YA Recommendations For Pride Month or Any Month

June 19, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Back in 2013, I picked up Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, because I was intrigued by the concept of the protagonist being a fanfic writer. I have ficced a few things in my day, so wanted to see how this would play out in an actual novel. Not only did I end up liking the book (and more by Rowell) but that started on me reading YA novels for the first time since I was a young adult myself. There is a bit of time in between those two things.

From there, I read more Rowell and beyond that, more YA. A lot of that has had LGBTQ+ flavor, be it the writer, protagonists, supporting characters, or all of the above. I’ve been wanting to make a post with YA recommendations for a while now (also classic historical romance, but that’s another story (pun intended.) Since we are in Pride month, I figure that’s a good place to start. I can definitely recommend other YA in the future. Believe it or not, there are quite a few YA novels that use fandoms as a large part of the plot, and you know I grab those as soon as I see them.

Whittling this down to five choices has been hard. I do have a larger list, which I can post later. For now, if I could only take five such books to a desert island, these would be the ones, in no particular order.

Told out of chronological order, we get to piece together the events that led up to Nathan, aka Nate, being violently attacked by his best friend, Cam. Heartfelt, angsty, taking an unflinching look at the intersectionality of Christianity and queerness (Nate is both) and what a battlefield adolescence can be for a lot of people. I also highly recommend Mr. Smedley’s other novel, Tonight ,We Rule the World (unrelated) A list of trigger warnings for both books can be found on the author’s site here.

*History is All You Left Me* — Adam Silvera

For this one, I will let my Goodreads review do all the talking:

In some alternate universe, I am still reading this book. In some alternate universe, Griffin and Theo and Jackson and Wade are together, in some configuration, as the complete squad. Heck, Jackson could pull in Annika and Veronika, though the gals are supporting characters, but that’s how relationships go sometimes.

Griffin and Theo and Wade were best friends, until Griffin and Theo came out to each other, at the same time. Griffin and Theo dated until Theo left for college on the opposite coast, but still figured they’d be endgame…until Theo met Jackson. Still, they were young, they had time to find their way back to each other…until Theo drowned, sending both Griffin and Wade spinning out of control, and toward each other. Griffin and Jackson should hate each other, but they both love (present tense) Theo, so that’s something, isn’t it?

It is something, but exactly what it is would be telling, and that’s not even counting the important part of the puzzle Wade has been holding onto all this time.

Emotional, engaging, and utterly filled with raw emotion, this book is a touching tale of friendship, first love, grief, and the new normal

My original Goodreads review:

This is one of the most raw, affecting, and poignant descriptions of grief I have read in a long time. I will likely write a proper review later, but I did read this book in one sitting. Quick read, and an extremely effective one, stark and cold as a lonely winter, but full of the warmth that comes from friendship and memory, with the sparkle of new beginnings.

I don’t want to think about this book right now, as I want to feel it a while longer. It’s one of those books, an unexpected treat wrapped around the nothingness and crushing weight of loss, the madness that comes in its wake, and the promise of a new normal.

I have indeed thought more about this book but have not written a proper review, but OOF. Our protagonist, Marin, left California with the clothes on her back to go to college on the East Coast. Now it’s Christmas break, and Marin is not going home. She is not going to her roommate’s home. She is staying in the dorm, the only student doing so, her only human companionship a visit from her best friend, Mabel, which means facing everything that made her flee like her life was on fire. To be fair, it kind of was. Nina LaCour wraps this all up in achingly beautiful prose. Be prepared for gut punches and a happy cry at the end.

Dual timelines. Two queer women, sixty years apart, and the pulp novels that tie them together. Once again, I need to write a fuller review, but here’s this for now:

Better review coming later, as I want to hold onto the feeling of having read this book for a while before sharing my impressions, but I knew I had to read it as soon as I first saw the title. Modern day Abby discovers the world of 1950s lesbian pulp fiction, and sets off on a quest to not only write her own novel in the genre, but discover what happened to the author of her favorite pulp novel, who disappeared after only one release. That alone makes for an interesting storyline, but when Robin Talley adds the second point of view, that of the abovementioned author, and that author’s own entrée into the world of the pulps, and weaves in the novels both women write, what we get is a nuanced story on a greater scale.

This book has a lot of what I love best about historical fiction with romantic elements. There may not always be a happily ever after for the couples involved (especially f/f couples in the 1950s) but there is love, and the history directly impacts the relationships of all couples, in both timelines. Though I don’t know much about this area of history, the story, and characters, spurred me to research and learn more about the era and people that created this branch of pulp fiction. That research led me to pick up on some of the Easter eggs (I am sure there are more) sprinkled throughout, referencing real life components of the genre and its time.

Update: Yep. Buying my own copy to annotate. Talley gets it right about the impact a genre can have on a writer.

*How They Met and Other Stories* — David Levithan

This feels like cheating, as it’s not a novel but a short story collection, but if I could have only one Levithan, it would be this one. Very, very, very short review on this one, which I will let stand, as my advice is to go in blind.

I am head over heels in love with the way David Levithan uses language and how he taps into the raw, bleeding hearts of young lovers. Some of these loves turn out well, some don’t, and every point in between, but this is an unforgettable collection that will stay with you long after your first read.

My favorite story in this collection is “Breaking and Entering.” I don’t think I have healed fully yet from that one, and I can identify with both characters.

~*~

Five books is, of course, only scratching the surface. Keen observers will notice this list skews heavily toward emotional and angsty, though that is not at all the only option for YA, or even for the authors listed here.

What are you reading these days?

Typing With Wet Paws: Koolio in the House Edition

June 6, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. As the title might suggest, we have our air conditioning on, and it feels awesome. I have been unusually talkative lately. Papa and Mama Anna think I want to make sure they are okay because it is summer weather now, and Aunt Linda thinks I am reacting to the air pressure. The weather report says it will be me-ing soon and that does things to the atmosphere.

Mama Anna was curious to see if I would accept clothes. The answer is yes.

Mama Anna tells me that tomorrow’s trip will be the last one of the summer, as she and Aunt Linda are going to see Aunt Mary again tomorrow. That is why I am posting today. They will be back on Sunday, so only gone for one night, but that is still too long for my liking. I get to spend the weekend with Papa. He may work on the new headboard. You will all be glad to hear it is unanimous that I will be allowed to scratch it if I want (it’s distressed already.)

Now that we have the proper inside temperature, and nobody is sweating to death, the humans will be better able to function. I still get the open window in Aunt Linda’s room, so that’s good. Having air conditioning means that it is much easier to function. The humans had been stubborn and insisted that fans were enough, but Papa ended up at the vet last year, and then they broke down, got Koolio, and, well, Mama Anna hauled out her weighted blanket last night. She had her feet sticking out. Best of both worlds.

Last week, Aunt Linda put a lot of her extra yarn in storage. She still has more to put away, and all of the humans need to switch their winter and summer clothes. Seems like a lot of work. I just shed. Much more efficient. We also have new summer sheets, which I will have to inspect when the humans make the bed next. That whole bit about “remove cat” being every other step in instructions for changing sheets with a cat around is funny because it’s true.

the white thing is a t-shirt, so I will shed on that and not on Mama Anna’s pink chair.

Warmer weather means more daytime naps for everybody, and then more activity when it is dark and cool. I could have told them that. With Mama Anna’s desk in front of a window, that puts her in direct sun during the day. Thankfully, she can take paper and pen to the soft office, or her laptop, for that matter, and go back to the desk at night. In case I didn’t mention it earlier, Mama Anna got a whole big box of tiny bubble wands and keeps one at her desk. She says blowing soap bubbles is good for calming down when she has anxiety. I am not sure about them. I gave them my best Halloween Kitty posture, but they don’t seem to do any harm, so maybe they will be fun to bat with my paws, as was suggested. These are the regular soap kind. Mama Anna needs to try the catnip kind. I will probably like those.

What does your weekend look like?

Typing With Wet Paws: Going to a Baby Shower Edition

May 17, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers. I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Mama Anna thinks I don’t know she is going away overnight tomorrow because she is packing an overnight bag rather than a suitcase, but I know the signs. I should state that Mama Anna and Aunt Linda are the ones going to the baby shower. I am staying home with Papa. We will be getting the primary bedroom ready to install Koolio when Mama Anna gets back. Right now, we have fans going, but Mama Anna is firm. It’s humid. Try dealing with that when wearing a full time fur coat. I guess the humans are putting Koolio in for themselves, too.

This is what Mama Anna woke to this morning. It took her all night to finally fall asleep, so I wanted to keep a close eye on her and make sure she was okay. Spoiler alert, she was. She’s still sad from her friend going to Rainbow Bridge, but also excited to help the people kitten’s family get ready for them. When she gets back, she will be tired. Fortunately, I am great at helping with naps. I will also inspect her bags for any interesting things.

It’s been an interesting week over here. Mama Anna is happy she was able to blog, both her turn and helping me here. Hopefully next week will be more fiction-y. Once Koolio is up and running, she will be much better equipped to function during the summer, which it totally is right now.

Change of season also means change of Mama Anna’s nighttime journal. The big chonky journal is the old one she just finished, and the thin one, still in its shrink wrap, is the new one. They are about pocket size and last about three months. The old one is metallic gold and the new one is lavender. Mama Anna thought that was good for summer. The other options were black and navy blue. She is saving those for fall and winter and then needs to restock. The art store near Aunt Mary sells them, so she will probably get some when she visits there. The art store in our city has them sometimes.

Now that it is summer time, the layout of the home office is a little different. Mama Anna’s desk is next to the window. She can work there in the morning, but around noon, it is too bright, so she moves us (I work with her, obviously) to the soft office, aka the people bed. The whole room will be cool when Koolio is in use, but right now, there is a fan pointed at it. Two, actually, one on each side. It’s pretty comfy. I like the breeze in my fur.

Anyway, that’s about it for this week. How are you getting ready for summer?

Funeral for a Friend…and a Baby Shower

May 14, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

This is an odd week. Staring with a funeral, ending with a baby shower. In between is, well, interesting. When I get back, Real Life Romance Hero and I will retrieve Koolio from his winter home (Housemate’s closet) and thus the Age of Air Conditioning, AKA summer, will begin.

I am not the biggest proponent of summer. If I had the option to scarper off somewhere for a second winter instead of summer, I would take it. Yes, I am aware Australia exists. It’s also time to turn over ye ole wardrobe from winter to summer. See you in September, cuddly sweaters and fleecy leggings. Hello, floaty dresses and loose over shirts.

So, the title of this blog post– let’s get to that. seeing how many people loved Michele was lovely, and I am super glad I got to sit with Melva, as the three of us were a formidable trio of one amazing writing group for many years. I’d hoped to get a cyber-version together, but that didn’t pan out. Insert rumination of always thinking there will be more time here. I am feeling that very keenly at the moment, and likely will be for a while.

Whenever we were together, we encouraged each other to keep writing. I have her memorial card (above) in my EDC traveler’s notebook to remind me of that, especially on the hard days, of which this is one. I don’t believe we “get over” losing a loved one. Rather, we heal around it, and, as Therapy Dude suggested, find a place within ourselves where that relationship now lives. With Michele, the answer is easy: stories.

Besides her two published YA historical novels, some nonfiction work, and the fanfics through which she met, Michele also experimented with other works. I am salty about the dual P.O.V. historical fiction with romantic elements that she had been working on most recently. I’m going to miss the chance to hold that book in my hands. That’s not in my control. What I can control is my own writing. This week is a family week. Funeral at the start, and baby shower at the finish.

The baby shower is also out of state. It feels as though only yesterday, I was at my nephew’s wedding. Now he’s going to be a dad. It seems like only the day before that, I met him and his parents (his mom is that sister-friend who became instant family) at a historical reenactment, and the father-to-be was in preschool. His parents had to leave early so they could get him to bed because they had to get him to daycare in the morning. Now he’s a firefighter, married, and in the late summer or early fall, I will meet his first kiddo. Time does go quickly.

That’s about enough for one day over here, but I do need to mention that the person sitting behind me at the gathering on Monday saw eleven turtles the day before. I have no context but it seemed important. I would like to see some turtles.

How is your week going?

Mermay

May 5, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

The only reason I am on time with this post is because my printer is running out of ink. quashing my plan of printing stickers. May as well get on to the next task. Storm is well aware that she owes a blog post, and will be subjected to an additional photo session in order to make that happen. For now, we will go forward.

At the start of a new month, I like to pick a theme for my planners and sometimes journals. Novel notebooks are a different story (pun intended) because they don’t depend on real life timeframes, and have their own, especially the historicals. Some months are easy: January is New Year, February is Valentine’s Day, etc. May? Mother’s Day is tricky, so that’s a no for themes. Housemate’s birthday is in May. I have given her the option to choose an element for the planner deco, and her only request was “cool colors.” That fits well with the theme many in the planner community follow: Mermay.

I like mermaids. I have always liked mermaids. I do have mermaid themed/coded supplies already, which fits well with my resolve to use what I have. In therapy terms, let’s act as if it’s safe to use our stuff. We can stay where we are. There will be more stuff. This may seem like a no-brainer, but trust me, this is something I need to do consciously at the moment.

Keeping to a theme for planning/journaling helps me to be more creative, because I know what I have to work with for this particular venture. That’s also another reason I am diving fully into my novel notebooks, which, surprising no=one, I am blundering into in my usual blindfolded in the forest with buckets on my feet method. As long as it gets me where I need to go, that’s fine.

A while back, I posted about things they don’t tell you about writing while homeless. I am not linking it, but it’s easy enough to find if you’re really curious. Right now, I feel like I am currently learning things nobody told me about writing while no longer homeless. We just renewed our lease. We’re good. I have a new desk, new computer, will soon be receiving new printer ink. I have papers, I have pens, I have tons of cyber-storage. What’s in the way? Isolation and crippling doubt. Thankfully, I have a good support system, so onward I go.

This would probably be an appropriate place to make some sort of comparison between my own journey back to my writer self and Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. Disney’s animated version was fun. I haven’t seen the live action remake, but the original text, that’s a classic. I would have preferred to have an HEA ending, but that’s what retellings are for, aren’t they? I am not saying never to a mermaid romance.

What are you doing to celebrate or lean into May?

Yes, I May

May 1, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Welp, here we are at the start of another month. It’s the bridge between spring and summer, Since we have several colleges in our area, there is a definite shift in the community when the “kids” go home from the summer. The local small business ice cream stand is open (Haven’t gone yet, but will) and we will soon be summoning Coolio, our portable air conditioner, from his winter home (housemate’s closet.) Clothing-wise, we are on the cusp of dress season. I am loving the big screen on my desktop computer. Being able to see what I am doing is kind of a new thing.

Though I am an ambassador for the extremely talented Eryka Peskin, this is not a post she asked for, but one that I hope she likes. I am currently in her Celebration Circle group, which is, as Eryka would say, amazeballs. I like the challenge of finding things to celebrate, whether on a given topic, or freestyle, and I find that creeping over into other areas of life.

I am not going to lie: starting over as many times as I have (or perceive myself as having done) sucks because nobody wants things like serious illness, homelessness, injuries, deaths in the family, etc. At the same time, it’s awesome, because I am coming at t his, this time, with more experience, more wisdom, and, at times, more spite because that Bad Thing is not going to end me. Not only am I going to do the thing but do it twice and take pictures.

Didn’t mean to post sleeping Storm, but who doesn’t love a kitty picture?

Storm is pretty chill about coming into the new season, which is par for the course. She does have a few things to say about the new desk setup, as her usual sproing lands her on my keyboard. There is still some space for her on the desk, but at the moment, she seems best pleased to watch from the bed. She is getting used to the kitty sling. It’s one of her favorite beds at the moment. We haven’t tried putting her in it yet, but so far, so good.

One of the perks of this kind of experience (mine, not Storm’s) is that I have a wide experience on what doesn’t work for me. Lots of trial and error. Some successes. Some serendipitous discoveries. Some flying into the mist, as the late great Jo Beverley would say. Before I know it, I will be pulling the trigger on my first independent publication. (Though I did write for and publish fanzines beck in the day.) Then after that, Melva and I do the same thing with the second two Love By the Book books. I am writing my first planned historical romance series, on book two of four now, which is definitely a learning experience.

What I am getting at here is this: yes, I may. Yes, I may make mistakes. Yes, I may try something different. Yes, I may start something new. Yes, I may pick up where I left off involuntarily and make it through to the end. Yes, I may put a blog post up a couple of days late. The world will not end. We are all human here.

A Writer and Her Desks: A Love Story

April 22, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

From time to time, Facebook asks me if I would like to remember certain images. This past week, they suggested this one:

This one hit me hard. Not only because I am still, and ever will be, salty over what the powers that be did to the couple pictured above. I will put my fingers in my ears and loudly “la-la-la” until whoever is discussing the season three finale or anything after that. Nope, nope, didn’t happen. Abbie and Crane are happily ever after-ing and I will take no questions.

The other reason is the desk. This desk and I have a history. Literally. It’s older than I am. I have drooled over it since I was two. Before that, I drooled on it. This is a secretary desk, with a writing surface that doubles as a door I can close on the day’s work. while the screen is in the way of most of them, there are cubbyholes. Oh so many cubbyholes. Places for papers and stickers and sticky notes and all sorts of stationery related objects. There are drawers beneath the surface and a cabinet below that. At first, I used the top shelf as a bookshelf, and later moved the monitor up there so I could get at the cubbyholes.

This desk is now in our storage unit, where we put it during that first move. I still miss it. I will bust it out one day. At the same time, I love the desk I put together with my own two hands and a little help from my friends (cue Beatles.) I am grateful I have it now. Ideally, I would have both, in an office big enough for the two of them. The current desk would be for my desktop and the secretary would be for planning and journalling and all things longhand.

Some of the things on it, I have, and some that I also have in storage. The journal on the desktop is by Paperblanks, That particular book is in — you guessed it— storage, but I have other journals in that brand, and my EDC planner, in pocket size. I am not sure which mugs survived the moves, but I have different pen storage options now. My gargoyle pencil cup is once again in service, accompanied by new friends like a Plague Doctor plushie and an ever-growing calico plushie army. I also learned what Delfonics pouches are, and, I would hope, a lot more about writing.

The purpose of my desk is the same; to write books, to blog, and also make pixel art (okay, that’s new) but it feels different. It’s been a while since I felt like Writer Anna, or like Writer Anna had a proper place to do her/my thing. I do, though. It’s weird. I should know a better word for that, but I don’t. At least not right now, which is fine.

Back in the before-before-before times, when we still lived in the Old Country, I remember sitting in a Panera, trying not to cry in public because I had finished A Heart Most Errant, then called Ravenwood. I’d spent all that time with John and Aline, and there they were, happy. Home. Not quite “finished,’ as they will be happily-ever-after-in on page in the rest of the Ravenwood (series) books, my first planned historical series. Now, I am getting them ready to be my first independently published novella. Will I cry when Richard and Cecilia reach their HEA? Probably. Will I also be exited to pivot to Guy and Katherine’s story? Very much so, and the same when it is time for Juliana’s (Cecilia’s daughter) story, with a hero who will most likely be named Maximilian. How did I come up with that name? He told me, and it’s historically plausible. That’s how it works.

It’s also how my relationship with my desks works. We’ve grown together. There will likely be a desk tour in the near future. I have shelves and drawers and fairy lights. I also have a 3-D printed rose gold skull that was originally a yarn bowl (I don’t knit, but Housemate does; it was a gift from her) but is now home to a calico plushie.

What’s on your desk?

Indie Publishing Insights: My Journey with _A Heart Most Errant_

March 26, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

We are having a blabbery blog today. My first real appointment with the therapist who will be known as Therapy Dude is tomorrow. Still a couple of hoops to jump through for the last leg of indie publishing A Heart Most Errant and looking into the extra bits involved in indie publishing for collaborators. Have to admit, these are not my tip-top favorite parts of the writing life. Even so, I am excited to get my stories out there again.

Right now, my focus is on creating a reference book for A Heart Most Ardent, because keeping all that stuff in my head is not reliable. As usual, I am wading in, splashing around in the shallows and seeing what works out. I did have some character sheets that I had looked at in the past, but instead of searching a couple of flash drives for them, I am making my own. I don’t see many resources especially for historical romance, so it may be fun to create a few. This will also be useful as part of a series bible for the wider story world, and I will definitely need a small section for the people, places and things from A Heart Most Errant, where it all began.

Part of what I want to include is a vision board, which I have never properly done, but I am a dab hand at what I call Idea Soup, which is basically the same thing, though not limited to images. Sounds, smells, tastes, other works that remind me of what I am creating, etc. Do I have a plan for this? Not at the moment. I’ll figure it out as I go and then try that as a template for the next bit.

In an only semi-related note, I purchased a mystery bundle from Archer and Olive. Some groovy 60s/70s themed washi in the small white box, and then the vegan leather field closure sketchbook with blank kraft pages. I love Archer and Olive. I love Kraft pages. The wrap closure, however, is most likely not for me. I may give it some time and see if we warm to each other. I am thinking about removing the flap and tie, and rounding the corners of the pages. It is mine now, so there are options. Selling and trading are also options, but we will see. I’ll know what I need to know when I need to know it. This is not the story notebook; that one is disc bound so I can move pages around as needed.

Normally, this is where I would be wrapping up the post, but my brain is soup. Instead, I’ll get nosy and ask what kinds of notebooks are your favorites, if you use them. Hopefully, I will have more brain by the next post. The bar is l ow. 😛

Typing With Wet Paws: Sproing Forward Edition

March 11, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up. Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. This is also the time of year when humans move time around. I don’t know why they do that, and before anybody asks, it does not affect my mealtimes, because I ask my humans for food when I am hungry, so there is no fixed mealtime, at least not for me.

Me, asking Papa for the treats in his top drawer.

Anyway, this is the time of year when Papa’s and Mama Anna’s seasonal depressions pass each other in the hall while his is punching out and hers is punching in. Mama Anna does not like daylight savings time, or longer days, and her allergies have turned on, and this are kind of chaotic around here from time to time. Turning seasons over, winter into spring, means not only the time changes, but the humans have to turn over seasonal clothing, and, for Mama Anna, turning over her stationery/journal/planner stuff. Basically, I get to investigate a lot of sutff.

Mama Anna is officially back in Writing A Book mode. A historical romance novel, to be exact, or maybe a novella. She is in the discovery draft stage, which appears to be kind of fun. She sometimes calls this her “magpie stage,” where she collects random things that feel like her story and get them all in one place, creating “idea soup.” I am not entirely sure what is going on at this point, and sometimes, neither does she, but she seems fairly happy about it, so I guess it’s fine.

Papa and Aunt Linda love springtime. This does not always work in my favor.

She likes picking me up. I do not always want to be picked up. I am more of a belly rub girl. To be fair, Aunt Linda does give really good belly rubs. Actually, everybody here is good at belly rubs. That worked out super well. I did the math. There are three people with two hands each, and twenty-four hours in a day, so that is…let’s see…four hours per hand. I think that is more than reasonable. Not even that much once the windows are open and I want window time.

How is daylight savings time going for you?

Finding Camaraderie at Writer Conferences

March 6, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Welp, it’s March. Not quite winter, not quite spring. Time for my and Real-Life Romance Hero’s seasonal depressions to pass each other on the way in (mine) and out (his.) In the before times, it has meant Conference Season, the time of year when Melva and I would make the trip to the New England RWA chapter’s annual conference. The trip there was a four-hour deal; two hours in Housemate’s car to meet up with Melva a couple of states over, and then two more hours in the Melvamobile to get to the actual conference. We always have a great time on these trips, to and from, shooting ideas back and forth. We are only half joking when we talk about renting an RV and driving cross country until we have a first draft.

I adore everything about conference season. Even packing for the occasion means I get to give special attention to clothes, shoes, makeup, etc (things I love anyway) and it never hurts to include non-perishable safe foods because I have food allergies and aversions. If it turns out that I can’t eat at dinner (it’s happened) I know there’s food in the room. I love getting the tote bag at registration, stuffed with swag, which I must immediately inspect. Bookmarks, stickers, postcards, pens (Hannah Howell’s purple pens are a highly prized commodity, and the only promo pen I have tracked down to find the nakey version in the wild – Pentel RSVP.) Sometimes there will be sweet snacks, and maybe even books. There will be more of the above at multiple places throughout the weekend.

Mealtimes mean a book on one’s seat and swag on the table. Usually a raffle for the centerpiece. If you have read Chasing Prince Charming, there really was a lollipop centerpiece. This is where “so, what do you write?” is a standard icebreaker. Be aware you may be asking this of a Big Name, but they will usually be gracious. This is where a simple answer to “what’s your favorite book?” means the asker will command the person sitting next to you to switch seats with them, because you have the same favorite book, or when one’s seatmate whips out their Kindle to show that they are in fact reading your latest release right now. That is a fabulous feeling, and one I can very well get used to as a regular event.

If five years between siblings in birth order means the new kid is also a firstborn, and five years between releases means being a new author again, what does five years between conferences mean? I’m assuming it means the whole thing being new again, at least in part. No doubt, there will be changes. Many of the RWA chapters, including the NERWA, have disbanded, so conferences may be run by different groups, though still dedicated to romance.

I don’t think Romantasy was a word back then in the before times. Then again, Romantica maybe still was a word. Possibly. I am not sure. Been a while since I have heard that term. There’s e-books, indie books, Bridgerton made it to Netflix. Dark Romance is a thing. The world is basically on fire, so we absolutely need romance novels to get us through. (As readers of other genres need theirs; to each, thankfully, their own.) We don’t have Romantic Times anymore, but we do have Book Tok and Book Tube. It’s always changing.

Since I am still a member of the RWA, I do get their monthly newsletter and it does list upcoming conferences. I live in NY now, not CT, so there are probably other gatherings closer to me that I could consider. I miss the camaraderie, the support, and the talking of shop. I even miss the pitch sessions (get an agent or editor to be your captive audience for a full eight minutes) and definitely the book fair. I miss the workshops the most, not only as an attendee, but, a few times now, as a co-presenter. I miss hanging out in the hotel lobby with writer friends I only see when we gather like this, far past the hour that we should. I miss the breakfasts most out of all the meals, because I am an extroverted morning person, and I love breakfast. Give me a bottomless source of tea, and it is extroverted morning person Christmas. Stay in an entire hotel full of people who love to do what I love to do? Sign. Me. Up. Right. Now.

There is probably some virtual version of this, which I would be happy to do from home in my comfy robe with my own bottomless supply of tea. There is nothing stopping me from setting up video chats with other writer friends (seriously, Last Call Girls, DM me.) and commune thusly.

I can see I am rambling here, and there is a School Spirits season finale waiting for me, so I need to get to that. Have you ever been to a writers’ or readers’ conference? Would you like to go? Are you watching School Spirits? Yap at me in the comments, so we can discuss. I’ll even put a book on your chair.

Typing With Wet Nails

for the love of romance

fiction