Reading

YA Book Recommendations for Pride Month, pt 1

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After historical romance, my next favorite subgenre of fiction is Young Adult (YA.) It’s still not a genre in which I write (I hear a dear aunt’s voice in my head now, saying “never say never.”) but one in which I know I am going to find a lot of love, familial, platonic and romantic.

It’s also a genre that is wonderfully diverse, which I love. Here are, in no particular order, five recommendations for YA novels with LGBT+ protagonists. As far as I know, all are own voices stories.

1) All the Bad Apples, Moira Fowley-Doyle: We first meet narrator, Deena, after the funeral of her free-spirited and much older sister, at which there was no body. Deena’s family is believed to be cursed, that something horrible will happen on a girl’s seventeenth birthday, that would follow her the rest of her life. Prepare to be swept away by Fowley-Doyle’s compelling voice, and live with the characters as multiple generations of Deena’s family deal with their own curses and choose their own futures. Oh, and Deena likes girls.

2) Let’s Talk About Love, Claire Kann: Alice has her whole summer planned out, but when she comes out to her girlfriend as asexual, that’s only the first of the big changes in Alice’s life. That relationship is over, but life isn’t, and not wanting sex doesn’t mean not wanting love. What better time than a job at the library to keep Alice’s mind on the right track? Well, apart from co-worker Takumi, who very much reminds Alice how nice romance can be. Will he still be into her if he knows the whole truth about what she wants? (spoiler: he is)

3) Two Boys Kissing, David Levithan: modern teenage boyfriends Harry and Craig participate in a kiss-a-thon to set a world record, but the focus is not entirely on them. Narrated by a Greek Chorus of gay men who died in the AIDS epidemic, we also see how the boys’ lives affect other teens, their own families, and the reader’s own heart.

4) History is All You Left Me, Adam Silvera: Oh my heart. Adam Silvera has ripped it out, stomped it flat, put it back in, and made it somehow, if not stronger, more resilient. Here’s how: teenage Griffin was in love with his ex-boyfriend, Theo, even though they broke up so Theo could go to college on the opposite coast. Neither of them counted on Theo falling in love with Jackson. Or Theo dying, in front of Jackson, who has come to NY for the funeral. Who are the only two people who get what it was like to be in love with Theo even though he’s gone? Yeeep. This is raw, beautiful honest grief, with healing and growing up.

5) Pulp, Robin Talley: I said this list was in no particular order (and I am starting to wish I had made this a top ten, but that’s what other posts are form, hm?) but I am going to give this one the title of favorite, because while I don’t know what it’s like to be LGBT in any decade, I do know what it’s like to have the discovery of a genre of fiction change one’s entire life. For me, it was historical romance. For Janet Jones in 1955, and Abby Zimet sixty-two years later, it was lesbian pulp fiction. Ms. Talley is a master at writing twentieth century historical fiction, fully inhabiting both timelines, as Abby delves into what really happened to the mysterious ‘Marian Love” who wrote only one book and then disappeared.

All of these books are standalones, another thing I love about YA, so there is no need to read other books by any of these authors, before diving into these, but oh how quickly those TBRs will grow.

Typing With Wet Paws: Almost June Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome and this is Typing With Wet Paws. This was a quiet week for blogging, because we had a small family emergency last week (all sorted now, everyone is fine) and then Aunt Anna picked up a gross bug ( the people sick kinds, not the fun six legged hunting kind) which means I am on nursing duty, which means I yell at her when she is up for too long. I have also been diligent in making the very best use of Uncle Rheuben’s butt warmer (he calls it a laptop. It is a butt warmer. Good thing he’s cute.)

Things Aunt Anna has been super good at while sick:

1) naps (I coach her)
2) staying hydrated (once again, I lead by example)
3) watching You Tube videos mostly about Sims and Degrassi.
4) feeling really really guilty as she looks at her unmoving reading tally (and usually falls asleep next to a good book.)

On the one paw, there is nothing to feel bad about because this is how healing happens. On the other paw, the library does want their e-books back after a certain amount of time. On the other other paw, Kindle Unlimited is a thing, and she has a ton of books in her Kindle already. On the other other other paw, there are all those great stories waiting for her, and reading makes her want to write more, and writing more helps her feel better, so those things all feed each other and she really does tend to overthink things like this too much.

That’s okay, though. Taking a catnap with an actual cat is beneficial for everybody involved, and text to speech means that there is always a dependable robot voice ready to read a tired human a story. Not to mention the small notebook Aunt Anna keeps at hand, to write down stuff for when she’s able to keep a thought in her head already (her words, not mine.)

One thing that helps her a lot in both reading and writing is accountability. On the reading front, she is way way way ahead of the game, and on the reading front, she is reading The Pirate Prince by Gaelen Foley, along with Aunt Linda. It looks like this:

143730

Aunt Anna doesn’t know much about this book, except that there are pirates in it, and it’s got a pretty good reputation, so she is optimistic. If she can stay awake for anything, she can stay awake for pirate. Also belly rubs. I do require my belly rubs. More regular posting coming next week, toebeans crossed.

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Mid-May Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Can you believe it’s the middle of May already, and the next month is going to be June? I don’t have a lot of experiences with these month things, because I am only two, but the humans, and especially Aunt Anna, seem stymied by where we are on the calendar. She is not overly fond of summertime, but if she can stay indoors most of the time (hopefully writing, definitely under feline supervision, aka me) then things should be okay.

All of the stuff from Chez Grandmere is safely and neatly stashed in storage, and there is still plenty of room, which means Aunt Anna is looking at moving some stuff from the first storage unit to the second one, to decrease congestion. In storage, that is, not anybody’s respiratory system. One of her priorities is to get at one of her keeper books, A Love So Bold, by Annelise Kamada, because one of the books she rescued from Chez Grandmere, A Banner Red and Gold, is the sequel to that one, and she wants to read them back to back. As far as Aunt Anna knows, Ms. Annelise only wrote the two books, or only had those two published, so they are especially valuable as there aren’t any others. She is kind of salty about that. Even so, she is pretty excited about the prospect of doing a deep dive into some of the older/classic/first wave of historical romance, and keeping notes on what works and doesn’t for her, what inspires her, and what she would like to do.

Right now, reading the sorts of stories that get her excited about writing is high on that list. Apparently (I can only go on the materials left by Big Sister Skye, because this is my first almost-summer with Aunt Anna and my first as a Mews) summertime is not Aunt Anna’s best time, but I think we will get through it okay.

there is not a lot of pressure on the reading front, as Aunt Anna is already 25 books ahead of schedule with her Goodreads reading challenge. That means that she has read 58 out of 90 books, and puts her at 64% of the way to her goal. For those who have asked if she is going to increase that goal, she is not sure as of yet. Ask her again when she gets closer to 80 or so. An early win would not be a bad thing, all things considered. Also, that makes more time for Simming.

There is no grass growing on top of Buried Under Romance, as there are three new reviews, as well as Aunt Anna blabbering about her usual stuff (aka the book haul) so go check that stuff out. Frankly, I am impressed. Aunt Anna would like me to give a shoutout to Miss Lisa, Miss Amy, and Miss Evelyn from Buried Under Romance, for their super revewing powers. They only use them for good, I promise.

Speaking of good, let’s go to the part about me. I know there are graphics that normally go here, but I don’t feel like accessing them. Anyway, I don’t know if I told you, but Uncle Rheuben has a butt warmer. He calls it a laptop. He is taking care of it until Aunt Anna needs to do a video conference with Aunt Melva, or do Zoom meetings or make videos. Anyway, he makes sure it is running well. Sometimes, he gets up to do something else, and that is when I make my move.

Clearly, the thing is a butt warmer. It is the same color as (most of) my butt, so that’s a sign, right? It is apparently not okay to use the keyboard as a scratching post. One guess as to how I found that out. I am not telling how I learned how to close his windows, but I can. Biggest Brother (Sir) Ginger said I can’t give away trade secrets like that. What is knowledge to felines is mystery to humans. So is how I know when it is time to yell at Aunt Anna to go to bed already and then sit on her and purr when she finally does. That is a pretty good bookend to when she sits down at the glowy box and starts making with the clickety clack. I do not even try warming my butt on the desktop keyboard. Well, okay,. I may have tried, but a) it wasn’t warm, and b) Aunt Anna said it is for writing (and gaming) only. Says her.

Headbonks!

.

Romance, Buried Under

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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: Almost Out of April Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Lots of mews duty for me this week, as Aunt Anna had a couple rounds with the anxiety monster, but I think things are under control now. That’s a good thing, because that means she can take care of some overdue stuff, like writing things and keeping new content up on Buried Under Romance.

Last week, the internet wasn’t working so great, but things should be better now. Aunt Anna is glad for that. She is a little salty about the Will and Grace finale, but gives it a grade of incomplete. If it’s pass/fail, pass, which is better than fail. She also hit her loan limit for library e-books, so there is going to be a bunch of reading ahead. She has now read fifty-four out of ninety books, putting her at sixt6y percent of the way to her goal.

She is well aware that a bunch of the books in her currently reading sidebar have been there for a while. Some are even from before me. At least one is. part of her says she should really get on that, but another part says that putting should in her pleasure reading takes the pleasure right out of it. I am not sure which is right. I’m only two, so I don’t have a lot of experience with this sort of thing (or a lot of things, really.) What do you think?

Aunt Anna thanks everyone for their patience with the Buried Under Romance stuff. She hasn’t forgotten or gone away. It’s this whole life thing, but romance novels are a happy place. What ones are you reading? Aunt Anna is mostly reading e-books now, as we are still in for-now lodgings. I can tell you one thing: when we do move into our new apartment, I am going to have a lot of book scenting to do. Her tablet and Kindle cases already smell like me, so we are all set there.

Anyway, I am being a good girl, if you don’t count 4AM Parkour sessions and systemstically knocking things off Aunt Anna’s nightstand (and only her nightstand. Uncle Rheuben doesn’t have much smackable on his, nor does Aunt Linda. I also like sleeping right above or next to Aunt Anna’s head. That’s not at all creepy, right? I want to make sure she is okay.

The big family news around here is that Chez Grandmere has sold, so it is time for Aunt Anna and Aunt Linda (Uncle Rheuben will stay here with me) to go out in that direction and load the stuff we are keeping onto a truck and drive it back to NY, where they will put it in a storage unit. From there, once lockdown is lifted, Aunt Linda will take one box of Grandma stuff every time she visits and let Grandma decide where it all goes. I am very happy to report that when it was time to put labels on things, Aunt Anna put Storm labels on my favorite chair and headboard. Well, every chair is the cat’s chair. You know what I mean, but this is the one where I hid in the boxspring. It’s special.

Let’s see, what else? Aunt Anna and Aunt Melva are putting together a real official draft of Drama King to date, with Aunt Anna searching her files for scenes that go in particular places. When they wrote Chasing Prince Charming, Aunt Anna numbered all the scenes. She is probably going back to that because it made this kind of thing a whole lot easier. She’s still working on finding the writing routine that works for the current arrangements, as in no door to close, and can’t go to a coffee shop to write. She’s smart, though, so she’ll figure it out. Trial and error, a good pair of earbuds, and some creative scheduling should do the trick.

I think I’ll wrap it here, and see if I can give one of the humans the big eyes so they will play red dot with me. I love red dot. I will catch him. I will.

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Mid-April Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! It’s halfway through April, I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. The humans are almost done with their side quest with Chez Grandmere, so Aunt Anna is confident that she will be back to a regular blogging schedule. Yesterday was actually a “regular” writing day that felt pretty darned good, from where I was sitting (on the table behind her monitor, if anyone wants specifics. I take my duties as mews very seriously. Feline supervision is crucial.)

Goodreads challenge report first today because I’m a cat and I do what I want. Apparently, Aunt Anna also does what she wants because she is currently twenty-five books ahead of schedule, with fifty-one read out of her goal of ninety. I will be waiting to see if she can continue this pace, because we are no longer in residence at Chez Grandmere, hence access to interwebs, and Uncle Rheuben bought Aunt Anna two new stuff packs for the Sims 4 yesterday, so it’s really anybody’s guess. Also there is apartment hunting to be done, but Aunt Anna can listen to audiobooks while she blogs, journals, or -most importantly- cuddles me, so she may well be able to maintain. Also, she keeps finding new stuff to read.

Segue now into Buried Under Romance. Four new reviews went up this week, thanks to the amazing Amy. Aunt Anna is still finding her way around all the technical aspects of the site, but she’ll get there. In her latest post, she talks about some reading goals that challenge the status quo (for her) and will probably involve some hunting on eBay, because going to in person used bookstores is kind of not a thing right now. When it is, expect Aunt Anna to be alllll over that. So am I, because if the humans take me, then I get a car ride, and I looove car rides.

I have my own banner now.

That brings us to the me part of this post. From the first day I came to stay with these guys, I have been surprising them with what a good traveler I am. In short, car rides = awesome and I frequently chill in my adventure cave even when we aren’t going anywhere. It makes a pretty good stay at home cave, too. Since the hauling of one beautiful calico girl across state lines will no longer be happening on a regular basis, and roots will soon be, well, taking root, the humans have had discussions on what will happen when the resident feline gets wanderlust. They already agree on what to do about the regular lust. I will be getting fixed when the human virus thing is past. Sorry in advance to all the disappointed boy cats.

Where the humans landed on are a few facts:

  1. Storm loves car rides.
  2. Storm loves new places.
  3. We have a travel cat.
  4. We will need to take her on pleasure trips.

This means they are looking into getting me a harness and leash once we are settled-settled, and maybe even a kitty stroller, so they can take me on walks. I would have to practice the leash stuff inside and the humans will definitely consult with a vet before any of this happens. I am also looking forward to going to the stores where cats (and dogs) are welcome and can pick out their own toys. I already told them I want the yellow flappy things that go “chirp” and anything in the fish department, but I am told those are actually other pets. Who knew? Anyway, if you ever thought of Aunt Anna as the kind of human who looks forward to walking her cat while conferring with her imanginary friends, you are a human of great vision. She totally is.

Headbonks!

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.

Typing With Wet Paws: Signs of Spring Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Human stuff is settling down, at least a little bit, so Aunt Anna expects to be showing her own face on the blog once again, before too long. Once she sorts out the password stuff, that is, but that’s another story.

This week, Aunt Anna actually scoped out some new electronic doodads that will be helpful. in the whole Patreon thing, because that is totally happening. She’s working on content even now, and I am keeping a close supervisory (and slow blinkey) eye on the whole process. I have already volunteered to review cat toys, so Aunt Anna can save all her reviewing energy for books and stationery. I think that’s the most efficient division of labor. Also, I will do most of the napping. Leave it to the master, amiright?

One sure sign of spring is the planner clearance sales that provide Aunt Anna with a chance to try out new notebook systems and get a few of her metaphorical writing ducks in a row. It also helps her get ready for April’s Camp NaNoWriMo, which she is heavily leaning toward doing this year, probably but not definitely getting Her Last First Kiss all the way to the end of draft number two. It’s also about time to um, stuff of get out of the litterbox about getting My Outcast Heart and Orphans in the Storm back out there, where readers can find them. She’s still overthinking about the whole submissions versus indie route thing, but if there is a paw that hits “send” sometime in the coming week on one of those submissions, well, I was in a sunbeam the whole time. You all saw me, right?

Spring is a time of changes, and Aunt Anna is on them. Buried Under Romance will be back ASAP, and if anyone doubts Aunt Anna’s devotion to romance, I direct them to her Goodreads challenge, where she is kicking tush and taking names at 30 books read out of 90, which is fourteen books ahead of schedule. Yeah. She’s like that. Channel that energy into writing and publishing, and this gal is going to be unstoppable.

Now we come to the important part of this entry, which is to say the part about me. We spent a few days at Chez Grandmere this past week, where my beloved Blue Chair lives. I love Blue Chair. He is mine, and I am a very smart girl. I am so smart, in fact, that when I saw the humans getting ready to pack the car and head out, before I was done with Blue Chair, I was not about to let that happen.

I made a beeline for the master bedroom, where I hid inside the box spring (that is my go-to hiding place. My mom laughed super hard when Aunt Anna first found out the hard way) Aunt Anna and Aunt Linda teamed up to flush me out of the box spring, but I was not done yet. I zoomed into the living room, and then poof, disappeared into thin air, or so the humans thought. Everybody looked in all the closets, the big dark basement where I am not allowed, the washer, the dryer, the refrigerator, all the cabinets, even outside in the rain, under the shed and everything. No Storm. I made Aunt Anna cry, but she also Googled about hiding cats, and then the humans looked in Blue Chair.

Aunt Linda found me inside that box spring, looking quite comfy and un-budge-able, but then Uncle Rheuben turned the chair on its back and he and Aunt Linda got me out while Aunt Anna grabbed my adventure cave. That’s when it hit me that we were Going On An Adventure, and I love adventures, so bloop, I went right in without question, and off we all went. The ride back home was great. It rained the whole way, so my view was incredible. Aunt Anna loves rain, too, so that probably helped her mood

Headbonks!

Five of These Things

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I did take a deskscape for today (okay, it was a lap deskscape) but there were technical difficulties, so let us all appreciate stock photos and photo editing software.

At any rate, I’m back. Our stay off the grid extended itself due to a couple of factors, but that’s life. Apart from the virus that converted all of my energy into super gross eye boogers, the whole thing did pretty well. I had a great working lunch with Melva Michaelian. We are oh so ready to get Jack and Kelly all the way to their HEA, so it can be Rob and Heather’s turn next, and we do know what comes after we finish this group of three.

Longhand really does work best for me, for composing/drafting, and the lack of internet distraction did allow me more time to get at least some of the ducks in a row. That does involve plotting out the bones of the gazebo story, which is taking a turn I didn’t expect (still a romance, don’t worry) and I actually have all of my pirate trilogy longhand notes in one container. ,I will do a post later, on the plotting method/template I used, and the modifications I’m making to it, but for this week, I have another focus.

Even though the whole future of RWA (Romance Writers of America) is a big question mark right now, I am super excited, and a little nervous, about the meeting of my local chapter, Capitol Region Romance Writers, because this month, I am the one presenting the program. I am honored and psyched that my fellow members not only asked me to present the workshop a few years back, but asked me to present it again.

Come to think of it, the workshop I presented back then was at a February meeting as well, so one more time, and it’s tradition. I could live with that. The chapter has changed in the intervening years, and so have I, so it stands to reason that the workshop has undergone a few changes of its own. Bob and Jane (if you’ve taken one of my workshops before, you know who they are) will be making an appearance, and there will be a few surprises as well. That’s usually what happens when we creative types dump a bunch of stuff we love in the kiddy pool of our imaginations and splash about with reckless abandon.

“Um, Anna,” I hear some of you saying, “the title mentions five things, and I don’t see any numbered lists here, just saying.” I hear you, dear readers, so I will get right to this wee listicle of five things that have made me happy recently:

1) photo editing
2) Sims (3 and 4)
3) getting back into my travelers notebooks
4) historical romance with adventure and pageantry
5) contemporary YA that makes my heart ache

To use a phrase one will hear often in my workshop, what do these things all have in common? Either with each other or as a whole. Anybody? Anybody? Beuller? The list took only a few seconds to come up with, because those things have been very near the surface over the last couple of weeks. It’s been a rough few months IRL, so that means that getting some of the good stuff is even more important, not only for creativity’s sake, but for emotional survival.

I will probably go into more detail on each item above, but for now, I’m going to be more general. I have been watching a lot of photo editing videos online, most with a very particular aesthetic. Take a look at the picture above and guess which one. The fact that I have been listening to a lot of The Smiths while I try to see if I can apply what I’ve learned to my own work probably says something.

Erik was born in-game, a while back.

Sims games are eerily similar to writing, and with custom content, I can -hey, like photo editing- make the picture on my screen look more like the picture in my head. Said picture does absolutely have a lot to do with those historical romances and YA novels that play my emotions like YoYo Ma plays the cello, and I can oh so happily spend hours getting a Sim or a house, etc, exactly right. I probably have the save with the above simulated gent in it, saved in the cloud, and if not, I have his parents; they always make gorgeous offspring.

is the return of Big Pink imminent?

Though I believe I have found planner peace with my current planner, I still very much miss Big Pink, and Li’l Pink, my travelers’ notebooks, so that probably means it’s time to get back to them. I don’t want to duplicate my7 calendar, but that only means that the next logical step is to make them something else. That, I can do. Not sure what, but I will start with my old faithful Moleskine cahiers, rather than the standard size pictured above.

That’s pretty much the gist of the workshop. Find what you love, and find a way to make it uniquely one’s own. No two combinations are ever going to be the same I find that exciting.

see you soon!