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March 20, 2025

failing empires and fluffy beasties

Perspicacious readers,

I have a review of North Continent Ribbon and a book sale to share with you, but let me start with an adorable fluffy creature:

A female downy woodpecker, with black and white stripes and spots, perches on the side of a tree.

The review is by Tristan Beiter in Strange Horizons. I've had a slew of encouraging poetry rejections from Strange Horizons over the years--in some ways I feel as if I grew up with them--and it's an amazing feeling to see my name appear there. I particularly enjoyed the way Beiter reads North Continent Ribbon as a theory of history: the book is grounded in a lot of historical research, but it also encapsulates a lot of my own feelings about living through uncertain times, and it's marvelous to see that balance recognized by a thoughtful reader.

The sale is for any ebook from my publisher Neon Hemlock, using the code ALLEMPIRESMUSTFALL.

Dragonfly Gambit cover and Nebula Awards logo on a background of swirling outer space clouds

The code is good through the end of March. It celebrates A.D. Sui's propulsive revenge novella Dragonfly Gambit, which is perfectly sized to be read in one long, giddy evening. I was lucky enough to talk to A.D. Sui and Suzan Palumbo (also a Nebula nominee!) about their books last fall:

A.D. Sui in a trim sweatshirt, me in a mask, and Suzan Palumbo in her favorite goth black, sitting at a table behind our books at the Bakka Phoenix bookstore, with even more books in the background

Of course, you could also use ALLEMPIRESMUSTFALL to buy an ebook of North Continent Ribbon--or tell your friends to buy one!--or pick another book that sounds fascinating. I'd be happy to customize a recommendation if you're not sure where to start.

Here's Gennoveus in a state of book-adjacent bliss:

A black cat sleeping upside-down in a big black chair, the white patch of fur on his belly exposed

Yours,

Ursula.

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