Ash Vale Updates: May 2024
Hello and welcome to my May update (and the first update ever!) I’m going to keep it short and sweet and to the point. I am. Really.
P.S. Since it’s my first time doing this, if there are things you don’t like, or things you want to see more of, let me know!
Some Stuff from this Month
I can flip upside down on a pole again (a feat that was hard to do after having a baby, it turns out)
Went to a local drag brunch for mother’s day and one of the performers danced to MILF $$$ by Fergie so I’ve been thinking about that non-stop
Writing
I have a dark fantasy short story ‘on hold’ with the magazine editors (kind of like round 2 of the submission process) which is super exciting! It might still ultimately be rejected but I’m stoked to have made it this far. Thanks to so many people for giving feedback (and special shoutout to my toxic online mom group, love u besties)
Submitted a dark comedy/horror comedy short story pitch (an unusual thing from what I’ve been told) to a gore anthology.
My romance novel is coming along, I just hit 20k words on my first draft which is wild. My friend (hi Val!) recommended incentivising hitting word counts and boy howdy does that work with how much I love doughnuts
Reading
Reading has been slow, but I just finished Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner and it was adorable. A sapphic American soccer story really appealed to my secret inner jock, and this one also dealt with lots of neurodivergence and gifted adults trying to figure themselves out. It’s very spicy so if that’s not your jam in romance it might not be for you, fair warning!
Just started Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree, a prequel to his delightful cozy fantasy book Legends & Lattes. I’ve had this one on hold from the library for approx. 1,000 years so I’m excited to finally read it.
Recommendations
like blood on the mouths of death by Victor Forna - a short story in Nightmare Magazine that I absolutely LOVED. Ugh it made me cry. It bundles up so much emotion of being a child with a sick parent who then becomes a sick parent and it’s really stuck with me. Big TWs for body horror and death.
Why was I alive, but not Mama? Will my own children feel the same?
As a much more lighthearted rec, my friend (shoutout to drauthr) introduced me to Rina Sawayama’s music and it’s SO GOOD Y’ALL give her a listen
https://open.spotify.com/track/7aHmvUghK3XCEqNRbUeAn4?si=f40f06e9f8b74810I’ve been playing Fabledom a lot the past couple of weeks. It’s a fairly chill city builder/sandbox game with a fantasy vibe and some quirks, highly recommend if you enjoy games like Cities: Skylines.
Something Extra
Finally, I bring you this unhinged post I found on my local FB Marketplace. You’re welcome!
Thanks for reading, and don't let the monsters under your bed get you, unless you're into that! I don't judge!
Ash Vale (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, neurodivergent cryptid writing short stories in horror and fantasy, and working on a sapphic romance novel.