Since I’m celebrating my 38th birthday today, I felt like doing something especially for those that have supported my stories, writings and site throughout the years.
As you know, I’ve been working on my first, real fictional novel. It’s not fan fiction, but it still has a touch of what I feel like people always liked about my stories when I did write fan fiction.
THE TITLE
As far as I know, right now, the title will be “How to be an Adult Fangirl and Not Ruin Your Life.” Currently, that is the cover above. I’m still going to use my writer handle that I came up.
ABOUT
The story is about an adult fangirl who loves a certain boy band. It’s a fictional boy band. The girl is married and has a normal life with friends and all of that has to fit in with her fangirl lifestyle.
TEASE
This is the beginning of the book, below. The first part of Chapter 1. I feel like it gives a good look at the character and the story. Right now I’m currently writing Chapter 24 and I believe it’s going to end up being around 32 chapters long if everything goes as planned.
So your feedback is appreciated it I’ll be interested in knowing what you think. 🙂 I added a little form below for your thoughts!
Being an adult fangirl is crazy hard. Seriously, you have no idea. There’s the you that must keep everything professional in your work life, but then there’s the you that loses your shit when you go see your favorite artist in concert or your favorite TV show comes back for a new season.
It’s almost like having two personalities.
And sometimes it’s hard to keep the two separated, especially when it comes to work. You try to nonchalantly bring in a photo of you and your favorite boy band to put on your desk at work when you first start and act like it’s no big deal.
Two months later … your desk is a shrine to Blake Beckett from Insomnia and “Parks and Recreation.” There’s no room to paste the work schedule on your cubicle’s tack wall because of photos and selfies with your best friends that you met in your fandoms.
And let’s not even talk about your family.
“Harley, when are you going to have kids? You need to have kids before you get too old?” family members ask every time I go home, which isn’t too often because let’s face it – I hate that place. It’s only 30 minutes away, but I try to avoid it at all costs.
I am one of I think three people from my high school graduating class that does not have kids and I’m perfectly fine with that.
We aren’t in 1946 Georgia anymore. It’s 2018 and there is more to life than birthing babies and waiting on a man hand and foot. My husband does not expect me to wait on him hand and foot. He knows better. He knew what he was getting into when we married.
We were high school sweethearts, if you call it that. He’s the only guy I’ve ever kissed. Ever been with. He knew I was a total fangirl from the time we were 10 years old when I had posters of Mark-Paul Gosselaar from “Saved by the Bell” all in my locker and my binder. He’s supported my habits, even helping me get concert tickets when we both had laptops set up to see who pulled up the best seats.
But kids? Kids? No thanks.
“Well who’s going to take care of you when you’re older?” my mother asks one of my best friends and me.
We’ve decided it’s going to be a “Golden Girls” type situation, especially if, God forbid my husband goes first. We’ll all share a house in Miami, eat cheesecake, or chocolate cake since I’m not crazy about cheesecake, stay up late talking about our different escapades in our younger days and have “Harry Potter” marathons once a week.
Not to mention Miami always gets good concerts so we’ll eagerly be waiting to see the Insomnia, Maroon 5 and any of our other faves try to perform on stage after a hip-replacement surgery.
This is things you think up on the spot when you’re pressured with questions that you really don’t care to answer. Someone will always try to put your love and passion for your favorite fandom in question and how it pertains to your life.
For some of us, our fandoms are our lives. Our fandoms are what keep us going day to day. Our fandoms are the reason we still believe in love through the love songs or believe that there are still good people in the world. Because what celebrity will send you private messages when your mother is possibly on her death bed? The good ones. The real ones with a heart.
And that’s why even at 37 years old, I’m still a fangirl.
You call me an adult fangirl. You can call me a grown-up fangirl. I’m not going to cry every time I see Joey McIntyre from New Kids on the Block, but my heart feels the flutters that I felt at 7 years old. I can keep my composure when I hear that Zac Efron is filming not far from where I live, and my husband happens to run into him at the local Target and takes a selfie.
As a grownup fangirl, you must pick your battles. Someone may make fun of you at work because you wear some boy band T-shirt under a nice button shirt to work, but if you ignore it, they most likely will realize that it doesn’t bother you. Your payback comes at a game night when you beat that person by knowing that One Direction was formed on the British version of “X-Factor” and not on “American Idol.”
Being an adult and a fangirl at the same time can suck, but the good times outweigh the bad.
Always.
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Harleeeeeey, did you see Twitter?!? Insomnia is coming out with a new cruise! We have to go!
I sighed looking at my cell phone. The text was from one of my best friends, Emmie, the “Mom” of our group of friends. She was just a few years older, the only one married with kids, but still loved her pretty boys that sang.
Sadly, Emmie had never been on an Insomnia cruise.
Would the hubby let you go? You didn’t get to go on the others with us.
Emmie’s husband was somewhat reserved but nice. I think it’s the fact that she thinks Donnie Wahlberg from the New Kids on the Block hung the moon and the stars, but she’s been able to travel to Boston to see Insomnia.
For some reason, Insomnia hates the south. Why? I have no idea. My favorite member is from Georgia actually. Blake Beckett grew up about 45 minutes from where I live right now, but all of his family is gone from there and so he has no reason to ever come back.
Can’t say I blame him.
Already confirmed. The other girls said the time doesn’t work with their work schedules.
Get ready, bitch. I’m going on the cruise and we are doing it in A SUITE!
I sat back at my desk at work and put my phone down. Maybe I was hyperventilating a little. I had some Ativan in my purse, maybe I should pop one of those.
My friends were really too good to me. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve that kind of friendship and out of them all, I know Emmie deserves this trip. She does so much for everyone else and she deserves this cruise.
“Harley, you okay?” I heard one of my coworkers ask as I nodded and sat back up straight, staring at my computer.
Yep, I was good.
I was fine.
I was just dandy, but I hadn’t seen my boys in person this year.
This is the part of being an adult fangirl where you feel like a teenybopper again. Of course, as a teenager I was more into country and rap music. Weird combination, I know. It wasn’t until right before I graduated high school when I became an Insomnia fan and then slowly every other boy band imaginable.
I’m an EOBBF – equal opportunity boy band fan.
O. M. G. I’m in.
The first time I met each of my favorite boy bands were all different. I’d met New Kids on the Block as a fourth grader who screamed when she got to touch Joey McIntyre’s hand. I met Sideways, 45 Below, The Walkers and Zero Chance all at meet and greets or after concerts.
But this was going to be different. I was going to be on a boat with Insomnia and one of my best friends.
Being on a boat with Insomnia was no big deal. Pretty sure Blake Beckett knows my name, birthday, where I live and probably knows my social security number by now and truth be known, my credit card pin, also.
I opened up Google Chrome and searched for news about the Insomnia cruise.
April 5-8.
Three days.
Three days on a boat with Insomnia.
Three days on a boat in a suite.
I’m too old to be getting this excited about something. My heart and blood pressure can’t take it. Now, I’m sitting at my desk and my hands are starting flail about so I sit on them quickly.
This is how an adult fangirl dies … death by boy band cruise.
Tweet me what you think! @BSBFangirls or @Princess_Karah 🙂 Or fill out the little form below!
