historical romance

Typing With Wet Paws: End of October Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers. I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Big doings this week, so let’s get started.

all of these boxes are mine….

The week started off as a momentous one with the humans all going at the same time to the storage unit, so they could get some special things – furniture. Aunt Anna and Uncle Rheuben now have a real bed, which of course I sleep on, too. Well, except when I am on Cat Bed #2, which is Aunt Anna’s old lap desk that did not survive the vagabond months very well, but the cushion is great and me-sized, and it’s between her desk and her side of the bed, so it is perfect, or Cat Bed #1, which is an actual cat bed, and on the floor at the foot of the human bed. Basically, I want to be where the humans are, so if they want me to be in that bed more, then they should be on the floor more.

Uncle Rheuben has set up his bookcase and a free standing clothes rack. He even surprised Aunt Anna with a bunchy of velvet covered wood hangers that are all the same, and they look very classy, so she is happy. The clothing rack was actually out in the hall of the storage unit with a “free, take me sign on it, so they did. Aunt Anna brought in one bookcase, that her dad made for her when she was a baby. There is another bookcase that goes with it, and she will bring that next time, along with her favorite extra special favorite books (they are by Bertrice Small) to go in it. Mostly, these days, she is reading on her Kindle, or the Kindle app on her phone, and she has moved the boxes with the rest of her books to an easily accessible part of the storage unit. Those, she can get as needed, but she wants the extra special favorite ones on hand at all times. The first bookcase is currently holding notebooks and planner stuff. That may change, but things are no longer on the floor, and that makes a lot of difference.

Another thing that is different is that yesterday, Aunt Anna went to Aunt Linda’s co-worker’s house, to look at a table for Aunt Linda’s sewing machine (that will come in a couple of days, and yes, cat costumes may be a thing that could happen; I am open to it.) Along with the sewing machine table, Aunt Linda’s co-worker had cats. Some of them live with her all the time, but the ones the aunts met were fosters, a mama and her four babies. Before yu get excited, I will point out that they all have homes lined up already, so I am not getting a sibling just yet, but I was very interested in smelling Aunt Anna’s shirt and learning about the kittens. In a word, (or a few of them) the kids are all right. I am not jealous or concerned, because I am secure in my place in the pride.

Speaking of reading, Aunt Anna has now hit eighty percent of her reading goal at Goodreads. Shockingly, she is currently two books behind, but this is the weekend, and she ahs her reading mojo back, so this should be fixed by the start of the new week. It’s also the time of year for historical holiday novellas, which will take care of that requirement quite nicely.

Aunt Anna is also back to watching TV on Hulu and Netflix and probably Prime as well, which is going to require a tracker, because she wasn’t able to watch anything for a long time (because lack of metaphorical spoons) and now it seems like A Lot, but probably really isn’t. Also, keeping track will help her track patterns on kinds of things she likes to watch. She will post more about that later.

For now, it is time for her to atten to the making of fiction, so I am required at my station, sending good kitty vibes and providing moral support.

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Second Week of September Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Usually, Aunt Anna helps m out with the snappy tittles, but she had a rough anxiety week, so I will cut her a little slack. Do not worry; Nurse Storm is on the case, with my patented paws-on brand of purr-apy. That kind of makes up for the anxiety I caused her by chewing through her CPU’s power cord last week. I did not get zapped, which is good, but I am no longer allowed behind the computer, which is bad (according to me.)

Moving along…and speaking of moving, that is what is taking up a lot of Aunt Anna’s brain at the moment. Things went well with the apartment th Aunts saw, and the property manager likes them, so things went to the next level. That level is applications and deposit, and the property manager said to call him for something called a walk through. I like the sound of that.

Aunt Anna’s Goodreads reading challenge has been holding steady at six books ahead of schedule, That big lead from earlier comes in very handy in times like these. She does have a list of books she wants to read, and TV/Movies she would like to watch, when things are a bit calmer. Since both reading and watching are sedentary activities, I am all for them. I will try and sneak in a purr-apy session or two. I’m clever like that.

Anyway, the stats look like this: Aunt Anna has read sixty-eight out of ninety books, which puts her at seventy-six percent of the way to her goal. Not too shabby, especially in the midst of all the chaos going on.

For those wondering about Buried Under Romance, Saturday discussion is back, baby, and keep an eye out for new reviews, bound to make many TBRs get all that longer.

Aunts Anna and Melva’s favorite one-year-old

Hard to believe it’s been a year since these two crazy kids were unleashed on the world. For those thirsty for the next Love by the Book story, Aunts Anna and Melva have been chugging ever closer to Jack and Kelly’s HEA. After that, time for Heather and Rob in book number three.

Aunt Anna’s figure-out-historical-romance-stuff notebook
(and extra paper because she will need extra paper)

As for historical progress, Aunt Anna found one interesting thing about her manuscripts that are complete and/or near enough to completion to count as such. Most of her stories fall into the following three time periods:

  • Medieval
  • Georgian (up to 1799)
  • English Civil War & Restoration

This doesn’t mean she isn’t interested in writing other eras, because she is (she will be all over the Tudor era someday) but for now, that’s a concentration that’s too strong to ignore. Apart from the medievals, and the pirate trilogy, the others aren’t directly connected, but — could they be? Is similar time period a strong enough connection for you as a reader?

zzzzzzzzzzzz…..

I already covered the most important me part with the stuff about the computer cord. I am not too pleased that I am no longer allowed to sit behind Aunt Anna’s computer, but they are getting me some new toys to make up for it, so I guess I still win. You can see how fitfully I sleep over this. Guess that’s about it for now, and there is a sunbeam calling my name, so say it with me…

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Hello, September Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. A lot has happened in the last year, s Uncle Rheuben and the Aunts are coming up on what they call their homelessversary, marking one year since they left their last apartment. they are planning on marking the occasion by putting in applications on a new apartment, and we are all pretty excited about that. Only a little more than a month after that, they celebrate an even more auspcious ocasion, the anniversary of the day they got ME. I am pushing for a photo retrospective for that one, because, well, look at me. I’m gorgeous.

Aunt Anna is looking forward to putting down some roots in a new apartment, and her work hours are pretty easy to figure out – the days when both Uncle Rheuben and Aunt Linda are off at their day jobs. This lines up pretty nicely with some fun new opportunities Aunt Anna found out about from Dragonblade Publishing, aka

The Write Stuff

Aunt Anna is pretty excited about Dragonblade looking for new writers, because A) she is a writer of historical romance, B ) Dragonblade is her dream boutique publisher, and C) Dragonblade looks like the place for innovative historical romance with an old school flair, suited for the modern reader, and Aunt Anna is all about all of that. She’s going to be up against a lot of talent, but she’s actually inspired by that. This may or may not also be giving her some of the same adrenaline rush she usually gets by proxy from watching So You Think You Can Dance. She hopes that show will be back next summer.

Drama King

Funny how this writing thing works with writers. Aunt Anna is firmly back in the saddle with this one, and quite happily back at work in earnest. It’s not too long to HEA for Kelly and Jack, and then it’s time for Aunt Anna and Aunt Melva to send it to their editor to see if she likes it. After that, they start on their next book, which they are calling Queen of Hearts.

Buried Under Romance

It’s been a rough year over there, because real life has been a trip, but Aunt Anna is still super excited to get back to making the blog the best it can be. What sort of content would you like to see on a blog focused on historical romance? Blog tours are great, but what else? Author visits? Excertps? Lists of staff emembers’ favorites?

Goodreads

Aunt Anna is back on track for reading as well, which surprises even her, but that’s how it works. One day, the desire is just back and there it is. As of now, she is still an impressive six books ahead of schedule, andmay even overtake herself in not too much time at all. Among her current reads are:

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Bookish and the Beast -Ashley Poston
Once Upon a Con, #3

and

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Angel’s Fall -Kimberly Cates
Culloden’s Fire #2

Aunt Anna has the next book in that series all queued up after she finishes this one, and then the next one after that, which is actually the first one (don’t ask me, I just work here) are all ready to go. She’s not back at watching TV/Movies yet, but she is making a list of stuff to watch when she does have the brain for it. I, of course, will be there to assist her by sitting on her and motor purring louder than the speakers. It’s what I do.

Discord

A quick reminder that Aunt Anna’s Lion and Thistle Discord server is up and running, for discussion of all things historical romance related, writing, reading, or anything else. If you’re interested, you can find her on Discord at Snowbound Mermaid #5234.

Now we come to the important part, the part about me. We are entering into uncharted territory, because I have never been with this family during a September before, so I do not have a baseline for the whole September experience. We will see how that goes. The notes Big Sister Skye left say that Aunt Anna gets her super powers back sometimes during September, and I can definitelys see traces of that. She’s got an extra spring in her step these days, though some of that could be from the possible apartment-age or looking down the barrel of a really funcompetition (Dragonblade) and actually having her writing mojo back. All in all, I guess that’s okay. As long as she is still there for cuddles and belly rubs. I absolutely require my belly rubs.

Headbonks!

Back at It

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For the first time in over an entire year, the other two adults in my family are both at work at the same time, so that means that I am, too. It’s great and it’s strange. Right now, as I write this, I am also in an informal meeting with Lisa from Buried Under Romance, because I was around and she was around, and “yeah, let’s do this right now” hit, and that’s pretty much how I feel about writing in general at the moment.

When I lay out my weekly plan in my household planner, the truth of our now finally hit – with that swatch of pastel orange highlighter, and the new swatch of blue highlighter, both Housemate and Real Life Romance Hero will be at work at the same time, for a several hour stretch. I stared at the colors for a while and then it hit. When I see both those colors at once, that is my prime writing time. How to make sure I’m inspired when that time hits? I am inspired. I like money. I like living indoors. I like eating food, and maybe most importantly, I have a pen and paper habit that cannot be tamed, so I better darned well have a stream of income open.

our one-year-old

For me, that means writing books. Since Melva and I have already passed the first anniversary of Chasing Prince Charming, it is high time that we get up to date on Drama King. Since the general suckiness :salute: of real life has been a factor in knocking me off track with my share of the work, it stands to reason that things straightening out will provide me with new opportunities to make up for lost time. At least that’s the plan. There will probably be some setbacks and side quests, but, for today, I am here at the keyboard, I have a concrete goal to meet, and I know Melva will provide the feedback I run on, so things are looking good.

As for historical romance, watch this space, as there will be an update soon. Trying a couple of new things, and pretty excited about them. Also kind of daunted because this will mean putting some pressure on myself, but I think it’s going to be the good kind of pressure, and never try, never know. All I’m going to say for right now. but historical romance fans, I will have something for you in the not too distant future.

Vagueposting, I know, but it’s fun to slip one of those in there after more than a year of the world being on fire. Today means that I am up to and able to interweave writing and planning and I like that combination. Right now, I’m looking at my temporary command center, at the blush aesthetic I have going on here, and the dark red Pilot Precise V5 (clicky!) I picked up not too long ago means that my autumn aesthetic is going to start organically finding its way into my day to day. I’m looking forward to that.

For right now, the new header will be the ‘face” of this blog for the rest of summer (to be measured by however long it feels right) and I will autumn-ify it as needed. I like that comfortable evolution of things slipping into place, rather than me trying to shove a ten pound cat into a two pound bag, which I am wont to do more times than I would care to admit. There will be a few new graphics, and I may move around the way things look in general, but it’s not o much becoming different as it is becoming right. I don’t know of a better way to put that, and I don’t think any better way is needed. What I do know is that this feels right, doesn’t need pushing, and is headed in the right direction.

Anna

Typing With Wet Paws: Jailbreak II: Hallway Boogaloo Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. We’ll start with the mot important stuff. Aunt Anna says that means that she had a good writing week, but I have to disagree. Ther important stuff is about me, obviously.

First and arguably the most important thing is that the humans are reasonably sure that I am not pregnant because I am now in heat. That mostly means me slinking around the room, doing my very seductive (to boy cats, at least I hope) trilling calls, and being super lovey. It also involves me wanting to go find boy cats.

Yesterday, as we moved into a new room after a night of camping (during which there were zero opportunities to make a break for it) I did not throw away my shot (Hamilton reference for the win. Hm. Lin-Manuel Miranda, here’s a suggestion. Hear me out: Catmilton. Like Hamilton, but with cats. Eliza should totally be a calico girl. Think about it.) and while the aunts were concerned with getting their things inside, I went zoom through the barely open door.

That was when Aunt Anna told me to get back there, and I did not listen, but the other humans very much did. Uncle Rheuben shut the hallway door (never do that unless it is an emergency, and a kitty on the loose is an emergency) and Aunt Linda hurried after Aunt Anna in case Aunt Anna needed backup. As for me, I trotted down the hallway, with my happy tail high, making my super seductive boy cat call, but there were no boy cats.

There were no other cats, period. Actually, there was nobody except the aunts following me, a lot of closed doors, and carpet, carpet everywhere. I did see a set of stairs, but I don’t really know how stairs work, because I’ve never used them before, so I ignored them and kept going. Aunt Anna kept up with me and told me I wasn’t going anywhere. I kept going.

That’s when she pointed Very Sternly in the opposite direction, toward our new room, and she told me I had to go that way. I knew Aunt Anna meant business, so I turned right around and went that way. Aunt Linda laughed, and Uncle Rheuben made sure I got back in the room, and then I got food. Now the humans put a suitcase in front of the door, so I am less likely to slip through. It’s tough to be a kitty.

Plague Doctor freebie sticker from Jen.erating

For those who like to see where Aunt Anna does her writing and blogging stuff, this is what it looks like for this current stay. As Aunt Anna said while lugging the CPU and monitor up the stairs, it is time to either get one of the old laptops brought up to scratch, or get a new one. She’ll put that on the list of stuff to do while we are settled. She is happy to do the lugging, though, because that helps her move forward with the whole writing thing, which, this week, has included:

  • looking into hiring an editor/formatter/cover artist for one of her unreleased titles
  • made a short list of places to query her two out of print titles
  • started setting the framework for the follow-up to the book at the top of this list
  • given some long overdue attention to an Aunt Melva scene from Drama King and started making notes on her own scene to follow
  • attended a cyber-meeting of her local RWA chapter, which had a great workshop on how to get unstuck, and putting some of those methods into practice

All in all, pretty good. It appears my mews services have been effective. I will continue in that vein. Aunt Anna is also back reading, and is very happy to be participating in the Historical Romance Readathon, Weekend Edition. Same idea as the regular flavor, but downsized for today’s fast paced lifestyle. Aunt Anna is starting off her TBR list with two titles:

She’s keeping the list small for now, but if she finishes both during the weekend, she’ll add another. I don’t remember how long it was since she read anything, but that’s the way it goes. Reading slumps/droughts hit, and then they end, as abruptly. Aunt Anna is okay with that. She is still looking for a YA contemporary to tickle her fancy, and there is a fantasy collection, The Grand Tour, by E. Catherine Tobler, that she expects she will devour.

That return to reading will be the topic of Aunt Anna’s next blog entry at Buried Under Romance, which she expects to get up by tomorrow morning. One of the things she is working on right now is a social media planner, so she can keep better track of what she means to post, and when. Part of that also includes making sure her Instagram has the proper number of pictures of me, so I fully support that effort. Apparently she’s going to shoot for one-third pictures of me. Eh, it’s a start.

Finally, Aunt Anna would like to unveil my brand new signoff picture, which she might try making into a sticker. That, I want to see. Guess that’s about it for right now, so until then,

Headbonks!

Summer of Love Standout Standalones

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Many thanks to all who responded to my last post on a blogging deep dive on some favorite romance series. I had so much fun with that post and the feedback, that my first thought was, “why stop there?” So, I won’t. My first and fiercest love in historical romance (or any fiction) is the standalone. One story, one book, that’s all she/he/they wrote. There’s something special about closing the cover on a book that doesn’t have companion volumes, and letting my own mind fill in the happily ever after, waving our lovers off into the sunset and on with the rest of their lives. Once upon a time, that was the norm. Right now, series drive the market. What will come next? Who knows? What doesn’t change, however, is the power of a great story, . If it’s full and complete in itself, well, for me, all the better, so I want to take you on a tour of some of my very favorites. Since standalone books are naturally shorter than entire series, I am sharing five examples instead of only three, for your consideration. Once again, in no particular order:

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The Wind and the Sea, Marsha Canham

Nobody, but nobody swashes the buckle like Marsha Canham, and I remember exactly where I was the first time I saw this cover in person, and knew I had to have this book. I will always look at a pirate story, and if it’s a female pirate, that book Is on my shelf of its own free will. Add in a Barbary Coast (North Africa) setting, the US Navy (set in 1806) and the big, thick doorstopper size I prefer for books of this nature, this is an adventure for the ages. Canham has other seafaring stories (among others) both series and standalones, but for this particular project, this gets the nod.

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A Woman of Passion, Virginia Henley

Far and away my favorite Henley standalone (though there are a couple I still need to read, so favorite standalone presumptive?) Straddling the line between historical romance and historical fiction, the heroine, Bess, is based on the historical figure, Elizabeth Hardwick. No, she’s not the “Elizabeth” in the Elizabethan era, in which this is set (Elizabeth Tudor, AKA HRH Elizabeth I, is) but man oh man does she have a life. Or should that be men, oh men, because Bess doesn’t marry just once but four times. But is it still a romance? There have been discussions, but I’ll let you decide for yourselves…or read along with me and let’s talk it out.

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Wild Bells to the Wild Sky, Laurie McBain

Can’t get enough of Tudor-era romance? I know I can’t (remember when that used to be a thing? Who wants to help bring that back?) Love shipwreck stories? How about love on a deserted island? No, not Gilligan’s. This is the tale of Lily Christian, who grew up on such an island after a shipwreck stranded her small family, and Valentine Whitelaw (one of my favorite romance hero names ever) the courtier tasked with bringing her home. Lily is smart, strong, resilient and resourceful, Valentine is a man of his time, and there is intrigue aplenty, unmaskign the true reason behind the accident that changed Lily’s life forever. This also has one of my top three romance endings ever.

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Broken Wing, Judith James

Those with small children may want to occupy the kiddos in another room for this one because hecking fluff, doe James ever go there. Where exactly is “there?” Oh sweet summer child. Let me tell you about this book. Gabriel St. Croix is the last person who would consider himself a hero. He has lived and worked (yep, doing exactly what you think, his clients not restricted to one gender) most of his life in a brothel. He’s thisclose to finally being free of that living hell, when a young boy arrives to become his replacement, and, well, Gabriel can’t let that happen. If he stays on, will the boy remain untouched? Yes. Okay, then. That’s not all, though. His reason for staying is about to be ripped away from him, as Sarah Munroe, the boy’s sister, has finally found him, and will be taking him home. Not only that, but Gabriel can come, too. Culture shock? To say the least. Sarah is unconventional herself, and when these two wounded souls meet, the click together to form an incredible romance. Yes, there is an HEA.

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Tapestry, Karen Ranney

Laura cannot imagine ever not loving Alex, not from since she was a little girl, and certainly not after he returns home from the war so scarred that he shuts himself away and wears a leather mask to shield himself and his scars, both physical and mental/emotional, from the rest of the world. But Laura isn’t the rest of the world. She is a take charge heroine who is not going to let a little thing like that stop her from rescuing Alex from himself. If that means putting aside her identity as a daughter of the nobility to sign on as the new housekeeper so she can get close to him, well that’s what she’s going to do. Her job isn’t easy, either, and this is an extremely emotional read…which is one of the reasons it’s on this list. I am sorry to say that the author, Karen Ranney, passed away recently, so a reread of this feels both timely and bittersweet.

So there you have it, five standout standalone historical romance novels that I would love to deep dive into with all of you. Which one catches your fancy? Drop suggestions in the comments, or message me at annacbowling@gmail.com or come join the Lion and Thistle group on Facebook, and tell me your favorites.

Anna

Summer of Love (Stories)

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Back before the whole vagabonding thing began, I had planned a Skye-athalon. I would re-read not only my all time favorite historical romance novel, Skye O’Malley, by Bertrice Small,

Always. :sigh:

but the entire two series that flowed from it, first to last, top to bottom, no interruptions, and blog about the whole darned thing. From Tudor era Br4itish Isles to the high seas, Northern Africa, and back again, up through the Restoration that followed England’s Civil War, this is an epic. I love epics. That’s no surprise.

Ah, notebook, we will meet again one day

I was super hyped for that, bought a special notebook and washi tape to keep all my notes in, picked a dedicated pen, and even had the namesake of my favorite novel, Skye O’Malley Hart-Bowling, the kitty, not the book, to cheer me on while I read the book, not the kitty.

Fur-ever the queen.

Then life happened. Then it happened again. Then it turned into a dumpster fire, and while all my O’Malley books are safely in storage, my O’Malley books are in storage, so getting to them and the notebook and washi would take some doing, but I still like the idea, so why not do a similar thing with a different series by a different author? That, I can definitely do.

This means I am now in one of the fun parts (spoiler: they are all the fun parts) and that’s picking which series I want to read and share with all of you. I love watching deep dives and readthroughs on BookTube, and t his may indeed be a natural way to jump back into video blogging.

While most of such vlogs I’ve seen are dedicated to some of the brightest stars of today (Julia Quinn, Tessa Dare, Lisa Kleypas, et al) I would love to bring that treatment to some of the grand dames of historical romance, some of which may actually be new to newer readers of the genre. Since I am still vagabonding, I cannot, unfortunately, do this with actual physical books, but that also opens up the whole wide world of the e-reader, and all of Kindle Unlimited is at my disposal. If this works out well, I’ll want to do the same thing with an indie author’s work, and see where things go from there.

So. Which books? Here are a few peeks at my shortlist of possibilities:

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The DeMonteforte Brothers – Danelle Harmon

5.5 books, including novellas, Georgian England. 1770s. aka what the British were doing during the American War For Independence.

Gather the Stars (Culloden's Fire #1)
Culloden’s Fire
Kimberly Cates

5 books. This series is also called the Jacobites, which should give a clue as to the setting, but there are also a few surprises. British Isles

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Fire series
Anita Mills

Also 5 books (I am seeing a trend here) and this one’s medieval, and follows more than one generation.

These days, my cheering section looks like this:

#calicolovestorm

and I am still much more likely to do a thing if I have told the internet I am going to do it, so here we go. I will be reading/listening to all books on my Kindle Fire, through Kindle Unlimited. Shoutout to Lisa at Buried Under Romance for telling me about text to speech so every book can be an audiobook. This will greatly help, as I have found listening to historical romance while playing Sims 4 is my sweet spot.

Which of the three above would you most like to see me cover?

Anna

Romance, Buried Under

annabowling 1 Comment

Due to technical difficulties on the Buried Under Romance site, I am posting the pictures from my discovery of a vintage book stash here. For the story behind the pictures, please visit Buried Under Romance for my latest Saturday Discussion post, here. These are some, but not all of the books Storm mentioned in yesterday’s Typing With Wet Paws.

Fair warning, these pictures were taken in basement lighting with a Kindle Fire, but that hardly matters because…books!

Henley, Taylor, Parker and Balogh
high angst and romance in Georgian England
Bartlett, Kamada, Dorn Hart, Burgess, Jenkins

These were the best pictures of the bunch, but there were plenty more books in that box, so more pictures forthcoming.

Typing With Wet Paws: Where Were We? Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Greatest Hits picture because Amazon and Aunt Anna are having disagreements of the password variety, but yay for new content.We are back in Albany after a side quest in CT, and Aunt Anna said it was high time to get back to blogging. This seldf isolation thing is hard on extroverts, so I have been putting in exstra mews time to get Aunt Anna up and running…er, writing.

Aunt Anna’s big task this weekend is to comb through her Google Docs and put all of her scenes for Drama King into one Scrivener file, along with Aunt Melva’s scenes. Some of those scenes might be stored on a flash drive that is in the storage unit, which is on lockdown (except by appointment) so if Aunt Anna can’t find a couple of specific scenes in the files she can access, she will need to reconstruct the scenes. If you hear her sobbing softly, it is probably that. She has not yet come to the point of obessively looking at her writer email to see if there are any nibbles on A Heart Mosty Errant, but we are realistic over here. That time is coming.

She is also verging on “what the fluff, let’s see what happens” about giving My Outcast Heart a once-over and getting it out there with a new cover and a couple of tweaks. The main things that give her pause is that it was written in first person, and maybe that’s a turnoff for enough romance readers to consider translating to third. Because it is exhausting to see her overthink (and I need both of us well rested because she got me a red dot and I LOVE chasing it) I will ask you guys here. Would you read a historical romance told in first person, or is it third person or nothing?

Aunt Anna is kicking tail and taking names on the Goodreads challenge front, with 45 books read out of her goal of 90. This puts her at halfway there, so I think she is probably going to make it, seeing as this is only April. She is 23 books ahead of schedule, which I can’t even….but good for her. Keep going, Aunt Anna. Blow that goal out of the water.

Aunt Anna is kind of salty about this, so if you’re looking for a new contemporary…

For readers looking for My Outcast Heart or Orphans in the Storm, those are currently between publishers, so keep eyes peeled for news on new editions soon. In the meantime, besides Chasing Prince Charming (click the link above) her historical romance novellas, Queen of the Ocean, and Never Too Late, are both available on Amazon for less than the price of a cup of coffee. QotO has wreckers and pirates, and NTL has a seasoned heroine and second chance at eh one who got away. Both are standalones, so you don’t need to read one to read the other. I’m not saying don’t read them both, but if you have strong opinions on tropes or settings, pick the one you like.

Buried Under Romance is indeed on the way back now that we are done with the CT side quest and Aunt Anna has some ideas historical romance authors, message her. She wants to talk.

In other news, we are moving toward a new normal, with apartment hunts and Aint Anna working on Patreon stuff. She and Aunt Melva are back to their weekly chats about their contemporaries, and will be giving their website a major overhaul :salute.: If you got that reference, you get an extra awesome point.

I have been helping Aunt Anna with ther planning and asrt journal, though she says making off with her pen is not actually helping. She got a new pen that is part thing that pokes her tablet screen and part RED DOT!!!!! I LOVE Red Dot! No shade on Mousie, but Red Dot? Dude is going down. As soon as I can catch him. He’s a slippery one, though, BUT i WILL KEEP TRYING.

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Social Distancing Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Nobody is sick over here, but we are doing the weekend in New England thing again (well, end of weekend and start of week) thing, which is de facto social isolation, or, as I call it, being an indoor cat. Which is what I do every day. Being an indoor cat, that is. Another good thing about being at Chez Grandmere for a few days is that there is no interwebs, so Aunt Anna has more time to pay attention to me. She thinks she’s still going to be writing even offline, but we will see how that turns out. I suspect the chances for feline paralysis is high. The feline, of course, being me. Ah, the belly rubs.

The writing news here is that Aunt Anna sent out her first historical romance submission of 2020, A Heart Most Errant. She is not sure whether the fact that it is set in the wake of the plague in medieval England has anything to do with current events, but she needed to get something out on submission, and she’s been doing her research, and it was time to pull the trigger, so to speak. She will probably make another placeholder image that better fits the mood of John and Aline’s story, but this will do for now. If you like medieval romance, road stories, and books where the history directly impacts the romance, stay tuned for news on this one.

Here is a fun fact. When Aunt Anna was first writing this book, her writer friend from way back, Miss V, said she imagined the hero, John DeWarre, as The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson. Aunt Anna did not agree. (She does think he’s a talented performer, though, and seems like a nice human) She told Miss V that if Miss V put The Rock forward One More Time, as a physical manifestation of John, Aunt Anna, who normally does not “cast” her books, was going to base the hero’s looks after Colin Firth. Miss V learned not to try Aunt Anna on this kind of thing. Aunt Anna wants me to remind you all that she means more like from the Fever Pitch era, not his current age. He’s grumpy and crusty and stuck with an extroverted optimist, out on the open road, because he needs the work.

Aunt Anna also doesn’t normally think in linked books, but she does think that Guy, John’s friend, a fake monk and plague survivor, has potential. What medieval romance tropes do you like? Aunt Anna wants to know. Inspiration is always a good thing.

Also a good thing is reading, which Aunt Anna continues to kick tush in doing. For her Goodreads challenge, she currently has thirty six out of ninety books read, halfway through month number four. She is already forty percent of the way to her goal, which is making pretty good time. Only takes one hand to belly rub me, if I and pressed up against her, so that’s one more hand to hold a book or tablet. If she listens to an audiobook or text to speech, then she can cuddle me with both hands and not need any for holding books. Plus I can listen, too.

Still working on the picture situation on Buried Under Romance, but there are reviews coming, and also interviews, If you are a historical romance author who would like to drop by, let me or Aunt Anna know, and she will make it happen. This also coincides with the Historical Romance Readathon, which is pretty good timing, because social distancing does not mean social media distancing, and Aunt Anna is well supplied with books. This runs March 16-22, there is a bingo board (click the link to get yours) There is also a group read that Aunt Anna plans to join if she can, with Johanna Lindsey’s Hearts Aflame, the second book in her Hadraad Viking trilogy.

It’s this one, and yes, she will also read the first and third because she is a completist.

If this works out well, Aunt Anna is considering her own challenge, so stay tuned in case you like reading challenges. She will post her TBR list as she figures that out. Well, both of them. She likes lists, so more lists are better.

In most important news, I have redeemed myself from last week’s hiding in the recliner brouhaha. This time, when it was time to leave Chez Grandmere, the humans couldn’t find me again, but this time it was because I had already put myself in the adventure cave. I was even taking a nap when they found me. How’s that for making it easy on the hoomans? I didn’t even wake up until Aunt Anna picked up my adventure cave and carried it to the door. I was a Very Good Girl for the whole trip back to NY.

I think that’s it, though Aunt Anna is going to try and get a “walking away” picture for my signoff, since you readers liked Skye’s so much, and you need a good look at the way my tail comes out of a big spot on my butt. Also, I have done some growing up since that first picture.

Headbonks!

Yeah, pictures being wonky, so enjoy this greatest hits pictre.