cornerofmadness

D'awwww.

Them: yes since you've gone all the mosquitoes are biting us. If you were here they'd be eating on you.

Me: I feel the love.


Today sucked. It's SO hot in the building (not to mention outside the heat index is like 103 (that's like 39.5 for my non-us friends) I'm bringing sports drinks for people because two people nearly passed out because the a/c is broken and we're sweating. No one is learning anything. Of course not. We're miserable.

And someone else's drama means I have to go meet with admin (nothing bad, I'm not in trouble, we're trying to figure out how to fix a problem).


It's Music Monday and we're doing the alphabet. I'm choosing new songs from the last couple of years but you do you if you want to play. The letter this week is G and I have two and both are from animated shows about demons. Golden went viral and frankly I think Gravity is one of the best of the Hazbin songs (and S3 better make good on the promise of it because it was a miss in S2)






both are worth the listen

So the morning got away from me. No really, the alarm went off and I used the bathroom and somehow that took 20 minutes. I'm like did I fall asleep on the toilet? WtF. So I got out of here later than I wanted. Now I told my two coworkers who live up there (Logan is about 50 miles away) and you'd think that either of them would say hey do you know 93 (the main route) is closed for miles and you need to take a big ass detour around Lake Rupert but no...

Took me way too long to get there but it was fun. That said I think the Hocking HIlls medieval fest is going to be bumped to every other year because it's small. It's a long way to go to be that small. It did have some entertainment and a large collection of vendors. My disappointment in them was too many were mostly the same but it is what it is.

I ended up getting more food than anything else. three overpriced 'crinkle' cookies (two ube and one s'more) a fataaya beef thing (sort of a middle eastern empanada) date/toasted sesame cookies and then I found the dungeon and dragons meat sticks (think slim jim's). I don't eat a lot of meat but protein like this is a decent diabetic snack. It's exotic meat. I did pass on the alpaca thinking 'you can eat those?' 'It's too cute to eat' (as if I'm not there with a fistful of other cute animals)

There were a lot of soap vendors (I need none) and jewelry (did find a cute pin or two) and someone had upcycled fabric and other fabrics as shawls and yes I bought it because it's not renn fairey. I can wear it to work. I like it (pictures down the road)

I got to try axe throwing finally. I liked it. I was awful of course since its my first time but I hit the target dead on every time but my rotation was wrong. I kept hitting it with the handle. Alas.

By now, heat exhaustion is setting in. People were dropping. It was hot, so hot, like 90. I changed in the bathroom/shower the horsey set use at this fairground and changed into a t-shirt/shorts and went to 58 west. I had a strawberry lemon weiss (very good) and a flatbread with goat cheese, blueberry-red wine reduction, argula and proscuitto wiht a balsemic drizzle, very good.

On the way home in Wellston (close to me) had this garden center with a small market. I've never been. They said they had peaches. I stopped and to my shock it's a decent sized grocery store run by Mennonites (much like 2 we have back home with the parents). I spent more there then at the fest, mango jam zucchini relish, tomatoes, a strawberry-rhubarb hand pie (the best bite of the day), a maple-bacon donut (Haven't tried yet) among other goodies.

And then I had the latest Abney Park online concert, Neo-vaudeville which was fun.

But now I'm too tired for science saturday.

Sorry to see Peter Cullen pass today. What a week.


I see a semester for brewing drama happening and I do not like it and from my fellow faculty, not the students.

At least we're not Penn State I guess (the alma mater I had wished was mine)

Once again I messed up sizes (I always think things are smaller than they are) I just got my fire safe. I can barely move it. Now where am I going to put this sucker?

Went out to see the lunar eclipse but at that moment it wasn't too exciting. I'll go back out later.

Ran to Jackson to pick up my horror club book Incidents Around the House only to have two more come in later in the afternoon and now I have to go back up there. Because it doesn't open until 10 AM on Saturday and I want to be at the Medieval Faire in Logan by then.

I think there is something wrong with my new SUV's radio or at least the USB part, two flashdrives had died in 3 weeks. One was cheap and one was old. I'm buying one more new one and if it dies then I know something is shorting out in the USB port. screams.


Put in for my income based repayment. Wanna guess what my monthly student loan repayment will be if I don't get the IBR? 4000/month. Fan-fucking-tastic.

And since I've been aggravated all week I'm in a bad mood. However, I don't think I'm out of line to bring this up. I am tired of tea companies constantly insisting the only tea women want is herbal. Adagio does a mother's day package and mom at the holiday stuff, all herbal. Adagio lets people make their own fandom tea blends and those people often make the female character teas herbal (but not always)

Today Simpson & Vail announced their Olympian teas and every. single. goddess is an herbal tea except persephone who is herbal + black tea. Is it me or is this weird? It's like all we want is no caffeine and relaxation. I need caffeine. Most women I know do. Sigh. No goddess tea for me.

Thankful Thursday? Not this week. About the most I'm thankful for is I haven't throat punched anyone yet this week.

And of course the absolute worst part is the passing of Dolly Parton. Such a light is gone from the world. She touched so many lives. Her wonderful music aside, she helped so many between books for children, donating time and money to women's causes, welcoming the LGBT community with open arms, standing up for rights. I wish half of us (self included) was as good as Dolly. I try. I will try harder.






As for me I woke up with a migraine. I get to work and I print out the roster for today's micro class (the one that was foisted on me that I didn't even want to teach) and I see something. I rush back to my office and grab up all of yesterday's rosters. Out of 11 of the micro students FIVE are in my anatomy/physiology class. That class is the prereq to micro. Since I'm doing contagious disease of systems, you HAVE to pass A&P first.

I pop into one of the other teachers and scour the in house student register crap because the third prof isn't in yet. I find two more. So 7 out of 11 have to be removed from the class. I feel fucking awful. These are freshmen, just starting out. They're already nervous and here I am saying, I'm sorry there's been a mistake AND I have to look them in the eye for the rest of this year in my A&P class knowing I upended their semester. Someone said 'it's not your fault' It's NOT but that doesn't lessen the rage and guilt.

What happened was last year we went to a new software and it dropped out ALL the fucking pre reqs. We've been asking for this to be fixed since January (with the email chain to prove it) and they never fucking did it until August 5th. Are you kidding me? Everyone was registered. I didn't know it hadn't been fixed (since that's outside of what I'm responsible for). The academic coaches didn't bother to check the catalog. It's such a senseless mistake that makes us look so bad and fixing it falls to me who had no fucking part in it. I came this close to rage quitting, no lie.


I was so mad that I forgot they had pushed my god damn lab back an hour and a half and of course people now have classes schedule when the lab SHOULD have been so now all the athletes need me to talk to coaches because they can't be at practice (which is why I DO NOT put my god damn lab at this hour) Worse, I scheduled my endocrinology appointment for when I SHOULD have been done. I'm not. I had to reschedule (after giving all that blood to testing) and they can't see me until fucking November. I'm so fucking done.


And to top it off, I just found out I didn't make it into the mermaid anthology, perfect topper to this day. BUT there is another mermaid anthology I just saw. I need to go see what the pay is for that.

fandom Meme: Buffyverse Day 17: Two characters you wanted to get together that never did

This was tough because for the most part I never cared much. If I had to say, it would have been Giles and Joyce. Yeah that's all I have to say.


( all the questions under here )

I had something for this but all I can think of is balance. I can't achieve balance anywhere, not in work-life, not in my stories. I'm looking at the new novel and I'm still excited for it but I see two balance issues.

1. character development. One character is going run away on me and they're as wonderful as I want them to be. But there are two others who need to be as strong in the personality department and I'm not sure I'm getting them there (meanwhile I need to be hitting plot points)

2. dialogue and description. I tried SO. HARD to maintain the balance but I'm failing again. I can't fail. I can't have another novel get to a good work count and then realize I need another 10K in description and then I'm over the projected count.

And I realize I'm not alone in this. I watch people put up fanfic over 200K and wonder where they wandered off track. I read professionally published stories that also have 100s of pages of filler that some editor should have helped with. I see some bestsellers who get such egos and no one edits them any more and churn out things where the balance is borked.

I don't know how to fix me.

Open Calls

8 Electrifying Last Minute August Calls

The Unopened Door Stories centered on opening a door, hatch, portal, hidden room, or other entrance that should have remained sealed

Hobbyhorse Issue 1 Obsession, including fixations, compulsions, persistent ideas, fears, recurring dreams, and other subjects or thoughts to which people continually return

Stellar Magazine’s First Issue Science fiction with something to say, particularly stories using the future and speculative ideas to examine contemporary questions

Women with Weapons Stories prominently featuring a woman, women, or non-binary character wielding a weapon, while failing the reverse Bechdel test

Radiant Dawn: A Queer Hopepunk Anthology Queer hopepunk stories exploring optimism, community, and kindness overcoming the odds

Pandora Pandora and reinterpretations of her myth, motives, actions, and consequences

76 Publishing Opportunities for Historically Underrepresented Writers (August 2026)

50 Magazines and Anthologies Publishing Speculative Fiction


From Around the Web

The Line Forms Where? Knowing Where to Start Your Novel

How Much Emotion Should a Scene Have?

Elizabeth Gilbert: When a magical idea comes knocking, you have three options thanks to kitarella_imagines for this one


From Betty

How to Do the Write Thing

How to Create an Elemental Magic System

Six Emotional Motives for Your Characters

Seven “Clever” Things a Fiction Writer Shouldn’t Do don't agree with some of this interludes/frames can and do work

Why We Use the Fourth Wall, and Why We Break It

How to Use the 12 Jungian Archetypes in Your Novel

The Most Productive Writing Day I Never Had

Forensic Genetic Genealogy: A Crime Writer’s Field Guide

When Back Copy Goes Bad

How to Show a Character’s Fear in Real Time

Know your rights as an author and don’t get scammed

How to Improve Your Novel’s Pacing and Keep Readers Turning Pages

How to Create a Welcome Email Automation for Your Author Newsletter

Dear Best Friend

What Your Characters Fear

I got to meet the new dean of allied health/nursing (and literally typed that out as married her...Okay then). I wasted zero seconds in telling her how we're drowning in trying to do what nursing wants and she wants this bringing in students in off cycle to stop. We're too small for this. We can't afford a third professor. I'm nearly 60 and my compatriot is over 70 and we both are dealing with cancer survival and chronic illnesses. They burning us out.

The bad news is the school is floundering under the insane inflation well outpacing revenue and the new data center not far will raise electric rates and insurance is already telling us 'we used it too much this year' and so they'll be raising it 50% and this is for the worst fucking insurance in the world with its 10K deductible.

And the state of Ohio has even more new and must be done NOW (even if it's impossible) legislation for universities (and Republicans are the party of small government? How? They have made higher ed a fucking nightmare)

Good news? Mom found the edits I lost (along with a book I didn't realize I left or even HAD there) and I wrote 16 pages on the novel in my 8-4 meeting.

So turns out I-70 in OH is underwater in the Columbus area. I might be giving up on my labor day plans of travel. Everywhere I wanted to go is badly flood and I don't think that'll change in the next 2 weeks. And the steampunk train ride now features a historic dining car that wasn't open last time I was on this trip. I might do it after all.


Did anyone know about this? Am I the last to know?!?





I was told it's fanfic writers' appreciation day. If you wanna appreciate me you can find my 931 stories here.

And here's my fannish 50 fandom rec post, plenty of other authors to go appreciate in multiple fandoms.

Pack Business Teen Wolf

Entwined Downfall - Twelve/Missy Fanmix Doctor Who

Silence is Golden The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Betrayal The Owl House

the wine made them do it 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù

(Not So) Fear Play. Hazbin Hotel

Blood And Pain Torchwood

All That Glitters The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Gorgeous In A Dress. Hazbin Hotel

Flowing Into You 镇魂 | Guardian

Best Laid Plans Teen Wolf

Trust in Me Poker Face

And this crazed look in my icon is me for the foreseeable future.

But back to Rocket, it's true. He has joined my neighbors' pack of little dogs (two yorkie/shiz tzu sorts of things and one 3 legged teacup chihuahua) he runs with them, plays with them, bitches like a little dog with them. He did come in today and stayed for hours. Hold me mommy.

I talked to the post office. They have no idea if my address was permanently shut down or not so they're looking into it. eye roll.

Got my new plates for the CRV

Turned my 600$ in 100$ bills into more usable denominations (yay winning)

Went to the library to pick up a book for my reading challenge. Picked the shortest of them only to realize after I got home that someone had misshelved a book into the Faye, Jesse, Jonathan Kellerman shelves and it's not one of faye's. ARGH. Back it goes on Saturday.

I finally found out why it was taking SOOO long to fix Jackson's sidewalks and roads in the historic downtown. They put a brick border along every side walk. Every crosswalk is brick and the main intersection by the courthouse is now a geometric brick design. It's all very pretty and I wondere if they had a grant to make it pretty because I can think of things they could have spent money on (like sewage) but it IS very nice.

I'm going to be unpacking forever.

And Betty sent me this and my first thought was suzume needs to see it if she doesn't already know. Laika’s Wildwood Adaptation Looks Incredible In a New Trailer I can't think of a bigger The Decemberist fan that I know than Suzume. I know she likes the book too.


Bought some new to me things passionfruit granola with raspberry from Trader Joe's (just opened it up) it's very tart and yummy and I could eat the whole thing.


Kroger had some interesting stuff: everything butter from land o' lakes (limited edition, gonna make fun toast/bagels)

Amaretti cookie and apple ice cream (private select, limited edition full of amaretti cookies and apple chunks and it's a lovely fall flavor)

Lay's BBQ Brisket potato chips. I don't usually like flavored chips but that doesn't stop me from buying whatever weird ass flavor they come up with. I wouldn't say brisket. It tastes more like grilled, rare steak which is weird and I kinda like it.


What I'm Reading Wednesday


What I Just Finished Reading:

Brimstone Hollow - An appalachian mystery and I really loved it. I loved the first book in the series too.



What I am Currently Reading:


Nowhere - as far as horror goes, it's good but every adult in this sucks hard so it's impacting my enjoyment

The Jungle Book - manga, for some reason adapting classics is a huge deal in manga right now and my library is there for it hard core. I needed a J book for the alphabet challenge

The Mystic and the Missing Girl by Vikki VanSickle - paranormal mystery just starting so can't say much yet

The Invisible Library - finally getting to this


What I Plan to Read Next: some of my looming arcs and publishers keep winging me more. I'm having to be choosy

I'm not ready to go back to work. Every year this gets harder for a number of reasons.

I'm worried about getting there with all the flooding and what I might find when I get home.

Had to take mom to the eye doctor. Luckily it wasn't anything too serious.

And shockingly it's still raining here.


It's music monday. I'm restarting an old favorite, the Alphabet. This time I'm keeping the songs in the last year or so. If you want to play along, do it however you wish. Any time period, any genre. The letter this week is E and not too many of those, literally one from Hazbin and one from the radio.




I'm still eye rolling over fans who insist these two aren't lovers after seeing this.

I look like my icon right now (If Malcolm looked like a curly headed Roman bust) So frizzy, so wet-headed from sweating everywhere.

My cousin's gym, the athletic guild in Concord NC, was on Bloomberg TV's world's greatest today. He looked good and they really sold what his gym is trying to do (emotional development of young athletes as well as physical)

Starting to pack up everything. Can't believe it's getting to be that time.

Went to my brother's to his and his wife's pictures of their Mexico trip. I didn't like this one as much as others they've been too. It's too modern for my tastes. I also had a hot tub in the sitting room in front of a big picture window. You know for the exhibitionists. (I'd probably have used it just because)

I sent off my summer slasher story. Wish it well. (It'll be out next summer if it's accepted).

The DW scammers have found me. ( you can see it under here )

Science time


Flavonoids, Dairy Foods, and Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health: A Review of Emerging Biologic Pathways This one is a peer reviewed science heavy one but it's about something I was talking about with lucy_roman about why putting cream in tea can impact the healthy flavanoids.

Male sperm whales' mysterious rhythmic clanging is the loudest communication sound of any animal

New 'magnetoelastic' tent generates electricity from wind, body movement and sound to power small devices

Ancient Greek Elites May Have Forged Their Jewelry From Space Rocks this one's from Betty

43 skeletons found in Roman-era well may be evidence of deadly plague

Saving old trees may protect people's health more than planting new ones, study of Chicago neighborhoods finds

See incredible photos of the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse from across Europe

This mummy had something unexpected inside of it YT link

How an 'immoral, foul-mouthed and violent man' wrote the first eyewitness account of a total solar eclipse​​

Nocturnal dodo? Study suggests we were very wrong about Mauritius' iconic flightless bird

Young wild octopuses may form a 'fight club' and slap territorial fish if they get too close

Genetics triggers male black widows to blackflip into death, study finds It's not the black widow. they didn't think the audience would know what an Australia redback was.

I love Federico's in Steubenville. Very good, imported Italian meats and the good pasta that won't jump my blood sugar to 300. I had a gift card since Christmas I wanted to spend. Four weirdo (for Americans) types of pasta, calabrian chili paste, capricola and proscuitto. Jump in my mouth.

We got a hoagie. Were going to order two but Dad decided he didn't want one. It was under 15$. I did not expect the bread to be a freaking loaf of Italian bread.







Community rec time fandomgiftbasket has the list up now saying who needs gifts if anyone wants to find a fandom you can write in and make someone's day (I have 3 gifts somehow, betting they're all Amazing Digit Circus icons but that'll be cool)


I did crank out another one and have about 3 more I could do.



I got that time traveler meme going around from dr_zook and thought I'd give it a try. I'd love to see your answers.

Find the 5 words [terms/phrases] from your birth year that perfectly describe YOUR vibe. These are my pick:

Flower child

muffaletta (dinner tonight)

aerobics

lunar module

echocardiogram (and there are a ton of physiology terms I use every day on the list I could have done a separate medical one!)


And speaking of time travelers here are my steampunk pics



( under here. I tried to get the older crew because people never ask us )