Reading

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"The greatest art in the world is the art of storytelling."

"Creativity is a drug I cannot live without."

~ Cecil B. DeMille

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"You are what you think. So just think big, believe big, act big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, love big and live big."

"If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes."

~ Andrew Carnegie

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"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination."

"Be yourself. Because if people don't like you as you are, they're not going to like you as somebody you're trying to be."

~ Jimmy Dean

New Substack post

Brief comments on current events, including a man with serious political courage, ICE recruitment, and of course the Epstein files.

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"If you believe it will work out , you'll see opportunities. If you believe it won't you will see obstacles."

"With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose."

~ Wayne Dyer

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"I make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes."

"The poet should try to give his poem the quiet swiftness of flame, so that the reader will feel and not think while he is reading. But the thinking will come afterwards."

~ Sara Teasdale

Facts: Discontinued 😞 I've run out of steam.

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"Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve."

"For every failure, there's an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour."

~ Mary Kay Ash

Facts: Gatorade

1.) The popular sports drink, was developed in 1965 by a team of researchers at the University of Florida. Their goal was to create a beverage that would keep the university’s football players hydrated and replenish their electrolytes during intense physical activity. (Also keeps hordes of roaming teenagers hydrated.)

2.) It revolutionized the field of sports hydration by introducing a specially formulated drink that improved athletes’ performance by providing hydration and essential electrolytes. (They no longer make my favorite flavor: Citrus Cooler.)

Oh what the fuck, time.

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"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age."

"Remember to recognize the small successes that you will have. Don't let the brightness of that big goal blind you to what happens on the way toward the goal. Meet one wave at a time and enjoy what progress you make. I want you please not to be taken up in the undertow of pessimism."

~ Lucille Ball

Facts: Nihi Soda (pronounced knee-high, like the stocking.)

1.) Nehi soda‘s origins can be traced back to 1905, when Claud A. Hatcher founded the Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works in Columbus, Georgia. Initially, the company focused on bottling ginger ale and root beer, but Hatcher recognized the need to diversify his product offerings to compete with the growing popularity of Coca-Cola. (I stumbled across this soda when I was 9 or 10 while walking around town me and a friend went into an unknown gas station. Yes, I am an 80s child and roamed everywhere.)

2.) In 1924, Hatcher introduced a range of new fruit-flavored sodas under the Nehi brand, including grape, orange, and peach. (I tried the Peach variety, because that store was out of the BLUE cream soda. Glad they were out, because the Peach was delicious.)

New Substack post -- Interstate musical chairs?

Who's going to jump into the big interstate game of musical House chairs next?

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"The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions."

"if you don't concentrate on what you are doing then the thing that you are doing is not what you are thinking."

~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

Facts: Root Beer

1.) Not all Root Beer is created equally. I watch people on YouTube try A&W and Barqs and I have to wonder why people are sending inferior brands. Try the oldest Hires. (Not my Root Beer of choice, but better than the first 2.)

2.) Do not reach for Root Beer of you're in need of a caffeine fix. Traditionally, this drink is Caffeine free. Mug had some, but… (My Root Beer of choice is IBC in glass bottles. A bit more expensive, but totally worth it. I was actually stopped by the police as a tweenager, because the bottle looked like a beer bottle. The officer could do is point at me and say 'don't drink real beer.')

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My Worldcon Schedule AND Boston Fan Expo (formerly Boston Comic Con)

Whew~! Readercon was a whirlwind, as expected, but so much fun. I had so many great panels, and I wrote down so many inspiring thoughts and quotes from fellow panelists. Two in particular from Vandana Singh: “There is an artificial line between nature and culture.” and “Shiva was a bisexual god before he got appropriated by mainstream Hindus.”

But now it’s time to gird my loins for Worldcon in Seattle! I leave in less than a week. But guess what…?

Fan Expo Boston

I got added to the Fan Expo Boston author lineup as well, being wrangled by Lovestruck Books, the absolutely fab new romance bookstore in Harvard Square, which has a huuuuge romantasy section, nice erotica section, and lots of other squee-worthy genres.

So this Saturday, August 9 I’ll be autographing Magic University at 11am at Fan Expo, along with Elizabeth Skarpnes (To The Gallows|on Bookshop & Amazon) and I.V. Ophelia (The Poisoner | on Bookshop & Amazon).

Then at 9pm I’ll be on an 18+ panel/writing workshop on How to Write a Sex Scene with Kim Swizz and I.V. Ophelia! The three of us will be giving advice (in graphic detail if necessary) on how to wring every last bit of pleasure from writing sex scenes! Whether you’re trying to keep it as low key as possible or you want to turn up the heat, we have techniques to share!

Fan Expo Boston is held at BCEC (Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, right next to the Westin Seaport.)

THEN, it’s off to Seattle Worldcon!

My Worldcon schedule is spread out over five days and four different venues:

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Mirrored from Cecilia Tan.

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check it out

Bring Back the Porn!

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Quote & Fact...

Quote: Loni Anderson (August 5, 1945 – August 3, 2025)

"Look up the definition of rejection in the dictionary, get really comfortable with it, and then maybe you can go into acting."

"If you want to be alive and live in a real world, if you want to have any emotions at all in your life, you must willingly, knowingly, repeatedly set yourself up for things possibly not ending up 'happily ever after."

~ Loni Anderson

Facts: 7-Up

1.) Was created by Charles Leiper Grigg, who launched his St. Louis–based company The Howdy Corporation in 1920was created by Charles Leiper Grigg, who launched his St. Louis–based company The Howdy Corporation in 1920. (I decided to go with the oldest instead of the first I remember having, Dr Pepper Co was first, again.)

2.) The original recipe contained just seven ingredients: sugar, carbonated water, the essence of lemon and lime oils, citric acid, sodium citrate, and lithium citrate. (Well, lithium explains where the up came from. Seems Coke wasn't the only company guilty of drugging drinks at the start.)

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"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness."

"Necessity, they say, is mother of invention, but fear, too, is not barren of ingenious suggestions."

~ Joseph Conrad

Facts: Ginger Ale

1.) Is a popular type of soda made with ginger. Many people drink ginger ale to relieve nausea, but you can also enjoy it as an everyday beverage. (Please, read the ingredients carefully. Some companies have no ginger in them or use so little that you cannot feel the bite from ginger.)

2.) Ginger ale often contains preservatives, like citric acid and sodium benzoate, as well as caramel color. (Canada Dry) Making it taste more like a lemon-line soda.

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"The most important thing in life is to dare. The most complicated thing in life is to be afraid. The smartest thing in the world is to try to be a moral person."

"I read when I get up in the morning, when I can during the day and every single evening. Most of my weekends are spent reading great books. Books are my constant companions. If you eat three times a day you'll be fed. But if you read three times a day you'll be wise."

~ Shimon Peres

Facts: Fanta

1.) Fanta production was discontinued after the war, when the Coca-Cola Company regained control of the German plant, formula, and trademarks. Fanta was a temporary solution for the wartime situation, and was not part of the original Coca-Cola strategy. (Yeah, in order to avoid being labeled Nazi sympathizers Coca~Cola refused to sell Coke syrup to Germany during WWII.)

2.) Fanta is a colorful and vibrant brand that uses bright and cheerful colors, such as orange, yellow, green, and pink, in its products and packaging. Fanta is a brand that stands out and expresses its personality. (Honestly, this was never my fruit soda of choice. As a child I preferred Shasta as an adult Big K were my go to. Now I just mix juice and soda water.)

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"It is one of my sources of happiness never to desire a knowledge of other people's business."

"When I shall again write to you, or where I shall be tomorrow, I cannot tell."

~ Dolley Madison

Facts: Dr Pepper

1.) Dr Pepper is one of the oldest sodas still available today, having been founded in 1885. Yes, that is even before Coca-Cola. (This was my mother's favorite soda. I like it well enough. The one flavor that I loved, they no longer have! The Coconut Version was delicious.)

2.) It's history starts at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas in the early 1880s and named to impress a girl's father. (The "King of Beverages'" name is a mystery, though there are many tall tales surrounding the beverage. Once things is clear, there isn't any prune extract in the formula.)

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FIC: Birthday Blessings, Mature, Severus/Harry

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SnarryBANG! Exchange 2025!

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"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."

"Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow."

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Facts: RC Cola

1.) Royal Crown Cola was an instant sensation. RC Cola, as it is now called, was such a success that the company was eventually renamed Royal Crown Cola Co. By 1940, RC products were available in 47 of the 48 states. (I remember drinking this as a kid. Coke hurt my throat. Pepsi was too... Pepsi, but if I had to drink a cola, I would take this.)

2.) Launched in 1905, RC produced the first low-calorie diet cola (Diet Rite), the first caffeine-free diet cola (RC 100) and the first diet cherry cola (Diet Cherry RC). Other RC innovations include the all-aluminum beverage can and Royal Crown Draft cola, a premium cola made with pure sugar cane. (I still don't approve of diet sodas, but diet soda drinkers owe a nod to the Royal Crown Co.)