This week I ordered a book on organizing and a book on cleaning and they’re both beautiful: The Complete Book of Home Organization and The Complete Book of Clean. And as soon as I get this place organized and cleaned up, I’m gonna read them.
What did you read this week?
I worked until 6AM, took the recycling out once it was light, and then fell asleep. Forgot all about Working Wednesday, but hey, I worked.
What did you do this week?
I know material things are not important but I have new soft pajamas in my favorite periwinkle blue with pink hearts and tan dachshunds on them with white lettering that says “I loooong for you.” They make me laugh every time I look at them. Who says money can’t buy happiness?
Also I have a real dachshund. Bliss.
What made you happy this week?
It’s World Whale Day and Hippo Day–they’re big, they’re beautiful, let’s celebrate–but it’s also Gumdrop Day, so lift a sugary one for the full-figured. (You can get almost ten pounds of gumdrops on Amazon for $26.68, so you’ll have plenty to share with the whale and the hippo, too.)
Justine Covington’s His Lady to Protect is now available to purchase. It’s Book 1 in Justine’s The Beggars Club (Regency romance) series:
The cost of his redemption is trust. Her trust…
When Nate promises to protect his best friend’s little sister from her traitorous uncle, he knows it’s the least he can do to atone for his past sins. And if a marriage of convenience is the most efficient way to guarantee her safety? So be it. He’s ready for anything…except how quickly his lovely new bride would steal his heart…
Susannah never intended to marry the man who led her brother to his death. The fact that she once loved him? Irrelevant. She just can’t allow herself to trust him again. But it’s not long before she starts to wonder if there’s more to Nate than meets the eye. What if he’s not the villain she assumed he was? And if that’s the case…can her poor, beleaguered heart survive another inevitable fall?
Nate and Susannah have much to overcome if they have any hope of finding their way to happily ever after. But what if trust is simply a luxury neither can afford?
Buy His Lady to Protect to read the first in an exciting new series centered around six friends from Eton and set in the infamous Regency period.
Buy Links: https://books2read.com/hltp
Free Prequel: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/70dc4hc0ju
AG wrote:
So when is the decision to beef up your villain into the antagonist, and when is the decision to shrink the villain so that the focus is on the primary relationships? I remember that a common complaint has been that Marvel villains are weak, but for several of those films, that worked, since they didn’t get in the way of the primary relationships. But when does the complaint that the villain is weak become an actual issue?
There’s a lot to unpack there. I’ll tackle the first question at length and then hit the second on the way out.
I’ve been reading Trisha Ashley and Jennifer Crusie. And crochet patterns and recipes. Lots of loose plotting in everything.
What have you read lately?
I’m keying in changes to Nita from the hard copy, possibly the most boring job in writing. Still crocheting like crazy.
What are you up to?
The last time I looked at a piece of pop culture storytelling and said, “You know, I’d have done it THIS way,” I ended up spending four years writing Nita Dodd. So I’m a little leery of going there again, except that the film Venom is such an interestingly flawed story. Generally monsters, even super monsters, aren’t my thing which is why it took me so long to get around to this one. Also, I’m kind of Marvel-ed out. And yet, this is one of those movies where the good parts are really good, and the bad parts are just blah (as opposed to those movies where the good parts are really good and the bad parts are horrible–see January Man).
This kind of story always fascinates me. If they could get the good stuff right, why couldn’t they avoid the bad? Hypocrites R Us, of course, my books have the same problem. Still, I wanted to take Venom apart to see why Rotten Tomato critics gave it a 29% favorable rating and regular people put it at 80%. Here’s my take (spoilers all over the place below):In the end, I decided it came down to knowing what your story is really about and focusing on that, no matter what you’d planned before.
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE AHEAD.
. So it turns out–research has shown–that too much patience makes you unhappy. Evidently a little is all right and possibly healthy, but if you carry that delayed gratification too far (beyond the 88th percentile, whatever that means), it makes you miserable. The takeaway: Delayed gratification takes too long; joy is in going for it. (That’s my takeaway, your mileage may vary.)
How did you lunge for happiness this week?