Tag: romance

  • February Reads

    List of books I *finished* reading in February. I start many books at the same time and often finish them in one fell swoop. I started many of these in January. Sidenote, Non-Fiction books have titles as long as Panic! At the Disco songs.

    1. Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future – Jason Stanley. A great read that links the past to our present moment. It opened my eyes to see the signs of fascist politics and policies. I feel more informed and able to think more critically about the current US regime. It reads a bit like a textbook at times.
    2. Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself – Nedra Glover Tawwab. Started this around 2020, and I swear I’ve never met a self-help book that has been quite as immediately useful as this one. Please give it a read if you think you might struggle with boundaries or people pleasing.
    3. Parable of the Sower – Octavia E. Butler. Had to buy a physical copy after finishing the audiobook. It inspired both my writing and present way of thinking about life. The only thing is, I wish I’d read it ten years ago. Elegantly written, this is a dystopia that feels more possible every day. If you’re from the US and never thought about a collapsed future, this may shift your perspective.
    4. Assistant to the Villain – Hannah Nicole Maehrer. Romantasy! It was as fun as you want a Romantasy book to be, and minus the clumsy main character, there was a noticeable lack of irritating cliches that are rife in the genre. (“I’m not like other girls” did not come into play, for instance). Also, I cast Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier as the Villain 🙂
    5. Apprentice to the Villain – Hannah Nicole Maehrer. Fun follow up with a little more world building. Can’t wait for the 3rd book!
    6. The Fire Next Time – James Baldwin. A short informative read that was my first foray into James Baldwin literature. This one feels a little like the thoughts are happening in your own mind. Up close and personal. I’ll be rereading this, and look forward to my next book of his, Giovanni’s Room.
    7. The Art of War: The Essential Translation of the Classic Book of Life (Penguin Classics 2002 edition) – Sun-tzu, John Minford. I bought this one as soon as I returned it to the library. This is now an essential part of my personal library, and I will rebuy it if my current copy goes missing. I adore this edition for 2 very different reasons.
      • I got so many great fight-scene ideas for books!
      • The commentators throw shade at each other that the editor absolutely did not have to include. It oscillates between high-academic nerdery as expected, and the arguments in a reddit comment section. Idk much about Giles, but he did not like Cao Cao’s ‘untranslatable ramblings’ (not direct quote), and for that knowledge, I am deeply sated.

    Happy reading,
    Eva

  • Parallel

    Playing the violin again
    I don’t know who I am with it
    Do I not seem like it
    Has it left me
    Are the two of us together
    Strange and
    Incompatible?

  • 2/23/21 + short story: time travel romance

    I’ve got like 30 pages of fanfiction and there’s no sex yet. I think I’m doing it wrong. Anyway I think ONLY of time travel. Do not bother me with other thoughts! I’m reading a lot of manga. So far only Yu Yu Hakusho and My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia but the latter is so popular in the digital library that I’m reading them completely out of order. Volume 8 was first, then 6, and 12 is now available. Please don’t spoil either of these stories!

    I started reading Haruki Murakami’s “Wind/Pinball” and halfway through I was like “that’s it, I know what I have to do” so I put the book down and have thought about picking it back up the past few days. How fascinating!

    There was a novel in the works about a school for psychics but I got stuck writing it because everyone knows what’s on the test and my MC was too powerful but so very boring. You ever write a book and can’t put a plot in because everyone’s too nice? Now I’m into time travel (meme: two astronauts in space, one gazes at the earth and asks “You’re into time travel?” and the other astronaut floats behind him with a gun to the guy’s head and says “always was”) & fanfic and don’t have energy for these psychics!

    first draft story about time travel romance – I’m trying to write more casually. Getting caught up in being literary makes my writing stiff.

    Since the aftermath of the disastrous party, Lilac couldn’t bring herself to go back to the coffee shop, because he might be there. He looked just like her former unrequited love. Well, just the outfit. Tell me, how does a woman so strong and charming end up chasing after the only men who are most difficult to break through?
    Expert Michele Tiery (her expertise is in being a best friend) speculates she’s after The Chase. She’s after the feeling of winning a difficult battle.
    Oh, there’s a handsome man who rarely smiles and won’t open up his heart? Well well well! Looks like a job for Lilac Valentine!
    Lilac Valentine loves playing games with these men. All she’s after is their pure spirit to leak through, to bubble up to the surface, creating a ripple effect in their lives. And then, like a sexy Nanny McPhee, she leaves. Why stay when the jig is up? Most of them end up being shitty anyway.
    A long time ago, however, there was one man who she chased. Caught. And couldn’t let go of.
    He was a skilled swordsman, a half human half bird who wore nothing but black and white. Making out was a little troubling, as he had a beak. But that was all right with her.
    In the end, Lilac realized the bird man pulled the very same trick on her as she had with so many others. But they fell in love together. They made tea, ate bugs (mostly him), watched television. Tried to build flat pack furniture. And then one day, she accidentally stepped into the future, leaving everyone she ever loved behind.
    The future was mostly glass, grass, and ass pottery barns. Not the store, actual barns for pottery.
    In this new time, how would Lilac Valentine utilize her skills at cat and mouse romance to force life itself to chase her? For lost time to catch up?
    She was out of ideas. How could she flirt with adventure? How could she tell jokes and make the mountains laugh? And most challenging of all. How would she learn to love life itself again?
    No love interested her. No man, no woman. No cuties.
    She wandered through her new city, her new time. What’s a girl to do when she’s thrust into the far future with no job, no friends, no family? [author’s note: lol burn notice]
    Lilac goes for a cup of coffee everyday and writes everything down. Spends her whole day catching up on the last few hundred years of music and culture. And everyday, there’s another regular she runs into. Waves hello most times.
    Today she didn’t wave hello. Just a head nod. Catching on that the interactions were getting less personal, he had to do something.
    “Hey,” he said. “What’s your name?”
    He wore only black and white. What’s this guy’s deal? What is he, some type of minimalist?
    “Lilac Valentine. I’m not from around here.”
    “I’m Leif. I’m not from around here either.”
    “Where are you from?”
    “I’m from the future. It’s weird living so far in the past. None of the music I like has been born yet. I guess you could call me an aspiring fan.”
    “Oh really? I’m from the past. Everyone I ever loved is dead. And the music I like was written so long ago, nobody remembers it.”
    “Wow, we’re really a match huh!” he said with a smile, rubbing the back of his neck, which was free from feathers. “Wanna sit at the same table for coffee tomorrow?”
    And so they agreed to meet the next morning. They talked about music, about culture, how much has changed, how weird it is to be the only two time travelers in the city, how the online groups for time travelers are never reliable because the longest ones only live for a hundred years or so.
    Life as an accidental time traveler is tricky. Everyone’s moving and going. You never know when someone’s going to stay or leave. Every day could be your last.

  • So I Leave

    Hello,

    This one’s possibly two years old now. Since I’m writing so many new poems a day for NaNoWriMo (and my book), I thought I should share a few of my older poems.


     

    What he said was good grammar
    good tone, good smile
    How much does an artichoke weigh
    How much Truth Do You Want

    How Hard do I Tap my Feet so he Hears I wanna be light
    as a dancer on a drum
    Do I sing or scream through my window
    & how sweet do I make the sound?
    The longer I stay the faster my forearms feel dumb

    From him I inherit a thousand
    tiny vases of jagged glass
    in my gums and stutter
    on the first word I think to say
    and find there is nothing to express

    -So I Leave

  • shield

    you are warmer than fever in
    me that was
    the wing-ed beast
    of legend in
    me for
    a moment that soft
    pressing
    every where I felt
    light
    sun
    it was how light
    is so fast and
    blind to itself.

  • From the Notebook: King Arthur was a Tragedy

    “In the age of romance and chivalry, steam seeped through open hearts now it’s a gas leak up the nose and on fire. Love is now combustible. Love is now the library. Love is now the golden gilded spine of ancient text.

    July 1st 2017.”

    like: “love is now the library”
    dislike: “ancient text”

    Here’s the new version. As you can see, I’ve added a title and altered the imagery. This poem did not undergo a heavy edit, and that’s okay. Sometimes, I write a long poem only to keep one or two lines, or images, or ideas. Other times, like in this case, I keep it mostly the same.

    King Arthur was a Tragedy
    In the age of romance and chivalry
    steam seeped through open hearts
    now it’s a gas leak.
    Up the nose.
    On fire.

    Love is now combustible.
    Love is now the library.
    Love is now the golden
    gilded spine of mildew books
    that bury in your head
    songs and hatchets alike.

    Eva

  • Honey

    you only commit to illusions like me
    pulling fists from my pockets
    but they’re bees
    in your stomach

    your mouth is full with the honey of my language
    yes, it’s Crimson and Clover
    dripping over and over

    you ran up the alp to whip your heart in shape
    but worked too hard
    it’s over zealous

    you caught a bird in your hands
    who flew you south for the winter
    now your blood’s with the crows
    and you’ll never learn my syntax

  • In Subplot, Seeking Help | From: Damsel Underwhelmed [poem]

    In Subplot, Seeking Help
    From: Damsel Underwhelmed

    Dear editor,
    all my poetry is about romance
    isn’t that totally gross?
    i mean, i run my phone down to 24% in a day
    for a notification or a gif or a meme
    with this that the other person’s charming face
    good god when comes the part where i don’t look for trouble, it finds me?

    and Wait there’s more, i have no blood
    i have no herbs to add in my tea
    i have no spellbound trickster leaves
    i have no flapping stomach bees
    i have this sexy actor meme

    i want to be the meanest woman and i want to be forgiven immediately.
    only one person can fall hopeless and it’s the guy in the produce aisle.