Notes
Finished reading: Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes 📚
A very useful and straightforward book about romance novel structure.
Finished reading: The Heroine’s Journey: For Readers, Writers, and Fans of Pop Culture by Gail Carriger 📚
This is a great book about story structure that helped me understand, among other things, why Jean-Luc Picard is my favorite Star Trek captain.
📚💬📝 “…what are we writers but Machiavellian manipulators of a stranger’s emotions?” Gail Carriger, The Heroine’s Journey
Life is a lot right now. I give you permission to take a harm reduction approach to literally anything you need to. Taking some supplements is better than taking none. Eating unhealthy food is better than not eating. You’re doing your best and I see you.
Finished reading: A Duke Worth Falling For by Sarah MacLean 📚
I love Sarah MacLean so much.
Finished reading: The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa 📚
Cute rom-com with a heroine who has put walls around her heart and has to learn when to open the gate and let someone in.
Finished reading: To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins 📚
Another awesome heroine.
Finished reading: Anything You Want by Derek Sivers 📚
Finished reading: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott 📚
A classic for a reason.
💬📚 “Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.” Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
💬📚 “Don’t be afraid of your material or your past. Be afraid of wasting any more time obsessing about how you look and how people see you. Be afraid of not getting your writing done.” Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
💬📚 “You wouldn’t be a writer if reading hadn’t enriched your soul more than other pursuits.” Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
💬📚 “… everything we need in order to tell our stories in a reasonable and exciting way already exists in each of us.” Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
💬📚 “I don’t think you have time to waste not writing because you are afraid you won’t be good enough at it, and I don’t think you have time to waste on someone who does not respond to you with kindness and respect.” Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
💬📚 “Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself, getting some work done, then unhypnotizing yourself and going over the material coldly.” Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
💬📚 “Take the attitude that what you are thinking and feeling is valuable stuff, and then be naive enough to get it all down on paper.” Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
🖖🏻 I’m watching the episode where Worf joins the crew of DS9. When the camera panned up from his feet to his face, I thought, “Oh, it’s my buddy Worf! I want to hug him.”
Finished reading: Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins 📚
I loved the heroine in this one. Spring is a tough rancher who has been cut off from her feelings for years, except for the feelings she has for horses.
Finished reading: Rebel by Beverly Jenkins 📚
Ms. Bev knows her business and does it well.
In Romancelandia, Valentine’s Day is, as the French say, un jour férié. In honor of the day, if you give me the title and description of any book you’ve enjoyed, I’ll recommend a romance for you to try.
🔖 Read The Courts Can’t Stop the Trump-Musk Coup.
Courts are not known for their harm prevention—they’re best used when trying to hold someone accountable for the harm they already caused.
🎮 Playing the first Final Fantasy pixel remaster and it makes me so happy. The music especially. I have played this video game more than any other. It’s very soothing.
📚💬 “We can’t hide in romance. We have to find strength in it.” Adriana Herrera in today’s episode of Fated Mates