March is my birthday month, way back on the 1^st, so witness me looking super buff in this birthday selfie I took:

it’s all been kinda downhill from there, since I’m working at a job I know I’ll lose in less than two months (very weird vibes around here) while preparing for a book launch and feeling increasingly like I’m screaming into the void.

on the plus side, I had a weird new book idea, so guess who’s been doing a bunch of research on British fairy lore? more on that later.

giveaway: annotated hardcover

wednesday was the first anniversary of the publication of The Keeper of Lonely Spirits, so I’m running a giveaway of an annotated hardcover to celebrate! the giveaway will run through 5p.m. EST on March 31 and will be open internationally to anyone who can receive USPS packages.

the annotation includes behind-the-scenes looks at the writing of The Keeper of Lonely Spirits, doodles of native birds and plants that appear in the book, and silly comments. to enter, (a) follow me on the social media platform of your choice (Bluesky, Instagram, or Threads) and (b) share the giveaway post (tag me to make sure I see it). for a bonus entry, tag a friend.

street team applications

applications for The Lord of the Wood street team are now open! apply here: link to Google form¹

in case you’re asking yourself, “what in tarnation is a street team”: street team members share and engage with the author’s social media posts about the book, create their own posts, and may leave reviews and hype the book up to bookstores, libraries, and friends, both online and in real life.

(if this sounds like a ton of work, don’t worry: it’s up to you how much you participate, and I’ll be providing digital assets, some premade graphics, and pre-written alt text.)

in exchange, the author provides various gifts that may include an e-ARC or e-book, digital bookmarks or stickers, print bookmarks and other goodies, or a print copy of the book.

since I’m shortly to be unemployed, I’m focused first and foremost on digital gifts, because they’re cheaper and I won’t have to pay postage. but gifts will be tiered based on participation, with the highest tiers providing an opportunity for print gifts. and everyone who creates at least one post about The Lord of the Wood after the street team launches will get an e-ARC (PDF format).

basically, the more you participate, the more stuff you’ll get.

odds & ends

recent reads

• House of Frank by Kay Synclaire, which was quirky, soft, sad, sapphic, and an utter delight

recent watches

• rewatched The Decameron on Netflix, and several major characters are queer btw if you need a reason to watch it. it feels weirdly in the vein of Our Flag Means Death—tonally, I mean, I kept saying to myself “this character would fit in on OFMD” as I watched—although darker because, well, plague. it also has what I would term as a queerplatonic couple that had me saying “he loves her SO MUCH” approximately five thousand times per episode later in the season, even though they also make me sad

recent listens

• actually haven’t listened yet BUT I bought the Sinners soundtrack on CD and I don’t think I have to explain why (except maybe the CD part)(I’m old and I prefer CDs in the car)

recent birds

• on a reading retreat with some friends, I semi-accidentally went birding and saw a common goldeneye, a merlin, and some kind of duck that I’m still not quite sure of (alas), all of which are birds I don’t normally see!

until next time!