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Being Proud of Yourself

Feb5

I was out and about, getting ready to come home and really needed some coffee. I’d had to have a fasting blood test done, so…. Imperative mode activated. Thought of McDonald’s, but didn’t want the drive thru lane. Then I thought hey, what about Casey’s? Good coffee, GREAT breakfast sandwiches, and the podcast I listen to mentions them so often!

And then I thought…. Hey. How about you be proud of yourself, go home and make a pot of coffee and your own breakfast sandwich.

The thought stopped me. Tripped me up. Being Proud of myself. I don’t often think about it, about progress made, things I’m proud of. I’m just getting through the day.

At the end of 2025 I made a plan for 2026. Picked out a word of the year, even. It’s Live, for those who are wondering. I got too into hermit mode again, and need to get out more and do more

It  means I’m cooking again. I don’t enjoy cooking, but I cook once and eat for 3 days. Salads almost every day because I enjoy them. It means spending the night once a month with my sister. It means doing crafts while on a video call with my niece. And decluttering on video call with one of my besties.  It means doing easy, beginning workout so this summer I can walk to the parade route and not have to worry about parking. Just take my chair and go. 

I’m not writing as much, but nothing fiction wise stuck. I am writing letters. My Coffee Epiphany happened at the post office, where I had dropped off 6 letters with family photos and sent them where they belong. I’m writing the letters for care home residents, they’ll be ready to go tomorrow. I am writing, just not the way people feel I should. 

Mostly, I’m taking control. Instead of tucking in and reading a book, I’m crafting, writing letters, redecorating , de cluttering, getting healthier and and and…. And I’m still reading.

But if I hit 464 new books in a year again, I don’t know that my body will recover. And that total– that’s only the new books, not the re-reads. I’m still reading, just also living.

I’ll be back to Fast Fives soon.

What are your goals for this year?

Bookish Fast 5: Emotional Triggers

Jan20

I am currently in my hurt/comfort/grovel era of romance books.. Currently, the author I’ve been reading and re-reading is Maya Alden. Sometimes I have to walk sideways into her books. They can be very emotional. Sometimes I skip them entirely.

Ienn Bullard is another author who I read that hurts my feelings on purpose. She, as well as Alden, is very vocal about telling the reader that our mental health matters more than page reads for them. Here’s his w they protect us from walking into a reading situation that might affect that me tap health

  1. Social Media. Jenn is vocal on when her books might push a person over the edge. Her Unhinged-verse is extremely unhinged. Based on the trigger warnings, I skipped the last book. I just couldn’t.
  2. Most authors now have Trigger Warnings listed at the beginning of the book. Make sure you read them. You may need to check on their website, some authors tell readers at start of book to go to website for full list of triggers– I firmly believe this is a copout. If you’re
  3. Newsletters. Sometimes, like with Alden, in the newsletter they mention not only trigger warnings, but include an excerpt that will give you an idea of what goes on around the trigger. The feel of the book, if you will.
  4. In book warnings. I am reading Maya Alden’s newest Wildflower Canyon book, and just came to the end of a chapter. Instead of the next chapter, there is a page detailing the trigger warning. It tells the reader to either skip the chapter, or close the book, because our mental health matters.
  5. The last line of defense for readers is our brethren. Check out the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads or wherever you go to get info on books.

Authors– please keep your reader in mind. While it may be necessary for the story, some things should never be thrown on a reader without knowledge before hand.

Readers- take care of yourself. I’m still staring at that chapter break for the trigger warning, deciding if I should continue on. I probably will. It’s not on page, is being talked of in the past.

But it is my decision, as the reader, whether or not to read it thanks to an author taking care of her readers.

Angry Readers: Fast 5

Jun11

OR: How to anger your readers before even writing a word

  1. Constantly shifting publishing dates. Let’s be honest, we as readers don’t care if the date comes quicker. But if you leave us hanging? And then do it repeatedly? Some readers might lose their desire to read your work. Some might even, gasp, forget about it. Give yourself a cushion. We love happy surprises like a fav author publishing a book ahead of time
  2. Having a release coming up and then…. The title and you disappear. Now we all know, stuff happens. But as an author, you should at least apologize on your socials, or somewhere your fans can find it. If you’re ok, that is. At this point, some fans are wondering if you are ok.
  3. Stop writing in the middle of a series that has to be read in order. Looking at the fantasy genre here. I wait now, until all books are done and able to be bought. I do the same with duologues. If there’s a hint of a cliff hanger, well. I’ll wait, thank you.
  4. Don’t change the way you send out ARCs without letting the readers who get them know. It’s a wonderfully quick way to sow discontent around your new release. Wanting to send to only people who hype the pre-release on socials? Go for it. But make sure you let the people who you told reviews on blogs, Amazon and Goodreads were great that they aren’t getting said release. You are a writer. That kind of stuff should have been clearly communicated via email (since you have their emails).
  5. Don’t write a book you don’t love. Trust me. We the readers know when you are writing something and you don’t love it. We might not be able to say exactly what’s wrong with the story, but for your fans? It’ll be an irritant at the least. And when it’s really bad? We, the readers, will DNF.

That’s my fast five for pissing off your readers. While authors who committed the above have come across my TBR pile, and may still remain… Those things do impact how your work is seen when it does, finally, come out

What do authors do to annoy you,, other than the actual writing?

Odd Duck

Mar20

Lately I’ve been feeling like an odd duck, swimming in the ocean.

Let me back up. Life up and heave-hoed me in 2023. My dad died, the one who kept me tethered to where I was, through love for him while honoring a promise to my mother.  I moved from Northern California to Missouri a year and a half ago. I started out here with my teen son, but now I’m suddenly an empty nester. I’ve started attending church. I’ve been around family more. I started working from home.


Holy crap. No wonder I feel like a duck in the ocean.  Feet paddling just as fast as I can.


That has been reflected in my writing. I quit writing—heck I quit reading—for a while. Even the cards I used to send out were few and far between.

I’m writing more now. I’m writing a variety of things, too. I had been firmly in my short story era, but I’ve branched into drabbles, poetry, flash fiction and essays. And I’m submitting that work.


What I haven’t done? Gotten anywhere close to completing a novel. Or heck, half way through a novella. Will I? Maybe. I have in the past, but that was decades ago. Am I heart broken? Not really.
Because this odd duck is writing.

And sometimes that’s all you can do.

Keeping the love alive

Sep30

Ari Wright has a new book coming out early November. She’s one of my favs, and even though I just devoured Book 3 or the MVP Series, I can’t wait for book 4. Although, of course I’m going to have to LOL.

It’s hard to write a series of books that both stand alone and give something a little extra to your faithful readers. I’m excited to find out how Ari pulls it off in Her Knotty List.

But we have until November to find that out (although the blurb gives us a hint) so let’s look at the last three and see how she did it.

In books 1 & 2 (Knot her Goal, Knot her Shot respectively) the female leads are really good friends and are in each book. They are both in book 3, but don’t know the female main character (and if I tell you more it’ll spoil book 3).

In all three of the books so far (#3 is Knot her Fight), the females have insecurity, or issues with feeling like they are worthy. To be fair, that might just be a people issue, but it resonates strongly for me. Even when things look up, sometimes it’s hard to remember it’s real life and you deserve good things.

Meg (Book 1) is a PR person, and happens to work on her packs  football team accounts. When she pops up in book 3, it’s believable because one of the male main characters is on that team. New readers will read it and move on. Personally I read it and went “Why’s Meg being so weird?” There was a reason, and when everything comes to light it makes sense. A little side wink to faithful readers, but not needed to get the plot or the hint. It will be fun to see if any of the previous characters make it into book 4 and how they end up in the book.

In all three of the current books, the female main characters have met their packs very different ways. A job interview, a matching service and a police station. Book 4 looks like it will be a wild meet up as well. A runaway bride? Yes, please!

There is a big difference between the first three books and the fourth. The pack isn’t formed when she meets them. This is going to be fun to read and must have been fun to write.

Some authors have a specific formula they follow religously when they write. And that’s fine — there are times when I know I need a hit of that formula and will seek out a new title by them.

But there are other authors, like Ari Wright, who take a formula and tweak it and tweak it until the book burns brightly on its own.

I can’t wait!

Writing Dilemma

Sep19

So here goes nothing. Writing style lol.

Question for my writerly friends : How far down a dark path can you take a character before they lose all hope of being redeemed within the story and/or with the characters in the story?

And I’m talking about abandonment of responsibility (in a relationship) and fraud level stuff. It’s itching at my brain right now, because I’m writing that character right now. Or rather, I’m writing the aftermath of his selfishness.

Or cowardice.

Or just taking wrong advice and running with it. Letting it compound and multiply, unaware of the ramifications because of course the person who gave the advice never told him of the ramifications. The potential fall out. He’s naive.

He’s a sheep.

I don’t know if I, as the writer of the story, can forgive him being a sheep. Not thinking it through.

I know within a story a bad hero can be redeemed. I’ve read it. I’ve written about it with my post of Ari Wright. This isn’t about realizing you’ve made a mistake and correcting it though.

It’s changing the very fabric of the way the man thinks and reacts to his own mistakes.

What thinkest thou?

Redeemable?

Disposable?

It just might be the flex my writing muscles need. To see if I can redeem this character that I, the writer, loath.

Or I might just kill him off.

Writing

Sep17

I have been writing again. Consistently for the past little bit, and I’m very, quietly excited about it. As well as reading an obscene amount of books. But here’s the thing about reading so much…

You learn what tickles your writing fancy. But it’s also how you learn to handle things like.. a huge info dump.  How to take a severely flawed character and make them likeable. Reading is how we learn the nuts and bolts of both the art and craft of our genres.

When I was a baby writer, I read and read, then when I went to write it came out a bit like what I’d just been reading. Blue Sword Duology, anyone? Those stories, short and otherwise, will never see the light of day and even though I might not make money from them they were valuable.

Their value was in the practice. The practice of sitting down and writing. The practice of dialog, plot, setting. Yes, I was following a formula laid down by someone else, but it worked. I learned.

And even when I couldn’t write I was still learning the art of story, just from the consumer’s perspective.

Right now I’m trying to figure out if one of my characters is a villain or a dumbass. And if he is a dumbass, can he be realistically redeemed?

If it was me? Hell no. But my other characters aren’t me. So now I’m trying to find empathy for a character who I not so proudly claim is a dumbass. I know what the confrontation is, the start of it. It’s a ways off, so I’m going back to some of my fav authors and seeing how they handled it.

Wish me luck!

Suspension of (dis)Belief

Aug23

I wrote a whole romance story in my little Mead spiral notebook when I was in 4th grade. I don’t remember the particulars, but I do remember the female main character having a broken arm and leg, hopping on a motorcycle and riding it down the face of a mountain. Not very believable. It tracks, tho, for my age at the time.

You all know I don’t name and shame when I find something I so passionately disagree with in a book that I’m willing to write about it here. I spoke, at length, to my BFF last night (who is NOT a reader) about the problem I had with the book & problem we are going to discuss. I basically gave a TED talk.

When I went back to see the reviews I kept coming across the acronym TSTL in reference to the female main character (FMC). I’m a little old, and oblivious, and my first thought was “What’s a T St Louis?” No, Dear Reader, it does not have anything to do with the city. It apparently means TOO STUPID TO LIVE

Roughly 4 months pregnant, she hops fences, gets drugged 3 or 4 times within a couple of chapters, mounts a rescue with a teen girl, oh … The same teen girl who tried to help her escape the hero. And The “hero” choked her out and left bruising and chafing around her neck. This wasn’t sexual. It was abuse. And all the heroine would say was “It’s complicated.”

This FMC is the one in a horror story who would say “Hey, what’s that noise in the basement? Oh, look, it’s a werewolf should I pet it?”

I can’t tell you how it ends because I gave up on the series somewhere in the middle of book 2. I couldn’t suspend my disbelief. Now, I’m not trying to yuck someone else’s yum. If you like books that veer more towards bruises that’s ok. Your reading taste does not have to be the same as mine. 

But what I really can’t abide is how stupid the FMC was.  And how cavalier she was with the lives of not only her unborn babies but the teen girl and her brother. She was “so good with them”, and yet she kept making choices that any dumbass would know were going to have high consequences. For her and them.

And she kept making the same mistakes.

It’s ok to write a character who is TSTL. But as authors we need to write some kind of growth (unless it’s a horror book). Or at least new ways to be stupid.  The FMC was not exhibiting any signs of growing the F up, and the hero was devolving. As a reader I was skipping whole parts and as a writer I knew…. When that starts happening, it’s time to skip the book altogether.

What’s your reading TED Talk about, Dear Reader?

Please Don’t: Writing Edition

Aug15

Dear Author;

Thank you for writing your book! I love it! There’s just this tiny little thing…

Please Don’t: have you heroin kidnapped, roughed up and freezing cold and when you have her saved the police are there but not an ambulance? Or even the hero taking her to a doctor? Whaaaa???

Please Don’t: Lose track of who is who. Because after the bad guy has been revealed to the world, he probably is not having dinner with the main characters. Unless the main character is killing him. Or her.

Please Don’t: make it a duology if the second book is just the hero(s) trying (and failing) to make up to the heroine for what a douche canoe they have been. I say this mainly because book 2 will have none of the angst and tension that book 1 had. You will lose readers over this pacing/theme problem. If Book 1 is a ripper of a ride that ride has to continue in Book 2.

And a related Please Don’t: Be careless with your brand. Yes, your brand. If you are asked to write a NOVEL/ NOVELLA in a shared world, please make sure their writing level is in sync with your own. I personally came to a “shared world” series because it was connected to one of my favs. But had I tried some of the others first, not knowing the caliber of my favs writing? I would never have given her a chance. (Anthology writing is different– people expect to get a few stories they don’t jive with and the editor normally… Weelllll… Edits the stories.) Your name is your brand. Protect it. Protect your readers.

There’s only one more thing and it’s a huge ask. I know  it is, but I have faith in you.

Please don’t give up. The world needs your stories, your voice.

Which name

Aug1

So my lovelies… Here’s a question for all of you who have joined the insanity of being a writer: Do you use you legal/real name?

I personally have only published with my legal name. Which is fine because it’s been literary and fantasy that have been published. I never in a million years thought I’d even consider using a pseudonym.

Of course, at the time I was writing and publishing only 2 types of stories (no books yet but I’m working on it!). Now, I’m at the point of writing different types of stories. Some I would not want my mother to read, even though she would pretty much love them.

But it’s also about your readers, as well. There’s a duology I have been studiously avoiding because of drug use within the story. It’s a trigger for me. The story was written by one of my favs, though, and it came down to a question of “Do I trust this author?”

Writing in multiple genres doesn’t worry me either as a writer of stories or as a reader. However, If something is a completely different tone, such as light and fluffy to dark, or no sex to sex on page– I’m starting to think maybe a pseudonym is a good thing. Even if it is a well known secret (Nora Roberts and JD Robb), I think the ability to differentiate is important for readers.

Will I ever use one? I don’t know. Part of that is because publishing is not the whole point of my writing and also, every word I write still sometimes feels like a battle.

What about you, fellow writers? Do you write with a pen name? Why?