May is one of my favorite months for many reasons, but the top reason is Hanson Days in Tulsa. Yes, that Hanson. MMMBop brothers Hanson. Every year, to celebrate Hanson Day (which is a real thing in Oklahoma) the boys put on an entire weekend of events for fans. There’s painting, bowling, karaoke, and of course, concerts. Fans come in from all around the world. For real, all around the world. Australia, Brazil, Belgium, England, the Netherlands, and on and on and on.
Every year, my local bestie and I fly out to meet up with my lifelong bestie (who happens to live in Oklahoma) for a weekend of shenanigans and tomfoolery. We sing, we dance, we search high and low for those three beautiful brothers so that we can complete the trifecta of pictures to make our past thirteen-year-old selves melt and swoon. As you can see, I managed the trifecta this year.
But, on top of this recurring miracle, I also met another, slightly lesser celebrity. I met him in line to the art gallery on the first day of H-Days, and we became pretty fast friends — I think mostly because in my group of spectacular ladies, I was the only one who knew who he was, thanks to my study abroad experience. Behold! The human representation of Lucky Luke, the cartoon cowboy who draws faster than his shadow (as seen on his T-shirt). When I was living and studying in France, I saw the cowboy all over the place, so I was stupidly excited to meet the Dutch Lucky Luke. And how lovely that he was also a genuinely fun human being and melded into our group really easily. And whereas the three beautiful singing brothers don’t respond to my messages, the Dutch Lucky Luke does.
Also, the man is a cartoonist himself. I can’t read his comics, as they’re in Dutch, but I can appreciate the work he put into them, and the great artistry he created on the page. Maybe one day someone will translate them into English, and I’ll be first in line to buy them both.
On the writerly front, “Third-Night Stand” is completely edited and in the process of being formatted for ebook and physical book forms. My cover artist and I just agreed on the final mock-up, so there will be a cover reveal very soon! And while at Hanson Days, I made friends with a lovely sticker artist, and decided my book needed stickers — so that’s happening. Mostly, I have no idea what I’m doing, but I feel like I’m doing it pretty well. At the very least, I can write a damn fine story, so stay tuned for the release of my first ever slightly spicy RomCom.
