Jump: Writing / Reading / Watching / Whimsies

Oh, June, you make the preamble hard.

I’m not a huge online sharer when it comes to my personal life. There’s a dash of perfectionism, a heap of terrifying lack of control. I’ll be the first to acknowledge that Brené Brown isn’t exactly praising my Power of Vulnerability, but there’s another piece to it as well:

I like making people happier.

That’s not to say I’m a people pleaser—much to the chagrin of everyone I know—but what I mean is, I like creating things that bring people joy. I love writing books because when they reach the right reader, that person’s life becomes a tiny bit better.

Personal life stuff, on the other hand, is a bit of a downer. And normally I hold that line, weave it more quietly into my books … but sometimes things get too big.

I stared at this blog post for days, not knowing how to open it, because June was hard. To dip my toe into vulnerability, last August my mom had a very serious stroke. She’s safe now, but her life has changed significantly, and as we approach the one-year mark, I’m just … sad. I think I’m really really sad.

Which is the healthy response, of course. And I have all the right supports, so you don’t need to worry about me (or my next book ha). I think I’m just tired of pretending I’m not sad.

So I’m going to stop.

June sucked, but everything below did not ❤️

(And please excuse the incoming tone whiplash)

Writing

New covers

I won’t bore you by repeating my previous blog post, but I’m just so thrilled with how these turned out. It’s so exciting to see the books and think, “That. That right there is a romantasy cover.” And while I still love the old covers, I can confirm the new ones are performing a lot better in ads!

Grumpy/Sunshine

As I start into a new series, I’m trying to keep a clear view of what I adore in a romance. What do I think makes for excellent chemistry? What makes one love story mundane and another epic—and what makes it epic to me? If I can’t convince myself, then a reader won’t buy it either, so staying authentic to the tropes and types of characters that make my heart pound is essential.

Which is not to say Project Butterfly will be grumpy/sunshine. Remember, I’m being intentionally vague 😉

Reading

The Villains & Virtues Trilogy by A.K. Caggiano

What. A. JOY. This is exactly my brand of comedy. This is what I’m in danger of creating every single time I write (which would honestly be a dream and a half, but my more serious writing style is, alas, a bigger dream). It was a hilarious, satirical, grumpy/sunshine, fed-up demon/bubbly princess-type, TRILOGY. And the slow burn. Amazing.

When Gracie Met the Grump by Mariana Zapata

The premise sent me: woman finds injured superhero in her yard—and he’s a bit of a douche. Too good.

Now, I will say this turned out to be a much more serious book than I’d anticipated, but that only made me love it more. It was also beautifully long, but not slow or over-written, which is my favorite type of book. If you liked all the CW superhero TV shows back in the day, this is for you.

Watching

Murderbot:

Okay, the episodes need to be about forty minutes longer, but literal perfection otherwise? While romance is all I read, sci-fi is basically all I watch, and Murderbot is hilarious, action-packed, and relatable. After all, the poor guy just wants to be left alone to watch his shows.

Totally Killer:

I’m mad at you—all of you—because nobody told me about the comedy horror genre. I had to discover it by myself at age thirty, like a fool. But festering resentment aside, it was so good. The longer I write, the more I appreciate really clean, simple, well-executed mysteries, and this one was funny enough that it wasn’t scary.

How to Make Everything:

I’ll admit, this Youtube channel is not up my alley at all, but I’m married to an engineer. One thing led to another … and now I know how to smelt copper. Andy and his team have a series where they’re rebuilding technology from the Stone Age to modern day, and it’s admittedly really fun. Plus, my husband says, “You’d do such a better job of the craftsmanship,” at least once per episode, which makes me sparkle. What can I say? My love language is words of affirmation.

Whimsies

Persephone in the Garden by Aidoneus

Guys, when I say this song has been on repeat. Like the most I’ve repeated a song since high school. In fact, they say Annika’s still listening to the song on loop to this day.

Butter yellow

I threatened you with this color last month, but upon acquiring my new butter yellow vase, I can confirm it has dethroned mossy green as my number one.

Dark cottagecore ( I think?)

I’ve been obsessing over this style for months, and my bedroom miiiiiiight be asking for some design updates. Who could say?

This inexplicably tiny goose

That’s all for June, folks!

— Annika