Oh, hey, is that an image from an Ava short story? Why would I put that here, I WONDER. For those that are here because they've read the Sam books or ALTF, Ava and her team are from Firebug, Pyromantic, and had an appearance in Lena's book that I did on here and still haven't named.
UNIVERSES COLLIDING.
Enjoy!
-Lish
2022-12-19 05:21:32 +0000 UTC View Post
It should surprise absolutely no one that I have long been a fan of animal sidekicks in stories. If you give me even the slightest chance, I'll put one in there. I mean, look at my books. HMCN has Taco and the giant crow. In Firebug half the people turn into animals--hares, foxes, and carnivorous ponies. Curses has Hob. (I had to argue to keep Hob, as that was a hill I wanted to die on.) ALTF has the ferrets, Kodo and Podo. Lena has Steve the Unicorn and Wuf.
I love them so much, ...
2022-12-14 23:27:56 +0000 UTC View Post
The battle to get this story up today! My laptop stop letting me upload files a bit back, so I had to update my laptop, which was its own saga. And even now while I'm trying to type this up, my son interrupted me because apparently one of his tires blew out. So...that's great.
Narrator: It was not great.
The best part is he was supposed to take it in to get a different tire patched today but they were busy. These are fairly new tires. Like, within the last six months. They were al...
2022-12-08 00:24:51 +0000 UTC View PostRecently I was hand sold a book by a B&N Bookseller that had the premise, "It's like if Sam & Dean's mom from Supernatural had her own series where she fights paranormal creatures" and honestly that was enough for me. The real sell? An older protagonist. Most books that fall into the urban fantasy, romance, paranormal, etc. have characters that are 30 or younger. Which is great, but just like its fun to read younger protags, I love LOVE reading characters that are still out kicking as...
2022-12-05 23:26:23 +0000 UTC View PostOkay, sent off the next chapter of Big Trouble, Little Necromancer to the copy editor, so that should be up soon-ish. (Depending on Mel's schedule, as she has like five jobs and does this out of the kindness of her heart.)
In the mean time, I thought I'd give you a wee snippet of Rough Around the Hedges from Will's POV. Part of the reason I made Will an arcane piercer is because I had so many good stories from Man Friend's job...and this snippet was a new one. Poor Man Friend--this happ...
2022-12-04 00:02:47 +0000 UTC View Post
Do we need more books? No, probably not. Do we want more books? Always. This time I've picked a couple of my favorite holiday movies (we use the term reaaaal loosely around these parts) and matched them up with a book that I think fits. Let's see how well I manage!
First up Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas: look, this is an actual book BUT it's also an adorable movie full of muppets where they compete to win a talent contest. There's a jug band AND muppets. What more do ...
2022-11-30 07:35:32 +0000 UTC View Post
Enjoy! -Lish
Pre-Gaming Thanksgiving
James: My phone has been suspiciously silent.
Sam: How so?
Ramon: Aww, are you sad that I haven’t been sending you sweet nothings this morning? Or pictures of pie?
James: Usually this is about the time one of you messages me to tell me Taco ate the turkey, or the gnomes did something horrible.
Sam: We do have a bit of a reputation, it’s true.
James: But the turkey is in th...
2022-11-26 02:14:48 +0000 UTC View Post
I was going to do some sort of grateful post, but that's a bit difficult to tie into books? I'm grateful books exist? I'm also super grateful that my google skills finally resulted in me being able to find these two books I read in my youth that I've been looking for of actual years. I found them both last week! Weird.
But considering that we're entering the time of feasting, I thought I'd post a few books that made me hungry while I read them.
Cindy Pon's Silver Pho...
2022-11-22 01:52:26 +0000 UTC View PostIt's that time of year--aka Mashed Potato Day--and in the past I've offered up a text conversation between my characters as a treat/distraction from a (possibly) terrible day. (I feel like a lot of people want to skip Mashed Potato day and just go directly to the winter holidays, which fair enough.)
This year I'm giving you a chance to make your voices heard. What text exchange to do want? I'll be posting the convo by Thursday, so this will be a fairly quick poll!
-Lish
2022-11-22 00:30:39 +0000 UTC View Post
We are barreling into the holiday season. There's a lot I like about the upcoming 6-8 weeks, but it's also a bit exhausting and hahahaha family can be a lot, right?
I stock up on books for the season, not just because I sometimes have more time to read--cozy nights start sooner--but because it's good to take a mental break from all of this. *waves at the season*
So I thought I'd throw out some fun and festive books for your TBR.
Stupidest Angel by Christopher ...
2022-11-17 00:46:20 +0000 UTC View PostI turned in my next YA book to my editor on Monday and I'm still playing catch up. My brain, it is the pudding.
In the mean time, I thought I'd share a short Rough Around the Hedges Snippet! This one is from Van's POV. Enjoy!
-Lish
We had dinner that night with my dad. Juliet drove all of us—that way if we needed a convenient excuse to bolt, we’d claim Savannah needed to go home, and hey, we’re carpooling so…
I’m told that some people donâ€...
2022-11-17 00:06:48 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello, friends! It's my weekly menacing of your TBR pile. Look at me, just adding to it with willful abandon! This week's focus is going to be something that doesn't get a lot of love--Indigenous authors in genre fiction. I'm just going to give you a handful of title suggestions, but if you want more (including some solid picture book recommendations) I suggest checking out Cynthia Leitich Smith's Instagr...
2022-11-07 21:20:11 +0000 UTC View Post
If my math is right, Sam just turned 21. (In the books. In real life he'd be almost in his 30s...and now I feel old.) My math could be wrong, but either way, he just had a birthday, and I figured the day after his 21st would be a fun time.
And by "fun" I mean "terrible" for Sam, but funny for us. Twenty first birthdays, at least in the States, because that's our legal drinking age, are universally terrible. I mean, they're fun at the time, but many of us take it as their first attempt t...
2022-11-04 21:58:03 +0000 UTC View Post
I just keep adding, don't I? Sorry, not sorry, I guess. I mean, I just want to drag everyone down to my level. Normally this post would be for upper tier folks and then released to everyone a week later, but in honor of spooky day, I'm putting it up for everyone today. This week we're doing Read-a-likes for A Little Too Familiar. These won't necessarily be romance reads. I'm going for more of a cozy vibe. Sometimes we just need cozy, you know? Or is that just me and my head full of nightmares...
2022-10-31 21:10:39 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm revising today before I take Smalls trick or treating, so I'm not much fun today. But I also thought, today is a good day for treats! It's the spookiest of days! We must celebrate!
So, treat one:
You may have already seen this, but in case you didn't, here is a real life spooky story I posted as part of thing Penguin Teen was doing last year.
Treat tw...
2022-10-31 19:50:48 +0000 UTC View Post
Woo! Finally. I'm deep in revisions for the next YA book that's due...in 4 days. HAHAHAHAHA. Oof. Revisions make my brain very tired. I also miss drafting. That's my favorite part of writing a book, the part where I just do whatever I want and don't have to be too concerned with things like "reality" and "making sense."
I have to say revisions would be going a lot better if Smalls's school hadn't decided that this week would be *perfect* for half days all week. And if I hadn't had a col...
2022-10-27 21:24:01 +0000 UTC View PostI have the next Sam chapter sent off to Mel so she can clean it up for me. In the mean time, here's a little snippet from my current YA book that I've been calling the Frontier book but right now has the placeholder title of Beasts All Around. (I'm hoping to think of something better.) Enjoy!
After the gate swung open and we were ushered in, I was allowed to scramble out of the cart. While the gunslinger spoke softly to the guard at the door, I stretched out the knots in ...
2022-10-24 23:14:31 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm not sure why I love witch characters so much, but I do. I don't love *all* witchy books, but I'll certainly at least pick them up and check them out if I find out there's a witch involved. I think I just love to see different takes on magic? Anyway, here is a very non-exhaustive list of some witchy books for you. Some of them have popped up on other lists, I didn't want that to keep them off this list.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Mandanna--this o...
2022-10-24 23:02:56 +0000 UTC View Post
Today is fun, because we've continued on the theme of "the air is poison." So I wobble between being swamped with anxiety over being behind on everything and feeling too sick from the air to care. It's fun! I do not recommend it.
Smalls is also home sick--he has a cold--but it's the "just sick enough that I don't want to infect other children, but well enough to interrupt me every five seconds to ask if he can play with friends" kind of sick. The timing is poor to say the least.
I...
2022-10-19 19:47:53 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello, friends. We have some new folks around here (Welcome!) and some amazing it's been a minute since I did one of these, so I figured I'd post one. (Thanks, copy editor Mel, for the suggestion!) To be clear, you can always ask me questions on here about books, writing, whatever. If I don't want to or can't answer, I'll let you know. Still, on the off chance that some of you might be vampires who need an invitation first, here it is:
You are welcome to drop a question in the comments ...
2022-10-17 23:23:22 +0000 UTC View PostI'm currently working on the new BTLN chapter, but I'm behind. I already had a massive workload the last few months, and all of the smoke really isn't helping matters. Not only does it make me ill, but today my son is home because he was coughing too much at school. Since Bigs just had covid, and because it's protocol at Smalls' school, I gave permission for a covid test. So far, negative, but he gets to go to the doctor tomorrow just incase his cough isn't from smoke.
The downsid...
2022-10-17 23:20:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Lately I've been posting bookish posts in an attempt to make your TBR insurmountable because I like to share my pain. Since it is the spooky season, I thought I'd take a moment to add to your To Watch list instead. Here is a short list of horror comedies--my favorite kind of horror movies--to watch this spooky season. (Or any season.)
Werewolves Within was obviously going to be on my list because werewolves. Also, because I love Harvey Guillén. Sam Richardson,...
2022-10-13 00:11:01 +0000 UTC View PostI'm at a writing retreat this weekend trying to finish up the YA novel that's due at the end of October to my publisher, so no BTLN this week. BUT, I didn't want to give you nothing this week so I thought I'd share a snippet of Rough Around the Hedges, the follow up to A Little Too Familiar. Enjoy! (This is from Van's perspective.)
I threw on some pajamas, taking a minute prepare myself incase any of the roommates were between me and the coffee.
The kitchen was...
2022-10-09 16:52:15 +0000 UTC View Post
This is a topic I'm well-versed in. As you might imagine, I often get asked about books on the spookier side of things. I love a good scary story, though to be honest, I prefer mine with a dash of humor to them. In case some of you are looking for good spooky book, I've put together a little (and hardly exhaustive) list!
The Twisted Ones by Kingfisher (Adult). I will read *anything* Kingfisher writes. I'm never quite sure where her books are going, but I definitely want to go t...
2022-10-04 05:29:12 +0000 UTC View Post
New chapter! Woot woot! (And by that I mean, enjoy!)
-Lish
2022-10-03 02:13:46 +0000 UTC View Post
I am one of those assholes who love Fall. Winter is cool, too. Spring has its moments. Summer is fine, even though it's often trying to kill me, but it is not my season. I never wanted a Hot Girl Summer. (Not shaming you if you do. Embrace whatever your seasonal joy might be.)
I want a Spooky Witch Fall. I want leaves. Colder temps. Soup. Sweaters. Hot Beverages. Pumpkin Spice (only in my coffee, thanks) and spooky movies. Throw blankets. My aesthetic is cozy. I'm basically a hobb...
2022-09-26 23:41:39 +0000 UTC View Post
A short chapter this time--was trying to get it posted yesterday, but *ugh* I have been drowning in work. I'm excited about all the things I've got going on, it's just also a lot.
I'm hoping to get another BTLN chapter posted this week.
-Lish
2022-09-26 22:39:26 +0000 UTC View Post
I am a huge fan of rereading. I know, I know, there are so many new books out there. How can I waste precious reading time on books I've already read? This is a valid argument...but hear me out.
I reread for a few reasons. First, because I find it really soothing. I can actually tell how overloaded or stressed I am by whether or not I'm suddenly driven to reread old favorites. I do this a lot when I'm in a rough editing project, or at a writing retreat where I'm writing 5-10,00...
2022-09-20 00:37:45 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm trying to decide if this is the most disgusting chapter I've ever written or not. Maybe? I would apologize, but I'm honestly not sorry.
Shout out to Peter for correctly guessing where I got the phrase "Bathory Ritual" from.
Enjoy!
-Lish
2022-09-18 20:17:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Some of these are older, some I'm reading RIGHT NOW, and some are freshly exorcised from my mountain-like TBR pile.
First up is In Nightfall, by Young. I'm just cracking into this one now and it isn't out yet. (2023) I will also be up front and say that Suzanne is a friend. (I try to always be very up front when I'm recommending a friend's book.) Which means I'm horribly biased in her favor. However, even if Suzanne and I were mortal enemies, I would be temp...
2022-09-12 18:32:43 +0000 UTC View Post