So the funny thing about going on a nationally televised game show is that it’s weird, stressful, and a lot of fun. And it got me thinking about doing other things I’ve wanted to do, but hadn’t felt ready to take the plunge on.

This month, that took the form of buying a used bicycle off Facebook marketplace and going bike riding for the first time since I was in high school.

Next goal: build up enough confidence and stamina to visit one of the cafes or breweries along the LA River Trail.

On to the news!

From my Desk

My new short story is out! “Johnny Otha Has a Problem” is free to read at The Sunday Morning Transport. If you like it, leave a comment and help spread the word!

Big thank you to Editors Julian Yap and Fran Wilde for releasing this as a free bonus story and for figuring out how to format emails and footnotes within Substack. They truly are heroes for our time.

I should have more news to release soon. Stay tuned!

What I’m Reading and Watching

This month’s book club pick was Exiles by Mason Coile. This comes on the heels of Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, with which it shares certain thematic elements, and absolutely no common sense of pacing. (Which is not a dig at either one.)

I saw the Peter Weir film version of Picnic when I was in film school, but that’s been a minute and I’ve been meaning to revisit it. After which, I’ll have to check out the new miniseries, if only because six hours with Natalie Dormer will surely not be time wasted.

From the Cutting Room Floor of the Duolingo Dystopia

We’ve been stretching the definition of “dystopia” for these lately. Apparently Duolingo (or the AI sentence generators they use now) is not as inspired by French and Spanish as it was when creating the Hebrew course. Or maybe it’s just gotten better at pasting over the darkness that lurks beneath.

But this managed to sneak through:

Times are tough out there for us all, Junior. Hang in there!

And That’s the Nearly Monthly News!

Another month in the history books, and I hope you have more than ten pesos to your name. Been on any long-delayed adventures lately? Comments? Questions? Drop me a line! Otherwise, I’ll see you next month!