Random Things

As is so often the case, I have no idea what to write about on this blog. So I figured I would compile a bunch of random ideas in one post.

Uncomfortable Truths.

1. I am a shameless “unfollower” on social media. My readers come from all different backgrounds with all different outlooks, political, and personal beliefs. And some are, ah, quite adamant about these beliefs (as they have the right). But because I am a somewhat ‘public figure’ and my opinions and beliefs could alter the way someone sees me – and by extension, my work – I don’t reallllly get the chance to share *my* side on social media. Which feels incredibly stifling. So to avoid frustration, I unfollow when I see someone consistently posting things that I find offensive or abrasive. Which leaves my newsfeed full of funny memes, baking recipes, female empowerment, and animal videos. Exactly how I prefer it. #PositiveNewsfeedsRock #WhereMyMemeQueensAt

2. I skim books. I skin books a LOT when I read. I only need one sentence to know what someone’s outfit looks like. Any more than that and my eyes are skipping sentences (and sometimes PAGES!) of outfit or house or whatever other kind of descriptions.

3. This one is one I am incredibly comfortable voicing in my personal life, but not in my professional one. I don’t want kids. I know, I know. Kids are cute and funny and all that jazz. I have three of them in my house; I totes know they are a source of a lot of fun. But they are also a lot of work, a lot of commitment. And I am in a very committed relationship with my work. I think when you have a passion as strong as the one I have with writing, when you have a family, one would suffer. On top of that, I genuinely have never been a victim of that “ovary explosion” many women get when looking at cute babies. Or seeing hot men with babies. However, if you show me a cute bird, dog, pig, or just about any other animal on earth doing something adorable, or a hot guy interacting with animals, oh yeah, my cold, dead ovaries detonate.

4. I don’t eat as well as it probably seems. Yes, I am a vegetarian who eats MOSTLY vegan. But, guys, there is a lot of vegan and vegetarian junk food! And the thing is… it is a lot FASTER to make that than to cook an awesome meal. My schedule barely allows time to eat let alone cook. So there are many, many weeks where I am eating just like veggie burgers or fake chick’n nuggets, canned soup, or things I pull out of the freezer and heat up. This is going to change once I am out of this nuts writing spell all through Feb an half of March. I am going to meal prep for two weeks at a time. When I take a day off to do that, then my diet is about 90% veggies and fruit, 8% rice or pasta, and 2% junk. And I feel better and think clearer then. So that is the goal soon!

5. I have become – mostly because I have so little time for it – and incredibly, terribly, obnoxiously picky reader. If I pick up a book now, it needs to knock my socks off, or I am DNF’ing it because on the rare occasion that I have time to read, I don’t want to waste it on mediocre. There are also some trends in romance lately that just aren’t my thing (single dads, surprise babies, etc) and things that make me almost violently angry. This is best represented in contemporary fiction when the heroine is over 25, is still a virgin, and that is represented as the “holy grail,” it is her biggest “selling point” to the hero (a virgin heroine is fine so long as that is not seen as what makes her worthy of the hero’s attention and love). It grosses me out. It bothers me that we would project such an antiquated idea on a contemporary relationship. The thing I have always loved about romance was the way it empowered women to own their sexuality, to have no shame about their sexual pasts. It bothers me to my marrow-deep feminist bones to see a woman’s worth based on how many men she’s slept with. The only exception here is historical fiction because things were different and women simply were expected to be virgins at the time of marriage. Any who, rant over lol. So, yeah, if you have a book that is like the BEST BOOK EVER, let me know. Because those are the ones I am looking for.

—–

Things that made me happy this week:

Reeve getting to bestseller in US and AU even without having gone up for preorder 🙂

Switzerland banning the boiling of live lobsters <3 Finally having a new governor after years of genuinely not being able to stand the one we had. New glasses. Woo hoo! My mother FINALLY closed on her house. She has spent the past half a year since I moved her in with me trying to get her house ready to go on the market, spending way too much time worrying about that. And now that is all over for her 🙂 Over a HUNDRED new adds to my FB group! What? This new story I am working on. Seriously, guys. I don’t toot my own horn often, but this one is smokin’ — CURRENTS — Currently Reading: - Nothing just now. I just finished Meghan March’s “Mount Series” though. Currently Watching: ER. Guys… GUYS! Hulu put all the seasons on. Like… all of them. I stopped watching after like the 5th one, but omg. I am so excited about this. Currently Listening to: “I Did Something Bad” - TSwizzle. Feel free to imagine me belting this out on an endless loop, seeing as that is exactly what I have been doing this week lol “I’d never trust a narcissist, but they love me/ So I play them like a violin/ And I make it look OH so easy…” Current Obsession: My planner. I have two of them. One of them is my writing schedule planner. This is my lifeline. I LITERALLY sleep with this thing. Yes, sometimes I wake up at night and check it over to confirm something.