dinpik

What are your favorite summer-associated foods?
Creative prompt: Draw art of or make graphics of summer foods, or post your favorite summer recipes.

In the summer I barely want to eat. The heat makes me too nauseous to care. I suppose the answer here would be watermelon and all the berries. I'm diabetic so I'm not supposed to eat any of it but that would be my summer associated foods.

I'm on a time crunch for stories so I can't write something for this prompt but I can find some recipes!


( watermelon and berries this way...okay so mostly my summer recipes are for me to get drunk and forget how much I don't like heat )


I finished my third Overlord Husk story for Overlord Husk week (and now I see someone else wants to do another next month. Ah well)

and this made me sad. I have always liked this hotel and they were remodeling it and the paranormal group was meeting there and I planned to go this fall. Hotel McArthur burns. It was built in 1839 and now it's a total loss.



And of course I have the book meme for you.


What I Just Finished Reading:

Kill You Twice - a pretty graphic the ending was hollywood over the top nonsense and I hate the detective (or at least I should say I couldn't respect him)

I Need You To Read This - this was a decent mystery but also with a dumb hollywood ending



What I am Currently Reading:

Pantomine - an LGBT (intersexed main character) fantasy, I like it but on the other hand not a lot is happening and I fear it'll end on a cliffhanger

Cinders of Yesterday - Buffy/Supernatural vibes, urban fantasy, lesbian partners (by a queer author) so far I like it a lot.

Zero at the Bone - an old true crime I found at the library sale and got because of the Z in the title (for my alphabet challenge)



What I Plan to Read Next: War Child - a Deep Space Nine Novel

Since all I did today was laundry and write (and deal with family drama I don't want to share publicly), I'll just jump into music monday (and probably come back later to share the story)


So I'm still working through the Alphabet (and keeping myself to the last 5 years) and I'm up to N. Feel free to share your N song. Looking forward to them.

( I don't have many Ns )


Also I have a little book review right here, mostly for spikedluv Murder She Wrote a Body in Boston


Here's another fast writing story

Title: I Can See Forever In Your Eyes

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel


Summary: Husker has been afraid to fall in love again. Angel, however, is making him rethink that.

( at the above link or under here, written for Overlord Husk week )

the story that ate my brain. Hopefully tomorrow I can post chapter one.

I also got my first Arackniss pin. It's funny. The character isn't even canon (yet), just part of the background notes from years ago and everyone has a take on him. Me included. I was not expecting to have such fun with him but he's a blank slate. Now I'm actually dreading seeing Arackniss in actual canon.

Speaking of it, now Season 3 (S2 hasn't even aired yet) has had all its music leaked. It's such a shame. And I know some Hazbin fans will buy it. If there wasn't a market, people wouldn't steal this stuff.

I started editing through the new cryptid story. Had a panic attack when there was at least two scenes missing. Found it later and then some of it was duplicated. UGH HOW? But that's the good news. This story was very close to being way too long. It's not done but I didn't have much left to play with and the villain isn't even here yet.

and I'm dreading tomorrow, let me just put forth all the rest of the book stuff (as I'm not smart enough to make records of communities I want to rec)

So Books I read last month. There aren't that many but if you're interested in any of them, let's talk. I love doing that



The Witch's Orchard mystery

West by God. Horror

A Spell to Wake the Dead YA urban fantasy

Dark Entry horror

Anima Rising historical fantasy

The Smoke in His Voice. urban fantasy LGBT

Verses for the Dead mystery


I also finished kingstoken's book bingo. I managed a black out. I can't find my graphic fore this so have the original post. You can play along too

I'm just going to list (but not link) my reads. (I'm running low on time)
Over 300 pages - Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings
Book in a series - Verses for the Dead by Preston & Child
LGBT = Disco Witches of Fire Island by Blair Fell
From your TBR pile - West by God by Tyler Bell
Recommended= Hormones, Hexes, & Exes by J.C. Blake

POC author - Silent Are the Dead by D.M. Rowell
Multiple points of view - The Ten Worst People in New York by Matthew Plass

YA - You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno
Ebook Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan
Classics - The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Female author - Silent Evidence by Clea Koff

SF/Fantasy - Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis
Anthology - Minstrels in the Galaxy: Stories in the Key of Tull, Volume 1 edited by Sam Robb (hey I’m in this one!)
Biography/memoir- The Paranormal Ranger: A Navajo Investigator's Search for the Unexplained by Stanley Milford Jr
Friendship - Last Dance Before Dawn by Katharine Schellman
Banned Book - Under This Red Rock by Mindy McGinnis
Name in the title - H.P. Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth by H.P Lovecraft and manga adaptation by Gou Tanabe
Movie/TV tie in Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage (a Golden Girls mystery mash up)

With a woman protagonist - When the Bones Sing by Ginny Myers Sain
From the library - The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
Thriller/Suspense - The Lost House by Melissa Larsen
Set Somewhere you’ve been Lackadaisy vol 1 by Tracy J. Butler
Crime/Mystery - To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower

Non human pov - The Mushroom Knight Vol. 1 by Oliver Bly

That's fun. Woke up this morning to find no pillows on the bed. That was how this day was going to go. I didn't clean nearly anything again but it is what it is.

I got into the two mouse drawers. I still don't know what the hell they were in there for. I'm glad I got new organizers because it was a wash in there (and now I realize that all the pantry drawers on the bottom need to be cleaned out too but that's a problem for future Dana. (and given how exhausted current Dana is, she had better have another hemoglobin test)

I threw out most everything but the stainless steel utensils. they went into bleach water and I'm taking it to the parentals after this because they have a hot water tank that gives more than luke warm water and a dishwasher and I promise you if the autoclave wasn't acting hinky at the end of the semester I'd have taken the spoons and forks with me and autoclaved their ass.

Got another story rejections. Ah well.

I forgot to mention yesterday I went into the Shoe Dept on a whim. I keep forgetting this Chillicothe store and they had the perfect sketchers (which shockingly worked for me. I just hope they're good for standing in long term. So far I've not been too impressed with Sketchers) Anyhow they were 50% off and it was also the last day of my birthday discount. Got them for under 30 so can't complain.


What I did do today: write like a maniac (like 10 pages worth) on a story I have no business working on now but it ain't gonna let me go so trying to get it all out of me. My biggest question, why do I always write nothing but oral sex for these two. I mean really?

And for the Sherlock fans on my list kingstoken is running a Watson Birthday prompt fest. You can find it here. if you'd like to take part


Hey fannish 50 time and I'm taking a week's break from the ladies of fandom but before I even get into that, did anyone watch Peacemaker? I really only knew about it from one of fan artist faves art and a vague idea from Suicide Squad (I was never much of a DC girl) . Anyhow, it's now running on AMC so I recorded S1E1 and as much as I like John Cena (don't even get me started on my 80s era wrestling fetish) this was...the most mean spirited thing I've seen in forever. Does it get better? Couldn't even really enjoy Cena in his tightie whities thanks to the crap they had him spewing.



Okay so what AM I going to do with fannish 50? Music analysis. It's not surprise I love music. I. love. music. I have countless movie soundtracks (probably more of them than I have actual movies). I was in band since 4th grade. Choir until it was obvious I can't sing. Was in multiple bands in college (even played for Bush the first's inaugural festivities)

That said I think the first time I ever really thought about really analyzing music and its use in fandoms was with the Buffy episode The Body where there was NO music and you could see a) how used we are to having musical cues b) how creepy it was without it.

Back in Prodigal Son's hey day one of my Pson friends was a music/film teacher and she did deep dives on each episodes which you can see here. Angie's dissection of the music (and more) was great (and often funny with the memes).

Now I've ben sharing fan musicians efforts for a lot but nothing more. I am not huge into reaction videos (I don't get why they're so popular) unless they have a different slant, such as the psychologist who is going into the psychology of the characters and now, musical analysis by music professionals. There are a few out there but I found myself drawn to Peter Barber, an opera tenor (I oddly have three friends who are former opera singers)

He does a good job with Hazbin Hotel (and I hope he branches out) Strangely enough he didn't watch the show at first but went back and is now hooked on it so he has context. If you like this thing, check him out (also he's not wrong about Keith David's voice. Husk's voice is pure sex, damn, love those bass voices)





And Peter covered Loser Baby. Him I like, his partner for this a little less so.

So I went through the early fog and rain to see the surgeon (at an hour when I usually am waking up so that was a fun drive). He had me up on the table and as I'm getting there, I said I know I'm supposed to be here for the hernia but I have thyroid tumors and here's the report. Do you do that kind of surgery too or do I need ENT? He does it.

He examines me. The actual hernia is actually very small and not in need of surgery (yay) but the real problem is that collagen disorder of mine (the is it Ehlers Danlos or is it something related debate). The aponeurosis that holds the right and left abdominal muscles together (the linea Alba) has pulled apart, a diastasis. They don't operate on that because it's not a hole. That said if I lie back and tense those muscles you can see my stomach like the xenomorph baby is about to pop out. Guess that's something to get used to.

On the other hand, he was STUNNED at how piss poor the ultrasound was from my local hospital. He was rather angry about it. Me too. I said this is why i'm here. He wants another one now but that means staying here all summer (and I have commitments that won't allow for that) because the new ultrasound can't be scheduled for a couple weeks and then if the surgery isn't soon after the insurance goes 'oops you waited too long.'

The surgery is detailed here He doesn't say I need surgery but I know the answer is very likely because I am having obstructive/compressive issues with my esophagus and evil little dog will concur, I'm starting to get a hoarse voice when I talk.

I'm done by 930 in the morning so I go to the coffee house and start a story I said I wasn't going to write last night (I need to be stopped, ha)

I hit TJMaxx which has everything I wanted, two different bamboo utensil organizers (since the mouse pooped on the ones I have and will be tossing), a dish drainer (I need to toss mine) and wood hangers because omg the current flocked ones (which I used to love) are so cheap and breakable I'm over it.

You know I try to avoid politics (for my own sanity more than anything) this article annoys me while on one hand I hope that he does end anyone who votes for this bill but in reality it's a perfect example of the problem with many political systems. At the end of the day most are plutocracies. Most of us remember when Musk was the darling of the democrats only to have him flip and do so. much. fucking. damage. this year. But he's not wrong about this bill. If it does go through I hope every last one who votes for it is never reelected because their base will be hurt by this as much as the democrats. I knew Musk and Trump would flame out, their egos are far too big. It was faster than I thought it would take but longer than I wanted it to take. Sigh.


And of course it's Music Monday. I'm doing the alphabet again concentrating on the last 5 years but you can share whatever you'd like. We're up to the letter M

( M is for Music )

I almost went for links only but I started reading today a revised edition (I think it's moving from self pubbed to traditional) of a novel called Pantomine by L.R. Lam and the main character is intersexed (and apparently the series had been popular)

This seemed like the best thing to end Pride month on. Lam goes on to talk about what the series meant to fans and why it was being revamped and rereleased and they mentioned something I've been talking a lot to evil_little_dog and sysann recently. I've mentioned it here before. There is no ONE right way to be something.

Lam put it as 'no group is a monolith' and my works won't be for everyone. I feel that was most likely added to the author's preface because of the hate you can get on social media (someone eld and I both followed on YT/FB committed suicide in part over the pressures and the hate directed their way last week). I wish fans could understand that. All too often you get people tearing down someone because the experience they read in the book was not their experience and therefore not valid.

It's hard. You know you can't please everyone. You don't want to accidentally hurt a group of people. On the other hand, people do need to realize that their way isn't the only way either. For example (which I used before) several years back pre-Covid my local writers group had four trans members. Not one of them had the same path or level of acceptance from friends and family so when I see someone screaming 'that's not how it is to be trans' I think of this. By this hard stance, you're saying only one of those four people are right.

And it's not limited to that of course. You pretty much name a group or career and someone will be there to screaming that's not how it's done. So how, as an author, can you minimize that?

Do your research. Provide sources in the author's notes if you can. Get sensitivity readers if you can (which isn't always easy or affordable especially if you're a self pubber). Know you can't please everyone. Do your best.


Open Calls

Of Love & Dragons Love stories between dragons and humans (Dragon lords, princesses, etc)

Twisted Dreams Press is open to Horror Novels and Novellas

Horrorsmith Fear Forge Horror Novels


Bullet Points Volume 11 Dark military science fiction

Infested Publishing Is Open To Novels and Novellas from UK Authors

Ongoing Submissions: GRADEside Middle Grade & Young Adult Horror

A Breath of Time Love where time itself is conquered (time travel, time bending, etc)

Diabolical Plots 2025 Window Science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have a speculative element, even horror).

25 New Literary Magazines (Seeking Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry)


Flame Tree Publishing they have a couple of open calls


From Around the web


How Writers Can Stay Hopeful in a Tough Publishing Climate

Need a Good Book Editor? Top Up-to-Date Recommendations

The Power of Reddit: Reach Millions Through Ask Me Anything Events (I had never even thought of using Reddit)

The Secret to Avoiding the Sagging Story: What Makes a Good Middle

Notes from the Editor’s Desk: June 2025

4 Unique Writing Habits of Famous Writers

Ten Books in Ten Years: A Conversation with Indie Author Tank Gunner


6 Steps to Self-Publishing a Book.

Marketing Planning For First-Time Authors

From Betty

Six Common Problems in Short Stories

Eleven Signs Your Story Depicts Abuse

Do You Really Have to Use a 3-Act Structure in Fiction?
Reader Friday-That Stinky Mood

The 3 Components that Keep Your Story in Balance

Silence the Inner Critic

Series Words of Wisdom

Help! My Romance Draft Is a Mess (Now What?)

Writing 101: Semi-Colons & Other Tricky Punctuation Marks

Should You Write What You Know or Aim to Experiment?

How to decide if a writer’s retreat is right for you

Not Every Quirk Is a Flaw: How to Identify a True Character Flaw in Storytelling

Three Questions Writers Can Ask When Feeling Overwhelmed or Confused

I tend to write the stories I want to read so…

1630 words on my Hazbin wipbigbang mostly is meandering and off plot so we’ll see if I keep it. It’s mostly character dynamics stuff. I love doing that but I’m not sure it’s advancing the plot.

Let me know what day you’re reporting in for. If I've missed you on the tally let me know. Feel free to jump in at any time.

Day twenty -Seven cornerofmadness, sylvanwitch, lilly_c, badly_knitted, cmk418, trobadora, china_shop, carenejeans, shadaras, sanguinity, china_shop, the_siobhan, brithistorian, goddess47,



( other days )

In July we’ll be jumping to nafs blog to continue WED, just FYI

Wrote a surprise sequel for my power play series and edited and posted the next chapter in Dandelions, for a total of 1973 words

Let me know what day you’re reporting in for. If I've missed you on the tally let me know. Feel free to jump in at any time.

Day twenty -Seven cornerofmadness, sylvanwitch, lilly_c, badly_knitted, cmk418, trobadora, china_shop, carenejeans, shadaras, sanguinity, china_shop, the_siobhan, brithistorian, goddess47,



( other days )