pushed it to the limit every day and night

"perfection" by cher & a peek at my daily to do list

Some news!!! Never Been Shipped is officially on NetGalley, so you can request an advance digital copy to review if you’re on there. I am NOT on there, so I am not the one to tell you anything about it how to sign up for an account or how to get Berkley to approve your request or anything like that. But I know that it’s available, which is always an exciting/scary time for an author because it means that the book is finally at a place where strangers might be reading it, and not just whatever friends/industry professionals, etc. you’ve sent a Word document to.

Maybe it’s because it’s January, so resolutions/goals are still fresh on my mind, I just started a new planner, I’ve been trying to put myself on RAILS to get this book done, but I thought I’d give you a glimpse into my To Do list and how I’ve been tackling it lately.

The Planner

One thing I LOVE to know about anyone is what office supplies they use. I want to know your favorite brand of pen (lately I’ve been using Sharpie S-Gels in .7), your favorite notebook (you know for my writing notebooks I use DesignWorks’ Standard Issue Notebook No. 3), your go-to planner. Mine is this six-month daily undated Clever Fox planner.

Back when I used to bullet journal, I loved the flexibility of being able to skip a week without needing to skip a whole chunk of my planner, but I got tired of doing EVERYTHING myself, so this undated version is a nice compromise. They set up the months and weeks and stuff, but then it’s very customizable. They have monthly spreads, a weekly overview with a daily habit tracker and different sections (that I frankly write over to create my own sections — the only thing about this planner is it’s one of those that wants you to write personal development goals and rate how much you improved from last week and shit, and I’m not interested in doing any of that. So instead I just cross out some of the headers and replace it with like, my writing goals for the week, my reading goals, anything I have to bring to the post office, what events/appointments I have, etc.)

I’m currently on my fourth of these planners and I still love it, but they used to separate each month internally with a different color and put the monthly spreads at the start of each month instead of all at the beginning, and these are relatively minor changes but they bother me every time I open the planner up, like I’m the princess and these changes are my pea. Except I don’t think they’re as subtle as a pea, and in general I don’t understand why the fuck you added a pea under what used to be a perfect mattress, but what do I know.

If I rated my productivity WHICH I DON’T, I would actually say I was a little disappointed with myself today because I was dealing with a headache for half the day, BUT THEN I would also say well this isn’t bad for having a headache? and that’s why I don’t rate my productivity!

The Method

Okay, I am admittedly, a little weird, but this is what works for me.

Lately, I’ve been trying to hit 3,000 words a day on my manuscript, which I’ve found for me is juuuuust about the ideal “I can hit this every day if I really try” but “wooof I do have to really try” writing goal. In the morning, I’ve been giving myself a block of open writing time (the 8:30-11:30am writing sesh), where I turn my word count tracker off and just try to write as much as I can. This usually gets me 1-2k words or so.

Then, after lunch, I go into my usual To Do List structure, which is where I break shit up and do a little of this, a little of that. I know this won’t work for everybody, and I don’t do it if I have one SUPER pressing thing I need to do above all else or something that really does require a lot of deep focus. But in general, this is the best way for me to ensure that I’m actually continuously working and not just . . . staring blankly at my computer or clicking around randomly, which is what starts to happen to me with too much unstructured time. Suddenly an hour has passed and I’m like what the fuck did I do, except I can’t start something else until the clock hits a nice even interval of :15 or some arbitrary shit like that.

So I do like, one of my daily little habits, then a chore around the house, then a block of writing, then answer a couple emails, then a part of this newsletter, whatever. I just keep cycling through. (If you’ve read With Love, from Cold World, this is a lot like Lauren’ random number generator list, which I used to use at work all the time!! Now it’s more just that I list things and work my way down.)

However many words I didn’t get down in my morning writing session, I try to get done in the afternoon in blocks that I separate out either by time or word count or whatever.

AAM/YNAB/Duolingo

Sometimes I put my “daily habits” on my To Do list, and sometimes I don’t. I’m not above putting “shower” on a To Do list just to have something to cross off. But three things I do pretty much every day and always put on there are AAM, YNAB, and Duolingo.

AAM = Ask a Manager, the workplace blog I’ve read religiously for years and years, and always used to be my ritual to read with my morning coffee when I worked in an office. Even when I started to work from home as a writer, I kept that routine up because I really like it, and always want to be up on the latest bad boss or annoying coworker story.

YNAB = You Need a Budget, the budget app I use. I need all transactions trued up to start my day! Or everything feels unmoored and uncertain!!

Duolingo = I mean, you need no introduction. Lately, I SWEAR, no matter WHAT I do, I end up in a group of the biggest fucking sweats in the world. The leader in my league right now has 10,000+ XP and it’s only Tuesday. I END most weeks without hitting 10,000 XP and I spend like 20-30 minutes a DAY on this app, maximizing my bonuses and replaying the word match rounds to increase my score. I just want to COAST in Diamond League without really having to WORK for it, is this too much to ask?!?! (I do understand how gamification works, I do understand that I am experiencing it as it was exactly designed lolol I’m just irritated.)

50/300

I feel like I have to explain what this means because half of my To Do lists are cryptic shit that is only significant to me. Ideally, I like my gmail inbox to hover at 50 primary emails (because that is top number I have displayed on a single page), all of which are things I’m waiting on or have to follow up on or something of that nature. My promotions tab got out of hand with a lot of newsletters (ha) that I frankly haven’t kept up with, so I’ve been trying to keep that hovering around 300 with the goal of eventually getting it down.

This also means that sometimes on slower days I spend whole chunks of time just reading through a bunch of Hunter Harris issues from back when Ben Affleck/J. Lo were still together; Tegan and Sara Q&A’s from 2023 tour stops; reading recommendation lists to add to my growing TBR, etc. Over the holidays, I ended up reading through a bunch of author newsletters I hadn’t opened (or often, opened, skimmed, came across something that made me think oooh I want to spend more time with that, let me close it and come back). It was surprisingly lovely. To see old announcements of book deals for books that are now coming out, cover reveals for books I’ve already read and loved, sometimes stumbling upon a reference to an event we were at together or some other shared piece of history. I don’t know. I had a really good time with it.

One issue with the way I do my inbox, though, is that I’m often prioritizing whatever is sitting right at the top. So sometimes that means if I haven’t answered an email within a couple days, it’s just getting buried further and further down. I’ve always really enjoyed emailing, I love a good email chain, but I feel like I’ve become a less reliable correspondent lately and I apologize for that.

Other Tasks

That takes care of most of what you see on my To Do list there. You can also see that I’m trying to make progress in James Joyce’s Ulysses, because somehow I thought what I REALLY needed to unlock this draft I’m writing was to . . . read a 1,500-page classic I’d never gotten to in all my literature classes? I read it a section at a time and then I check a summary of it online to make sure I was even understanding it lol.

In more enjoyable reading (sorry, James), I’ve also been savoring my friend Rachel Runya Katz’s upcoming romance, Isn’t It Obvious?. When I read a book for a friend or when I’m reading for a blurb, I often take it slower because I like to make notes as I read. This one has a hidden identity/epistolary element to it, which YOU ALREADY KNOW IS MY KRYPTONITE, and also I think feels the most “Rachel” of all of their books in a way that feels so cozy and comforting and beautiful to read.

(Also: one of the newsletters I read today, a brand-new issue because it landed right there on the top, was this breakdown of Goodnight Moon that was incredible, it truly is such a groundbreaking picture book and I love deeper analysis of the page break choices, details in the illustration, etc. Once, when my son was little and I was reading the book to him, he turned to me at the end and said “. . . What happened to the rabbit in the chair?” in that CHILLING way that they have little kids deliver those kinds of lines in movies. It really did give me goosebumps. What the fuck happens to her?! I mean, probably she just left the room so the little kid bunny could go to sleep lol but in the moment it was TERRIFYING. I do think the secret sauce to a lot of great children’s books is that they are juuuuuuuuust on that edge of unsettling.)

Books to Shout Out

One side effect of not really being on Instagram is that I haven’t had the chance to celebrate a few books that came out recently!!! So, I figured I’d mention them here.

Temple of Swoon is the second adventure romcom from Jo Segura, and it is SO good. If you loved Raiders of the Lost Heart, you’re also going to love this follow-up, and if you haven’t read Raiders well then, today is your lucky day because there are two books for you to read? I love Jo’s writing because it is genuinely so funny, and she manages to pack in all the action and excitement you want as the Promise of the Premise with this kind of Indiana Jones-esque story, in a way I deeply admire as a writer because I don’t know if I could do it. Below is a curated selection of a couple notes I made while reading it:

• NERDY GLASSES AND MESSY BUN WERE DOING IT FOR HIM you’re writing such fan service right now and I thank you for it

• he’s debating how to make his move and she’s like “did you know about the Amazon” lol

• but has Rafa seen the EIGHTH wonder of the world (Outback Steakhouse's Great Barrier Reef menu)

• oh! I typed his little French-Canadian sentence into google translate and my my!

• “he hadn't yet popped the top of this hot little can of Pringles” I feel like yessss I'm in a Jo Segura book, nobody could write this like you

Unromance is the romance debut by my very good friend Erin Connor and not to brag but my blurb is on the cover!!!!!! I was highly honored. The way Erin sends up romance tropes, the snappy banter between Sawyer and Mason, the fact that Sawyer is outwardly so badass but inside just a the softest most vulnerable person, the way they spark off each other, it’s just a delight. Below are some curated notes about this one:

• “sat down at her laptop to write, and didn't write" coulda used a content warning for this tbh

• “I want you to ruin me” oh, she will

• ha, it takes Sawyer some work to get to the fact that a friend with benefits without the benefits is . . . a friend

• “she's not having heart palpitations, she's just having feelings” lol

• “People didn't just show up at other people's doors as much as One Tree Hill wanted you to believe” five stars for this sentence alone

Let’s Call a Truce is another romance debut by fellow Florida author Amy Buchanan, and let me just say that if you’re in the Tampa/St. Pete area, you should come to the event at Tombolo Books this Thursday, January 16 at 7:00 pm! I’ll be talking with Amy about her book then, and it should be a fun time! The AAM reader in me was DELIGHTED at this workplace romance about two people who really get off on the wrong foot and make each other’s lives hell for a couple years before realizing they’re . . . actually kind of perfect for each other? The book navigates a lot about grief and work and parenthood so beautifully, and the banter and tension are also top-notch. Here are a few curated notes I made about this one:

• why is “Careful there” such a hot thing to say? or is it only because I just finished reading his description?

• when he locks his office door!!!! it's like OKAY it's happening!

• “Single dads are hot and single moms are a hassle. We've all read the romance novels” haha I love this meta reference

• “I don't want you to pick me because I scared off all the competition” ahhh I love this

• “As wild as Florida could be, it was home and where my family and best friends were” I could get this tattooed on me

Finally, my dear friend and ST. PETE POET LAUREATE (nbd) Gloria Muñoz’s debut YA novel This is the Year came out last week. I went to her launch event at Tombolo Books where she was in conversation with Carmen Alvarez, another bookish friend of mine. It was just the best, most restorative night, one of those nights that reminds you that the world can be good and there are a lot of good people in it. (Gloria also brought empanadas, which helped!) I just got my copy of this book and haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but hearing Gloria talk about the way it weaves together grief and climate change and roller derby and poetry and Florida, I really can’t wait. She read a few poems from the book aloud at the event, and they were so powerful.

“Perfection” by Cher

This has ended up being the longest fucking newsletter I stg, and I didn’t even really intend it to be! I just got carried away talking all about my To Do list, and then books, and then below of course I HAD to give the update on Dakota Watch, etc.

Anyway, I love Cher and have been revisiting some of her 1980s classics lately, including this song. I always say if you want to know a formative thing about me, picture me at like seven years old in my room really vibing to all my life, I’ve been driven by perfection! And then recently I had this song on and I was feeling so burned out that I started to cry, except then my mood was INSTANTLY uplifted by how fucking funny it was to be stress-sobbing to “Perfection” by Cher, it’s been a real wild ride over here this January so far.

Wildfires Donations

It’s heartbreaking and terrifying, watching what’s happening in California with the fires right now, and I know there are lots of lists out there for potential places to donate like the California Fire Foundation, lists of mutual aid opportunities like the one compiled by Mutual Aid L.A. Network, lists of GoFundMes like this one compiled for Black Families Displaced in Altadena, etc.

But specifically if anyone knows of any romance auction being organized, would you let me know? I would love to donate something, but am worried if I’m not on social media I won’t see the opportunity.

Currently reading . . . I just finished listening to the audiobook for Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes because my husband recently listened to it and was obsessed with it (he’d read the original story a long time ago and references it all the time). I am very glad I read it, and there’s so much to discuss and think about, but also this was my review lol:

Also, I recently listened to Bethany Joy Lenz’s memoir Dinner for Vampires and HOO BOY. I was a big fan of One Tree Hill AND I love me a good cult book, so I enjoyed the read even though I was so furious and sad on her behalf just listening to what she went through. If I could go back in time and do one thing, of COURSE I would like, kill Hitler or something, but if I could do TWO things I would use my second to make BJL say yes to being Belle on Broadway! To stay as far away from that warped bible study that would eventually trap her in a shitty marriage and blow all of her money and stop her from pursuing her dreams!!! But yes, in a way that lets her still have her daughter, I hear you, Joy!!!

watching . . . Dakota Watch continues and I have yet to pay a single cent for any of these movies, which I’m very proud of. This is largely due to either an existing subscription, a free trial of a subscription I then cancelled after milking it for all the Dakota Johnson movies I could (aka, usually one), my library account (don’t sleep on movies through the library!), and finally YouTube. This past week, I’ve seen:

• Am I Ok? (2021) - I really enjoyed this one! The minute it opened on Dakota Johnson sitting in a diner with a beanie on, I just felt at home. I loved that it was, at its heart, about the friendship between two women as they both navigated big changes in their lives. Some of the dialogue was so snappy and real and specific, I hate to say this but when you watch an entire actor’s catalog you do start to see a lot of . . . let’s just say not as great movies, so it was refreshing to see one that held together so well.

• For Ellen (2011) - Dakota is in this for like POINT THREE SECONDS, but Paul Dano is in it the whole time and putting on a masterclass of acting tbh. I love Paul Dano. There’s this subtle little microexpression, when Paul is in the bedroom of his young, ineffectual lawyer (played by Napoleon Dynamite!) who’s handling his divorce/custody case. I mean, the lawyer is advising Paul to sign away his parental rights (to the titular Ellen), and meanwhile the lawyer still lives with his mother. Anyway, Paul finds a copy of his band’s CD in the lawyer’s room, and picks it up to look at it, and the lawyer is like, “Oh yeah, I got that at a yard sale!” and Paul just gives this perfect, miniscule little forehead wrinkle like what the fuck, why would you tell me that, but also it’s like he’s reliving all his glory days, but also thinking has this all been worth it, what the fuck am I doing with my life. I don’t know. It was a very expressive forehead wrinkle to me.

• Beastly (2011) - I love that the whole thing is that he was “made ugly” to “teach him a lesson” but they just made him look like he listens to a lot of Primus.

  

  Like, I’ve let this guy tattoo me before. Twice.

There’s always a suspension of disbelief for these kind of stories, where we’re supposed to buy that she can’t figure out that he’s the same guy from her school who’s mysteriously been missing even though he has the same face (albeit now covered in scars and tattoos) and the same voice. But in THIS CASE his school campaign slogan of “Embrace the Suck” has literally been tattooed as his eyebrows, so you’d think that would’ve been one major clue. Either way, Dakota Johnson plays his popular, mean girlfriend back when he was his princely self, although she does later admit once he’s gone that she thinks he was the one inspiring her to be so mean all the time.

• Crazy in Alabama (1999) - I’m only halfway through this one, and I don’t think I’ve seen Dakota yet (she would’ve only been like . . . 12?) This was Antonio Banderas’ directorial debut, and everything about that is so . . . interesting to me. Once I saw Dakota described somewhere as “Antonio Banderas’ stepdaughter” and that’s now how I always describe her, too (because it’s such a wild way to say it, when she’s the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, like her stepdad is the most important part?).

listening to . . . I am calling it right now that my Top Song for 2025 is going to end up being “Intro” by The xx, because for whatever reason it was helping me get in the zone with what I was writing, and so I just let it loop. It’s only a two minute song, so I have no IDEA how many times it ended up playing.