December, With Its Small, Precious Lights
Hola heyo hoi there
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we just passed Winter Solstice. For us, Solstice is the furthest tilt away, the longest darkest night, the rebirth of the Oak King, and the last assault from the ranking general of the Seasonal Affective Disorder army.
My spouse has SAD and this time is tough for him. We try to claim what lights we can. Walking in the park with the dogs during the brightest part of the day, taking time for sunset gawping, lighting candles* when it’s dismal out.
We’re lucky and privileged that this season we’re able to gather with loved ones we haven’t seen in years. Jokes and hugs and affection flow freely, staving away the darkness in our own heads. I’m writing stuff down, preserving these memories of warmth - these additional small lights - so they can stay close to our hearts.
We’ll need them all in the times to come.
Writing News - Fiction
I am more than thrilled to announce I had an acceptance this month! “Game Over,” an alternate lives story with a grief-ridden twist, was accepted by Kaleidotrope! Kaleidotrope is an incredible underrated genre fiction magazine that contains some of my favorite stories. I’ve been published there before: my poem “Undertow” was published in the Autumn 2023 issue, which makes Kaleidotrope the first magazine in which I’ll be published twice.
:snf:
Small writerly achievements sometimes matter more than we expect them to.
I also have other news, but I’m awaiting a contract before I announce. Hopefully in January, but we’ll see!
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to sharing my 2024 fiction writing statistics in the next newsletter.
Writing News - Bloggery
For those who don’t know, I’m a little bit of a fiend for fountain pen ink. In 2022, I did my first attempt at some ink blogging with a December daily review of the inks in Diamine’s Inkvent calendar. I had to skip 2023 due to grief stuff going on, but I’m back for 2024. That link starts you on day 1 of this year, if you’re interested.
I’m having a lot more fun this year than I did in 2022, so I’m hoping I can keep it up, blog more frequently about ink. We shall see.
Other Kinds of News
It’s a wild time right now. My day job has finally gotten around to establishing a return to office protocol, and while it’s not as bad as it could be, I’m still exhausted from trying to go back and forth while maintaining good masking hygiene. I’m hoping this is mostly deconditioning and I can get back into the swing of things.
Wish me luck.
And now, the last puppy pic of 2024:
She’s so damn cute.
With Love and Weirdness,
~Risa
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*we use coconut/apricot wax candles, as I’m allergic to soy. If you want a connection, lmk.