March 12, 2021

March is here!

Hi. I meant to send these at the beginning of the month, but so much has changed since February that it got away from me! I will also acknowledge tomorrow’s anniversary of pandemic lockdown is probably getting to me as well. This time last year we had a middle-schooler whose parent-teacher conferences were cancelled and we were looking at “a few weeks” of schooling from home. This year, we have a 3-month-old baby1, have bought a new house and are moving soon, and I’m getting my first vaccine dose tomorrow. Things are different, to put it very mildly.

But I also said they were different from February: I have started a full-time position at the company I have worked for a year+ for as a contractor, so my writing is on the back-burner again2. The Mage’s Mistake will re-emerge from dormancy some time in the future, and I’m still feeling good about it. Stay tuned for a new draft. Camp NaNoWriMo is coming in April3!

Sherlock Holmes, baker

But in other news, I’m so excited to share with you that Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street, edited by Margie Deck (!) and Nancy Holder (!!), is coming your way in June of 2021. I am so pleased to have been invited to submit a piece of short fiction, which is a very indulgent tale of retired husbands in Sussex, with home renovation, beekeeping, kittens, and—naturally—baking adventures.

Look at the size of that spine! This will be a big one. Pre-order links will be available soon, so I’ll share them with you soon. Proceeds for this book will benefit The Beacon Society, a very worthy cause which brings Sherlock Holmes to young readers.

Recommended Reading

Two books I’ve finished this month which I recommend:

A Court of Thorns and Roses did get good at the end; I found the beginning slow and a little confusing, but the last third really picked up. Good fun, exciting conflicts and drama and action, and the next book is in my library hold queue. My wife wishes I would hustle on this series, but I do have a large TBR pile so let me live.

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting, K.J. Charles’s latest release, was an absolute delight and I read it in just a few nights. Literally anything K.J. writes I will read, and her Will Darling series is on a pause, so it was so nice to get a stand-alone to dig into. This is a fun Regency setting, all ballrooms and Hyde Park walks, with a large helping of card sharping and scheming. I really enjoyed the way the two main characters spoke to each other, even when they were at odds and being deliberately antagonistic. And K.J.’s supporting casts are always wonderful.

How are you?

Spring is coming, despite the anniversary. What are you looking forward to?