What Happened In 2022

I got a little upset with social media and the internet this past year. I started avoiding my social media and my blog. I was the victim of hacking/phishing with one of my accounts. It was a personal account too, full of pictures of my children. I wrote a whole big, long, angry rant, but I'm leaving it unpublished. Instead, I'd rather focus on happier things.

I have a novel. Completed. That I've started querying. It's scary, but I'm doing it anyway.

What I really want for my blog is to reflect the creator I am, regardless of whether anyone reads blogs anymore (from what I hear, the answer is, no).

I also got my Goodreads year in books. I read A LOT this year. I can probably get another book or two in this year. The audio book for Michelle Obama's The Light We Carry just came in for me at the library. I'll probably be listening to that this evening.

What's next for me? More reading. More writing. Some more cute animes on Netflix. Marvel shows. More time with my children. What does 2023 have in store for any of us?

Twitter Made Me Think About Romance

I was casually scrolling through Twitter, when I came upon a question that made me think. A person was asking for reading recommendations. She wanted an inter-racial romance novel where neither of the characters were white. I love inter-racial romances. Probably because I'm in one. I don't need them to parallel my life or anything. I'm just always curious about cultures coming together, what obstacles are in their way, etc. I've read some great ones. My favourites are probably The Kiss Quotient, by Helen Hoang,  The Wedding Date, by Jasmine Guillory, and Get a Life, Chloe Brown, by Talia Hibbert. As much as I loved these books, they weren't what the person was looking for. After The Wedding Date, Jasmine Guillory wrote, The Proposal, which features a latinx man and black woman. Suddenly, I felt like this was a challenge. What other ones have I read or do I own?

The Proposal, by Jasmine Guillory

The A.I. Who Loved Me, by Alyssa Cole

Take A Hint, Dani Brown, by Talia Hibbert

That's it. I'm sure there are other books out there. I've read the first two books. They were fantastic. I really could gush about both of them, and their authors. The third is sitting in my Kobo app, waiting for me. Can anyone suggest a book to add to my to-read list for this particular sub-sub (or whatever) section of the romance genre?

It's Been A While - Looking Back at 2020

At first, nothing really changed for me.

My day job is work from home gig. I was already home everyday. The biggest difference was having the children at home. Initially, I blogged (among other things), more than I had in a while. It felt good. I was sharing what I was doing/watching/reading. It was nice to share again.

I wrote a lot. I finished a draft of my work-in-progress and started editing. I discovered I might have a mild obsession with my characters' hair. I mention hair a lot.

Then I stopped blogging. I'm not sure why. I was still blogging for the WCYR and doing other work for them/us. I love my writing community. Many like-minded people coming together for the love of writing. We share our ideas, our quirks, unique habits. We're a support and a resource for each other. I'm glad I found them years ago and that I'm now a part of them.

Exhaustion gets me at inconvenient times.

I still did a lot. I attended online meetings/seminars. I read. I watched movies and television. I continued to work at my job. 

Months have passed in this new normal and I find I want to blog again.

Here I am.

I have used Goodreads to track my writing progress for many years. I really like how they put together my year in review. It's a nice way to look back on the books I've read, remembering favourites from January or February, seeing where my reading trends took me. I read by feelings, cravings, imaginings.... 

I read a lot of rom-coms/romances this year. I guess I needed some "Happily Ever Afters". Some favourites? Get A Life, Chloe Brown - I may have cried. The Friend Zone - Not what I expected. Wrapped Up In You - That's 2 for Talia Hibbert. Boy Toy - That title, plus a post-baby body. Meet Cute - The main characters needed so many hugs. 

I also read a lot of fantastic fantasy. Deceptions - Kelley Armstrong making me long for the characters. The Ghost King (The Legend of Drizzt) - Surprisingly sad. Six of Crows - For the win. Rebel - Giving me an amazing end to Day and June's story. Carry On - Surpassing expectations.

I also read All Systems Red - Science-fiction at its best, I think. I read some graphic novels (Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Lumberjanes, Avatar, Hawkeye). I read three more Stephanie Plum books. I just realized I didn't read any In Death books this year. How did that happen?

I watched Mulan and Wonder Woman (yes, I paid the premium price). I watched Lucifer. I was sad when Flash and Supergirl abruptly ended in the spring. I enjoyed My Next Guest Needs No Introduction (RDJ has llamas). Nostalgia had me watching War on Cybertron. The need for laughter had me watching Mr. Iglesias. I've been watching Star Trek: Discovery. I loved Star Trek: Picard. I watched the final seasons of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and Anne with an "E". 

Though 2020 could have been [a lot] better. It also could have been worse. I've come out of it with my health and the good health of my loved ones. I know that can't be said for everyone, so I'm more than grateful for that. 

Will the coming year see me back on my blog? I hope so. I'd like to think so. I've always enjoyed writing out some thoughts here. I know I'll have to tell someone when I read the next Murderbot book. 

Now, for the traditional picture of books.

What I Read Last Week #2

  

3 poems from Edgar Allan Poe. Not his most famous (I've already read those). I really enjoyed To Isadore, The Village Street, and The Forest Reverie. As I read The Village Street, I kept thinking that this would make an eerie short story. Every so often, I read a bit from Poe's complete works. I enjoy his poetry, but sometimes I can only take so much creepy.

Serpent & Dove was a book I couldn't put down. It definitely did a good job of distracting me from EVERYTHING. I'm very excited to read the sequel, Blood & Honey when it comes out later this year. - I'm hoping the release date doesn't get pushed back.

Wasted Words was my now weekly (?) Romantic Comedy. It was cute and sad, and had a great ending. It's interesting how the events of our teen years can affect us as adults. Even when rationally, we know we're acting "crazy".

I finally read The Search, the second series of graphic novels from Avatar: The Last Airbender. My daughter rewatched the series on Netflix and it was hard to pull myself away when it was on. Reading this book satisfied the itch for more Avatar. If you want to know what happened to Zuko's mother, this is the book you need to read.

Blog post from the Write Practice. It's short. Kind of helpful. Mostly it made me feel better that in my WIP, I occasionally have scenes that are 350ish words.

A reminder to myself that I only need to read so much about Coronavirus and COVID-19.

What I Read This Week

I needed a happy ending. That lead to Romance, which read to Meg Cabot. I enjoy Cabot's writing, her style, her characters. I knew that not only would I get a happy ending, I would get rich, interesting characters, and maybe a crazy fun plot. No Judgments did not disappoint. Even though the natural disaster the characters are going through is different that what's happening now, I found some of the isolation and attitudes of the characters similar to what we are dealing with.

I finished The Ghost King, by R.A. Salvatore. The Ghost King is the 19th book in The Legend of Drizzt series. It was a great book. Lots of action, adventure. I got to spend time with characters that I've been reading about for years (and will continue to read about as there are at least 15 more books). It's a good thing I sandwiched this fantasy between some happy endings, but this one was and emotional end for me. I yelled at my husband when I closed the book. (He's read all but the most recent of the Drizzt books.) He knew what was going to happen! Not that I'd want him to stop me from reading it, but I had to let that emotion out somewhere.

I also read Chaotic Good, by Whitney Gardner. It's a teen romance, but it's so much more. They play D&D in the book. It was so good. The title, of course, is what first got me. But it's also about growing up as a girl, and as a geek girl. What it's like to feel alienating from the things you love. How much easier things would be if you were a boy. It's also about how evil the internet is. I kept thinking, the main character is a CHILD. She hasn't even started her last year of high school! Honestly, I'm so glad they didn't have social media when I was in high school, but I worry about what it's going to be like for my children. I hope not like this.

I've been reading the Government of Canada COVID-19 website a lot too. Mostly, so I can look at the stats. I want to know how many cases are in Canada and where. My local sites. The WHO website. I have to really watch that I don't read too much of it, because then I'll just go into information overload.

I have also been spending too much time on Twitter. Also bordering on information overload. I do like the photos I saw of the Venice canals being clear though. It's strange how this lockdown / isolation is changing the world around us.

My Evolving Affair With Romance Novels

Romance novels have taken over my to-be-read list! I thought I was still sticking to my old reading habits - diving into a fair mix of books. Some literary fiction, some genre. I've started dipping into poetry. But nothing has grabbed my attention lately like Romance. A quick look at recent reads from my Goodreads shelf shows how many of them have been romance.

I've also realized from this screenshot that
I've read a lot of graphic novels lately too.

About two years ago, I blogged about reading romances. I had become a fan of Melissa Foster and a few others. Their typical style: A couple meet. They're attracted to each other. They get together. Something happens to keep them apart. They work past it and live happily ever after. They are still fun reads.

There are two things that have been attracting me to my current choices in the Romance genre. The first is interracial romances. That's my life. My Hubby is white and his experiences with family and culture are different than mine. I'm not looking for romances that exactly mirror my relationship (frankly, there aren't really any that exist). I find any interracial romance interesting. From The Chai Factor, to The Kiss Quotient, to Duke by Default. (Another fun part of Duke by Default, is the American/Scottish dynamic added to the mix.) The other dynamic has been what also makes The Kiss Quotient and Duke by Default compelling. The female lead of The Kiss Quotient has high-functioning autism (Asperger's). Not only does she navigate love, parents, and cultural differences, but she learns to accept her own differences with someone who loves her exactly the way she is. In Duke by Default, the female lead is labeled as "flighty", "a party girl", and "unreliable." What she learns as an adult is that she has a form of ADHD. With this new knowledge, she learns how to better navigate her life. Those are the serious issues that I find reading about in these relationships fascinating.

The other thing that has been attracting me to Romances is the humour. I've been reading Romantic Comedies. Sometimes, you need a laugh. Man Hands is a good example. Even the title makes me laugh. The next book in the series is Man Card. That's enough to make me want to read it. There are definitely a lot of the same romantic tropes that you're going to find in any romance story, but the quirky situations had me laughing out loud. 

All these books are full of strong women. Most of them are over 30 and very relatable. They're working towards their dreams, being independent, fighting with family, coming together to support other women. They're people I would be friends with. The men too. They learn, grow, are kind, protective without smothering the woman in their life... or if they to do start smothering, they back off and admit they were wrong. They have their own issues, also relatable. Of course, they're also all super studly. 

So, this is me coming to accept the level of Romance in my reading life. Looking at that picture of 30 books, 12 of them fall easily into the Romance category. I always thought I read more Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but not in the last few months. Maybe it's just me looking for a laugh and a happy ending. 

To All The Boys I Loved Before

The movie, not the book. But after watching the movie, I want to read the book. To All The Boys I've Love Before is the cutest movie. I wasn't sure I was going to watch this movie, but then I saw Jenny Han on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. After watching the interview, I knew I had to watch this movie. The way Jenny Han talked about her characters, representation, and the story, connected with me. I could relate to her feelings growing up, which in turn went into her book, then into the movie. I loved her description of her "discussion" with the studio about why Lara Jean had to be Asian. Lana Condor was perfect (coming from someone who hasn't read the book). She was sweet and goofy, while also being strong and independenhttps://www.netflix.com/ca/t. She didn't NEED Peter or Josh. She kind of needed her sister.

Though I loved all the moments of Lara Jean and her fake boyfriend, the moments with her sisters really stuck with me. Her dynamic with Kitty is fun and fantastic. Kitty loves Lara Jean so much too. I can see how much Kitty wants her to be happy. Though Margot was away for a lot of the movie, she is a huge part of Lara Jean's life. Margot is who Lara Jean can't lie to, who she wants to make happy more than anyone else. Margot is Lara Jean's maternal figure, she wants to make Margot proud. The relationship with her Dad offers some of the funniest moments too. I also have loved John Corbett since Northern Exposure.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before is available on Netflix now and if you want to watch something that will make you just feel good, this movie is for you.

Yours, Mine, and Ours

Yours, Mine, and Ours is the second book in the Cadence Jones series by MaryJanice Davidson. A quick, fun, easy read, it was exactly what I needed. I wanted to like the characters, I wanted a little mystery to figure out, but I didn't want too much tension. I wanted to laugh and wonder, smile at the situations Cadence and her sisters found themselves in.

I feel so much for Cadence. She wants a normal life, but she also has these "sisters" who she actually seems to love. Shiro is also taking Cadence's feelings into consideration. It's a really interesting relationship they have with themselves. Their relationships and behaviour has changed and grown in this novel. I wonder how it will work out in the final book. I'm also left wondering if Davidson will write more books about Cadence Jones. She's an interesting character. Because the plot revolves around solving a mystery/finding a serial killer, I'm wondering if there is the potential for that, or if Davidson ends things pretty conclusively in You and I, Me and You. I guess that just means I have to read it.

I kind of missed Cadence's best friend in this installment. I did, however, like the addition of Agent Thyme. I enjoyed her friendship with Shiro. I liked Shiro more than I did in Me, Myself, and Why?. I'm not sure why, perhaps because she felt like a real person, not just another side of Cadence. Though, I'm still not sure how Adrienne fits into all of this.

I'm not sure I was totally sold on the actual case they had to solve. I expected it to be similar to the first novel, but then it was something else. I usually like when things don't go as I expect them, but in this case, I don't know. I just wish I liked it better.

In the end though, the serial killer is secondary to the characters' actions and growth. It's them I want to see. I want to spend time with Cadence, George, and Patrick, no matter what they are doing. I'm excited to read the final book in the trilogy. It's going to be fun!

Outta The Bag

Outta The Bag is the prequel short story to MaryJanice Davidson's Cadence Jones series. It was free when I downloaded it and I believe it still is. It stars not Cadence, but a plumber, Clive Better, who tells his story to a surprising group of people, a story where he encountered the Jones "sisters". He doesn't know what to think. At first he's attracted to the sweet, bumbling sister, but then the others start to show up, and it becomes a crazy girl chasing her friend's runaway cat. He wants to help at first, but soon realizes he has to get out of there. 

It's a fun story for fans of Davidson and of the series. If you haven't read the first book, you might not fully understand what's going on, even though when it was first published, it was advertised as a "free preview". It's a fun, quick read. Even in this very short story, Davidson is able to showcase the distinct voices of the sisters, so as a reader, you can tell when there's been a transition. It was definitely a fun story and it's got me in the mood to read the rest of the Cadence Jones books, but I don't think it's a short story just anyone is going to pick up. A good read though for a Davidson fan.

Can You Keep A Secret?

So cute and silly and funny. Some real emotional moments I could relate to. Can You Keep A Secret? reminded me why I love Sophia Kinsella. I could read the book again right now.

I could relate so much to Emma. I've totally faked my way through a job I didn't understand (I wasn't even sure how I ended up there). I may have acted like I had more more money than I did at that age, trying to impress the "right" people. I've been awkward (I'm still awkward). I've said I liked things when I didn't, just to make someone else happy. That stuff with Emma's family hit a nerve too. It was more extreme, but I think a lot of people can relate to what's going on with the Corrigans.

The story is pretty simple, girl meets boy, girl thinks she's going to die, girl spills all her secrets to boy, they don't die, girl thinks she'll never see boy again, boy turns up at her office. Seriously, that sums up the first bit of the book. Everything that happens after is hilarious and touching. Sometimes I cringed, sometimes I smiled, I laughed, I wanted to know what happened next. I stayed up way too late reading. Even though the plot seems simple, Kinsella packs the books with so much emotion, tension, and laughter, that you can't put it down.

Besides Emma, the other characters are great. Many of them are searching for pieces of themselves, on journeys of discovery. Jack is practically the opposite of Emma, I think. Lissy is trying to be more than what she's been labeled. Maybe Jemima even learns about herself. The ups and downs, the misunderstandings, the tears, were all worth it for them in the end. The ending made me love the book even more. Not just the Epilogue part, which was beyond cute, but the part with Lissy and Jemima. She so deserved it. I'm so happy with my book choices so far this year, I'm excited/nervous about what the next story will bring, though I know that the next book I pick up by Kinsella will surely make me laugh again.

He's Just Not That Into You

I just want to scream at these women, “Why are you acting so crazy?” The actions of some of the characters made me cringe. I felt like this movie gave women a bad name. I felt like the women were essentially all the same, just in different situations. None of them seemed to have any real, common sense. The male characters seemed to be somewhat more varied, though all except Conor were commitment phobes. It was very frustrating to watch.

I like to think that I was never like these women. Though I know I may not be the best judge of myself. Yes, sometimes we may read too much into a situation, trying to figure out if a guy likes us. Yes, we may delude ourselves about where a relationship is going. We at least try to believe the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech. Don’t guys do that too, try to figure out if a girl likes them? But I don’t know any woman who’s gone to a restaurant hoping to bump into a guy who hasn’t called her. I don’t know anyone who has purposefully gotten involved with a married man. I don’t know any obsessive callers.

For me, the highlight of the movie was the relationship between Gigi and Alex. I think they might have gotten the most screen time and deservedly so. It’s the only storyline that offered any real insight into dating. I also thought Mary was quite funny. The Janine, Ben, Anna triangle was frustrating. Was Ben Affleck only in the movie for five minutes? You forget he’s even in it. These women ‘aren’t the exception, they’re the rule,’ but that doesn’t mean they can’t have some individuality.

The Holiday

I sat down and watched The Holiday this weekend. Sometimes you’re just in the mood for and unthinking romantic comedy. I’m a fan of Kate Winslet and I like Jack Black and Jude Law. I thought it was an interesting mix of personalities. I didn’t think Jack Black and Kate Winslet would ever play opposite each other, but in The Holiday they were a cute couple. In general, a cute movie. Not “super-cute” as some people have heard me say, but cute. The characters go through neat, predictable, personal changes, become more available to a “real” relationship and in the end, it’s happy. It’s a happy movie. I think the moral of the story is that if you can’t find love in your own country, go visit another! (Hahaha!)

Hitch

Hitch was hilarious. (I finally saw it!) Definitely a good one for Will Smith. He’s not saving the world. He’s kind of saving love. He’s playing a wonderful, serious, funny character. He’s been burned by love, but he’s not going to let it happen to his fellow (geeky) man. Hitch has standards and real emotion. The character evolves and we get to laugh along the way.