Love and the Phantom Queen of Suburbia

I changed the working title on my current work in progress. It is now Love and the Phantom Queen of Suburbia. I suppose I’ll also have to jazz up its description on Wattpad. It occurred to me that not only would something generic like Love Letters get lost in the Amazon shuffle were I to self publish; it also doesn’t pull readers in the way a collection of love letters from someone more well known might. Plus, not all the letters are romantic. Love Letters kind of lent that vibe.

I did, in fact, end up surpassing my Camp National Novel Writing Month goal for the project. I may still add some more content to it. We’ll see how that goes. Meanwhile, I am sharing snippets to Wattpad on Wednesdays, and sometimes on weekends. Weekends are supposed to hit the algorithm better, but I work weekends.

What else to report… I know I haven’t checked in for quite awhile. Some of that was a single-minded focus on the writing project. I’ve also started trying to follow the advice put forth by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way. It’s been many, many years since I read that particular book, but I recently perused the opening to her latest book for writers.

I’ve been doing my best to complete daily Morning Pages, 3 pages of handwritten words every morning, to sift through your thoughts and see what bubbles up. I’m also trying to get out for more walks, and I took myself on an Artist’s Date, a little cruise through our local Five Below. They have DISCO BALLS!!! I feel like my kitchen needs a disco ball for over the sink. After all, I do enjoy the occasional dance party in my kitchen. They also had all kinds of cute merch for Hello Kitty and Gudetama and even Bananya. Stickers, water bottles, lanyards, etc.

Beyond actual set-aside adventures for my inner artist, I’ve been picking up little things when I’m out shopping to give my inner artist a sense of joy, when I’m out running errands or at the grocery store. I got a sandwich holder with an adorable unicorn face on it, for packed lunches. I also bought some blowing bubbles, which I hoped would amuse the cats. The one cat I tried them with found them rather terrifying. I’ll have fun playing with them, though, by myself, if nothing else. I also got a bouncy ball from a vending machine, and two sets of mermaid stickers, one on each of two shopping trips.

We also had another meeting at work, with more sub sandwiches (with pickles on the side) provided by management. One of my coworkers brought oatmeal raisin cookies for dessert. Another coworker brought baby plants for us to take home and nurture. How cute is that?

Also, I picked up some concessions-style boxes of candy at the grocery store. My Sweet-Tarts have words on both sides! The last one I ate said “FRESH” on one side and “RETRO” on the other. It’s supposed to show opposites and how you can be both at the same time. I love that!

Alright, my Arugula and Cherry Tomato frozen pizza is done, so I’m gonna leave it at that for now. Here’s the sandwich holder for the curious.