Not gonna lie, it’s been a lot lately. In late April, the family said good-bye to my father’s cousin Sarah, who I know read and appreciated this newsletter, and we’re all going to miss her. This month, two writer friends died of cancer inside of two weeks, one after a long illness, the other seemingly out of nowhere.

Fuck cancer.

I also got to see my mother and another longtime family friend on a quick trip back East; the weather in Los Angeles is beautiful; and I’m getting out regularly on my bicycle.

The world spins on, and that is both horrifying and beautiful.

That’s what I got.

On to the news.

From my Desk

Thank you to everyone who dropped a kind word about “Johnny Otha Has a Problem”. It’s a weird little story, and I’m so glad that it found a home and is resonating with folks.

More professional announcements pending, but until they’re cleared for public release, I’m keeping busy with various projects in what Hollywood calls, “development.” Which means in this case, “people are interested, no contracts yet.”

(It should be noted that in Hollywood “in development” is sometimes deployed as a euphemism for not having a job. But I’m really in development, on actual projects, I swear! Whether they’ll turn into anything…? Stay tuned.)

What I’m Reading and Watching

Taking a break from my usual format this month to highlight the work of Liza Palmer and Piper J. Drake. I don’t know if they knew each other, but I had the good fortune to consider them both friends.

Liza and Piper were tremendous women who will be remembered for the work they leave behind, and for their fierce advocacy for their friends and communities. They are deeply missed by the loved ones—both friends and family—they leave behind. May their memories be for a blessing.

Liza is most known for her novels, but somehow also found time to write for Buzzfeed, Pop-Up Video, and Marvel Animation along the way. We met through mutual friends and a shared writing group, which ended up changing the course of my career. One day, we were working at the same coffee shop, and I was trying to figure out whether or not to take a certain job. I wanted to, but the writers’ retreat had been scheduled over a major Jewish holiday. (This kind of thing happens semi-regularly, and I was frustrated about it.) She listened to me weigh all the pros and cons, and angst and vent, and then she said, “I think you have to find a way to make it work.” She was right, and I did. The job was Bookburners, and it brought me into the fiction-writing community.

Liza’s novel Family Business is some of her most assured and accomplished work, a King Lear retelling set in the world of a San Francisco family restaurant. Her death was sudden, and I still have her latest book, Young Fools, on my to-read list.

Piper, I was lucky enough to visit earlier this year in Thailand at a writers retreat she co-hosted. I’m glad I got to tell her in person how glad I was that we had been able to get to know each other, and how much I admired the tightrope she walked between determination, keeping a positive attitude, and remaining clear-eyed about her diagnosis and what it meant for the time she had left.

Piper lived the kind of life that meant every time we talked, I discovered another facet of a former career of hers. Unsurprisingly, she also leaves behind a body of work that spans multiple genres. If you enjoy fantasy, romance, or science fiction and haven’t discovered her work already, you’re in for a treat.

P.S. Fuck cancer.

From the Cutting Room Floor of the Duolingo Dystopia

It is true. Whatever virus it is that turns people into bike-riders, I can feel its grip closing in. Am I fighting it?

No, not really.

And That’s the Nearly Monthly News

What else can I say? I hope you’re hanging in there. We got this. One day at a time. Comments? Questions? Drop me a line. Otherwise, I’ll see you next month.