Roni Loren's Blog

Things I’ve learned so far in 2026: preparing for a cross-country move while also getting your kid through the last few months of high school and trying to sell your house in a buyer’s market, all while your husband flies back and forth to his new job, is…a lot.

Leonard would like to know why I’m trying to convince him to try out the airplace carrier. He is not a fan.

All of my energy has been redirected into those things, and everything else, like this newsletter and other work-related projects, had to be put on the side. My Enneagram 5 self is being very, very particular about how to budget my energy so that I don’t crash into burnout.

However, today I wanted to reach out and reconnect with y’all. I know many of you are also going through lots of your own stressors (along with dealing with all the drama from the world at large). So I hope sharing a few happy-for-now items that have been getting me through may be helpful to you as well.

A few great books & a book club discovery

After my glut of non-fiction reading last year, I’ve actually been having good luck with fiction so far this year. I’m really excited about this because I was getting worried my fiction brain had gotten broken somehow. Turns out I just needed to try some different types of books and pay very close attention to what I’m actually in the mood to read. Things I wouldn’t normally pick up have been working for me, including this first book.

The Wedding People by Allison Espach & the Read with Jenna Book Club

Get a copy: Bookshop.org | Libro.fm

So I had convinced myself that I wasn’t a Read with Jenna book club person. Each celebrity book club has its own vibe, and I felt like Jenna’s picks didn’t appeal to me as much as, say, a Reese pick. Her picks seemed a little sadder-leaning or a little too serious for my taste.

Turns out, we change and grow as readers (I know, duh), and sometimes what doesn’t work for us in one season of our life totally hits the spot in a different season. And right now, I’m feeling the Read with Jenna vibe.

Now, this isn’t across the board. I’ve read four Jenna picks since the beginning of the year. Two were 5-star reads, one was a DNF, and one was a 2-star. But I’m totally willing to have a few not hit the mark to get some that really, really work for me.

One that did was The Wedding People.

The setup of this one starts grim. (Check your trigger warnings.) The main character, Phoebe, is deeply depressed after her IVF failed along with her marriage. She has checked herself into a luxurious hotel with plans to end her life there. But when she arrives, she is the only guest in the hotel that isn’t there for Lila and Gray’s big wedding. When Lila, the bride, runs into Phoebe and realizes what her plan is, she’s desperate to stop her from ruining her wedding weekend. After this, Phoebe gets swept into being a part of the wedding weekend.

Here are the unvarnished thoughts I wrote in my book journal as soon as I finished reading:

This is what books should be. This was such an easy book to sink into. Sad at the start, but then it’s lovely. I just wanted to keep hanging out in this world with these characters because it made me feel good.

Everyone is flawed but likable in their own way. Despite the setup, it’s a very gentle book. The black moment is gray. There’s a romance there, but that isn’t the point of the book. The point is Phoebe finding herself and discovering what she really wants/needs. There’s a theme of brutal/blatant honesty that threads through the book--just saying what you mean and dealing with it.

This also had a lot of deadpan, very dry humor that I really appreciated. There was good banter as well. I will definitely be looking for other books by this author and other books that have this kind of vibe.

So your mileage may vary depending on what mood you’re in, but I think this is a great book for late spring/early summer if you’re looking for something that manages to balance the light with the heavy.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

Get a copy: Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (←looks like audio is less than 5 bucks on Libro today)

Another Jenna pick. This is one where you hear the premise, and then you just have to go with it. Lillian and Madison were best friends at boarding school. Lillian was a scholarship student, Madison a rich girl, but there was a falling out. Now, years later, Madison reaches out to Lillian to see if she can be a nanny to her two…interesting stepchildren. Lillian is desperate for money so takes the gig.

The issue? The children, when upset, catch on fire. Literally. They don’t get hurt, but the flames can set fire to anything around them. Yes, it sounds ridiculous, but I promise the book totally pulls it off. I bought in. Like, okay, yep, kids catch fire.

Thoughts from my book journal:

This was a delight. Funny and weird and heartwarming. I loved Lillian and the kids. The whole thing just had a sweetness to it that somehow didn’t end up being too over the top. It was also relatively short at 277 pages. I raced through it, jumping between the hardcover and audio, in less than two days. Audio was very well done.

This was also a 5-star read for me, and I think what was at the core of both of these books, the thing I must’ve been seeking in my reading without realizing it, was sweetness with heft. Sweetness and goodness triumphing even when circumstances are hard. Not saccharine sweetness, not every-character-is-wonderful-and-perfect sweetness, but core human goodness winning despite it all.

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum

Get a copy: Bookshop.org | Libro.fm

Not a Jenna pick. This one was from Book of the Month club and definitely has a different vibe from the previous two. This is one to read if you want a page-turning mystery.

I’m a sucker for a book that has a podcast as part of the narrative, and bonus points when they use that device to their advantage on the audiobook.

Joy and Benny are best friends who host a very famous podcast called This Story Might Save Your Life. One morning, when Benny goes over to Joy’s and her husband Xander’s house, he finds a broken window, and the couple is missing. He also finds a partially finished memoir of Joy’s that may hold clues. The rest of the book is the unraveling of the mystery.

This one started a little slow for me, but then once I got into it, I raced through the rest. I bounced back and forth between print and audio, and the audio was well done with the podcast excerpts. It also had bonus material at the end.

This wasn’t a perfect 5 stars for me because of spoiler-y things I can’t mention, but it was a solid 4.5, and I enjoyed the ride.

a page from The Wedding People large print editionLarge print books from the library

I know this is not going to be news to many of you, but how did I live this long before discovering the greatness of the large-print section of my library?

About three years ago, I had to switch my glasses to a prescription that included readers. My eyesight isn’t too bad, but it was enough of an issue to need some help. Yet somehow, it didn’t cross my mind that the large print books at the library could be for me.

I’m not sure I ever would’ve wandered into that section if not for the fact that I kept finding that when a popular book had weeks of holds on it, there was often a large print copy available with no holds. The large-print versions were usually not as attractive, and the print inside reminded me of kids’ books, but then I tried a few out.

Oh, how quickly the pages turned when there are only so many words on the page! I felt like I was racing through the book. And wow, my eyes didn’t get as tired. I ended up loving the experience. For some reason, it made the reading itself feel easier. (And yes, I know you can increase font size on an e-reader, but this somehow feels different.)

Of course, now when I open a regular font book, it looks so tiny, lol. But I’m officially a convert. If it’s available in large print format at my library, I’m checking that one out first.

A cold Sumo Citrus orange

Yes, this is random but is worth the mention, I promise. There are oranges and then there is Sumo Citrus. I do my best to eat healthy, but it’s rare that I’m craving a piece of fruit to the degree I crave chocolate. I get angry when the grocery store is out, lol.

These mandarin hybrid oranges are my favorite, favorite. My top citrus used to be the Louisiana satsumas I grew up with, but the Sumo has the easy-peel quality of the satsuma with an even more delicious sweetness. Plus, they’re seedless.

These are an absolute treat, and I often have to talk myself out of having a second after I finish the first. I like to put them in the fridge because they’re even better cold. The perfect snack, especially as it’s starting to warm up outside.

A bag of them can be a little pricey, but they’re so worth it.

Alright, that’s all that I have for you today. It may be a little while before I write again.

We are moving to Massachusetts the first week of June, so things are going to get even crazier here. Plus, we’re moving from a big house to an apartment, so lots of decluttering and downsizing are going on. We’re going to live in an apartment for a year so we can get to know the area before deciding where to buy a house. I’m really going to have to embrace my Kindle and the library because all of my books and cookbooks are going into storage! No, I’m not panicking about that. I’m fine. FINE, I tell you.

Hope you are all doing well and have a great rest of the month! Thanks for being patient with me and staying a subscriber. :)

Have you read anything great lately? Do you find yourself drawn to any particular book club’s picks? What’s making you happy for now?

Also, if anyone has any tips on how to get Leonard to like his carrier and get through a four-hour flight, let me know! I really, really don’t want to have to drive 2000 miles with him.

*book links are affiliate links

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Hi y’all!

It’s that time of the year again, when readers are sharing their favorite books of the year lists. I love looking at other people’s lists, so I hope you enjoy seeing mine each year as well! But first…

A few stats and what I’ve learned

So I wanted to say it’s been a weird reading year for me, but when I looked back at my 2024 reading post, it seems like trends I saw last year have continued, so not weird but more of a second verse, same as the first vibe.

I’ve read 73 books so far, which hit my Goodreads goal of 72, but only 14 were fiction. Ouch. That’s even lower than last year. But it’s not all bad news because 9 of those 14 were 4.25 stars or above for me. That’s 64% winners.

So, I’m hoping that what that means is that I’m getting better at skipping or DNFing books that aren’t right for me. I had 6 DNFs this year, all fiction, and there were a lot more that I sampled and passed on. Maybe I’m getting better at not wasting time on books that don’t absolutely capture me.

Having said that, I’m hoping to up my intake of fiction in 2026. I hoped that for this year as well, and clearly, it didn’t work out, so back to the drawing board on strategy.

On the flipside, I read a ton of non-fiction—59 books. Of those, 19 were 4.25 stars or above. That’s only 32% winners. However, if I were to lower my bar to 4 stars, it would go much higher. I think I’m just less likely to give non-fiction 5 stars.

Another thing of note is that I listened to audio either fully or partially for 45 of the 73 books. So over 60% of my reading this year was on audio. That’s a major shift from years past but on trend from last year. Partly, that’s because I read so much non-fiction, and that works really well for me in audio. But also, I’ve learned I really like the tandem read where I own a print copy but get the audio from the library and I jump back and forth between the two, depending on what I’m doing. That seems to give me a lot of momentum in my reading.

Alright, so that’s what I’ve learned. Let’s get to the actual books!

(Note: I didn’t link to all the books, but I’d love for you to help out an indie bookshop of your choice this season by using these links to buy through Bookshop.org for print or Libro.fm for audio. I’m an affiliate of both, which means I get a small percentage if you buy through my links.)

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Favorite FictionROMANCE

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

This was great on audio and gave me all the '90s rom-com vibes. I was totally picturing Sandra Bullock as the lead. An overall good time and made me want to seek out the rest of Katherine Center’s books.

One Day in December by Josie Silver (did a full review here)

The Rewind by Alison Winn Scotch (did a full review here)

HORROR

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (did a full review here)

William by Mason Coile (full review here) ←don’t let yourself get spoiled on this one!

The September House by Carissa Orlando (full review here)

GENERAL FICTION

A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella (full review here)

Becoming Madame Secretary by Stephanie Dray (full review here)

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

Everyone was talking about this book last year, and now that I’m moving to the Cape Cod area, I knew I had to read it. A great family story and an honest look at the good and bad things about the midlife stage of life.

Favorite Non-FictionON WRITING AND CREATIVITY

We Need Your Art by Amie McNee

Pick this one up if you're needing a kick in the butt and some inspiration.

Around the Writer’s Block by Victoria Nelson

I hate to mention this one because it was published in 1993 and is now out of print, but I had a used copy on my shelf and finally picked it up. This was not easy, breezy reading, and it was dated in parts, but there was SO much wisdom here. I recognized the truth in what she had to say, not just from my own experience but also from seeing these things pop up in my coaching clients’ writing lives. I underlined a lot.

Doom and Bloom by Campbell Walker

If you want a quirkier, more lighthearted book on creativity, this was a good one. (Thanks to author J.E. Neal for recommending it to me!)

ON REALITY TV

Cue the Sun by Emily Nussbaum (full review here)

Behind the Mirror by Taran Armstrong

This is about the history of the reality TV show Big Brother. My family is Big Brother obsessed, and so this was such a catnip read for me. However, if you don’t watch Big Brother, just skip this one.

ON THE HORROR GENRE (a weird deep dive I got obsessed with)

Scream with Me by Eleanor Johnson (full review here)

Your Favorite Scary Movie by Ashley Cullins (full review here)

Why I Love Horror edited by Becky Siegel Spratford (full review here)

MEMOIR

Awake by Jen Hatmaker

This one has been everywhere, so I think it’s resonating with a lot of people. I thought it was a compelling memoir about what happens when Hatmaker wakes up one night to hear her pastor husband voice-texting his girlfriend and saying he can’t quit her. I highly recommend this on audio since Hatmaker narrates it herself. (Also, if you like this memoir, I highly recommend Maggie Smith’s You Could Make This Place Beautiful, which is also about the breakup of a long-term marriage. Hatmaker’s is a chattier style, Smith’s is more poetic since she is, you know, a poet.)

A Physical Education by Casey Johnston

This one inspired me to focus even more on strength workouts, but also, I liked the memoir style of it and how she delved into the way weight-lifting helped her escape diet culture. Good on audio.

ON HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Good Energy by Dr. Casey Means

Because I was going through health coaching training this year, I read/listened to a lot of health-related books. This is one that rose to the top. Who doesn’t want more energy?

Spark by John J. Ratey

This was about all the many, many benefits of exercise. It was broken down by conditions like Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, etc. and was a very motivating book. There is a lot of focus on studies, so you have to be okay with some dry info. He does work in anecdotes that help, but just be warned. I listened to this one on audio.

Gentle by Courtney Carver

Health isn’t only about eating and exercise. I really enjoy Courtney Carver’s minimalism content on her website, and this book is an extension of her message to slow down, simplify, and be gentle with yourself. So, if you need some inspiration to work on your stress levels in 2026, check this one out.

Alright, that’s the list! I hope you found something worth reading there.

I’d love to hear what your favorite book or books of the year were! Also, did you find out anything interesting about your own reading life when looking at your reading for the year? Was it a typical year? Are you changing as a reader? Which format do you find yourself drawn to?

Let me know in the comments! And I hope you all have a happy holiday season!

Roni

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Leonard: “I was definitely NOT eating the tree while you searched for ornaments in the closet.”

Hello there!

I haven’t chatted with you guys since October. Sorry about that! My life decided to throw a plot twist at me, and I spent most of November panicking freaking out rocking quietly in a corner dealing with the news like a total adult. Ahem.

The news is good. Great, actually. My husband was recruited out of his job of 20+ years into a CEO position. I’m really proud of him! He’s definitely earned it, and I’m excited about the change. The part that wasn’t on my bingo card was that it’s based in Cape Cod and will require a cross-country move from Texas to southern Massachusetts. Did I mention my son is a senior in high school and already had college plans to go to a school nearby?

Yeah, so, lots of rewriting of life plans happened in November. The company who hired my husband was super great about accommodating everything. They’re going to let him fly back and forth until May when my son graduates. Then we’ll all move up there officially.

But, for me, this means being a solo parent here more than usual, finding a new college plan for the kiddo, and getting my house ready to put up for sale in the spring. So, much of November was spent getting many, many unruly ducks in a row.

But also, this meant that I needed to escape into reading to take a break from all the chaos and planning. That’s good news for you because I found two fantastic backlist books just sitting patiently on my shelves waiting for me to finally get to them.

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Backlist FTW!

My TBR is truly out of control. Most of my bookshelves are filled with unread books (because once I read a book, I usually donate it to the library unless it makes it onto my favorites shelf.) And let’s not even talk about my ebook TBR.

The books can languish there because if I don’t read something immediately after I buy it, I often forget why I was excited to read that particular book in the first place. (Thanks, perimenopause!) Then I keep passing it by on the shelf, and it never gets selected.

But in November, I was in the mood for a seasonal read, so I purposely went to my shelves and pulled a stack of winter-themed romances to try. I’m so glad I did because I ended up with two lovely reads that have been waiting endlessly for me to pick them up.

One Day In December by Josie Silver

(Bookshop.org | Amazon | Libro.fm)

Want to know how long this one has been on my shelf? I had an ARC of it. This one released in October 2018, so that probably means I got the advanced copy at the RWA conference that summer. This poor book has been waiting to be read for SEVEN years!

I’m so glad I finally picked it up. It was perfect for the wintry mood I was in.

First, a warning. Both of these recommendations are romances. They both have happy endings. But the vibe is slightly left of center from traditional romances, the beats a little less predictable. I like that about them, but based on the Goodreads ratings, not everybody does. :) So know yourself as a reader.

This one has a simple concept to start off with—instalove (which I usually hate! lol But totally worked for me here.) Laurie is on a bus in London when she sees a man at the bus stop. They lock eyes, and she just knows that he’s the one. But the bus takes off before she can get off of it or he can get on. The next time she sees him, many months later, he’s on the arm of her very best friend. He’s the BFF’s new boyfriend. Yikes.

What rolls out from there is an epic When Harry Met Sally style setup (minus the enemies part) where these two become friends and are regularly in each other’s orbit but not at the right time to be with each other.

A bonus for me was how delightful the friendship between Laurie and her BFF Sara was. I love a well-portrayed female friendship (even if it gets messy sometimes.)

This is a 400-page book, but I raced through it. I could not put it down and needed to know what happened with these two. I was very satisfied with how it all turned out. My only complaint is that I wanted an epilogue.

Note: There is one thing that happens in this book that some romance readers will consider an automatic no. (It breaks a romance rule.) I’m not going to spoil anything, but don’t come for me when you get to that part, lol. If you’re concerned, look up spoilers.

But if you’re looking for a wintry romance read that feels like a real journey, this one was a great ride!

About the book:

Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story.

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn’t exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic... and then her bus drives away.

Certain they’re fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn’t find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they “reunite” at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It’s Jack, the man from the bus. It would be.

What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsiderd. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story to escape into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness.

The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch

(Bookshop.org | Amazon | Libro.fm )

There are a lot of Christmas romances out there, but how about a New Year’s one? And what if it’s set in 1999? How about if it also starts with a scene that gave me The Hangover vibes?

Allison Winn Scotch is generally categorized as a women’s fiction author, and I think that’s why this one also falls left of center. It has romance tropes: reunited exes/second chance romance, enemies-to-lovers, an amnesia plot, but it also has a women’s fic angle with the focus on a slightly unlikable heroine. I’m guessing that’s why the Goodreads rating (3.2) is particularly low. If you go in expecting a straight-up traditional rom-com, this isn’t it. But it is a romance, and you do get a happy ending.

Frankie and Ezra had a messy breakup in college and haven’t seen each other in ten years. They both return to their college campus for a mutual friend’s wedding. They try to avoid each other, but the morning of the wedding, they wake up in Ezra’s old dorm room in bed with wedding rings on their fingers and no memory of what happened the night before (hence The Hangover vibes.)

They, of course, freak out. Ezra is planning on proposing to his girlfriend (who hasn’t arrived yet) after the wedding at the turn of the millennium. Frankie just wants to get through the wedding and go home. But now they’re stuck trying to figure out what happened. Most of the book is them investigating and piecing together what happened the night before, all while having lots of flashback memories of their previous relationship.

I raced through this one as well and had fun with the journey. Ezra reminded me a little bit of Adam Brody’s character in Nobody Wants This. Frankie was prickly but grew on me.

So, if you’re looking for something a little different and New Year’s themed, give this one a go!

About the book:

Two exes wake up together with wedding bands on their fingers--and no idea how they got there. They have just one New Year’s Eve at the end of 1999 to figure it out in this big-hearted and nostalgic rom-com from New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch.

When college sweethearts Frankie and Ezra broke up before graduation, they vowed to never speak to each other again. Ten years later, on the eve of the new millennium, they find themselves back on their snowy, picturesque New England campus together for the first time for the wedding of mutual friends. Frankie’s on the rise as a music manager for the hottest bands of the late ‘90s, and Ezra’s ready to propose to his girlfriend after the wedding. Everything is going to plan--they just have to avoid the chasm of emotions brought up when they inevitably come face to face.

But when they wake up in bed next to each other the following morning with Ezra’s grandmother’s diamond on Frankie’s finger, they have zero memory of how they got there--or about any of the events that transpired the night before. Now Frankie and Ezra have to put aside old grievances in order to figure out what happened, what didn’t happen...and to ask themselves the most troubling question of all: what if they both got it wrong the first time around?

Alright, that’s all I have for today. I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and have a pile of books to keep you company this month.

What are you reading right now? I’d love to hear!

Also, for those who live up north, I’ve never lived anywhere but the south—am I going to survive New England winters?! Lol

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*book links are affiliate links, which means I get a small percentage if you buy through my link

Halloween is next week, so I thought now may be the perfect time for a weirdly specific microgenre I can’t resist: non-fiction about horror.

As I continue to struggle with my fiction reading (I’m working on it, but it is a JOURNEY), this genre has come in to pinch hit for me during one of my favorite reading seasons—spooky season. Instead of reading horror like I normally would (with the exception of this great book), I’ve been reading about horror. And that’s been really working for me.

So, I thought I’d share three audiobooks that have kept me company this month. One is for horror readers. One is for those of us who grew up in the 90s and still get a thrill when someone says, “Do you like scary movies?” The last is for those who want to get real nerdy about how horror novels and movies had a real impact on feminism in the 1960s/1970s.

Ready? Turn the knob on that creaky door and step inside.

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Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature edited by Becky Siegel Spratford

Libro.fm | Bookshop.org | Amazon

I heard about this book on the Books in the Freezer podcast, and I knew I needed to grab it immediately. Becky Siegel Spratford is a reader advisory librarian who specializes in horror. (How fun does that job sound?) Usually, she writes books for other librarians, but this time she decided to seek out some of the hottest voices in the horror genre and ask them a simple question—why do you love horror?

The writers’ responses to that simple question were varied and entertaining. As someone who grew up reading horror from an early age, I resonated with many of the essays. Others offered depth I didn’t expect. I think the question is deceptively simple but gets at some core things. What draws a kid or a teen or a young adult to pick up scary books? How can this often dismissed genre be a beautifully dark place to escape to?

This was an easy listen and is perfect for fellow horror lovers or those who like to read author origin stories.

I also loved that Becky Siegel Spratford introduced each author’s essay with a little bit about the author and their work, along with a helpful “Start here” with which of their books to try first and an “if you like this author, also try this author” recommendation.

About the book:

A love letter to the horror genre from many of the most influential and bestselling authors in the industry.

For twenty-five years, Becky Siegel Spratford has worked as a librarian in Reader Advisory, training library workers all over the world on how to engage their patrons and readers, and to use her place as a horror expert and critic to get the word out to others; to bring even more readers into the horror fold.

Why I Love Horror is a captivating anthology and heartfelt tribute to the horror genre featuring essays from several of the most celebrated contemporary horror writers including, Grady Hendrix, Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones, Josh Malerman, Victor LaValle, Tananarive Due, and Rachel Harrison.

“You never told me your name.”
“Why do you need to know my name?”
“Because I want to know who I’m looking at.”

Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror by Ashley Cullins

Libro.fm | Bookshop.org | Amazon

This book is for Scream fans. Full stop. If you’re not into the movies, just scroll on by. However, if this franchise is your jam, get ready to deep dive!

If you didn’t live through it, I’m not sure you can totally understand the impact the original Scream had on the horror genre. The movie came out in December 1996 when I’d just turned 17, so I got to see it in the theater. I’m not sure I’d ever experienced the combo of fear and humor that the movie so brilliantly balanced. It was funny, yes, but somehow didn’t lose the terror factor.

I was the same age and a fellow horror fan like the characters, so the meta aspect also really spoke to me. How many times had I thought, No, don’t run UP the stairs! in all those 70s and 80s horror movies I had loved to watch. Plus, by the 90s, great horror movies had started to be few and far between or sequeled to death, so this felt totally fresh. It became an instant favorite of mine. So I knew I had to grab this audiobook and get all the behind-the-scenes of the franchise.

This book covers all the current movies in the franchise (a lot!) and DOES give spoilers because it has to. So, if you haven’t watched the movies and want to, maybe do a movie marathon first.

I loved getting all the fun tidbits about the creation and filming of these movies. I love that Kevin Williamson wrote Scream and that his VERY NEXT PROJECT was writing Dawson’s Creek. Talk about range! Lol.

And one of the nicest surprises of the book was hearing about how wonderful Wes Craven was. With all the stuff coming out over the last decade about predatory directors and movie industry people, it was lovely to know that the man who created Freddy Krueger was actually this kind, genuine person who was really great to the people he worked with.

The first half of this book was more entertaining to me because it focused on the earlier movies in the franchise, but I enjoyed the whole thing, and it was a fast listen. It’s a great audiobook for having on in the background while doing chores or cooking.

About the book:

The ultimate story of the Scream movie franchise, featuring interviews from more than eighty key players and an in-depth exploration of the creation and legacy of the films that revived a dying genre

In Your Favorite Scary Movie, entertainment journalist Ashley Cullins examines the making and impact of the Scream films with behind-the-scenes insight from cast, creators, and crew, as well as sharp analysis on how the movies’ special blend of gruesome violence and humorous self-awareness rewrote the horror playbook. This intimate and thorough history includes brand-new interviews from Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Kevin Williamson, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Jack Quaid, Parker Posey, Hayden Panettiere, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Radio Silence, Roger L. Jackson, and so many more.

Perfect for fans of Scream, horror lovers, and cinephiles, this is the story of how a little movie about a ghost-faced killer terrorizing high schoolers overcame countless obstacles to become an historic success that still has audiences screaming to this day.

Scream With Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism (1968-1980) by Eleanor Johnson

Libro.fm | Bookshop.org | Amazon

Okay, so the first two recs are light reads. This one is not. This one feels like a college course on film and feminism because it’s written by a Columbia professor. That is not a criticism. I found this book fascinating. But I want to make sure you know what the vibe is. It’s academic. It’s political. And it’s scary because, well, history repeats itself.

In this book, Dr. Johnson, takes six horror movies from the era and shows how they reflected the times and affected the times. The six movies she covers are Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, The Stepford Wives, The Omen, Alien, and The Shining.

I hadn’t seen Rosemary’s Baby or the original Stepford Wives, so I watched them before reading those chapters. I highly recommend doing that. That will enhance the reading experience tenfold.

And y’all, I had to find The Stepford Wives on YouTube because it wasn’t streaming or available to rent anywhere. I feel like everyone needs to watch that original one with the current trad wives movement in mind. Terrifying, truly. So much so that I had a brief thought like, “Is it a conspiracy that this isn’t streaming anywhere? Do they not want us to see this?” I’m saying that a little tongue in cheek…but only a little because *shudder*.

I love a book that helps me see things I didn’t before, and this one did that on so many levels. Having a professor point out the symbolism in these movies—some of which I’ve seen many times—was really eye-opening.

But I think what I found most compelling about this book was that it was an illustration of how powerful art can be. I’m not going to get political here, but I know many of us feel frustrated and helpless right now about affecting change or making a difference. But sometimes change can sneak in through less obvious doors.

In their time, these movies had a real impact on the hearts and minds of society. Stories can make a difference. Stories can change how people think about things because characters we care about make an issue more personal. Art matters. Books matter. Movies and TV shows matter. There are many avenues to effect change.

So that’s what I walked away with from this book, along with a better understanding of recent history and a deeper appreciation for these movies.

Like the Scream book, this one also contains spoilers, so watch the movies first if you can.

About the book:

A compelling, intelligent, and timely exploration of the horror genre from one of Columbia University’s most popular professors, shedding light on how classic horror films demonstrate larger cultural attitudes about women’s rights, bodily autonomy, and more.

In May of 2022, Columbia University’s Dr. Eleanor Johnson watched along with her students as the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade. At the same time, her class was studying the 1968 horror film Rosemary’s Baby and Johnson had a sudden epiphany: horror cinema engages directly with the combustive politics of women’s rights and offer a light through the darkness and an outlet to scream.

With a voice as persuasive as it is insightful, Johnson reveals how classics like Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, and The Shining expose and critique issues of reproductive control, domestic violence, and patriarchal oppression. Scream with Me weaves these iconic films into the fabric of American feminism, revealing that true horror often lies not in the supernatural, but in the familiar confines of the home, exposing the deep-seated fears and realities of women’s lives.

While on the one hand a joyful celebration of seminal and beloved horror films, Scream with Me is also an unflinching and timely recognition of the power of this genre to shape and reflect cultural dialogues about gender and power.

Two Bonus Recs

If you love books about books, I love Sadie Hartmann’s non-fiction books about horror. Both of these are chock full of horror recommendations to keep your TBR pile stacked high for many spooky seasons to come. I recommend these in print because the full color pages and illustrations are so nice.

101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered by Sadie Hartmann

Bookshop.org | Amazon

Feral and Hysterical: Mother Horror’s Ultimate Reading Guide to Dark and Disturbing Fiction by Women by Sadie Hartmann

Bookshop.org | Amazon

Alright, that’s all I have for you today. I hope you have a great weekend!

How are you celebrating spooky season? Have you read any great scary books or watched any horror movies lately? Or do you prefer going cozy in October instead?

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I have made it a mission to get back into reading novels this fall. It’s been the year of non-fiction, and I’m ready to return to my reader roots. So a few days ago, I picked up a book that’s been on my shelf for a literal year, and I had the pleasure of getting completely lost in the story and binge-reading it over a few days.

I did triple threat reading (I’m not sure if that’s a thing. I made up the term.) I own the hardcover but checked out the ebook and the audiobook from the library as well, so that wherever I was (driving, doing dishes, in a dark room), I could read. Yay for libraries! (And my apologies to anyone in my area who wanted to read this book last week, lol. I promptly returned the copies as soon as I was done.)

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The Title Made Me Do It The September House by Carissa Orlando

(Bookshop.org | Libro.fm | Amazon)*

How could I not read a book called The September House at the start of September? I love a seasonal read, and I feel like September gets a little bit ignored (it’s my birthday month, so I’m biased.) Fall reading seems all about the October/November vibes, but meteorological fall starts September 1 (different than the equinox start), and inevitably, even though it’s still hot here in Dallas, I get in the mood for some spooky reads.

The concept of this book was what caught my eye originally. What if someone moves into their dream house, discovers it’s haunted by some not-all-friendly ghosts, but decides to stay anyway because, dammit, it’s their dream house and they can work around anything?

As someone who has moved many times and gone through the house-hunting process, you know, I kind of get it. Like, hey, we did a helluva lot to get here, if I have to occasionally call the priest over for an exorcism or the walls bleed every September, so be it. :)

Here’s the back cover summary:

A woman is determined to stay in her dream home even after it becomes a haunted nightmare in this compulsively readable, twisty, and layered debut novel.

When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee.

Margaret is not most people.

Margaret is staying. It’s her house. But after four years, Hal can’t take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. Now, he’s not returning calls, and their daughter Katherine—who knows nothing about the hauntings—arrives, intent on looking for her missing father. To make things worse, September has just begun, and with every attempt Margaret and Katherine make at finding Hal, the hauntings grow more harrowing, because there are some secrets the house needs to keep.

My thoughts:

I’m calling this cozy-ish horror because I didn’t find it scary, but there is legitimate gore and such, so it may depend on your feelings about horror. I loved the combo of humor, family drama, and some really troublesome (and one nice!) ghosts.

Margaret is a fun character to follow, and her whole “keep calm and carry on” vibe is both endearing and maddening (especially to her grown daughter who can’t figure out what’s going on.) There were some genuine twists that I didn’t see coming, and I appreciated the metaphor about the house and abusive relationships that was worked into the book.

I found this to be a page-turner and a great way to kick off the spooky season. Since I tried it in all three formats, I can confidently recommend it both in print and in audio. Both experiences were enjoyable.

So, if you want some spookiness without absolute terror, this is a great one to reach for!

I kept imagining the HGTV House Hunters episode for this. “Well, there’s one ghost that bites and the walls bleed in September, but that’s only one month of the year, and look at this beautiful wraparound porch and genuine hardwood floors!”

What are you reading this week? Have you shifted into fall reading or are you riding out the end of summer with beach reads?

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Hi there!

I hope you’ve all had a great summer. I’m sorry that I’ve been quiet over here on the newsletter front. Like I mentioned back in April, I had started a course to add health and wellness coaching to my coaching credentials, and it was taking up the space in my week where I’d normally have time for writing newsletters.

I’m happy to report that I graduated from the course (yay!) and can now get back to some sort of regular schedule. :) I’ve missed connecting with y’all here!

So let’s get to it. What’s been making me happy this summer?

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Audiobooks have been saving me

I have this quirk that when I’m deep into learning, like when I was in college or during this summer being in a course, I have a really, really hard time concentrating on fiction.

I think it’s a downside of being able to deeply focus on things. I get blinders on and just want to dive deeply into that thing. I can’t seem to break away from it and let myself get lost in a story. So this summer, I’ve spent a lot of time reading non-fiction, mostly in the form of audiobooks. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, my reading has consisted of me on my treadmill with non-fiction audiobooks in my ears.

There were two exceptions that I wanted to share.

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak (Amazon | Bookshop.org)

This is the lone book on this that that I read in print. I had started it when it first came out and then got pulled away for some reason and forgot to go back. This time, when I picked it up, I read it one day.

Mallory is a recovering addict who gets a summer babysitting job as the live-in nanny for 5-year-old Teddy. She gets to stay in a little cabin outside of the main house that’s adjacent to the woods. (That seems fine, right? Yeah, no.) Teddy seems great but then he starts drawing creepy pictures that get increasingly sophisticated. The fun of reading this in print is that the drawings are included. And yes, they get super creepy.

This is supernatural horror with a mystery woven in, so the pages turn quickly. In my book journal, I gave this 4.25 stars for the journey and 4 overall. That discrepancy is because the resolution went a little off the rails for me, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the ride.

I have his next book already on my shelf, The Last One at the Wedding, and I’m looking forward to it.

Also, looks like as of right now, this one is included in Kindle Unlimited.

Everyone Is Lying to You by Jo Piazza (Libro.fm | Amazon)

I listened to this one on audio as an advanced listening copy from Libro.fm (my fave place to get audiobooks because you can support indie bookstores through them) and enjoyed it in that format.

I think what drew me to this one was the setup. Lizzie, a struggling magazine writer, gets a call from her estranged college friend, Rebecca/Becs, who has become a big trad wife influencer in Utah. Becs want to reconnect with her at an influencer conference and potentially give her a story. Lizzie is intrigued and agrees, but shortly after she arrives and they briefly hang out, Rebecca disappears and Rebecca’s husband, Gray, is murdered. Lizzie has to figure out what's happening.

I can’t help but be drawn to stories about influencer culture and the problems within it, and this one delivered on that front. I found myself seeking out more chores to do so I could keep listening to the audio. That was a big win since I’ve had so much trouble focusing on fiction. I will say this one fizzled a bit at the end for me. It got a little bonkers for my taste and took away some agency from the main character actually solving anything.

But I think that’s more of a me problem. I’m really hard on endings to thrillers and horror. The good news is that it doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good time reading the book. I’d rather have a great journey with a so-so ending then a so-so book with a great ending.

If You Don’t Like This, I Will Die by Lee Tilghman (Libro.fm | Amazon )

If you want a non-fiction pairing to go with Everyone Is Lying to You, this was an interesting memoir to listen to afterward.

Lee Tilghman was one of the first wellness influencers and grew a huge following online. But while she was promoting health and wellness to the public, she was in crisis behind the scenes, her whole life bearing the crushing weight of always being on and everything being content. This eventually developed into some mental health issues and orthorexia. So trigger warnings for that.

This was a compelling listen, and the behind-the-scenes view of being an influencer was fascinating, but I feel like this could’ve been better with more time between the events and the writing. The “now I’m through it and all is well” at the end felt rushed. Time would’ve allowed for more perspective on her part. The insights felt not quite fully baked. But it was still a worthwhile listen, and if you aren’t already questioning every shiny influencer online, this will definitely help you start.

A Change of Habit: Leaving Behind My Husband, Career, and Everything I Owned to Become a Nun by Sister Monica Clare (Libro.fm | Amazon)

And now for something completely different… :) I heard this recommended by a listener on the Currently Reading podcast, and I was intrigued.

This is the memoir of Sister Monica Clare, a woman who knew from early on that she wanted to be a nun but took a few detours along the way—including being an improv actor with The Groundlings (during the Cheri Oteri era).

I grew up Catholic and went to Catholic school, so I was surrounded by nuns growing up, but the whole thing was always such a mystery to me. I mean, basically what I knew of the behind-the-scenes nun life came from the movie Sister Act. I’m guessing, not so accurate. So I think that’s what first drew me to this book. Behind the scenes at the convent!

But I think what ended up being the most compelling part of this book was the journey before she was a nun, starting with her childhood. I really enjoyed her storytelling and watching someone who was just an everyday person, not someone who came across as particularly serene, head into this lifestyle. I also learned that there were Episcopalian nuns (she chooses not to become a Catholic nun because she had more liberal views on certain issues.)

The book got a little slow once she actually starts training to become a nun, but overall, I really enjoyed the book and getting an inside look at something that’s usually shrouded in secrecy.

Delightful TV Shows

The Four Seasons (Netflix)

My husband and I went to Portland, Maine for our summer vacation. (Gorgeous, great food, fantastic place.) Wild couple that we are, we ended up working our way through all four episodes of this TV show in the evenings during the trip.

This is about three middle-aged couples who have been the best of friends for years and who take four vacations together each year, one for every season. But when one of the couples gets divorced, everyone is thrown into disarray. The show takes place over one year, and each long episode covers a season.

I loved this whole experience so much. It was a 5-star watch for me (and the hubby.) Laugh-out-loud funny, great acting, and some gravitas mixed in. Also, the contrast of a Gen Zer with these Gen X couples was hilarious.

I’m guessing your mileage will vary depending on which stage of life you’re currently in, but if you’ve reached middle age or beyond, add this one to your list. (I’ve verified with my boomer parents that they loved it too.) I can’t wait for another season.

Also, if the title sounds familiar, this is a remake of a movie from 1981 by the same name. I hadn’t seen the movie but did go back and watch it afterward. I liked the show better than the movie.

A Man on the Inside (Netflix)

I think I would watch Ten Danson in anything, but this was still an unexpected gem.

Charles is a retired widow and feeling a little lost. When he sees an ad for a private investigator to go undercover at a nursing home to investigate a theft, he applies. He moves into the nursing home, posing as a resident, and gets to know the people there while also investigating them.

There’s a cozy mystery element to this, but really, it’s about the relationships he forms while he’s there. Of course, there is some sadness, but at its heart, this is a sweet comedy. I binged this and can’t wait for another season (coming in November.)

Bonus, if you’re a fan of The Good Place, you’ll see a few actors from that show make cameos. And if you haven’t watched The Good Place, go fix that immediately! :)

Oatmeal in the Summer

Although it’s been a mild summer for Dallas (hardly any 100+ degree days!), I’m still ready for fall. So a few weeks ago, I decided that I wasn’t waiting for cool weather to start channeling my fall vibes.

I love a yogurt bowl or cold overnight oats in the summer, but I found myself suddenly craving warm oatmeal. Even though it’s still hot outside, I’ve found that when topped with summer fruit, it can still be an unexpected summer delight.

Here’s my favorite way to make it…

Ingredients:

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 TB chunky natural peanut butter (I prefer unsweetened)

1 banana, sliced

1 handful of blueberries (or chopped nectarine or peaches)

1/2 TB cacao nibs (or mini chocolate chips if you’re feeling indulgent) - optional

A sprinkling of chopped walnuts (I like to keep them almost whole and just break them up with my hands)

A drizzle of maple syrup

Pinch of salt

Directions:

Bring 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt to a boil.

Stir in oats and turn the heat down to medium.

Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Use your spoon to get a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter and put it in the empty bowl while you wait for the oats to cook.

Pour your finished oats into the bowl and over the spoon.

Stir until the peanut butter melts into it.

Top with fruit, nuts, and cacao.

Drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with a little salt if you like

Enjoy!

Alright, that’s what I have for you today and what’s been making me happy lately.

I’d love to hear what’s been brightening your summer! Let me know in the comments or hit reply on this email.

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Are you a writer who needs a reset? I have a new class starting Sept. 7th and this one includes three coaching sessions! Find out more here.

*All book links are affiliate links, which means I get a small payout if you purchase through my links.

Hey, y’all! I’m sorry that I went dark for a while.

I had the book release for The One for You and then started a health and wellness coaching certification course. I overestimated how much I could get done while taking a three-morning-a-week class, coaching authors in the afternoons, and then doing life and other work stuff in between. The newsletter had to hang out on the back burner for a few weeks. But I do have some things that are making me happy for now to share!

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Being a lifelong learner

My number one strength on the Clifton Strengthsfinder assessment is Learner. Nothing brings me more joy than learning something new and feeling like I’m growing. So joining the mindbodygreen Health Coach Certification course has been giving me so much fresh energy. (Random, but for those curious, mindbodygreen gave me a referral code for $750 off if you or someone you know might be interested. Click the link above and use code: HCCSTUDENT575 for the discount.*)

I know it’s a weird side quest for an author to go on, but health and wellness have been deep areas of interest for me for a long time, particularly healthy cooking. Plus, I already coach authors as a Gallup Strengths coach, and health/wellness is an area a lot of writers struggle with (ask me how I know! lol) because it’s such a sedentary and deadline-driven career that’s prone to burnout, so this extra training will help me help my coaching clients even more.

But the reason I’m sharing this is because if you’re looking for a boost, consider signing up for a class or learning a new craft or picking up a new hobby. It really can be a huge happiness booster to learn something new.

Sidenote: This course also has a very in-depth functional nutrition class included. My poor husband has now stopped asking what else I’ve added to his cold brew coffee this week (collagen and creatine if you’re wondering, lol.)

True Crime Documentaries for Anxiety Reduction (feel free to judge me)

The world is a crazy place right now. I’ve talked before about how horror movies can soothe me when I’m anxious. (There’s science behind why that works for some people—processing anxious feelings through the movie while knowing you’re safe and not actually in the movie.)

Well, I think true crime documentaries, for some reason, have a similar effect on me. I think part of it is seeing bad guys/girls get caught. It reminds me that sometimes there is justice in the world, that not all villains get away with their crimes.

I went on an absolute true crime binge in March. So here are some of the ones that stood out for me.

Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke (Hulu)

This one is both scary and sad. It really speaks to the dark side of internet influencing and where things can go when someone with dark intentions meets a susceptible mind (hey there, cult leader.) I read and reviewed daughter Shari Franke’s memoir a few months ago, so that’s what made me want to watch this doc. I thought it was well done and put faces to the names of the people in the book.

Check trigger warnings if you’re concerned. That’s a blanket warning for all of these docs.

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (Netflix)

This one is two seasons long and has one unbelievable occurrence after another. It spoke to the power of money and influence to keep things quiet, but also how you can’t hide forever.

Anatomy of Lies (Peacock)

I went on a bender of documentaries/shows about people lying about having cancer. How are there so many of these??? This is the first one that set off the marathon.

This doc follows the story of Grey’s Anatomy writer Elisabeth Finch who lied about having cancer for a LONG ASS TIME and leveraged it to get prime writing opportunities on Grey’s, awards, and accolades.

This one was fascinating because this woman would have to LIVE the thing she was going to write about on the show or straight up steal someone else’s life experience without their consent. I’m a writer. I understand needing inspiration or writing about things you’ve personally experienced. But Finch couldn’t seem to create any stories without faking it in her own life or finding out someone else’s story of trauma and then using it for an episode. She literally checks herself into a mental hospital and…well, you need to watch. It’s unbelievable where this story goes.

The Search for Instagram’s Worst Con Artist (Netflix) & Apple Cider Vinegar (Netflix)

This is the story of Belle Gibson, a young Australian influencer, who pretended she had cured her (fake) cancer with a healthy eating diet. She ran this con so effectively that at one point, her app was going to be one of the few launched on the first Apple Watch.

I think one of the things that I never realized until watching these documentaries is how easy it is to lie about a medical diagnosis. People can’t fact-check you because of medical record privacy laws. Plus, who wants to question someone who says they’re dying of cancer?

Follow this one up with the Netflix show based on this case…

This show was bananas and dramatic, but I couldn’t stop watching. I think watching this one after the documentary was a good order to view them in.

And rounding out the lying-about-cancer scammers…

Scamanda (Hulu)

This is a story of yet another woman faking cancer and getting loads of attention and donation money because of it. This story started out as a podcast, and I actually liked the podcast more than the doc because it went more in-depth, but the two together were a good pairing.

Watching these women get caught was very satisfying. I’ve lost people in my family to cancer (as I would guess most of us have.) Thinking that someone would fake it to milk sympathy or money out of people pushes all of my buttons.

Something a little lighter: A musical and some stand-up!

Waitress: The Musical

To cleanse your palate after all that true crime, I wanted to share what a delight it was to finally see Sara Bareilles’s Broadway performance in Waitress: The Musical. I’ve had the song “She Used to Be Mine” on repeat for years, but I’d never gotten the chance to see the musical.

So I was thrilled when I saw that Max was streaming the recording of it. The show was fantastic and the music is great. If you’re looking for something to make you smile, check this one out!

Iliza Shlesinger: A Different Animal

I have enjoyed all of Iliza’s stand-up specials, so when my friend Dawn let me know that there was a new one out, I watched it immediately.

Iliza is smart and feminist and a just an overall badass. This isn’t one to watch with the kids in the room and her outfit is distracting, but I had a great time watching it. I particularly love her humor about the differences in the generations. (She’s an “elder millennial”.)

Here’s a sample if you want an idea of her humor:

Alright, that was a lot today! I’ve been storing it up, lol. Hope you found something that might make you a little happier this week.

I’d love to hear what’s been making you happy for now. Let me know in the comments or hit reply if you got this in your inbox. :)

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Hey y’all, good news! The final book of the new editions of The Ones Who Got Away series is out today! Kincaid and Ash are ready to break your heart and then put it back together again. 😊

Get your copy

About The One For You

Twelve years ago, tragedy struck a sleepy Texas town. Only a small number of those impacted survived―a group the media dubbed The Ones Who Got Away. This is their story.

HER SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE: After spending years struggling to move on, Kincaid Breslin has put all of her energy into making life full and interesting. She may have lost her soulmate, but she doesn't have to let that young tragedy shape who she is now...or continue to complicate her relationship with former best friend turned near-stranger, Ash.

HIS CHANCE TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT: Ashton Isaacs has spent his life running―from his past, from the best friend he's always secretly loved, and from the truth of how he failed her when she needed him most. Now, over a decade later, it's time to stop running and finally face the girl his heart never forgot.

But Kincaid doesn't know about everything that happened that night. She doesn't know what he did, or why Ash is so certain she'll never be able to forgive him. All she knows is that she's missed having him in her life, and she's willing to fight―for them, for the kids they used to be, and for this one final chance to let the past go forever. With Ash, her heart may finally be ready to heal…or shatter completely once and for all.

By turns heart-wrenching and deeply romantic, this award-winning spicy contemporary romance will challenge the way you see life, love, and happily ever after.

Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Google Play

Audiobook: Libro.fm | Audible

Want a sample?

CHAPTER ONE

Kincaid Breslin was the girl who was supposed to die first in the horror movie. In high school, it had been a running joke among her friends during their annual Halloween marathon of scary movies that she’d be the first character topless, screaming, and running for her life.

She was the dance team captain. The girl with the superstar boyfriend. The non-virgin. All those things spelled dead in those classic eighties horror movies. Her character probably wouldn’t have been on screen long enough to even get a name. In the credits, she’d be listed as Blond Cheerleader #1 or Hysterical Girl #2. But her friends had been wrong. When Kincaid’s life had turned into an actual horror movie, she’d somehow managed to get out alive. Most of those friends hadn’t. Real life didn’t follow movie rules.

So you would think after actually surviving what she had, she’d be extra vigilant about putting herself in any situation that resembled a scary movie ever again. But as she stared up at the rambling farmhouse that could star in the next teen slasher film, she fell head over heels in love.

“Holy shit,” her friend Liv said next to her, camera clutched in her hands. “Are we supposed to go inside that thing?”

Kincaid frowned. “Well, yeah. I need photos of the inside. There are none online yet, and Bethany wanted pictures ASAP. And what Bethany wants, she gets. Otherwise, I’ll get sixteen thousand demanding texts and voicemails by the end of the day. I need this sale. Please make this place look gorgeous.”

Liv gave her a wary look, as if she were now regretting offering her photography skills for Kincaid’s demanding real estate client. “Has it been opened and aired out recently? Maybe had some sage burned and a spirit guide cleanse the thing?”

Kincaid snorted, surprised at her normally unflappable friend’s reaction. “Honey, I didn’t take you for the superstitious sort. That’s usually my job. It’s just an old farmhouse.”

Liv gave her a pointed look, dark eyes holding her gaze, as she very deliberately made the sign of the cross and recited something in Spanish. “Chica, that thing for sure houses the angry spirits of serial killers or maybe vampires. I bet there are bones in the attic. Or portals to hell in the basement. I am not playing Willow to your Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Kincaid laughed. “You wouldn’t be Willow. Too mouthy. You’d be Xander. And there are no basements here.” She put her hands on her hips and looked at the house again. “I think it’s…quaint.”

Liv gave her a girl, please look. “Quaint? You’re using your real estate agent words. Cozy means small. Fixer upper means money pit. Quaint means…portals of hell demons ready to eat your soul for the mere price of—what’s this thing cost anyway?”

Kincaid checked her notes from her earlier chat with her fellow agent, Ferris. “Owner’s asking five-hundred.”

“Wow,” Liv said, lifting her camera and taking a shot of the wide sagging porch. “Someone’s proud of their creepy-ass haunted house.”

“That price includes a decent chunk of land. Plus, the home was owned by one of the founding families of Long Acre. It’s historic,” Kincaid countered, not sure why she was trying to defend the house. Maybe because if she didn’t make a big sale soon, the agency was going to start questioning if they needed three full-time agents.

“Ha. Another real estate agent word. Historic not old.” Liv stepped a little to the left and aimed her camera at the second story and all its peeling white paint glory. “I have faith in you, though. You could sell hair products to a bald guy. I’m sure you’ll find someone who finds it…quaint.”

“I think Bethany will love it.” Bethany Winterbourne was moving from Austin and wanted the perfect fixer-upper house to create her “super adorable, glam dream palace away from the city” after her divorce. Bethany Winterbourne had also watched too many home design shows and thought small town Texas would be chock full of big houses that would be cheap and fall in her lap.

Kincaid had been on the hunt for Bethany for six months now with countless smaller houses in Wilder discarded out of hand. Now finally, she’d come across this prospect in Long Acre, which had the square footage Bethany wanted. Plus, it hadn’t come onto the market officially, so no one had seen the house yet. Maybe she could get a good price without competition.

Ferris had given her a heads up because he knew Kincaid was more than ready to get Bethany out of her hair. Plus, after a particularly dry year where Kincaid had barely made a sale, Ferris knew she needed a win. This could be the answer.

However, now that Kincaid was looking at the old house, she got a spoiled milk taste in her mouth at the thought of it being filled with Bethany’s style, which given the decor of Bethany’s current condo, would be white lacquer furniture and pink sequined pillows that had things like Shine Bright on them.

Kincaid could appreciate unique tastes. She was currently wearing underwear with purple llamas on them, so who was she to judge? You do you, girl. But this house had old, beautiful bones—hopefully not the attic kind like Liv was talking about—and was begging to be restored to its former glory. She could almost feel it shudder at the thought of a sequin passing its threshold.

Kincaid let her gaze travel over the facade, her mind smoothing over the peeling paint and the warped windows, imagining what the grand house must’ve looked like when it was first built right outside of town. Nothing for miles around, the Texas wine country not yet rolling with grapevines and tourists, and the land rich with possibility. It was the kind of house she’d dreamt of living in when she’d walk home from school through the nicer neighborhoods on her way back to the broken down rental house she’d shared with her mom. Houses with warmth and laughter and good smells coming from the kitchen. Houses that didn’t have a dry-rotted hole in the floor of the bathroom, dingy tan walls, and nothing but boxed macaroni and cheese and Vienna sausage in the cabinets—food her mom knew a kid could cook for herself since her mother was rarely home at night.

Read the rest of chapter one

I love that all four of these have gotten such gorgeous new covers and are now available in trade paperback size. (I also loved the old covers even though they were very different, but I know lots of you don’t love the smaller mass-market-sized books.)

And if you’re new to these stories, welcome!

If you collect all four, they do make a very pretty complete picture. :) But you don’t have to start at the beginning if you don’t want to. Each book is about a different couple and can stand alone.

Also, if you’ve already read these, I’d love help spreading the word! Please share with your readerly friends and you’ll get my undying appreciation.

Hope you have a great week!

Roni

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Hey there! It’s been a bit of a stressful week at our household. Early in the week, we had 75mph winds that took off numerous chunks of our roof. There’s nothing like sitting in your living room at 5am with your terrified dog and worried kid, listening to your house howl and make weird banging sounds, and then hearing water dripping…inside.

My teen turned to me and was like, “Well, that can’t be good…”

It was not. A piece of the roof had come up (that was the banging sound) and was letting rain in—rain that then proceeded to run down rafters and drip through our attic door into our hallway. My husband spent the rest of the storm in the attic, strategically placing buckets. Sigh.

We got lucky compared to others. Our roof is temporarily patched for now, and there doesn’t seem to be any permanent water damage inside, so that’s good. But all that to say…I really needed a happy-for-now mindset this week!

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There’s always the sunset

After the storm blew through, the wild winds continued all day (ripping off more shingles) and brought in dust from West Texas. It had been a crazy stressful day, and I was just spent by the end of it.

However, right before I started cooking dinner, I remembered that our local weather guy once said that dust storms can make beautiful sunsets.

So, I hurried to my office window to see if I could catch the sunset in time. I did and it did not disappoint. This was the view through my window. No filter. (You can see how dusty the air still is.)

Life gives us metaphors if we pay attention. Something beautiful can come out of something stressful, but we need to remember to look for it.

A big chunky book to get lost in

I haven’t posted about what I’ve been reading recently because I was making my way through this 500+ page chonker.

I often shy away from grabbing a doorstop book because I have so much to read on my TBR, and I know it’s going to take some time to get through a big one. But then, inevitably, when I find a long book that I can truly get immersed in, I remember that the wonderfulness of a big book is that you really feel like you’ve BEEN THROUGH something with the characters. This is why even though I don’t read a ton of super long books, they often land on my favorites-of-the-year list.

So, I’m here, learning that lesson again, with Stephanie Dray’s Becoming Madame Secretary (Bookshop. org | Libro.fm | Amazon). I don’t read a ton of historical fiction, but I was drawn to this one because a) I know Stephanie is a good writer and b) I had this desire to read about another troubled time in American history and how we came through it.

I was not disappointed. This story swept me into a different time and had me rooting hard for these characters. It was also a bonus that FDR played a big role in the book because my family went to visit his house in Hyde Park, NY last summer. That helped me picture things even more clearly.

This is the story of Frances Perkins, the Secretary of Labor for FDR and the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet. That sounds dry, but I promise it’s not. The story follows Frances from her early days in New York, fighting for child labor laws and championing workers’ rights, through her falling in love, moving her way up in politics, becoming a mother, and eventually going to Washington.

She was such a great character to follow along with—tough, principled, funny, and not afraid to go toe to toe over what she believed in. But she was also a wife and mother and living in a time where women were supposed to stay at home. You couldn’t help but root for her.

Here’s the official back cover copy:

Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference.

When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with whom she falls deeply in love.

But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he’s a rich, arrogant dilettante who gets by on a handsome face and a famous name. He thinks she’s a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House.

Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR’s most trusted lieutenant—even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she’s willing to do—and what she’s willing to sacrifice—to save a nation.

So, if you’re looking for something to get immersed in for a while and maybe to give you a little hope that we can go through hard things and come out better for it, give this one a try. (Sidenote: looks like the hardcover is half off on Amazon as I’m writing this.)

Quick Pickled Onions

I love an acidic hit to foods, so I love pickled things. Plus, if you’re trying to eat healthy, it’s a big bang of flavor for your buck.

One of my go-to moves is keeping a jar of pickled red onions in my fridge to throw on top of whatever—burgers, salads, tacos, sandwiches. They work in so many places that I end up getting through the jar in a week.

They’re super easy to make—no need to even turn on the stove.

Quick-Pickled Onions

1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar

1/2 cup water

4 tsp kosher salt

4 tsp white sugar

1 big (or 2 small) red onions, sliced into thin slices (or thicker if that’s your jam)

Put the first four ingredients in a quart-size mason jar. Cover and shake it up until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Then drop in the onions. Shake again. Refrigerate.

They’re ready to eat in an hour or two but get even better with more time. You can keep them in the fridge and they’ll stay good for about two weeks.

Yesterday I used them to top nachos and they were perfect!

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you had a great weekend!

Roni

What’s making you happy for now? I’d love to hear!

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This week the 48th (48th!!) season of Survivor started. I can still remember the first one in 2000, which makes me feel old, and the way it rocked what we thought of as TV. I watched the show for many years with my husband. We met in 1999, so Survivor feels inextricably tied to being an “us” show.

We lost track of it for a few years when parenthood took up more of our time, but during the pandemic, we chose it as our family binge-watch and worked our way through all the seasons we’d missed, introducing the kidlet to it and reality TV.

We’re now dedicated viewers, and this show, along with Big Brother (my personal favorite) and The Amazing Race, are things we look forward to as a family each year. Reality TV, for all it’s pitfalls, really does hold a special place in my heart for the family time and the discussions it’s created.

So when I saw there was a book coming out about the history of reality TV, I knew I needed it in my life, especially when it was by Emily Nussbaum, who wrote I Like to Watch, a book of essays about TV that I really enjoyed.

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Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

Buy the book: Libro.fm | Bookshop.org | Amazon

Depending on when you were born, you may have a different idea of when “reality TV” started. Before this book, if asked, I probably would’ve said The Real World on MTV. But I would’ve been wrong. The Real World did usher in a number of things that changed TV, but it was far from first.

Nussbaum goes way back, starting with Candid Microphone in 1947, which was a reality show on the radio that eventually led to Candid Camera once TVs were a thing. From there, she tracks reality TV in all its different forms through the decades—dating shows, game shows, An American Family in the 70s (the first to follow a real family), competition shows like American Idol and The Bachelor, celebrity shows like The Obsbournes, Cops, and all the way through today where reality TV has directly influenced our politics. She also gives the juicy behind-the-scenes stuff.

I listened to this on audio (I highly recommend it in that format) and gobbled it up. I found this all so fascinating! It’s hard to imagine the TV landscape without reality now, but it truly was a strange thing for most people to wrap their heads around when it started. Also, I felt Nussbaum did a great job of showing how it has shaped culture for better and worse.

So, if you are a fan of pop culture histories or reality TV or just want to reminisce about the shows you’ve watched over the years, this was a great listen. I gave it five stars.

And if you want to pair it with a movie to watch tonight…

The Truman Show (1998)

Somehow, I had never seen this movie. So, after finishing Cue the Sun, which got its title from a line in this movie, I knew I had to watch it.

This movie came out in 1998, two years before Survivor and Big Brother premiered (and just as the internet was starting to become a thing), but it predicted where we were going.

Truman (Jim Carrey) has grown up his whole life in a town that he can’t leave (though he doesn’t realize that.) He has no idea that, since birth, he’s been on a 24/7 reality show and that the people in his world—his mother, his wife, his friends—are all actors. When his “father” whom he thought was dead shows up, Truman begins to question what’s going on and tries to escape. But the producers can’t lose their star and are going to do everything to stop him.

This movie has a sad tone despite it having Jim Carrey as the star. It’s labeled as a psychological comedy/drama, and I think that’s about as accurate a genre description as you’re going to get. But it’s a movie that makes you think. It made me think about kids who have grown up on their parents’ YouTube channel (like the memoir I reviewed here) and what it means that we’re drawn to watching other people’s lives on TV and the internet.

So, if you’re looking for an entertaining movie (I mean, it’s still Jim Carrey) that also has some substance to it, check it out. I watched it on The Criterion Channel app as part of their Surveillance Cinema collection, but it’s available to rent on the other services and is also on Hoopla.

Alirght, that’s all I have for you today. I hope you have a great weekend!

What have you been reading and watching this week? I’d love to hear!

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