Embracing Joy Amidst Uncertainty
The Long Haul
Hi friends. I know it’s been a minute. Apparently you have to write the newsletter to keep the newsletter going? The audacity.
I hope you’re all safe and finding joy during these uncertain times. Wading through the beginning of 2025, with the shitstorms surrounding us right now, I’ve made a couple decisions that have helped me mentally:
deactivated my Twitter account (find me on Bluesky @lmanusos.bsky.social)
eased up on doomscrolling, setting limits on my phone on social apps, etc.
leaned into community, friendships, beloved colleagues, and embracing the awe and inspiration of writers I adore.
leaned into writing again. Finally. Finally.
Much of this has to do with getting the help I needed for overflowing anxiety, avoiding bad habits that led to that anxiety, and finding joy again. Reading Martha Beck’s Beyond Anxiety and re-reading Charlie Jane Anders’s Never Say You Can’t Survive has helped immensely.
It’s okay not to be okay. I know a lot of people right now aren’t okay. I see you. I’m glad you exist.
Some Good News
Very excited to see my debut novella, From These Dark Abodes, receive some love over these past weeks.
I was really floored (seriously shocked, y’all) to see FTDA make the longlist for the British Science Fiction Association award longlist, as well as Locus Magazine’s 2024 Recommended Reading List. I am so proud of this book’s journey, and immensely thankful to Psychopomp and the Psychopomp team (E. Catherine Tobler, Sean Markey, Melissa Ren, you shooting stars of awesomeness). Fingers crossed for more love for my weird little book, and always grateful for your consideration if you’re able to vote for any of the above awards, or (dare I hope) the Nebulas, Hugos, and/or World Fantasy. In fact, I believe a good portion of the nomination periods are closing imminently.
As always, vote for what you love.
I also have some stories forthcoming this year. Excited to share that my weird horror flash “Proscenium” is forthcoming in hex literary later this Spring, and my fantasy short story “My Mother is the Water” is forthcoming in F(r)iction’s Fairy Tale issue this Fall!
The Short Haul
Now for the most important part (and my favorite part): showing some well-deserved love to some stories I’ve adored recently. I hope you dive into these with as much glee as I did.
“Limb from Limb” by Annika Barranti Klein in Trollbreath Magazine. Utterly exquisite. I’ve had the privilege of reading earlier versions of this story and am delighted to behold it out in the world.
“The Underlying Cause of Her Insomnia” by P.A. Cornell in Horror Tree. Brutal and unsettling. If you’re looking for a knife-quick horror flash to read before you see the movie The Monkey, this is the perfect pairing.
“My Pretties” by K.C Mead-Brewer in Barrelhouse. The rising dread, the prose, everything is so creepy and delectable. Have I shared this story already? I may have. And it doesn’t matter cause it’s that damn good.
“12 Things No One Will Tell You About Being a Demigod” by Danai Christopoulou in Translunar Travelers Lounge. Lyrical. Poetic. There are so many lines I could quote in this piece, like “if you believe us laurel-chewing oracles when we tell you that killing your own children is a thing you can atone for: you embody the impossible.” Go bathe yourself in these words.
“Mavka” by A.D. Sui in Pseudopod. A fanged memory, a gory fairy tale, “Mavka” is a fever dream of hunger and desperation. I read it in one gulping breath, eyes wide with terror and awe.
“The Path She Sings” by Venessa Fogg in The Deadlands. Oh, Vanessa never misses with her masterful worldbuilding and heartache. This is a story of mourning, yearning, and then falling and following into both.
And that’s it for this round! Also be on the lookout for my next Book Riot roundup of SFF mysteries and thrillers at the end of March.
Hopefully it won’t take so long until the next newsletter. IF this is your first time reading one of my posts, I’d be grateful if you subscribed. Stay safe, my lovelies. <3