Letters from Meg— August

If you come to one of my readings, like this one at Cellar Door Books in Riverside CA, you should be prepared for obscene gestures and profanity. But always with a smile. 

This Q&A was stimulating like no other; people had come prepared with questions about the future of reproductive justice, the pernicious nature of sexism, and the future of my characters. I was ready. I'm always ready, because Midwife and Etta were both born of a rage that won't quit. I got carried away right here, but it is nice to give the finger (both fingers) to a room full of readers and have them truly understand me. Their rage answered mine in that moment. And it was good. 

I've got another event this Wednesday, 9/6 at the Fairfax Public Library on our culture's love affair with post-apocalyptic literature and my theories about it. I hope it is just as much fun, though I will try to contain my use of sign language. 

Next up: SEWER CLOWNS! I'm on a panel discussing Stephen King's IT at Borderlands Books in San Francisco. I join the folks from the Scary Thoughts podcast as we discuss the novel, the 1990 miniseries, and the new film. I truly love this book, and I have a lot to say about it (good and bad, come at me problematic fave). Join us if you can!

After that, I'll be at New York Comic Con on a panel called "When Truth Becomes Stranger than Fiction: What it Means when Reality Imitates Science Fiction and Fantasy." If you're in town for the big event, come see me. Buy me a drink. Sing me a song. Take me as I come, 'cuz I can't stay long. Because I live in Oakland and I love it here. 

I'm reading Brian K. Vaughan's Papergirls. I picked it up because I love Vaughan's award-winning graphic novel series Y: The Last Man like I love almost nothing else, but I am already really into this new series. I can't wait to get more of it. I also just picked up Kristen Arnett's collection Felt in the Jaw, containing wonderful stories about queer women living in Florida. You may have seen a mention of it in the New York Times. Yeah, she's the writer who had her book launch party at 7-11. No joke. 

I can't stop listening to this song. What can you say about a song that opens with the words, "maybe I listen more than you think?"

There are many, many, many things happening that I can't talk about yet. I'm coming out of this summer gravid with secrets. Soon, I will burst and they'll pour from me like thousands of new-hatched spiders. Until then, thank you for helping my build these silky egg-sacs. Thank you for reading my books and getting these letters and faving my tweets. Thank you for being part of this web, for weaving with me, for catching flies and dewdrops and moonlight and stories. Thank you for helping me suck this life dry. 

Yours in fangs and compound eyes, 

Meg