Typing With Wet Paws: New Desk Edition

October 19, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. The big news here is that I have two new beds, which is possible because Mama Anna has a new desk.

I think the new desk is part of Mama Anna’s birthday, which is later this week, but it came early, so she and Aunt Linda put it together, together. I did not know what was going on at first, because we haven’t had new furniture in a while, but I got scared when Mama Anna started putting lots of stuff on the bed, that does not normally go on the bed. This is because that is how she used to get ready for moving out of a room when we were on our year-long camping trip to celebrate my adoption. I was concerned because i like it here and did not want to leave, but plot twist, we were not leaving. Mama Anna was rearranging stuff so that there would be room for the new desk, and now she has a real office space that is easier to work from than a tv tray in front of a bookcase.

This is the new everyday setup. I applaud Mama Anna for knowing I will need my own space on her desk (the tent) as well as the bigger bed next to the desk, which is on top of a small coffee table so it’s off the floor. We are right over the baseboard heater, which will be nice and warm for fall and winter, and when Koolio comes back in the summer, we will be near him, too. The pink thing under the lamp is her Delfonics utility pouch. Mama Anna will give a tour of that later. I am smart enough to stay out of it.

I have indeed been alllll over this desk and inspected every inch of it. Usually, it is big enough for me and Mama Anna to have our own spaces, but when there are birds or squirrels outside, I need to be by that window. Maybe I should ask her for another bed at that end of the desk. She can’t have any plans for that area, can she?

What are you guys all doing this weekend?

Big Desk Energy

October 16, 2024October 16, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Today is the first full day with the new desk. I am talking real, adult, this is a working writer’s desk, with drawers and everything.

Putting the desk together was an all-day thing yesterday, and the rest of the office/primary bedroom looks like we should expect our disaster relief check any minute, but as anyone who has ever un-f*cked a depression dungeon knows, progress is progress. Huge reminder how many times I had to drop something and tend to an emergency. Things are quieter now, so that’s no longer the case.

Storm will have her say about how the whole desk day went for her, and how today has been Partial Reading Nook Day. I have done enough for one day (actually two.) By this time tomorrow, reading nook should be good to go, especially since the pink velvety weighted blanket cover is due to arrive then. Having a place where I do One Thing is glorious. Having those places be for writing and for reading is even better.

No, a desk is not a magic ticket to Real Writerhood, any more than a reading nook is one to Real Readerhood, but I like having a place to do a thing, This past week has been a lot of getting things in place. New stuff is coming on MelvaAndAnna, and the journey to indie publishing progresses. Very interesting learning curve. I think I actually like it. Planning and organization are always fun and they do get my brain into the right place to do the things.

The new desk is big enough for not only my laptop and its stand, but my wrist rest mousepad, beverage of the moment, and a lovely black wicker tray holding my at-home Delfonics pouch for journal essentials. Storm has a flannel tent next to my laptop so she can be close and comfy. She loves it. Right now, I am next to a window, my feet at the heated baseboard, nice and toasty, with ample light. I also have my English Ruler ruler, which I need to update, as the one I have doesn’t include Charles III.

The most interesting thing I found in all of this moving around and repurposing and reimagining is that the person (me) putting things in order is not the same person (also me) who dumped and tossed and shoved things into chaos during times of ugh. Some stuff is going to find new homes. I’d rather have a few things I love than a lot of things that are…. there. It’s a process.

Anyway, that’s today. I’m sitting comfortably in an office chair that is the right height for a desk that is big enough to do what I want to do (and it’s not foldable.) I do miss having vertical storage, but it’s also fewer distractions. I am planning video tours of desk and nook when nests are fully feathered, so to speak. What are your writing or reading spaces like these days?

Fall Planner Revamp and Desk Setup

October 9, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Thanks to Amazon Prime Big Deals, I now have a real desk headed my way in the extremely near future. This means I have a concentrated amount of time to take apart the makeshift bookcase I made from two wooden crates and an end table from Housemate’s old house. That table and a couple of other things need to go into storage because the desk is coming. I have been using a “foldable desk” which Housemate measured while I was asleep a few days ago (Real Life Romance Hero was present, so I assume he was aware of this) and it’s about half the size of the desk that is on the way. This is going to bring a lot of changes.

First of all, I will have twice the room I am used to having. Think of the current setup as typing with elbows flush with ribcage, with intermittent cat between me and keyboard, New desk will have space for a box/bed/space that will be for Storm (we will see if she agrees) and three entire drawers, the lowest of which is suited for hanging files. I have a lamp/pen holder/phone storage thingamaboo all ready to go. The big question there, is what pens do I put in it?

Secondly, pertinent to the image above, we have the revamped planner lineup. Here i s a fun fact about Housemate: she likes the mystery boxes/grab bags Michaels sometimes does. There were a few in our local Michaels this past weekend, and it happened to be a buy one, get two free deal. So, we got three. Inside, there were two Happy Planners, both dashboard layout. One dated, one not. I will be destashing or giving away the undated one, but the dated one has replaced the horizontal blank boxes A5 rings I had been using, but not reaching for much at all this month. For those who are new here, I do have a visual impairment, and blank pages are not my friends. Nice, dark lines, however, are my favorite. I will share the layout and a sample spread later.

I like having my planner shelf coordinated. I like the pink, the gold, the black and white. This is probably not the final form of the shelf, but it is what works for now. After the long hot summer, fall is here and my superpowers have returned. I have tentatively mapped out my writing schedule for the near future, and I’m excited about it. This includes first steps into indie publishing and some exciting new things for MelvaandAnna.com.

Also, we have reached a true sign of autumn. We have put Koolio on his winter break. He will be wintering in Housemate’s closet, along with his bestie, Oscillating Fan. The heat is not on yet, but we have freshly laundered blankets, plural, and Storm is always up for a good cuddle. We have reached the time of year when I run on tea (vanilla chai today, out of my Jolly Roger mug) and if this weekend isn’t The Weekend for foliage photography, it will be the next one. I finished reading a vintage historical romance last night, which means I now get to pick out another. Daryl Dixon: The Book of Carol is off to an excellent start.

I like the way all this is going.

Typing With Wet Paws: Adopt-iversary Edition

October 5, 2024October 5, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. This is also pretty much the time of year when we celebrate the day I came to live with these guys. My first human, Mama D, took really super good care of me from when I was a baby, which was super awesome. Now I live with Mama Anna, Papa, and Aunt Linda. Usually, I hang out with Mama Anna, keeping a close eye on her (actually both of them) like this:

I had convinced Mama Anna to work from the soft office in above picture (I smack her left elbow with my paw and then lead her to what I want. In this case, for her to be on the bed.) because she was under the weather this week. That requires close feline supervision. Like super close.

Anyway, back to the adopt-iversary stuff. We took an awesome year long camping trip to celebrate my adoption. We went all over Albany, and even back to the part of Connecticut where Aunt Linda comes from, a few times, and then we finally moved in here. For those wondering, yes I did get on the kitchen counter pretty much right away, but all of the hoomans made a big loud noise to let me know that was Not Allowed, so I have not done it again since. Which is okay. I have windows where I can sit, the big people bed is comfy, and so is Aunt Linda’s, though that one is smaller because there is only one of her. I have multiple chairs to sit in, lots of toys, and both crunchy and gushy food *every day.* It’s pretty great.

One of the things Mama D liked best about Mama Anna was that Mama Anna would let me help with her blog (Hi, Mama D. I am doing great.) and I am excited to get back to that. It’s super fun. Mama Anna has finally agreed with me that the current tv tray style desk she is using is not big enough, because I have recently come to the conclusion that me being on the desk is an important part of the writing and blogging process. Aunt Linda is helping her pick out a good desk. It needs to have room for a box or bed for me. Otherwise, I do things like this:

Overall, things are going pretty good. Mama Anna’s superpowers are getting their sea legs, and now that Aunt Linda is home during the days, I get that much more chance of daytime belly rubs. There are some rough spots, though, like this:

Here is what happened: It was back when Papa was just starting to get better. He asked for a roast chicken in the grocery order because he needed protein to get better. He put it On The Bed, Where I Already Was. He put the dish between me and the chicken. If I look like I am about to throw beans, it is because I was. Can you believe he did not give me any chicken? He did not. I did, however, get salmon gushy food, so it is arguably equal which is why he was not mauled by a tiger in his sleep. He said something about bones and seasonings, but blah blah blah. A chicken in every cat, that’s my philosophy. (Yes, I did jiggle the plate to remind him I wanted some.)

Anyway, that is about it for this week. We are all doing my favorite thing to celebrate my adoption anniversary: hanging out and chilling. What are you guys doing?

Headbonks,

The Actual Worst Reading Year of My Adult Life?

September 26, 2024annabowling 2 Comments

We are now in the “ber” months -September, October, November, December, aka the last quarter of the year. My Goodreads goal for the year is forty books. I have read eighteen. Goodreads kindly reminded me that such a number means I am eleven books behind schedule. That’s disheartening. Not impossible, but disheartening.

Trigger warning: discussion of homelessness (past) beneath the image.

A lack of interest in reading was the red flag needed to talk to my doctor about this particular flavor of depression and got me into the hands of Wonderful Therapist. WT had some excellent insights about the lack-of-reading thing. Did I use reading as a distraction during our vagabond year? My brain immediately flashed back to finishing Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley in the parking lot where we were then camped, Storm in her carrier next to me, as the other adults were at their jobs and my job was to guard the car and our stuff. Fabulous young adult novel, which I highly recommend, and it’s a landmark in this whole reading thing.

I also think about reading fast during the daytime when we were camped, because night would be long and light would not be in great supply. When we were in a room or Housemate’s Mom’s house, of course, I could read any time I wanted, and I did. I couldn’t have my books with me, and while I will always appreciate the library system and my Kindle, the relationship between a reader and their keepers is a special one. Mine are still in storage, safe, but at the back of the unit, so I kind of wave at them when we make a drive-by visit. Soon, hopefully, soon. Even with the Kindle, reading at night, I had to gauge the battery because if we were camped, there was only one time to charge it during the day and that charge had to last.

So, there’s stuff. Wonderful Therapist is helping me unpack it, which is good, and it is happening. It’s coming along. Slowly. I didn’t expect to be this far behind. I don’t want to move the goalposts yet, but if I’m not closer to on track by the end of October, then I will. i don’t want a smaller “body count” for my books this year, but A) nobody cares, and B ) healing happens on its own time.

I know there are things that work. Vintage historical romance. Blindly stumbling around in the figurative dark to cobble together the kind of reading journal that works for me. Right now, that is a traveler’s notebook insert where I can make notes as I read, and a different book where I print out covers of books I plan to read, all top-tier favorites. The extrovert trait of “it’s not real unless I can talk about it” is true for me in this case. It’s annoying, and the only way out is through.

Vintage paperbacks are where I gravitate most these days. I have been poking eBooks with a stick, but they are not sticking (that will change) and audiobooks, which my brain says, “no thank you” at this moment. That also will change, especially as I have a twelve-book series (two six book series that go together) in my sights to start maybe soon, my umpteenth read of these books. I do not know why my brain has these format preferences, but she’s a tricky one, so I am not going to ask. One thing at a time.

All in all, I am not upset by the current situation, reading-wise. More like “yes, that checks out. That’s to be expected. It will come back.” It will. I find my current relationship with reading to be at an interesting point. Accepting it for what it is takes a lot of the reading-related anxiety and pressure away. Since talking about it is a good thing, that will happen here more often. I am looking forward to that.

How is you relationship with reading at present?

Title Goes Here

August 22, 2024annabowling 2 Comments

Hi. If you’re new here (which would surprise me, because it’s been a while, but stranger things have happened.) I’m Anna. I write stuff. For a while, I haven’t been, and I’m going to talk about that. For my gentle readers, trigger warning:

*anxiety
*depression
*PTSD
*homelessness (past)
*trauma work

After this post, I intend to get back to talking about reading, writing and pens and paper. I am feeling better now, and the first topic that came to mind for my first post back was why I’ve been away. Talk starts after stock kitty picture. (Storm is great; Google Photos is giving me guff.)

So. Yes, I did indeed fall off the face of the earth. At least that’s how it feels. Life is funny that way. Survive homelessness (it was thirteen months, several years ago, now, and we are very much secure in our current situation) and expect to pick up where normal life left off, or alternatively, do the hard trauma work then, but not in this case. When I asked Wonderful Therapist (WT) why it took me three years to fall into isolation mode, she said most likely because that’s when my brain figured out the security was probably going to stick and thus it was safe. Well okay then.

The presenting complaint when I first started seeing WT was that I love reading and I…couldn’t. Kind of important for a writer, especially one who plans on making that their career. I did manage to co-write two contemporary romances with my awesome contemporary co=writer, Melva Michaelian, and we have more in the works, but writing on my own, even getting back to the solo historical romance in progress, that I passionately loved and love, was a big NO. Want to, need to, but brain says NO.

Blogging, much as I loved and love it, was a HECK NO. Not because I didn’t want to, as I very much did and do, but because when I went to start an entry, there wasn’t anything there. Talking about writing felt like the same thing over and over again if I didn’t have a new release to promote. Not going to lie, getting very good rejections for the second two books in the Love by the Book series started with Chasing Prince Charming, was discouraging. Melva and I still love those stories and they will still be available to readers. That’s another topic. I felt like I was treading water in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and my arms were tired.

At no point did doing bad things to myself come to mind, so that’s good, but there was still…a lot. Even so, the radio silence descended. I love taking pictures. I did not take many pictures (except of Storm, who will also be back to blogging soon.) I love chatting on social media. I did not engage much on social media. I love writing snail mail letters. I did not write snail mail letters. I did and do journal, though, and going forward, I will probably be adding more content on journaling, because that was the first thing to come back on my road back to me.

It’s a very interesting journey. I did participate in the April Camp NaNo, with weekly check in chats with an awesome former RWA chapter sister and came away with a full historical romance outline. Yay. I also outlined what could be a low fantasy romance or at the very least needing a fictional country. Those are both percolating. I am working on my first indie publishing venture. There is a plan. Next week is final final edits. Then Melva gets a pass through. Then I take care of any errata, and then off to the formatter and cover art form and all of that stuff.

I count this as, if not “back,” then close to it. As I’ve said, it’s a journey. There was the summerlong heat wave, or more accurately back-to-back-to-back heatwaves that mistook New York for a spit-roasted chicken. Not the greatest summer for Real Life Romance Hero, but he is also doing better now, and we have affectionately named our new portable air conditioner, “Koolio.” RLRH nixed the idea of giving Koolio googley eyes, though Housemate was on board with it. Kind of a three yes, one no on that sort of thing.

On top of it all, we are staring September in the face, which is the time of year my superpowers come back. That’s how reverse seasonal depression works. I can’t say whether future posts are going to be this rambly or touch this much on mental health but the main reason for making today posting day was to end the radio silence. The first step is often the biggest one, so here we are. Again. At last.

How are things with you?

As always (again) Anna

July, Week One

July 2, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Oof. It’s been a while. Everybody was sick in June, with a couple of heat waves thrown in for the challenge of things. The days kind of blended, and mental health, well, ahahahha. Anyway, it’s July now, one day after Canada Day, two days before Independence Day, and the only way out of a blogging slump is to blog, so here I am. Warning, I am going to babble.

At times, the dishes, trash, and laundry took on epic proportions, which we are conquering. Present tense. My beloved rose gold laptop developed a crack in the casing around the touchpad, resulting in her filling line after line with an endless stream of commas any time I tried to use her. While I am sure there is a way to rescue her, my research says that would mean welding or epoxy, which right now is a no. So, I now have a new lipstick red laptop, named Miss Scarlett. She can’t run Sims 4, but can run Sims 3, which I don’t mind because A) color wheel and B) open world.

One would think that a month of sick would be great for reading. It was not. It was great for watching YouTube. We will try again on reading this week. I definitely have enough books, both paper and electronic. Right now, I am sitting in front of a gorgeous turquoise retro-style fan, near an open window, in my comfy office chair. The desk is kind of chaotic, because this TV tray thing has reached the end of its usefulness, so I am small desk shopping.

But the writing, Anna. Are you doing any of that? In a word, yes. Last week, Melva and I roughed out the very loose outline for a romantic suspense we plan to pitch. I did indeed hit my Camp NaNo goal in April and outline a historical romance, which is still simmering. Next up is to whip A Heart Most Errant, my first post-apocalyptic medieval romance, into publishable shape. It’s surreal that I wrote the first form of that story ten years ago, but it’s been a wild ten years. Her Last First Kiss is slightly younger than that, but that’s up next. It feels like I’ve been on a loop of that for, well, forever, which is part of the reason I have been hesitant to blog.

So, what changed? My first indicator is to say I don’t know. The second is therapy. My therapist is awesome, and she’s a big reader. One of the first things we did was swap book recommendations. She is also very helpful when I want to bounce a story’s emotional dynamic off her. She’s also great at reminding me how far I’ve come from where I was when I figured therapy might be worth a try. In short, it’s a lot, and yes, it is worth writing about.

Journaling and planning have been an absolute rock for me in this time. I did not think to prepare pictures for this entry, so will share pictures later, but photography and photo editing are also newish interests. I am very much looking forward to pretty leaf season. We are 33% of the way through summer, so that is encouraging.

Anyway, that’s the interesting stuff for the first week of July. What are you all up to?

Typing With Wet Paws: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re At Edition

June 14, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers. I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. It has been a while since the last entry here, so let me bring you pretty much up to date. First, I am still cute. Here is proof:

Let’s focus on the last couple of weeks. Here are the big points, bullet style:

There was a heat wave.
Aunt Linda got sick (big cold)
Then Mama Anna got sick
Then Papa got sick.
Then Mama Anna’s laptop died.
Then the plug for her earbuds broke off inside her tablet.
Then the fire alarm battery beeped for a long time. (Fixed now.)

Needless to say, there was not a lot of writing during that time, let alone blogging, but Mama Anna is optimistic, not to mention stubborn. She got a new computer pretty much right after the other one died (and she may look into getting the first one fixed if that is possible) and it comes with a year’s subscription to MS Word, which will make it easier for her to share documents with Aunt Melva. That is going to be a big help as they work super hard at getting books out to all of you. Well, the ones who want to read them. They aren’t going to force the rest.

Mama Anna is also researching both portable air conditioners and full room circulation fans (aka big fans) because she is not doing another heat wave like the last one, and guess what, another one is headed our way. It is summer and we live in New York. I am pretty comfy regardless, because I can find all the cool places. The bathroom floor tile is smooth and cool, and the bath mat is soft. Also, under the bed is pretty dark and chill.

Mama Anna is doing pretty good on the taking in story part of things. That means reading books and watching stuff on streaming services. Right now, she is liking the second season of From, and will be giving special attention to two of her favorite vintage historical romance authors, Valerie Sherwood, and Anita Mills, this summer. She is very much feeling the old school adventure and sweep and all that good stuff. Oh, also Yellowjackets. She is up to date on that TV show. Also the Walking Dead Universe. She is ready for more Dead City and Daryl Dixon.

That is about it for right now. Mama Anna gets to reward herself with a cool drink and a new episode for helping me with this blog, and she’s going to need a belly to rub.

What are you up to this summer?

Typing With Wet Paws: Pre-Summer Edition

May 24, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

What’s going on in your world?

Typing With Wet Paws: Camp NaNo Progress Edition

April 22, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. We are three weeks into this version of Camp NaNo, and Mama Anna is happy to report she is doing pretty well on it this round. Not quite at goal, but close enough to call it good, and, most importantly she is having mostly a good time doing it. Here are a few reasons why:

She is writing by hand
She is writing in only one book (so far; more on that later)
She prepares each page beforehand, with washi borders on the top and bottom of each page.
She planned in non-writing days, for when she is being domestic warrior queen
This draft doesn’t have to be perfect, or readable to anybody else. It’s only her shoveling sand into her sandbox. She wanted me to say that it is her sandbox, not mine, because we have very different sandboxes. Nobody wants to play in my sandbox.

Mama Anna wanted me to say more about the mostly writing in one notebook thing. If you have ever met Mama Anna, or read even one of her blogs, you know she has a thing for stationery, including notebooks. Normally, she likes to set up a designated notebook before she starts, but this time, she grabbed a random notebook that was full of stops and starts, with paper that was just okay (she got this before she knew about GSM) because she wanted to get the ideas down, and, well, she kept going. Now, there are only five two-page spreads left. As her purr-sonal assistant, I am fairly certain she is going to fill those before the end of Camp, and that means she will start another one, where she can do the post-camp work. After she lets it sit for a while, to sort itself out.

Part of the reason she wanted to do Camp for this session was to prove to herself that she can still do it, and what do you know, she can. There’s some confidence that comes with that. She doesn’t know if she is going to do the other Camp this summer (though maybe yes, because this approach is actually fun, and fun is important) but she does know that going back to the WIPs that have been on pause (not paws, though my paws are on pretty much everything she owns) isn’t quite as scary anymore. Maybe she will even take some aspects of this experiment into those works.

Whatever she does, be assured I will be heavily involved in it, and probably sitting heavily on it because I am that determined to be an integral part of the process.

How’s your April going?

Typing With Wet Nails

for the love of romance

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