new book deal!
hey hi hello! I fully did not expect to be able to announce this until, like, the new year, let alone in this newsletter, BUT IT TURNS OUT I CAN SO LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
coming at you in 2025: The Keeper of Lonely Spirits
I did not talk about this even at all because no one does, but my agent took GroundskeeperWIP on sub back at the end of June or thereabouts. my approach to sub was "let's pretend it's not happening," so that's what I did—until the end of September, when Dina emailed to say she'd sent the book on to second readers and to ask what else I was working on.
after that, it was basically constant internal screaming for three weeks on end, but all's well that ends well lol, and the total timeline was insanely fast. which was nice, since that has not always been the case for me, as you know if you've been around these parts for a while.
GroundskeeperWIP, now titled The Keeper of Lonely Spirits, is the story of an old man cursed with immortality, a vengeful spirit, and a cemetery. it's a love letter to Northwest Ohio and soft old men. it's about love and loss and grief and figuring out how to navigate life when you're aware of how fragile it is. it's deeply queer. it's deeply me. it's a book I wasn't sure I could write. when I originally started it in May of 2020, it immediately became clear it needed a lot more planning than Edna got. and I wasn't sure I was a skilled enough writer to make it do what I wanted.
but there was only one way to find out, right?
I am so proud of this book. so proud. I am no stranger to impostor syndrome, and I certainly went through it while drafting and revising this book. but the point it's at now? there is no impostor syndrome here. I'm so proud of this book it hurts.
I hope you'll love The Keeper of Lonely Spirits as much as I do. stay tuned for updates, news, and general screaming, because undoubtedly there will be a lot of it.
December newsletter exclusive: the remarkable holidays of Edna Fisher
keep an eye out for my December newsletter! subscribers will have access to a short story about Edna's first Christmas at the nursing home and how she and Benjamin started becoming found family.
in the meantime, check out The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher here if you haven't already.
until next time!
