You want to write?
Read.
But don’t just read. Think about what you’re reading. What works? What doesn’t? What connects with you, personally? What plot points annoy you, and what others thrill you? Does the plot work? What about the setting intrigues you? What characters do you want to spend more time with?
Taking time asking these questions will help with your writing! And that’s one of the reasons I read… along with just loving reading in general!
I’ve been able to connect with one of my favorite authors, Kendra Merritt. She wrote the fantastic Mishap’s Heroes series. She gave me the great opportunity to read her upcoming novel, Surviving Daybreak.
Surviving Daybreak
by Kendra Merritt
Annikka wakes from cryosleep. The ship trembles. The nurse shoves her into an escape pod. It’s not supposed to be like this. She’s supposed to wake up nice and slow. The colony ship is crashing, though.
Annikka’s pod lands miles from the colony she was sent to. Now she needs to find a way to survive a planet that’s trying to kill her and find other survivors of the crash… if there are any. Her only asset is the AI she was given to help her survive waking up from cryosleep. Not very helpful… or is it?
Surviving Daybreak is a science fiction survival story by Kendra Merritt, and it’s a great read. The first chapters grip you right away. The emotions at play and the stakes are immediate. Just like Annikka is thrown into the deep end, the reader is, too.
The planet itself is perfectly imaginative. The threats are very real, but it never feels like the place was created simply to torture Annikka. It’s just how the planet’s ecosystem works. Annikka’s relationship with her AI also grows very naturally.
The mysteries of Daybreak Colony also develop at a perfect pace. I never felt bored, and never once did I shout that Annikka was being stupid because she didn’t put different pieces together.
If you enjoy survival fiction and resourceful heroes, I highly recommend Surviving Daybreak!
Jonathon Mast: Author 