#cstwt

[bouberi]

reyna

[maeve-is-annoying-about-books]

LIVEREAD: Can't Spell Treason Without Tea

You thought all my busyness lately meant you were free, didn't you? Well wrong! It's liveread time!

I read this book in one long day while traveling for a little vacation so I figured I may as well post about it in one long liveread. Okay? Okay, lessgo.

There is a lot here I personally like. It's very attenuated to my sensibilities and while it isn't dense with communicative might it is comforting. Like a cookie, and I love having a cookie after eating something more complicated. We have a very basic premise here. A former Queensguard (Reyna) realizes exactly how expendable she is, despite being one of the best and most loyal of the set, and decides that the offer to run away with her girlfriend sounds way better than being mopped off the ballroom floor one nondescript night. Her girlfriend being Kianthe, the chosen heroine to wield the magical might of a godlike stone and wow I already love this. We have The Dream, which is a quiet life together in a caring town, drinking tea and reading books. Then we have The Problems which are obligation, taxes, everyday dangers, and yes, being a traitor to the crown.

I found that I like these problems in general. Kianthe can't just stop being the Mage of Ages or the land would go into tumult. Reyna can't stop her vigilance or her dream will be uprooted and wow it's kind of exactly like chasing a dream in the modern age. Where there's so much background work not related to the actual job you may love that you can't put down or it'll all collapse in on itself. No one seems to have issues with the pair being gay, or of any queerness, but I can appreciate the analogy of having to hide your true selves in a new town. Making sure everyone is really cool with a lot of things really fast before being able to even settle in with your actual real name. Just an extra touch of worry on top of this leaning tower of tomes.

But... The shop is worth it. It's not perfect, the climate is miserable and there are a lot of ongoing tensions. The occasional DRAGON ATTACK. But it's worth it to have the dream for as long as they can grasp it. Maybe... a little too worth it? See, all these obligations we talked about don't stop growing and conflating and contradicting. Kianthe is eventually forced into a pact with dragons, now she has more duties. Reyna has to keep juggling three personae just to keep afloat and not get her bounty called in. There is so much frazzle involved in keeping a dream alive and it's something I really appreciate being shown off here.

Like Kianthe and Reyna's relationship. It's very sweet, I love their chemistry together. But I also like it when they fight, I like to see their worser sides turn their heads and they have to deal with that. Reyna has surprisingly little self worth outside of her work as a Queensguard. And, like, the bookshop doesn't need a swordswoman as much as it needs a Reyna, and it's the first time a situation like this has arose for her. And like, her girlfriend is THE MOST POWERFUL MAGE IN EXISTENCE. Reyna feels powerless and futile next to her sometimes, after all, the Arcandor could fly the length and breadth of the land and have anyone she desired, so why would she ever chose an expendable, nameless guard?

Well, because Reyna chose Kianthe over the Arcandor, that's why. If Reyna suffers from a lack of worth Kianthe suffers from an expectation of it. She has a lot of pride in her craft and her way of doing things but is suffocated under her own title. No one sees the everlasting plant spell Kianthe painstakingly crafted. A brand new magic, never seen before in all the land. Something intrinsically herself and of her own mind. No they really only see the time the Arcandor saved their town. Or the time she fought off unicorns, or dragons, or anything grand enough for a story. But those... weren't really her, it was all just natural to Kianthe, she barely had any say in how she fought when it all presented itself and entire elements move when you say, "Please?". Reyna is the only one who knows Kianthe's favorite tea and beloved books and how much she hates the cold or knows the name of her griffon. She's one of the few people who even knows the Arcandor's name. Ooh there's that thing about names again, it's so good.

I feel like I could surmise on the plot but this really is the core tenet of why I found myself enjoying Miss Thorne's book. Nothing about this dream is easy or complete. It's not a happily ever after, it's a long progression of work and continuing to learn and grow. Like how actual, real life is. You're going to continue to fight about the same things, time and time again. Work will come for you when you're not ready, and the two competing mayors in your town just won't take the hint that they're meant for each other no matter how many times you sit them together. I appreciate a book that's honest about the cost of a cozy space in life and what a mighty motivator that keeping it is.

So when's book two? Book two... where? Please, I need to know what happens to Kianthe and Reyna next. Maybe fanart will tide me over til then?

[aretemisapollo]

Book recs

I recently read Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne and I've gotta say i really enjoyed it. It has queer lead characters as well as side characters, which was really nice.

There's 3 other books in the series (with 1 already out and 2 waiting to be released). The series title is Tomes And Tea

[rebeccathornewrites]

I'm just rereading cstwt for the third time, and it's rare a book sucks me in like that. If the feeling of a long warm hug was a book...

Do you have any advice for aspiring indie authors? Especially re self-doubt? It feels incredibly vulnerable to put your heart and soul out there for everyone to judge, or worse, to ignore. How do you deal with it?

Hello!! I’m so glad this book resonates with you. :D

My advice is to follow Brene Brown. She quotes FDR: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Brene Brown translates it into this: “If you are not in the arena getting your ass kicked on occasion, I am not interested in or open to your feedback. There are a million cheap seats in the world today filled with people who will never be brave with their own lives, but will spend every ounce of energy they have hurling advice and judgement at those of us trying to dare greatly. Their only contributions are criticism, cynicism, and fear-mongering. If you're criticizing from a place where you're not also putting yourself on the line, I'm not interested in your feedback.”   

I think this is especially appropriate in publishing, where we ARE faced with so many opinions on work that truly becomes our heart and soul. So many of our readers have never written a book, or attempted to publish it. They don’t understand how HARD that is. So, all of my bad reviews, I just... ignore.

They aren’t in the arena with me, so they aren’t worth my time. XD

Stay strong and get your words out there! You’re the only one who can write the novel inside you, and we all want to read it!!

[ikirby79]

Tell me about a situation where you had to share bad news with someone? How did you handle it? #badnews #toughconversations (at Leavenworth, Kansas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CStwt-Drt3f/?utm_medium=tumblr