Welcome!

Hello everyone, and welcome to Liner Notes, where I'll be sharing news and updates, behind-the-scenes goings-on, perhaps some photographs or compositions, and anything else that's too small to fit on the blog but too large to fit on Twitter (like what I'm listening to now, for example).

I hesitated to start a mailing list for some time because I, like many writers, am not keen on things like self-promotion. But in the overwhelming static of our lives, mailing lists and newsletters are more able to cut through the noise and reach the intended receiver. Thus, Liner Notes was born.

I've always been the person who reads through inserts, going over lyrics and credits, seeing who's in the band, who the production team was, who wrote the songs, who did the artwork or photography for the album cover. It made sense for me to write about those things here. In fact, I just recently picked up my first turntable, then followed it up quickly with my second, and I'll be spending most of July in a long music workshop, so the name of this newsletter is even more apt.

I admit I fell into a bit of a record-buying frenzy when I got my player. When I was in university, I worked in the music and slides section of the university library, and it was there I had access to roughly fifty thousand records, mostly classical and jazz. I worked the graveyard shift, so I had the freedom to walk the stacks, pick something at random, and play it. I didn't have parents who played records when I was a kid, so this was my entry to the world of records. There are many recordings out there that never made it out of analog and into digital, and so my record collecting is less about listening at high fidelity and more about acquiring and archiving hidden gems or things that are simply wacky. Though I will definitely enjoy the high-fidelity aspect, as well as the limited-edition records that make collecting fun. For example, I picked up the Surfrajettes' single, "Party Line," which came paired with their cover of "Toxic." The record? It's a hot pink 45.

YouTube video of "Toxic": https://youtu.be/EgukSGS0Mnw
Link: https://www.thesurfrajettes.com/music

I promise that the next Tiny Letter will be about Bitter Medicine! I have a cover reveal and preorder link coming on July 10 via Buzzfeed, which I'll drop across all socials and this mailing list. As for the future, I'm preparing to go on sub with my next novel, Key & Vale. That's not its title. It actually doesn't have a title. But it has a vibe, and that vibe is Appalachia, a post-climate disaster world, lots of trains, and "you cannot kill me in a way that matters."

Thank you for subscribing; I really appreciate it. See you on the B side.