We hope you enjoyed the May 2025 issue of This Awful Awesome Life. Many thanks to Orlando Bartro for his contributions to the magazine. We’re beginning the mid-point of the year. How are you feeling about the end of the school year and the official beginning of summer? With the cost of almost everything certain to increase in the coming months, remember; we are a free publication.
For the many states (including my state) who recently dealt with rain, high winds, tornadoes, flooding, downed trees, and power and internet outages, I hope everyone stayed safe and now have their power restored.
Special thanks to the first responders, road crews, and utility workers who worked tirelessly to help during this difficult time. Thanks also to the neighbors who looked out for each other.
Brush up your Middle English for this one! Orlando Bartro analyses an old expression and its origin.
This month, we are celebrating romance! I’ve written a short story and a poem to go with our theme.
Who are the most romantic couples you know? Spoiler alert, sometimes they aren’t celebrities.
Also this month, we celebrate Flag Day. Our flag is so much more than a symbol of our military might. It stands for the ideals of our Constitution which our elected officials and our members of the military take an oath to protect and defend. Instead of spending millions of our tax dollars on a military parade, we have a better and much cheaper way to honor Old Glory. All it requires is a few hours of research and writing on my part, and a few minutes of reading from you.
Happy Father’s Day to everyone who fills that role for some lucky child/children! We appreciate you and you are loved. Let’s celebrate the parent/guardian who learns to French braid hair or throw tea parties. Hats off to the one who comes home from work, slips on a baseball or softball glove for a little one on one time in the yard, or makes dinner while their partner is in the yard with the kids having a catch.
It's fitting that Children’s Day is also celebrated in June. This year it’s June 8th. Personally, I would make every single day Children’s Day because childhood slips by so quickly, and so many of us are forced to grow up too soon.
For our column, “Happy Birthday,” celebrating the birthdays of famous writers, I selected Louise Erdrich, a Native American author of novels, poetry, and children’s books featuring Native American characters and settings.
This month, I reviewed two romance novels. One was written in 1990, and the other was written in 2025. Nancy Martin, the author of Showdown (our selection from 1990) has written fifty novels in the romance and mystery genres. Dr. Maria Simbra writes memoirs, articles for magazines and medical journals, and medical romances (under the pen name Em S. A’cor). Our June selection, Twitter Flames, the sequel to Twitter Crush, a novel we reviewed previously, is our 2025 selection. How have romance novels changed in the past thirty-five years? Read our reviews and our feature article about romance and find out.
For June 2025 in “The Twelve Months of Fruit,” I decided to feature one of the perfect summer fruits, grapes. They come in many varieties. You can freeze them for a refreshing treat, put them in salads, or eat them for snacks. Some people prefer grape juice or it’s fermented cousin, wine. We found the link for a recipe we think you’ll love.
Our reading recommendations for kids, young adults, and adults feature a summer theme.
We’re streaming rom-coms and tear jerkers this month and maybe a few vacation-themed selections.
This month our quiz, “Star-Crossed Lovers Part II” features love stories from literature that don’t end well.
In February 2024, we featured a quiz about star-crossed lovers from literature, films, and TV, https://www.thisawfulawesomelife.com/home/2024/2/7/the-february-2024-star-crossed-lovers-quiz-by-fran-joyce?rq=Star%20Crossed%20Lovers
Our Star-crossed Lovers Quiz has been so popular, we went looking for a new assortment of tragic love affairs. Grab a box of tissues and test your knowledge of love stories that don’t go as planned..
We’re constantly updating our Author Page to include the latest published works of your new favorite authors, and we’re adding authors. Being able to give authors a free place to display their work is a dream come true for me, so please check every month to see who’s new and what’s new.
Don’t miss our new Artist Page where we will be celebrating creatives and providing their contact information. We will be updating and adding to the list during this month and the following months, so keep checking our new page.
Everything in Between is now available as an audiobook and in hardcover or paperback. The narrator, Louise Porter, does a wonderful job bringing Sabrina and her story to life. I can’t wait for you to have a listen. You can purchase the audiobook for Everything in Between on Amazon, iTunes, or Audible. https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Everything-in-Between/dp/B0DDR8GRWS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TV0J0HCWYT7T&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tdRKc5MxwdOobXZOLckDvQ.0BXe9QYH3JnZOn9j0LC6Yy6gCG9UI3lIcRu4KlRnIPs&dib_tag=se&keywords=everything+in+between+by+frances+joyce+audiobook&qid=1725234363&sprefix=everything+in+between+by+frances+joyce+audiobook%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-
I’m incredibly proud of this novel. If you enjoy my writing, you should definitely check it out. Independent authors can’t afford splashy book launches and expensive PR campaigns to make the public aware of their work. Your support is greatly appreciated.
All year we’ve been encouraging you to make informed choices at the ballot box. The election may be over, but insuring we have responsible people in places of authority is a never-ending job. If you’re worried about the capabilities/qualifications of certain cabinet members, please make those concerns known to your Senators and Representatives.
You can email or call their office and make your concerns known. We The People should have a say in our future. If you don’t want a billionaire and his newly hired employees without proper security clearances having access to your private information and finances, speak up because it’s happening. Do you want people with no accountability to the American people evaluating how your tax dollars should be allocated and the benefits you will receive? Are you concerned about proposed cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and SNAP? These programs protect our most vulnerable members of society. Let the people in Congress know what you expect them to do to restore our safety, security, economy, and good standing in the world before we have a recession and/or a major global conflict.
If you are worried about the direction of our government, start preparing for the midterms now. Do your research, so we don’t end up with legislators who care more about partisanship than serving the needs of the American people. The League of Women Voters is a reputable and impartial source for information. Check them out before you head to the polls.
Please keep showing up and voting. We will never tell you who to vote for, but we will keep telling you to vote and do your homework! Be an educated not indoctrinated voter!
Which incumbent legislators have actually authored and submitted legislation to benefit Americans? Who’s all talk and soundbites? Who refuses to bring legislation to the floor of the House of Representatives or Senate, so our Representatives/Senators can vote on it? We pay them to conduct the government’s business, not to sit and do nothing. We don’t pay them to do the bidding of political parties or billionaires. Would you hire this person to run your business or trust them to be a fair boss? Would you trust them to make decisions about your safety and well-being?
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Happy Reading,
Fran