No real major updates, just a late morning rant. It’s 7:30 am and here we go!

It’s cold outside and as the temperatures drop so does my energy and motivation. I’ve been feeling down all November and very little writing has been done. I’ve also been hitting the anime really hard lately. “Just one more episode” soon becomes a whole series done.

But a glint of inspiration has come my way and I’ve managed to write in the last two days.

Over the weekend Zach and I hung out and visited a local Barnes & Noble. While I was distracted by all the shiny physical books all around me, Zach was being more productive. He was talking with the staff and trying to find out if we could get “The Last Job: File 3454” on shelves.

Since we are just starting out, the answer seems to be a soft “no” with some glimmers of hope here and there. The fact our book is even available online is awesome but to have it on shelves would be extra awesome-saucey. But as Zach and I explored the B&N, we learned something.

Romance novels are huge.

Honestly, this was not news to me. As an aspiring author, I’ve always had a feeling romance novels held a huge percentage of the book industry. Works such as “Twilight” and “Fifty Shades of Gray” were huge back when I was a young, starry-eyed writer. Thing is, I’ve never set out to write an actual romance novel.

Well, for the first time, I’ve actually started to intentionally set out to write something romantic. I say something romantic because romance has always been in the guts of stories I have written. It's never been at the forefront though. I even managed to squeeze a little into “The Last Job: File 3454” but it's very low key.

I’m one of those hopeless romantic types that does enjoy the genre of romance. Some of my favorite animes or movies or series revolve around a “will-they-won’t-they” romance. And I will not deny that I love drama, especially amongst a cast of well developed characters.

I’m paraphrasing here but I recall listening to the commentary on “Gravity Falls” and the creature Alex Hirsh said something very interesting:

“Emotional steaks will always outweigh end-of-the-world steaks.”

Emotions are a powerful and dangerous thing. And no matter how cold or distant a human being might appear or claim to be, they still have a living brain and emotions will always spark within. That is what makes romance such a powerful and relatable genre.

We’ve all fallen for someone for one reason or another. How they look, how they act, sharing interests, the challenge of winning their affection. For me, my first crush was cute but she was not the hottest girl in class. No, she was nice to me and that was all it took for me to fall for her.

Attraction is an overwhelming sensation. It clouds judgment and reason and causes people to do some pretty stupid things. Sometimes those stupid things are funny and harmless. Sometimes they’re dangerous and deadly. And sometimes a person just does weird crap to alleviate those overwhelming emotions spurred on by romance.

So, yeah, I currently have two chapters written of a new romance project. And for some silly reason, I am more motivated to write this than anything I’ve written in the past few months. Cthulhu help me, I’m actually super into this crap.

And even after two chapters, I already know this project is going to be one hell of a ride. And you know what? As of writing this, I still do not have a serialized story for the “Stories” section of the website. Might as well make the first an unconventional Gothic Romance.

At least that is what I think this project is. Most of the time I just blindly write and try to figure out things like genre and theme after all the typing has stopped. Making up Victorian era names for these characters was an interesting experiment in randomness. And I have no idea how chapter three or those that follow will turn out.

All I know is that I’ve written something and I am motivated to write more. And honestly, with how my dower and lazy mood has been lately, that’s all I can hope for.

A thought just now occurred to me just as I’m wrapping this up. I don’t think I have any dice with hearts on them. So there will be no hint of romance in the title picture. Oh well, I’ll think of something. It’s 8:15 am and I really should get the title pic done and have breakfast.

I got a lot of writing I want to do . . . and this time, I—am—WRITING!

Good Luck and what is your favorite romance?

—Buck

PS: Written on the day, on a gloomy and cold day. You will not stop me from writing! I shall type away! I will not be tempted by the siren of procrastination! Begone foul demon! GET!

PPS: I did find dice with hearts on them. And let's add a bat and skull to make it Gothic. Yeah!