Welcome to the Thunderdome (2026)
Hello, 2026, you motherfucker (affectionate).
By the way, have you preordered A Lady for All Seasons yet? I thought I might ramble a bit about it in this month’s newsletter. But first…
I’m hosting a Read-a-Long for A Gentleman’s Gentleman starting Jan. 18 but if you sign up for the free newsletter now, you’ll be able to enter a giveaway for some audiobooks, ooooooh.
A Lady for All Seasons comes out in a little over two months! I can barely believe it. You’ve seen the synopsis and the cover reveal and all that good stuff. Here are the content warnings if you need them. There’s also a Storygraph giveaway for arcs if you’re on there.
I posted this last month to my socials but I wanted to share it with you. I've had one lovely book reviewer reach out to ask about whether this book is "sapphic" or not, and I've been tagged in a bunch of posts that simply label it that, so I'd like to share what I told the one lovely person: I have been calling it sapphic-ish. Flora-William is a woman and a man.
She is both. She is neither. He defies categorization. He is genderfluid.
I get that we love little roundups under neat headings, but the entire point of this story is that we have GOT to get more comfortable with grey areas. We have GOT to allow for things outside of strict definitions.
Being nonbinary is to live in a world where nothing has been made to fit. Being bisexual is to live in a world where nothing has been made to fit. If your definition of sapphic allows for that kind of fluidity, then sure. Call it a sapphic book. I hope you’re being intentional as you do it, but only you will know the truth of that.
Because DANG did it chafe when I debuted and people were categorizing Chef's Kiss as sapphic. Ray was on the page as saying they were masc nonbinary! They hated being lumped in with women. But it happened anyway because some people need that black-or-white: sapphic or achillean. When queer is right there? I’m not saying you can’t use those terms, but I do want people to be mindful of using them simply because it’s easier to shoehorn things into boxes. For gender nonconforming people, it can feel like yet another way to enforce a binary if these terms are used thoughtlessly. (It’s as annoying as when people say “LGBTQ+” to describe something that is conspicuously missing any trans people.)
Ray and William-Flora are fictional characters, so you can't hurt their feelings, but as with all fiction, what a great chance to practice how to move through the world with your fellow human beings. And just like with your fellow human beings: maybe ask before you assume this kind of stuff. It’s easy to do and I’m always happy to talk about my work. Just something to think about, whether you post about books on the internet or interact with people in real life!
Here are some events I’ll be up to in the coming months. More soon, check my website for updates.
Kallie Emblidge in Conversation with TJ Alexander for TWO LEFT FEET
Jan. 13 @ 7:30PM
Love & Legends Books, Brooklyn NY
Love Y'all Fest 2026
Feb. 13-15
Atlanta, GA
If you want to order any of my books for pickup at the fest, buy from Charis Books, select pickup at checkout, and say in the comment box that this is for Love Y’all.
A recommendation for the new year: Cat Sebastian’s After Hours at Dooryard Books was the last book I finished in 2025 and I am so glad I made time for it. It’s classic Cat, a meaty, emotional, character-driven slow burn feast revolving around two men in late ‘60s New York City working at a bookshop, but with a cast of characters that makes it feel like a lived-in world. This is the kind of book that makes me excited for what is possible in the genre and in storytelling, period. Every time I pick up one of Cat’s books, I learn something, which, being a bit of an unteachable imp of a person, is a really big compliment. Read this book so we can talk about it.
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Links for a new year:
you can cancel that new york times subscription any day now
TIL Del Rey was someone’s name and she ruled
