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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 1h

Also helpful if I want to avoid you.

Reposted by Rainbow Rowell

JP @jpbrammer.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Idk why this annoys me but when someone is like "I like how messy the characters are" and it's like as opposed to what ? doing mental monologues about how they're aware they're doing something problematic but in the broader context of--

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Reposted by Rainbow Rowell

JP @jpbrammer.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

when a fictional character is described as "messy" it's usually because they're doing human stuff

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Oh, thank you! I haven't thought about that story for a while. After I wrote it, I sort of wish I'd spent a whole book with those two characters.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Those are two very different options :) I'm sure I'll get to Ohio someday soon.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Hey, I'm coming to the Portland Book Festival November 7th! Get your day pass here -- these sell out 😊https://aftontickets.com/event/buyticket/om9o60r59g

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

LOL. It's this bit for me -- "Two people were married, the act was outrageous, The bride was contagious, she burned like a bride"

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I'll have to listen to that one again ...

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I have two more ADULTS LIVING IN REALITY novels, and then I don't know what I'll do. I had a backlog of middle-aged ideas after my six years writing the Simon Snow books. But maybe I could write about teenagers again? IDK. 🤔

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I'm usually not weak for songs about "boots" -- but goddam, this lyric: "So, girl, leave your boots by the bed, We ain't leaving this room, 'Til someone needs medical help, Or the magnolias bloom"

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

(Maybe that would have helped sales ...)

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I wanted to call the book I'm editing "Hearts and Bones," but everyone said it sounded like fantasy/romantasy. open.spotify.com/album/6OuZ6j...

open.spotify.com

Hearts And Bones - Album by Paul Simon | Spotify

Paul Simon · album · 1983 · 14 songs

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I haven't shared WIP playlists for my next books, because they feel too spoilery -- but here's a thematic song for the one I'm editing right now. (This is another realistic novel about adults.) open.spotify.com/track/0htFHn...

open.spotify.com

Cover Me Up

Jason Isbell · Southeastern · Song · 2013

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Where it gets messy and brittle for her is not being able to make room for Tom to see her more like she sees herself. Like, she goes through the world knowing her body is a DEDUCTION for most people. And she can't quite trust or understand or know how he feels about her.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Yes, everyone. Literally everyone. Hopefully not babies, etc. But I also think that Cherry does a BETTER job than most of us of liking herself. Like, she's very realistic about how other people see her, but she doesn't see her fatness as ugly. Only as a disadvantage.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

It's such a relief to be understood!

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

"the way this dynamic can weave its way into the fabric of our closest relationships and intersect with our other experiences and traumas to damage our ability to believe we are loved" -- this was exactly what I was trying to say 😭

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Dre, I appreciate this so much!! (And it makes me feel like there is a through line from Simon to Cherry.) I stay more sane when I remind myself that I'm not really writing the books for people who don't like them. But Cherry Baby is tricky because I've heard this from people who DO like it.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

So glad you liked it. I love Jen Walters, and was grateful to have so many issues to tell a story with her. Also grateful for Andrés Genolet, who made it easy to write character-forward stories. It seems like that run is still finding its audience 💚

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Always wild to hear songs on oldies radio that never got played on Omaha radio stations.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I absolutely loved writing those characters and would do it again in a heartbeat, should Marvel ever give me that opportunity.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

It would be funny if I eventually wrote another Simon Snow book without rereading the other three, and just remembering the vibes. "Milk McMilk,'" purple-haired Penelope said.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

For the people who call me a milk propagandist, there are only three "milk" mentions in the novel I'm editing. But eight mentions of "cheese". (Tell me you're not writing a Simon Snow book without telling me you're not writing a Simon Snow book.) (Four mentions of "butter".)

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

also, lol that this approach resonates with you, "sadcypress"

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

That's how it often strikes me, too, but maybe (?) it genuinely helps them or gives them relief.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I am happy to hear that -- thank you!

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Not sure why I'm sharing my feelings this morning like it's 2014 Twitter

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

If I take a step back, I think this is something I struggle with, with many of my characters. Wanting to write about their struggles in a way that isn't always encouraging or uplifting. I have to believe a story to feel uplifted by it. And for me that means letting in the sadness and the hell of it

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I really struggle with "fat positivity." Surely it is positive to write a realistic character. But maybe some people prefer to read a story that only lets in positive feelings -- and who I am to say that's not good for their souls?

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I'm glad to hear it! I think maybe we're all told that loving ourselves means never even acknowledging how the world sees us?

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

It would be delusional for Cherry to walk through the world assuming that people aren't clocking her weight when they meet her. Or for her to never think about how men perceive her body.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Readers sometimes mention that Cherry in Cherry Baby is very negative and self-loathing about her body ... I don't see her that way at all. I think Cherry is confident and loves her body -- but is realistic about the way the world sees her.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

At the point in editing when it feels like I haven't written anything new in forevvvvvvvver. Just editing editing editing. Revising revising revising.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

OMG hahahahhahahahahah Baz makes powerful eye contact.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

i mean, i always imagine the characters in MY books existing in the same universe.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

ONE-HUNDRED-PERCENT. And then got Natalie Merchant's haircut.

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Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Can't believe I didn't put "Gun Shy" on my Slow Dance playlist.

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