cornerofmadness

I sent in my two panel ideas to the Gettysburg Steampunk Festival. I wasn't going to go but when it didn't pan out with the Louisville panels. Trying for a little fun in a world on fire.

Today mom and I went out to meet my younger cousin for her birthday and went off to Trader Joe's. I wish I had one closer to me. Mine is 90 miles off in Columbus. Even here the closet one is about 35 minutes away. Picked up some cool things.

The writing zoom went well tonight too.


So for fannish 50 I have something from kitarella_imagines

i. Look at your last 10** fics.

ii. Make a list of their first lines of dialogue, with any necessary description. No cheating, I mean don't go through your fics looking for the best line of dialogue.

iii. Post them and we'll see if we can guess what the story will be about from the dialogue.

Kitarella also mentioned it's okay to go back further than the last 10 if the opening dialogue isn't that interesting.

Feel free to play along

( here's mine )

What are your favorite summer-associated foods?
Creative prompt: Draw art of or make graphics of summer foods, or post your favorite summer recipes.

In the summer I barely want to eat. The heat makes me too nauseous to care. I suppose the answer here would be watermelon and all the berries. I'm diabetic so I'm not supposed to eat any of it but that would be my summer associated foods.

I'm on a time crunch for stories so I can't write something for this prompt but I can find some recipes!


( watermelon and berries this way...okay so mostly my summer recipes are for me to get drunk and forget how much I don't like heat )


I finished my third Overlord Husk story for Overlord Husk week (and now I see someone else wants to do another next month. Ah well)

and this made me sad. I have always liked this hotel and they were remodeling it and the paranormal group was meeting there and I planned to go this fall. Hotel McArthur burns. It was built in 1839 and now it's a total loss.



And of course I have the book meme for you.


What I Just Finished Reading:

Kill You Twice - a pretty graphic the ending was hollywood over the top nonsense and I hate the detective (or at least I should say I couldn't respect him)

I Need You To Read This - this was a decent mystery but also with a dumb hollywood ending



What I am Currently Reading:

Pantomine - an LGBT (intersexed main character) fantasy, I like it but on the other hand not a lot is happening and I fear it'll end on a cliffhanger

Cinders of Yesterday - Buffy/Supernatural vibes, urban fantasy, lesbian partners (by a queer author) so far I like it a lot.

Zero at the Bone - an old true crime I found at the library sale and got because of the Z in the title (for my alphabet challenge)



What I Plan to Read Next: War Child - a Deep Space Nine Novel

Mom and I didn't get to go do what we were going to do. She wasn't feeling well and we were waiting to hear about my uncle (still are, took him for an MRI in the morning. Ah well). So I had to go get the 'lucky' food for the New Year (and living in Pittsburgh this is a mix of lentils - Italian, saur kraut/pork - German/Croatian, pretzels (Germanic/Pennsylvania Dutch) You'd swear Shop N Save was giving food away based on the size of the crowd.

Snagged from shipperslist as they were the first to do it (and I was too lazy to go back to look it up in mine from last year, ha!) The first lines of 2024 meme. You share the first line of your first story for the month.

January

Testing the Waters The Owl House (teen)
Willow brushed her fingers along the ridges of Hunter’s shoulder scars.

February

Secrets, Silent, StonyThe Owl House (teen)
Amity didn’t think it would be this hard.


March

One More TimeThe Owl House (teen)
“I don’t understand why this keeps happening,” Barberry whined loudly, catching Darius’s attention.


April

Buon Cibo. Buon Vino. Buon Amici My second Hazbin Hotel story (and here's betting the rest of these are Hazbin stories) (teen)
Husk dragged toward the kitchen.


May

Never Had Control Hazbin Hotel (teen)
Autumn was his favorite time of the year.


June

The Chilliest Land Hazbin Hotel (mature)
Angel’s shoulders twitched, the skin between them tingling.


July

Unintentional Monster Hazbin Hotel (teen)
He was drunker than he should be.


August

Seems New The Owl House (teen) (ha I was wrong there was something different)
Luz glanced around her mother’s living room.


September

Scrambling the Summer Sky Hazbin Hotel (teen)
Glad you could make it, Angie.


October

Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers Hazbin Hotel (teen)
“Have I come at a bad time?”


November

Sins of the Mother Prodigal Son (teen)
Staring up at the fan-shaped window of her son’s loft, Jessica wondered what she hoped to do here.


December

My Bed at Three Hazbin Hotel (teen)
“Yes, I am the Illustrious Angel Dust.”


Let's continue with the Music Monday and we're sharing songs that contain a certain color. Since we finished the rainbow, let's pick up colors not on the rainbow. Today we're doing WHITE Feel free to chime in with your favorite song(s) that follow the weekly letter. Hit me with your favs. I love hearing new music or revisiting older pieces.

( white )

In this post we've come to the end of my thoughts on that conversation about YA fiction and some of the disservice we do it. I've talked about child soldiers and bad teachers. That leaves parents. In order for kids and teens to do half of what they do in so many YA stories (especially the fantasy/urban fantasy/action-thriller types) their parents have to be very negligent in order for it to happen.

So the biggest way around that I've seen is the orphan trope. That, of course, really fixes the parent problem. They just don't exist. No one cares about what happens to orphans. They're just out there raising themselves. This isn't usually reality but it does work well for fantasy novels and historical ones. there are some things that exist today that would prevent most orphans from just doing whatever they pleased. is it perfect, surely not. I've seen enough things with child welfare that have stunned me and made me wonder who exactly is in charge (most recently with a coworker who fosters children. she passed hard on one poor girl whose parents brought her into their sex games but still had visitation rights that she would have to bring the girl to and you're like what judge said this was okay, who is watching out for the kids?)

Then there's, as mentioned, the negligent parents who don't even know what's going on. This is another popular trope and personally my least favorite. It makes them look like idiots and generally not what I want from a character.


I think it would be far more interesting to have involved parents. They sort of tried that with Buffy. Joyce was not parent of the year and vaguely neglectful but she was a single mom trying to maintain a house that size in CA on one salary. She's out working but when she was there, she didn't listen to Buffy much. She was obstructive even after knowing the truth which got her in trouble with fans.

I've tried going this route with both of my YA novels. In the first one (that wasn't as good as I thought when I first went back, I have improved in the technical side of things) the parents are very involved and there are consequences for doing dangerous dumb stuff. In the second, the parents are also monster hunters bringing the young people up in the trade. It's one way to put them in danger without making the parents looks bad.

It occurred to me there could be another option. The parent is someone they need to oppose Darth Vader style. I haven't tried this yet

How about you? How have you tackled this issue?


OPEN CALL

The Meadow: Now Seeking Submissions

Radon Journal Stories and poetry containing elements of science fiction, anarchism, transhumanism, or dystopia.

Graveside Press: Illustrated Poetry Anthology

Flashpoint Science Fiction 2025 First Open Window Science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between

Spooky Magazine Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror?


The Other Stories

Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores January 2025 Window Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores January 2025 Window



From Around the Web

National Parks and Creative Nonfiction: How Unexpected Writing Opportunities Can Boost Your Literary Career

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The Best Writing Teacher You’ll Ever Have Is YOU!

Affordable Book Marketing Services: 5 Do’s and Don’ts if You’re Trying to Save Money

5 Edits to Strengthen Your Writing, Right Now

Holidays, Belief Systems, and a Character’s Journey


From Betty


Six Battle Mistakes Writers Make, and How to Fix Them

Striking an End Note That Resonates

Is In Medias Res a Good Way to Open a Story?

Watch Out for Pesky Adverbs and “Weasel Words”

COVER ME: a critical look at book covers

Three Ways a Talent or Skill Can Set Your Character Apart From the Rest

Happy Holidays – Some Gifts for You

How Emily Henry hooks the reader

Every artist needs Raccoon Phases

8 Unexpected Things to Learn about Writing from Charles Dickens & Ebenezer Scrooge

Building Our Writing Brand with Authenticity and Consistency

The First Marketing Tool for Writers: Your Short Pitch




Advent Joy

Day 21 -Take a walk in the woods and observe your surroundings. No problem. We own 40 acres. I wandered out and took some photos. I observed there is A LOT of deer poop and some small canid/cat prints in the residual snow.

Day 21 tea - figgy pudding tea - green tea, currants, orange peel, raspberry and blackberry, cinnamon and figgy pudding flavor this was very nice

( Evans Woods )

Literally took 2 months off and I have no idea how that happened. So I dictated a few articles and Word did a few things that surprised me. I was dictating about Maria Montessori and her lover Guiseppe Montesano and Word translated his name to Joseph. (dude if I wanted it to say Joseph....) And she was the head of a school for retarded children which is what it was called back then but word put in astericks like I said a swear (because of course we no longer use that word) I'm like dude I said what I said....


But really it is so accurate I'm surprised because a) it's word b) I was so used to horrible programs in the late 90s early 00s). It is the one thing going right with this research.

I got the first volume of Lackadaisy by Tracy J. Butler from my friend JK. And the second is on the way in theory...glad I don't buy things from Amazon. I'm jazzed to have this though. Thanks JK

Also Mom's birthday is coming up and we were looking for places to eat. I saw a nice looking Italian place, pulled up the menu...80-100$ for pasta. Are you insane? Sorry Mom but that's a hard pass.





Advent Joy

Day 19 - Leave food and water for the birds and stray animals - done. I already do this and the deer and raccoons are turning their noses up at my offerings, brats. Get out of my garden

Day 19 tea - Holiday blend - hey one I hadn't had before. Black tea, red rooibos, peppermint, alfalfa leaves, malva and erica flowers and vanilla. Hmmm yeah no. that damn red rooibos taste doesn't play well with the weak peppermint for me. Pass on getting more of this.



Community rec - go check out fandomtrees still plenty of empty trees and I know some of you write in those fandoms.

So Medical Mutual lied to my pharmacy about my deductible not being met and they wouldn't fill my jardiance. Had to call them today. Basically they said well you only get three pharmacy fills on that drug and then you have to use our mail order or pay the full 750$. Okay WHERE did it say that? Basically I got a letter saying that last month. eye roll.

So after a nearly 2 hour call I put Jardiance on their mail order BUT you can only do 90 days (do you know how big this bottle is? I pointed this out to the lady who goes you have so many pills. Yes, where do you think I'm storing this) So I have to call my doctor to get it put on 90 days. the lady tries to help by putting me on with their pharmacist to see if they can get me an emergency supply.

He's like no, I'm just here to tell you all the things that will happen to you if you don't take your jardiance. Dude, I'm a diabetic wound care doctor (in my former career) He's like oh...you don't need me. No I do not.

so let's see if I get these pills or if I end up in the hospital. Ah America's dystopian nightmare of a healthcare system.

If nothing else, the rest of the day was a good writing day and I got my cards in the mail. And TCM ran 70s sci-fi all day so I'm happy.




Advent Joy

Day 16 - watch a sunrise/sunset. Sunset it is. I'm not one for mornings. it was pretty much a wash in the rain.

Day 16 tea - Jane Austen's tea, another literary tea, also one I have, black tea, peppermint and lavender with vanilla which luckily isn't strong. I don't like a lot of fake vanilla. This is a good one (But I'm beginning to think I have way too much tea)


Let's continue with the Music Monday and we're sharing songs that contain a certain color, starting with the rainbow and picking up a few of the other biggies down the road. Feel free to chime in with your favorite song(s) that follow the weekly letter. Hit me with your favs. I love hearing new music or revisiting older pieces. Well we're at the end of the rainbow with violent but I'm allowing all shades of purple

( purple is one of my favorite colors )

There are pathetically few. I did finish one more but never even got around to reviewing it.

August's reads and they were a fairly mediocre bunch (well Qi wasn't b ad)

Reese and Reeves: Overture fantasty

Qi, Vampires, and Shearing fantasty

Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes mystery


The last book I read
Wings of Ebony well I'll finish tonight. It was a good read though I am over magic being linked to ethnicity/gender (though it was used here to illustrate racism)



What I'm Reading Now THe Angel of the Crows (that thing that started as Sherlock wingfic. I'm enjoying it but it is lONG. And I'm reading an arc of A Taste for Poison, another book on poisons because I have an interest, don't judge. It's good so far.

What I'm Reading Next Something for Popsugar but I'm not sure what.

2020 got in some last licks. Went to put the pan away for my soup, dropped into the soup bowl and exploded it all over the kitchen where it soaked into my sock and scalded my foot.


I have more writing to do but here is the end of year stats for my writing (anything after this is getting counted for 2021)

Original Fiction yearly word count (I failed)

44046 / 50000 words. 88% done!

Fan Fiction yearly word count (What the actual hell?!?)

592791 / 25000 words. 2371% done!


If you want to see where all those half a million plus words went check out the meme below.

( AO3 End of the Year Meme )



And here are December's reads!

Bone Harvest Mystery

Eye of the Ninja urban fantasy

Twittering from the Circus of the Dead & Alice's Adventures in Wonderland horror and classics

Hellblazer: Rise and Fall #1 & 2 graphic novel, urban fantasy

Noragami Stray God, Blue Exorcist & I Hear the Sunspot manga, urban fantasy, LGBT

Murder at Blackwater Bend historical mystery