I got an exciting email about Wound Up.

It was not a YES yet.

But it wasn’t a no, either. It was a “we love what we’ve seen, please let us see more.” So I sent the full manuscript.

I should know within five months, and IF it’s a yes, publication would be slated for mid-2028. So this is the long game. Wound Up WILL be out there…eventually. Somehow. And if they say no, it might be out sooner, via self-pub, which would allow me to choose my own cover artist which is deeply appealing to me, and also pursue a Secret Wound Up Project.

I have a Discord for Wound Up, WITH a Silly Little Writer’s Chat channel, so y’all are welcome to join that for Wound Up news among other things like writing support. https://discord.gg/phwrQyb8Eq

It’s slow going, but far from a NO go, so. There’s that.

Writing Update:

As far as writing, I am taking a break to refill the well. Yes, I have been “taking a break” since May. Yes, I’m still burned out. I am still thinking about Knitting Grief WIP. I’m also noodling around with Wound Up bonus scenes, featuring The Sweater Curse. For those of you who aren’t knitters, or are unfamiliar with the Knitting Lore, it is standard practice to NOT knit your significant other a sweater before you put a ring on it, at the risk of breaking up…

Reading Update:

As far as reading, I have some developments on that front too. I’m starting a spiceless book review blog next year called The Bell Pepper. If you have a book to recommend, you can submit it here.

Books I have read recently:

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell. Cozy ace sapphic monster romance. 10/10. Perfect book.

Spikes, Dice & Other Variables by Harper Kinsley. I felt so seen and was kicking my feet the entire time. It is an ace YA romance, in which SHE is the jock and HE is the nerd, and I love it so much. The ADHD rep, the fat rep, and the variety of LGBTQIA+ rep is fantastic and achingly familiar. It comes out September 15th, so you still have time to preorder it!

From the Library of Jurgen Leitner by Premee Mohamed and Jonathan Sims. SCREAM. An ARC I can’t wait to sink my teeth into.

You can find me being silly, salty, and posting pretty much daily at:

Tiktok (currently quiet until I have News, but hey, maybe I’ll post for Sapphic September because I DO have a sapphic book out!): https://www.tiktok.com/@lucymasonwrites

Instagram: @lucymasonwrites

Threads: @lucymason2177

BlueSky: @lucymason217

For those of you who don’t know, I have two books already out:

Ace of Hearts (2022) from NineStar Press, about an asexual librarian who marries her childhood bestie so he can get free tuition at the college where she works.

The Endless Sea Between Us (2023) from NineStar Press, a sapphic romantasy about a tenacious mermaid and the grouchy witch who loves her, and also about taking out predatory authority figures who think being a “nice guy” entitles them to affection and attention.

I also have a short story called You, Me and the Sea, about an aroace fisherwoman and her lifelong platonic bond with an aroallo siren, that will be published in Common Bonds 3, A Speculative Aromantic Anthology. You can order your copy now. It will print and ship in late November 2026. I’m so, so excited about it!