviana Arada, Reidon will have to start his long climb through the school rankings, and on to the combat tournament circuits that have become humanity’s greatest source of excitement and entertainment.
So begins the rise of a god. So begins the ascent of the Stormweaver.
It is an upper range YA, almost New Adult, and it is a cross breed of SF, cyberpunk, and gladiatorial combat. Male POV, very focused on combat and training and military academy politics. If you liked Ender’s Game, this might appeal. It is available on KU. There are two fat books…. And there is no more. ::gives the authors a side eye::
Apparently I have to w*it.
I also read everything in the Quest Academy series by Brian J. Nordon. Which is also kind of upper end YA set in a kind of military academy, also male POV, and it is intricate, well-written, and inventive. Unlike the Iron Prince, which is focused heavily on personal combat, this book is focused on crafting equipment for that personal combat.
Caveat: I really liked it, but the pace is glacial.
If you are going into this expecting lots of action and flashy demon killing, you might be disappointed. This book takes its time. Pages and pages are spent on trying to figure out as way to make a new piece of equipment and some of the lectures from the academy instructors are presented verbatim. The action – when it happens – is excellent.
To reiterate: these books are a fantasy/SF version of Tom Clancy’s work if Tom Clancy was very into making magical armor and rifles and wanted to tell you exactly how they were put together. The crafting success is rewarding, but you do have to wait to get there.
A world infested by demons. An Academy designed to train Heroes to save humanity from annihilation. A new student’s power could make all the difference.
Humans have been pushed to the brink of extinction by an ever-evolving demonic threat. Portals are opening faster than ever, Towers bursting into the skies and Dungeons being mined below the last safe havens of society. The demons are winning.
Quest Academy stands defiantly against them, as a place to train the next generation of Heroes. The Guild Association is holding the line, but are in dire need of new blood and the powerful abilities they could bring to the battlefront. To be the saviors that humanity needs, they need to surpass the limits of those that came before them.
In a war with everything on the line, every power matters. With an adaptive enemy, comes the need for a constant shift in tactics. A new age of strategy is emerging, with even the unlikeliest of Heroes making an impact.
Salvatore Argento has never seen a demon. He has never aspired to become a Hero. Yet his power might be the one to tip the odds in humanity’s favor.
I normally add the author’s website or a series website, but I can’t find any.
I’m reading a cultivation novel right now. Not going to tell you the title. It’s a good, satisfying cultivation novel, and it is written very well, but there is something about the rhythm of it that puts me to sleep. I swear, I read four pages and I’m out. It is very soothing, despite all the fighting. Since no author wants to be told, “Your novel puts me to sleep,” this particular book will remain anonymous.
Gordon reports that the latest Spenser novel, Robert Parker’s Showdown (Book #53 in that series) by Mile Lupica “is good.”
Well, emails await. ::rubs ink-stained hands:: We get to write today. Finally!
I was going to recommend a stamp after the hand=life, but then came the Attack Stamp so ixsnay on that one lol!!
autopen? forger? sign only with the nondominant hand? lol
The January 2026 BookPage (a review source libraries buy as a subscription to distribute to their customers) lists This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me in its Most Anticipated Titles of 2026. https://www.bookpage.com/books/this-kingdom-will-not-kill-me/
May it bring you many more readers!
Congratulations to Kid#1! I am glad you had a calm holiday and nice birthday. My hunny’s family still hasn’t had our “Christmas” yet. We have a lot of different schedules (quite a few Healthcare workers) any My hunny’s schedule got flipped upside down. I hope we can get together before Valentines Day lol
Happy New Year All!! We make what I thought was schnitzel the same way but with chicken!? We eat it with Dijon mustard and wild rice. It’s yummy, but now I need to try pork chops.
A schnitzel is a thin slice of meat, usually breaded and fried 🙂 . It can be made with various meats, pork, veal (the OG, Wienerschnitzel), chicken, turkey, soy meat substitute etc.
For my family Christmas Eve went to a family party at my nephew’s new house and handed gifts to my nephews, neice-in-law, sister, and two grandniblings. Christmas day exercised and then kicked back. Day after Christmas stopped by my sister’s place to pick up the gifts for me. Day before New Year’s Eve went to a quilt store to pick up some fabric for my sister’s birthday and then FaceTime with her three out-of-state grandkids. NYE and NYD were relatively quiet, probably due to the rain.
Yum schnitzel! I swear it’s an ink conspiracy! How DOES it get off the pad –and then everywhere else! (I will use the stamper responsibly, I will use….oh who am I kidding! Mwah hahaha!!! I have Stamped Many Things:-)) Happy New Year & congrats to House Andrews as your family prospers. Book recomendations rock too, of course.
Oh I’ve read Question academy and I agree with your take on it. Sometimes it’s just soooooo slow but yet I can’t put it down because of the story and action and the crafting results.
O M G – I’m kinda obsessed with Warformed!!!! I devoured both books so quickly, loved the upgrading, the entire idea behind it, and yeah the romance too…. and I definitely had a book hangover afterwards – so……
I am so happy that you had a good Christmas and New Year. Wishing House Andrews every success & good health for the coming year.
And now the question is- how do I order the special edition of ‘Maggie’. <3
Happy belated birthday and many congratulations to Kid 1 and partner on the engagement.
Personal massive fan of the Quest Academy series, “glacial” pace and all. Also I’m not sure I would call it glacial, just that it’s a different focus. The progression is on crafting and in that sense the progression is very fast indeed. I really enjoyed the different aspect of the military college. Definitely going to check out the other one, which has been buried in my TBR for ages
Is the cultivation novel Heretical Fishing? It is rather sleepy but in a good way! I love hearing your personal recommendations, it thrilled me to no end to see you liked He Who Fights With Monsters! (referencing a previous post of yours) Just doing my best to w*it patiently for the Kingdom!
Seconding the Quest Academy series thumbs-up.
It’s especially great for neurodivergents and/or folks who can 3D visualize stuff in their heads, and engineers. 🙂
The audiobooks are fun, too.
Brian also has an AWESOME unfinished pirate LitRPG over on RoyalRoad called “Wildcards: The Dread Captain”.
Thank you for bringing attention to litRPG and Isekai genres, I am now waiting for several next in series books, lol! I love the Iron Prince, and the second book Fire and Song, now like you said, we have a long wait for the next. In addition to the Stormweaver series, my favorites are The Grand Game series by Tom Elliot, The Devine Apostasy series by AF Kay (this also has an element of cultivation, which I didn’t realize was a separate genre), New Realm Online by Robyn Wireman (this one is a completed series), and Bog Standard Isekai by Miles English. Another benefit to these types of books is my kids now think I am cool!
I’m gonna try those!
I love Brian O’Connor’s books. He’s an excellent writer and I loved iron prince and the sequel Fire and Song. I also loved the Wings of War series starting with ‘Child of the Day Star’. It’s different but full of excitement, fighting prejudice, family dynamics and exciting fighting. All with a twist 😁
I also recently started reading LitRPG novels. I started with David North,Aster Falls series. I had to read the first few chapters several times to understand what was happening but when I figured it out I whizzed through the series. I really enjoyed it but I’m having a hard time finding new books.
Congrats to Kid1 and family! And to Ilona for advance planning the next holiday meal. A similar experience decades ago led me to ditch ham for roast leg of lamb at Easter dinners.
Our family dinner (15 or so attending) was on Boxing Day. Prime rib with a lentil shepherd’s pie that even the carnivores liked, along with green bean and corn casseroles, mashed potatoes, and a green salad. My sister and BIL live to host, and my BIL cooks accordingly.
One highlight was the stop-motion video of the three takes for the family portrait. Priceless. My sister also has an activity for the cocktail hour before dinner, and the past couple of years she’s recreated craft activities our mom did with us as kids. This year’s was a hanging fabric calendar with sequins to glue on significant dates like birthdays: retro fun for the OGs, and novel fun for the younger generation.
Hoping everyone has a cozy and enjoyable January!
new term, knowledge gained. Looked up Cultivation Novel. Now I have cultivated. (is that the right usage?) I have leveled up myself and it is only the sixth day of the new year!
Maybe you can get hold of an AutoPen. If they can sign executive orders, they can sign book pages, easier than stamping or personally signing. Spare your poor hands.
Subterranean Press recently announced a new Naomi Novik special edition, and it has a facsimile signature due to her health issues. It looks very fancy. I think there was another author that had something like this done, maybe Martha Wells? Signatures are nice, but what really gets me excited is fancy paper and illustrations. I might just be weird though lol.
Speaking of LitRPG has anyone talked about DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL by Matt Dinniman? This was my first real foray into the genre and the numerous mentions of the awesome narrator convinced me to try the Audible. Holy cow was this super fun. I also see that it is now in the top 10 in Audible. Very edge of your seat as well so I’m ready to dip into the Iron Prince if this what the style is like.
Congratulations to your daughter!
And I hope the writing goes well.
You will likely enjoy Seth Ring if you enjoy LitRPG series. I have read 3 of his series so far and they are Fantastic.
Battle Mage Farmer series, Titan series, etc
Something that helps with cramping hands:
– Get a bucket of ice water (yes, ice cubes in the water)
– Get another bucket of water as hot as you can stand it
– Put your hands in one of the buckets, and leave them there for as long as you can stand it, then switch to the other bucket for as long as you can stand it
– go back and forth until you want to stop
I learned this from a masseuse, and it does help the muscles in your hands relax
It looks like Brian J Nordon doesn’t have a webpage, but the publisher lists all his books in one place: https://www.legionpublishers.com/brian-j-nordon-1
Thank you for the book recommendations. I picked up Azarinth Healer from a precious recommendation, enjoyed it, and then got it for my son to read. He is enjoying it now.
That was supposed to say “Thank you “ at the beginning, wow I’m tired after driving in a snow storm.
Fixed 🙂
I just recently became a litRPG fan, and now that’s all I want to read. My gateway into this world was listening to the Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobook. It is hilarious. But my favorite is He Who Fights Monsters – so, so good! I also just started The Primal Hunter series, but haven’t made much headway yet into it.
Happy New Year, Happy Birthday, and happy new son-in-law!!
Congrats to the kiddo! What wonderful news.
Happy you are given possibility to stamp as I also hope you keep your hand in order for life. Your life.
We also ended up having our normal Christmas party people (my side small family) for New Years after my Mom got over her cold that hit just for Christmas.
Oven potatoes and some meat and chicken and salad sides were so gooood. Potatoes were the easy hero of the meal for sure.
Wishing all here a wonderful New Years!
Thing 1: I guarantee that any of the Horde would be delighted to receive a stamped autograph page with Ilona’s smudgy palm prints included. That would be a feature, not a bug.
Thing 2: If Ilona hasn’t read The Transcendent Green by Mati Ocha, I want to recommend it. It’s fun and well-written LitRPG, but what stands out is the beauty and hope of the story. The series is 5 books long and it is complete.
Thing 3: I’m so excited for Montgomery’s story. I can actual feel it, and I don’t feel excitement very often. So, thank you.
Gotta love schnitzel! If you don’t already have some, maybe ask your Doctor if ice gloves would help. They’re basically ice packs specifically made for hands. Some have heat options as well, and could help with the inflammation if Doctor thinks a good idea;) Amazon probably has a bunch.
Rest up!
Just read all five books in the Quest Academy series and loved it!
hope there is another book coming out.
Will start on Iron Prince and see how that rolls, thanks for sharing!
Congrats on Kid 1 being engaged. 💖
My Kid 1 also recently got engaged.
I have 2 sons and I am looking forward to having a daughter. She is a very nice young woman and fits right in with our crazy family.
And with ease and kindness keeps Kid 1 in check. 😜
My kinda girl.😄
I just finished reading the two Warformed books from this recommendation. I loved them.
I think chapters of book 3 are available on Patreon.
I’ll wait for the full book. Soon I hope.
The Iron Prince (and the sequel) are amazing. My eyes are smoking holes from reading for far too long – simply could not stop. Thank you for the recommendation. Since I have to wait (chalantly😱) for the next book, I just downloaded the Quest Academy
Thank you for mentioning the Iron Prince! I was looking for something new and this was an excellent recommendation, as was the sequel! Now I’m checking out the authors Patreon looking for more chapters. 😭
Happy (belated) new year and a big congratulations to Kid 1!!
Thanks for the book info! I am glad to hear that the latest Spenser novel is good. I used to be a huge Spenser fan. I miss Mr . Parker.
The one with the equipment sounds great! I love computers, machines, tech of all kinds, and full disclosure, I also love watching How It’s Made (of course I do).
I’m glad your hand will be spared. I’m not buyer of signed books anyway, so not a concern for me. You need your hands!!!