all hail the queen of march
hey, folks! it’s the end of February, which for me means two things:
it’s silence retreat time
it’s birthday time
I’ve been going on an annual silence retreat since I was 13 or 14. if your reaction is, “you mean you don’t talk for a whole weekend??? I could NEVER,” you’re not alone lmao. but I enjoy both alone time and (relative) quiet.
anyway, I just got back. so for now, I am the epitome of inner peace.
…but I’m back at work today and have my first-ever therapy appointment tomorrow, so we’ll see how long that lasts lolol.
it’s also two days until my thirty-second birthday, woooooo! thus we usher in both my next year of living and the month of March, and also spring, even if technically we have to wait a little longer for that.
good news out of the publishing industry!
on February 16, HCPU announced that the union had voted to ratify their new contract! workers returned to work on February 21, finally ending the strike that started on November 10 when HarperCollins management failed to provide a fair contract for renewal.
WHEN I TELL YOU I CRIED. I mean I also smiled BUT I CRIED. and posted about it EVERYWHERE and TEXTED FRIENDS and CRIED SOME MORE and, well, basically I was just having a teary-eyed party in my office within minutes of the news breaking.
there’s still plenty of bullshit in this industry, but this is such a huge win. thank you so much to union members, union leadership, everyone who went on strike, and everyone who supported the strike in any way. I’m so hopeful about what this means for the entire industry.
read HCPU’s Twitter thread of contract highlights.
edna releases in less than two months
just kidding. sort of. I mean…I’m panicking a little. I’m terrified that people are going to actually read my book, yet I’m simultaneously terrified that no one is going to read my book and it’s going to be a total flop?? truly, I contain multitudes.
no but I do feel good about where I am. proofs arrived while I was gone over the weekend. Edna has almost 7,000 GoodReads adds. there’s a giveaway going on. and thanks to the interest, particularly on Tumblr…
edna’s getting an audio book!
well, hopefully—right now, all I can say with certainty is that my publisher is crowdfunding for an audio book. but still! exciting stuff. click here for details!
in the meantime, preorder the print or e-book edition or add Edna to a tbr.
I also have a shiny new author website
which I built myself thank u very much, if by “built” you mean “figured out Squarespace’s admittedly very user-friendly editor.” but hey, whatever! the point is, I am not tech savvy, but I have a new author website that’s pretty and pleasing because of work I did.
odds & ends
recent reads
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (long on my tbr, finally read, extremely gay, but hoo boy I sure am glad I knew what I was getting myself into, because 😭)
recent watches
old dubs of the original Iron Chef, which is one of my favorite shows EVER because honestly how can it not be?? if you’ve never seen it, or if all you’ve seen is the later Iron Chef: America, RUN DON’T WALK to YouTube and look for full episodes. it is melodramatic, it is a soap opera x a sporting event x a cooking challenge, it is the most extra thing ever, it is GLORIOUS. (it was a weekly event in the Anderson household back in the 90s)
okay I was trying to add the video of Chairman Kaga biting into a bell pepper at the start of the show, but a l a s I seem to be unable to do that on Substack at this time. but if you’ve seen the gif of the man biting the bell pepper dramatically, this is where it comes from, and it’s even better on video.
recent birds
I saw a second kestrel hunting so I was very excited about that despite the fact that I already had American kestrel on this year’s bird list. it’s also nest-building/next-expanding time for bald eagles, so I saw one working on last year’s nest at Magee Marsh, which I will no doubt have tons to say about in May when it’s warbler season.
“though she be but little, she is fierce” - Shakespeare talking about kestrels. didn’t know Shakespeare was an avid birder, did you
also heard a thousand red-winged blackbirds right outside my window on retreat <3 I can’t name a favorite bird, but I can name a favorite bird call, and this is it
other random doodads
[bill nye voice] did you know that…natalie imbruglia’s “torn” is a COVER?!
“fuckin what?” was my exact reaction
I indeed came of age again upon finding this out, so apparently I’m really actually for real an adult now (allegedly). anyway, the original is a bop, so here it is if you, like me, have had your mind blown by this information.
until next time!
