My sister waited longer to get married and have kids. She lived frugally and paid her student loans off before 35.

Her kid is growing up spending Decembers in Mexico and traveling across the country because his parents can afford it. He'll go to a private school. It's wild.

Eldest grew up with very few toys. We didn't eat out very often. We did not stop for fast food. I sewed a lot of her clothes because I could get fabric for $0.25 a yard.

Youngest has mostly brand new clothes and regular shopping dates.

They're ten years apart.

I grew up in abject poverty. I've lived below the poverty line a good half of my life, if not more. Being above the poverty line and making sure my kids don't need to live like that is amazing. But even they notice stark differences between when Eldest was little and now.

If you're over there thinking, "Gee, if I can just get out of debt, I'll be doing great!" then see if there's a free financial literacy class near you. Churches and libraries run them. Sometimes community colleges have cheap ones.

The American financial system is built on keeping you in debt.

Hubby and I have been together for 23 years. We've paid off all our debts at least four times now. But there's no way to live in the USA without debt of some kind. It's required for your credit score. The wealthiest Americans live almost entirely off of debts.

When we move back to the states, which feels inevitable at this point, we'll need more cars and a house.

We're currently apartment dwellers but we'll probably settle down in the next decade, which will mean going into debt again.

One of the reasons we moved to Korea was it is cheaper to live over here. Our employee covers the housing for overseas workers and our healthcare is also company-provided. We get paid USD but shop in Korea, and the exchange rate is very much in our favor.

But I won't be debt free forever.

Good News: I have sorted out the bills, paid off another credit card, and am on track to be officially debt free as of summer of 2026.

Bad News: I haven't finished writing the scene that I need to get written today so I can keep paying the bills.

A smart man would have bowed out of this fight.

Adam stepped forward, ready to do his three rounds in the ring. "Forgive me for not thinking your memory is that prodigious when I keep telling you that I don't hate you."

"Not hating is a long way from liking. And your an employee."

"So burn the paperwork and pin me to a wall already. I'm fully onboard with you climbing me like a tree any time you're feeling athletic enough, short stuff."

#ChristmasCryptid

The Christmas books are Christmas in that they happen around the holidays (usually) or feature something Christmas related. Every book has at least one bi character, there's little to no religion in evidence, and you can read them any time.

https://www.lianabrooks.com/all-i-want-for-christmas-is/

Kim Jihun has “rattling the stars” according to the internet with “shocking” pictures from Las Vegas.

I looked. The pictures were only shocking if you thought two hot men with excellent eyeliner kissing was shocking.

#ChristmasCryptid has a Gargoyle reference!

https://books2read.com/u/3LxvGN

I admit, looking back, there were a number of red flags for depression. I should have reached out. I should have cared. But one of the things about depression is you don’t care. It’s not all tears and rage, sometimes it’s simply an emptiness. I couldn’t summon the will to care, so I hadn’t. And there’d been no one else to pick up the pieces.

#ChristmasCryptid #AmWriting #CoSoWriters

It's always darkest before the dawn, and you only get a change of fortune at the last possible moment if you last until the last possible moment.

For everyone holding out and hoping for rescue, hang in there. Help is on the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alXeZyDPuQY

If there is a better hashtag than #AmWriting to keep people up to date on my projects, please let me know.

It's after 9am, so let's turn on the writing music and see if I can knock out the last few scenes for #ChristmasCryptid so I can get it to my beta reader and hand it off to my editor before July.

I have deadlines.

#AmWriting

No, the USA has not ever had marriage equality.

Even when marriage was opened up to the gay community the disabled community was not allowed to marry without losing their access to healthcare. Which is not a concern of Pride Month or a reflection on the LGBTQ+ community, but is still an issue.

Quick reminder as we roll into Pride month...

If you don't have place for ace, agender, bisexual, or disabled people you are not inclusive. You're just recreating gatekeeping for the next generation.