in which my brain is homophobic to me for pride month
this month has been largely nothing. I’ve been in a not-great place mental health-wise, to the point where I asked for an extension on my next book and then immediately stopped writing it. posting went down even though I had planned to participate fully in PrideBookFair on both Instagram and BlueSky. and instead of writing, I saw Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in theaters four times (plus Inside Out 2 once).
I’m doing better currently, but I’m still taking it easy. deeply homophobic of my brain to gift me, a queer person, bad mental health during Pride Month. wtf.
giveaway for PrideBookFair
what you can win:
a signed paperback of Remarkable Retirement with hand-painted gold edges
how to enter:
donate at least $5 to one of these three Gaza fundraisers chosen from Operation Olive Branch: link to first fundraiser | link to second fundraiser | link to third fundraiser
submit proof of donation to this form: link to Google form
for a bonus entry, donate at least $5 each to more than one of the above fundraisers (for up to three entries total)
proof of donation must be submitted via the form by 26 July 2024 at 5p.m. EST
Edna mentioned on Meg’s Tea Room
seeing Remarkable Retirement in this reel of “3 Cozy Fantasies That Make Great Palette Cleansers” was just what I needed the other day. Meg Hood is a bookish influencer who focuses heavily on cozy fantasy, so the mention was a fantastic boost for Edna—especially over a year after the book came out.
watch the reel here: link to reel on Instagram
publishing moves slow as molasses, yet when it comes to new books…it always feels like it moves at lightning speed. a book is (hopefully) a big deal leading up to release, but a month afterward it seems like everyone has moved on to the next release. as an author, that kind of sucks. it’s not even actually true—backlist is important and gives new fans something to buy while waiting for your next book—but it feels true.
so being highlighted by an influencer over a year after release, seeing that bump in Goodreads adds, is really awesome.
add The Keeper of Lonely Spirits on Goodreads
reminder that you can now add my upcoming cozy fantasy on Goodreads! you can even preorder. a description of the book is below.
add Keeper on Goodreads: link to Goodreads
add Keeper on TheStoryGraph: link to TheStoryGraph
preorder Keeper: link to Barnes & Noble
In this mesmerizing, wonderfully moving queer cozy fantasy, an immortal ghost hunter must confront his tragic past in order to embrace his found family.
Find an angry spirit. Send it on its way before it causes trouble. Leave before anyone learns his name.
After over two hundred years, Peter Shaughnessy is ready to die and end this cycle. But thanks to a youthful encounter with one o’ them folk in his native Ireland, he can’t. Instead, he’s cursed to wander eternally far from home, with the ability to see ghosts and talk to plants.
Immortality means Peter has lost everyone he’s ever loved. And so he centers his life on the dead—until his wandering brings him to Harrington, Ohio. As he searches for a vengeful spirit, Peter’s drawn into the townsfolk’s lives, homes and troubles. For the first time in over a century, he wants something other than death.
But the people of Harrington will die someday. And he won’t.
As Harrington buckles under the weight of the supernatural, the ghost hunt pits Peter’s well-being against that of his new friends and the man he’s falling for. If he stays, he risks heartbreak. If he leaves, he risks their lives.
odds & ends
recent reads
Mo Netz’s spooky MG debut, The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines. I ♥ Paul the Dragon 5eva
Elwood D. Baumann’s Monsters of North America, which I bought on a whim last year upon suddenly remembering how many times I checked it out of the library in, like, middle school
recent listens
…still stuck on Wish but occasionally swapping it out for my recently purchased copy of the Hadestown soundtrack
recent watches
yeah, so. remember how in my last issue I said I probably wouldn’t get the same level of brain rot about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes as I have about the 2010s trilogy? well, four movie-theater viewings and three attempts at related art later,
Inside Out 2 which, while not quite as solid (in an I admit not-quite-identifiable way) as the first film, was an excellent sequel that still made me cry, which is pretty much all I can ask of a movie
recent birds
finally saw a male indigo bunting after hearing them all summer! they are the literal prettiest
until next time!
