Thursday, March 07, 2024

Write-O-Rama!

Fun for Puget Sound Writers!

The Tipsy Typers (A Writing Club-In-A-Pub) is proud to announce Write-O-Rama on March 30, 2024 from 1:00-6:00 pm.

Write-O-Rama!

Part write-in, part social mixer, Write-O-Rama aims to expand your writing community and your word count, all during one enjoyable afternoon at the pub.


Amateurs and pros, extroverts and introverts, pro-tipsy and tea-sipsy are welcome. Come join the fun! To learn more and get your place reserved, click the link below:



Don't wait too long, space is limited!

Thursday, February 01, 2024

February 2024 Reading Challenge: Be My Guest!

Check out February's TBR pile:

Stop by...but don't stay too long, okay?

1.) The Guest List by Lucy Foley
2.) I Invited Her in by Adele Parks
3.) The Houseguest by Amparo Davila
4.) The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan
5.) The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
6.) You Can't Stay Here Forever by Katherine Lin

As you see, it starts with, "Hey, you're invited!" and ends with "Now, get lost." Lol. Mixed messages, over-stayed welcomes, regret, and even murder are the themes for this Valentine's month. Beware, nothing for your sweet tooth here.

Inspired by the title of Sam Sharland's picture book, Valentine's Guest House, which is filled with beautiful illustrations. If you like tigers, give this one a look.

Valentine's Guest House by Sam Sharland

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"Come on baby and be my guest, come join the party and meet the rest,
Everything is gonna be alright, so be my guest tonight.
 ~ Fats Domino, Be My Guest

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Selected for the Writers' Room Residency 2024

Guess where I'll be writing this year? I've been selected to participate in the Writers' Room Residency program for 2024, so I'll be tippy-tapping away in the Eulalie and Carlo Scandiuzzi Writers’ Room at the Seattle Public Library! Whoot!


Inside the Writers' Room
Seattle Public Library

Want to read more about it or apply next year? Check out more information here:
https://seattlemedium.com/seattle-public-library-invites -writers-to-apply-for-prestigious-writers-room-residency-program/

Monday, January 08, 2024

Altered Cookbook

 My collection of recipes comes in all shapes and sizes: torn out magazine pages, printed copies, hand-scrawled recipe cards, and on a variety of scratch papers...and they all ended up in a big box that I'd pull out and dig through before cooking time.

Honestly, I enjoy the process of thumbing through the pile of odd notes. Well, I should say I did up until more cooks entered my kitchen. Then, too many hands were sorting and moving recipes around, adding to the time it'd take me to find what I wanted. It became apparent to all us cooks, that we needed a new system.

Handwriting all my recipes onto index cards wasn't an option and regular school-type binders weren't cute enough. I discovered the blog Fresh Vintage by Lisa S and got down to the business of finding my own copy of the ring-bound Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book from the 50s. 

I wasn't fortunate enough to find one at the thrift store, or patient enough to wait around. I went ahead and ordered a used version from Amazon, paying top dollar (*cough-cough*)...but I was happy with the quality and relatively clean condition...considering it's a used cookbook and all.

Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
Published January 1, 1953

The first step was to peruse the cookbook for pages to remove...and I can say with confidence that the recipe for the Liver-sausage Pineapple below (without any pineapple whatsoever) would never be made by moi. Goodbye to the recipe, but the photo has so much vintage-goodness that I set it aside in case it makes the cut later.

Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, circa 1953
Page 61, Appetizers and Beverages

The opposite page boasts, "Served with hot coffee or chilled juice, [these snacks] put people at ease, spark good conversation." I bet!

Pardon me as I go back in time for a spell to jelly molds, green olives, and casseroles... I'll be back soon with more work-in-progress photos.

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Scrapbook paper options from Echo Park Paper Company:

Country Kitchen by Carta Bella

Farmhouse Kitchen by Echo Park Paper Co.

Farm to Table by Carta Bella

Homemade by Carta Bella

Monday, January 01, 2024

Fabulous Five: Favorite Reads for 2023

I've read over 300 books for the 2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge, which is a HUGE number for me mainly due to my Picture Book BINGO Reading Challenge last October. Due to the quantity, I easily picked out five of my favorites.




TOP FIVE CHILDRENS BOOKS:

1.) The New Rooster by Rilla Alexander
4.) Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor
3.) I Want to Be Spaghetti by Kiera White-Ruiz
4.) Little Witch Hazel by Phoebe Wahl
5.) Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite by Ashley Spires

 


Picture books and easy readers aside, I read so many good books that I honestly had a hard time choosing five favorites. But after some mulling, five books rose to the top:

1.) My all-time 2023 favorite read goes to this SPECULATIVE FICTION...

Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter


2.) Best read from a local PNW author is this MEMOIR...

Rough House by Tina Ontiveros


3.) Wonderful audiobook and great hook into a MYSTERY series goes to...

Out of Range by C.J. Box


4.) Best COMING OF AGE / DYSTOPIAN read goes to...

Deadlands by Victoria Miluch


5.) A gem! I highly recommend this CHRISTMAS ROMANCE audiobook...

Faking Christmas by Cindy Steel



Friday, December 01, 2023

December 2023 Reading Challenge: Christmas Book Binge Reading

Every December I immerse myself in holiday and winter themed literature, looking for those stories with Christmas spirit to warm my heart. Alas, this season is no different. If I recommend a book, I'll tag the title with a big, bold link. Let's get to it...

A Holly and Jolly Reading Pile

CHILDRENS PICTURE BOOK

1.) The Christmas Pine by Julia Donaldson
2.) Last Stop on the Reindeer Express by Maudie Powell-Tuck
3.) The Twelve Cats of Christmas by Feather Flores
4.) The Best Christmas Ever by Chih-Yuan Chen
5.) Robin Robin by Don Ojari and Mikey Please
6.) It's Christmas, David! by David Shannon
7.) This is Christmas by Tom Booth
8.) Deck the Walls! A Wacky Christmas Carol by Erin Dealey
9.) Fly Guy's Ninja Christmas by Tedd Arnold
10.) The Christmas Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood
11.) Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve by Janet Morgan Stoeke
12.) Samurai Santa: A Very Ninja Christmas by Rubin Pingk
13.) How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas? by Jane Yolen
14.) Maple & Willow's Christmas Tree by Lori Nichols
15.) Peppermint Post by Bruce Hale
16.) Bear Noel by Oliver Dunrea
17.) The Christmas Boot by Lisa Wheeler
18.) A Whisper in the Snow by Kate Westerlund
19.) The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Peek-Through Picture Book by Britta Teckentrup
20.) The Little Match Girl by David Warner
21.) Seek & Find Classics: A Christmas Carol by Sarah Powell
22.) Christmas is... by Gail Gibbons
23.) Luke and Lottie: It's Christmas! by Ruth Wielockx
24.) The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas by Laura Murray
25.) The Christmas Owl by Ellen Kalish & Gideon Sterer
26.) Dasher Can't Wait for Christmas by Matt Tavares
27.) Christmas in the Country by Cynthia Rylant
28.) The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston
29.) Repair Shop Stories: The Christmas Doll by Katie Hickey
30.) The Christmas Book Flood by Emily Kilgore


CHILDRENS CHAPTER

31.) Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas by Melanie Watt


AUDIOBOOK

32.) The Jolliest Bunch: Unhinged Holiday Stories by Danny Pellegrino
33.) Faking Christmas by Cindy Steel


PARANORMAL

34.) Lily Sees Dead People by JD Douwes


ROMANCE

35.) Frosty Exchanges by Raine Winters
36.) Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews
37.) Chasing Noelle by Sonja N. Griffing


SUSPENSE

38.) Thin Ice by Paige Shelton

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Check out the 3 recommended Christmas/winter reads for 2022 here!
Check out the 8 recommended Christmas/winter reads for 2020 here!
Check out the 3 recommended Christmas/winter reads for 2019 here!
Check out the 3 recommended Christmas/winter reads for 2018 here!
Check out the 8 recommended Christmas/winter reads for 2017 here!

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Trope-licious! A Mega List of Romance Tropes

Time for list-making again...and it's trope-licious!

Love 'em or hate 'em, tropes are those common, overused themes you find in stories and are well-known in the romance genre circles. I'll seek out or avoid books based on tropes, as I'm sure others do, too. Sign me up for road trips, fake relationships, enemies to lovers, and going undercover. So fun! But please don't put books in my Christmas stocking with wedding, age-gap, or fairy-tale retelling themes, or anything set in Nantucket. Lol. Weird, I know! But I'm pretty sure I already know the tone. Of course if I visited there, my mind could be changed. Until that day, I'll stick with my tried and true.

Now you, go forth and enjoy your tropes!

Tropes for Hanging Around for You by Stacia Leigh
Young Adult Romance

A newly abandoned girl hides the truth about a fatal accident, a grizzled biker she calls step-dad, and how she really feels about the new boy at school, a low-life spy! But really, who's spying on whom? 

 

FRIENDS FIRST

Friends to Lovers
You've Changed / Love on the Rocks
Belated Love Epiphany
Brother's Best Friend
Best Friend's Sibling
Marriage of Convenience / Marriage Pact
Pretend Relationships
Best Friend's Ex
Roommate Romance / Innocent Cohabitation
Secret Admirer


ENEMIES

Enemies to Lovers
Pen Pals
Rivals
Love / Hate
Revenge
Not Good Enough
Forced Proximity / Stranded
Blackmail


FAMILY

Suddenly a Parent
Single Parent
Orphan
Widow / Widower
Forbidden Love

Tropes for Burnout by Stacia Leigh
Young Adult Romance

"Suspended in grief, a down-and-out teen is forced on a therapeutic road trip. How can he hold onto the past when a feisty biker girl has him hanging on for dear life?"

 

OPPOSITES

Opposites Attract
Age-Gap/May to December
Grumpy-Sunshine
Bad Boy
Celebrity/Actor/Actress/Rock Star
Rich vs Poor / Unequal Social Status
Different Worlds
Want Different Things


OBLIVIOUS

Lovers in Denial
Sworn Off Relationships
Lost Memories / Amnesia


SECRETS

Secretly Rich
Secret Identity
Unrequited Love
Dark Secret
Disguise
Mistaken Identity
Secret Baby
Is All as It Seems?
Spying/Detective/Undercover
Love Triangle
Workplace Romance


MARRIAGE

Wedding Planner
Jilted Groom/Runaway Bride
Arranged Marriage
Soul Mates
Destined to Be Together

Tropes for Dealing with Blue by Stacia Leigh
Young Adult Romance

When quiet good-girl Suzy Blue plays "pretend" with the charmer next-door, she risks exposing a mortifying family secret.


TAKE TWO

Love Potion
Second Chances
Love at First Sight / Insta-Love
Holiday Flings
Reunion
Redemption


COMMITTMENT-PHOBE

Wounded Hero/Heroine (Emotional or Physical)
Sleeps with Everyone but You
Playboy/Rake in Love
Back with the Ex
What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas
One Sided Romance
Afraid to Commit
Can't Say "I Love You"
All Grown Up
Long Distance Love


QUITE THE CHARACTER

Plus Size
Royal
Alpha Hero
The One That Got Away
Loveable Rogue
Ugly Duckling
Wallflower
Men in Uniform
Broken in Some Way
Bet
Blind Date
Fish Out of Water

QUITE THE PLOT / SETTING

Fairy Tale Retelling
Kidnapped
Adventure
Road Trip
Time Travel
Magical
Small Town
Location
Vacation

EXTRAS

Slow Burn
Matchmaker Gone Right or Gone Wrong
Against All Odds
Foodie


SUB-GENRES

Historical / Regency
Comedy / Drama
Mystery
Fantasy
Sci-Fi
Dark
Suspenseful
Western
Spiritual / Inspirational
Paranormal
LGBTQ+
New Adult / College
Young Adult (Ages 14+)


RESOURCES

Evie Alexander: 150 romance Novel Tropes
TCK Publishing: 14 Popular Romance Tropes
Brewing Writer: Ultimate Romance Tropes List: 28 Tropes + Book Recs!

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“The reason that clichés become clichés is that they are the hammers and screwdrivers in the toolbox of communication.”
― Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!