It may have taken me until now, but I finally have a reading nook in our bedroom. One very comfy patio chair, one suitably spooky elegant pillow, a comfy throw (not pictured) and I’m home. Of course, obviously, I am home, as in this is the place where I and my family live, but this nook is only for me. Okay, me and Storm. Beethoven glasses case is a gift from Real Life Romance Hero, and journal is an A5 Exceed lined journal. Right now if I could only have one journal, that’s the one I would pick (100 gsm; there is also 78 gsm, but I always want the higher count.) Embellishments (washi and floral sticker) from my stash cobbled from various sources. Current pen is a Zebra Sarasa.07, but I’m not picky about what black gel pen I’m using. I like Pilot G2 and Paper Mate Inkjoy as well.
Now that I have the chair in place, I now have plans to repurpose the rolling cart on one side of it to be specifically for reading and journaling supplies. I foresee myself doing a lot of longhand writing in this nook, which is a good thing because I am very much a longhand-first person.
Melva and I have indeed heard back about DramaKing, and we are carefully considering the requested changes. In the meantime, we are submitting Queen of Hearts, the story of Heather, Dominic’s sister from Chasing Prince Charming. We are also both working on our own solo projects, so expect some chatter about that/those around here in the near future. Getting back into social media is very much in pushing off the lid of the sarcophagus stage, but that’s a needed stage. Anyway, my goal for this week is to get the revised outline for what I call the “back forty” of Her Last First Kiss from longhand to document, and then get other eyes on it. If I meet that goal by the end of the day Saturday, I get to watch one of my favorite movies, The Lords of Flatbush. Streaming services are a wonderful thing. I am highly self-bribe-able in this regard. I will definitely be journaling about that and possibly sharing some of that here.
Right now, the temperature is in the sixties here in NY state. I will probably open the window when I get up after posting this, and the dilemma of hot drink or cold drink is real. In the next couple of days, I should be back to my walks around the lake, aka baby duck peeping, because I have missed my springtime surveillance of young waterfowl. Not sure if there are babies yet, but there is only one way to find out. It’s been a while since I’ve been active in that manner (as in others) and I say it is high time.
Welp, we are staring at April. I did not authorize that, but here we are still don’t know if am signing up formally for Camp NaNo, but now that Melva and I are waiting on word for Drama King at The Wild Rose Press, I get to turn my attention back to Her Last First Kiss. I am excited to get back to writing historical romance in general, and back to Bern and Ruby’s story specifically. I am starting out the month at 55k out of a projected 100k, and last week was gutting the second half of the book and totally rewriting the outline. It’s rough as heck and that’s exactly how it should be at this stage of the game.
My goal for April is to go in small bits, scene by scene, and figure out what method works best as I go. I know that one thing that works well for me is accountability, so I will be doing some form of tracking. Hence the new bujo pictured above. 120 gsm paper, coated, in a gorgeous ivory shade, all pristine and ready to move into. I’ll be sharing more about my stationery love here in blogs to come, because A) I can talk about stationery anytime, and at length, and B) posting here is a totally legitimate way of keeping track of things. It’s a process. I may also add reading posts here, or in a separate place. Still working that out at present, but right now, for me, vintage historical romance = life. All the adventure, all the history, all the swash and buckle; I am all about all of that stuff. I will now stop saying “all” as much as in that last sentence.
The best way I can describe things in general right now is pushing the lid off a sarcophagus. Oh, this is what I do. Okay, I can handle that. The spring-cleaning mode is strong in this house at the moment, and a bunch of that includes my writing life/area. I am hoping go bust my secretary desk out of stuff jail (aka storage) and move my beloved fall and winter stationery into a clearly labelled and easily accessible box so they can nap until August. Spring-and-summer falls most naturally for me into one category, so I am treating it that way.
As far as reading is concerned, I am three books behind on my Goodreads goal, but lucky me, I also have three books going a present. Two are vintage historical romance and one is fantasy romance by one of the OG historical romance authors. All are rereads. One is hardcover, one is paperback, and one is on audio. Nope, I lied. There’s also an e-book that is also vintage historical romance.
April is turning out to be a refresh in several areas, so it feels right to show signs of life here as well. Right now, it’s time to put away a mountain of laundry and then some planner/bujo setup. What’s going on in your world?
Absolutely no plan for today’s blog, even though I had, er, planned on one, but I am overtired, thus a tad loopy, and in my defense, was left unsupervised. Melva and I are happy to announce that our revise and resubmit of Drama King, the second book in our contemporary romance series, Love by the Book, is now under consideration at The Wild Rose Press. We will know in a few weeks. Seems only natural to be turning my planning and journaling stuff over for a new season in more ways than one.
Right now, I am sitting in a wash of sunlight, listening to Reddit threads read over an external speaker because somebody who lives in my apartment and has paws, has a thing where the line between earbud and snack blurs. I will remedy this soon. In the meantime there is the speaker (which also has cool lighting options I have not yet figured out) and a pair of wireless earbuds in a cute kitty shaped case, which do not go anywhere near the actual cat.
I am also surrounded by (yeah, passive tense, what of it?) all the elements of highly organized workspace. All they need is for me to put them in the right order. Or any order, as I look at them today. Over the winter, I have been trying a bunch of different things in the stationery-verse to see what actually works best for me, and the way I do things now, not the way I think they should be or how they have always (or usually) been. Most of it is still in flux, but a more streamlined flux, if that makes any sense.
I have what I call a “big furry mess” stage, where things are generally in the same space. I have, for instance, a tote that’s all set up for my morning stuff. Morning brain dump and sleep log, my catchall planner, which is almost entirely functional, a fact that surprises the heck out of me, but there you have it, and the writing planner that I am still splashing about in the shallows with but trust that it will right itself (not write itself) by the time we shift into summer mode. There is one set of pens in that tote, the specific sticker books and accessories where appropriate, that I will be using with those specific planners/notebooks. I didn’t intend for a color theme, but I lump my morning stuff into “pink grapefruit,” as it’s all pinks and oranges and I can work with that. I, for the record, have never cared for the taste of grapefruits of any hue, but I do love a good theme for my stationery, and halved grapefruits topped with halved cherries (I do appreciate a good cherry) were standard breakfast images in the media of my childhood. I do not know why this is. I don’t remember either of my parents having grapefruit for breakfast, and it was never offered to me.
Right now, I am very much attuned to the traveler’s notebook format. Discbound is probably my number two format at present, but I am sorting out what works in the various sizes of traveler’s notebooks I have going. Part of it is the covers. Leather or vegan leather, the strings that give me options of what inserts to include (a benefit also afforded by discbound systems, and the process of getting all tactile as well as functional. I don’t strictly need the decorative elements, but I like them.
Then there’s this baby. Have I introduce Nyx yet? My very first Archer and Olive, with black dot grid pages. Do I have a purpose for her that sets her apart from al the others? Nope. Do I love her intensely? Yes. Am I planning on just tossing anything onto her pages just because? Also yes. I’ll figure out some sort of order maybe halfway through, which is okay, because…wait for it…I can buy more. We clicked when I stalked the clearance sale, so we are going to make this work. Also, Tiny Anna always wanted to write in white in on black paper, and y’know what? I am going to make that kiddo’s wish come true. It’s me. I’m the kiddo.
I am also blabbering. I completely and cheerfully admit this. When I sat down at the keyboard this afternoon, I had two options. Option one: throw some words on the screen, even if they don’t make sense. Possibly a bold move, but worth the risk. Option two: post nothing and feel guilty for the next howeverlong. I don’t like option two. Option One it is, then. Same as Monday morning was the first time in a long time that Her Last First Kiss was the story on the front burner (and wowzers, have I missed that story)
Option One for completely ripping out the second half and redoing it to take advantage of a historical thing that would make the second half oh so much better, felt scary, but Option Two, putting it off and feeling guilty, yeah, I don’t like that one. It doesn’t work, and it doesn’t get books written. I’m not sure if I actually went with Option One or if this counts as Option Three: get the big furry discbound notebook currently holding pieces of things, ignore any files on the computer, and physically write out what Happens Now that we are doing the historical thing. I am not entirely done with that phase, as my weekly call with Melva to talk contemporary doings happened when I was about on page…. I want to say seven. Going past that will involve looking at maps and making some lists and bouncing ideas off fellow writers of historical romance fiction, but…yeah.
With a projected 100k wordcount, the part that is staying as is sits at 55k, which is over the halfway mark, so yay me. My What Happens Next pages are literally just that. X happens, okay, what happens after that? And after that? And after that? Lather rinse repeat until HEA. Once we get there, go back and expand as needed until done, and then off to first readers it shall go. I do know where I am going after that with my first all new historical ms in neveryoumind years. This also involves a friend with roots in the country from which said hero hails, and this is the very first time I am planning on books being linked from the start. I normally think in standalones, which I can still do, but this is also commercial fiction, sooooo…..
Yeah. That’s where we are on this fine March afternoon. I am probably going to noodle an doodle in Nyx after I get done here, and/or stick my nose in a physical book, because I am back in reading mode with a vengeance, thanks to an influx of classic historical romances. I will no doubt be talking about those later on, because I have thoughts.
Planner covers, string lights and other pretties meet my gaze when I look over the top of my laptop monitor. I feel very much at home here (good because it is in my home) Right now, I am ticking off the things on my to do list for the day, most of it writing related, and household chores relegated to any time left after the writing things are done. This has been the goal for a while now, and now it’s here. Check in the plus column.
Yesterday, while I video chatted online with a friend, I turned over my everyday carry (EDC) to all new for February. Brown leather traveler’s notebook (A6 size, with pocket sized inserts) and for the first time, the delightful excess of accessories that I have always wanted. Yes, I still need more. Though I don’t usually do themes in my planners/notebooks, February doesn’t hew to pastel winter (and let’s face it, most pastel winter things I can find are actually pastel Christmas, and I don’t want to see Santa in February or even January. It’s his naptime.) The February theme presented itself rather than me going looking for it.
The theme for February is My Bloody Valentine. Yes, partly after the Machine Gun Kelly song and partly because I have enough elegant spooky stickers left over from October to make it work. This is the only Machine Gun Kelly song I know, and don’t know anything about him personally (except he is engaged to Megan Fox, maybe?) but the thing presented itself, so I am taking it. Is should mention that even my mug is in line with my theme for the month.
I will share a tour through my EDC for another post, possibly in video form, because it’s a lot and I am pretty happy with it. After trying out a lot of planning and journaling supplies, I am moving into the period of knowing what I like. Some of that means I am moving in the direction of what works best for me. On that note, I am now waiting the approximately two weeks for my very first Archer and Olive order. It is this one, black dot grid pages with a silver spiderweb on the front. I fully expect to fall in love with it, and will likely watch their pssst section for other pages and sizes. I’m normally a cream/ivory page gal, and the standard A&O color is white, but don’t knock it until you try it, I say in my mother’s voice. Besides, I have a source for the ivory lined journal of my dreams. I’ll give a tour of the current lineup later.
All of this focus on planning and journaling did indeed help my writing goals for 2023 to fall into line, and of course into their own notebooks. Right now, the plan is to deal with what’s on my desk at present: A Heart Most Errant, Her Last First Kiss, and then the pirate trilogy. After that, we will see, and Melva and I plan to put our heads together again in late spring or early summer to commit more acts of collaboration.
These guys are on top of the crate that holds the covers posted above. Plush Plague Doctor, gargoyle pencil holder, and the Tudor Rose ornament that never made it to the tree because I want it where I can see it every day. I also meant to mention FaRoFeb in the initial letter salad in the title, but then it slipped my mind until then. I don’t know much about fantasy romance, though I am curious. At any rate, I plan to read at least one fantasy romance during the month of February, which is also African American history month, which means I will also read at least one African-American historical romance. Other than that, i am focusing on reading the kind of thing I love to write – epic historical romancc, and for pity’s sake, take notes aas I do, because that stuff is important to me.
Anyway, that’s where I’m at this Thursday afternoon. One last last last look at the Queen of Hearts manuscript before it goes off on its merry way, and then I am fully back in historica mode. How is your week going?
Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. I’m a little late on posting here, because, well, naps. Anyway, I’m back now, and ready to help Mama Anna conquer the new year.
This year, Mama Anna is scaling back her reading goal on Goodreads, in hopes that it will encourage her to read more. What she wrote in her reading journal (I will let her post pictures. I can’t work the scanner because I have paws and don’t feel like reading the instructions) is “Drop and Give me Fifty (Two)” referring to the weeks of the year. She can do a book a week. Actually, she did two last night, one audiobook historical romance and one contemporary YA romance. She has also found that reading before bed, with me providing cuddles, obviously, helps her sleep, so she is going to try making that part of her evening routine. I, of course, help by sitting in the drawer nest to her desk. Of late, I have begun walking across the desk, and sometimes the keyboard, to let her know when he has been on the computer Long Enough. Needless to say, Mama Anna is not always delighted when I do this kind of thing. Can you believe that Spotify has no results for the search, “iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii?” If you’re looking for a name for your musical act, maybe try that.
Mama Anna has been doing pretty well on the writing front so far in January. If all goes well, she and Aunt Melva will be submitting Queen of Hearts to The Wild Rose Press. After that, they are going to use this quarter to focus on their individual projects. For Mama Anna, that means historical romance. She is looking ahead to Camp NaNo in April and thinking about, if she were going to start a new historical romance, what would that be? What would be fun? She has enough to keep her busy until then and probably beyond, but Facebook thought she might like to remember when she began working on Her Last First Kiss, and no, she did not want to know the number of years that was. It was before I was born. Yeah. She has co-written three books in that time and also had a lot of life happen, plus getting me, obviously the best part.
Christmas was pretty good. I got a robot litter box. The humans have not yet put it together, ahem, but that will happen soon. I don’t know how it works, but as long as it does, that is all I care about. I also did get that promised red dot, aka my death ray. I LOVE it. It lives in Mama Anna’s nightstand. I have to see her take it out and put it away. It’s her toy and I get to play with it. Sometimes Papa helps me play with it, so maybe it is really their toy. Eh, as long as I get to play with it, does anything else really matter? I don’t think so.
That’s it for this week, or at least until naptime. Believe it or not, a roll of toilet paper (Aunt Linda had it on her bed to clean up one of my hairballs. I fell asleep on it before she oculd put it away, so now it’s my nap pillow. That’s how it goes. I don’t make the rules. Oh wait, I do. I’m a cat.)
Well hello there, 2023. The planner and pens pictured above are from 2020, the Year That Shall Not Be Named (but I’ve named it, haven’t I?) My first experiences with Paper Mate Ink Joy gel pens, and disc bound planning. I still have the pens (many times over) and have filled several disc bound planners and notebooks since then. As for the page finder, if anybody sees this particular page finder in the wild (woman image. leaning against the margin) please tell her Mummy misses her very much, and she can come home any time, no questions asked.
In reality, she is probably in storage. When I say that planning and journaling have been a godsend, I am not exaggerating. Blogging is, for me, the digital version of that. I’d like to be doing more of it in the coming year, as well as that whole making up stories thing. Right now, I am dealing with the Martian Death Cold that smacked us over the holiday season. Combined with the fact that my contemporary co-author, Melva, and I have finished first edits on our second and third novels together. Next, we submit and then we get to turn our main focus for the first quarter of the year to our individual efforts.
For me, that is historical romance. While writing contemporary with Melva is super fun, I have missed the historical realm, and so that’s where I’m headed back now. Plan A is to redo the second half of Her Last First Kiss, because it is big enough to ride the bus by itself now. Then I need to make some decisions about A Heart Most Errant. As for Plan B? That’s more in the realm of “what do I want to try next?”
I have no dearth of projects that have been on hold. My brazen widow who finds the love of her life with the nameless pawn of wretched nobleman. The blacksmith’s daughter who becomes a duchess by way of the London stage. Three generations of pirates, my first planned historical series. The once and future lovers who each thought the other was dead (whoops) and a family member that loves one of them too much and not in the right way, but I tried to shoehorn into the wrong time period. (It happens.)
Then there’s new stuff, because that’s what we writer types do. Since a dear friend’s birthday overlaps nicely with my beloved tucked away week between Christmas and New Year, that meant a visit to a sprawling used bookstore. That, of course, led to me coming home with a bunch of both beloved and new to me classic historical romances and historical fiction. There are vague ideas spinning around in that place where infant ideas go. I would love to write a family saga within historical romance. Would the type of historical romance I love the best fit better in today’s market if there were a paranormal/fantasy aspect? Whata are some fantasy books that read like classic historical romance that I might like to try?
No secret that the year just past was horrible for reading. Still figuring out what all contributed to that, but I do want to read more this year, and figure out what needs to happen for that to happen. Is vision part of it? Undoubtedly. Magnifying glasses, pages, bookmarks, etc, can help with that. I definitely need a place in our apartment that is for reading and is not our bed or my desk or the kitchen table. We are working on that one.
Right now, I am finishing this post and ticking it off my to do list, so I can take some cold meds and head back under my weighted blanket. I have vague plans to turn that into Netflix, fever and chills but there’s also falling asleep to Reddit threads on You Tube. Either way, I get time wtih my purr-sonal assistant, and that can’t be anything but good.
Hullo, all. Another week, another blog entry. Could this be the start of a streak? We will have to see. No real pan for this post, but to have it, lest I need to share with Storm tomorrow. She does like her spotlights. And sunbeams. And her new fuzzy tent.
Typing fast, as I have Storm bapping me with her paws. That is the official signal to wrap things up on the glowy box and get to bed because it is bedtime. Wherein I read an e-book (hopefully) or fall asleep listening to a You Tube video (likely) Storm did well with her cat sitter, but she is thrilled to see us, especially me, home.
The wedding itself was gorgeous, and it was my first time in a Greek Orthodox church. Lovely ceremony, happy couple, gorgeous foliage, but we got super lost, events transpired, and we did not end up making the reception. There was a panic attack involved, but not mine this time.
Anyway, we are back home now, (mostly) unpacked, and I am giving my calendar a side-eye because who gave it permission to be the second half of October? I’d planned to give some version of Prep Tober a go, and while I probably still could (it would give me a reason to use a new planner) part of me says there isn’t enough time to wrangle something like that.
Once again, I’m looking at the whole NaNo thing, and not sure how I want to handle it. Maybe I’ll be a rebel, and maybe I’ll do my own thing. We will see. One thing for sure, I will be writing. Melva and I are closing in on The End for our third book together. After that, we get to edit books two and three, and see what’s what on that front.
When I think about NaNo, though, my brain goes straight to historicals. It’s been a while. Two years now in our wonderful apartment, three years with one very sproingy calico cat, and I’m getting an itch to get back to my first writing love, which is historical romance. Big, sweeping, epic, angsty historical romance. Ideas are not the problem. Hoo boy, do I have ideas. Hoo boy, do I have partial manuscripts. That’s the thing. I want to get past the partial thing. A Heart Most Errant is looking at me, but there are things, and there is a part of me that wants to throw caution to the wind and open a new document into which to go wild. Throw a bunch of things in there and see what sticks. That’s got to be either genius or insanity. Maybe both.
I have noticed that the more I delve into my love of pen and paper, the more I end up noticing that it’s all about finding out what works for me. That can be a messy process, but if what comes out of it is a functional routine, then that’s a good thing. I haven’t had much to do with historical romance at all lately, and I am feeling the lack.
I love the idea of a clean slate I love the idea of clear horizons. I love the idea of having that new book feeling once again, of diving into another place and time, and tell a love story worthy of historical record. I also like the 50k goal (wait, did I say that?) because it’s not that huge, really. If I’m looking at a big thick doorstopper, we’re talking somewhere about halfway. If something shorter, then more than that. If a novella, it’s the whole thing. My considering NaNo this year isn’t about productivity, though. It’s about fun. It’s about grabbing for that brass ring and rediscovering the love of the game.
Not that I don’t love writing the contemporaries with Melva, because I do, but Melva-and-Anna is a different writer than Only Anna, and Only Anna is feeling a bit … itchy? Is itchy the right word? Or waking up from oversleeping and wanting to get back to the normal routine. Maybe ‘routine’ isn’t the right word, but yeah. I did manage to read some vintage historical romance on the ride back from the wedding, and I hit a spot of “oh, I remember this. I love this. I want to do this.”
Soooo….I’m doing it. I don’t know yet if I will do official NaNo. I don’t consider this in any way pushing aside Her Last First Kiss, because I’m not. I need to stretch before a run, that’s the best way I can think of to put it right now. Goal for November: write historical romance. That’s it for now. Nobody ever has to see it. It’s okay if it’s not perfect. Maybe it will be a stinker, and that’s okay. Because maybe I’ll have fun. Maybe I’ll want to do more of that Maybe I will rediscover old passions and find new ways to make it to The End.
Tails Up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws.
Me, on Mama Anna’s lap
Sorry about no blg last week. There were technical difficulties. By that, I mean there was a really good sunbeam and I did not feel like getting out of it.
Me on Aunt Linda’s bed
October is a really big month around here. We already had our second anniversary of moving into this apartment (still awesome) but October brings more celebrations:
Two years in this apartment means my third adoptiversary of coming to live with these guys. My first human, Mama D, can still see me here on the blog and Instagram, so I want to say hi to her. Seh gave me an awesome kittenhood and made me the cat I am today.
In the middle of the month, my human cousin is getting married. I wil be getting something called a “cat sitter” while the humans go watch that. I have never had a cat sitter before. Should be interesting.
Exactly one week before the end of the month, it is Mama Anna’s birthday, which is extremely important. She really likes birthdays, and hers is right up there near the top of the list.
A week after that is Halloween. There has been talk of getting me a costume. I don’t know exactly what a costume is, but I am okay with Mama Anna putting things on my head where a hat would go, so I’m probably cool with that. She will probably try with a washcloth or something. If I’m not into that, then I don’t have to wear anything. If I’m good with it, though, there will be pictures.
So, anyway, Mama Anna and Aunt Melva are almost at the end of their current manuscript, which is pretty awesome. After that, they get to edit that book and the one before it, and then see if their publisher would like them. The books, I mean. After that, they already know what they will do together next, and they also have individual projects to work on as well.
Speaking of which, Mama Anna has been thinking about what would happen if she did NaNoWriMo this year. At least Preptober. She will try Preptober first, and then if she doesn’t want to NaNo, she doesn’t have to, but if she wants to, she can. She really really really wants to work on a historical, so it will probably be that.
After all of that, then the holiday season is upon us. Mama Anna LOVES Christmas. There will be a tree. With lights and shiny things. We are talking with found family to see if there will be other people involved int the holiday observations. I love it when there are more humans in the house, so that would be fine with me. First, though, the adoptiversary. It’s traditional for me to share tuna with Papa, and I am getting a red dot as my present I love red dot. That’s going gtobe fun.
Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. The heat wave seems to have broken this week, but Aunt Linda is still recovering from it, so I am on nurse duty. Papa and Mama Anna seem to be doing better. Well, except for Mama Anna and the printer. I know I said printers in the title, but she’s only mad at the one. Writers do tend to need their printers to work, for the most part, and for the most part, hers hasn’t been, lately. She was going to have Aunt Linda help her, because Aunt Linda is usually good at fixing things, but Aunt Linda isn’t feeling all that great so Mama Anna gave it a whack herself yesterday.
Obviously, that is not Mama Anna’s real printer, but it’s close enough. The only difference is that a printed document is coming out of that printer. Mama Anna had got it working yesterday, but then she tried to use it again today, and it has no idea what she is talking about. The screen on the printer has an exclamation point on it, which means it needs her to do something, but it won’t tell her what. She is grumbling a lot. She needs to print stuff. I’d help, but, well, I’m a cat.
With the heat wave over, Mama Anna is doing a lot better and is spending a lot of time with her journal to figure out how she can best get back on track. So far, she is doing pretty well. Except for the printer. Oh, and she tried to play a new scenario in Sims 4 last night, and failed at it, because the Sim she had to keep alive froze to death while dumpster diving. So that’s a thing. She did think about printing out some screenshots for her Sims journal, but again, the printer thing. She has been muttering about taking a jump drive to the library. That may be a wise option. Also, how cute am I in Sims?
A screenshot from The Sims 4 video game: a calico cat eyes a platter of grilled cheese.
Stinking cute, am I right? The splootches (that’s what we call patches of colors on pets’ coats) are off, but I say it’s the purr-sonality that counts. Here, have another one.
A screenshot from the video game, The Sims 4. A calico cat stares out a window.
This is a very good approixmation of what I do every time Mama Anna leaves the house. She says she is planning to take trash out tonight. Trust me, I will be watching while she does.
Screenshot from the video game The Sims 4. A calico cat stands atop a metal framed bed, covered in blue flowered bedding.
Yeah, this one is extremely accurate. I love getting on the bed. It’s actually about my favorite place. Especially when Papa or Mama Anna are on it. Best of all, when they are both on it, and I am between them, and they are both rubbing me. That’s the good stuff. I like snuggling with Mama Anna while she reads or writes longhand. Sometimes that’s in her journal, but a lot of the time, it is fiction. Exactly as she expected, starting a new reading journal and tracking her reading helps her read a lot more.
I should probably mention that, despite all her talking about not doing One Book July for her planning, she has decided that she has been too overwhelmed with multiple planners lately, and only did one planner this week, and may continue that through August. She also got a lot of stickers for days and dates, so my best guess is that she will be redating any stuff she doesn’t end up using, which I think is a pretty smart move. I have shown my approval by sitting on the sticker book. I like to be helpful that way.
Hm what else? Mama Anna has been talking about adding a TBV section (To Be Viewed) for streaming shows and movies she wants to watch. Not sure where that kind of tracker will go, but I do know that if she’s going to be watching stuff, that is prime cuddle time, so I foresee many belly rubs. Doubly so if she is going to be writing about the stuff she watches, which she probably will. I better start training.
Headbonks!
A calico cat sleeps in the middle of a grey cat bed
So, I’m back in an A5 dot grid notebook for use as a reading tracker. I do love Goodreads, but I also know me, and I need to touch paper. while Melva and I are moving right along on the contemporary front(this fall, we hope to have two contemporaries to shop around) I am keenly feeling the lack of historical romance. Which is a problem.
I am woefully behind on reading and writing historical romance. By my GR challenge above, i can tell that I am, by my schedule, a whopping fourteen books behind on my 2022 reading goal, which is not okay. This has never happened before, and it is not going any farther. As I told my friend, M, during our weekly chat, when it comes to historical romance, both writing and reading right now, I feel like I am flailing with T-Rex arms and making dinosaur noises. Which very much describes my attempts at reading journal-ing lately. I have a Kindle full of historical romance, shelves full of delicious-looking books, and yet I….haven’t. Which definitely takes a toll on the writing.
I know one way to handle is it “maybe historical romance is over (for me.)” Which I know that it’s not. It’s calling me, both writing and reading wise, so I need to do some stuff about that. Especially about my own favorite flavor of historical romance; big, sweeping sagas with adventure and swash and buckle and stories that play out over years before a triumphant HEA. :happy sigh:
cover page, August 2022
Considering that i am highly stationery motivated, and/or visually oriented, going back to a reading tracker is the obvious step. I’m not sure if writing tracker will be in this same book or another. I am letting the whole planner and notebook situation work itself out organically, which is probably how the historical writing thing is going to work, including blabbering about it here. That may sound for a while like dinosaur noises that don’t make a lot of sense, but by looking at the books I’m reading and figuring out what sticks out about them for me, both positive and otherwise, ideas are bound to conceive..
that’s a bookcase on the top of the second page.
I didn’t want to make the first month too ambitious, but I did have to make a chart to track how many pages I read per day. Going by tens this time. On the facing page, that will be a bookshelf image, where I will color in each individual book as I read it. I will probably go month by month on that, and then later move everything to a bookshelf for the whole year. At some point, I intend ot be making sense. Until then, ten pages a day is a lot better than zero
Typing With Wet Nails 