Oddly enough, our traditional holiday meal on Christmas Day has ended up being Chinese from a family-owned place we’ve gone to for years. Today was no exception. The place was packed, not unusual but really packed which made things a bit crazy. Still, we ordered and talked and craned our necks to see if that was our food coming and dismissed the plates being carried out of the kitchen because there was too much green.

I’d forgotten to order veggies but to be fair, it wouldn’t have fit on the table and we were already having a buffet of meat. It was an old school dinner with char siu and bao, crispy roast pork (so good it can make someone from Singapore long for it), beef and daikon hot pot stew, beef chow fun dry style and walnut shrimp.

Oh and rice.

They apologized for the delay in getting food to the table. Dudes, there were like 200 people in that place and from the looks of things, lean on staff. It was way more busy than I’d seen it on Christmas. I mean it’s INSANE on New Years and Lunar New Year but still, this was insane.

It was worth it. Because the company was great. We got the Auntie to take the order of the people next to us because they’d been lost in the shuffle and they chose the duck which was a good choice because damn the duck there is good.

But there is only so much food you can eat. Even if you want all 225 items on the menu.

It’s great having company in and they brought a spare dog. Nadya is an older lady dog who seems to have taken to Gus and Gus in turn has taken to her. He’s been very polite to her and excited when she comes in. She’s no help against the Badger-menace but still, what is?

BUT still, we have had a miracle at our house. This…

All three animals. Within striking distance of each other. That they did themselves! And look how close Badger is to the dog! Okay to be fair, the dog was there first and the cats came by to lie down next to him, sending Gus the Dog into a panic attack but still, he sat there motionless until it became apparent he was in no danger.

Then he noped out of there before another picture could be taken.

So, today has been a good day. I only hope it has been for you and remember, practice self care which includes being nice to yourself. You’re worth that pause in the day and a deep cleansing breath. Drink your water. Tell yourself a joke. *hugs*

Merry Everything!

How I love this show…

I am reading a mystery series. Or at least finished the first book in the series. Now, I’m going to start this by saying I enjoyed the book a LOT. I’ve been reading a lot of “mainstream” mysteries of late because they keep my brain engaged and I’m writing an urban fantasy so there won’t be any “voice leak” into what I’m scribbling down.

I mean I really was enjoying the book, reading along and liking the construct of the main character when a single phrase kind of brought me to a screeching halt…

“…skin stained a dark brown…”

This was used to describe a person of colour, someone of East Asian descent.

stained.

I’m not going to go on an outraged rant about this. Instead, I want to have a discussion. Because people can’t seem to grasp the concept of talking on social media so I’m stating this clear and loud at the beginning of this. Because stuff like this is complex in some ways… but simple in others.

I will continue to read the series. I like the author’s phrasing and work. Do I think an editor should have flagged this word? Yeah. Do I think anyone actually saw it? See, that’s the question… do you see the words? Do you hear yourself say the things you say? Do you see the ripples they cause? Do you care?

I am going to assume it was a word flourish that was simply used. No malevolent intent just… a word. But it kind of says a lot to someone who might not be that “default” because stained has some burdens behind it. From being dirty to altered from its natural state.

My own skin colour changes often. My base is definitely darker than porcelain and if I’m in direct sun for more than half an hour, I can kiss my foundation level goodbye. I have been driving up the SoCal coast and said to my passengers, “If we don’t make a left turn soon, my left arm’s going to be five shades darker than my right.”

But I never thought of myself as stained. And neither do I want to. I wouldn’t want anyone to feel like they were stained away from a pure colour or dirtied because of their skin tone.

So, I will definitely watch the words I choose and ask my editors to do so as well. Small shifts mean a great deal to acceptance and tolerance. As does talking about it.

And all of these cats are pretty much my two at any given time…

We will be celebrating the Year of the Rat in 2020, a good year for fortune and prosperity. And it’s a good year to look at where you are in life and where you are going.

We are also saying goodbye to a year of turmoil and strife as well. Hopefully going forward, this will subside but really sometimes in order to do this, we must take action.

Like voting for people who will represent us well as well as promoting those who support us, even in times of need. Or rather especially in times of need. I am very close to severing a long-held friendship over what’s been happening this year and have already distanced myself from people who have chosen to not support me. It’s sad in so many ways because I’ve stood by and supported them through some sticky things but often, in times of strife, people are tested and well, we all make choices we want to live with.

I do want to say thank you to all of the readers who have reached out and sent me encouragements and support this year. You guys rock and honestly, make the world a better place. In reality, when everything is all said and done, I’m here to write books. And to entertain someone reading it. That’s my focus. And that’s where I’m going to put my energies.

As well as heavily supporting the people and sites who support me. It’s a symbiotic relationship because while I never ever want to influence a review (that should be sacrosant) I do want to be able to provide a blog site’s visitors with a good reason to visit and continue to visit. Because well, the best (and worst) part about writing books is sometimes doing a blog tour.

Because blog tours are hard to create! They are! But oh, I have plans….

The first book up this year is Back in Black (DSP, Amazon).  With the return of Cole and Jae, I jumped forward a few years and well, it was necessary to do so. When I first started writing the McGinnis/Kim series, marriage was still denied to anyone not in a het relationship and we were just beginning to explore the edges of alternative sexualities’ language. By the end of the series, Bobby and Ichi were married and the world was a very different place.

I needed to capture that change in the books going forward in the McGinnis Investigation series and that meant jumping to the now. But in doing so, that meant I was going to end up skipping writing about an important event in Cole and Jae’s lives… their wedding.  I haven’t decided on the tone of the wedding… if it’s going to be a typical Cole day or just something sweet. I mean, doesn’t Jae deserve something sweet for his wedding day? A day without shotgun blasts or car chases?

I’ll be doing a few posts and I’m hopefully going to get it done in time for Greg to narrate the pieces for each blog spot. There will also be a big giveaway at each stop, kind of like a wedding present, to celebrate Jae finally getting to the altar and hopefully with Cole in one piece.

Let me know what you think. A typical Cole day? Or a sweet romantic wedding?