Pet Peeves & Promises

Hello, dear reader! How is it already May?? So far, spring has thrown two larger fires at us. The first was about three weeks ago. A cold-storage facility burned to the ground. Thankfully, no one was injured, and I don't believe any homes near it were damaged. Still, lots of smoke, and jobs lost, or on hold. I'm praying the cleanup and rebuild is swift, and that those employees can get back to work soon.

The second fire was just last night. Seems as though it was a vegetation burn up on the hill. Lightning strike, maybe? Train? Who knows. We've had storms blow through. Very little actual rain, but plenty of thunder and lightning. And everything's dry. So dry. Lots of smoke lingering and settling in the valley, though. It's a lovely, cool spring day and we can't open windows because of the smoke. Ugh. There, I've had my gripe. About that, at least.

I recently finished reading a book. I won't tell you which one, because I'm not here to throw shade at another author, but I do find myself irritated of late with--what seems to me--a new trend with writers.

They start off, for all intents and purposes, telling a clean and thoughtful story. This continues throughout the first, second, third, and even into the fourth and fifth book in the series. Then, WHAM! Explicit sex. And not just that, but it gets more outrageous and in your face. Like they're having this competition to see who can be the raunchiest writer. Multiple times in a single chapter. Multiple positions. Ugh. And ew.

Look, I'm a married woman. I know about sex. And positions. And all the things. But honestly, people. Have some class. Not everything needs to be in-your-face. Allow the imagination to work. It's good for the brain. And the soul. *I'm not a prude. Not by a long shot. I honestly believe God designed sex for pleasure as well as procreation (no, I'm not Mormon, either), but still. I find all this frustrating because, I get vested in these characters and their story. I want to win and succeed. But enough with the bedroom, and hallway, and kitchen, and living room (you get the idea) scenes.

Whew! Glad I got that off my chest. Thanks for listening. Now that the pet peeve is over, here is my promise.

Regardless of the sub-genre (I will always write romance) I write, you will never, EVER, read smut in my books. Yes, things might get steamy. They do get steamy. I might toe the line every so often, because let's face it, humans tend to do that. We make unwise, sometimes damaging decisions (see my above rant), so I try to stay truthful to the reality of human nature, yet I also strive to NOT cross any lines.

That being said, I've had people offer a criticism about characters that kiss. KISS. Even chaste kissing was yuck for them. So, I know a writer will never please every reader. And that's not my goal. My goal, truthfully, is to write something that honors my faith and belief in God and His truths, WITHOUT preaching to you. Sometimes God will be named, other times He'll just be hinted at. Still, I try to honor Him.

In other news, I just got (yesterday) a new writing desk. You'll have to check out my Instagram to see it. I needed more space--my family is laughing and rolling their eyes--to spread books, maps, sketches, etc while I'm writing. So go check out IG to read the story on this beautiful table.

Writing news: Still working on a new cover for Out of the Blue. I've finished a second draft on Written and am getting ready to seek to beta readers on that one. Happy day.

You guys take care. Stay safe, stay awesome. Find reasons to smile, then share that smile. People need joy. It's their happy-juice.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time,

Your Lady of Literature