EA Blevins

I joined a "Young Adult & Contemporary" critique group online. So far, it's pretty small, but I'm looking forward to it.

I also found a local writers' group that meets at the library in town. Monthly. Not even bi-monthly, which is what I was hoping for. And even though I can go in March, I'll be out of town in April. It seems more like a "sharing" group than a workshop, though -- so not quite as intense, and more likely to have people who are just there for the society.

Which is kind of annoying for those of us who actually like getting down and dirty into the writing and critiquing part. I'm actually really energized by a good, constructive critiquing session. And, no, that's not weird. For a writer, at least. For a normal person, yeah, maybe.

Anyway, we went to the library today and I got seven books and already finished one. I lurk almost exclusively in the young adult aisles in any bookstore or library, and all but one of my library books are for teens. I never really realized before that I'm writing something that I truly, fervently love. I mean, I've always been enthusiastic about teen novels, but I've been a little embarrassed, as well. It wasn't until this past year that I realized that I'm never going to outgrow them. There's just something so perfect about curling up in bed with a cat, a cup of tea with milk, and a book about a shy girl that gets the guy. (Yes, Tiger actually stayed on the bed with me! Woohoo!)

Two things:

1) I never thought I would be a "tea drinker" but my brother made me promise to try Earl Gray when I went to London for a semester. That tea didn't stick with me as much as the harder-to-find-in-America Prince of Wales tea, which I started drinking the summer before I got married -- I would make it late at night after my parents went to bed and drink it during the anime "Case Closed," and now I make it when I want to feel cozy and pampered. (I miss "Case Closed," by the way. That was an awesome anime.)

2) I prefer heroines who are like me, shy and overlooked but have secret inner lives that are pretty fun. Girls like us aren't the girls that boys date a lot -- but we are the girls that boys marry. I have a friend just like me in this: she hasn't had a boyfriend or been kissed, but all of our friends agree that she's "the kind of girl who gets married." Even I never dated anyone before I met my husband. I think it's because we know exactly what we want, and we're also pretty serious about love and aren't interested in dating casually. The idea of getting involved in a relationship isn't "fun" for us unless it has lasting potential.

Number two leads right into the book I just finished: Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman. The narrator is one of us background girls -- a little socially dowdy but with some rambunctious friends who liven up her life. Anyway, she likes the boy that her best friend gets "Enthusiastic" about and is too nice to say anything. It's very sweet. The guy in it reminds me of this popular guy I was friends with in high school, so it was a little surreal because of that sometimes, but it's all-around a cool read. ^_^

Other books that involve us socially dowdy girls are The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (warning! RMB is a fluffy adult romance with scenes your mother might not approve of!), and Teen Idol by Meg Cabot. Those are some of my favorite books ever, and I know it's because of how well I identify with the main characters. ^_^ Isn't it pleasant to know things like that?