Typing With Wet Paws: Seeds of Discord Edition

August 7, 2020annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Don’t worry about the “Discord” in the title of today’s entry. nobody is angry. Aunt Anna is actually pretty happy because…

HIMYM Wait For It GIF - HIMYM WaitForIt Barney GIFs — https://tenor.com/view/himym-wait-for-it-barney-funny-gif-12243212

…she now has her very own Discord server, for the discussion of historical romance, from both a reading and writing perspective. she is still settling in there, so pardon the dust, but if you want to take a look, search for Lion and Thistle on Discord, or leave a request for a link in the comments, and I will pass that on to her.

Also exciting news is that earlier this week, Aunt Anna had a “fluff this” moment and pushed herself over the edge on finally starting her Patreon.

Do you want a chance to become one of her very first patrons? Wish you know when she was next offering her Play In Your Own Sandbox, Keep All the Toys workshop? Get carefully curated recommendations of historical romance or contemporary young adult fiction? Have an idea of something else related to the writing or reading of romance you’d like to pay her to do? She is open to suggestions. Follow the link above, or here:

https://www.patreon.com/annacarrascobowling?fan_landing=true

For those wondering about Buried Under Romance, yes, she is still active there, and will be getting back on track ASAP.

As far as Goodreads is concerned, she throws her body over the keyboard when I even suggest looking at the reading challenge, but the new Kindle Fire arrived a couple of days ago, and her sigh of relief nearly blew me over. I will give her this one week grace period, and then there better be some activity, and I want reviews.

Uncle Rheuben helped Aunt Anna a lot in setting up her Patreon, which she really appreciates. There may be some changes as she gets settled in there, but having it up helps her feel more Anna-y. Is that a word? She says that it is. Anyway, that and editing, and getting back to blogging all make her want to get back to the business of writing, which includes :ulp: girding herself to wade into the waters of indie publishing. Right now, she’s thinking of starting with A Heart Most Errant. This includes querying indie editors, scouring cover stock sites, and making idea soup for at least two companion stories, which is definitely new for her, but I am fairly sure there will be cats. Eating plague rats and all.

This week, it’s been pretty nice, not only because Aunt Anna is pretty much back to work as it were, but because Aunt Linda and Uncle Rheuben went out for errands one time and brought home Red Dot!!! I missed Red Dot SO MUCH but he is back and I chase him and stalk him and run like crazy, and it is The Best. Also the paper bag that is not trash, thankyouverymuch, it is my bed. So is Aunt Anna and Uncle Rheuben’s bed. I am trying to set a reasonable bedtime for them, but they are not listening. Maybe I need toknock over more things.

Also, Aunt Anna was in a Zoom meeting last week, and I crashed it. Meeting, xchmeeting, I needed cuddles. I am not sorry, and I’ll do it again. Probably tomorrow, when her local RWA chapter has their monthly meeting on the interwebs.

Time for me to supervise Aunt Anna’s editing, so I’d better sign off for now, but I’ll see you all next week. Calico got to go!

Signs of Life

July 10, 2020July 10, 2020annabowling Leave a comment

Hello, all. Anna here, breaking radio silence for a bit. Hopefully Storm and I will be back to a semi regular blogging schedule, along with writing-writing, but here’s where things stand at the moment.

It’s been a rough several months, ever since the bedbug incident, and the time that we thought would be only a couple of weeks between apartments is now at month number ten. It’s been a combination of motel living, friends, and the occasional impromptu camping for short periods of time. As one can imagine, not great for mental health, but yay church family and yay modern medicine. With the COVID outbreak, this did affect Real Life Romance Hero’s line of work, as he’s a front of the house restaurant dude, and there has been no front of house for a wile. He’s looking into options, especially as restaurants begin to reopen, so there will be good news on that front soon. We’re also working with some pros to help us navigate the system, which takes some time, but will get results.

Last week, Real Life Romance Hero was in the ER twice (he is okay now) and, at the same time, my tablet died, which made blogging and social media on the go a lot more challenging, but not insurmountable.

I have long been a paper and pen writer, and the stories still need to be told, so that’s a good thing. Transcription time is also editing time, and there will be a chunk of that when the dust settles. Right now, RLRH and I are sharing a laptop, and I have been using that for social media and Simming. (Also planning a return to vlogging in the near future. First on my list: old school romance reviews.) Playing Sims stretches those storytelling muscles, and, as I dive deeper into custom content and mods and editing screenshots, I like the energy it brings. My old school Kindle is still going strong, which makes me immensely grateful that I can carry an entire library with me anywhere I go.

Deciding what to put here can be a tricky thing at times. Is this a writing blog? Is this a romance genre blog? Is it a personal blog? The answer to that is that it’s all of those things, because it’s all part of the journey. Right now, the writing life is more chaotic than I would like, but it is still happening. Number one on the list is getting Drama King, my second contemporary romance with Melva Michaelian, and getting Her Last First Kiss to the end of its second draft, which may involve some reconstruction, but I have done that before, with Orphans in the Storm, which I also wrote during a challenging time and didn’t remember selling until I got the request for the final-final manuscript from the publisher. That book, along with my first historical, My Outcast Heart, is back in my hands. Still weighing the options when it comes to traditional versus indie publishing, but these titles will be back out there as soon as I can make it happen.

For those whose most pressing question is “where are the dang kitty pictures, woman? You know that’s what I’m here for,” here you go:

Storm is doing great, and she will be back to her regular blogging duties hopefully next week. We definitely have us a travel cat, and she has taken beautifully to coming along on certain errands, when we can pop her carrier into a shopping cart and push her around while we shop. She is definitely getting that kitty stroller when we are settled, and a kitty friendly backpack/kitty Bjorn sort of thing is also a possibility. This cat is definitely going places, and so are we.

I’ve also picked up a freelance editing gig that is super fun, and something I would be very happy to do more of in the future.

A couple of days ago, while checking out the social media links for a favorite Simmer, I semi-accidentally created a Discord account. Of course being me, my immediate thought was “I wonder if there are any historical romance themed Discord servers?” and my second thought, “if not, I bet I could start one.” Not taking on the second part of that right away, but if you kno of any romance reading or writing themed Discord servers, I definitely want in.

As I’ve noted in this blog before, I have long since known I do better in my original writing when I am actively involved in a fandom. In the past, that’s usually been TV shows, but I haven’t been in a TV mode much in the last few months. Right now, it’s Sims and my favorite brand of historical romance: rich and intricate and emotional. I fully intend on steering into that particular skid.

That’s about it for the current update. TLDR (too long, didn’t read) version: things are progressing and should stabilize soon. Writing is happening. Cats are good. I love romance novels, Sims, and all of you.

Summer of Love Standout Standalones

June 17, 2020annabowling Leave a comment

Many thanks to all who responded to my last post on a blogging deep dive on some favorite romance series. I had so much fun with that post and the feedback, that my first thought was, “why stop there?” So, I won’t. My first and fiercest love in historical romance (or any fiction) is the standalone. One story, one book, that’s all she/he/they wrote. There’s something special about closing the cover on a book that doesn’t have companion volumes, and letting my own mind fill in the happily ever after, waving our lovers off into the sunset and on with the rest of their lives. Once upon a time, that was the norm. Right now, series drive the market. What will come next? Who knows? What doesn’t change, however, is the power of a great story, . If it’s full and complete in itself, well, for me, all the better, so I want to take you on a tour of some of my very favorites. Since standalone books are naturally shorter than entire series, I am sharing five examples instead of only three, for your consideration. Once again, in no particular order:

891795 — *The Wind and the Sea*, Marsha Canham

Nobody, but nobody swashes the buckle like Marsha Canham, and I remember exactly where I was the first time I saw this cover in person, and knew I had to have this book. I will always look at a pirate story, and if it’s a female pirate, that book Is on my shelf of its own free will. Add in a Barbary Coast (North Africa) setting, the US Navy (set in 1806) and the big, thick doorstopper size I prefer for books of this nature, this is an adventure for the ages. Canham has other seafaring stories (among others) both series and standalones, but for this particular project, this gets the nod.

1664618. sx318 — *A Woman of Passion*, Virginia Henley

Far and away my favorite Henley standalone (though there are a couple I still need to read, so favorite standalone presumptive?) Straddling the line between historical romance and historical fiction, the heroine, Bess, is based on the historical figure, Elizabeth Hardwick. No, she’s not the “Elizabeth” in the Elizabethan era, in which this is set (Elizabeth Tudor, AKA HRH Elizabeth I, is) but man oh man does she have a life. Or should that be men, oh men, because Bess doesn’t marry just once but four times. But is it still a romance? There have been discussions, but I’ll let you decide for yourselves…or read along with me and let’s talk it out.

622475 — *Wild Bells to the Wild Sky*, Laurie McBain

Can’t get enough of Tudor-era romance? I know I can’t (remember when that used to be a thing? Who wants to help bring that back?) Love shipwreck stories? How about love on a deserted island? No, not Gilligan’s. This is the tale of Lily Christian, who grew up on such an island after a shipwreck stranded her small family, and Valentine Whitelaw (one of my favorite romance hero names ever) the courtier tasked with bringing her home. Lily is smart, strong, resilient and resourceful, Valentine is a man of his time, and there is intrigue aplenty, unmaskign the true reason behind the accident that changed Lily’s life forever. This also has one of my top three romance endings ever.

Those with small children may want to occupy the kiddos in another room for this one because hecking fluff, doe James ever go there. Where exactly is “there?” Oh sweet summer child. Let me tell you about this book. Gabriel St. Croix is the last person who would consider himself a hero. He has lived and worked (yep, doing exactly what you think, his clients not restricted to one gender) most of his life in a brothel. He’s thisclose to finally being free of that living hell, when a young boy arrives to become his replacement, and, well, Gabriel can’t let that happen. If he stays on, will the boy remain untouched? Yes. Okay, then. That’s not all, though. His reason for staying is about to be ripped away from him, as Sarah Munroe, the boy’s sister, has finally found him, and will be taking him home. Not only that, but Gabriel can come, too. Culture shock? To say the least. Sarah is unconventional herself, and when these two wounded souls meet, the click together to form an incredible romance. Yes, there is an HEA.

Laura cannot imagine ever not loving Alex, not from since she was a little girl, and certainly not after he returns home from the war so scarred that he shuts himself away and wears a leather mask to shield himself and his scars, both physical and mental/emotional, from the rest of the world. But Laura isn’t the rest of the world. She is a take charge heroine who is not going to let a little thing like that stop her from rescuing Alex from himself. If that means putting aside her identity as a daughter of the nobility to sign on as the new housekeeper so she can get close to him, well that’s what she’s going to do. Her job isn’t easy, either, and this is an extremely emotional read…which is one of the reasons it’s on this list. I am sorry to say that the author, Karen Ranney, passed away recently, so a reread of this feels both timely and bittersweet.

So there you have it, five standout standalone historical romance novels that I would love to deep dive into with all of you. Which one catches your fancy? Drop suggestions in the comments, or message me at annacbowling@gmail.com or come join the Lion and Thistle group on Facebook, and tell me your favorites.

Anna

Summer of Love (Stories)

June 15, 2020annabowling 2 Comments

Back before the whole vagabonding thing began, I had planned a Skye-athalon. I would re-read not only my all time favorite historical romance novel, Skye O’Malley, by Bertrice Small,

but the entire two series that flowed from it, first to last, top to bottom, no interruptions, and blog about the whole darned thing. From Tudor era Br4itish Isles to the high seas, Northern Africa, and back again, up through the Restoration that followed England’s Civil War, this is an epic. I love epics. That’s no surprise.

Ah, notebook, we will meet again one day

I was super hyped for that, bought a special notebook and washi tape to keep all my notes in, picked a dedicated pen, and even had the namesake of my favorite novel, Skye O’Malley Hart-Bowling, the kitty, not the book, to cheer me on while I read the book, not the kitty.

Then life happened. Then it happened again. Then it turned into a dumpster fire, and while all my O’Malley books are safely in storage, my O’Malley books are in storage, so getting to them and the notebook and washi would take some doing, but I still like the idea, so why not do a similar thing with a different series by a different author? That, I can definitely do.

This means I am now in one of the fun parts (spoiler: they are all the fun parts) and that’s picking which series I want to read and share with all of you. I love watching deep dives and readthroughs on BookTube, and t his may indeed be a natural way to jump back into video blogging.

While most of such vlogs I’ve seen are dedicated to some of the brightest stars of today (Julia Quinn, Tessa Dare, Lisa Kleypas, et al) I would love to bring that treatment to some of the grand dames of historical romance, some of which may actually be new to newer readers of the genre. Since I am still vagabonding, I cannot, unfortunately, do this with actual physical books, but that also opens up the whole wide world of the e-reader, and all of Kindle Unlimited is at my disposal. If this works out well, I’ll want to do the same thing with an indie author’s work, and see where things go from there.

So. Which books? Here are a few peeks at my shortlist of possibilities:

30814690 — The DeMonteforte Brothers – Danelle Harmon

5.5 books, including novellas, Georgian England. 1770s. aka what the British were doing during the American War For Independence.

Gather the Stars (Culloden's Fire #1) — Culloden’s Fire
Kimberly Cates

5 books. This series is also called the Jacobites, which should give a clue as to the setting, but there are also a few surprises. British Isles

Also 5 books (I am seeing a trend here) and this one’s medieval, and follows more than one generation.

These days, my cheering section looks like this:

and I am still much more likely to do a thing if I have told the internet I am going to do it, so here we go. I will be reading/listening to all books on my Kindle Fire, through Kindle Unlimited. Shoutout to Lisa at Buried Under Romance for telling me about text to speech so every book can be an audiobook. This will greatly help, as I have found listening to historical romance while playing Sims 4 is my sweet spot.

Which of the three above would you most like to see me cover?

Typing With Wet Paws: Under the Influence Edition

June 12, 2020annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. We’re going to be changing it up some this week, because Aunt Anna has been doing exactly that, and my job is to report on what she’s doing. Yesterday, she didn’t even turn on the computer to work, if you can believe that. Instead, she spent the day doing a deep dive into reconnecting with historical romance, which she has been kind of unconsciously avoiding for a little while.

Part of that is because real life has been chaotic, and getting her head into another place and time took too much energy. That happens. People change genres. That is not what is happening here. She and Aunt Melva are closing in on the first draft of Drama King, setting the stage (pun intended) for Queen of Hearts, and making plans for more contemporaries to come. That’s all good.

What hasn’t felt so good, and here is where I have done some active mews duty (thinking is much easier when rubbing a lonnnnng kitty belleh, specifically mine) is that looking at her Goodreads challenge (still super duper ahead, so she has wiggle room) showed that her reading has leaned, at times heavily, to YA over historical romance, and that she is not okay with that.

This led to a long time in what Aunt Anna calls the soft office, with notebook and pen, and me cuddling close, writing down how she feels about that and how it came to be, as well as a way back to what feels like a better balance for her. Some of this comes as she prepares material for future video blogs, and some of it comes from Buried Under Romance doings. Where Aunt Anna has landed on this is that it’s okay to go through times of not having a lot of energy (cats totally understand this) but it is not okay to use not engaging in something a human loves because of that.

Yesterday, Aunt Anna wrote down a lot of things, including a list of some of her favorite classic historical romance authors. It included but was not limited to:

If these names are familiar to you, you might notice that they have a few things in common. If they are not, consider clicking these links, and keeping an eye on this blog for more about them inthe future. These are big stories. Sometimes it feels scary to want to write big stories, especially when a lot of things in life are very very big. That is, though, maybe exactly when and why big stories are needed the very very most.

Aunt Anna is excited not only to revisit some of her favorite historical romances, by these authors and others, but to look into how they have and continue to influence her current reading and writing.

Now that that’s out of the way, it’s time for the important stuff, aka me. I have talked in the past about my adventures with the butt warmer, but I have not shared yet about my special trick (because I just learned it) and that is that I can turn off Uncle Rheuben’s trackpad. I won’t give my secrets but when Uncle Rheuben couldn’t find his cursor and the trackpad wasn’t doing anything, he asked Aunt Anna for help (she has a lot more experience with cats and computers) and she did some Google-fu.

What she found was that the number one cause of this particular problem is cats on keyboards. There was a post that told her what buttons to push to undo my trick, and she did, and boom, back in business. This does not mean that I will stop doing it, because sometimes humans need feline intervention to know when it is time to stop with the clickety clack and make with the belly rubs. Speaking of which,

Headbonks!

YA Recommendations for Pride, pt 2

June 3, 2020annabowling Leave a comment

When I first thought about posting a list of YA recommendations with LGBT themes, I thought it was going to be easy to pick a few favorites, but I was wrong. Love, loss, angst, healing, friendship, and growing up and into oneself are universal, and as with many genres, there are flat out too many excellent voices to pick only a few, and I want to know the stories of people whose experiences are different from mine, so here are five more examples of the stories that have stuck with me the most. gain, no particular order, and all are, as far as I know, own voices stories, and standalones.

Deposing Nathan, Zack Smedley: This book, oh man, all the love. Told in non-linear fashion, we learn how it was that Nate and his best friend, Cam, came not only to blows, but a near-fatal scuffle that now has the legal system involved. The added bonus here is that Nate is equally rooted in his orientation, and his Christian faith, truly desiring to reconcile both truths about himself and live his most honest life. Gripping, raw, and real, this is a five star read for me, and I will pick up Zack Smedley’s next book by only his name on the cover. I’m sold.

I Wish You All the Best, Mason Deaver: When Ben DeBacker comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they toss him out of the house without even shoes on their feet. Where can they possibly go while processing such betrayal? To the only person who can understand, their estranged older sister, Hannah, who immediately comes to get Ben and brings them to live with her and her husband, Thomas, a teacher at the school Ben will attend for the next year. Hannah and Thomas don’t have all the answers, but they want to ask the right questions, and guide Ben as Ben charts his own path in life, art, and love.

If I Was Your Girl, Meredith Russo: Meredith Russo is another writer whose books I will pick up by name alone. In her debut novel, Ms. Russo hits the sweet spot of heartbreaking and heartwarming, as we journey with Amanda, a trans girl looking for a fresh start in a new school. She is strongly attracted to classmate Grant, but unsure of how much to share about her past. She also has some ups and downs reconnecting with her divorced father, with whom she now lives.

Symptoms of Being Human, Jeff Garvin: In Riley Cavanaugh’s own words, “The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl?” This is how Riley starts the anonymous blog on the advice of their therapist. Riley, a genderfluid teen, has a voice, but how to use it, when they are settling into a new school, their conservative congressman father is running for reelection, and everybody has expectations of who Riley is or should be. The blog takes off, creating a community, but when Riley’s identity is leaked, that’s when Riley has to decide who they are and what their future will be.

Annie on My Mind, Nancy Garden:

There is a lot to love about this book. Not only is it a seminal work of contemporary YA, one of the first with LGBT themes (and certainly with a happy ending)but the author’s voice is so lyrical that it’s almost like music. Not a lot is actually shown of Annie’s musical talent, but it’s infused through the story, told entirely from Liza’s point of view. Two teenage girls, from two different worlds, who find love in each other, the story of their growing relationship interspersed with a letter Liza may or may not send to her estranged beloved, Annie, grabs readers by the heart and doesn’t let go.

Annie, it’s raining. From those three words, the first three that came to the author when she began putting Annie and LIza’s story to paper, I knew this story had me. The scene, early on, where Liza first encounters the enchanting Annie, in a museum, on a rainy November afternoon, instantly earned a place as one of my all time favorites.

It’s not easy to be two young women in love in the late 1970s/early 80s (the book was published in 1982) and both Annie and Liza learn this firsthand, but that’s part of the magic of growing up, getting through the things we think will break us, and learning who our people, family, and chosen family, truly are.

I had a lot of fun coming up with these lists, so will probably be adding more recommendations, both YA and historical romance, maybe a few other things, in future posts. If there’s a topic or trope you’d like to see me cover, drop it in the comments, and I will see what I can do. If you’d like to follow me on Goodreads, to keep up with what I’m reading as well as new releases, I would love to be Goodreads friends, which can happen right here.

YA Book Recommendations for Pride Month, pt 1

June 1, 2020annabowling Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Typing With Wet Paws: Almost June Edition

May 29, 2020annabowling Leave a comment

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

Things Aunt Anna has been super good at while sick:

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

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

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

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

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

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Mid-May Edition

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020annabowling Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Headbonks!

Romance, Buried Under

May 2, 2020May 2, 2020annabowling 1 Comment

Due to technical difficulties on the Buried Under Romance site, I am posting the pictures from my discovery of a vintage book stash here. For the story behind the pictures, please visit Buried Under Romance for my latest Saturday Discussion post, here. These are some, but not all of the books Storm mentioned in yesterday’s Typing With Wet Paws.

Fair warning, these pictures were taken in basement lighting with a Kindle Fire, but that hardly matters because…books!