Hey, babes!
This week has been hectic. I won’t go too deeply into some of the reasons why. I’m a mother to a young daughter—I don’t think I need to say much else. My heart is with you all. I have a tendency to bury myself in work and pull back from social interaction when things get dark. I’ve got multiple editing jobs on the table, and multiple manuscripts to wrap up. I’ve been going out more, working harder, and trying to prioritize rest when my brain sort of wants to pack as much activity into the next two weeks as possible.
Who else falls victim to the cult of busyness and hustle?
I took a day to slow down over the weekend and drove out to Quinault Valley and Quinault Lake. I looked at waterfalls and walked the Maple Glade Rainforest Trail. It wasn’t the rigorous hike I usually prefer. It was a slow meandering through the trees to try to make myself pay attention to the details. I explored the Kestner Homestead Trail as well. I’m aching to go back. I think I could walk out there every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it.
It’s tulip festival season here in the Pacific Northwest and I’m planning a trip to Wooden Shoe Tulip Farms in the third week of April. It’s finally, finally starting to warm up. I’ve got my windows thrown open right now. But most importantly of all, in recent news… my neighbors’ dogs had puppies. The sire is a big German Shepherd and the dam is a slim white husky with grey-blue eyes. There are five of them. They were born a week ago.
If you were wondering, I miss having babies in my house. I know, I know. They’re a lot of work. They steal your sleep. They make messes. But oh, the cuddles. I was up far too late last night enjoying puppy snuggles.
I’ve been offered one of the small white females (so far, but the owners themselves are in a tizzy over which of the puppies they’ll keep). In a few weeks, we may very well have a new family member to add to our household. I’ve been thinking about names and budgeting for puppy expenses.
What’s up in book world?
Here are the results of the poll from last week:
Oh boy, you guys are going to enjoy the rest of this year, and quite frankly, so am I. That’s all I’ll say for now. I’m so excited. Especially if you voted “paranormal motorcycle club romance.”
Oops. No, I didn’t say that. Ssssh.
When we talk about romance, you might know how heavy I am on the kink-positive and LGBTQIA-inclusive. I’m also not particularly interested in writing dark romance in the context that many understand it. I don’t want to write stories about dangerous and abusive behaviors or coercion. Do I read some dark romance? I’ll devour it on occasion. Addison Cain is one example. I’ve devoured all of her books, and The Golden Line is one of my favorite romances of all time.
I like characters that are complicated. I even write books with the villain as the love interest. But none of that evil is directed toward their partner. Maybe that’s just a personal thing, and perhaps it’s odd that I won’t write it even though I do enjoy reading it. Maybe I prefer to write about deeply flawed people making mistakes, and working their butts off to make it right instead of letting that mistake result in the sad end of hopes and dreams. Maybe I just prefer redemption stories, even if the redemption comes Hozier-style and it’s all about the love interest redeeming themselves through unadulterated adoration of their beloved while they rain hell on the rest of the world.
Do you enjoy reading dark romance? What’s your favorite subgenre? If you had to pick ONE character to tout as the Monarch of Crazy, Bad, Dirty Love, who would it be?
What’s next?
In a crazy world that sometimes piles on more than we can handle, and sometimes far more than any one person should ever have to bear, we have our community. I just want to take a second to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to those of you who are becoming part of my community. Know that if you ever reach out needing support, I am here to listen, I hear you, and I see you.
There’s a lot going on right now and I’m looking forward to sharing more book-world and art and travel shit, maybe even talk about my progress in the gym, but I just wanted to end this newsletter on that note.
As always, I appreciate you being here and coming on this ride with me. If you’d like to respond, you can comment here or reply to mariahthayer@substack.com. I always love hearing from you.
XOXO,
Mariah
There’s no busy-ness like kid busyness. And, oh those puppy! They warm your heart for sure. 🥰 I read dark romance on occasion. I really love Brianna Hale’s books for this. Right now, though, I’m in the mood for light and fun, edging dangerously into rom-com territory, for a reason I can’t explain. 🤷♀️
Would love to hear more about your beautiful hikes and workout progress. 💪
Puppy snuggles are pretty sweet!