Typing With Stuffed Paws: Notes From The Road Edition

Greetings, Foolish Mortals. Sebastian Thunderpaws Hart-Bowling here, coming at you with most of the stuff from the couple of weeks that were. The search for a new location of Stately Bowling Manor is drawing to a close, and the big news here is that an Heir Presumptive has been chosen for the position of lead feline.This does not mean that I will be gone entirely. Somebody has to watch the young pretender…um, I meant rightful heir. Whatever. While I do value my naptime, I also liek having a public forum to air my stuff, so we will still be in touch.

Other than that, life continues. Writer Chick is writing. A lot, actually, and making good use of the notes function on her tablet, because sometimes ideas come when she least expects, so that’s a good thing. More on that in a later update, but she expects to be back to regular blogging, or as regular as she can get, anyway, in the very near future. once the new manor site has been secured, the office is the first room that will get her attention. This is good news for everybody. For those of you eager to see what’s coming up with Buried Under Romance, things will be happenng starting next week, and we are rather excited over that.

On the reading front, Writer Chick is back in the saddle. She has been clipping through books at a pretty good rate. Here are some of the ones that are closing her in on her reading challenge goal:

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Not too shabby on that front, I must say. Still a ways to go before she is current, but at this rate, I think she’s going to make it.

Anything else on the writing front is hers to tell. She has thought about attempting the “real” NaNoWriMo in November, as a rebel, to get Drama King all the way to the finish, but don’t quote her on that. Maybe, maybe not. One thing is for sure, though: she plans to get to The End of both Drama King and Her Last first Kiss (respective drafts of each) by early 2020. The waiting room in her imagination is getting crowded again, and she has to make room. Stay tuned for future updates, as well as some cool new stuff coming to melvaandann.com.

Outside, the leaves are turning beautiful oranges, reds, and golds (tribute to handsome orange stuffed boys, I am sure) which pleases Writer Chick greastly. This is the time when her superpowers return, and they seem to be doing so in full force. Once we take the new manor, things will get a lotmore regular, so stay tuned, and you won’t miss a thing.

peace out,

Typing With Stuffed Paws: Rambling About Stuff Edition

Greetings, foolish mortals. Sebastian Thunderpaws Hart-Bowling coming at you once again, with all the stuff on the week that was. A stuffed cat could get used to this cushy motel life. Did you know there is a housekeeping staff that will change the bedding whenever one asks? I claim no knowledge of a room service charge for sushi, no matter what photographic evidence Writer Chick may choose to present. I know my rights.

It’s been an unusual week here in the suite, but we are on the apartment hunt again starting Monday, in earnest. Other Chick is collecting prospects, Writer Chick is organizing the information, as well as our stuff, and Dude is doing his part, which does include bringing home the occasional turkey club sandwich with the crispiest bacon this side of Heaven, but I digress.

Writer Chick has been killing it in the writing department, as she has nice chunks of time while both Dude and Other Chick are out of the room, and pretty much the only thing she has to do is write. Which works out well, because, well, she is Writer Chick. The Buried Under Romance stuff is going a little slower than she would like, but hey, these are extenuating circumstances. In case you missed it, last week was that site’s BUR-thday, and Writer Chick blabbered about it here. There’s more stuff coming, reviews, and author visits, and blah blah blah. Book stuff.

Not even bothering with the Goodreads update for this week, because Writer Chick has read only one thing: squat doodle. She did read a little the other day, when she did laundry, but things have been a little, hmm, peripatetic for that. She’s hoping to make some changes in that department this weekend, but we will see. Does it count if she puts a tick (not an actual tick, ew, bugs) in the plus column if a prospective apartment has built in bookcases? I think so. Ah, all the places I could nap on one of those beauties.

Somewhat book-related, Writer Chick was tagged in the post seven book covers over seven days with no comment or context thingymaboodle. If you don’t follow her on Facebook, here are the books she posted:

Math never was Writer Chick’s best subject, which may account for there being eight books posted instead of seven, but she stands by her choices, and also wants to reread all of them. Which would go a long way to getting back on track with the whole reading challenge thing. Just saying.

Writer Chick and Other Writer Chick have set their sights on finishing the first draft of Drama King before 2020 is upon us, and, if Writer Chick keeps up at her current rate, that could very well happen. She’s zooming through the second draft of Her Last First Kiss as well, which is surprising even her, but those of us in the know only have to look at the calendar, or the trees, to know the reason behind that. The calendar says we are a couple of days away from the official start of fall, but the real proof is Writer Chick making with the clickety clack. Guess she really can do this kind of thing anywhere. World, you are forewarned.

Peace out,

Of Human Vagabondage

Week two of Vagabond 2019 is going well, all things considered. Still enjoying motel living -not sarcastically; this place is nice, and it’s actually a relief to have a breather while we search for the next location of Stately Bowling Manor. Real Life Romance Hero and Housemate are off to their jobs, and I am back at mine.

I haven’t been getting a lot of reading or viewing done, though that should be picking up in the next few days. I am three or four episodes into season nine of The Walking Dead, and will likely binge So You Think You Can Dance when I am through. One show at a time seems to be what makes the most sense viewing-wise, right now. When I am through with that, I will probably be on the hunt for a great historical drama, so if you have recommendations, leave them in the comments. I have Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.

I also have Kindle Unlimited, which makes the fact that I am only partway through two KU books in the last two months, and I am not okay with that. I am starting an experiment where I schedule reading time, and, hopefully, that will get me back on track on that front. Planning has been a big help with all of the things that have to be done on our route to the next apartment. I have also drawn Housemate over to the planner side, and I am a proud planner mum, watching her find her own system and style, while refining my own.

Which brings us to writing. When we were packing and hauling stuff to storage, my original plan was to put my writing notebooks in storage, and write everything in one composition book, then transcribe when we land. That lasted as long as the ride to the storage unit. I couldn’t do it. They stay with me, because longhand first is how I work best, and I am, as I go, finding what each individual binder needs, and what gets me to where I want to be – The End of each individual draft. I do have my desktop set up in our room, and I like that bit of home, that space that is all mine. I also like that the hours when the rest of my family is out of the room are my one shot at getting any work done without interruption, short of parking myself in the lobby and getting in some longhand time.

Yesterday was laundry and errands, but today is blocked off as a writing day. I find that exciting.

Talk to you soon!

Like Writing A Bike

Hi. I’m baaaaack. For those who have been wondering where I’ve been, our family is in the moving process. We are comfortably ensconced in a very lovely motel, while searching for the next incarnation of Stately Bowling Manor. For those wondering why we moved so quickly, without a new apartment secured, the answer is bedbugs. Bedbugs everywhere. They were affecting the health of a family member, even after a visit from an exterminator, and our exhaustive bugproofing, so that became a very clear signal it was time to move into the next chapter.

Segue into writing, especially for those who are here for the romance writing side of things, aka where the fluff are the kissing books? The good news on that is that they are forthcoming. For the last week, we have been turning in cable boxes, apartment searching, playing storage unit Tetris, a whole lot of planning, and all of that was necessary. That’s what allows me to have the room to myself while Real Life Romance Hero and Housemate are both at their jobs. It is time for me to return to mine. Today, I go back to regular writing.

When deciding which device to bring into the room with us, the desktop won. Also, the MacBook, which I love, is doing the three beep thing, so desktop makes the most sense. It feels like home. I get to put my butt in the chair and there is no housework to distract me from writing. This is kind of scary. It’s also very exciting. One of the great things about writing is that I can literally do it anywhere. Even hotel rooms. Last night, I brought my A5 binders for both Her Last First Kiss, and Drama King, into the room, and that small change did a lot more to tell my brain that everything is actually okay, than anything else.

The first thing on the list is getting back to blogging. Which means this post. For the time being, this is my desk and when the rest of my family is out of the “house” it is, once again, my workplace. Availability of fresh towels? Making of beds? That’s Housekeeping’s job,. This one is mine, and, no matter what I might have thought this day would be like, when I could finally get back to business, it’s…no big deal. Okay, I did have the dream where I have to traverse a whole city on foot, this time from brownstone to brownstone, in the snow (for the record, I love both brownstones and snow) but other than that, it’s like riding a bike. Which is why the title of this post is Writing a Bike.

Ever since I started planning (there will be a planner post in the near future) I have found that making lists and schedules helps me manage life in general. Getting back to writing work is on that list, and getting back to things that fill my creative well, including but not limited to reading historical romance and contemporary YA, playing Sims, chatting with friends, watching Netflix/Hulu, etc. I very much look forward to getting back into the swing of happy mail/snail mail as soon as we get the address thing sorted, but, for right now, things are looking good, my imaginary friends are chatty, and I am back in the saddle.

Talk to you soon,

Writing While Packing, and other stories

Yesterday, I emptied the kitchen cabinets of all foodstuffs we do not intend on A) eating in the next week, or B) taking with us to the new place. Today, we view our first potential apartment. Yesterday, Housemate and I drove past it. It’s a gorgeous neighborhood, as Mr. N requested, close to Panera, where I meet with N every Tuesday. It’s near my beloved park, that I have missed over the past year, and on the same street where my delightful acquaintance, D, lives. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s a step in the right direction.

That means that, on days like this, when both Real Life Romance Hero and Housemate are at their places of employment, I get to go into full Domestic Warrior Queen mode, which, when combined with Planner Woman mode, is both satisfying and effective. This does not mean that there is no writing going on, because A) this whole “eat the elephant one bite at a time” thing applies to both writing and packing, and B) both processes go a lot faster and more smoothly when I am listening to my story playlists, with songs that keep my story hamster happily running on her wheel, no matter what my physical body might be doing.

I am not sure, yet, what the electronics situation will be when we blow this popsicle stand. A lot of that will depend on when we turn in our router, and our move-in date for our next place, whatever its location. Laptop (in need of repair) set up desktop if we are going to be in a hotel for half a month. Third option, tablet, AlphaSmart, and good old notebooks. Who are we kidding, the notebooks are coming anyway.

One thing that is markedly easier in this move (besides mental health) is that packing books is a heck of a lot easier. With the exception of a few volumes for RLRH, all of the books in our current abode are electronic. They all fit in my (and Housemate’s) purse. The others are all still in storage, and will be unpacked in the new apartment. There are times when I want to pet my physical books, pop in and revisit favorite books, authors, and characters. The ability to do that whenever I want is a big perk of the upcoming change of address. Putting my all-time favorite historical romance novels in the bookshelves my father made for toddler me will be a big indicator that we have indeed landed.

Writing, during this move, is a vert different experience than with the last one. This time, it’s not just the idea of writing, but the actual act of it. I want to get my time at the keyboard or with pen and pencil. My plotting board (big cardboard tri-fold) was a victim of the infestation, but that only means I get to pick up a new one once we are settled, or, more likely, more than one> Melva and I are agreed we are beginning the home stretch of Drama King, and it’s time to start sketching out Queen of Hearts. After that, we want to work on a collection of Christmas novellas, outside of the Love By The Book (LBTB) world.

For my solo historicals, I am chomping at the bit to get to the end of the second draft for Her Last First Kiss, and to hop back on my discovery draft of Plunder. As to finding homes for My Outcast Heart, Orphans in the Storm, and A Heart Most Errant, that will be put on pause until the moving dust has settled, but that’s still happening. The waiting room in my head is getting crowded, with all those characters demanding I tell their stories. I’d tell them to take a seat and wait, but this isn’t my first rodeo, so figuring out the best way to get those stories told is a necessity.

They (ah, the mysterious they) say that necessity is the mother of invention, and, as I go about packing our home and my writing (and art/planning) I have to agree with them. Whether it’s a place to put this oddly shaped thing, do we really need this or that, or it’s better to junk XYZ and get a new one when we have settled, the best thing to do is make a decision and move forward.

So that’s where we are right now. Putting stuff in boxes and bags, then storage unit or set aside for the truck, looking at apartments, and planning on what gets written when. All in all, it’s pretty good deal. Maybe the bedbugs did us a favor after all.

Typing With Stuffed Paws: the (Ex)terminator is Coming Edition

Greetings, Foolish Mortals! It is I, Sebastian Thunderpaws Hart-Bowling, freshly vacuumed and coming at you with all the stuff from the week that was. The big news, of course, is that Writer Chick and Other Writer Chick welcomed their first co-written book baby, Chasing Prince Charming, into the world, in both print and electronic release. If you read the book and didn’t hate it, maybe leave a review or something. Writers like that. Also, obligatory cover photo, because release week.

Okay, so there’s that. Special update for this week at Buried Under Romance, but first we will drop the link for last week’s post, on buried treasure romance novels. That’s historical romance novels that are considered buried treasure, not that are about treasures that are buried.

So, the big news over there is that there will not be a regular Saturday Discussion post this week. That does not mean that there will be no Writer Chick. It means that you get Writer Chick and Other Writer Chick, talking about their book, all in one place. With an excerpt, and, for two lucky commenters, prizes. Want a shot at getting your very own free paperback of Chasing Prince Charming? Maybe you’d like to win a fancy notebook and some nifty pens? Stop by Buried Under Romance on Saturday, August 17th, and follow directions.

Speaking of directions, I will now direct you to Writer Chick’s Goodreads challenge. Surprise, surprise, she actually read a book this week, so she is now four books ahead of schedule, with sixty-three books read out of her goal of ninety-five, which puts her at sixty-six percent of the way to her goal.

Blah blah writing blah blah, get to the exterminator part. Okay. So. the exterminator is coming. IDK when, but they were here today, gave the official bug sighting signal, and will let Writer Chick know, ASAP, when Bugnarok will occur. This means she will have a few things to do in preparation for that. Part of that is putting us stuffed friends, after a thorough vacuuming, in hazmat suits. IDK what that means, but it sounds cool. Then she has to make sure her books and art supplies are safe, and find somebody locally to plantsit Tudor, Lancaster, and Queen Boudicca. There’s also personal care items/medicines/foods to secure, and then, basically, this:

There will probably be a lot of cleaning after that, but after that, things should settle. It’s times like this Writer Chick is glad that she can tap out of all this for a while and read, or write, a good romance novel. More updates, on all fronts, as they come

Peace out,

I Will Call Her “Spinebreaker”

Greatest hits picture for today’s header because we are burning daylight, this is Monday’s and Wednesday’s post, and there are a few things to cover. We are now less than one week away from the release of Chasing Prince Charming, my first contemporary romance, my first book written with longtime friend and critique partner, Melva Michaelian. We can’t say “someday” anymore. We can’t say “next year,” or “hopefuly” or even count the months or weeks, because that baby will be here Monday. Eep.

Houston, we have a website!

melvaandanna.com

In addition to the book baby, we are also proud to announce a website baby. Early days yet at melvaandanna.com, but we now have a website. Hop on by, follow us if you are so inclined, and watch us grow. Let us know what kind of content you’d like to see on an author website. Since the webmistress is me, there may be (aka will be) a learning curve, but this is the place where news about future books we write together, and the workshops we teach, in person or online, as well as other hopefully fun stuff in the very near future.

Melva and I are closing in on the home stretch of Drama King, the second book in the Love By The Book series, and I have, as of Monday, started an official notebook section for the third book, Queen of Hearts, so that will be next up for this partnership. After that? We’ve got a few ideas.

August Planner Post

One Book July is now past, and time is coming soon to start setting up my everyday carry (EDC) planners/notebooks/binders for autumn, which has a completely different vibe than spring and summer. This is where Spinebreaker comes into play.

When I first started this whole planner thing, I was pretty dedicated to the cahier size and pooh-pooh’d everything else, but then I started watching planner videos and joined FB groups and a ;whole new world opened. I did not have to be locked into One True Planner, forever and ever, eternity and beyond. That took some getting used to, the same as thinking I could only write one genre, or one way, yappity yap and all that.

Now? Well, now, I’m all about exploring. I had seen mentions of the B6 size in multiple groups, and in multiple videos, and then there was one, right where I get my groceries, in blush pink, and under eight dollars. Yeah. So, that happened. Meet Spinebreaker:

Hi, Spinebreaker!

Why Spinebreaker? I’m glad you asked. I don’t remember if it was in a Facebook group or a YouTube video where I first encountered this, but what I do remember is that the narrator, an artist, knew, in art school, who was going to do well in the class. On the first day, the professor passed out bound, blank sketchbooks. The nice kind. The narrator recounted how they stared at the perfect untouched purity of the sketchbook and how afraid they were that they were going to ruin it with their imperfect art. Other students immediately picked up the books, broke the spines, opened the book to several different pages, wrote their names in the front, and put marks on pages, be they first, last, or random, while the narrator was still staring at the blank perfection and dreading being the source of its ruin.

This resonated with me, a lot. I am very guilty of staring at pages, paper or electronic, fixed on the blankness and the preciousness of the unblemished page…but, as Pable Picasso said, all creation begins with destruction (of the blank page or canvas.) I am not a Picasso fan, myself, but “Picasso in a Café,” a song by one of my favorite composers, Brian Lowdermilk, is a favorite of mine (gentle readers who prefer not to hear strong language, take my word for it; otherwise, click the link) especially since I followed a series of videos he make, chronicling some big changes in his life and creativity, after a creative disappointment. He and his wife, Anna Levinger, who contributed the portion of the song with the strong language, took a gap year and traveled, exploring the world, as well as creativity, etc.

No gap years here, but learning to create again after a big shift, that I know. I know the feeling of the wandering in the wilderness, and the combination of strangeness and coming home, to come out of it in a different place than one went in; new genres, not instead of, but along with, expanding the sizes and purposes of binders and notebook covers I use. Mushing all of that with the story I wish I had written down so that I could attribute it properly, I like the idea of being a spinebreaker. That’s why, earlier this week, I made myself slip some inexpensive inserts into that pristine new B6 cover, and start swatching watercolors on the first few pages. There. Not blank anymore. Does that make it easier? For me, actually, yes.

Those blank pages are powerful. Sometimes, too much so. That’s why melvaandanna.com (all one word, all lowercase, tell your friends) is up in its tiny, imperfect, baby steps glory. We don’t serve the website. It serves us. That perspective may not be true for everybody, for us, this is just right.

Typing With Stuffed Paws: This Time, It’s Hooves Edition

Hi, everybody! My name is Bo Bison. You may have seen me in the corner of some of Anna’s deskscapes. That’s because I live on her desk. This week, I’m filling in for my good buddy, Sebastian. Sebastian is on a top-secret mission in the master bedroom, making sure Real Life Romance Hero gets some much-needed rest, so I’m filling in for today. Let’s get to it.

First, a little bit of housekeeping. There have been a few change around Stately Bowling Manor. The census shows a marked decrease in the flea population, but things are not flea-free quite yet. In unrelated news, Housemate has taken on a different work schedule, which means, that because Anna’s office is in the great room, which is also where Housemate does her stuff, there may be a change in the blogging schedule. Anna is looking at maybe Sunday/Tuesday/Friday, instead of Monday/Wednesday/Friday, but we will see the difference when theory becomes practice,

Speaking of which, let’s get right to that. Take a look at this badge of honor:

Plunder = Camp NaNo Win!

Even with a week off for real life related reasons, Anna still made it through fifty pages of Plunder, and shows no signs of slowing down. You know that feeling when you have to keep reading so you can find out what happened? That is where Anna is at this phase of the discovery draft, only with writing instead of reading. There will be regular updates here.

Moving along, Anna was at Buried Under Romance, as usual, this past Saturday night. Why does Anna think romance books may be some of the real-est “real books” of all? Click the caption below to find out, and leave a comment if you are so inclined.

Next, we come to Anna’s Goodreads Challenge. Currently, she is at sixty-six percent of her way to the goal of reading ninety-five books this year, with sixty-three books read. She will admit to a bit of a book hangover for When We Believed in Mermaids, by Barbara O’Neal, the newest addition to her favorites shelf. This book has a lifelong sist-mance, childhood traumas, adult healings, and a cuddly flamenco singer who makes one very level-headed ER doctor believe in love.

For those who have been asking if Chasing Prince Charming will be available in paperback, the answer is yes! It’s also eligible for Prime, so place those preorders, no matter your favored format. It’s now less than two weeks until release day, August twelfth. Both Anna and Melva are very excited to have Meg and Dominic meet all of you.

Before I sign off, I have one more achievement upon which to report. That is, that One Book July, the planner challenge to use only one planner in the month of July is now over. Anna considers it a worthwhile experiment, and plans to tell you all about it, and her plans for the turnover of summer planners to autumnal ones on her next blog. There will be glitter, color theory, and the making of inserts from scratch.

Welp, that looks like everything that wax on my list. Until we meet again, I wish you the happiest of days, the best of friends, and a TBR pile that never runs out. That’s how this buffalo roams.

B Minus Fourteen

B, in this case is for book, because the book in question is, of course, Chasing Prince Charming. My math may be off, because I am me, but it’s two weeks out, and stuff is getting real. The hardcopies Melva ordered have arrived (at her place; I have not seen them yet, but I am sure they are gorgeous, and I may squeal and/or cry, when I do.) We are getting ready for our first author visit, at Buried Under Romance, which will go live on release day, and, at some point, it is going to hit home that it’s really happening and the dry spell is over.

As I may have mentioned before, I have anxiety and depression, and both have been tickled by domestic tornadoes this past week, which meant that something had to give, and that something, in this case, happened to be my Camp NaNo work, and I am now kind of squidgy about visiting the site to update my count, when I do have one (after I post this blog, I am off to play with the pirates) but I am going to do that. That’s part of the trick, if there is one, to writing through anxiety and depression.

What works for me is to show up, do the work that I can do, when I can do it. When I look into the well and find it empty, then it is time to focus on filling, once more. This is where planning is a huge help. When I say planning, I don’t mean the bare bones of an agenda or schedule, but hunkering down with pen and paper, optional variety of art supplies, and putting what’s in my head on the page. For me, that helps figure out where the emptiness is, and that’s the first, and often biggest, step in figuring out how to fill it. Though I do this solo, I do think it has something to do with being an extrovert (though introverts and ambiverts can certainly do the same thing, and probably do) because I don’t see this process so much as “journaling” but more “talking on paper.”

Do that for a while, and things tend to fade into focus. That’s what happened today. This is a blog entry because my agenda does say blog entry, and, after I get my Plunder pages done, I get to mess with art supplies, and listen to an audiobook. Lisa Schmidt-Rigby at Buried Under Romance showed me how to turn any book into an audiobook, thanks to text to speech technology, so that has me excited. I’m okay with the robot voice. My brain translates into narrative and character voices anyway, so it’s not even a problem.

Fourteen days doesn’t seem like a lot, sometimes, and then, other times, it feels like forever. It will be the same amount of time, no matter what I do, so that’s one thing off my plate. The passage of time is not my responsibility. I like that. It’s a relief. If I pound keys and write my way through the ink of a dozen pens, between now and August 12th, or if I spend the time contemplating my own toenails, August 12th is the date Meg and Dominic get released on the world. The story Melva and I conceived at that NECRWA conference, that seems both yesterday and foreverago, will go forth into cyberspace and TBR shelves, and people will read that story, some of whom will never speak a word about it, but I still like to think it will be a pleasant experience.

Besides that, I am staring down the finish line for Plunder at Camp NaNo, and have notes to setup a binder for this trilogy, with sections for Abandon and Treasure, and see how these fictional kiddos grow. I am querying my other historicals that are on deck. Melva and I are following Jack and Kelly into the final acts of Drama King, and prepping the soil, sowing the seeds of what will, one day, be Queen of Hearts. All in all, I have to call that good.

Typing With Wet Paws: Writer Chick Is Still Not at Nationals Edition

Greetings, Foolish Mortals. Sebastian Thunderpaws Hart-Bowling, coming at you with all the stuff from the week that was. I’m hanging out today with my buddy, Stripey Guy. I am also stripey, and also a guy, but you know me and names. Anyway, the title of this week’s blog entry should tell you the big thing around here. Writer Chick is still not at RWA Nationals, and she is still kind of salty about it. I am attempting to ramp that down a little by recreating some of the atmosphere. Mainly that I block her way to the bathroom, but she does seem to like it when anonymous entities put books on her chairs.

Do I have to do this at every meal?

At least she hasn’t been wearing her name badge from previous conferences, around the house. Yet. It’s important, that “yet.” The weekend is young.

On the domestic front, Writer Chick reports that the grossest thing she has found in her all out war on fleakind, is finding shed flea skins/exoskeletons. Ew. In. One. Of. Her. Notebooks. One of the fancy ones, with special paper. Yeah. It’s personal now.

Writer Chick’s internal reaction

She will not rest until there is total destruction. Of the fleas, that is, not any property, especially property she does not personally own. Everything and everybody who is not a flea is safe. That should be encouraging to those of you who are not fleas. For those of you who are, you are doomed. Consider this formal notice.

With the flea stuff and a couple of other domestic tornadoes, Writer Chick took a breather from Camp NaNo work this week, but, since she is only less than ten pages away from her goal, she’s not that bothered by it. She can make it to goal, easy. She’ll have the house to herself for a chunk of the weekend, so I would not be at all surprised if she used some of that time to hang with her imaginary pirate friends.

No shocker that Writer Chick was over at Buried Under Romance on Saturday, but there is big scandal in Romancelandia, over certain casting decisions in the upcoming Netflix series based on Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series of Regency-era historical romance. There’s kind of two posts in one, this time, because some mysterious person named Lady B (spoiler: it’s Writer Chick) piles on the hyperbole (I’m assuming; I don’t actually read these things; cuts into my naptime.) Hit the link in the caption above if you’d like to read it, and comments are always welcome.

Checking in on the Goodreads challenge, Writer Chick is eight books ahead this week, with sixty-one books read out of ninety-five, and that puts her sixty-four percent of the way to her goal. She has taken advantage of the three month free trial of Kindle Unlimited, and one of the people at Buried Under Romance clued her in on how to turn any e-book into an audiobook. Yeah, that’s a thing, and no, it is not by reading it aloud, herself. Not that she hasn’t tried that, mind you, but it’s a small apartment, and people like to sleep. Note I said people, not Writer Chick. Yeah.

So what is Writer Chick doing? Mostly, she’s writing. That’s a good thing. She is particularly fond of the part of Drama King she and Other Writer Chick are batting around, which lights a fire under her to keep going on the historicals. When not writing, or plotting flea destruction, she is probably doing stuff with her traveler’s notebooks. Spending time with those usually puts her in a good place, so we try to encourage that.

Probably about time for me to slip another book on her chair. Maybe I’ll toss in a pen or some sticky notes. I’m feeling generous.

Peace out,