Gonna rise up / find my direction magnetically
- Eddie Vedder, from “Rise”

Happy belated new year

I took January off from Dragonfly, for the most part. I added a few new book posts but was also writing a solarpunk article and adjusting to the snow dumped on us. If you ever miss a newsletter, please check the news & events page for what’s up.

I hope you like the new header image. What inspired it was a woman dressed up as blue fireflies last Halloween. Since I miss fireflies and Appalachia, I wanted to create a new mood and image, which I do every few years.

So, about rising up: We need to all be doing that now, right? There’s plenty of political reasons, but there’s also finding our way in a weird world. Finding the direction magnetically is something salmon, birds, Monarch butterflies, and other migrators do. When I listen to Eddie Vedder, rising up means turning inward to my dreams and instincts. It’s a spacial awareness of myself and where I fit and move in the nature around me. I turn toward the seasons, get outside, and envision a sort of escape that isn’t running away from reality as much as it is running into a different place. That different place for me is literally running, as I restarted my 10K training today. But it’s also a place of imagination, reconnection,and restoration, even if I can’t run outside all the time. I feel newness in my bones, a sense of spring, an ache to be outside and under the sun, even though Nova Scotia is in the deep winter.

World eco-fiction spotlight

This month I chatted with Mona Shomali about her new novel Water Mamas. Mona explains:

My book is a fictional account of the conflict between Indigenous spirituality versus western science when it comes to fighting climate change. It takes place in the near future and is based on the present. Currently, the Amazon is approaching a tipping point. Scientists warn that once deforestation passes 20-25%, the rainforest may no longer generate its own rainfall, triggering irreversible collapse. But when the world rushes to save it, who gets to decide how? In my book, I explore what happens when Indigenous sovereignty is treated as an obstacle rather than a requirement.

Indie Corner

I’m not sure if you remember in one of my autumn newsletters that I mentioned meeting author Anne Smith-Nochasak at the Wolfville Farmers’ Market. We finally chatted again, this time more about the novels she introduced me to that day. Welcome, Anne, to this month’s Indie Corner spotlight. She’s just an amazing woman, and I hope you follow in love, like I did, with the first two books in her Taggak Journey series. Taggak Journey includes stories of sacrifice, courage, and hope set in a dystopian near future (it’s set where I live, so bonus!). The author uses the word taggak because it describes the key aspects of main character River’s journey, which begins in River Faces North, told by River’s grandmother Flo. Taggak, according to Labradorimi Ulinnaisigutet: An Inuktitut-English Dictionary of Northern Labrador Dialect, means “shadow, reflection in a mirror, north”. River Becomes Shadow is the second book, and a third book is due later this year.

Turning the Tide

I feel good about fulfilling all three Dragonfly.eco’s spotlight series this month! I normally don’t have the time to do that.

Kimberly Christensen has been a dear colleague who has contributed many children’s and YA book reviews to the site. Well, now she has a book of her own: The Brink Box, a YA sci-fi, time-travel adventure with two teen girls trying to save elephants from extinction. Check out our conversation. You can also see her reviews at Dragonfly. I’m happy to feature Kimberly in Turning the Tide, a series for younger readers.

Flashback

Dragonfly Publishing has my own work, which includes a few novels and stories as well as this page listing my other projects. I write fiction under the pen name Clara Hume.

I was browsing through my old stuff the other day and really like what I’ve built. Some of it goes back many years, including a fantasy MMO idea exploring Basque culture and environments.

I’ve recently begun writing sprints on my newest novel, which is no longer untitled. The title is still a placeholder though: The Day Sylva Calhoun Washed Away. I’m working on the book cover, an iteration of which is below. The novel is my song for Appalachia, a story I’ve been trying to write for many years. You can read more about it here, but I don’t want to give anything away. It’s a unique story, and I want to keep it that way until it’s ready for publication.

Resources

• LinkTree: Find out more about me

• Rewilding Our Stories: A Discord community where you can find resources, reading, and writing fun in fiction that relates strongly to nature and environment

• Book recommendations: a growing list of recs

• Eco/climate genres: They’re all over the place, and here’s an expanding compendium

• Inspiring and informative author quotes from Dragonfly’s interviews

• List of ecologically focused games

• List of eco/climate films and documentaries

• Eco-fiction links and resources

• Book database: Database of over 1,100 book posts at Dragonfly.eco

• Turning the Tide: The Youngest Generation: Fiction aimed toward children, teens, and young adults

• Indie Corner: The occasional highlight of authors who publish independently

• World Eco-fiction Series: Climate Change and Beyond: This series travels the planet exploring fictional stories close to natural landscapes and wildlife, often with environmental concerns.

• Artists & Climate Change. This site is no longer being updated but still has a wealth of info. I was a core writer for their team, and I’m both honored and grateful. Look for my “Wild Authors” series there.