Just an indie romance editor sharing some of the margin notes I got to leave for one of my authors this week. This is my favorite part of my job.

Pretty sure when my great grandparents fled Russia, they expected that to be a forever thing.

So RFK Jr thinks it's a good idea to sequester a bunch of Gen X peri/menopausal women with anxiety & adhd in farms/ camps, without our meds, while threatening to do the same (and worse) to kids. Really? Has this man not seen Chicken Run? Spoiler: it does not end well for the farm owners.

Because who doesn't love a happy pupper playing in the snow. Maggie (aka Her Maggesty) is a 10 year old German shepherd/Rottie mix. She's smart and cuddly and the absolute bestest girl. She hates the rain, but loves the snow. Go figure.

I'm setting myself up with time blocking today. I have 3 authors on the agenda in 3 hour segments, broken up by yoga, laundry, screaming into the void, and rage posting.

I opened a string cheese wrapper and she stormed down the stairs and insisted I share. Demanding little furbeast! It's my snack! News flash: I shared.

Me as I tear the cellophane wrapper surrounding the plastic container the Samoas are in: Well, shit. Now they're gonna go stale in the box. Also me as I finish the remaining Samoas: Huh, guess I didn't need the wrapper after all.

I could have chosen v10lence. Instead, I chose an almond croissant and book time at Wegmans. Because sometimes I just need words and carbs between everything else I'm trying to manage.

Channeling the good. One of my authors thanked me for being her story doula. And I absolutely added that to my profile bio.

Not the first time the world has seen a DOGE. The Doge of Venice acted as both the head of state and head of the Venetian oligarchy. Doge was a lifetime title. The position was abolished in 1797. I see zero reason to resurrect it now.

Not sure I can handle 6 more weeks of darkness. Oh, wait... Winter. Yeah, that too.

Me giving February the combined mom & teacher look: Your sister January already used up both of your allotted chaos allowance. Do not try me.

Immersing myself in A Charm of Finches. I've missed Jav. I've missed Suanne's words. I've missed Darren Eliker's voice. I know I'm going to cry, possibly even rage. But I'll also smile, and laugh, and find an escape in the story. I have my emotional support reader humans on standby.

Ok, y'all. How adorably appropriate is my new zen garden?

This weekend's author chat after editing 18k words for Wren Charles in one day. Can I tell you again how much I absolutely love my job.

When you're editing a novel and the author sends you several chapters at a time, but the last one you get right before bed is a jaw-dropping cliffhanger. Thanks, @janicewhiteaker.bsky.social 😘

I just spelled anesthesiologist correctly on the first try. I'm calling this a win and going to find some celebratory chocolate.

Random out-of-context texts with an author I'm editing for. Posted with permission, of course Man, I love this job.

A margin note I just left for an author while editing: Oh no he f*cking didn't! bahahahaha! My jaw literally just dropped! Well f*cking done, my friend. Well f*cking done! And that is the absolute best part of my job.

Oof. Getting back to all the things after a very long weekend is rough. Don't get me wrong, I love all the things I need to do, but the brain chaos is stronger than the internal motivational speaker today.

Excited for all of these new releases this month. Seems like a great reason to stay home and read.

Authors, stop feeling guilty for sending your editor a draft with excessive commas, misused homophones, mangled possessives, tense shifts, etc. Editor industry secret:.you may call it embarrassing, we call it job security.

What am I doing over the long weekend? Working. Why? Because I get to read for a living. In all seriousness, editing is hard work. It requires a lot of focus & a certain level of skill & talent. But honestly, what's better than getting pulled into a story and helping an author achieve their dream?

Editors suffer from imposter syndrome too. Please don't feel weird about telling your editor you love what they're doing. Life is rough sometimes, and the smallest kindness can sometimes make the biggest difference.

Me, sitting on my chair, totally immersed in an edit: 😯😬😱🙈 My fitbit: How are you feeling? I noticed a change in your heart rate. Me: it's all Charissa Gracyk's fault!

Distraction #2: My eye is twitching. Is it lack of sleep? Nerves about the podcast I'm recording tonight? General sense of impending doom? All 3? Sure, we'll go with that.

Distraction #1: Her Maggesty is certain I'm withholding treats. I'm not, but she'll never believe me. She will sit in front of my chair until I give her a snack. She won. Now I can get to work.

It's only 9:30 Monday morning, and yet...

Sundays were made for caftans and comfy socks. Oh, and books. And tea. Because tomorrow is Monday. And... yeah. That's it. That's all I got. Make today a good one, Bookwyrms.

Hello, middle of the night wake-up for random brain spiraling. What shall we do? Read a book? Stare at the window and wait for the sunrise? Aimlessly scroll Bluesky looking for others just like us? And we have a winner!

So I'm a bit of a romance novel bookslut. And I love to share my favorite reads. Want a small-town romance? Got that. Paranormal? Yep. Romantic suspense? Oh, yeah. So tell me what you want to read. Let's get the conversation started.

Oof. When you wake up expecting Friday but Thursday reminds you she's next in line. Rude.

Anyone else already know you're ditching GR in the new year, but your OCD is holding on tight to it until then? What's next? Fable? Bookmory? StoryGraph?

Something new, huh? Let's give it a go. We'll see how this works out for a romance reader and editor.