I’m in the middle of edits for Aether and Ego (my space fantasy Pride and Prejudice retelling). This is the substantive editing stage, where we zero in on issues with the story or storytelling, e.g. “Lizzy’s sudden effortless leap from a moving carriage feels tricky to swallow (does she have much experience jumping out of speeding vehicles??).” (Yes, an actual example and in this case a relatively easy fix.)

Once this is done we’ll move on to copy editing, then typesetting and proofreading. This is my first time on this side of the publishing desk and it’s a big learning curve, but so far Inanna has been delightful to work with.

I’m fitting this work into the times between some fairly extensive renovations to the fixer-upper my partner and I bought over the summer and will finally move into this weekend, to my great relief (it’s felt like I’d be painting and spackling forever!) and then I will start painting a mural in the living room. The house was built in 1919 and has had time to accumulate some truly strange choices on the part of the many former owners, and I’m finding it deeply charming, aside from the murder room cold storage in the basement. My tastes run to the maximalist so I expect the mural will gradually grow out of control over time. You may picture me grinning aggressively here.

Just published: Two by mail: the August 2025 print issue of Scifaikuest in which I was the featured poet, and The Baltimore Review’s annual print issue which included my “Easy Bake.”

Currently reading: Just finished Ibi Zoboi’s (S)Kin, “a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore.” I listened to it in audiobook form while painting and spackling, so I may have missed out on some of the verse elements, but as a story it was very compelling. Highly recommend.

_{Title is from F. Douglas Brown’s excellent “Aubade with Edits.“}