writing process

Becoming Persephone

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Happy New Year, everybody. 2018 is finally in the dust, and 2019 is ready to show us what it’s got. Hopefully good things. Though we are past the first of January, and the ornament harvest (family term for putting the Christmas décor to bed for the year) is slated for Twelfth Night (okay, the morning after Twelfth Night, so Thirteenth Morning? Is that a thing? I think it should be a thing, and have something like pancakes to soften the blow) my count of Christmas romances read, and Christmas movies watched remains the same as it was before December 25th. Zero. Oh well. I’ll get them next year.

My friend, H, gave me the first two volumes of Fruits Basket, collector’s editions. This was my first time reading manga, but a lot of the dynamics of my favorite historical romances lie within those pages, so I am well and truly into this story for the long haul. The rest of my Christmas/tucked away week reading went to The Summer Wives, by Beatriz Williams, and my feelings on this book, as with most by this author, can best be summed up with guh. Emotionally evisceration via fiction is a real thing, and, here, it is very, very, much welcome. So, that’s been my holiday 2018 reading.

As for 2018 holiday viewing, it was YouTube. All day, every day, or so it seemed. Most of my viewing fell into one of two camps; Book Tube, or stattionery/bullet journaling. In short, branding was huge on my mind, this season, especially as 2019 brings new adventures ahead. Melva and I are in the process of building our brand for our collaborative work, which of course makes me give what I’ve been doing with my own brand, a second look.

Both of these interests brought me to the same question: what sort of thing do I keep coming back to, again and again? I don’t recall where I read it first, probably on Facebook, but the text of the graphic was “Why choose between a girly and a dark aesthetic? If Persephone can be the goddess of springtime and queen of the underworld at the same time, so can you.” Yes. That. What that person said.

There were two things I noticed as I watched seemingly endless videos on the two subjects, looking for places I could twine them together. The first was that there are, to my knowledge, zero Book Tube channels about epic historical romance. Searching for historical romance on You Tube brings up a lot of fun vlogs about the current world of historiccal romance, which warms my historical romance loving heart. Deep inside that fire, though, there’ is a cranky flame (we might call it spotting a niche to be filled) that crackles with a desire to talk about some of the greats that came before, some of whom are still delivering the goods. So, there’s that.

The second thing I noticed was that I kept searching for stationery/bujo vloggers who had a certain aesthetic. No surprise, colors in the dusty rose/rose gold/ballet pink/blush family, combined with neutrals figure highly in this aesthetic. Once again, There Were Questions. What kinds of stories do I love the very, very most? Not merely what I like, but what leaves me wrung out like a wet washcloth, and happy about it? What sweeps me into its world and has me chomping at the bit to make some of that, myself?

In both cases, my next thought wasn’t “ugh, that looks hard” or “I don’t know if I can do that,” but “eh, give me a couple of pens and some paper, and I will figure it out.” That, I think, is part of taking myself seriously as a writer, and a creative being. That’s a journey that takes place one step at a time. Do I have an exact map to how this will mean gauranteed success every single time? Pffft, no. What I do know, though, is that, since i started my YouTube binge, I have been more focused on planning the actual work of writing, and have been consistentlyhitting my goals.

It’s an ongoing process. Yesterday, I opened the file for Her Last First Kiss, gave the first chapter a light spiff, and sent it in Melva’s general direction. Doing that had a similar feeling as setting up my new bujo system. Little different, but good different, still with the same feeling, even “me-er,” and …yeah. Let’s see where this takes us.


What new paths are you following in 2019?

This Post Is About Planning (Writing)

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As if the title weren’t enough to give it away, in the interests of full disclosure, this post is indeed about planning. It’s specifically about planning writing, which I hope is the way things are going to go this year, but there is always room for surprises.

Yesterday was Christmas. Normally, I like to do this holiday BIG, but this was a quiet Christmas, which was fine with me. That was one of the first surprises. What was not a surprise was that the rest of my family wanted a very very very quiet day, which left me, for a large part of it, to my own devices. Those devices, as they are wont to do, led me toward planning and writing, and planning writing.

My gift to Housemate, this year, was a bullet journal starter kit (Housemate does not write, but she knits amazing sweaters/blankets/scarves, etc) which put me in the mood to work on my own bujo stuff for the year ahead. I’ve been talking about it for some time now (apologies to those who are only here for the writing talk; the balance will soon shift) and it led me to a surprising place. Let me backtrack.

Ever since I got my planner case, I’d been trying to shove my blush pink notebook into it, with a black/white/blush/grey aesthetic, into it, and It Was Not Working. Well, boo. If only I hadn’t wasted my berry covered gridded notebook on the TV tracker that went on for precisely seven pages, before it, too, Did Not Work. :pause: Wait a minute. Did seven pages have to mean the whole thing was down for the count? A little washi tape, some markers, and let’s see what we’ve got.

One ink color for the entire year felt too restrictive, but one color for each month? That, I liked. One family of colors per season? That sounded like fun.

Umm, Anna, this is all pretty and stuff, but what about the actual, you know, writing? We have come to that part. I am the type of writer who likes to know where she’s going, so I like the whole year at a glance thing. On Christmas Eve, Melva and I got a target date for the first round of edits on Chasing Prince Charming, so that needs to go straight into my future log. That also lets us break up the work into manageable bites, so it’s less running around in a circle, screaming, and more “Okay, this is today’s bit.”

Anna. Writing. That is a picture. You have an Instagram for that kind of thing. Focus.

That is also a picture, and there is some obscuring of personal information, but what this all came down to is, this is what I want to write in the year 2019. Chasing Prince Charming is on its way to being a real, live book. Drama King is past the 25% mark. Her Last First Kiss needs to make it to the end of its second draft, and I need to pick a historical romance to follow that one. Taken as a whole, it does seem all a bit much, but broken down into small manageable bites? Okay, that, I can do.

The trick is to figure out what parts go where. Since most weekday mornings see me with the apartment to myself, that is prime writing time. Evenings when there are three bodies in a small space, not so much. I’m still not sure how I want to track my writing this year, as I did not use the tracker I made for writing, last year. What’s probably going to happen is that I’ll write down what I wrote at the end of the day, and then figure out what I’m doing from there. Patterns will emerge, and then I can set goals, to stretch and do more.

Part of that stretching will mean a few changes for the look of this blog, and keeping a better balance between the writing and planning talk, though the two do often intertwine. Is intuitive planning a thing? Maybe 2019 is the year I find out. How are you planning your writing or otherwise creative year?

Typing With Stuffed Paws: Writer Chick Smells Like Real Cat Edition

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Greetings, foolish mortals. Sebastian Thunderpaws Hart-Bowling coming at you, from under the as-yet undecorated Christmas tree. This week, I have news. N and Writer Chick moved their meeting, this week, not only to Friday, but to N’s house, instead of Panera. How does this affect me, you may be asking? Writer Chick came home, smelling of Real Cat. Specifically, this one:

This cat was not, as one might think, my relief. My tenure as Cat regent needs must continue for the foreseeable future. The pictured cat is one of three cats who live with N and Mr. N, but she was the only one who marked Writer Chick as her own, by means of headbutts, ankle weaves, and attempting to disappear into the black of Writer Chick’s coat. It did not work. At least there are no young pretenders for my spot under the Christmas tree. That will probably help me endure my ongoing duties. Probably.

Time for the compulsories for the week. As always, Writer Chick was at Buried Under Romance on Saturday. This time, she reached out to her faithful readers to end her Christmas romance drought, and they did come through. What was the recommendation and was it enough to spark Writer Chick’s interset? Find out here.

As much as the Goodreads updates have meant to me, over the last few months, those are now over. Writer Chick has not only completed the challenge, but exceeded it, with ninety-one books read to date, out of ninety. That is four books ahead of schedule, and more than a week to spare before the end of the year. Not too shabby, Writer Chick. Bring it on for 2019. If you need a reading pillow, I make a good one. If you’re intersted in getting a closer look at teh whole shebang, here it is.

Writer Chick is seriously considering upping the goal for next yaar, to ninety-five, with an eye on one hundred in the next year or two after that. We will see what happens, but she’s feeling\\ng challengey, so watch this space for future details. Her most recent review of the year is actually for a historical romance, Trapped at the Altar, by Jane Feather, which had a lot of elements that make Writer Chick do a happy reading dancce. I am not allowed to show that footage here, but I can share a link. Her most recent read is a 20th century historical YA, Lies We Tell Ourselves. She doesn’t have a review up for that one yet, but have a look at that cover.

This morning, Writer Chick, and N, and probably N’s cat (I don’t know; she looks clever, and I wasn’t there, because nobody invited me. Stuffed guys like a little change of scenery too, you know.) had people food and people beverages and had to each lay out plans for what they mean to do in the coming year. What their goals are, and how they intend to achieve them. What it all boiled down to was “pick the thing you are most excited about, do that until it’s done, and then do the next thing.”

This should hold them over through the holidays, because they will meet, next, in January. At which time Writer Chick plans to show off the writing progress tracker she designed, and made a version of, on dot grid index cards. Writer Chick is hardcore like that. She is also, as I have gathered, pretty hardcore about Christmas in general, though that has not been much in evidence until last night.

Last night, Writer Chick unboxed the Christmas tree. I, of course, immediately claimed it as my own. She says she’s going to put some ornaments on it, once Dude is available. Normally, Writer Chick likes to spread out her Christmas preparation across the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but, this time, she seems to be cramming it all into the next few days. Call it turbo-Christmas. I am not sure what turbo-Christmas entails, I am pretty sure it’s going to involve twinkly lights, and some garland. She already found where Netflix keeps the Christmas movies. Something tells me there here is no stopping her now.

Peace Out

The Year of “Yes, And….”

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This post is not going to be about planning. Okay, not really. This is because I have met me, but it is also about writing.

Jack, the hero of Melva’s and my current contemporary WIP, is an actor who isn’t acting (at the moment) but still can’t turn off who he truly is. Without giving away too much, let us say that improv ensues. As Jack tells Kelly, his very much not an actress heroine, the first rule of improv is to never say “no” to your scene partner. Instead, the correct answer is, “yes, and…” Accept what your partner offers, and then add to it.

Fans of The Big Bang Theory may remember the classic episode where Penny tries to instruct Sheldon in improv (spoiler alert, it all goes horribly wrong.) Penny has set up the scene as taking place in a shoe store. Sheldon’s character enters the scene and requests frozen yogurt. In the spirit of “yes, and,” Penny’s character replies that he’s fortunate to have come to her shoe store that is also a frozen yogurt parlor. Chaos ensues from there, but you get the point. Okay, but how does this relate to writing? Glad you asked.

For some writers, including myself, the creation of a first draft is, essentially, improv. There’s a degree of flying into the mist (thanks to the late, great Jo Beverley, for that term) which is very similar from improv. I did a bunch of theater in high school and college, and if I had to go back to college, or do it over again, I would pick theater as my major. (I majored in early childhood education. It did not end well. Cas in point: I am doing this, instead.) In my very short student theater career, my favorite-est things were auditions and improv. Both have an amazing energy to them, that I palpably felt in my physical body.

It’s a difficult feeling to describe, but I recognized it, easily, when I first sat down in my Vermont College dorm room, with an electronic typewriter and a ream of typing paper (yep, that long ago) to start work on my very first historical romance novel manuscript. The resulting pages live in a storage unit now, where they cannot hurt anybody, but that feeling, of standing on the stage, facing my scene partner(s) and knowing that anything, literally anything could happen…. I want that again.

That’s why 2019 is my Year of “Yes, And….” Time to unpause, explore new things, revive old ones that have lain dormant far too long, test, and stretch (because isn’t that how muscles grow?) On Friday, N and I will brainstorm future, individual, projects. What are we each most passionate about, and how can we bring those stories to life, aka put them in the hands of readers? This is also the year where Melva and I are going to push each other, not only on our collaboration, but in our solo work as well, and maybe even beyond that.

Does this mean that every idea is going to work out? No. For every improv sketch that ends with the whole troupe and audience on the edge of losing collective bladder control and/or the ability to breathe, for laughing that hard, there is an awkward silence, a few deer in the headlight expressions, and an unspoken agreement never to speak of this again. There’s no way to tell which it’s going to be, in advance, but there’s also no way to find out except to head into the breach and take on all comers. What are you saying “yes, and….” to in the upcoming year?

Monday Morning Chaos and Order

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This past weekend, we had a sick Housemate, Real Life Romance Hero adjusting to his new work schedule, and me at a point of exhaustion where most of my available hours were spent cruising YouTube, to mark videos to watch later. Needless to say, I did not meet my weekend writing goals. Sebastian didn’t have any goals, so he’s not terribly bothered about missing Friday’s post (I’ll make him make up for it later.) 

Most of the videos I flagged were on bullet journaling, so when I needed something to kickstart my brain this morning, I made some tea, and hauled out planner supplies, to move around some planner guts, so that the right guts made it into the right covers. This may have been more complicated than it sounds, but, as soon as I quit thinking about it, and let instinct lead, well, what do you know, I Have my entire sleep tracker for 2019 all set out, one notebook set aside for practical information, and another, with so far no entries, for reading and writing use. 

The reasons this book has no entries as of yet is because that’s about when my brain fizzled out, and I needed to hop in the idea generator, aka shower, before I could plop myself back at ye olde kitchen table and figure out what the tasks for the day would be. Going to bed (note, I did not say “back” to bed, because hello insomnia) and then do what needs doing. 

When asked if I am a plotter or a pantser, I usually say puzzler, because that’s how I work best. Take this thing over here, take that thing over there, which go together I don’t know how, at the moment, but I know that they do. For instance, last night, while I babbled to a captive audience of Sick Housemate (she knows where her tea comes from) about why I haven’t been able to use the planner case I’d been wanting to use, and have right the heck there, it was that I was trying to combine blush pink and berry color schemes, when I really wanted two separate books, one blush and one berry. Oh. Once that lightbulb went on, the whole process was a lot clearer, and I was able to, this morning, move the right guts into the right cover, and actually get started on filling pages. 

Savvy readers will get where I am going with this. One of the notebooks I’m setting up for the coming year is for writing related stuff. I’m not sure what, exactly. The first step is to make some lists. What are my obligations? Chasing Prince Charming, of course, and related things at The Wild Rose Press. Getting back on the horse with Her Last First Kiss, to get it from partially second-drafted, to ready to shop around, and figure out what my next historical romance will be. 

What that figuring out looks like, however, is often a mystery, until it isn’t. I need, I have found, to cannonball off the dock, break the surface of the water on my way back up, and then figure out where the heck I am and how far it is to shore. Maybe someday, I will be able to explain it better, but the best work happens when I am doing, and not thinking. That used to be a lot easier, like when I was pounding out x number of pages every day on a typewriter on a tv tray in my father’s living room, because, well, nobody had told me I couldn’t. I didn’t know any better, and so I cannonballed in, splashed around, and off I went. Many of us have heard of Beginner’s Mind, which is a very useful thing, and I would like to add to that, Beginner’s Bravado, which is something I’m actively working to cultivate in the now. Re-cultivate, I should probably say. 

Ironic, then, when I sit at my desk to work on today’s entry, and find that Pixlr Express has changed its whole method of operation, and I am, once more, flailing about in the shadows. Where are my frames? Why does the picture warp when I apply an effect? I am certain I will figure this out, soon enough, but I found it amusing. 

The end of a calendar year brings a lot of changes. It still doesn’t feel like the holidays yet around here. Our tree and ornaments are still in their boxes, I have read zero holiday romances, though I did finish a historical romance with some pivotal scenes at Christmas, and my Christmas playlist has, so far, been silent. This is not like me. I’m not worried, though. It will come around, and the writing for the year to come, will take its own shape, as long as I keep showing up and doing my part. Also, playing with pretty pens and paper doesn’t hurt. 

Make A Decision and Move Forward

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Tuesday morning breakfasts with N is always a highlight of my week, and yesterday was doubly so.  Yesterday, we got our notebooks out and made a plan to organize our writing for 2019, before it starts. Part of that was kicking around ideas for a second blog, dedicated to planning/bullet journals/related miscellany, and keeping this focused on the journey of the writing life. 

Third blog would actually be more accurate, because Melva and I had a long discussion on our Monday night Skype meeting, about what we want our joing author website to look like. What is our combined brand? (Spoiler: “uhhhhh” is not an acceptable answer.) What content do we want the site to have? So far, we are agreed on a bookshelf, with three shelves; Melva books, Anna books, and Melva-and-Anna books. Same with the author bios, and that puts the partnership bio on the top of the to-do list for that one. 

Today, after I finish this blog, possibly while I do laundry, I will start getting my notes ready for the first Tuesday in January, where N and I will attack 2019. We both have manuscripts we want to get to The End this year, so we need to plan for after that. I already know the next project Melva and I will tackle, but for my solo historicals (which I am definitely feeling, once again; getting a win will do that for a gal) there are a lot of options. Since I tend to overthink, this is where a logical plan of attack comes in handy. Time to take a step back and get some perspective. 

Between now and then, I get to muck around in my imagination, and haul the characters, plots, settings, tropes, etc, that I’ve kept in my writerbrain attic, out into the natural light, and take a good look at what I’ve got. What excites me the most? What would require the most research? What do I still need to connect the dots on before I know what I’m doing? What needs brainstorming? Am I trying to stuff a ten pound cat into a two pound bag, anywhere? (Definitely.) Can two things that aren’t fully fleshed out be combined into one cohesive whole?

Once everything is spread out, we take a good, hard look at it. That’s probably my favorite part of audition weeks on TV talent competitions. Everybody’s good, or they wouldn’t have made it to the week where the judges winnow down the best to the cast of the new season. There’s headshots and notes on performances, and each judge has their own things they look for in a finalist. Is it too much to have three ballroom girls in the top ten? Can the self taught dancer pick up choreography? How does the amazing freestyler do with partner work? I honestly would be thrilled to watch the unedited footage of this part of the process, or be there when it’s decision time. 

N has a sign near her desk, that reads “make a decision and move on.”  She’s unleashed it a time or two on me, when I get caught in overthinking, and it really does help. Make a decision. Move forward. This or that. Yes or no. Stick in a placeholder and come back to it later, but keep moving. I”ll let you know how it goes. Writer readers, what’s your favorite tip for plannign ahead? 

Five

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Probably my favorite CRRWA meeting of the entire year (they are all pretty great, though) is the December meeting, where we recognize the achievements of all of our members. “Did not quit writing” is an achievement, as is “started writing for the very first time.”  There is recognition for a lot of the hard work that goes into the writing life, especially for those of us who are pursuing it as a career. Get a contract? Yay! Queried, and got a no thanks? Also yay! Published your first book? Yay! Published your twenty-fifth book? Yay! Hired an editor, cover artist, or other professional to help you on the indie publishing journey? Yay! Tehre are lots of other things that matter, and there are milestones to recognize, when reached. This year, one of them was mine. 

Book number five? Water bottle time!


Meet the five-book water bottle. I’ve wanted one of these babies ever since they first became part of the program. Since I had come into my membership in this chapter with four books under my belt, this goal felt, at the same time, very close, and unattainable. Close, because I came into my membership in this chapter with four titles to my credit, so one more is not that far away. Only, it was, because my life had exploded, and whether one wants to call it writer’s block, or emptiness, or what-have-you, my general connection to writing was, at the time, 

There was the time travel I put on the back burner (and is still there) and the Regency I tried to write, but couldn’t connect with, until I admitted I had set it in the wrong period. There was the American Revolution romance I tried oh so hard to write, until I admitted that my hero didn’t want to be on the side of the conflict I had selected for him. I ended up stealing his and his heroine’s (first) names for another project (we are getting to that. There was other stuff, too, that didn’t go anywhere, in terms of getting me to a fifth contracted/published work, but that’s not to say those things didn’t serve any purpose. 

Finding out what doesn’t work has value, too, as does taking a risk when that risk feels right. The official story is this: Melva and I were at an NERWA annual conference, and were early for breakfast. We plopped ourselves in a couple of comfy chairs near the breakfast room, so we’d be there when the doors finally opened. We people watched, and talked about how varied romance fiction is, and how those unfamiliar to the genre might think it’s all the same, but look, there’s an inspirational author talking with an author of m/m erotica, and that one writes historical, and that one writes paranormal, and that one writes YA, and that one writes multicultural, and that’s a winner of multiple Rita awards (romance fiction’s Oscar/Hugo/etc) and that person only found out RWA existed yesterday, and, and, and, and….

“What if,” one of us asked, because all great stories begin with “what if?” a writer thought they could attend a couple of workshops and pound out a romance novel real quick, but then found out it wasn’t that easy?” The other one of us glomped on to that. What if they fell in love? With whom, though? Obviously, the worst possible person would have to be the answer. A huge romance fan, someone for whom this genre is, almost literally, life. What would be the worst possible time for tehse two to meet? Originally, we made it at a pitch session, but we tweaked that, and that’s when Chasing Prince Charming was conceived. 

At this most recent meeting, I sat next to fellow The Wild Rose Press author, Ginny Frost, and squealed and giggled, and got to wear a sparkly tiara (as did all members present, even the gal at her very first meeting, ever) as the fabulous K.A. Mitchell played MC, and boasted everyone’s accomplishments. I get to play Vanna White and hand out the prizes -everybody gets one- and the whole atmosphere is so encouraging and celebratory that it is like catnip. 

There is no special prize for a sixth book, but there is for making a sale, or publishing independently, so my goal for the next year is going to be that, among other things. Book number five is my first contemporary, and my first co-written with Melva Michaelian, and my first book intentionally written as part of a series. We are about at the 25% mark of the next book, Drama King, and are already talking about what we want to write next, after these first three books are done. 

We have also talked about what we each want to achieve this coming year, in our solo work. Cozy roantic suspense, and humorous nonfiction for her, historical romance for me. How do we keep all the balls in the air for our solo and joint work, and how do we handle being a debut author, as two bodies with but a single mind. We both have books out that are just our own, and Melva has co-written before, but this new stuff? Totally new territory. 

I look forward to figuring it out. This past Saturday, we had fun. We handed out prizes, applauded each other, snacked, and, best of all, wound up talking in various bunches, about writing and reading and all that goes with it, where we are goimg and where we have been, and, maybe most importantly, where we are right now. 

The lack of a comma is tradition, now.

 I like having a shiny red reminder of what happens when I ride out the urgh, and keep going. Keep trying new things, that, surprise, make the old things even better than they always were. No telling now, what I’ll be posting here next year, but I know, whatever it is, it will be good, or headed in that direction. Writing readers, what acheivements would you like a pom-pom shake for this year? Leave them in the comments, and I can offer virtual cake.

Typing With Stuffed Paws: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Planning Edition

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Greetings, foolish mortals. Sebastian Thunderpaws Hart-Bowling coming at you with all the stuff on the week that was. I wanted to call this edition “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Sebastian,” but Writer Chick says this blog is about her writing, not my handsome self. Go figure. 

Anyway, best to get the compulsories out of the way first, so let’s get to it. As always, Writer Chick babbles on about something, over at Buried Under Romance, every Saturday, and this one is no exception. Last week, she talked about when a reading slump really isn’t one. What’s that all about? Hop on over here, and find out.

Who can say no to that face?


This leads directly into our other update, that of Writer Chick’s Goodreads challenge. Getting down to the wire now, and looks like she might actually make it. As of this writing, she has read eighty-six books out of ninety, which puts her at ninety-six percent of the way there. Four more books, three more weeks; will she make it? 

Writer’s favorite read this week was a surprise. It was also How I Live Now, by Meg Rosoff.

Writer Chick says the S mug in this week’s book picture is for Skye, but Sebastian also starts with S, so I’m claiming it. Not right now. Right now, it’s full of tea. The box of lights is mostly there to block out the view of what’s behind the box of lights and the mug, but it’s also a sign that we are moving into a different time of year, and that would be Christmas. Writer Chick loves Christmas. I’m okay with it. For all I know, I was a Christmas present (the exact circumstances of me ending up with this bunch are a little fuzzy. Heh. Fuzzy. Classic Sebastian.) and a first Christmas in a new place is definitely important.

None of the decorations are up yet, but there is a tree, and there are ornaments. I have heard it is traditional to gift the family cat with their own presents on Christmas, and I am going to assume that extends to Cats Regent. It better. 

current and future planners, covers

I am going to go out on a (Christmas tree) limb here, and assume, also, that Writer Chick will be receiving planner and/or art journal stuff for Christmas. She is definitely going to use the tucked-away week between Christmas and New Year’s, to get her 2019 planning stuff in order. This includes moving essential stuff from the stripey planner, to the big eyes planner, as well as starting a separate planner that is only for writing. Possibly one for her co-written contemporaries with Melva Michaelian, and then another for her solo historical romances. These are the everyday planners, in which she will be planning how she plans the new year. 

Current and new planners, guts

Blah blah, different sizes, blah blah, aesthetics, blah blah, DIY, etc. Whatever. She went over the specifics, but I wasn’t listening. Long story short, do what works. Even if it looks weird. Maybe especially if it looks weird. There will be more updates on where Writer Chick is, in her ongoing WIPs, as soon as she figures out how to measure that progress, and updating the Coming Soon section would not be a horrible thing, just saying. 

So, yeah, that’s basically what’s going on here at Stately Bowling Manor. Waiting on confirmation, but looks like Writer Chick and Other Writer Chick have cleared a milestone in their draft of Drama King, and are already talking about what they want to do for their combined author website (this one is staying right where it is) so there will be updates on that as they come along. 


Peace out, 

Thankful

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Here we are, the day before American Thanksgiving. Stately Bowling Manor is about as ready for the holiday as it’s going to get. This means that we have some form of the traditional foods, a table at which to eat them, and chairs in which to park our backsides, while we eat abovementioned foods, at abovementioned table. This will be a cozy holiday, with myself, Real Life Romance Hero, and, of course, Sebastian.

There’s not a lot of prep left to do, over here, which suits me fine, because, as great as Thanksgiving food is, it’s not the whole point of the day. I am thankful for my family, very much so, though the absence of a real-life fuzzy buddy does pinch. Next year, we hope to have one or two four-legged family members parked beneath the table, ready to take care of any food that may fall and/or be surreptitiously slipped to them.  Maybe we’ll station Sebastian nearby, to fill the gap.

This morning, I had my weekly breakfast with N. After the usual getting current on each other’s weeks, we turned our attention to how writing is going for each of us, and where we would like it to go. This year, I am very thankful for the fact that I am going into this holiday season, as a contracted author, once again. Complete honesty, I needed a “win,” and this definitely counts as one. The fact that I get to do it along with Melva, who has been friend and critique partner for coughty-cough years, makes it even better. Today, it means that I get to finalize (for now) a scene for Drama King, that cranks up the stakes, and leads into the next part of the book.

I am thankful that there is a next part of the book to get into, and that this is the second book in the series. I am thankful for the structure that comes not only with writing a series, with a partner, but for the structure that comes with the pre-publication process. This past week, Melva and I finalized the extra scene we needed, and the manuscript is now moving on to the next waypoint on our journey.

As I’m getting my bullet journal/traveler’s notebook ready for next year, I get to set things up for our progress along the road to release for Chasing Prince Charming. I get to set up a notebook to keep things straight with all things related to this collaboration; who’s writing what, and when it’s due, when edits are expected, what they are, and all of that good stuff. This is going to mean choosing and/or making notebook inserts, and accompanying pens, highlighters, and ephemera.

Though I won’t say I won’t be doing any shopping (especially Black Friday) for any of these items, because I have a decently robust collection of such items, I will say that I am immensely thankful for the huge boost this past year has brought me, in my love of all things pen and paper. For those who have been gently (and not so gently) suggesting I blog more about pen and paper, I will say maybe. The more I play with pens and paper, the more notebooks I fill and pens I empty, the more I want to write, and the more fun writing has become. If that means, along the way, that I pause every now and again, to pet a notebook cover, and stare off into the distance, it also means there is stuff going on in my story brain while I do so. I’ll take that.

I am thankful for my RWA family, fellow romance writers of all ilks, who have been supportive and encouraging, from the first day the new gal with the thousand-yard stare slunk into the business meeting and mumbled something about the time travel that was kicking her butt, to now friends, critique partners, and colleagues. I am thankful to be writing romance, because I get to fall in love every single day, and take a million different paths to happily ever after. Now and again, I get monies for it.

I am thankful for the writer friends I don’t get to see every day. Some, I have never seen as anything other than words on the computer screen. Still, we are family. I am thankful for the romance writers, whether or not we have ever spoken in actual conversation, written or verbally, whose books entertained and inspired me, from the day I first stole my mother’s then-new copy of The Kadin, to an overflowing TBR shelf. Those still keep me going, and are a great carrot on my stick.

I am thankful for the mistakes I have made along the way. As my mother often said, broken bones heal stronger. Would I change some of those, if I could? Probably so. Not all of them. Some. Today, after I get this blog posted, I get to have lunch with Real Life Romance Hero, and then I get to sidle into a too-small billiard room, where flirty banter pings off the walls. After that, I get to reward myself with a good cuddle under a warm, fuzzy blanket, with a good book, a cup of tea, and let a part of my brain drift toward tomorrow.

Not only the part of the day that smells like turkey gravy and hot buttered rolls, but the tomorrow that comes after that (okay, and after Black Friday) and means clearing the decks and making a new notebook for Her Last First Kiss, another for my work with Melva, and look toward the year to come. That’s the year when I will be able to measure the time since my most recently published novel, will be counted in months, not years. I am thankful for new chapters that await, on the page, and the writing life.

Also, pie.

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Typing With Stuffed Paws: Snow Day Edition

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What up. Sebastian Thunderpaws Hart-Bowling coming at you. There is snow on the ground. A lot of it. Writer Chick loves snow. Like really, really loves snow. This is not dampened by the cold she has had all week. Dude isn’t feeling that hot at the moment, but Writer Chick managed to get a load of laundry done. I, of course, am in favor of fresh laundry, as it is warm, and ideal for napping. Those of us who are of the stuffed persuasion can internalize the heat and stay toasty for hours.

As usual, Writer Chick did the blabbity-blab on Buried Under Romance, on Saturday. This time, she talks about saving a good book for a rainy — or snowy — day. Little did she know how appropriate that would be. If you want to read more, it’s here, and this is the picture if you need to find it that way, or appreciate her book and mug photography skills.

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Speaking of reading, which is something Writer Chick is very wont to do, we move now to her Goodreads challenge. Writer Chick has been doing a lot of napping, this cold week, but she did make a respectable library haul, and historical romance actually dominates. That’s for another post, though. Right now, she is ninety-one percent of the way to her goal of ninety books, with eighty-two books read. Skye would be impressed. Me, I just report the numbers. Then I nap.

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weekend reading and then some

Besides being a sick week, in which Dude proved himself a pretty decent nurse/personal chef, Writer Chick had her first week as a contracted co-writer. This involved a lot of thinking really hard about getting up and going to the computer. Sometimes, she actually made it. These are usually the times when she managed to get the really strong tea. Anyway, the times she did make it to the computer, she talked with Other Writer Chick, and they talked about Stuff.

Some of that Stuff included a scene that the publisher humans would like them to put into the book, where it was only implied before. All I am going to say is that the action of that scene would require turning around any stuffed animals in the room with the human characters. I have not read the scene in question, but it is my understanding that there are not any. Yet another instance of stuffed erasure in contemporary fiction. W are real, we are cuddly, and we will not be ignored. We’d make more noise about it, but, well naps. Some of us have squeakers, though. That floppy zebra in the other room? Squeaks like a new pair of shoes on freshly cleaned linoleum.

Another thing Writer Chick and Other Writer Chick had to talk about, was who they are, as a writer. Singular. Writer Chick writes historical romance on her own, and Other Writer Chick writes contemporary with a strong suspense element, and humor, on her own, and when the two different writers collide, it makes something entirely new. That comes with a lot of new questions.

One of those questions is about their combined author brand. Both of them had put a lot of thought into their individual author brands, condensed into catchy taglines, that let readers know what kinds of stories lie between the covers. Together, though? That’s something new, and they are working on figuring out exactly what that is. They already know they are going to need a joint website, which means they are going to need to pick out colors, motifs, a look that tells readers what they might find from this particular tag team.

That’s where I got to find out what it sounds like when two different writers make the “uhhhhh” sound at the same time.  Writer Chick made some notes, and Other Writer Chick made a suggestion that they get their individual brand statements together and see if they can combine the two. We will see how that goes. Writer Chick is going to give this another go once she has full brain back, which should be in time for their weekly Skype session, but that isn’t even their main concern.

That’s kind of evenly split between working on the expanded scene for Chasing Prince Charming, and moving along with Drama King, because they always have to keep looking at the next book, while this one is getting ever closer to publication. There’s also the matter of keeping each other accountable on their different solo projects, because if they can drag each other through one book, they can drag each other through more books.

Maybe drag isn’t the word, but you get the picture. Thankfully, Writer Chick’s penchant for planning and notebooks is super useful when it comes to keeping things like this straight. She will probably have more to say on that. As long as her notebook covers are soft, and the paper is crinkly, I’m good, and, in the end, isn’t that all that really matters?

Oh look, squirrels.

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