Write what you know vs write what you love vs surprise me

I have thoughts. When don't I?

For a long time, the old creed for authors was "write what you know." But that's limiting in its context. 

It could mean to write about your passions and interests. Leverage your identity and use universal human experiences. 

Which is cool.

Write what you love. This also includes passions and interests. But it may be a bit limiting if you're only true loves are of ballet and basketball. (Great crossover romance, huh?) I feel as though this gives you rules you never asked for.

But is also viable.

Now.

Some of us use a starting point and then go wickedly wherever. There's so much I don't know. And so much I WANT to know. Example: In "Over Her Head", one of my protagonist's neighbors keeps retired horses. And here goes me...looking up horse breeds and common early retirement issues. Treatments used on horses that shouldn't have been. What type of temperament for each breed. I do a deep dive, and I fucking love it.

Bring your emotional depth, of course, but authors can use so much information to enrich their stories. 

I've looked up types of flowers, knives, scorpions, medieval weapons, horses, furniture, houses, barns, ancient deities, book shelves, Christian Siriano Spring 2026 fashion for men, types of fabrics, expensive cars, and so much damn more I don't have the word space to continue.

And I take at least one piece with me as I go. 

It's euphoric. Quick kick of dopamine that feeds this sporadic ADHD brain with all the factoids I can fact.

I don't always know where I'm going (contrary to the "Whitesnake" song), but I sure know where I've been. And it's a gift to be able to utilize so many parts of the world in one book. And I believe it deepens the narrative. 

How exciting to be a connoisseur of some niche subject and find it in a book you're reading! You can always do the grass is green, the sun is yellow, and there will be a happily-ever-after. 

But if you say the grass is a dark evergreen that smelled of earth and hope, then you've pushed a bit farther past the general greetings. You feel me?

It's the little things that make a good book. All the dynamic elements of genres have been laid out in fine print. Authors know the expectations. It's up to us to go farther and push harder. 

Now.

Let me clarify. 

Let's not dive into the minutiae. I don't need to know there is a ladybug on grass blade number three with 62 dots and a bad attitude. Unless, of course, that ladybug is germane to the story.  

You need to use a Kukri, not a machete. But you also don't need a scalpel to scrape all the meat off the bone. 

Fiction requires our readers to use their imaginations. We don't want to force feed them everything. And as a reader, I hate it.

There's your recipe, authors.

Write what you know.

Write what you love.

Start and surprise yourself.

Kukri

No machete

No scalpel

Seems so simple, doesn't it?

Step in Time

Hellooooooooo...what do we have here? Oh. Just the chorus to "Step in Time" from Mary Poppins that has been randomly playing in my head for about five days. Why? You ask. If you told me, then we'd both know. 😶

Reading certain words, loosely connected to lyrics, always sets me off.

There is a "hellevator" in my "Canary" series. And, I swear to you, every time I typed it in the first book, I would sing "love in a hellevator" and cackle to the stars and back. The honey was not amused. I was, though. 😂

Then there are songs that fade into others with the same beat. Who needs a mixing table, when my ADHD brain does all that without prompting? 🤔

And, concerning my grey matter, there is always something in my internal monologue. Sometimes quite a few somethings. I don't understand how other people can't have this and how QUIET their brain must be. I don't even want to know what that's like. I'll take the chaos and chatter. 

Now.

To get THIS banger out of my head. 😒

Artificial Intelligence AKA AI

 AI does not recreate. It regurgitates. 

The clue is in the name. "Artificial" is simply a "copy of something natural."

*brings my soapbox over*

Before Internet, *ahem* clears my throat because OBVIOUSLY volcanic ash, people needed to find a solid, literally, source of information.

Encyclopedias, school books, dictionaries, and library books. If you were lucky, you owned at least one and could borrow others.

Knowledge obtained through solid material resources with involved a TON of reading, especially to borrow the requisite library books. And if you could only borrow two or three from the school library, then they best be the best.

But woe unto you if someone quicker obtained the desired material first.

All this to say...it was work. Solid work. Some it was also false. I remember coloring in a diagram of a tongue in fifth grade with different flavor centers in certain areas. 

COMPLETELY FALSE

Science? It evolves, loves. It literally lives and breathes.

But let's toddle back to fiction, shall we?

In the beginning, *cue horns and percussion*, AI was force-fed tons of fiction, also non-fiction. But bestselling authors took a hit. The ones off the top of my head are Margaret Atwood and Stephen King. 

Now, this AI, artificial remember?, can now spit out stories similar to the two authors using diction, spelling, and vernacular. 

Does that make AI as good as Stephen King or any of the others AI content creators stole from? 

Fuck, no.

Because here's the rub. Creativity takes passion. 

PASH UN

AI doesn't have a soul. And if it did, well, I wouldn't give two fucks about writing because the world would be trying to survive the mass genocide.

It's like Chris Pratt said to Bryce Dallas Howard in "Jurassic World" when referring to the specially-bred dino (Indominus Rex) with the bad temperament and super hero features. 

Can't find it verbatim, so I'll paraphrase. 

What's it made of? 

BDH rattles off a few dino DNA names. But it was bred in captivity. 

You mean to tell me she's never been with other dinosaurs? Imprinted on anyone? All she knows is that big crane dropping in a cow. That's all she's bonded with?

LATER...AFTER MASS DESTRUCTION AND DEATH

Well. She's top of the food chain now and knows it.

*end*

Do you feel me?

If AI were simply another tool to use like a dictionary, thesaurus, or resource material, I'd be all over it. But AI doesn't stop there. It can now chat with you. Sympathize (NOT empathize--you need a soul for that). 

And a LOT is being made in creative communities about the use of AI to write and form pictures. 

I hate it.

A lot do.

But if you're not willing to put in the work, use that grey matter, I guess a pale imitation of what could loosely pass for a book or painting would work for you.

I had a problem with something from Amazon the other day. Hitting all the boxes did not help. I resorted to "chat." *LONG SUFFERING SIGH*

Finally, after it had given me back every response I gave to it, with the words messed about, I achieved my goal. NOT because the idiotic AI whatever could glean what that was. I had to STATE IT.

If I need crayons and puppets, I shouldn't have to waste my time.

I don't know what HDs are, but I've got 80 of them.

Current situation.

PT will be renamed "The Broken Discus" as the new working title. The second in the series will be called "The Morrigan."

Finished BD and have 55,000 words on TM. Blowing through it would be putting it mildly. I have never...literally...never written like this. I would say something about "getting used to it," but I'm a believer in some superstitions and will hereby keep my trap closed.

Will edit "Canary: Out of the Shadows" and publish it by the end of February. Tried for the beginning of February but was immersed in my series. When you're in the flow, you keep flowing.

Now here it is...all laid out and about. 

Third book in mythological series. I already know what the fourth is about. But this one comes first.

New Erotic Romance 

And now, as I sit in front of my computer, I can't think of the third thing. Must've been important. 🤨

Update on the Murph 'n' turf. Could've called him "Hunter", and it would have worked, also. This boy carries his crinkles in his mouth. Drags his wands from here to there and back again. Tears the feathers off said wands. Gave him a lamb chop, spur of the moment on adoption day, and he has jacked that poor baby up. 

But when I pet his oh-so-fluffy bunny belly, he makes sure to not scratch me like he would another kitten. However, this little shit digs his claws in, not thinking, and my limbs look like constellations, at this point. 

Murphenstein has also decided to grace me with his feline presence around 2 to 3 in the morning. And he wants to cuddle. I don't even cuddle with people. Or he'll use my arm as a pillow. OR my pillow as his pillow. 

All in all, he's pretty fucking awesome, and I love him dearly.

Haven't been watching the Olympics. But I did watch the entire Bad Bunny halftime on YouTube. Knew I would love it. 

I have been, however, blowing through the Dept. Q series by Jussi Adler-Olsen. I could not get enough of Season 1 on Netflix. Impatiently waiting for Season 2. FOR ALL THE REASONS.

But I'm on book 4 of the series now, and I'm going through one every two days or so. That's my downtime from writing.

Other than that, it's supposed to be 81 here today, and tomorrow will be 61 with a strong north wind. 

Spring? Winter?

Your guess is as good as mine. 

7000

 I really want to think up something like that awesome song "Seasons of Love" from Rent.

Blew my own mind yesterday and ended with over 7000 words. I ached like a mother, but it was worth it. Don't ask my hips and back. Only my mind. And the two huge Cokes I bought from Sonic. You may want to ask those. 

The Mighty Murphin Power Ranger (ginger) figured out how to sleep with me at night, not only during the day. Little chicken butt pressed up against my left side. Used either my arm or pillow as HIS pillow. 

This child. 🙄

Doesn't care for when I come into the Sanctuary and create my various worlds. Mopes around and meows for about fifteen minutes. Now, he's safely ensconced on my day bed, thank you Lordt.

This boy simply wants to be ON you non-stop. Wants to be petted always. I'm all about making that happen. After losing Simba, I still miss him so much, I wanted to make sure I didn't treat my next ginger baby the same. Or have expectations of same behaviour. Though, I did buy the little asshole a water fountain because Simba loved it. Murphy seems to, as well.

You know how kittens wrap their front paws around themselves and do like a full body hug?

Murphy has done that twice--while holding my hand between his paws. Pretty sure my heart exploded.

Still look like a pin cushion.

Thanks, Murph.

I am aghast at this fucking world. 

This piece of shit administration obfuscating the truth on the daily. There needs to be some fucking accountability. Because NO ON else has the option to do this bullshit. All this "above the law" "I make the law" "You are all beneath me" horseshit is about to raise my blood pressure to unsafe levels.

Whew.

Pretty sure most of you know which way I lean, anyway. Always good for a reminder, though.

And a vent before I stroke out.

It's Trayvon Martin's bday today. 

It's a good day to remember this child and the brutality forced upon him. And it's a good day to make sure it doesn't fucking happen again.

Rest in peace, child.

Rest in peace.

Diverse genres

When I attend a book event, and I speak to readers, most are surprised I have such an eclectic collection of books I've written.

And, honestly?

I'd go mad, if I didn't.

Romance is my go-to since I've been reading them since the age of 12. Old Harlequins in my grandmother's rumpus room. I've always been fascinated with fairy tales, fables, and mythology. My usual Christmas gifts included a Stephen King hardback and a book of fairy tales.

Now.

Small fun fact: I read the collected works of Edgar Allan Poe when I was in sixth grade and didn't sleep for three days. 

Moderate, I'm not.

But I'm a sponge. I need to know things, and that doesn't come from sticking with one type of information. I read eclectic, therefore, I write eclectic.

And that reality is simply that when ideas come to me, I sort them into appropriate categories and go from there. 

I never planned on writing an Urban Fantasy/Magical Realism three-book series. But when they come, the ideas DO NOT knock. More like the Kool-Aid man coming through a brick wall.

Yes, I'm THAT old. 

I never planned on writing my mythological retelling series, but I'm a book and a half in. And last night, I thought of a brilliant idea for another erotic romance. 

I needed to add to my erotic collection as I have a smutty conference in October. 😁 I've three titles I can take, but I wanted at least one more, possibly two.

I've learned to never dismiss my ideas. If I can't work on it immediately, I make the notes I have and save it for a better time. I will never, ever, run out of ideas. It's a wonderful thing.

However, branding is a right bitch. Because most authors, especially when they write romance, stick to one type of book. They're Dom-daddy Mafia or Romantasy or dark romance or reverse harem or time travel or contemporary.

I write what calls to me. What I want to. And I will not add elements nor take them away to fit into another person's rules of what a certain romance should have. *insert copious profanity*

All that to say, don't turn down what speaks to you, even if it's something you never imagined writing. Don't try and shove your work into a set of rules you don't like and can't abide by. 

I wanted to write for Harlequin SO BAD (about 20 years ago) because that's what I knew. Like...dream job. But, at the time, there were INCREDIBLY specific rules for every category romance. Like 60% heroine, 20% hero, exotic settings, 20% mystery, and no pets.

I was...aghast. And, let's face it, completely turned off.

I do not create with rules in the back of my mind. I'm a huge proponent of "Learn the Rules" then break the rules. It's freeing and oh-so-delicious.

But you have to make it work in a way that best suits your writing. Don't break for the sake of breaking. But take a deep breath, focus, and then bust that damn window.

Back to PT: the Morrigan. Man, this goddess is SOMETHING. 😬 

A rambling post

True story...when I remember to take my ADHD med, I micro-focus. Like...I can hone in, but then it's like an addiction, and I have to absolutely lose my mind over all the questions I have.

For my fine first example:

Watching the Honey play Animal Crossings New and Improved Somethingorother. And, of course, she's swimming, and I HAVE TO KNOW how much the items are that she's bringing to the surface. Immediately sate my curiosity. But then...dun dun duuuuunnnn...I need to know how much the fish are, and who's the most expensive?

sigh

Then I hop onto FB, and someone asks about Sigourney Weaver and the use of her first name. 🎉🥳

Are you shitting me? Off I go. Because her birth name was Susan, and she chose Sigourney, which is a French name that means "The Conqueror."

I am in the groove.

Then I need to look up whether "mum" is a flower of and by itself, or is it the nickname for "chrysanthemums"? It's the latter, by the way.

That's most of my evenings in a nutshell.

Oklahoma weather is some weird-ass bullshit. Supposed to cool off a bit Wednesday, but then we're back in the sixties and seventies? I beg your finest pardon. WTF is that supposed to be? We going to rubber band back to frigid temps in a week? Is spring upon us? What the what.

My arms and legs look like kitten pin cushions. 

Thanks, Murphy. 🙄

Querying again today (said in my best sing-song voice).

And we all know how much fun I find it. 😶

At this point in time, I wish most agents would switch to Query Tracker. I'm cutting, copying, and pasting my queries, synopses, and chapters. Some through the abovementioned site, and some through personal emails. 

sigh

A lot of it is my unorganized ass, which oftentimes thinks it's organized. I keep copies of the queries. I have a folder. What more do you people want from me???

PT: the Morrigan is now sitting at 30,000 words, and I am most excited about it. It flows, sistren and brethren. It fucking FLOWS.

That's a wrap.