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Hey there! There’s been a lot going on lately, so I thought I’d share a bunch of updates, newsletter-style!
I had a couple of great writing events—even if I messed up one of them a little bit!
Romance Genre Con in Kansas City
I was thrilled to be invited as an author to this event, along with headliner Jasmine Guillory and other wonderful authors. I taught a workshop on Irresistible Query Letters and Pitches, and so many people told me they loved it. I’m thinking of teaching this for free over Zoom. Let me know if you’re interested!
(The pic is a green room selfie with Angela Anderson, Liz Johnson, Janna MacGregor, and Jamie Wesley.)
I also did a reading there of Her Knight at the Museum…
It was a great audience, and I can’t tell you how gratifying it was (as a romantic comedy writer) to get a couple of big laughs from a crowd! I signed a lot of books the next day.
I saw some old friends in Kansas City. I still miss them so much! Some of us go way back. Someday, I’m going to write a post about what it was like to work in a humor greeting card studio in the 1990s, because it truly was an amazing time.
My friends told me about their numerous Ted Lasso sightings! A new season was filmed all over town.
I messed up the book fair portion of the conference, though.
I had never sold my own books at a table, before. I wasn’t able to take Square, because it didn’t connect with my bank account for some reason. Many people didn’t have Venmo. I didn’t have cute swag like everybody else. And my pen ran out of ink—I had to borrow someone else’s Sharpie!
Yeah, I was a hot mess. But I had a great time talking to people! And I have an opportunity to try again at Moonlight & Magnolias!
Chandra Blumberg’s Launch Party, Antioch, Illinois
Chandra Blumberg is a fellow Chicago-area author, and she is so talented. To celebrate her latest release Love Is an Open Book, I joined her and author Danielle Jackson (Accidentally in Love) at Little Bean Coffee Company (they are also a bookstore!) in Antioch, Illinois yesterday. (I got a few pics on my phone when Chandra and I were there early, but I need to get a picture of Danielle to add to the post!)
I had never been to Antioch before, so Mr. Donovan and I got there early to look around. It is such a charming small town! It’s sort smack dab in between Chicago and Milwaukee.
I can’t say enough about Little Bean Coffee Company and Little Bean Books. They made special bookmarks for Chandra and coffee drinks and baked goods in honor of her characters! (The rose petal and white chocolate scone…oh my gosh, I can’t tell you how delicious.) They treated Danielle and I like queens, too! I signed a lot of books and talked to so many cool people.
If you are near Grand Rapids, you should come see me on Wednesday!
I am going to be at the iconic independent bookstore Schuler Books this Wednesday the 20th at 6:30, teaching a Write Your Romance Novel class and signing copies of Her Knight at the Museum! I’m so grateful for the opportunity and so looking forward to it. If you are in the area, I hope you’ll attend—you can go here to reserve your spot!
Okay, who wants to talk about TV?
I Thought I Would Love the Show TOO MUCH on Netflix!
And for the first eight episodes, I mostly did. It followed the general contours of a romcom, and it was very clever, with some truly heartwarming moments. I had never seen either lead actor before, and they were both so charismatic. I would love to see both in other romance projects!
BUT THEN…okay, SPOILERS, so QUIT READING if you don’t want to know!
LAST CHANCE to click out of the post (because you are free to discuss this in the comments section.)
In the last episode, the hero cheats on the heroine. This is related to his addiction, and likely to his childhood trauma as well, but there’s no time to explore this. And that’s not the worst thing by far.
The heroine has a tiny, hairless stray dog who, we know from an earlier scene, she found in a shelter, traumatized after the death of her elderly owner. We love this dog.
And in the last episode, the dog isn’t breathing well. The hero rushes her to a vet. We see the workers try to resuscitate her.
But they can’t. The dog dies. We see her little naked body on the steel table, hooked up to a ventilator. It all happens as the worst possible way to bring the lovers back together again.
This is honestly an awful way to treat viewers. You can kill people; you can’t kill the dog. Everyone in Hollywood knows this! It’s inexcusable.
The pacing and characterization fly off the rails in the last two episodes. The hero’s motivation is unclear. Grief and betrayal are followed immediately by all the secondary couples reuiniting, for no apparent reason, and the leads getting married, giving us emotional whiplash. We have no sense that either of them has changed in a way that will secure their chances of happiness.
All that being said: with a love story, the third act is the hardest! Anyway, I recommend watching episodes one through eight and then imagining your own ending.
How’s everything going for you?
Are you enjoying the end of the summer, or have you been busy with back-to-school things? I’d love to hear about it! I hope you have a great week!
I’ve heard GREAT things about moonlight & magnolias!!! Hope it goes amazingly well!
Thank you Audrey! I am so looking forward to it! I’ve been there before, but it’s been forever. 🙂
Having a pen run out of ink is the worst! I’ve started taking two backups with me any time I am somewhere I may be signing books. And Square, is a beast at times. Before my last event, I think I checked it five times the night before and the morning of to make sure it would work. It goes crazy every time there is an update.
Summer is off to a whirlwind of a start. I sent my manuscript in for the first round of edits, and found out we’re expecting our first child. Being told you are a “geriatric pregnancy” is soooo much fun. Let me tell you. LOL.
OH MY GOSH. ERIN. Congratulations—that is so exciting! Don’t they start saying “geriatric pregnancy” at a comically low age? It’s so rude! I’m so happy for you!
I think I am going to bring a bucket of Sharpies next time, haha! That’s good to know about Square. Hopefully I can get it all sorted!
spoiler alert Oh my gosh, I could not believe they killed that sweet dog. I was devastated, not to mention stunned. I fully thought he was going to save the dog and that is how they would be reunited. What in the world. There was a lot about this show that made me cringe (the drug use, plus a lot weird oversharing on the heroine’s part) but the heroine was so charismatic. I really rooted for her, and I felt like the hero’s quiet loyalty and the way he was so into her, just as she was, was exactly what she needed…until things went completely off the rails, like you said.
Okay, right? I couldn’t believe they did it! “Quiet loyalty” is the perfect way to describe his character throughout most of the episodes, and I just loved the vibe so much. It was such a shame at the end! And the dogs should always be safe. 💙
Great post Bryn. I’m glad the book signings were fun for everyone. As for ‘Too Much,’ some friends were talking about it recently. I hadn’t seen it, but I lost all interest when they talked about the dog dying. My ex-husband took my so and I to a movie once, (SPOILER ALERT)… with Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston in it, Marley and Me, where the dog dies at the end. I was horrified, angry, crushed… A great movie with a terrible turn at the end that ruined it all for me. Lots of people loved it, lots of people rated it low for killing off the dog.
Hi Anne! Ugh, I knew that about Marley and Me, which is why I’ve never seen it! And it’s too bad, because I enjoy both of those actors, and I love anything with dogs! Honestly, how dare they? I hope everything is going well with you!
Sorry to have missed you when in Kansas City. I did eavesdrop (yes, writers do that all the time) on the Friendly Bean baristas brainstorming their signature drinks for that annual event which they love working. No surprise about your class reception, you’ve always been an excellent teacher, I still have notes from a metaphor/poetry workshop you led.
Hi Nancy! Ohh, how fun that you overheard baristas brainstorming their signature drinks. 🙂 Thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it. I hope the end of summer is treating you right!
Love seeing you with my friend, Janna!