Dear friends,

Later today I'll have a new story come out, but later today I'll be at my mother's doing our usual Sunday things, so you'll have to wait for the April newsletter for that one. Or follow me on literally any social media, but I'm not pushing that these days--you probably already know what social media works for you, if any, and I think a lot of us have taken one to three big steps back on the time we're spending there.

Which is, I think, generally a good thing. Nobody's last words are, "I wish I'd scrolled through more Facebook ads." A thing I said to some friends recently was, "If I catch myself doomscrolling on social media, I have realized that what I actually want is human connection. So I stop and send an email, a text, a DM, a postcard, to an actual human." Does this always work, no, because in times of crisis--which this absolutely is--sometimes what we want is not to set up a video call with a college friend but to be reassured that we know what we need to know about the things that might hurt us or the people we care about. And we don't, but we won't after an hour on Bluesky either.

Obviously I don't think social media are worthless--I try to keep a line between checking in and endless scrolling. They've been invaluable for connecting with old friends and family I don't have in my life in some other way. But I think it's good to remember that the uses are limited, even when the world is on fire. It's harder to "touch grass" when the grass is a clump of brown amidst piles of grimly melting snow, but it's still important to keep us centered for the stuff we need to do that actually is important.

This month's writing news is that one of my stories from last year is on Locus Magazine's Recommended Reading list! (It's The Year the Sheep God Shattered in Diabolical Plots magazine, in case you didn't get a chance to read it--or would like to read it again.) The rest of the list is worth perusing as well, and you--yes, you!--can vote in the Locus Awards to let the world know what science fiction, fantasy, or horror you liked last year. Celebrating the small wins remains important, and I'm very glad people liked this story.

I'd love to say it's been a great month for writing, but the truth is that it has not. I'm not devastated or worried by this, it's not terrible news, I've gotten some things written that I'm glad to have written and a bunch of stuff that is not writing done…but I also think that it's important to acknowledge that not every song can be a hit, so to speak, and not every month is my Best! One! Yet! Things that grow without ceasing are familiar to us, they're called cancer. Sometimes we're in the ebb part of the ebb and flow. That was this month for me, and I'm fine with that. I have every hope that this month will be better, but also it's okay to acknowledge that some months are just okay, not spectacular, not brilliant, just okay.

No recipe this month, friends; I've been making a lot of comfort food I've made before and already told you about. Hang in there, and try to both give and receive comfort in the dark.

Best,

Marissa