Hi folks,

Somehow, it's the end of April. So much has been happening in my writing life, and I can only talk about a little of it. But suffice it to say that I've officially entered my Vague Era and at one point a bubbly beverage was uncorked. (I don't own champagne flutes, don't come at me!)

One of the things I can talk about is my latest short fiction publication. My piece, "Ask a Hearth Witch" is forthcoming in the final issue of Wizards in Space and I got my contributor copy at the very end of March. Cue book pics:

Ooh, also! I got to help do a cover reveal for a friend's cool romcom with autistic rep. More on that below.

Anyway, on to this month's newsletter content...

Monthly Microfiction

This month, I wrote 6 microfiction pieces as crowdfunding backer rewards and remembered how much I love the form. So, I'm going to try to include a monthly microfiction in this newsletter from here on out. This month, a small haunting based on a house I used to drive past in Virginia:

A HAUNTED HOME

by Courtney Floyd

The house at the crossroads isn’t spiteful, or angry, or bitter, but it’s been burned before—not literally, but with the devastating fire of human betrayal—and it’s wary.

You can tell by the way its shingles shift when you watch too openly, by the nervous glance of light on its windowpanes.

You gentle it like you would a horse, all sweet offerings and kind words, firm hands scrubbing its walls, sturdy brushes cleaning up its painted coat. It is swaybacked, put out to pasture by the rest of the world, but so are you.

You are a haunting looking for a place to rest. It is a habitation spurned by centuries of passersby.

Together, you will make a home.

April Recommendations

Reads

• I am always looking for books with good neurodivergent rep, and Leanne Schwartz's My Kind of Trouble offers just that. I was so thrilled to be part of the cover reveal for this romcom, and even more thrilled to get my hands on an eARC. When conwoman Harmony comes to town intent on getting revenge on the corrupt mayor for a decades old betrayal, the only person standing in her way–and disturbingly immune to her charm–is autistic librarian, Preston. Experiencing Harmony and Preston collide over the course of the novel was the most fun I’ve had in a while. My Kind of Trouble is clever, sexy, and wholesome by turns––and as a neurodivergent reader it was so refreshing for me to see excellent autistic rep in a romance.

• I just finished reading an advance copy of Sophie Kim's The God and the Gumiho, which has probably the best enemies to lovers romance arc I've seen in a while. I loved so much about it, especially the way Kim engages with Korean folklore. But I think my favorite part is how unapologetic Hani is about her past and her nature. The novel comes out in June, but you can preorder it now!

Listens

• Jolie Holland's "Springtime Can Kill You" is my perpetual vibe this time of year.

• And, oh, have you ever heard of this fiction podcast? It's called The Way We Haunt Now and I'm told by a very reliable source (me) that season three episodes are being released biweekly, starting now.

Listen to the season premiere right here, and if you're haunted by it tell a friend:

Or, if you're completely new to the show, start listening from the beginning here.