I started touring the Deep South when I was a kid, twelve or thirteen at the most. My mother is a lifelong addict of the architecture and culture, having been touring antebellum homes since she, herself, was around twelve. As she tells it, her folks (my grandparents) were driving to Disney World in Florida and decided to stop in a town called Natchez, Mississippi, which, at one time, had been home to more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in the country, including New York.

Three guesses what those millionaires did that made them so rich.

Rosalie StantonDecember 26, 2019author thoughts, author behavior, racism, white privilege, implicit bias, NatchezComment

Ending on a hell of a high note

The eighth and FINAL installment of the Sinners & Saints series is now available on Kindle. This concludes a journey I began almost a decade ago, and almost entirely by accident. I’m wearing my Lucifer necklace today in honor of having finally stopped torturing the poor guy and completing his story.

Ending a Series

In 2010, I was stuck.

I mean, really stuck. I had this idea for a vampire romance (Captive) but I couldn’t get more than a few chapters written before running out of steam. I’ve made no secret that I got my start in writing fanfic, particularly Buffy fanfic. And writing a vampire romance seemed intuitive—I’d spent years doing just that, only with characters that weren’t mine—I was having the roughest time with it.

The Colors of Sin

When I purchased the rights back to the books, I had the creative license on the covers for the first time. While both Liquid Silver Books and Totally Entwined Group did an admirable job fitting the books, I found they weren’t quite the way I wanted. Ava on the LSB cover is too passive, and a little too bold on the TEG. Obviously, though, I’ve been in this game long enough to understand and appreciate that covers rarely embody the characters. This is why I’ve trended more over the last few years to covers that don’t rely on stock photography.

My love affair with Pride & Prejudice

I’m sure I'd heard of the novel before this, but the first time I remember hearing of Pride & Prejudice was in the movie You've Got Mail. Kathleen Kelly is telling Joe Fox that Elizabeth Bennet is the heroine of Pride & Prejudice and that he, being an evil corporate bookstore owner, could never really appreciate her.

State of Publishing, Plans & Projects

It’s fitting that my last blog post was about my love of Buffy, because the 20th anniversary hit me pretty hard. As in, I dove headfirst back into fandom. I decided to give my Spuffy fanfic backlist an edit, which is slow coming but worth it, as I am truly proud of the work I did there. I have completed two edits (as I said, slow but worth it), and I’m actively working on a WIP I abandoned in 2008.

How Buffy the Vampire Slayer Changed My Life

Were it not for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I would not be the person or writer I am today. I discovered the show between my junior and senior years of high school, and almost immediately lost myself in the rich world of Buffy fanfic.

author thoughts, writingRosalie StantonMarch 10, 2017buffy, writing, spuffy, spike/buffy, otp, fandom, on writing, author thoughts

Politics: No, I will not shut up about mine.

The presidential election was undoubtedly one of the more contentious in recent years. It was a downright downer at the end of an already shitty year—as discussed previously, 2016 sucked balls. A lot of us—myself included—were hoping that the period following the election would see a return of civility. A lot of us—myself included—assumed that Hillary Clinton would be our president.

author thoughts, peace, personal, writingRosalie StantonFebruary 17, 2017author behavior, author thoughts, political, religiousComment

Life, Grief, & 2016

It is almost a universal truth that 2016 was a shitty year. And for many people, it began on shaky ground. After all, David Bowie and Alan Rickman were lost almost out of the gate. Indeed, 2016 is listed on a staggering number of celebrity headstones as the date of death, and we still have four full days to go.

griefRosalie StantonDecember 27, 2016dad, grief, author thoughts

Seriously?

So, a few days ago, an author shared an alarming message she received from someone who claimed to be a reader and a fan. This person praised the author’s work, but said she had to return each of the books (ranging from $0.99 and $2.99) because they were too expensive. Furthermore, she would very much appreciate it if the author could make her books free from this point on.

Here we are again.

I started to write an angry blog post on the latest harpoon launched at the Romance industry from novelist Curtis Sittenfeld. It’s nothing we haven’t heard before, and soon it will be yesterday’s news, until another daring soul takes her place.

romanceRosalie StantonApril 19, 2016author thoughts, romance novels

Even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments

Life doesn’t cut you breaks. Life doesn’t give a shit. February 26 was my father’s birthday—the first since his passing. I took the day off to reflect, visited the bench we had planted in his honor, and bought a lunch that would have maybe come close to satisfying his legendary appetite. Then I returned home and put on Harry Potter, my computer on my lap as always. What can I say? I multitask.

Be good

I noticed this over the past few months. Whenever someone would leave the room, my father would say, “Be good,” by way of parting. He did this with friends, family members, doctors and nursing staff. I thought it was an odd way to say goodbye, but I didn’t put the pieces together until earlier this week, as I received an outpouring of condolences, anecdotes, and information.

author thoughtsRosalie StantonJanuary 10, 2016author thoughts, dad Comment

Writing and Resolutions (Alternatively: So long, 2015!)

I’ve mentioned this before, but I love the holidays. I do. I go a little nutty starting in October and the fun doesn’t stop until…now. December 26, I’m ready to get back to my life. In fact, Aaron and I returned home last night from Christmas festivities and immediately de-Christmassed the house. For the first time since September, my home looks normal again. Granted, the décor is a bit different, allowing for new artwork I received over the holidays, but I’m ready to get back to my schedule as I know it.

We'll have to muddle through somehow

Depression is a disease, but it’s one unlike any other out there. It can be externally motivated, but there is always—always—an internal factor. You can’t ignore the internal factor and hope the external works out. That’s treating the symptom without paying any mind to the disease itself. Tending to symptoms might make the condition seem like it’s getting better, but without in depth exploration and, at times, painful rehabilitation, the disease will just return in one way or another.

author thoughts, demons, personalRosalie StantonDecember 13, 2015author thoughts, personal Comments