Thankful Thoughts

sekrit mode

        November 20, 2022

Thankful Thoughts

You know what really makes my heart beat faster, my breath catch in my chest? You know what I'm truly thankful for, this U.S. Thanksgiving week? LABOR ORGANIZING.

Poster by Ricardo Levins Morales.

I never thought much about labor issues (other than that I worked in art museums for 13 years and YIKES) until I got my current job at a university library ten years ago. Suddenly, I was in a union. Suddenly, I could see what it took to organize disparate workers for the greater good. 

Anyway. While as I said, art museum labor issues are YIKES, labor issues in the publishing industry are DOUBLE EXTRA YIKES. Painfully low pay, long hours, and an expectation that those “lucky” enough to secure a job will adhere to what a wonderful former colleague of mine in the library world deemed vocational awe: the belief that the work of your employer is sacred, so important that it eclipses everything else, including the wellbeing of the people doing that work.

Vocational awe is toxic. It shuts out people who don’t come from the privilege that allows for a safety net. It gaslights workers into thinking that they’re lucky to be treated like they don’t matter. It causes financial, material, and emotional harm. It’s not ok, and it needs to be called out and dispensed with: in libraries, and in publishing.

Work is not sacred. Work is not a calling more important than your wellbeing. Work is work. Pay people for their work.

Which is why I’m so incredibly impressed and inspired by the folks on strike at HarperCollins. When you have very little power in your workplace, the only power you do have is to withhold your labor. But striking is a risky business, and these brave folks are taking this risk not just for themselves, but for all of publishing. I am thankful.

Wondering how you can help? See this useful Twitter thread from the union. And you can find even more about the union here.

P.S. Full disclosure: Carina Press, who published my first two books, is part of Harlequin, which is a division of HarperCollins. And I wholeheartedly support the union. ✊

But what about… books?

Oh, you thought this was a newsletter about books and romance? LOL. Okay, fine. I’m writing a new book! It’s not related to the Firebirds series, and it is currently in sekrit mode for various reasons.

But it’s coming, and I’m writing it. And that’s all I can say at the moment! Stay tuned…

What I’ve been reading

So many things! I’ve been on a tear reading all of the incredible books that came out over the past few months. Here are some favorites:

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade

Contract Season by Cait Nary

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

Snowbound with His Forbidden Princess by Pippa Roscoe

Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots by Cat Sebastian

Happy reading to you! And if you made it this far, here’s a picture of my 19-pound cat, Gus (short for Augustus).

All the best,

Katy

Mailing address:

Katy James

P.O. Box 2121

Haddonfield, NJ 08033

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