It’s almost the middle of the first month of the new year. Not much has happened since I last blogged. Well, except I’m doing four reading challenges instead of two, this year. The original two were the Book Girls Guide and Agatha Christie monthly reading challenges, but I also added the 52 Book Clubs 52 books in 52 weeks and low key, a Golden Girls Bingo card reading challenge. For the 52 Book Club, there’s an online group that I’m trying to be active with, although sometimes I get mad at myself for not having read as much as other people. But it’s not a race, I know I’ll complete all my challenges this year!
The Agatha Christie challenge already gave a monthly list of books to read, as well as alternative/additional books. Each month is a different occupation themed book. This month we’re reading 5 Little Pigs and the career is for an Artist. It’s a good book so far, I just fall asleep when I read it. Or any book nowadays. It’s very annoying because of all the books I want to read, per month the ideal is 6 books. A combination of the main 3 book challenges. The Golden Girls Challenge is kind of a bonus challenge for me. I’m not actively doing it, but with the other books I’m going to read, I may inadvertently get BINGO!
For the Book Girls Guide Book Lovers Challenge, I’m going to read a romance called The Book Swap. Every month, they send us a list of books to choose from, which themes are book related. The 52 Book Club challenge gave us a list of 52 prompts (one a week), and we choose our book from that. For example, the first prompt is for the book to have a Pun in the Title and I’m reading Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction. I thought that was a great choice for me, since it’s a play on words with the show Murder, She Wrote, a show that was my mothers favorite.. And I’ve become a little obsessed with it as well. Also, it's about women horror fiction authors and I love horror! It’s actually pretty educational if you’re interested in the history of female horror and speculative fiction authors.
As for writing, I’ve been journaling a bit, but not everyday. I did say I wanted to read, write and exercise every day, to the best of my ability. With fibromyalgia, the best is definitely not everyday, as I’m either tired, in pain or both. But, my best efforts are paying off I think. I’ve lost a little weight already. I got batteries for my mouse, so I can type easier, which was deterring me from writing. It’s way easier to have a mouse when you’re on a laptop. I’m going to work on my taboo works, which I found out this week were removed from Wattpad, a social media platform for writers and readers to connect. I am not very active on it, but I have a lot of my first drafts published there. And two of them were removed.
When I originally wrote them, I put them on Amazon, but then found out they frown upon taboo. Yeah, but y'all sell Flowers in the Attic?! I’m just doing what V.C. Andrews did, a coming of age romance of a vulnerable young girl and her Uncle. Literally one of the storylines of FITA! Anyways, when I finish editing the stories, I’m going to upload them here and see if I can get them on a taboo online bookstore called Eden Books. They have hella taboo books on there. Like way worse than mine! Taboo is a genre that isn’t talked about much. Nowadays it’s cozy romances or cozy mysteries. Dark romance or dark romantasy (combo of romance and fantasy). Those are the popular genres I see online. But I know there’s a taboo audience out there. Wait til they get a load of me!
Oh my God, that actually sounds really gross, especially if I were a man! Lol, see this is why I want to write (and succeed in) taboo books! I have a wicked, dirty mind! By the way, V.C. Andrews is one of the female authors that is featured in the Monster, She Wrote book I’m reading. She’s more of a gothic horror author, but that's what I want to do. She is who I aspire to be. Well, her writing at least. She too, was chronically ill for most of her life. So, we already have that in common. And even in her death, her estate still writes books every year with the help of a ghostwriter. That’s a legacy beyond death and I think that’s pretty cool! Definitely a power move from beyond the grave! People still talk about her, and who didn’t read Flowers in the Attic when they were a kid? I know I was 13 when I first did.
So, yeah, I have my goals and I’m sticking to them. I’m trying to stay excited about accomplishing them all and I’m so grateful my state of mind is pretty clear. It will be two years clean of smoking marijuana. Do I miss it? Absolutely! But, I developed an allergy and it made me very sick. I tried everything, edibles, CBD, all types of different shit. I’d still break out in hives, feel faint, and lose my breath. Not breathing isn't fun. At all! So here I am, clean, sober with a clear head and focused as fuck! New Year, New Me? Nah, just the same chaotic, dirty mind! I can’t wait for y'all to read my work! Well, only if you like dark taboo shit. If you don't, here's a trigger warning, it gets pretty incesty! Good times! I hope I make V.C. Andrews proud! Til next time I sit down to write down and share my thoughts.
Stay safe, my Loves and take care of yourselves! Sending love and light to all the people affected by the Los Angeles wildfires!
XO T 💜
Ps. Don’t forget, I am on Facebook and Instagram, but also a breakout social media platform called BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/authortarabaja.bsky.social
I post pretty much the same thing everywhere, but there it’s just a condensed version because of limited character use. Nevertheless, the main social media I use is Facebook, then Instagram and you can find my links by pressing the icons on this page! Ok, I’m going to post this and get back to my little smut book break! Talk soon!