Molly Ringle

Hi! Come elsewhere and find me!

mollyringle — Wed, 14 May 2025 18:54:10 GMT

Are you still following me here and seeing this? Thank you! That is really nice of you! And also, please understand I'm barely ever here on LJ anymore. I miss you and I do want to stay connected with you, though! So, find me elsewhere—pick a couple of these:

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mollyringle

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/writermollyringle.bsky.social

My mailing list: https://mollyringle.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writermollyringle/

Substack: https://substack.com/@mollyringle

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@writermollyringle

As thanks, here is a cute picture of my dog in the tub.

A very wet corgi

What makes for one of those stories you can't stop thinking about?

mollyringle — Thu, 23 May 2024 01:23:02 GMT

My lovely and delightful author friend Melissa McTernan was one of my early readers for Ballad for Jasmine Town, and said recently that she found herself still occasionally thinking about the book, months later. Which to me is such a high compliment! And it has led me to ponder: what is it that makes a story, be it book or show or film, stick in our heads longer than usual?

Plenty of shows or books are perfectly engaging while we’re watching/reading them, but after we’re done, they drop straight out of our consciousness. We barely give them another thought.

Then there are those we can’t stop thinking about. What is it about those? What qualities make them that way?

I have more pondering to do on this, but I have a preliminary theory. These “sticky” stories are ones in which things don’t turn out entirely perfectly.

The ending might be satisfying on the whole, but there are elements that hang around to haunt us, because what happened to some characters was incredibly unfair, even tragic, and there’s no fixing it. (Except of course with fix-it fic!) Problems we want to fix, but cannot, are much likelier to linger in our heads than problems that got neatly tied off and resolved.

Ballad for Jasmine Town has more of those tragic elements than many of my books do. Without giving spoilers, there are some huge unhappy things that befall a whole lot of characters, and even with (okay, minor spoiler) restored peace as the ending mood, those events cannot be undone.

And now that I think about it, the various series for which I have become an obsessive fan have all had that quality. Lord of the Rings has the Grey Havens. BBC Merlin has le morte d’Arthur (a.k.a. That Damned Ending). The Untamed has a brutal body count that includes beloved and/or innocent characters. And so on. Much as I insist that I need sufficient lightness and fun and hope in my stories—which I do, truly!—it would seem I also need a certain amount of sadness that grips me and won’t let go, if I’m going to become a hardcore fan about it.

Frodo and Sam saying goodbye

Merlin and Arthur saying goodbye

Wei Wuxian saying goodbye

TV Tropes knows what's up with the fae

mollyringle — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 06:38:01 GMT

As a fandom-loving person, one of my favorite sites at which to go down rabbit holes (that saying itself being a fandom reference, of course) is TVTropes.org. Despite its name, it does not confine itself to TV shows, but encompasses all of popular culture: video games, literature, music, theatre, anime, you name it. It has accurate and often amusing names for the over 30,000 (!) tropes listed on the site, and it cross-references each one with the books, shows, etc., that contain examples of the trope. It is fantastic fun, and I can easily lose an hour there anytime.

(A quick sidenote before we continue: Tropes are not a bad thing. You’re thinking of clichés. Those are to be avoided. Tropes, however, are storytelling conventions. As TV Tropes puts it, “tropes are tools that the creator of a work of art uses to express their ideas to the audience. It's pretty much impossible to create a story without tropes.”)

Today I was browsing the site for examples of the tropes in my own books, and found a good basic one on The Fair Folk.

As usual, TV Tropes knows what's up! Their entry is spot-on for what I have learned in reading about the fae, and is more or less what I show in the Eidolonia books (Lava Red Feather Blue, and the upcoming Ballad for Jasmine Town), as well as The Goblins of Bellwater, which isn't set in Eidolonia but has a similar system.

Excerpt from TV Tropes:

"The fairies of old weren't cute little bewinged pixies who fluttered happily around humans. ...Often, they would interact with humans with no thought to the consequences of their actions, or they would be tricksters that deliberately delighted in the utter mess they made of mortal lives.... At worst, they're like serial killers with magic.

"...There actually were plenty of myths and folklore about fairies who helped humans, though they were still believed to be dangerous if angered— but then again, the belief that supernatural beings are helpful to humans that show them kindness and angry if neglected is ubiquitous in many traditional religions and folk beliefs, including Greek Mythology."

I, too, have noticed the remarkable similarity to the Greek gods, in the diverse personalities, powers, and whims of the fae. No wonder I was drawn to write about both.

All rainbows aside —

mollyringle — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 22:24:25 GMT

To me, Pride is important, and queer people of all types are important all year, because they make ALL of us think about traditional gender roles and sexuality norms and whether our cultures really need to be the way they are. Those are issues that too often go unquestioned.

(My undergrad degree was in cultural anthropology, so I can assure you that human cultures display LOTS of variation on these topics, and thus the answer is: nope, no culture has to be the way it is. There are countless alternate paths for gender and sexuality, if you look at all the world's humans and get your own biases out of the way.)

The questioning can be uncomfortable. It can rattle people. But the questioning and the understanding are ultimately going to do far more good than the sticking to "tradition."

I think part of the reason I've always been drawn to gender and sexuality topics is that I, too, have always felt like I did not quite fit into what a girl or woman was "supposed" to be, or "supposed" to want. My coming of age, and maturing, and figuring out I was demisexual and probably at least a little bi, involved nowhere near the courage nor the trauma of the coming-out of many of my queer friends. And really, it's thanks to them that I even learned this much about myself in the first place. So in my view, they absolutely deserve a month per year in the spotlight, though ideally they should get a lot longer than that.

This is why I love Pride Month. It's the type of subject my mind runs on all the time, and the kind of thing I'm always interested in learning more about as our culture (painfully, slowly) evolves.

I wish you a lovely month and peaceful self-questioning.

Howl's Moving Castle: retelling of Jane Eyre?

mollyringle — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 23:54:59 GMT

It recently occurred to me that Howl’s Moving Castle is kind of another retelling of Jane Eyre. No wonder I love it.

HMC is of course in the fantasy genre and is more whimsical, not gothic and set in the real world like Jane Eyre or other novels that also retell it (e.g., Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, or Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden—both of which I also love). Nonetheless, consider the similarities:

· Young woman, largely unappreciated and downtrodden throughout her childhood, sets out on her own and acquires employment and lodging in a large, gloomy, isolated castle/manor owned by a mysterious but alluring man

· She soon makes friends with the man as well as a youngster who lives there (Howl’s apprentice, Markl; Rochester’s ward, Adèle)

· The guy definitely has some complicated secrets

· One of the house’s other denizens, who is fire-themed, is central to the man’s complicated secret (Calcifer the fire demon/shooting star; Bertha with her tendencies toward arson)

· There are themes of disguise and transformation (various HMC characters are under appearance-altering spells; Rochester pulls off an “old gypsy fortune teller” disguise, among his other deceptions)

· Both stories employ many juxtapositions of the eerie, dark, architectural/technological interior of the manor/castle against the peaceful, lovely natural landscape it sits in

· The young woman’s forthrightness and courage eventually lead the man, herself, and the household into a healthier state of trust, love, and honesty

I grant you, this connection might be a stretch. Both stories could also be more broadly classified as Cinderella stories with a dark dash of Beauty and the Beast and/or Bluebeard. And in general it’s extremely common for any happy-arc story to be about damaged people finding each other and thereby becoming more whole. Still, it has pleased me today to find and highlight these similarities between two stories I love.

Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson in 2006's Jane Eyre

Sophie and Howl in Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle

AITA: Phantom of the Opera

mollyringle — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 18:23:41 GMT

The other day my younger sister mentioned Phantom of the Opera and how chaotic it is, plotwise. This led me to write a very quick parody in the style of a Reddit AITA post. Enjoy. :)

#AITA

I’m a music tutor (53M) and a guard of sorts at the opera house, and have been seeing a singer there (23F). She started out as a student of mine, then gradually we fell in love. We’ve had some issues at work that keep coming between us, though. I killed one of her coworkers by hanging him from the stage rigging (he sucked; ask anyone; it was no loss). And another time I dropped a chandelier on the audience, but by doing so I was making a statement about neglected compensation that I’m owed, and I must point out that it did get the management’s attention, so it worked. Anyway, I’ve heard (via listening through the walls—I have a network of secret tunnels) a lot of people saying I’m a monster and my gf shouldn’t be with me. Oh, also, forgot to add: there was one time I put a noose around her fiance’s neck and threatened to kill him if she didn’t choose me. But this is the theatre; we’re dramatic folk. Besides, all relationships have their bumps, right? AITA for just wanting her to come down to keep me company in my home on the subterranean lake under the opera house, and for everybody to just let me kill people I don’t like without getting on my case about it?

How to write a book (short version)

mollyringle — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 18:37:35 GMT

I was just talking with a writer friend about the difficulties of wrangling all the threads of a big novel, in its early stages—something we both have plenty of familiarity with. It got me looking back at my notes for Lava Red Feather Blue, which I struggled with for the first several months of trying to write it. And this note was the turning point:

Aug. 13, 2017

Here’s my moody trouble today and why I think I’m feeling like this isn’t as much fun as I hope: I’m giving too much thought to what people will like (tons of magic and action, nothing whatsoever to eye-roll about anywhere at all), and not enough to what I actually want to write. So what is it I want to write? Romance between these two guys. With a backdrop of this really cool magical island.

So while, yes, I need to figure out what this island’s fae-related setup is, I also need to keep my focus and the story’s heart on what I keep being most moved by: the potential of Merrick and Larkin’s relationship.

I think today I’ll get out the romance plot outline I downloaded from somewhere and try to lay out the story’s main plot points based on that. Then overlay them on the subplots of magic and setting.

From there on out, the notes all start lining up much more with the book as we now know it, and I got my enthusiasm back. I had to remember that while plenty of people put magic systems first in their interests (as readers or as writers), I am not such a person. I like magic systems, and I need them, but they're never the top reason I love something. Characters and their various relationships are. So there's no point in my writing something that puts the magic system as the central focus when that's not MY central interest.

Basically: figure out what you most want to write, not what you think other people will like, and put that at the absolute center of the project. Then build the rest of it around that, using that center as your immovable foundation.

Not writing any more homophobia/coming-out stories, I promise.

mollyringle — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 23:31:20 GMT

I've gone back to this post and added the following paragraph to the beginning. I'm posting it by itself here in the hopes that it sets the record straight and reaches more readers. Thank you keeping me honest and humble out there, truly.

* * *

Just to clarify, All the Better Part of Me, the novel mentioned below about the 25-year-old bi man, is a coming-out story, but it is probably the only one I will ever write. I have since moved on to the more hopeful scenario: LGBTQIA+ characters getting to have adventures alongside the straight and/or cis characters without sexuality or gender identity being an issue—the worlds we see, for example, in Lava Red Feather Blue and Sage and King. This is the way things should be, the status quo we can aspire to. I hope books showcasing diversity, no matter who writes them, can help open up mindsets so we can get to such a world. I owe great thanks to the many people who have given feedback on my stories and thereby guided me to this decision. You're helping me learn, and I never want to stop learning, even when the process is humbling.

Lady Chatterley's Lover 2022: thumbs up!

mollyringle — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 00:17:30 GMT

I just watched the new Lady Chatterley's Lover on Netflix. I wasn't expecting much, since adapting this book tastefully is always tricky, but I actually loved it. Yes, there's nudity and sex aplenty—that's an integral part of the story's territory—but to me it felt natural, lush, and highly romantic. In fact, I'd guess that the most valid accusation about it is that it's more romantic than the novel, which has a darker and more grim feel. (Find me a book set in coal-mining lands that does NOT have a grim feel.) But I'll take the more romantic interpretation any day, because that's how I swing.

I attribute the lovely and emotionally alive feel of this film to the fact that it had a female director, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, and the female gaze she brings to it. What do women want? Besides occasional escapes to the secluded forest cottage in the rain to tup the gruff but tenderhearted and book-reading gamekeeper, we want thriving green scenery, atmospheric country houses with cool vintage furnishings, beautiful frocks (to discard on the forest floor as we please), and intelligent conversation in which we are heard and respected for our choices. And that's what this director serves us lavishly in this adaptation.

Fab job to all involved. (Especial kudos to Emma Corrin and Jack O'Connell for the incredible bravery of all that nudity and intimacy.)

One screenshot censored just to keep myself out of internet jail.

"No one else who would take me"

mollyringle — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 20:40:28 GMT

Today, on a whim, I leafed through some of my high school journals. And this bit kicked me in the gut. I was writing about my boyfriend:

"I even began talking to him about breaking up. Needless to say, this upset him so much that I was knocked back into my senses. Especially the way he pointed out that there was no one else who would take me."

Oh 15-year-old Molly. I want to go back and hug you and tell you he is SO WRONG and that that was, furthermore, a horrible, false, cruel thing for him to say, and also, whether or not a new person will immediately "take you" upon a breakup with someone is not important. I know it seemed important at the time, especially given how shy and picked-on you were in middle school (a scant few years earlier), but you matter whether or not you're dating someone.

I even can be generous enough to say, from reading more of these entries, that I feel sorry for my (really honestly not very good) ex-boyfriend too, because it's clear from what I wrote that his parents and grandparents were cold and strict with him, and that he was super insecure.

Anyway! We don't have to worry about 15-year-old me too much, because, as amply described in said journals, I promptly set out to test his theory by flirting with at least a dozen other people over my remaining years of high school and finding quite easily that YEAH, many were interested. So there.

But seriously. Don't throw harmful shit like this at teenagers' minds, people. They're soft and still forming. It leaves marks.

My most Halloween-suitable books

mollyringle — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 00:23:15 GMT

First, a quick piece of writing news: I recently finished the first draft of Ballad for Jasmine Town, my next book! It takes place on Eidolonia, the island of fae and witches where Lava Red Feather Blue is set, but you won't need to have read Lava Red Feather Blue to understand it. Each book can be read as a standalone. The manuscript is currently incubating undisturbed for a month or so before I open it up again for revisions, but I will of course have more to tell you about it in the future.

Meanwhile: we are almost to my favorite holiday, Halloween! In my opinion the US needs more holidays where we wear costumes, roam the streets at night, and exchange chocolate free of charge. Not to mention all the spooky movies and books we treat ourselves to this time of year.

This got me thinking that I should rank the top five most Halloween-suitable books among my own writing. Here is what I came up with, and I admit I am perhaps cheating since one of them is a three-book series:

5. Sage and King – Only scary if you have a phobia about spells that turn you or your body parts into plants. Assassin magicians can be mean that way. Overall mood is fluffy and steamy, though.

4. Lava Red Feather Blue – Not too scary on the whole, except for one scene involving a dark passage through a fae-realm forest of birch trees whose purpose in life is to terrify and/or kill anyone who enters.

3. The Persephone’s Orchard series – It is about the gods of the dead, after all, and there are some cruel murders and a dash of human sacrifice. (The Bronze Age; these things happen.) But said gods are basically lovely people in my version.

2. The Ghost Downstairs – This one has several traditional creepy haunted house moments, which I personally think are some of the spookiest scenes I’ve written. But it’s also essentially sweet and romantic throughout in terms of mood.

1. The Goblins of Bellwater – To me this novel isn’t truly scary, but I would say it’s my eeriest and most unsettling book, so moodwise it’s probably the best Halloween fit.

As for films, we have so far dusted off two old favorites for weekend movie nights, both of them comedy monster movies: Tremors and Young Frankenstein. Truly delightful!

Do you have any favorite reading or viewing for Halloween season? I want to hear about your costume too!

Be well and pace yourself on the candy.

mollyringle — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 18:40:46 GMT

I have friends who are trans or NB. I have friends whose kids are trans or NB. I see their love, vulnerability, tenderness, and patient wisdom. When you defend JKR (or others) when she says trans women aren’t women, you’re casually punching these innocent friends of mine.

And you are not convincing me of your “side of the story” at all. You’re only making me more determined to defend them and to represent them respectfully in my writing.

Yes, I’m a cis woman who uses “women’s spaces.” No, I don’t feel threatened at all by trans women using them too. In fact, I’m sure trans women HAVE used them at the same time as me, because in most scenarios there’s no way I would know or notice.

What I do know is that trans people face far more targeted threats and actual physical harm than cis women. They are hardly ever a threat TO cis women. If you’re finding examples to the contrary, you are cherry-picking big time and ignoring the bulk of the facts.

But what if they’re secretly perving on us, you say, by being in the women’s bathrooms or such? Oooh, shoot, I have bad news for you about secret pervs: they’re in EVERY part of society. And they’re far more often cis.

There are people who secretly perv on feet. Cis people! YOUR feet! On the bus! In the park! In the grocery store! Are you going to start wearing bulky boots everywhere to keep any foot fetishists from ever possibly getting off on seeing your feet?

Some people get all hot for business suits. Or seeing others eat whipped cream. Crap. What are we going to do? Avoid situations in which others can see us in business suits or with any food involving whipped cream?

Y’all…you just have to chill. In the vast scenario of cases,

a) trans people aren’t perving on anyone, they just want to exist in peace,

b) people who ARE secretly perving, cis or not, aren’t going to act on it and harm you,

and

c) you can’t actually stop anyone’s secret perving. Because…it’s secret. And it probably isn’t happening with trans people the way you think it is anyway. Which I already said but it bears repeating.

Goodreads is out. Storygraph is in.

mollyringle — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 01:32:17 GMT

Couple of announcements:
First, an LJ one. I can no longer access my mollyringwraith journal. I did not lose the password; I am a good password steward and I still had it! But when I tried to get in the other week after hearing it was subject to a security hack, LJ helpfully told me the password was too old and I had to change it. Which you can only do by email verification. And the email never arrived, so probably LJ had a defunct email of mine as the contact. And their FAQ says there is no other way to recover access if the above process doesn't work. So. That is now closed to me. It might get purged by LJ; I don't know. Copy and save any posts you want to keep from it.

Other announcement:
I am mostly letting my Goodreads account go dormant, as I am tired of the toxic atmosphere there. I’m going over to Storygraph instead. Find me under mollyringle and send me a friend request! I am new there and barely have anyone added yet.

When someone saw my post on GR that announced the above, they asked, in all innocence, “Why do you find Goodreads toxic?”

Here is my answer, and know that this is the short version and I could go on and on:

The worst is the cruel, snarky tone of many of the negative reviews. They often go beyond "what didn't work for me" and well into scathing, hateful rants.

Then, the site lets you upvote reviews, so people may like those snarky ones because they find them funny, but those who disagree or find them unhelpful have no way to downvote them. So such reviews often float to the top and are the first ones people see for the book.

Also, Goodreads puts the star ratings front and center, and sometimes the mere number rating is enough to turn people off from trying a book.

And finally, Goodreads is now owned by Amazon, which has not proven itself a great friend of the publishing trade on the whole. (That’s a whooooole other long post that I don’t feel like writing. But google it if you’re curious. Lots of publishers, authors, and industry pros have spoken on the subject.)

Storygraph, meanwhile, tucks away star ratings and reviews discreetly—you have to scroll a bit to find them at all—instead putting focus on the book’s genres, subgenres, tone, style, and pacing. It also, true to its name, makes some really cool graphs and charts of your reading habits once you’ve entered the books you’ve read.

And: yes! You can import your Goodreads reading history into Storygraph. It wasn’t hard for me to do at all. (You can google that too. That’s what I did.) So please find me there! We all deserve a calmer and less toxic reading discussion experience.

It's time to move on from Harry Potter

mollyringle — Sun, 15 May 2022 20:39:44 GMT

I often see people mourning what Rowling has done to HP fandom. The fandom meant so much to them, they say; they can’t just stop loving it. Ah, but can’t you? If a friend said that about a problematic ex, wouldn’t you say that wasn’t a healthy outlook?

Look, I get it, about fandom being mega-important. Fandoms have kept me out of despair at various times in my life too. They are precious and wonderful and meaningful. All that said…

HP was mostly over as an active fandom producing fresh canon several years ago. (We’re not counting Cursed Child or Fantastic Beasts, agreed?) It is, I would say, time to move on to something new.

Much as with an ex-lover, you can acknowledge how amazing your time together was, while considering that chapter of your life closed now. Hurray! You are free to love anew! It’s a good thing.

There are SO MANY wonderful fantasy books, shows, films, etc. out there that are even better than HP and that will mean just as much to you or more, and they’re just waiting for you to discover them.

The longer you stay hung up on the toxic decay of one particular fandom, the longer you put off those beautiful new discoveries. Close the chapter. Thank it for its service. Walk away and into better fandoms. Live happily ever after.

Best TV watched in 2021

mollyringle — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 22:35:48 GMT

If you're reading this, congratulations! For seriously, getting through every last day of 2021 calls for a triumphant toast, even it it feels like all you have to show for surviving the year is a heap of empty cheese puff bags. (I honestly ordered my family a case of twelve bags of Barbara's Cheese Puffs as part of our Christmas celebrations, so, no judgment here.)

One of the things I was consistently grateful for throughout the year was the pleasant distraction, the laughter, the swoons, and the artistry provided by streaming shows. So here are the best shows I watched this past year, in alphabetical order:

Daphne and the Duke in Bridgerton

Bridgerton. (Netflix.) Fluffy, steamy Regency romance. Lots of fun. Everyone watched it; I don't even have to describe it.

Cast of Brooklyn 99

Brooklyn 99. (Hulu.) Endearing and hilarious. Bonus points for corgi, LGBTQ friendliness, and some actors from The Good Place and The Office.

The duke and the cook in The Cook of Castamar

The Cook of Castamar. (Netflix.) Forbidden romances everywhere! Not to mention gorgeous costumes and cinematography. En Español with English subtitles.

A kiss in Lovely Writer

Lovely Writer. (YouTube.) Thai BL (boylove) that is also a parody of BL. Clever and sweet and soapy. I shipped them instantly, and it usually takes me a while to work up to shipping a couple.

Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short in Only Murders in the Building

Only Murders in the Building. (Hulu.) Super cute, funny, and smart. Heartily approve of Selena Gomez as the new third amigo.

The lovable band of criminals in Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone. (Netflix.) Though I love fantasy, I can also be picky about fantasy, so it's notable that I ended up really liking this. Lots of charisma.

Cast of Ted Lasso

Ted Lasso. Though I care almost nothing for sportsball, I loved this show as much as everyone said I would. It is full of love and friendship. And funny lines.

Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan in Word of Honor

Word of Honor. (Netflix, YouTube, Viki.) The natural follow-up to my obsession with The Untamed, this is yet another fine example of a heck of a lot of gay flirtation getting slipped past the Chinese censors. And ridiculously beautiful robes and wigs. And many creative ways to get killed, including getting your throat sliced open by that decorative fan there.

Cast of Once Upon a Time on Lingjian Mountain

Honorable mention: Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain. (Netflix.) A comedic version of those historical Chinese fantasy shows. Pretty silly, but ultimately with more depth than I expected, and plenty of talented and lovely folk.

I hope some of these bring you joy in 2022—and, more importantly, that many other things do too.

In the US we call it "fall" rather than "autumn" AND THAT'S FINE.

mollyringle — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 22:48:21 GMT

Now that it's fall in the US, let's examine this little meme. And let's ideally stop sharing it because it's ignorant. I shall explain.

Picture of autumn foliage with text: "UK: We call it autumn from the Latin word autumnus. US: We call it fall because leaves fall down."

You know me, so you know I ran a search on the Oxford English Dictionary. Results:

"Fall" is a very old English word, and "fall" to mean "autumn" was originally used in Britain as far back as the 1500s and continuing on into the 1800s:

"...now to be subiect vnto summer, nowe vnto winter, now to the sprynge, and nowe to the falle." - John Hooper, bishop of Gloucester and Worcester; 'Godly Confession,' circa 1550

"...leaves...becoming yellow at the fall, do commonly clothe it all the winter." - John Evelyn, English writer; 'Sylva,' 1664

"She has been bled and purged, spring and fall." - Sir Walter Scott, 'Malachi Malagrowther,' 1826

OED says at the start of the entry: "Although common in British English in the 16th century, by the end of the 17th century 'fall' had been overtaken by 'autumn' as the primary term for this season. In early North American use both terms were in use, but 'fall' had become established as the more usual term by the early 19th century."

It also says that it is "a shortening of earlier 'fall of the leaf'." Similarly, "spring" was short for "spring of the leaf," so if you don't make fun of "spring," leave "fall" alone too.

So I think what this meme really means to say is:

BRITAIN: we call it fall because leaf fall down—hang on, no, we must appear more arbitrarily classical-language-oriented than those uppity colonials, so let's use a snotty Latinate word instead. Autumn! It's autumn from now on!

My fellow Americans, stop letting Brits make you feel bad about your vocabulary. Brits...stop being snobs about the language.

Also, looking down upon another dialect, as a general rule, is nearly always rooted in classism, racism, and/or xenophobia. All dialects are equally valid. Repeat: all dialects are equally valid.

*holds up my linguistics degree*
*gives you the “don’t challenge me on this” look*

(Let me be clear: there are plenty of reasons to be embarrassed about America, but let's at least pick ACCURATE ones. 😉 )

Misc. editing tips roundup, vol. 1

mollyringle — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 23:18:54 GMT

Miscellaneous editing tips: a roundup

I think I’ll post these from time to time, as I find it fun, and someone out there might find them helpful. This batch consists of tips that I originally posted as tweets over the past year or so. (My Twitter is here, if you want it.) These came from the year-long editing course I took, as well as the paid editing work that keeps me paging through The Chicago Manual of Style on a regular basis. (Hire me if you need a copyeditor or proofreader! As a painfully sensitive writer myself, I promise I try to be very kind when editing.)

• A phrase like “looked to the sky above” can usually just become “looked to the sky,” because, well, the sky is basically always above. Similarly, in “looked up to the sky,” we probably don't need “up.”

• “Nodded her head” can just be “nodded,” and “shrugged her shoulders” can just be “shrugged,” because those are generally the only body parts you respectively nod or shrug.

• Technically speaking, “Realtor” is capitalized, because it's a trademark. To get around this, you can write “real estate agent” instead.

• When you find the phrase “off of,” you can usually delete the “of.” You don’t have to step off of the path and pick some apples off of a tree. You can step off the path and pick some apples off the tree.

• This will shock most people in the academic world (and shocked me to some extent), but MLA, Chicago Manual of Style, and Merriam-Webster all agree: use lowercase for names of degrees (when spelled out) and majors. Thus, you're not pursuing your Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, but your master of science in electrical engineering. If you abbreviate it, however, that would of course be your MS. Class names are still uppercase: you took Archaeology 101 from Dr. Jones. And naturally any proper name is always uppercase; your minor in English, say.

• It's not that passive voice is WRONG in fiction; it's that it's often bland. “Smoke could be seen in the room” is grammatical, but “Smoke billowed in the room” or “Smoke suffocated the room” are far more vivid. Hit up the thesaurus for robust verbs.

• “There was” phrases can often be tightened; e.g.: “There was a sadness in his voice that worried her” can be tightened up to “The sadness in his voice worried her.”

• “However” at the start of a sentence sounds ponderous (to use Chicago Manual of Style’s delightfully accurate word). Scoot it to the middle of the sentence, in the most appropriate place, and it goes over more naturally. Compare: “Many tasks lay ahead. However, she was famished and needed to eat lunch first.” Vs.: “Many tasks lay ahead. She was famished, however, and needed to eat lunch first.”

And finally, a reassurance: when people learn I’m an editor, they often say, “Please forgive my grammar mistakes!!” The instructors of my editing course said they answer at such times, “Don’t worry, I only look for errors if you pay me,” and I love that, and I now assure you of that same sentiment.

Benign is a wonderful word

mollyringle — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 19:07:42 GMT

[TW: medical; cancer though ultimately not] Today I’d like to thank the absurd amounts of tea (green, black, and herbal) I drink every day, whose antioxidants have kept me safe another year. I bring this up because on Monday I had a breast biopsy, and have just learned the growth in question is benign—a common noncancerous lesion. All good for the time being. Whew.

I’ve been living under the shadow of this since the beginning of July. No, you don’t have to scroll back—you didn’t miss anything. I haven’t posted about it. Why so long, though? Well, I got my regular annual mammogram on July 1, and they told me the next day that they wanted another look at one spot. It wasn’t even something I could feel; just something they saw on the imaging. But the next available follow-up appointment wasn’t till early August.

So I got through July and went to the second exam, and this time the doctor said, “I’m about 98% confident it’s nothing to worry about, but we’ll have you come back in six months to look again. Or, if that 2% chance is going to bother you, we can biopsy it sooner.” I said yeah, it’ll bother me. So we scheduled the biopsy—another couple of weeks out.

The biopsy took place Monday, and now I have the results and can relax and go back to only worrying about, you know, EVERYTHING ELSE going on this year. ;)

I kept my social media light and fun and didn’t talk about it, because I preferred not to focus on it. But take this as a reminder that people don’t always post about what’s really going on in their lives. If you interacted with me during the past two months, and we talked about anything at all—writing, editing, current events, memes, fandom, what you’re up to these days—I just want to thank you. Even if I was debating with you about something (rare for me to do online lately, but it does happen now and then), you were helping take my mind off my health anxiety. Which I have in spades on any given day, so an actual freaking biopsy does not leave me precisely calm. Thank you for being there.

Now please, have some tea. And get your recommended health screenings. Because I care about you.

Is Ula Kana an allegory for COVID? Nope. Although...

mollyringle — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 00:00:09 GMT

In Lava Red Feather Blue, Merrick awakens Larkin (and the destructive faery Ula Kana) in March 2020, unleashing all kinds of mayhem on his country. Given the date, you might wonder: does Ula Kana represent COVID-19?

The short and obvious answer is no, I didn't intend that, nor could I have, given I wrote the entire thing before anyone had heard of COVID. I set the timing as the current year (that is, the year it was during the editing phase) so that it wouldn't seem too dated; end of story. HOWEVER...

I'm fine with retrospective reinterpretations. And if asked, I generally say the fae represent nature, and the fae-human conflicts and harmonies represent our complicated but vital relationship with the rest of the natural world. And what is a dangerous virus if not a particularly nasty piece of the natural world?

So, though I didn't intend it: sure, you could make a case for Ula Kana being the 'rona. But it was through coincidence, not design.

(Eidolonia does not, as far as we know, have an actual COVID outbreak. They don't have a lot of contact with the rest of the world, not to mention they have magic. They get enchantment-related illnesses, which are nasty, but my firm belief is they'd obliterate regular infectious diseases in no time flat.)

Demi ponderings

mollyringle — Sun, 02 May 2021 19:54:57 GMT

I only lately learned we demisexual folk count as LGTBQ+, according to many. Do I now get to call All the Better Part of Me #OwnVoices? Well no, I'm still not a tall cis bi man, so it's still not OwnVoices that way.

One would also be forgiven for being surprised to hear I'm demi, given the general sex-positivity and/or perviness of my writing and attitude. It confuses me too. But it seems to boil down to "perv on the page and in imagination, demi in real life."

I'm only now learning how common this is! Demisexuality is considered (depending who you ask) a part of the asexuality spectrum. And I previously thought ace meant not having any sexual interest ever, but have lately learned it often means liking sex in theory and/or as a physical sensation, just not being attracted that way to actual other people.

For me it's always been like, "Huh, I'm so weird, because clearly many people would honestly sleep with most of those they find good-looking, whereas I only feel that way about, like, 1% of those I know, even when I find them aesthetically attractive. But I approve of those who are more sexually active, and I like to write about sex and romance. Hrm."

The short term for all that, more or less, is "demisexual." And depending on who your gatekeeper is, it might count as queer. So. Huzzah!

My official review of The Untamed

mollyringle — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 02:08:23 GMT

Ordinarily I’m not one of those people who leaves really long Amazon reviews. But for The Untamed there’s not really anywhere else notable to leave one, and it deserves one! So here is what I posted. Let’s hope Amazon approves it. If not, it's here, anyway.

Short review:

YES, WATCH THIS SHOW! I’m picky about shows. I don’t enter into obsessive fandom mode lightly. But after watching this series last year, I immediately went back to the beginning and watched the entire thing again. And joined an Untamed fandom group on Facebook. And read loads of fanfic. And watched in wonder as Wangxian (the Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji ship) shot straight to the top of my list of favorite fandom ships ever (for now, anyway). This height of fandom for me is RARE. So yeah, you should give it a try.

Long review:

I first heard about The Untamed when a friend said on Twitter, “Maybe I should watch that show people are talking about with the two insanely gorgeous East Asian guys with long hair.” And I thought, “Hello, that sounds like something I’d like.” But I didn’t actually know what show that WAS. That is, not until Netflix turned it up in my list of suggestions one night, and I saw that cover shot of, yep, two insanely gorgeous Chinese guys with long hair, and clicked on it to learn more.

And learned: Oh hey, it’s fantasy, AND based on a BL (boy love) novel? Even more up my alley!

So I started watching. The first couple of episodes confused me, as many others reviewers have said, what with the multiple names per character and the general “What the hell is going on” vibe. But I stuck with it, because a) that Wei Wuxian fellow seemed actually rather cute (this was soon to be upgraded to “dear gods, he’s unearthly levels of beautiful”) and b) I wanted to see what this gay-but-subtly-so-because-of-Chinese-censorship love story would look like.

As to THAT:

As early as episode 5, we get Wei Wuxian overdoing an apology to (future eternal love) Lan Wangji by saying “I’ll even kneel down before you,” with a naughty little smile, and I went, “Oh, ha, so the gayness is NOT in fact subtle.” (Just to hammer the point home, shortly after saying that, he pranks Lan Wangji by slipping him some classic ancient Chinese gay porn. Soooo subtle.)

But it’s not all adorkable boys being unsubtly in love! Not at all.

It’s about a gold-hearted troublemaker who becomes a necromancer—for well-meaning and unavoidable reasons—but never stops being a cinnamon roll. It’s about magic-wielding clans trying to slaughter each other, marry into each other, undermine each other’s power, and/or save each other’s lives. It’s about the grumpy one falling for the sunshine one. It’s about an entire society turning against a scapegoat in circumstances so unfair you want to summon some demons yourself and exact revenge. It’s about magical music being used for tremendous good and tremendous evil. It’s about very crafty people pulling some unbelievably long cons. It’s about realizing the rules you thought were so important are actually making you miserable. It’s about cuddling bunnies and eating lotus seeds and drinking wine from pretty white ceramic bottles. And it’s extraordinarily romantic even though the leads weren’t allowed to kiss or say “I love you.”

Also, even though the show isn’t afraid to kill off good guys—which is utterly brutal at times (and kudos to all the actors for their heartbreaking crying skills!)—it does end on a happy note.

So. You know. Yes, you should watch it!

Don't give up, writers!...But don't expect fame either.

mollyringle — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 20:54:59 GMT

On Twitter recently there was a hashtag that got going in which successful authors encouraged struggling writers to keep at it, because it took them (the successful ones) X number of years and manuscripts and rejections before they Hit It Big. And now they’re on bestseller lists! And have Netflix deals! And fan art! So don’t give up!

Normally you can count on me to be the encouraging optimist too. But in this case I feel the kinder thing to do, in the long run, is to deliver an opposing viewpoint consisting mainly of, well, I won’t say “pessimism,” but more like realistically tempered expectations.

I’ve been writing books since I was 12. (I’m now 45.) Counting just the published ones, I’ve had 12 novels or novellas published, with two excellent small presses. I have never hit a bestseller list. I have never been offered a screen adaptation deal. I am not getting fan art or fan fiction, and hardly ever fan mail. I’ve never in all these years had a royalty check big enough to cover more than one month of the mortgage. (And keep in mind royalties are paid once every three months.)

I’m now taking work as an editor/proofreader, not only because I like the work (which luckily I do), but because writing is clearly not going to bring in enough money for me to stick exclusively to that as my career. 33 years of fiction-writing experience and 12 published books is evidently not enough for me to Hit It Big, and I’ve given up on expecting it ever will.

I’m not giving up on writing, mind you. What I’m letting go of is this “work hard, work so damn hard, write every day even if you don’t want to, GET THOSE BOOKS OUT THERE” mentality. The best part of writing is the writing itself, when I am writing something I love and immersing myself in that world. So I’ll write what I love, only when I truly want to write it, and I’ll relax about the timeline. Because whatever I’m writing is probably never going to be The Next Big Fandom anyway.

You, or I, could easily look at all of the above and conclude, “Well, Molly’s writing must suck, because otherwise it WOULD have hit it big by now.” Maybe? Maybe not? Its quality is subjective. What’s true is that I worked every bit as hard as they tell you to, and it wasn’t enough. And of the many writers I know, the overwhelming majority are in the same dowdy boat as me. Very few are cruising in the yacht of the Netflix deals.

Success is not entirely merit-based, either, as you will know if you think for a few seconds about some of the books that are wildly popular. Or some of the books that deserve to be but aren’t. It’s marketing, it’s connections, it’s money, it’s whatever spark of luck and magic makes something go viral. If we all knew what that was, we would do it, obviously, but it’s largely out of our control.

Even if you work hard and write beautifully, and even if you do it for years and years, you are NOT guaranteed to land on any bestseller list or become a fandom sensation. Ever. It’s much likelier you won’t, in fact.

But I am not telling you to give up! Far from it. I’m saying: the question you should be asking yourself is not, “Am I willing to work super hard at writing in order to chase that fame and financial payoff?” The question should be, “Do I love writing enough to keep doing it even if that external success never happens?”

That’s the only question whose answer you have control over. Ask yourself that one. If it’s yes, then don’t give up. Because writing is lovely when done for that reason.

Meanwhile—think about something you wouldn’t mind doing for money. Chances are all too good you’ll need it. And with that, I must return to my editing.

Guest feature: author Darlene Foster takes us to Malta!

mollyringle — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 20:47:44 GMT

It's been too long since I've brought on another author for Q&A, and I'm pleased to be doing so again with Darlene Foster! I met Darlene (in an online sense) through our publisher in common, Central Avenue Publishing, and she's one of the most upbeat, easygoing, fun-loving writers I know. Her Amanda Travels series is a wonderful set of books for middle-grade readers in which the young Amanda visits a new country in each book and always encounters an adventurous mystery to untangle. They're perfect for the young armchair traveler—or real-world traveler—in your life.

Author Darlene Foster

The eighth book in the series comes out this May: Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady. I got to read an advance copy of it, and was instantly longing to go to Malta and soak up the sun and stroll between the stone buildings with their artistically idiosyncratic door knockers!

Cover for the book Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady

Darlene was kind enough to answer some questions for me as well, so let's dive into those:

Q: When did you start writing fiction? What were your earliest stories like?

A: I’ve been telling stories since I learned to talk. My grade three teacher, Miss Roll, encouraged me to write them down. When I was twelve years old I had a short story published in a local newspaper. Called Stretch Your Food Dollar, it was about two friends having an adventure in Woolworths department store. I guess the idea of two girls having an adventure has been there for a long time!

Q: When you visit places, how much are you thinking about a possible story while you’re there? Or does the story idea come later?

A: When I visit interesting places, I am always thinking about how I could use it in a story. When I was in Malta, I kept saying to my husband, “Amanda would love it here!” I take a lot of pictures and jot down notes wherever we go. I once read that a writer never really takes a vacation as they are always looking for story ideas. I can attest that is true.

Q: What draws you to writing middle-grade fiction as opposed to stories for other age groups?

A: Some would say I have never moved past twelve myself! For some reason, I can easily relate to this age group. I think they are wonderful. Tweens are not little kids anymore but not yet terrible teenagers. They can be so astute and mature at times but still naïve and unsure of themselves at other times. It is the age when they start to assert their independence and become curious and questioning. It is my favourite age and I have no intention of growing up.

Q: I admire Amanda’s fearlessness and willing to take on adventures. Is that what you were like at her age?

A: It wasn’t what I was like, but it was what I wished I was like. I lived on a farm and we didn't travel or have a television. So my world was very narrow. I was timid, bookish, and the only adventures I had were in my imagination. So I created a character I would have liked to be.

Q: Give some advice to the aspiring travelers of the world: what are your must-bring items that lend to happier traveling?

A: The most important thing to bring is an open mind. Accept that things will be different wherever you go, the food, smells, people, climate, customs, etc. Embrace those differences and you will have an enjoyable and enriching time. Also bring a camera, a notepad, and pen. Everything will be overwhelming and you will never be able to remember it all. Pictures and notes bring it all back. I would rather look at my travel photos than watch TV.

Q: What are you writing now, or planning to write next?

A: I am halfway through writing Amanda in France: Fire in the Cathedral. Amanda will fall in love with Paris, Versailles, and Monet’s garden in Giverny. Oh, and she will get to stay in a bookstore! Wouldn't every young girl like to visit France? I know I would have loved it.

----

Darlene Foster is a Canadian author who has written the popular Amanda Travels series, featuring a spunky twelve-year-old who loves to travel to unique places where she encounters mystery and adventure while learning about another culture. Readers of all ages enjoy travelling with Amanda as she unravels one mystery after another in various countries. Darlene has won prizes for her short stories and a number of them have been published in anthologies. She has also written a bilingual book for English/Spanish readers.

Darlene grew up on a ranch near Medicine Hat, Alberta, where her love of reading inspired her to travel the world and write stories. Over the years she held wonderful jobs such as an employment counsellor, ESL teacher, recruiter, and retail manager, and wrote whenever she had a few spare minutes. She is now retired and has a home in Spain where she writes full time. When not travelling, meeting interesting people, and collecting ideas for her books, she likes to spend time with her husband and entertaining dog, Dot.

Her books include Amanda in Arabia: The Perfume Flask, Amanda in Spain: The Girl in The Painting, Amanda in England: The Missing Novel, Amanda in Alberta: The Writing on the Stone, Amanda on The Danube: The Sounds of Music, Amanda in New Mexico: Ghosts in the Wind, and Amanda in Holland: Missing in Action.

Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady will be released in the spring of 2021.

Buy links

Amazon Canada here

Amazon UK here

Amazon US here

Barnes and Noble here

Chapters/Indigo here

You can connect with Darlene on social media at the links below:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Goodreads

It is a book and it is out!

mollyringle — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 18:53:22 GMT

Lava Red Feather Blue is available now!

Guess I should advertise my own book on my own blog, a little? 😀

So yes, Lava Red Feather Blue is available as of yesterday! The above graphic is from the wonderful KinzieThings blog, who ran a fabulous review of the book.

What is the book? Well: "Sleeping Beauty, but make it gay!"

Prince Larkin, born July 27, 1773; put into enchanted sleep December 22, 1799…accidentally awakened March 18, 2020.

It’s a quest, it’s a queer love story, it’s an adventure among fae and witches, and best of all, it’s an escape from your own country.

Order now wherever books are sold! But be a noblebright hero and order through an independent bookseller for best karma: https://www.indiebound.org/buy-local/9781771681988

Reviewers are saying:
“One of the most enjoyable reads of 2020 for me!”
“Merrick and Larkin found their way into my heart immediately.”
“This book was something that I desperately needed in my life.”
“Freaking adorable.”

Whew. That's definitely enough talking about myself for one post. I better go geek out about some fandom thing. Meanwhile, here is a hedgehog in a tiny kayak, as a way of thanking you for reading this far:

Fluffy to grim: the tone spectrum. And watch The Untamed!

mollyringle — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 19:14:09 GMT

I’ve come to realize it’s not the *subject matter* you should think about when recommending shows and books to me, but the *tone*. Here is a tone spectrum I drew up for illustration, using just TV and films.

Fluffy to grim, 0 to 10

I’m unlikely to want things that are a 10—all serious all the time. (Or even 95+% of the time.) I’m open to the complete fluff on the 0 end, but I have to be in the mood for that.

The sweet spot is 3 to 7 or thereabouts: give me tonal variety! All the shows I’ve truly adored have been in there. They have a lot of complete silliness and also a goodly amount of heartbreak. They’re not just ONE MOOD.

I sketched this because sometimes people recommend a show or book to me because it’s got Greek gods in it, or linguistics, etc.—things I like. Then it turns out to be unrelentingly depressing, and I don’t like it.

So if recommending to me, think tone! I want pleasant fluff AND meaningful depth, in harmony and balance.

N.B.: I fully realize this is only one way to evaluate media and does not cover all the relevant details that might make us like a thing. Don’t bother going into full “but but but” mode about it. It’s just one angle.

For those who can’t read an image, the chart goes:

0 (Fluffy) to 10 (Grim)

0: Most Disney

1: Comedy in general

2: Gilmore Girls

3: Most Studio Ghibli

4: Harry Potter; Avatar: the Last Airbender

5: The Untamed; Buffy

6: Angel; Sherlock; BBC Merlin

7: Star Wars; Downton Abbey

8: Lord of the Rings

9: Tragedy in general

10: Game of Thrones; Witcher

Some of these, especially the ones right in the middle (e.g., Buffy, The Untamed, Merlin, Angel…) have a LOT of variety, with episodes at 0 and episodes at 10. So I went with my gut instinct on what the average number would be for the whole series. Opinions there may vary.

By the way, this year I've watched all 50 episodes of The Untamed twice—first alone and then with my husband—and would like to officially welcome WangXian (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian) to my (unofficial) top 5 ship list. Look how fluffy! Look how cute! (My husband calls the show "Bunnies and Zombies." It's probably a more apt title than "The Untamed," actually.)

If you're a Merthur shipper and don't mind reading subtitles (or happen to understand Chinese), you may want to check out this show. Because of Chinese censorship, there are no kisses or "I love you"s, but the romance between the two is nonetheless canon (and very clear).