The bottom line is, insults only hurt when they come from someone I respect.
My toughest criticism usually comes from myself. As my editor can attest to, I'm never done tweaking a book until the production department has to rip it from my hands!
One of my favorite things to do is formulate powers for a character, then come up with their corresponding weaknesses and liabilities. And I delight in world-building: melding the supernatural with the natural, then tweaking and polishing until it feels organic.
When she absently worried her bottom lip with one of her adorable little fangs, he sighed. The Enemy of Old fucking sighed. Dear gods, it’d finally happened to him. Happiness. Then his own fangs sharpened.I will kill anyone who tries to take this feeling away from me.
I take no actions that I wouldn’t publicly recount. If you can’t speak your deeds, then don’t do them.
Ah, damn it, lass,'he called after her. 'I've busted my stitches wide open.' 'What?'she cried, hurrying back to him. 'Let me see!' 'Ah-ha!' He snared her around the waist, dragging her down with him to his lap.'You still care for me!