Hello, hello! How’s everyone this lovely Wednesday? I’m still playing the waiting game. I’m also tired and generally blah, so this is a quick post to let you know that J.R. Dawson did it again! The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World was released at the end of July! I bought a hard copy because it’s so pretty! I also bought the ebook because it’s easier for me to read that way. But I definitely recommend a hard copy because the book cover deserves to be admired as it was meant to be. Anyway, I’m only a quarter of the way through and I’m loving it. I’ll probably end up doing a brief review when I’m done. I’m so happy for J.R. and her books!
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are good. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so happy turkey day to those who celebrate! Happy Thursday to those who don’t! I slacked off and waited until the last minute to write this, so it’s going to be a little short. Just a reminder of the stuff I’m thankful for even if I don’t say it enough.
1. Dad. First and foremost. Always. I’m thankful for everything he does, which is everything. He does literally everything. Thank you isn’t really enough, but it’s Thanksgiving, so thank you! Danke. Arigatou. Gracias. Grazie. Merci. Asante. Spasibo. All the thank yous. Also, we need more pictures of you.
2. The Minion and the besties. Yeah, you guys are all right too. Joel, Jenae, and Danielle. I’m glad you exist at the same time as me and that we somehow ended up meeting. Tell your respective parents that I’m thankful they had sex since you exist because of it!
3. Squeaky toys that make Mardi happy! The pupper gets cuddles as thanks for being our whiny little roommate who entertains us all the time.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts and comments and questions here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! How’s everything going this lovely Wednesday? Did you have a good week? Things here are okay. I’m currently trapped in my room with Mardi. She thinks it’s cruel and unusual punishment and is making her indignation known through alternating bouts of high pitched yelping, whining like she’s all alone in the world, and silent sulking punctuated with deep angsty sighs. Why is she locked up with me? Because there are people doing things in the house and we don’t want her underfoot, bothering them. No biggie. But she’s not a happy puppers and my presence means absolutely nothing in this situation. Ah well. Anyway, I spent all day Monday trying to come up with a blog post idea. Nothing. So, I put out a plea for ideas on Facebook and Jen (lil sis) sent me a bunch of ideas! The first thing she wanted to know was what type of story I would write my friends into. So, I’ll ramble about that today.
It should be “The people they know” actually.
To be honest, if we’re friends, you’re probably already in a story. At least partially. I’ve used your nicknames or personality traits or quirks or some part of your looks. I’ve probably mashed your bits together with those of other people I know. Kinky. But, anyway. I’ve most likely trapped a piece of you inside a story. Creepy, right?
As far as the type of story goes, it’s my usual fare. Horror, dark fantasy, mysteries. Sometimes you live and sometimes you die. I don’t actively decide which bits of who go into which characters. It’s not until after the fact that I notice stuff like that. And by then, the character is its own entity with only a vague resemblance to the people I know. I will say that you all usually end up in characters that I like, so if they die, I’m sad. But I love my villains, so I don’t know how comforting that really is. Probably not at all. Sorry!
Now, if I actively chose a story to put a friend into, I’d have to think about where they would fit and what kind of story would make them happy. Unless I’m mad at them, then it would be what kind of story makes me happy. But I digress. Let’s take Jen for example. Most likely a novel or even a series. A main character, because she deserves some attention, and definitely a happy ending. No horror or psychological thriller. Some kind of action fantasy, probably. A found family type of subplot. Also a romance thread, but not something super important to the story. Some kind of magical powers that take time to manifest and grow along with her emotional growth throughout the story. And, since it’s Jen, I would include her in building the story and world and characters. So basically, if I actively built stories for friends, they’d end up being personalized. That’s fun.
So, yeah. I do include people in my stories, all genres. Kind of. But I can’t do it knowingly unless I tailor a story to a person. What about you? What kind of stories do you write the people you know into? Are you aware when you do it or does it just kind of happen? As always, feel free to share your thoughts and comments here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing today? I’m still struggling with productivity and all of that. And I have no idea what to ramble about in these posts, since I can’t complain about current writing problems. Can’t have problems if you’re avoiding it. But, since it’s November, I guess I should write about things I’m thankful for. Thanksgiving is next week, but so is my book review post. It’s now or never, I guess. I know most people announce one thing a day for the entire month, but I’m too lazy for that. So, in no particular order, here are thirty things I’m thankful for at the moment.
1. Dad. Of course he starts off the list. This should be no surprise to anyone. He takes care of me, annoys me, and cooks me good food. What else do I need?
2. Little sis (Jenae). Chosen family is the best. You’re always there to listen and commiserate and just be random together. Love you, sis.
3. Danielle. For much the same reasons as Jen. Hugs!
4. Stonecoasters. We might not talk often, but they’re there when I need them.
5. Old Interwebz (Yahoo chat) friends. I still can’t believe I’ve known most of you like 15 years and you still keep me around. You’re weirdos and I love it.
6. Borden’s eggnog. Because eggnog. What else is there to explain?
7. Ghirardelli peppermint bark. See above.
8. Books. I just like reading, but I can also say they’re for work and not be lying. They don’t even have to be boring books. I can read all the genres and say I’m studying tropes and character development and all that jazz.
9. Medical technology. Wheelchairs and ventilators and patient lifts and suctions and pretty much everything that makes my life possible. They’re all great. It’s a pain in the ass to get them through the government (or absurdly expensive out of pocket), but life would suck without them.
10. Music. What would life be without it?
11. Anime. I liked it before it was cool.
12. X-men. Just heard Disney’s rebooting the ’90s cartoon and I’m cautiously excited. If it comes to fruition, I guess we have to get Disney+ in 2023.
13. Bats. They’re adorable.
14. Wombats. They’re adorable and poop cubes.
15. Octopuses. They’re just awesome in general.
16. Let’s make this easy and say most animals. I just like animals.
17. Computers. I wouldn’t have most of my friends without computers.
18. Grocery deliveries. Sure, it’s not ideal, especially when the packer doesn’t read your requests or has zero idea how to pick produce, but it’s made pandemic life easier. It means Dad doesn’t have to go to the store as often.
19. Doctor visits via webcam. I despise the trip to UT Southwestern, so these “telehealth” visits have been awesome. I don’t get to go to a restaurant afterwards, but with Covid, I don’t know if I’d want to stop anywhere anyway. I also like not having to get up early just to get there on time.
20. Pretty people. I know I’m not supposed to objectify people and all that, but whatever. I don’t harass people or make inappropriate comments to strangers. But I can still look. Cripples can be creepers too! I’m only creepy sometimes. I swear.
21. The fact that my friends accept my creepy side. You know who you are.
22. Spiked coffee. I haven’t had one in a while, but like knowing it’s an option.
23. British murder mysteries. They can be weird, but tend to be enjoyable.
24. All things rainbow. Contrary to popular opinion, my love of rainbow stuff has nothing to do with the LGBTQ+ scene (that’s just a happy bonus). I just like ridiculously colorful things.
25. Notebooks. I don’t use them, but love having them. It’s weird.
26. Boxes and baskets. Decorative storage. It’s another one of my weird likes because I don’t actually need them.
27. Cheese. That needs no explanation.
28. Pasta, bread, carbs. Again, no explanation needed.
29. Seafood. Actually, food in general.
30. That November only has 30 days, because I’m totally out of things I’m thankful for at the moment. I’m sure there are things hiding in the back of my brain, but they aren’t helping me out.
What are you thankful for? As always, feel free to share your thoughts or comments here or on my social media pages!
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing? I’m still stuck in a procrastination rut. I start projects, it goes well for a few days, then I just hit a wall. I try to work through it for a couple of days, but after staring at the same pages for a while, I get disgusted with it and take a few days off. It’s an endless cycle. I need to break it, but I can’t figure out how. So, I decided to try being social instead. Change up the routine. Maybe getting out of my comfort zone would help get the writing muscles going again. That was the hope, anyway. It’s not going too well.
It’s me!
I randomly joined some Facebook groups a week or so ago, mostly for pretty pictures of bats and cephalopods. Apparently, I also decided to join a couple of groups for people who are pansexual and their supporters (happy Pride!), which I never do because… well, people. One of the current fads in one of those groups are those stupid friendship application posts where newbies basically introduce themselves. I don’t do that stuff. I am horrible at peopling. Everyone knows this. I make no secret of it. But I did the thing despite my aversion to socializing.
All of the comments on the post were super sweet and accepting. Yes, I even included pictures. And, instead of being self-deprecating like I usually am, I tried very hard to just say thank you to the handful of folks who said I was pretty or whatever. It was weird. And I admit that I met a couple of people who are cool and I’ve enjoyed our conversations and will definitely keep talking to them. But I’ll be damned if I didn’t get like twenty DMs from douchenozzles (you know the ones, those who expect cyber sex or whatever it’s called nowadays without even attempting to hide it behind getting to know you) who ended up blocked. It totally reminded me of the Yahoo chat days, and not in the good way. Sifting through the asshats to find the interesting people is just not my thing anymore. I’m too lazy for all that. And way too comfortable with being alone (or talking to my current peoples) to make that effort.
Or I can be alone by myself. Either way works.
It doesn’t help that I have a lot of social anxiety. I can’t even make doctor appointments over the phone without freaking out unless I practice the conversation in my head fifty times. Goddess forbid they go off script. And even if it goes perfectly, I still feel like I screwed something up with the interaction. I’m not as bad with text based exchanges, because I can see and edit what I’m saying. Especially when it comes to professional correspondence. That, I have no problem with. As long as I can write it out, I’m okay. I really only have issues with socializing like a normal human being. I know people who I only knew by screen names for the first ten years of our friendship. That’s how horrible at peopling I am. I didn’t even think to ask for names until we’d run into each on Facebook or something. Peopling is hard.
Maybe.
But that’s enough about my lack of humaning skills. I probably should’ve thought of a better topic instead of rambling about nothing. But there you have it. As always, feel free to leave your comments or questions or whatever here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this beautiful June day? It’s actually kind of overcast as I’m writing this, but whatever. I’m sure that’s beautiful to someone. I have zero writing or publishing news. I’m a big slacker, I know. So, I wasn’t sure what I was going to blog about until I remembered what today (June 8th, because that’s when I’m writing this) is: Jen’s birthday! I know I’ve talked about her a little bit on here since she’s the one always drawing pictures for me to use as avatars, but I don’t think I’ve ever fully explained who she is to me. Today, I will properly introduce you.
I remembered yesterday too, but still.
I met Jen when we were 18 or 19 in a Yahoo chatroom. Oh goddesses. Was it really that long ago? Have we really known each other over 15 years? We’re getting old. But I digress. Honestly, I don’t even remember which one of us initiated contact or why, but that one random moment led to years of fun and friendship and sisterhood. We spent long nights (into early mornings) talking and RPing and complaining about the douchenozzles who kept telling us we weren’t doing it right if we didn’t adhere to their arbitrary and ridiculously detailed rules of that particular RP. She knows the main dude I’m talking about. It got to the point where we’d deliberately break his rules just to see how long it would take him to rage quit and sign off. Those were some good times.
The Yahoo chat years were great and sometimes weird and even downright sucky occasionally, but so much came after. She went to art school and got married and had kids. She’s constantly done artistic things over the years, like stained glass or making dolls or drawing. I’m always so proud of Jen. And, of course, there were not so good times. Stress, people disappearing without a word (because that’s a hazard of having Internet friends who live in different states or countries), family deaths. All the crappy stuff life throws at you. But we’ve made it through it all so far.
A picture she drew of us.
Jen is my little sis. She may not be blood and we haven’t gotten a chance to meet in person yet, but she’s part of my chosen family. I probably shouldn’t make assumptions, but I think I’m part of hers, too. (I better be!) We talk about anything and everything even though we constantly apologize for TMI. But it’s not really TMI because I’ve never really felt like anything was off limits. And I hope she feels the same. So, I’m going to say something I don’t say enough to anyone. I appreciate you, sis. And I love you. And now I’m going to stop because this is beginning to feel sappy. I’m not good at that.
Isn’t that just a glomp?
So, say hi and happy belated birthday to Jen! As always, feel free to leave your comments here or on my social media pages! Or you can go to her artist Instagram page! Later days.
Howdy, howdy! How is everyone doing this week? November is speeding along, much like the rest of this year. I have no idea where the time went. I’m still stuck in April or May. Is it just me? Yeah? Okay then. But Thanksgiving is only eight days away, so I thought it would be a good time to make a list of things I’m thankful for this year. I know I should probably do this closer to Thanksgiving, but next week is my book review post. Anyway, in no particular order, here are five things I’m thankful for this year.
We’ll get a new picture of us eventually.
1. Dad. I know it’s sappy, but I am thankful for him. He does everything for me. Even the gross stuff no one wants to know about. And I don’t say thanks enough. Mostly because I don’t really know how to express myself well (my social skills suck, even with family). But I know he’s reading this. So, you are appreciated. Even if you’re a dick sometimes. That’s as sappy as I get.
Replace cleaning the house with writing and it’s me!
2. Tunisian/Afghan crochet hooks. They’re super long and designed for a special type of crochet, but I just use them for regular crochet so far. My discovery of these earlier this year has allowed me to be creative in a whole new way. And they prove my hands can still do cool things if I set my mind to it. I’m not entirely useless after all!
Unless the title has nothing to do with the book and you’re just disappointed.
3. NetGalley. I’m not usually thankful for specific websites, but I admit that this one is pretty cool. I’ve been able to read a bunch of books that I probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise. I even found a couple of authors that I’m still following. Plus, it gives me something to blog about each month, which is super helpful.
Or maybe because I already know too much. My friends are crazy. Don’t deny it.
4. Friends. Again, sappy. But it’s true. Especially the ones who randomly check in on me even when I’m in full hermit mode and being a shit friend myself. You know who you are. You’re all appreciated. And sorry I am such a hermit. I try not to be, but it never works out.
5. The Interwebz. It’s where all my friends live. But really, because it simultaneously lets me stalk people and keep up with their lives while helping limit my need to use the phone or leave the house. Need to activate that card? Do it online! Want to buy something? There’s a website for that. It’s basically an introvert’s dream. But never read the comments.
What about you? What are you thankful for this year? It can be small or large. Serious or funny. Or anything in between. Feel free to share your lists and thoughts here or on my social media pages!
Hello, hello! Can you believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving? Where’d the time go? Next thing you know, it’ll be Christmas, then a new year. Time really needs to slow down. Anyway, since my favorite holiday is just a day away, I thought I would take this opportunity to share five things I’m grateful for this year!
1. Dad. I know I don’t say it out loud to him, but I really am thankful to have someone like him in my life. He has always shown me that just because life doesn’t go the way you expect doesn’t mean that you have to be miserable about it. You don’t have to let toxic people bring you down. Sometimes, you need to make changes if you want things to go a certain way. It’s okay to be blah occasionally, but mostly you need to try to find the happy in things. But most importantly, he taught me to look in the mirror and take responsibility for my actions, which I try to do. He also gave me my twisted sense of humor and enables my darkness, so you can blame him for all of that (okay, sometimes I deny all responsibility and blame him, but that’s what dads are for).
2. The people who take the time to check up on me. You know who you are. I have been an increasingly crappy friend, especially lately. I don’t text or message people as much as I should, if at all. I know that and I’m struggling to break free from the contentedness I find in being a recluse. But I really do appreciate the messages asking how I am and giving me updates on your lives. I do stalk most of you on social media, though, which makes me the creepy crappy friend.
Amateur mistake. Lurk, don’t like.
3. Seeing my words in print and getting paid for them. I was starting to think it wouldn’t happen, so I’m thankful to E.R. Bills and Hellbound Books for choosing me to be in their awesome collection alongside other talented Texas writers. An occasional acceptance really does help to overcome the feels that a long list of rejections brings up.
4. Peppermint chocolates. After waiting for all things pumpkin spice to start winding down for the year, I get the reward of all things peppermint for a month and a half! Just had my first Ghirardelli peppermint bark square of the year. It made me weirdly happy. It always does. Judge me all you want, but at least I have goodies to comfort me.
I might have just gotten lost down the boozy peppermint coffee rabbit hole of Google for a minute there.
5. A dad who’s good with tools. I didn’t intend to add him twice, but my armrest on my new wheelchair decided to come loose a little while ago and he got everything put securely back together. If it breaks, he can usually fix it. That’s something to always be grateful for!
What about you? What are you thankful for this year? Feel free to share your thoughts and comments here or on my social media pages!
Hello, hello! I’ve been binge watching Sailor Moon Crystal the past couple of days and it got me thinking about how I would cope with life today if I hadn’t watched the original Sailor Moon growing up. It’s one of those shows that prepared me for everything going on in the world today. We all have a show like that. Whether it was Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School Bus or X-Men or Batman or whatever you watched as a kid, we all have a show that has stuck with us and been a major influence on who we are today. For me, that was Sailor Moon. How could a magical girl anime prepare me for the turbulence of today, you ask? Stick with me for a minute and I shall do my best to explain.
One of my favorite pictures of all the Senshi.
Aside from a bunch of women kicking ass and taking names with the occasional backup from Tuxedo Kamen, this show was amazing for many other reasons. Yeah, there was the obvious message that love and friendship can help you conquer any evil, including the evil that lurks within each of us (after all, if Small Lady can become Black Lady and Saturn can become Mistress 9, none of us can claim to be 100% good). It reminds us that, ultimately, hatred and superiority complexes will fail. It might take longer than we want, but as long as people don’t give up, good will eventually win. We just have to believe in each other.
There are also more subtle messages that apply today more than ever. There was the whole Uranus/Neptune relationship that the U.S. dub tried to pass off as them being cousins (everyone I knew saw through that charade and, honestly, the whole cousin storyline just made a beautiful relationship kind of creepy). Not to mention Zoisite’s obsession with Kunzite in the original anime (again, no one I knew believed Zoisite was a woman in the dub). Then came the Sailor Starlights arc where men transformed into women and back again (pretty sure they just cross-dressed in the manga, but I’m talking about the anime where they were biologically males until they transformed). Early exposure to this kind of stuff wasn’t traumatizing. If anything, it helped give me an open mind.
The Starlights. I wanted those boots, though. That’s all I cared about as a kid.
The story arc that hit closest to home for me and, in all honesty, is probably the reason Sailor Moon stuck with me so much, was Sailor Saturn’s story. She was a sickly kid and an outcast, but she had the power to destroy worlds. It was the first time I remember seeing someone who had physical difficulties (granted, they were nothing like my own) who could be the hero (or the villain if she had chosen that path). She proved that you didn’t have to be athletic or even normal to be powerful or even accepted by people. For a kid like me, that was the best message I could have received. If she could help destroy evil, I could put up with whatever life threw my way.
The whole purple outfit didn’t hurt my love of Saturn either.
So yeah, Sailor Moon definitely helped shape who I was back then and who I am now. It taught me about the power of women, the power of friendship, how to recognize evil, how to accept others for who they are, and how to accept myself. What show helped turn you into who you are?
Howdy, howdy! I was really having a hard time deciding what to write about when a friend sent me a text thanking me for being the voice in her head asking if she was at least thinking about writing. It gave her the nudge she needed to stop at a place after work and take a little while to have a cup of tea and write some words. She hadn’t written in a while, but she wanted to, so I told her I’d pester her every day or so until she started writing. The second day of pestering and she’s already making time for it. That’s what happens when you’re held accountable for things like this, you make time for them.
I know, Cas. I know. I’ll go do that.
I don’tknow about you, but I always work better with deadlines in place. At school, I could knock a ten page paper out in one night if I had to, as long as the research was done ahead of time. Deadlines meant grades. In the real world, missing deadlines affects the pay from the day job. In other words, deadlines carry the threat of consequences. But what’s going to happen if you don’t finish a novel? Unless you have a contract with a due date, nothing will happen. So, how do writers overcome this lack of a threat and finish things? We hold each other accountable.
In the beginning, I didn’t really understand how holding each other accountable would work. After all, if I don’t push myself to finish something, why would someone judging me for it be motivational? Turns out that guilt is a powerful tool. If I set reasonable goals with people and don’t reach them, I feel guilty. I don’t care if the end of the world pops up, if people know I planned on doing things and failed, it sucks. It also helps that I’m mildly competitive, so failure and losing are not an option. I won’t be the only one to not meet my goals.
Mixed signals achieved.
According to people I’ve done this whole accountability thing with, it also works by legitimizing their craft, especially when they have jobs. They have trouble taking time out of their schedules to write because they feel like it shouldn’t be a priority even when they secretly (or not so secretly) want it to be. Having someone who will pester them and encourage them gives them an “excuse” to make time for writing.
You can’t keep waiting when there’s no last minute.
So, even when deadlines aren’t an option, we can still motivate each other by holding each other accountable. We might not receive any real negative consequences if we don’t meet our goals, but we’ll have to live with the shame of disappointing our friends. Who has time for that?
Do you have any friends who pester you about your creative outlet? Does accountability work for you? How? If not, what do you do to stay productive and motivated? Leave a comment here or on my social media pages to share your thoughts!
Shawna's Blog of Doom 