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.

Typing With Wet Paws: It’s Gonna be May Edition

April 26, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Posting late today because Mama Anna did some big time work on her sleep debt today. I need her thumbs to make entries. She has some problems with sleep (proof she is not a cat) so when it gets her, nobody interferes, even if it is Saturday morning. Anyway, she’s up, so am I, so here we go.

This is a screenshot of Mama Anna’s current Sims 4 save. I took it with my butt.

First of all, let’s address the new desk. This was not cat-approved. Though it did mean she moved her book crates to the other side of the desk, like I asked, she also put the CPU of the new computer where they used to be, instead. This leaves me a very small amount of space to occupy on the actual desk, and when I sproing up there, I generally land on the keyboard. This time, I managed to take a screenshot.

The new computer is working out pretty well, actually. It took Mama Anna, Papa, and Aunt Linda to figure out that this was a job for the pros, because it was Not Working. One trip to the pros later, it’s working great. The screen is huge, which is great for Mama Anna’s eyesight. This is true for images and for writing and internetting. Her chair is super comfortable (also pink) and there is a coffin shaped pillow that says “Rest in Peace.” How much clearer could she be that I am meant to nap there? Apparently not when she wants to work, though.

Right now, Mama Anna is getting ready for the new month, which is May. That is the month that has Aunt Linda’s birthday, which should be fun, and is the spring-iest month (IMO) before summer sets in; nobody around here likes summer very much, though now that we have Coolio, the heat is no longer trying to melt any of us in our own home. Mama Anna is also getting the office part of her and Papa’s bedroom ready for the new season. Summer is different than the rest of the year. For May, Mama Anna is leaning into pastel colors and florals, with a request from Aunt Linda, for “cool colors.” She is not sure what themes she will use for June, but July is red, white and blue, and nautical. August is pre-fall, and then the super powers come back with autumn. So, really, we are now getting ready for autumn.

Part of that is making best use of this site, now that it is its own thing, as well as the sister site, Melvaandanna.com. She and Aunt Melva will have things to say about this.

me, awake. I deserve an awake picture in my own blog post.

Because the humans have not summoned Coolio from his winter home (Aunt Linda’s closet) they have opened the windows. This, of course, is wonderful. I can smell all sorts of things, and feel the breeze in my fur. I love sitting in Aunt Linda’s window and watching the world outside. Mama Anna has a window above her printer that is on, but I cannot get to it. I can’t imagine why she wouldn’t want me to get to a window, but she is fond of her printer.

Anyway, that’s our week. What’s going on with you?

Headbonx, Storm

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?

Organizing Your Writing Space and Genre for Better Creativity

April 8, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Right now, we have a big, heavy box of lumber and metal things waiting on our third floor landing. Monday, there will be a new-to-me desktop computer on my desk. This all means that the bedroom/office is in chaos, but the sort of chaos that leads to more organization. Today, that resulted in me sorting out a big canvas bag with all my everyday journaling stuff in it. Being able to pick up One Thing and move around the apartment (I have a single journal set aside for coffee shop/park journaling) a lot easier, and have set up the necessities for any journaling, plotting or actual writing that make take place in the soft office.

Photo by Viktoria Alipatova on Pexels.com

Going forward, I will be focusing on taking more pictures myself and using them to help tell the stories of life and other things (like actual stories) but stock art is a lifesaver at times like this. I have felt, previously, that there was some “right” way to share and better to err on the side of reticence, but I cancelled my subscription to that. If you’re here, it’s because you’re interested in what I have to say (or are lost, in which case, welcome)

Do I know exactly what I am doing here now that I am a big girl with her own domain? Not even close, so I will do what I do best: splash around in the shallows until I figure out where the good swimming is and then head in that direction, fueled by a meticulous plan. At this point, A Heart Most Ardent is in that magpie stage, gathering shiny bits of this and that. Today I got to the stage of “hmm, these new pages do not fit on the small discs anymore (I am using a discbound system for this) and I now need to migrate things to classic or expander discs. For the most part, I want to use what I already have on hand. More of a shop my stash instead of no-buy, but I got this stuff because I wanted it, so now is the time to put it to use.

That does indeed mean even the good stuff. My book is worth the good stuff. This story is worth the good stuff. This is the first time I have started a planned series (or first and a half, considering that Melva Michaelian and I have done a lot of planning for our Love by the Book series (more on that coming soon to MelvaandAnna.com) of co-written contemporary romances. The actual publication of A Heart Most Errant creeps ever closer. John and Aline, the leads in their book, will be supporting cast going forward, so I’ll want to have their information on hand. Earlier today. I watched a video on YouTube about romantasy and its difference from Romantic Fantasy and Fantasy Romance, which resonates greatly.

This does not mean I am taking on a third subgenre, but it also doesn’t mean I won’t ever. We’ll see. The reason the video resonated was because I have long said the difference between a Romantic Historical and Historical Romance is thus:

Historical Romance: The war is over! I love you!
Romantic Historical: I love you! The war is over!

With that definition, I do fall under Historical Romance, but I do like Romantic Historical. Historical Romance must have a happy ending, while Romantic Historical can. Either way. thinking of following some of the flavor of fantasy worldbuilding for the historical world (just everyday life for them) feels intriguing, so I might nose around in that area.

This is the part where I feel I have blabbered long enough and also have heard about a thing called “dinner” that would be beneficial for all.

Typing With Wet Paws: Mistress of Her Domain Edition

April 5, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. The eagle-eyed among you may notice something different about today’s blog, and that is that the address for this blog, and all things Mama Anna, is now annacbowling.com. That is a step forward, and new things will be showing up very soon, but that is the first one. Links should still work. Pretty exciting.

Also exciting is that there is a headboard downstairs, inside the front door. That is for Papa and Mama Anna’s bed, because they have Had It with all of their pillows falling down the gap between mattress and wall, and that might actually be part of Mama Anna’s insomnia. Trust me, you do not want to see her sleep tracker right now. They plan to put the thing together tomorrow, and then I will get to inspect it. It’s wood, so it should be scratchable. I am already practicing on my scratchy cardboard thing.

I should mention that there is a headboard in storage, the one they got from Grandma Marilyn’s house, which has a super fun cabinet thing built into it. I was hoping they would bring that home, but there is more furniture in front of it, and besides, this one fits their aesthetic better. The other one is white and Papa likes darker colors. So does Mama Anna, actually. When it comes to furniture, that is, because they love the white parts of me. Also the black and orange parts.

Today is a rainy and windy and chilly day. Not a day the humans want to go outside. It’s much better to stay home and cuddle with me. Mama Anna may mess around with the website a little, so pardon the sawdust if she tries out a couple of different things. I, of course, will be closely supervising and lending a helping paw when needed.

What’s up for your weekend?

Blabberblog

April 1, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Blabbery blog for today, because 1) it’s April First, and I am too tired to come up with anything appropriate (plus :gestures at world: Who can top that for insanity?) and 2) the parts of my brain that are not begging for sleep are concentrated on The New Book. Also 3) I will be upgrading to a paid version of this page, which will mean more storage space, my own domain name, so no need to have WordPress in my addy, etc.

Pictures will come later, but I am rather proud of myself for finishing an entire three months of daily schedule pages (acutally six, since the three I just finished were a refill pack.) I am now on the extras from an undated pack, and after that, I can either switch to a different design, or recreate the current design in my own style (probably doing that) either in Canva or right on the page with ruler and stencils. Even odds on which one I will pick.

Seasonal pouch updates. I am a pouch dragon. I like having a notebook for a specific purpose, in a pouch that has all the stuff I will need for it, with it, so that if I need to grab and go elsewhere, boom, there it is, and I don’t have to go looking for the right pen or a sticky note, eraser, etc. If I can decorate it for the season, that’s a plus. I have had my pink medium Delfonics pouch above for a while now, utterly love it, and have a mustard version that lives in my reading nook. The one above lives on my desk. I got a small black one for my everyday carry, and figured I could use black all year round. but (thanks to Housemate) a small pink version should be landing on my stoop sometime today.

Pink for spring/summer, and then black for fall/winter feels right for me. I am now a very happy collector of tac pins and pinback buttons and will hang a lobster claw charm on anything that moves slower than I do. I am a maximalist. I want stuff I love around me, preferably using multiple senses, and somewhere in the personalization, I connect better. Is that going to work for everyone? No. Do I feel bad about it anymore? No. I used to. What was wrong with me that i couldn’t be…not me? Ummm, yeah. Nothing.

The latest iteration of my desk has a small shelf on top of my planner crate, that Michaels terms “Regencycore” (not seeing it, but okay) — Carved roses at the top, flower print on the back “wall” and it flat out makes me happy to look for it. Also to have one place I can reach out and grab washi, index cards, or punches.

Storm says hi, and is aware she owes a blog

Storm has sproinged herself onto my desk, demanding cuddles so that makes for a natural break. Happy April. Hope you are well or soon will be; no fooling about that.

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: Emotional Support Cat Diaries Edition

March 23, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. I meant to post yesterday, because it was Caturday, and I am a cat, but before that, I am an emotional support cat, and i had to be on duty.

On Friday, Mama Anna had to go do a grown-up people thing that can be scary for her, (and has to go back and do it again because paperwork) so Saturday was all for rest and giving kitty belly rubs. I am a big proponent of belly rub therapy. That would be her rubbing my belly, though sometimes I do make biscuits on her person, so it evens out. Anyway, she’s fine, just super tired because anxiety is exhausting.

My job in times like that is to make sure she gets some rest. That’s not always the easiest task. Thankfully, she can be easily distracted with extreme cuteness (me) as well as tea, art, zombie shows, romance novels, stationery, and the like. Aunt Linda got us Italian food from our favorite local place, and I stuck close to Mama Anna while she played Sims. The family she is playing right now has a dog, but not a cat. Yet. She has them running a really tiny farm on their trailer lot.

Most of my emotional support duties are sticking really close to her, summoning Papa or Aunt Linda if I need reinforcements, and letting her know when it is Enough Computer and Time For Bed. For that, I tell her by sproinging onto her desk from out of nowhere (I am a ninja cat) and giving her a LOOK. I will keep doing that as much as needed, and if I have to yell, I will yell.

every delivery comes with a free cat bed

I will be on duty again on Thursday this week, because Mama Anna has her next appointment with Therapy Dude. It will be over video phone. There is a nonzero chance that I will video bomb the session and introduce myself. I am not normally allowed on the kitchen table, but I am willing to take the chance if I am needed.

How is your weekend going?

Madam Ambassador’s Dilemma

March 19, 2025March 24, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

This might sound like a title for a historical mystery or space opera, but it is not only not-that, but my very first official post as an ambassador for the lovely and talented Eryka Peskin, abundance coach, photographer, and so much more. She is also on FB as Eryka Lynn Peskin. I first met Eryka in a regional RWA meeting and we immediately hit it off. Now I get to partner with her so we can spread the awesomeness around. How this will work is that each month, I will share some of the fabulous things Eryka is doing, and in return, I may receive some benefit if you contract with Eryka as a result of my posts.

That’s the ambassador part, which we will get to in a moment. The dilemma part is me trying to talk myself out of purchasing a new small Delfonics pouch (this one) because the one I have for my everyday carry is black, and that’s not very spring-y.

I’m not a big yellow person, though I do have a medium size (as above) but in yellow that I could press into service, but it’s bigger than I want to carry every day (hence the small black I have carried for fall and winter.) This is totally a first world problem, and it’s a good one to have. I like the outer pockets, I like the inner pockets, and the small size is what works for me. I also like changing out the colors seasonally. Maybe I can stick with the small black pouch, with springier accessories. (Suggestions? Drop them in the comments.) Maybe I will grab the small yellow pouch (it’s on sale; other colors are pricier. Maybe I will take a third option. In any event, as long as I can keep the tools I need to do my stuff where I can get them, all will be well.

Having the right tools makes life a lot easier, and when it’s people rather than stationery, it’s all the more important. That’s why I’m delighted to share about Eryka’s Space for Spaceholders event:

A space for spaceholders

Thursday, March 20th

Are you a coach, healer, social worker, therapist, bodyworker, or someone who holds space for clients in some way? Amazing coach and trauma trainer Eryka Peskin is hosting free) space for YOU to get the community and support that you need and offer to others.

Details here: eepurl.com/didJSn

Next up is one of the reasons I want to make sure I’m organized and and put hands on what I need when I need it:

Revive Your Resilience and support your Window of Tolerance

Starts Monday, March 24th

I’m feeling pretty drained and UNresilient these days due to all the things, so I’m super pumpedl that my coach Eryka Peskin is offering this program!

Revive Your Resilience is a free 5 day program to learn about the Window of Tolerance and our resilience, and how to support these essential resources in order to regulate and take care of your nervous system and vastly improve your quality of life during These Times!

Investment: FREE!

Details here: eepurl.com/gdujLT

I love Eryka’s programs, and this is one of my favorites. I’m already registered, and very much looking forward to learning more about bouncing back from the urrrrrrrrggggh. World events, new therapy journey, becoming an independent author/publisher, and my third lap of new-author-dom definitely call for a dose of resilience.

I’m also looking forward to another of Eryka’s offerings, that of a Fierce Cheerleading session. Ever want someone to focus on telling you how awesome you are and what you’re doing right, an mean it? Then Fierce Cheerleading is for you. Stay tuned for some personal highlights in early April after Eryka shakes her pompoms in my general direction.

Shaking my own pompoms for a minute: I actually posted this blog on time. Good job, me. What’s something awesome you did today? Drop in the comments and get a compliment.

Typing With Wet Nails

for the love of romance

personal