IWSG - November 2018

Click here to find out more and to see a list of other IWSG blogs.

Cohosts for this month are Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor and JQ Rose!

Something's been on my mind since last month that I want to talk about here.

First of all, I want to acknowledge that not all stories are for everyone. That's a good thing. What a boring place it would be if we all only liked the same things.

I had a new audiobook come out for a book inspired by Harry Potter and that wonderful park in Florida. Well, I had some feedback from a listener of Kings Crossed Lovers who found it hard to believe that Sam and Ethan, as adults, could geek out so much about the book series.

Let me assure you that they can because I'm one of them and, believe me, I had LOTS of company.

I served for five years on the Leaky Cauldron's forum, The Leaky Lounge, prior to the release of the final book (like Sam's father Alex did in the book).

I can attest to the fact that the book series is NOT just for kids.

I know of at least one couple who was working as staff on the forum and fell in love online. She was from the UK and he from the South. They're still happily married, have two beautiful children, and continue to share their passion for the series. They attended the opening of the park on the first day and met Jo Rowling who'd heard about their romance and was thrilled for them.

On the forums I moderated, we had attorneys, geneticists, college professors, business professionals, (to name a few) who participated. We needed moderators because those oh-so-mature adults were PASSIONATE about their opinions about the stories.

Yes. That's sarcasm. ;) I found out that adults can misbehave with the worst children.

Many who geeked out about the wizarding world Jo created were mature adults--and by "mature" I mean OLD. *raises hand* I cannot stress the following enough.

We risk losing something precious when we "mature" out of having fun. 

Like Sam and Ethan in this story, I never want to be one of those adults. And my kids and grandkids love that I don't. I guess I succeeded in raising a bunch of nerds.

In my experience, one person's reality isn't necessarily another's, so I try to be open-minded.

Personally, I think geeks rule.

What about you? 

Is there a fictional place you geek over?

IWSG - October 2018

Click here to find out more and to see a list of other IWSG blogs.

Cohosts for this month are Dolorah @ Book Lover, Christopher D. Votey, Tanya Miranda, and Chemist Ken!

The (optional) question(s) this month is: 

How do major life events affect your writing?
Has writing ever helped you through something?

We write what we know, so I think we can't not have life affect our writing. Here's a personal example to illustrate both questions. 

After I went through a particularly ugly local election in my day job, it got me thinking about some of the issues I'd been dealing with. I'd had some management training that touched on current events around the country. That got my imagination flowing and I wrote Swing Vote. It turned out to be a very cathartic experience.

How have your major life events impacted your writing?