Clichés are universal, and can absolutely be the right approach when trying not to be too purple and keep your story accessible. I think it's all about balance.

Diana Gabaldon talks about her choices for this a lot in, I Give You My Body, but I've never been able to nail down how I really feel about her approach. It's a good read if you're writing a lot of romance.

It does seem like the proper path for characters with mediumship abilities, I'll have to keep working on it. Tense seems to be the biggest thing I struggle with for 3rd.

For my second book, I wanted to try third-- I really did. But for character focused writers, first does a much better job of bringing the reader in close and writing for empathy.

After reading your bio-- I wonder if you'd be a good fit for something cross genre. A contemporary/upmarket novel with themes of family, agency, mental health and a lean towards romance?

Looking forward to reading it!

You absolutely should.

I have the calendar argument with my partner twice a week. I can't bring myself to use it which means I double book often and never learn my lesson.

open.substack.com/pub/jennaman...

I'm starting the querying process and hearing so much noise on big publishing expecting authors to do a lot of own marketing or possess a big following. But don't authors pursue those houses to limit this? Otherwise why not go small or self-publish?

Idk, some of us like to be slapped and sober? Not me. But some people. As a sober someone, I generally like minty things.

I think the truth of the matter is audiences expectations have evolved and it takes a lot more skill to show then tell. You can hit someone on the face with all the showing, but at some point they also want to be explicitly told.

I have a license from 2016? I don't think it's still getting updates.

I think this just means you make another batch!

@lexilafleur.bsky.social is launching a hockey romance soon! High hopes for this one.

Is this how we use the algorithm to find our people?