Dadmaster: Suddenly: ROMANCE

By now, I'm sure you know I got a gig editing books last year. Out of four, two have even been published, and they have been romance books! Suspense romance, but still, just because the buff good guy needs to knock some heads around doesn't make it any less of a romance novel.

I started talking to a friend who reads romance, and we decided to read a book together. The book was Call Me Irresistible, and not more than a few chapters in, I thought to myself, "Heck, even I could write a better romance than this.

One thing led to another, and now I'm writing a romance book as well! It's probably going to be pretty bad, despite my delusions of grandeur. Especially because the one that I was reading turned out quite sweet at the end, although she sure could've used an editor!

The end result is that I am a man who reads, edits, and writes romance novels. And I love how weird it all is, because it's nothing I'd actually picture myself doing! But who am I to let something like that stop me?

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It's been a good few weeks, although stressful. It's hard to keep up with some household chores, and the winter weather means more inside time, which means more messes! But every Tuesday and Thursday we've been going over to the Ingrams, which has been great for all of us. DanPar gets to spend time with Jaxton and Jaina and they share their imaginative worlds with each other in beautiful ways. Crash Boy tries to keep up, but is learning to rely on himself more than just on DanPar, and he's been talking more and more fluently. Echo is a blob. He doesn't really mind where he is. And I get to spend time with other parents and play board games and relax just a little.

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I like parties, and I'm good at parties. Last Friday I celebrated a friend's 30th, and found myself talking to everyone and having a wonderful time. I've got two secrets:
One, I bring a photo of me and my kids around. A physical printed photo is so much more fun than a phone to look at.
Two, the best kind of humor is good-natured humor. Maybe it's human, maybe it's my generation, maybe it's just that my first friends were my brothers, but I naturally poke fun at people for humor. But I try not to, because I'm betting it's not everyone's cup of tea.
Three, greenlight every conversation. If someone wants to talk about something, let them talk about it or join in! Doesn't matter if it's important to you. Sometimes I try to get the ball rolling by talking about something of mine. After I'd boldly read a passage or two from my own romance novel, I like to think I cleared the way for everyone else.

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Life is good! Here are my boys!