Hi everyone. I thought it was time to update you on what’s going on in my life again. It’s been a month since the last one after all 🙂
First of all:
My new writing space is done! In our new place, I don’t have my own office. Instead, my desk is located in the middle of the kitchen and living room. It’s an open floor plan, with no walls between the aforementioned rooms, so we set up my desk smack dab in the middle as sort of a room divider.
I love it here, more than my office in the previous place. The room I was in didn’t have any windows and was always pretty dark which wasn’t great. Here, I have huge windows in both directions and it’s bright and cheery which always makes me happier. I’m also located about two steps from the kettle, so making tea is much easier than when I was upstairs and the kitchen was downstairs and that’s a big plus in my book (yes, I’m lazy 😀 ).
And this has also increased my productivity. A lot.
I’ve been up early several mornings and written. And I mean, early as f*ck: I’ve set my alarm for 5:40 am and had sprinting dates at 6am. Having company when writing helps so much and it’s difficult to find a time when I’m in a very different time zone from most people I know and sprint with, that’s why I’m willing to sacrifice lazy mornings in bed. But I like getting up early, making myself a cup of tea (or three) and writing with one or more people. I get shit done. Maybe I can make this into a habit, even for those mornings when my sprinting friends have other things to do and can’t join me. At least I’m going to try.
There’s also another thing:
Pictured above: the stack of books I need for my courses (not including the kidlit fiction books) / me studing on the balcony / me studying at the desk with salty licorice to keep me going / me having a glass of wine and reading Swedish poems by poet Karin Boye for fun
I signed up for two online summer writing courses at university; poetry writing, and kidlit writing. So I’m spending lots of time studying and trying to write poetry/kidlit in Swedish…which is harder than you’d think considering my native tongue is Swedish. But I’ve done all my creative writing in English for years; not only my romance stories but my poetry writing, too. So switching gears to write in Swedish is more difficult than I expected, and I bitch about it to my friends and family a lot 😁
I’m enjoying the studying, though. Poetry more than kidlit, and to be honest I thought it would be the other way around. I’ve always wanted to write books for children, but with this course…stuff bugs me. I won’t go into it here, but it sort of takes away my enjoyment from the kidlit, so when I’ve finished this course, I won’t sign up for another.
Poetry though…I love it! I love learning about all the different meters and rules, I love immersing myself in the words, and I take every moment I can reading poetry, even on my free time 🙂
I drink a lot of tea to get me through these busy times. And don’t you just love my new tea cups? I’ve always wanted Jane Austen-style cups. You know, the fancy ones with a saucer type, and my darling daughter found these for me in a second hand shop. I adore them so much.
So I spend my summer days in the new place guzzling down tea by the gallon, nose buried in text books, swearing over writing in Swedish, reading-reading-reading, and getting up early in the morning to write about Frankie and Lawrence. And I’m enjoying myself 🙂
Before I go: JMS Books have a Pride sale this week and offer 30% off all ebooks through June 30, including mine and including pre-orders (like for example A Decade of Gay Romance), so if you want to go wild and make sure you have books to last you through he summer, now’s the time 🙂
Useful links:
Also, check out my fellow JMS authors while you’re there. Maybe try one of these?
Another Chance for Love – I already pre-ordered it because I loved the other Ellie Thomas I read
Flesh and Kisses – also already pre-ordered because I love Vivien Dean
Elevator Pitch – I haven’t read it but you gotta love a book where the bear shifter is named Björn (Björn means bear in Swedish, AND it’s a legit name! 😁)
Cultivating Love – because older books need love, too
Of Starlit Balls and Starship Captains – I recently bought it but haven’t had time to read it yet, but I love K.L Noone, and that title? *swoon*
Not and Angel, But a Cupid – I haven’t read it, but would you look at that cover?? 😍
Henry & Jim – because sometimes you need a really good cry
Hero Worship – because Kris deserves everyone’s love
Happy shopping, and take care everyone!
