now is the summer of our discontent (or whatever)
how I'm doing after being laid off, plus May and June events and a bonus rant about The Wolf & His King by Finn Longman because I can't shut up about this book (it's so good)
I’m officially unemployed (except for the author stuff), and it turns out I have two ways of dealing with that:
the work equivalent of giving yourself bangs after a breakup, i.e. getting a dramatic hair cut and dyeing my hair for the first time ever
immediately finding other things to do, like art classes that were always during my work hours or a five-week “writing medieval fiction class” or making a semi-impromptu trip to visit the parental units, even though I SAID “losing my job will be sort of good for me actually because I need a break.” reader, I am not taking a break. I am doing so many things. but I swear it’s going well so far
the one major downside is that the federal government has decided that NOW is the best time for me to start paying back my student loans. so, y’know. fun!
Subscribe nowluckily, I have The Lord of the Wood’s release to look forward to. just a little under two months left to launch! for more information, buy links, and TBR links, click here.
upcoming events
May 30: Disability in Writing, a Storycrafting Session (Virtual)
join me this Saturday for a free, virtual conference on Disability in Writing! my panel will be at 11a.m. EST and is titled “Avoiding Cure Narratives and Other Harmful Tropes.”
while the conference is free, you do need to register for each panel. here’s a full events schedule, and here’s a link directly to tickets for my panel.
June 5-7: Big Ohio Book Con (Medina, Ohio)
panel tickets are more or less sold out, but you can catch me in the General Admission signing area from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. EST on Saturday and from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. EST on Sunday. click here for more information about the con. presale tickets are no longer available, but you can purchase General Admission tickets at the door.
June 23: In Conversation with Emily Jane (Booksweet, Ann Arbor, Michigan)
join us for a celebration and discussion of Emily Jane’s new novel, Mr. Yay! I blurbed this book, so you know it’s good. no details yet, but you can find the bookstore’s website here.
odds & ends
recent reads
in advance of the Big Ohio Book Con, I’m finishing up my panelists’ books! most recently, I read With Stars in Her Eyes by Andie Burke, a sapphic romance with migraine rep
also since I cannot BELIEVE I didn’t mention it in my April newsletter wtf: Finn Longman’s The Wolf & His King, which I have been talking about LITERALLY EVERYWHERE so I’m flabbergasted that I failed to mention it last issue, especially since I read it on my research trip back at the start of April.
holy fuck this book is incredible
second person chapters for the king?? chapters in verse for the wolf and fluctuating between verse and prose as Bisclavret tries to hold onto his humanity?? no one named in the whole book except Bisclavret?? medieval setting written by a medievalist??
literally the kind of book that reminds me what a book can be which is the most incredible kind of book to read
I’ve been jonesing for a reread since finishing it the first time, but I’m being so brave (finishing the other books that have been half-read for months and reading my panelists’ books instead of re-reading this book for no reason except that it was incredible and I loved it)
I loved it so much I’m even including a link for this one, GO BUY IT RIGHT NOW GO REQUEST IT AT YOUR LIBRARY GO READ IT I AM BEGGING I AM BEGGING I AM BEGGING: link to The Wolf & His King by Finn Longman on Bookshop (affiliate link)
recent listens
I got Ethel Cain’s album Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You on CD but have yet to listen to it
however ☝️ I finally plugged in my record player that’s been sitting in my closet for ages (there’s a plug near the closet so I thought it would work there, but turns out the plug is too far for the cord) by moving it across the room and putting it on a shelf that previously lived in my office, so! I’ve been listening to some big band classics on a vinyl I definitely stole from my mom ages ago
recent watches
…actually recent non-watches, because I keep meaning to see Project Hail Mary, which I’ve probably missed in theaters by now, and Sheep Detectives, which I simply haven’t seen yet
lots of Supernatural (again) as I do other stuff on my computer
recent birds
it’s that time of year again, and this year I went on a bird walk specifically for queer folks! (the same organization also ran a bird walk specifically for BIPOC folks on another day.) we saw a scarlet tanager before we’d even left the parking lot, so you know it was a great day. other birds included the Blackburnian warbler, wood thrush, and broad-winged hawk
until next time!
