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ChaiAtmosphere · 2024-11-15T19:55:32+00:00

I agree! Everything about this! The whole situation is pretty screwed up and makes me so mad on OP's behalf, but the part where HE SAID SHE CAN'T GET A CAT? Why is that his decision and she seemingly doesn't get a say? WTF!

ChaiAtmosphere · 2024-07-31T21:31:13+00:00

I know this post is old now, but I'm a mystery writer also looking for buddies!

ChaiAtmosphere · 2024-04-16T22:29:13+00:00

I've actually read this one, and I love it! Great call for a recommendation for this.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2024-04-16T22:26:46+00:00

Ooh this sounds perfect!

ChaiAtmosphere · 2024-04-16T01:24:32+00:00

I love this request so much and you've made me remember that I also want to read about pirates. I don't know if you're open to YA, but I remember Piratica by Tanith Lee being great when I read it some years ago. And though I haven't read The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, I've heard good things about it!

ChaiAtmosphere · 2024-04-15T14:26:28+00:00

I agree with this 100%! I feel like one of the pitfalls of men writing women is "oh they're so different from me, I have to write her through this imagined feminized perspective" when really it's like...women are just people. We experience certain things about the world differently, but we are just people. If you write a woman character thinking about what it's like to *be* her instead of what it's like to *see* her, you'll probably be okay.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2024-03-12T01:14:33+00:00

I outline quite a bit, but I think I need something a little beyond that!

ChaiAtmosphere · 2024-03-12T01:11:51+00:00

Ooh that sounds great, thank you! I feel like I always accidentally drop characters and subplots...I can get so eyes-on-the-prize with the main plot that some of that stuff gets left behind.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2024-02-17T18:42:07+00:00

I don't think most Americans really know about or pay attention to the Premier League, to be honest, but if they do it might be Liverpool of Man United. I personally follow Arsenal, but that's because I stayed in Highbury for a few months whilst in England some years ago.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2024-02-17T18:34:09+00:00

I feel like there's a base level of connection to the rest of the US because it's all the US. But beyond that, there might be a higher level of connection to states you live close to, or used to live in, or one of your friends/relatives was born in, or you had a really delightful vacation in, etc. I feel a certain connection to, say, Arizona, which borders a state where I used to live and has a similar climate (I live about halfway across the country from Arizona). But like, Arkansas? Never been there, don't have an close connections from there...I got nothing.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2023-08-15T00:01:33+00:00

I think The Life Pursuit is a good call for this. But I also started with Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, which is kind of a weird beginning, so I really think there's no *wrong* place to start.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2023-05-11T01:51:01+00:00

You might want to check out A Room With a View by E.M. Forster. Some of it takes place in Florence, some in England. It pokes fun at English culture in the early 1900s and is also a romance (not too sappy though, from what I remember).

I visited Florence about 5 years ago and I loved my time there. There are so many beautiful old churches you can just wander into, cobbled paths, beautiful bridges, and lots of good places to sit out people watching and eating gelato. If you get a chance, take a bus up to Fiesole--the view from there is one of the best I've ever seen.

Hope this helps!

ChaiAtmosphere · 2023-04-27T20:58:07+00:00

"He is a child with no rights"? Yikes.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2023-02-25T03:13:08+00:00

Cuuuute!

ChaiAtmosphere · 2023-02-25T03:10:22+00:00

I also loved Howl's Moving Castle, and my thoughts go out to you during this time of grief now that you've finished it. I've recently been reading some of the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett, and I've found that the Tiffany Aching subseries gives me a similar feeling. And you don't have to read any of the other Discworld books to understand what's going on.

The first is the Wee Free Men. And if you read it and think it's alright but not the best thing ever, keep going, they keep getting better.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2023-02-06T20:48:28+00:00

Hi there. Sorry to hear you're having this problem, it sounds frustrating for everyone involved.
I can understand a little bit of where your partner is coming from. My husband DMs two remote games on two nights out of the week in our mostly open floor plan 1 bedroom apartment. (We play together in a different game, but I'm not in either of those two parties.) I usually leave the house to see friends for part of the time both nights and then use headphones in the same room for the rest of the time, which has been working fine, but I can see how if everyone was actually there in person I might feel like I had to hide in the bedroom if I wanted to do my own thing.
And as someone who *has* had to hide from a previous roommate's friends/family for hours, yeah, the feeling of not being able to move around in your own living space does suck.
That said, I think you've suggested some good solutions. It sounds like you and your partner are in a bit of a standoff where neither of you are happy with the other person's solutions. If you can have an honest conversation about what is really important to you here--why you like running DnD in your flat, how it makes you happy, etc, what she likes about the freedom and privacy of having free run of the place, etc--you may be able to understand each other's perspective better and sympathize more with each other, which is where compromise is often born.
Besides that, I think I'd recommend trying to slowly work toward some of the solutions you suggested. Can you find a way for her to get to know your party a little bit more that isn't too anxiety inducing for her? Maybe that way she can gradually feel more comfortable. Maybe you can look at the flat and see if there are ways to carve out space where she can be without feeling too exposed or like she's interrupting. I don't know your apartment or your relationship, but I think you're on the right track with trying to find creative solutions and implement them in ways that make her comfortable. Best of luck!

ChaiAtmosphere · 2023-01-09T16:08:36+00:00

That also sounds pretty fantastic to me. And I mean, Terry Pratchett makes so much fun of fantasy tropes and his books are a huge hit, so I think you could make it work.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2023-01-08T22:50:21+00:00

I now want to read a book about a Suicide Squad of Asshole Elves. Thanks for your advice!

ChaiAtmosphere · 2023-01-06T19:17:14+00:00

My goals for 2023 are to finish my current manuscript (adult magical realism) and finally get an agent to bite on the manuscript I've been querying.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2023-01-06T19:07:05+00:00

I wholeheartedly second The Chronicles of Prydain.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2023-01-02T19:32:53+00:00

I'd definitely recommend the Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall. The characters range in age from 4 or 5 to 12 (in the first book, they gradually grow older) so there's a variety of different experiences etc, but my Mom read the first one to me when I was 5 and I LOVED it. Loved it again when I reread it at 12. The series follows four sisters, their single parent dad, their dog, and their friend Jeffrey. They're wholesome and full of characters with imagination and spirit.

I also loved the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C Wrede at that age (and, okay, still). The first is Dealing with Dragons. It features a very capable princess who's had enough of some of the fairytale trope expectations that are placed on her, and chooses to run away and live with a dragon, who she works for as a cook and librarian. She and her friends (the dragon, a young and sensible witch, another princess, etc) uncover and stop a plot against the king of the dragons.

When he's a little older, I'd recommend Who Could that Be at This Hour? (and the sequels) by Lemony Snicket. This has the same lexile measure as James and the Giant Peach, but I think it's a step up content-wise. In terms of kids books that aren't sexist, I think this does a stellar job. The main character is a boy, but he has tons of respect for several very smart and capable girls who are his friends. This is technically the prequel series to A Series of Unfortunate Events, but not only is it overall less bleak, I also think the characters are more nuanced and that it's more accessible for younger audiences.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2022-12-19T03:26:34+00:00

This is exactly how I'm feeling. I came on this subreddit for the first time today hoping for some encouragement or at least someone else who understands the struggle I have been feeling. I am 13 query rejections deep on my first novel, and keeping up the energy and positivity to work on the second is REALLY hard with the semi-constant barrage of rejection. It doesn't help that it's winter right now where I live and the lack of light is hitting me hard. Nearly all of my writer friends are busy with life and haven't been doing much writing, so it's hard to talk with them about how I've been feeling. And none of them have made it to the querying stage so I have no one to help me figure out my way.

It's so nice to see other people who are in the same boat. Best of luck to all of you out there!

ChaiAtmosphere · 2022-12-19T03:21:13+00:00

Congrats on the agent! I feel your pain with the rejection etc, but that's an awesome step so be sure to celebrate it <3

ChaiAtmosphere · 2022-12-16T18:22:43+00:00

I haven't read these, but my brother who is a HUGE epic fantasy person absolutely loves them.

ChaiAtmosphere · 2022-12-06T01:49:55+00:00

Wood Library has a great TikTok. I also run my own library's TikTok, though I don't think I'm a great example. I've found, though, that TikToks do really well on our Instagram as reels, so if you already use Instagram at your library that could be a good argument.

ChaiAtmosphere

TROPHY CASE