reading

Maybe In The Moonlight

annabowling Leave a comment

I have the house to myself this morning. That’s still somewhat of a novelty, both having a permanent home, and having complete run of it, though I trust I will get used to it in time, My window of time lasts as long as it takes for Housemate to get back from doing her thing at the laundromat. At that time, there will not only be another human in my space, but clean sheets (burgundy plaid, flannel, aka my perfect autumnal option) and clothing (definitely time for an overhaul there, as A) we wore most of our stuff a lot in the last year, B ) style evolution, and C) we live in New York, and we are coming up on winter in not too long at all.

That, though, is probably not why the majority (here is where I comically correct that to “both”) of readers are here, though, who knows, maybe so. Maybe this blog is a little bit about mental health, especially where it intersects with the writing process, since if there were a way to separate the two, I like to think I would have found it by now. Then again, I have times where I can set my cup down, turn around and then have no idea where the thing went, even though our apartment is not that big. I digress.

So. Writing. I am going for that. A good chunk of my relationship with my own writing, these day, can be best summed up as “Oh, there you are,” like opening the packing box labelled something like “kitchenware” and well, hello there, my favorite sweatshirt. Didn’t expect to find you here, specifically, but I sure as heck am slipping you on right away. Not quite warm from the dryer, but not smelling of mothballs, and maybe even a little bit bigger than remembered, but, all around, a much-welcome reunion.

Reading is not quite there yet. I did, however, inhale two Hulu series, both based on YA novels I had read and liked, both which turned out rather well, and one of which was actually a little better than the source. Maybe I should give Poldark or Outlander another look for the historical romance quotient. In the meantime, I have been poking my nose into books by favorite authors, and then poking right back out after a couple of pages. That’s okay. It will come. It always does.

Same with the whole planning thing. With a little more than one month left in the year, my reaction to planning this week, which does include a holiday, has been largely “ehhhh.” I am not firm on what format or size I want my 2021 planner to be, but I do know that I want one main planner, rather than an at home planner and then a mini version to put in my bag. I have started experimenting with making my own planner stickers, example below:

appropriate quote, or what?

Using some of my favorite song lyrics and book quotes (I am beyond excited to be first in line for a hold on the newest Nina LaCour YA novel. No, I have no idea what it’s about; if her name is on the cover, I want it. Period.) feels a heck of a lot more exciting than and searching for stock images that catch the idea in my head feels like a super fun challenge, and is a good step toward getting exactly the planner stuff I want to have, even if I don’t know exactly what that looks like yet.

This ties in pretty well with my view on writing right now, so I’m going to stick with that. There is some confidently traipsing down familiar trails, and there is some splashing about in the shallows, sometimes in the shadows, but also in the moonlight. In the end, where this will lead is putting one foot in front of the other and hitting one key at a time, and then, one day, between sips of tea or bites of seasonally appropriate nibble, between kitty scritches or You Tube videos in the background, I will type “The End” and blink at the page, not entirely knowing how I got there, but glad that I did. After that? Next evolution.

Typing With Wet Paws: End of October Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers. I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Big doings this week, so let’s get started.

all of these boxes are mine….

The week started off as a momentous one with the humans all going at the same time to the storage unit, so they could get some special things – furniture. Aunt Anna and Uncle Rheuben now have a real bed, which of course I sleep on, too. Well, except when I am on Cat Bed #2, which is Aunt Anna’s old lap desk that did not survive the vagabond months very well, but the cushion is great and me-sized, and it’s between her desk and her side of the bed, so it is perfect, or Cat Bed #1, which is an actual cat bed, and on the floor at the foot of the human bed. Basically, I want to be where the humans are, so if they want me to be in that bed more, then they should be on the floor more.

Uncle Rheuben has set up his bookcase and a free standing clothes rack. He even surprised Aunt Anna with a bunchy of velvet covered wood hangers that are all the same, and they look very classy, so she is happy. The clothing rack was actually out in the hall of the storage unit with a “free, take me sign on it, so they did. Aunt Anna brought in one bookcase, that her dad made for her when she was a baby. There is another bookcase that goes with it, and she will bring that next time, along with her favorite extra special favorite books (they are by Bertrice Small) to go in it. Mostly, these days, she is reading on her Kindle, or the Kindle app on her phone, and she has moved the boxes with the rest of her books to an easily accessible part of the storage unit. Those, she can get as needed, but she wants the extra special favorite ones on hand at all times. The first bookcase is currently holding notebooks and planner stuff. That may change, but things are no longer on the floor, and that makes a lot of difference.

Another thing that is different is that yesterday, Aunt Anna went to Aunt Linda’s co-worker’s house, to look at a table for Aunt Linda’s sewing machine (that will come in a couple of days, and yes, cat costumes may be a thing that could happen; I am open to it.) Along with the sewing machine table, Aunt Linda’s co-worker had cats. Some of them live with her all the time, but the ones the aunts met were fosters, a mama and her four babies. Before yu get excited, I will point out that they all have homes lined up already, so I am not getting a sibling just yet, but I was very interested in smelling Aunt Anna’s shirt and learning about the kittens. In a word, (or a few of them) the kids are all right. I am not jealous or concerned, because I am secure in my place in the pride.

Speaking of reading, Aunt Anna has now hit eighty percent of her reading goal at Goodreads. Shockingly, she is currently two books behind, but this is the weekend, and she ahs her reading mojo back, so this should be fixed by the start of the new week. It’s also the time of year for historical holiday novellas, which will take care of that requirement quite nicely.

Aunt Anna is also back to watching TV on Hulu and Netflix and probably Prime as well, which is going to require a tracker, because she wasn’t able to watch anything for a long time (because lack of metaphorical spoons) and now it seems like A Lot, but probably really isn’t. Also, keeping track will help her track patterns on kinds of things she likes to watch. She will post more about that later.

For now, it is time for her to atten to the making of fiction, so I am required at my station, sending good kitty vibes and providing moral support.

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Second Week of September Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Usually, Aunt Anna helps m out with the snappy tittles, but she had a rough anxiety week, so I will cut her a little slack. Do not worry; Nurse Storm is on the case, with my patented paws-on brand of purr-apy. That kind of makes up for the anxiety I caused her by chewing through her CPU’s power cord last week. I did not get zapped, which is good, but I am no longer allowed behind the computer, which is bad (according to me.)

Moving along…and speaking of moving, that is what is taking up a lot of Aunt Anna’s brain at the moment. Things went well with the apartment th Aunts saw, and the property manager likes them, so things went to the next level. That level is applications and deposit, and the property manager said to call him for something called a walk through. I like the sound of that.

Aunt Anna’s Goodreads reading challenge has been holding steady at six books ahead of schedule, That big lead from earlier comes in very handy in times like these. She does have a list of books she wants to read, and TV/Movies she would like to watch, when things are a bit calmer. Since both reading and watching are sedentary activities, I am all for them. I will try and sneak in a purr-apy session or two. I’m clever like that.

Anyway, the stats look like this: Aunt Anna has read sixty-eight out of ninety books, which puts her at seventy-six percent of the way to her goal. Not too shabby, especially in the midst of all the chaos going on.

For those wondering about Buried Under Romance, Saturday discussion is back, baby, and keep an eye out for new reviews, bound to make many TBRs get all that longer.

Aunts Anna and Melva’s favorite one-year-old

Hard to believe it’s been a year since these two crazy kids were unleashed on the world. For those thirsty for the next Love by the Book story, Aunts Anna and Melva have been chugging ever closer to Jack and Kelly’s HEA. After that, time for Heather and Rob in book number three.

Aunt Anna’s figure-out-historical-romance-stuff notebook
(and extra paper because she will need extra paper)

As for historical progress, Aunt Anna found one interesting thing about her manuscripts that are complete and/or near enough to completion to count as such. Most of her stories fall into the following three time periods:

  • Medieval
  • Georgian (up to 1799)
  • English Civil War & Restoration

This doesn’t mean she isn’t interested in writing other eras, because she is (she will be all over the Tudor era someday) but for now, that’s a concentration that’s too strong to ignore. Apart from the medievals, and the pirate trilogy, the others aren’t directly connected, but — could they be? Is similar time period a strong enough connection for you as a reader?

zzzzzzzzzzzz…..

I already covered the most important me part with the stuff about the computer cord. I am not too pleased that I am no longer allowed to sit behind Aunt Anna’s computer, but they are getting me some new toys to make up for it, so I guess I still win. You can see how fitfully I sleep over this. Guess that’s about it for now, and there is a sunbeam calling my name, so say it with me…

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Hello, September Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. A lot has happened in the last year, s Uncle Rheuben and the Aunts are coming up on what they call their homelessversary, marking one year since they left their last apartment. they are planning on marking the occasion by putting in applications on a new apartment, and we are all pretty excited about that. Only a little more than a month after that, they celebrate an even more auspcious ocasion, the anniversary of the day they got ME. I am pushing for a photo retrospective for that one, because, well, look at me. I’m gorgeous.

Aunt Anna is looking forward to putting down some roots in a new apartment, and her work hours are pretty easy to figure out – the days when both Uncle Rheuben and Aunt Linda are off at their day jobs. This lines up pretty nicely with some fun new opportunities Aunt Anna found out about from Dragonblade Publishing, aka

The Write Stuff

Aunt Anna is pretty excited about Dragonblade looking for new writers, because A) she is a writer of historical romance, B ) Dragonblade is her dream boutique publisher, and C) Dragonblade looks like the place for innovative historical romance with an old school flair, suited for the modern reader, and Aunt Anna is all about all of that. She’s going to be up against a lot of talent, but she’s actually inspired by that. This may or may not also be giving her some of the same adrenaline rush she usually gets by proxy from watching So You Think You Can Dance. She hopes that show will be back next summer.

Drama King

Funny how this writing thing works with writers. Aunt Anna is firmly back in the saddle with this one, and quite happily back at work in earnest. It’s not too long to HEA for Kelly and Jack, and then it’s time for Aunt Anna and Aunt Melva to send it to their editor to see if she likes it. After that, they start on their next book, which they are calling Queen of Hearts.

Buried Under Romance

It’s been a rough year over there, because real life has been a trip, but Aunt Anna is still super excited to get back to making the blog the best it can be. What sort of content would you like to see on a blog focused on historical romance? Blog tours are great, but what else? Author visits? Excertps? Lists of staff emembers’ favorites?

Goodreads

Aunt Anna is back on track for reading as well, which surprises even her, but that’s how it works. One day, the desire is just back and there it is. As of now, she is still an impressive six books ahead of schedule, andmay even overtake herself in not too much time at all. Among her current reads are:

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Bookish and the Beast -Ashley Poston
Once Upon a Con, #3

and

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Angel’s Fall -Kimberly Cates
Culloden’s Fire #2

Aunt Anna has the next book in that series all queued up after she finishes this one, and then the next one after that, which is actually the first one (don’t ask me, I just work here) are all ready to go. She’s not back at watching TV/Movies yet, but she is making a list of stuff to watch when she does have the brain for it. I, of course, will be there to assist her by sitting on her and motor purring louder than the speakers. It’s what I do.

Discord

A quick reminder that Aunt Anna’s Lion and Thistle Discord server is up and running, for discussion of all things historical romance related, writing, reading, or anything else. If you’re interested, you can find her on Discord at Snowbound Mermaid #5234.

Now we come to the important part, the part about me. We are entering into uncharted territory, because I have never been with this family during a September before, so I do not have a baseline for the whole September experience. We will see how that goes. The notes Big Sister Skye left say that Aunt Anna gets her super powers back sometimes during September, and I can definitelys see traces of that. She’s got an extra spring in her step these days, though some of that could be from the possible apartment-age or looking down the barrel of a really funcompetition (Dragonblade) and actually having her writing mojo back. All in all, I guess that’s okay. As long as she is still there for cuddles and belly rubs. I absolutely require my belly rubs.

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Jailbreak II: Hallway Boogaloo Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. We’ll start with the mot important stuff. Aunt Anna says that means that she had a good writing week, but I have to disagree. Ther important stuff is about me, obviously.

First and arguably the most important thing is that the humans are reasonably sure that I am not pregnant because I am now in heat. That mostly means me slinking around the room, doing my very seductive (to boy cats, at least I hope) trilling calls, and being super lovey. It also involves me wanting to go find boy cats.

Yesterday, as we moved into a new room after a night of camping (during which there were zero opportunities to make a break for it) I did not throw away my shot (Hamilton reference for the win. Hm. Lin-Manuel Miranda, here’s a suggestion. Hear me out: Catmilton. Like Hamilton, but with cats. Eliza should totally be a calico girl. Think about it.) and while the aunts were concerned with getting their things inside, I went zoom through the barely open door.

That was when Aunt Anna told me to get back there, and I did not listen, but the other humans very much did. Uncle Rheuben shut the hallway door (never do that unless it is an emergency, and a kitty on the loose is an emergency) and Aunt Linda hurried after Aunt Anna in case Aunt Anna needed backup. As for me, I trotted down the hallway, with my happy tail high, making my super seductive boy cat call, but there were no boy cats.

There were no other cats, period. Actually, there was nobody except the aunts following me, a lot of closed doors, and carpet, carpet everywhere. I did see a set of stairs, but I don’t really know how stairs work, because I’ve never used them before, so I ignored them and kept going. Aunt Anna kept up with me and told me I wasn’t going anywhere. I kept going.

That’s when she pointed Very Sternly in the opposite direction, toward our new room, and she told me I had to go that way. I knew Aunt Anna meant business, so I turned right around and went that way. Aunt Linda laughed, and Uncle Rheuben made sure I got back in the room, and then I got food. Now the humans put a suitcase in front of the door, so I am less likely to slip through. It’s tough to be a kitty.

Plague Doctor freebie sticker from Jen.erating

For those who like to see where Aunt Anna does her writing and blogging stuff, this is what it looks like for this current stay. As Aunt Anna said while lugging the CPU and monitor up the stairs, it is time to either get one of the old laptops brought up to scratch, or get a new one. She’ll put that on the list of stuff to do while we are settled. She is happy to do the lugging, though, because that helps her move forward with the whole writing thing, which, this week, has included:

  • looking into hiring an editor/formatter/cover artist for one of her unreleased titles
  • made a short list of places to query her two out of print titles
  • started setting the framework for the follow-up to the book at the top of this list
  • given some long overdue attention to an Aunt Melva scene from Drama King and started making notes on her own scene to follow
  • attended a cyber-meeting of her local RWA chapter, which had a great workshop on how to get unstuck, and putting some of those methods into practice

All in all, pretty good. It appears my mews services have been effective. I will continue in that vein. Aunt Anna is also back reading, and is very happy to be participating in the Historical Romance Readathon, Weekend Edition. Same idea as the regular flavor, but downsized for today’s fast paced lifestyle. Aunt Anna is starting off her TBR list with two titles:

She’s keeping the list small for now, but if she finishes both during the weekend, she’ll add another. I don’t remember how long it was since she read anything, but that’s the way it goes. Reading slumps/droughts hit, and then they end, as abruptly. Aunt Anna is okay with that. She is still looking for a YA contemporary to tickle her fancy, and there is a fantasy collection, The Grand Tour, by E. Catherine Tobler, that she expects she will devour.

That return to reading will be the topic of Aunt Anna’s next blog entry at Buried Under Romance, which she expects to get up by tomorrow morning. One of the things she is working on right now is a social media planner, so she can keep better track of what she means to post, and when. Part of that also includes making sure her Instagram has the proper number of pictures of me, so I fully support that effort. Apparently she’s going to shoot for one-third pictures of me. Eh, it’s a start.

Finally, Aunt Anna would like to unveil my brand new signoff picture, which she might try making into a sticker. That, I want to see. Guess that’s about it for right now, so until then,

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Seeds of Discord Edition

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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.

she finally did it

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.

now for the part about me

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!

Headbonks!

Signs of Life

annabowling 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

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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:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Broken Wing, Judith James

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.

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Tapestry, Karen Ranney

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)

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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,

Always. :sigh:

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.

Fur-ever the queen.

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:

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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

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Fire series
Anita Mills

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:

#calicolovestorm

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?

Anna

Typing With Wet Paws: Under the Influence Edition

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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!