possibly pointless blabbering

Typing With Wet Paws: Pre-Summer Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers. I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Okay so it’s been a minute. Mama Anna is not thrilled with that, but who can resist this face?

Yeah, didn’t think so. Anyway, hi. Summer is not Mama Anna’s favorite season, but she’ll handle it. If I didn’t mention it already, she did win Camp NaNo, even going over her planned 20k words.

She liked the experience, especially checking in with a writer friend who was not officially camping, but with the second camp session coming up, she is probably going to be focused on something else this time around. That something else is giving her post-apocalyptic medieval novella, “A Heart Most Errant,” one more look and then tossing it out on the indie market. She learns best by doing and that will teach her what she needs to know so she and Aunt Melva can do the same thing with Drama King.

Since summer is the time of year when my hoomans need more help from me than usual, I should probably update on a new trick I have added to my arsenal. There was this one day when Mama Anna had remembered to feed me, but not herself (I don’t understand that. Seriously.) She was napping, which okay, because it coincided with my nap, but it was also seriously mealtime, so I did what I had to do. I popped her on the mouth with one of my paws. Gently, of course, only the beans, not the needles. Once I got her attention, I led her into the kitchen. That’s where the people food lives. She’s a smart one, so she caught my drift and did the right thing.

So am I, so expect more helpful tips from me as we enter this new season. I also have to make sure Mama Anna gets Her Last First Kiss back up and running. High time and all that stuff.

What’s going on in your world?

Random Valentine Blather

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current everyday carry

Hello, all. Happy Valentine’s Day, or it’s Wednesday, depending on any number of things. Feeling very rusty about blogging at the moment, but there is no time like the present to jump back into the swing of things, so hi.

Above, we have my current everyday carry of planning whatnot. I like being able to pick up one thing (or two) and go, especially since I am still using a backpack and knee brace. Technically, I could fit the contents of the leather cover inside the Delfonics pouch, but I like it this way, with my cover, and a small box of ephemera inside the pouch. There’s something special about pen and paper that have a quicker route to the place where my brain keeps fiction, specifically the kind I create myself.

Valentine’s Day is an interesting one for romance writers. It’s the big romantic love day. People who do not normally engage with the romance genre might be tempted to try one in honor of the holiday (yay, welcome, grab a book and stay a while) and hopefully find something they like. It’s also when other people sometimes detract from the romance genre without engaging with it. Okay I don’t have time for that right now. I love the romance genre and have ever since I stole The Kadin by Bertrice Small from my mother’s nightstand when I was eleven. Right then, I knew I had found what I wanted to read and write for the rest of my life. So far, so good.

Sometimes, there are pauses. This latest one seems big and it seems long and it seems oddly misplaced, as things are pretty stable. That’s…curious. Once again, okay. It is what it is. One foot in front of the other from where I actually am, and at some point, I’ll be back on track. Right now, I am fewer than one hundred pages away from the end of a vintage historical romance I have wanted to read for literally decades. Yes, it is worth the wait. Also, Roger de Mortimer was not a nice man. (Stuff like this is one reason I love medievals.) I am eyeing Camp NaNo in April (it is April, right? Anybody want to make a cabin?)

This is feeling babbly, so I will wrap, after a mention of how Valentine’s Day is always interesting around here, as Real Life Romance Hero is in the restaurant business, which means the big date holiday means he is working. We will celebrate later. I kind of like it that way. Storm, of course, will get her due amount of attention, a wee sniff of the nip, and, fingers (and paws) crossed, her own entry by the end of the week.

How are you doing?

as always, Anna

2024 Roadmap, Maybe

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Photo by Nadi Lindsay on Pexels.com

2023 was the worst reading year of my adult life. I’m still puzzled about that, as it was worse than the year I was homeless and worse than the years before and after. Ah, trauma, you are a strange one. I have not yet set a Goodreads goal, but I probably will. I don’t know when. Probably when the time feels right. How will I know? I just will, most likely. That’s the working theory.

Today, my contemporary co-writer, Melva Michaelian, sent Drama King off on query to an agent, so time will tell on that one. My job on that book is to get on the indie side of things, as well as pursuing a similar venture for my two out of print historicals. Melva and I want to get the next two Love by the Book books out in 2024, and we are each pursuing solo projects as well. Last year wasn’t as great for publishing as we had hoped, so once again, the bar is low. That’s a good thing.

This all feels like I’ve been over it a thousand times before, which gives me the mental issue of treading water for eternity. That feels pretty accurate for the last year or so. Still figuring things out, and moving forward while I do. Poopy first drafts for the win.

I am a big believer in “story in, story out,” and I need to work on that for this year. My best and easiest writing has been when I am involved in a fandom. I am speaking of commercial fiction here, not fanworks read/created within said fandom. The two feed each other. Part of that comes from community. Talking about things I love fills my well as much as engaging with those things.

Social media, in general, was not a big priority for me in 2023. Not thrilled with that, so it’s a priority to pick up in the year ahead. The platform formerly known as Twitter, meh. Might let that one go. I like Instagram. I have pretty stationery, a cute cat, and live across the street from a park. I can take pictures. There is also blogging. Big thanks to those who have stuck with this blog during the dry season. I’m not sure what I want to talk about right now, so expect a bunch of babble, and we will both trust that it’s going somewhere. If all else fails, cat pics.

Speaking of which, I am coming to capacity on the images in my current WordPress account, so there’s the decision to upgrade or move to the MelvaandAnna site, which has sat fallow for far too long, even though we do have an upgraded account there. Melva and I are planning some fun stuff over there in the months to come, including some giveaways.

It’s funny to look at the year ahead when the year behind was the way that it was. The hypercritical gremlins would say “well, that’s it, you failed. Shut it down and go dust something.” I am not going to listen to them this time. Right now, it’s acting as if, and the very loose, general plan :salute: (if you know, you know) is to become the mask somewhere along the way. I have stories, and they are worth telling.

How’s your year looking?

as always, Anna

Typing With Wet Paws: Welcome, 2024 Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is the very first Typing With Wet Paws of 2024. So far, so good. Well, there was the time Mama Anna faceplanted on the hardwood and did the same thing to her left foot that she did when she tripped over my food dish frame. She’s okay, but she says this does not count for starting as one means to go on, whatever that means. Anyway, here we are.

We haven’t had any snow yet. There may be some on Sunday. Mama Anna has not had the apartment to herself (ahem, ourselves) since before Christmas. Today is the first day it’s just us during the day, and I have to say its kind of nice. Mama Anna is working on her own blog for next week. She is also getting her planners in order and everybody is in organization mode. As you might imagine, this is both frustrating (nobody said the hoomans could change things) and exciting (so many smells! So much exploration!) As long as I can still park myself in Mama Anna’s sock drawer while she is working, I am good with whatever they do.

The holidays were pretty good around here. I got more gushy food than usual. No people food, but that’s okay. , The only people food I am allowed to have is people tuna. Mama D, my first hoomom, said I could also have people chicken, but so far, I haven’t wanted anything to do with that particular delicacy since I came to this family. Either Mama D was playing these guys, or people chicken is a me and Mama D thing. Either way, I’m not telling. But yeah, gushy food, and enough presents that Papa and Mama Anna decided it’s best to spread them out for a while. I am good with that. Especially because I got two, yes, two scratchy things. In case you are new, scratchy things are cardboard things that go on the floor and I can scratch. I also like sitting on them. Do not hang them from the doorknob, even though that is an option, because I am not inot all that. Floor or nothing, baby.

Mama Anna is still thinking about her reading goal for this year. I don’t have much news to report on that front though she mostly wants to focus on vintage historical romance, and modern historicals with similar vibes. The big plus for me, though is that Mama Anna has rediscovered how comfy it is to read when cozied up on a big pile of pillows, which means that is prime time for me to climb on top of her and make with the purrs. I call that a win-win situation.

Also, there is the backpack. I will have to ask a hooman to take a picture of it. Mama Anna thinks it is for her to carry stuff around while she needs to use the walker (not the Walking Dead kind, thankfully) but there is a problem. The problem is that it is mine. I love it. It is one of my many beds. She does not understand this. How much plainer can it be? It is me sized and me shaped, an if somebody were to leave the big part’s zipper unzipped while it is on the bed instead of hanging it up promptly upon returning home, I could probably get inside the big part. You know what happens if I do, right? I call it death in the shadows. POUNCE! On what, you might ask? On everything, obviously. I am a predator, after all. A cuddly, cuddly predator.

How’s your 2024 so far?

Dressing Gown Days

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Yes, I am American, and I call them dressing gowns. Real Life Romance Hero calls them “enchanted robes of comfort.” His is a lovely smokey grey. Mine is burgundy or oxblood, depending on my whim. They are both fuzzy and warm and perfect for today. We are both having rest days, which for me means I finally get to sneak a blog in for this week. I’ve missed blogging and plan to be more regular in the coming year. Our tree is green this year, with white lights and minimal ornaments, because the rose gold tree is inaccessible at the moment, and I Had To Have A Tree. Worked out pretty well.

My most-played Christmas song this year is “Fairy Tale of New York,” in several different versions, including one all in Gaelic. Yeah, there is some kind of story brewing. I am more than okay with that. .;ppppppppppppppppp (that last bit is from Storm, even though she will get her own blog post tomorrow. She has to be in on everything. Only fair, as it *is* her home.)               b She is in the mood today to remind me that this is a dressing gown day, and that means I have things on my list like “read,” and “watch TV” and “do journal things.” I am trying to tell her that blogging is like journaling, but I don’t think she’s accepting my argument. Ah well.

Housemate purchased this year’s tree at her place of employment, and far overbought both lights and ornaments, which are both tiny and glass, but this is fine for a couple of reasons:

  1. there are no such things as too many ornaments; if we aren’t using them now, we will be using them later, perhaps when we have a house and multiple trees.
  2. Storm can’t get to the tree anyway. If she could, she would have by now.
  3. It goes really well with the fun family stories we already have, like the time I blindly picked out a far too tall for our apartment tree because it was dark and raining and it ended up being Christmas trees, plural, as Real Life Romance Hero sawed it in half and gave the other half to our neighbor.

For those keeping track from last year, that brings our tree count to five. We have the green tree above, the rose gold tree in storage, my pink bottle brush tree, and my pink ceramic tree. Tree number five, I am calling our foster tree, as we are holding onto it for a friend in transit.

I love last year’s A5 rings so much, I am keeping the same setup, only changing the pages for this year’s

The current planner lineup for 2024 is approaching its final form and looks quite different than what I had expected. That seems to be a theme around here these days. I am even going out of town for what is shaping up to be an annual trip to the two coolest places in CT, namely The Book Barn and my friends, Mary and Brian’s house. Obviously, The Book Barn is the number two coolest place. Yes, it has a seemingly endless array of books to buy, but my friends are there only some of the time but they are in their home every day, so that makes it the #1 coolest place. Plus there is a dog.

This year’s Book Barn jaunt is going to be different, because I will be using either crutches or walker (looks like a torn meniscus but healing well) and that will be an adventure. I acquired a backpack to make toting stuff easier, but Storm seems to think I brought home a(nother) cat bed. She is in love with it, to the point of abandoning Real Life Romance Hero feeding her to settle on it. She has priorities. Everything is a cat bed if the cat is comfy enough.

No real point to this post other than the above, which is exactly what one needs on a dressing gown day. How is your day going?

as always, Anna

Typing With Wet Paws: Welcome, December Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Mama Anna says it is also proof of life. That means that we are here and we are okay. Kind of like purring. I am very good at purring.

Apart from the fact that I did not get any people food (unless we count the times I stuck my ace into servings of baked potato soup or macaroni and cheese; Mama Anna tells me to get my face right out of those. They are not for kitties.) Thanksgiving was pretty good. Papa made a pork tenderloin, and Mama Anna stayed up to hit some super doorbusters on Black, White and Orange Friday. Surprising nobody, those super doorbusters were mostly about stationery.

This was not one of them, but I am including it because A) it is now time to turn over the autumn planner/journal decorations to Christmas and winter, and B) you are looking at her new blogging notebook. Notebooks, actually, because there is one for her blogs and one for my blogs, and then there is another for her media consumption journal. I should remind her to make a spread for her Spotify Wrapped this year. She did not listen to a lot of music overall which was one of her “hmm, smells like depression” flags. I am happy to say that she is over that no music thing now and discovering lots of new stuff. Apparently, her top genre of the year was something called “Neo Mellow.” Neither one of us knew that was a thing, but apparently so.

If you think another one of the super doorbusters she attacked was Sims 4 related, you are right. She is super into Sims. Reading and TV are still getting there, but music and gaming are good, and yes, there is some writing. Mama Anna is giving serious consideration to how she might get My Outcast Heart and Orphans in the Storm back out there in 2024, as well as what she and Aunt Melva have planned for the second two books of the Love by the Book series. If you loved Meg and Dominic from Chasing Prince Charming, and wondering what their friends and family are up to, 2024 should be your year.

She has also dusted off A Heart Most Errant (if you like both medieval romance and postapocalyptic romance, this one is for you.) and is looking at expanding it so that it can be longer than novella length and ready to go back out on submission rounds when it is bigger and better. Maybe then she will be able to figure out what that guy named Guy should be doing if he gets to be the hero in a second book.

Also important is that I have discovered how to use a heating pad. I don’t only know how to sit on it when it is already on. I figured out that there is a way I can smack the controls with my paw to make it go from off to warm. I say it’s perfect time for that now that we are in this particular season. We have had dustings of snow. Nothing has stuck so far, but that is not far off. Mama Anna has set up her reading nook with soft pillows, fuzzy blankets, space for a hot drink and easy access to journal stuff. As long as I have access to her lap, she will be warm whether the heating pad is on or not.

How is December treating you so far?

2023; The Worst Reading Year of My Adult Life

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2023 has been the worst reading year of my adult life. That surprises me. Not that I am experiencing it but that I am experiencing it now, that we are three years securely ensconced in a comfy apartment, with no lack of books to read, both paper and electronic. I have multiple devices on which to read e-books, and to have audio books read to me. I am in walking distance of at least two libraries, and a short bus ride away from more. Even with all of that…no.

Photo by John Ray Ebora on Pexels.com

The first thing that I can think of is that my books, the ones I owned before our vagabond time began, are still safely in storage. It is most assuredly time to dig them out and set them up in the bookcases I have had since I was a literal baby. That will require some finagling and probably an entire day of playing storage Tetris. Books have always been the first things I packed before a move, and usually the first thing I would unpack, or one of the first. things probably will be different when I am able to touch my books again, but I do have newer to me books, acquired since we moved in here, that are still mine and I can still touch and still…no.

The first thing that came back on this healing journey, was stationery/journaling, and oh boy did it ever. I n a much bigger way than I had ever expected, so I would not be surprised if this ntime next year (or some other year) I might crank reading up to eleven and turn into some sort of book locust. I like that image. The lack of interest in reading waved a big ol’ red depression flag, which pointed me toward the awesome therapist I see now. Our big goal is to get me back writing, and one of the steps along that path is getting back to reading.

Not going to pretend there aren’t reverses and stumbling blocks. My current plan is to stick with books I either know I love (rereads) and the occasional whatever catches my fancy at the time. Getting back to some sort of reading tracker -a basic one at first, as much as I love the gorgeous, intricate kind I have seen from favorite influencers- is also on the table.

So, what are my reading goals for 2024? I like the “drop and give me 52” idea My reading tracker (handwritten) says I have read twenty-nine books so far, and Goodreads says thirty-two. Definitely a discrepancy there, so let’s go with the higher number. I want to complete 2023’s fifty-two and then start another for 2024. It’s okay if 2023’s goal finishes in 2024. In fact, I expect that it will. The reading bar is low for this year, sure. That happens sometimes. For the rest of the year, my focus when it comes to reading is finding stuff I want to read, then reading that.

How’s the reading year looking for you?

as always, Anna

Typing With Wet Paws: Finally Fall Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. We are now officially over the line for the beginning of autumn, aka the age of Mama Anna’s superpowers. We have observed our third moving-in-iversary to this apartment, which we continue to celebrate by, well making ourselves at home. This means Mama Anna gets to organize, refine, and decorate, which are all things she does super duper well, especially when the weather is like it is today. That means cool and rainy. Think of what most people would do when it’s a warm sunny day, and then that’s pretty much how Mama Anna is on days like this. , She is happy and wants to do All of the Things.

Thankfully, one of those things she likes to do is take pictures of me. I think this houndstooth purse makes a lovely complement to two of my colors, Now all she needs is an orange accent. No worries. I’ll shed some orange hair on it, and she will be good to go. Except she should never go. Ever. Anywhere. Only if she takes me with her. Other than that, she needs to stay here and write stuff. I like watching her write stuff.

Aunt Linda says that even though it is cooler now, it is not yet time to put on the heater until she gets rid of the, um, surprise I left her in proximity to one of the baseboards. I think it will probably happen soon though because Papa is from California, and people from California often have a lower threshold for this kind of thing. Soon, it will be time for the Big Laundry (today is a regular laundry) where all of the bedding and towels get washed at the same time (by some hired humans, not my regular ones) and then that stuff will be ready for the upcoming winter. I have a feeling that having ALL of the blankets warm and clean and smelling good can only mean good things for Mama Anna, which means good things for me.

Mama Anna and Aunt Linda did go to the special candle store. They got two autumn-y candles, a room spray (for the bathroom; flames are not good in a room where humans use spray cans, because kaboom) and even some wax melts for Mama Anna to make her own candles. Today, she has been listening to her special story-making music while she does some organizing of the big bedroom, because it is also her office and Papa’s office. It’s a big room, but then I don’t know a lot of rooms, and I am cat-sized. Anyway, the only thing missing from the whole feel of the day is that she did not have any tea. That is not because there is no tea in the house. There are several kinds of tea in the house. There are also bags of things for recycling in front of the place for making tea (That will all go away when Aunt Linda can help her take it where it needs to go.) Also because there is not milk in the house. I have nothing to do with that; it’s only the day before grocery day. Before you ask, yes, I did put crunchies on the list. Crunchies are delicious, and they are all mine.

The best part about the return of Mama Anna’s superpower is that I have figured out the very best perk. I mean, yes, she will be happy, and there will be new stories for people to read and buy and publish, but we are talking about me here. Let’s keep our priorities straight. Anyway, that priority is that I have figured out how to sit on the corner of Mama Anna’s desk while she is writing on the computer, and I can watch the words as they appear on the screen. This is very similar to when Mama Anna first started writing for real, and some of her college dormmates would stand behind her while she typed so they could read in real time.

I think this season is going well. What about you?

Thre Quarters of the Way Through September

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No idea what I want to write here, so I am going to babble today. We are now three quarters of the way through September, and I can very much feel my superpowers coming back. This should apply to blogging, so we will see. Though Storm has joined the chat, doing her thing where she walks across my keyboard to let me know Enough Glowy Box Time, and is about a minute away from putting her head atop ttttttttttttttttttttt –yeah, that part was her. As I was saying, her next step is to put her head on my right hand so I can’t use my mouse.

Photo by Alina Vilchenko on Pexels.com

We are also doing stock photo for this post because the whole point of the post is to post, and we always like the visuals. Also I have to figure out what’s up with Amazon photos and my phone but that’s easily sorted.

So. Anyway. I am alive. Melva and I are sending Drama King out on submission. Yesterday brought a no thank you, which eh, okay, it happens. We are seriously considering going the indie route with these completed Love By The Book books, which means looking into formatting and cover art and all that good stuff. We will know one way or the other by the start of the new year.

Looking forward to October, we have some important anniversaries coming. Including my birthday, there are three. October means the anniversary of when we moved into our current apartment. It’s cozy, but it works for us, and right now, I am taking a lot of pleasure in finally settling in and putting down roots. I have bene more excited than a sane person should be about over the door coat hooks. I have some of our fans slated for their winter slumber in storage. A nearby laundromat does bulk laundry which means we can get all of the sheets, blankets, towels etc, done at once and be ready for the cooler weather. If we want to get fancy, they pick up and deliver. Cardboard boxes, no; real storage type furniture, yes. Ideally, this would involve rescuing some of my existing furniture from Stuff Jail (aka storage) but then again, that depends on how much furniture Tetris we feel like playing.

Reading has been, in a word, poopy, but i am working on that. Rereads count, as do audiobooks, and if there was a way to make Goodreads count the creepypastas I have been listening to by the truckload, I would be way ahead of my goal. Will I make my goal for this year> Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see. Either way is okay.

TV is doing slightly better. I loved the first season of The Walking Dead: Dead City, and, only two episodes into Daryl Dixon, it is also the love. I did not expect nuns, but I am getting strong medieval vibes, which I count as good. Frasier‘s reboot is not far away. I look forward to that like a big bowl of macaroni and cheese on a chilly autumn night. This does of course remind me of t he writers and actors strike, which I do hope can reach resolution.

That’s about it for right now. Writing talk will come later, as will pictures taken y my own self. For right now, this is fine. I made a post. Here it is. What’s up with you?

As always, Anna

Typing With WetPaws: Welcome Back, Super Powers Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. It has been a while, but that awful summertime is over, and Super Powers are returning. Happy New Year to all our Jewish and Messianic friends. The picture above these words was taken by Aunt Linda, as I was taking a much-needed nap in her window. Some of the fans are off now, and Mama Anna is even wearing a sweatshirt as she helps me write this. There are noises from the humans about a Big Wash, which means ALL of the bedding, including blankets. I know what this means. This means it is time to be cozy and cuddly and snuggly. I am all about all of that.

Another thing that lends itself to cozy and comfy is that Mama Anna is listening to something I find very interesting these days: creepypasta. I do not mean things like spaghetti with spiders in it, but a certain kind of story she listens to on You Tube. It’s usually first person, kind of scary, but she doesn’t find it scary; she finds it interesting, and even listens to it to help her sleep. Yes, she will be bringing this up with the special talking people vet. her favorite kinds of stories so far are those about things that happen in the deep woods, and also where the narrator works at a place with some strange rules to them. Maybe she will try to write one for one of her blogs.

Now that summer is basically over, and will be officially over next week, Mama Anna is feeling much more herself. That means much more like writing. She is still working on the reading thing, which she will also mention to the talking people vet but is pretty sure that will come in time. Probably also with a nice autumnal candle.

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Some scents that she likes for this time of year are: cinnamon, clove, woodsmoke, tobacco, leather, wine, pumpkin, apple, coffee, fallen leaves, and that sort of thing. Aunt Linda wants to go to Yankee Candle, which Mama Anna is all for, even better if they can meet up with some friends who also like going to candle places. I mean the factory, but maybe Aunt Linda only means the small stores in the mall. That one is good, too. Mama Anna is also playing around with making her own candles with wax melts and wicks, but she is starting on that journey, so buying candles is still a good idea.

I, of course, am not allowed to investigate candles, no matter what fragrance they have. Something about fire. Blankets are much more fun, as they are fuzzy and soft, like me, and good for napping. I am extremely good at napping. When Mama Anna is at her keyboard, i am usually sleeping in her sock drawer right next to her desk. I let her know I want in my drawer by scratching the drawer below it. Mama Anna says that sets a precedent, but Papa says I’m cute, and this was a curb dresser, so it’s okay. It’s a good thing he’s cute.

Mama Anna’s schedule says it is now naptime, so I had better sign off now, as I am nap commissioner. I will let her update you all on writing and stuff in her own blogs. What are you currently reading?

Headbonks!