Category Archives: Coffee & Conversation

Coffee & Conversation: Would you live in a castle?

02 Friday Oct 2020

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This is probably one of those dumb questions, the kind where everyone already knows the answer. Because, really, who would say no to living in a flipping, bloody castle, right?

Not me :)

However, I have stipulations.

I’m not sure I actually want to clean said castle. I’ll do my bedroom and bathroom and the kitchen, but when you start going beyond that it’s probably entering ridiculous levels. If this fictional castle had a cleaning crew, a gardener (groundskeeper?), and someone else to do all the upkeep, I’m totally game.

I’m also not in the good fortune of being able to pay for said castle. Not even if every relative I knew all died tomorrow and left me every cent they owned, I still wouldn’t be able to pay for a castle. So I’ll need one of those distant, random beneficiaries, the kind who bless you with some amazing inheritance and the castle just comes along for the ride.

I’d also like this castle to exist in a nice part of the world. Weather-wise, I’m talking. Warm, maybe seasons, but, hey, I’m flexible. I just don’t want to live in a drafty, stone monstrosity in the freezing cold, with snow piled up around its base nine tenths of the year.

The castle also must have a library. Otherwise there’s no point living there ;)

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversations: What is your Chinese zodiac sign and is it accurate?

28 Monday Sep 2020

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This is going to give you power over determining my age! Ah well :)

I am the illustrious Wood Rat!

I’m the sneaky, intelligent rodent who rode the Ox and jumped off to steal the coveted first place in the zodiac. I admit that I’m not that sneaky in real life though. The last time I remember consciously deciding to sneak something and actually made an attempt to hide it was when I was drinking chocolate sprinkles directly out of the bottle when I was a small child. I had one on my upper lip the whole time I denied it.

Some of the other aspects of the Rat I do adhere to, such as hoarding, saving money, being creative, being kind, though struggling with social communication. My hoarding is mild–I like having those chocolate cookies in the freezer, saved for a particularly depressing day. Similarly with money–I like having something in the kitty so I’m prepared for that rainy day. I’m generally kind, but struggle with shyness and social anxieties that can come off as me being aloof.

The Wood aspect of being a Rat is supposedly to do with me starting and finishing projects. At first, I thought this wasn’t me. After all, I have about a million projects I want to do. But then, when I began to look at the things I have completed, I realized, that wait a minute, I do complete things. I’ve got stories out on submission for my other pen name, I’ve got a novel finished for March and a ton of other stories available either here on my blog or for sale that proves I finish a lot of stuff. It might take me a little while to get 100k+ novels done, I admit, but every year my kids get older and I get more time.

My given name – Emily – stands for industrious and hard-working, so it goes along with me being a Wood Rat too :)

As for elemental association, I have a soft spot for enchanted woods and forest mazes, so…

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: What is the main thing you like to do on vacations?

21 Monday Sep 2020

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It’s probably a cliche, but having uninterrupted time to read is one of my main loves on vacations.

Normally I’ll get a little time each evening to read. Sometimes I’ll get a bunch more hours on the weekend. I admit I try to squeeze in reading time in many other places: dragging a book with me wherever I go, listening to an audiobook while I walk or do menial tasks, having something open while I’m eating lunch. Yet during vacations–real vacations–I’ll get a chance to just sit and read unashamedly for giant lengths of time.

I like to do other things as well, of course. I love the beach, the ocean, floating down rivers, kayaking… Really anything to do with water I enjoy. I also like hiking (short hikes–I haven’t graduated to anything more than a few miles) and museums (I’m the person who reads all the plaques–that’s why I’m there, to learn). I will do some crafting–crochet and cross-stitch. Also will bake sweet things (cooking isn’t quite as fun as muffin and cookie baking).

And, of course, write. Can’t escape that one!

But mostly read. Possibly because I like to live vicariously through the adventures of other people since I can’t very well experience most of what I read about :)

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: How often do you use your library?

07 Monday Sep 2020

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Or do you use your library? I certainly do. I wouldn’t be able to afford my reading habit otherwise.

I think the prices on books is fair given how long it takes to write a novel and how much an author puts into their work, but it takes far less time to read a novel than it takes to write one, which means we need a higher supply than what my wallet can afford.

I don’t browse in libraries. Or at least, rarely will I.

Mostly, I’ll see a book I want to read, write the title down, then look it up on my library’s search engine and just put in a request. Then I’ll only have to stop into the physical library once my book(s) are on hold.

Nowadays it’s gotten even easier. Don’t even have to get out of my car because my library has created a literal drive-through for book-pickup/drop-off. I just book an approximate appointment time, drive up and give my name and get handed a big ol’ bag filled with my already checked-out requests. It’s seamless, takes less than 30 seconds, and means I don’t have to see or talk to anyone inside the library (there’s probably a detriment there in terms of socially isolating myself, but during COVID that’s a blessing).

As to the actual answer to the question of how often I’ll use the library… All the time. I have a special “library bookshelf” next to my front door that is never, ever empty.

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: What profession do you think is the most undervalued today?

31 Monday Aug 2020

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This has been discussed by a lot of people, many of whom are more intelligent and knowledgeable than I am, but I think it still needs to be said: teachers, especially those of younger children, are incredibly undervalued.

Professors teaching at a higher level are given a great deal of respect, but the lower one looks, the less respect teachers receive. Glance at a few pre-school teachers and no one thinks anything of them, which drives me crazy because the younger a child is the more capable they are of learning and the faster they learn. With each passing year, children mature, gain experiences, and their brains becomes more firm and less versatile. Most people accept that it’s easier to learn a second or third language when quite young vs as an adult, and yet, for some hapless reason, we still completely dismiss and disregard all the people responsible for those young minds.

Those first few years at school (and the time before, of course) are some of the best times to help children advance, to encourage them to go beyond simple rubrics. They are far more capable than the school systems in the U.S. allow them to be and this is demonstrated by the low salaries, low appreciation and dismissive behavior concerning teachers.

Teachers put in a lot of themselves, much of their own time and money outside their typical hours are spent on their classroom, their students and even correspondence with parents. The good ones put their students first and are obvious by how those kids will continue to stop by long after they no longer have those teachers. Continue reading →

Coffee & Conversation: Would you rather be hated or forgotten?

10 Monday Aug 2020

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The Book That Was Forgotten

There was this book once that I read and thought, meh. Didn’t go back and touch the author’s other stories and instead moved on.

About a year later, I saw a book that interested me. I bought it, read it, and thought, it’s okay. Not amazing, but definitely good enough to read through a couple more of the author’s books.

I later discovered that I’d already read one of this author’s books because it had been saved in my ebook.

I don’t remember this author’s name, only a few vague details about the books.

The Book That Was Hated

Then there was this other book I once read that I thought, wow, this author is a sexist, bigoted asshat.

Never bought a book from that author again.

I do remember that author’s name.

The Books That Are In Question

Now, obviously, if I had a choice my books would be remembered and liked (can I say loved?). That would be the best outcome. But in the decision between Hated or Forgotten, I’m torn. Continue reading →

Coffee & Conversation: What do you like to discuss with other people?

03 Monday Aug 2020

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I like to discuss difficult or erroneous plotting or character issues. Though discuss might not be the best term for what I like to do when I run into trouble. It’s more of a talking-at someone.

Here’s what I’ll do:

1) Get the person caught up with all the characters and setting and what’s been happening and what might have happened or what kinds of things are going to possibly happen and who the people are and what kinds of things they’re motivated by, and so on and so on… [This is usually answered with confused stares that attempt to look polite.]

2) Answer questions that all my pronoun usage, non-linear narrative babbling has caused.

3) Pitch my problem and all the reasons why it’s a problem. Usually I’ll state somewhere in there that my story is a mess, that it’s unsalvageable, that I’m a horrible writer, etc. All the boring, melodramatic stuff that spills from our mouths when we’ve hit a figurative wall. Continue reading →

Coffee & Conversation: Have you ever had a blessing in disguise?

20 Monday Jul 2020

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I know everyone right now stands at heightened levels of frustration. That we all are exhausted and nervous.

We’re trying to live, to care for ourselves and our loved ones in the best ways we know how. And we’re also trying to keep ourselves afloat among difficulties with jobs, with family, with social-political unrest and change, with finances, with loss. It’s difficult out there right now in most parts of the world.

Yet, I can’t help but feel that now, after many months of this, there are certain parts that are blessings. So this is a post about the positives, not the negatives.

For one, we’re getting to see people we normally might only see in passing. Sure, it can be hard to be cooped up in one place without much time for ourselves, especially for us introverts, but if looked at in another light, we’re getting to talk more, to laugh more, to just sit and be together more. More meals happening together. More learning much more about who these people are who we love. Continue reading →

Coffee & Conversation: Do you ever talk to yourself?

13 Monday Jul 2020

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All the damn time.

I think this question can be considered in two different ways. Firstly, just at face value: I do the typical talking to myself. The arguments in the showers (that I always win), the walking myself through a process (this goes here and that’s what I do next), and the mumbling to myself whenever some horrible memory rears its head and I just want to sink into the ground never to be seen again.

You probably do something similar (and if you don’t, what is your secret?)

Secondly, I could read this as a writer would, because let’s face it, us writers are ALWAYS talking to ourselves.

Our characters are literally just figments of our imagination, dreamt up and put down on paper. So whenever those characters argue, it’s like I’m having an argument with myself. I’m literally standing on both sides of that argument, documenting the conflicted emotions from one perspective and then swapping sides to do the same for the other perspective.

It’s like Quicksilver playing ping pong with himself, running back and forth before the ball bounces.

Only each side of the table needs to have a completely different personality, a completely honest and real reason for everything they believe and every action they make. Because of this complexity, it’s not rare to read stories where the characters fall into a couple different traps. Continue reading →

Coffee & Conversation: Do you trust your co-workers?

06 Monday Jul 2020

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Not even a little bit.

Especially during coronavirus season. I have so many more co-workers than normal. They always want my attention and yet will inevitably have ulterior motives. Even the cat.

Especially the cat.

In fact, I think the cat might be conspiring against me. There’s this stray I keep finding outside our house. Oh, he runs off whenever I step outside, little coward that he is, but he keeps coming back. Think they’re up to something, the two of them. Talking through the window.

Maybe I should start closing the windows. Keep the blinds down during the day so she can’t stare at the birds and chat with her co-conspirator.

I think I shall to interrogate her next time she climbs onto my lab while I’m working. She’s always trying to see what I’m writing. Little spy. I’ll find out just how much of the plot she knows and then I’ll change it. Make her look the fool when she tells her little friend and he finds out the story’s something entirely different.

If the ending isn’t what you had in mind… Well, blame the cat.

~Emmi