To say I am obsessed with my new book (that I just finished!!!) would be an understatement. I told my bestie/booth b*tch/emotional support extrovert the other day that Not a Strong Enough Word is the book I wish I had the emotional bandwidth to write while I was writing The Write Place. I hid for a while within the safety of the lighthearted rom-com genre, but now that I’ve busted out into more emotional territory, I kind of wonder if I’ll be able to go back.
I had only one goal this year, and like the subtitle says, I’ve already tried to give up on it several times. In my defense, January felt like a whole year in and of itself, so actually…
No. We’re not making excuses, we’re making progress. But today, I want to talk about that goal as it pertains to writing and *gasp* politics.
Shortly after I finished Love Out Loud, I was launched rather forcefully into the election and holiday season. I released two lighthearted novellas and finished up a third all while spreading the joy of the season. EVERYTHING WAS HAPPY, OKAY?
Except, I wasn’t.
Oh good. The romance-is-garbage discourse has started again. And this time, it’s sponsored by Grammarly! So this feels like a good time to remind everyone that romance is not garbage, and is, in fact, Important with a capital I.
I hate coming up with headlines for this thing. They all sound so trite and contrived. Which, I guess, makes sense because I’m basically shouting, “Open this! Read this! Pick me!” into the void, hoping something resonates enough for it to fight through the noise of your inbox or your news feed.
And I get it. I’m an author. I’m selling books (or trying to)… but I’m starting to think that’s not what it’s all about, and I’m making strides toward changing how I show up in the hopes that I’ll be able to show up more often and more authentically.
So, in other words, I guess a soft man is one who has feelings. Who listens. And who is cool with his partner having a job?
This sounds fine to me? I don’t know… what am I missing?
Well, a lot, apparently. Because where there is a hot take, there’s another one to counter it just around the corner. People who are “against soft men” say these traits make them, essentially, too feminine.
To which I say… so what’s wrong with being feminine?
If I’m reading the room correctly, we are, collectively, having a moment of anxiety. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think it is. This is pretty common in periods of transition, even if it’s a good transition, and we are most definitely transitioning right now.
Surprise-releasing a novella that was written pretty quickly was so good for my mental health. You’d think it’d be the opposite, right? So I thought I’d talk about that a little today. But first…
On Threads a little while ago, someone’s post went unintentionally viral—as often happens over there. It was a post bemoaning the “just write” advice as not possible for someone who has a day job, kids, life responsibilities, and other things taking up one’s time. And, while I think the spirit of the thread was lost in the discourse—as often happens over there—writers gave an interesting look into their writing lives and what it means to them to “just write.” So, of course I have to weigh in.
If you’ve been seeing the social media posts about Romance Con being absolutely magical, I’m here to tell you that it’s all true. It was an incredible weekend, and I’m still glowing from it. I can’t wait to give you my official recap.
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