By Me

Hey there! Long time, no post. I’m going to at least say I’m going to dust this thing off and try to be better about that this year. I’m DEFINITELY being better over at Patreon, where I just posted a dishy introduction to kick off what’s going to be each chapter of The Woken Gods posted weekly with annotation and commentary.* Which I can do because I own the rights! I’ll also be providing progress updates on (and perhaps snippets) from my current work and puppy pictures (and I’ve added some puppy photo tiers to the rewards, as you do, if you just can’t get enough Sally — because I actually DO take a zillion also adorable photos that I just horde each day in addition to the ones I post) and et cetera. So come check it out and throw a dollar or few my way if you’re so moved. It is always much appreciated!

In case you’re wondering, my noteworthy releases this year are the paperback of Supernormal Sleuthing Service #1: The Lost Legacy in early May, followed by SSS #2: The Sphinx’s Secret (yay!) in late May, with Mr. Rowe obviously, and an adult-but-YA-friendly mystery/thriller serial set right here in Kentucky that I can’t say more about JUST yet but SOON which’ll be releasing in the summer. Oh, and the paperback of Lois Lane: Triple Threat this spring. So this is, all-in-all, a quiet year for me release-wise.

So I’d better get back to work on my new YA novel, which I’m crunch crunching away on and having a lot of fun with. Hopefully you’ll have fun reading it in a year or two. (PUBLISHING IS SLOW.) Have a Sally in the meantime. 

*If you don’t know what Patreon is, it’s a way you can subscribe to special content and support your favorite artists and creators in the meantime. Secure payment system, you choose the pledge/reward level you pay each month, and I get a little money in my bank account at the beginning of the month. Kind of like a tip that helps your faves keep working. See aforementioned quiet-for-me year above and, yes, I’m definitely focusing on giving some more love to Patreon this year. Come hang out.

I wrote the category feature on health for this week's PW. There were some very interesting books in the crop, especially Melanie Thernstrom's The Pain Chronicles, a big literary mix of history, personal narrative, and research, and Harriet Brown's Brave Girl Eating, a mother's memoir about employing a somewhat controversial new approach to treating her daughter's anorexia.

Anyway, it's always fun learning about what's going on in a different part of the publishing sandbox. And my editor left a message this morning that me and a few other regular feature writers have been added to the masthead this week. Fancy.

My latest PW feature is in this week's issue, all about what's going on in the category of craft and hobby books.

This was a fun one to do — the main piece explores the influence the extremely active online crafting community (knitters, sewers, cross-stitchers, beautiful paper doll makers of the world unite!) is exerting on the market, and what new books are coming up. (And it discusses Adrienne Martini's Sweater Quest, which is already out.) There are also a few related sidebars, including three short questions with Amy Sedaris, who has a suitably twisted craft book coming out this fall.

Everyone I talked to for the piece was wonderful and made me wish I was able to make things without making terrible-looking things. I'm kind of flirting with the idea of getting a sewing machine, which would surely lead to some entertaining posts here. Like most fever dreams, I'm sure it will pass, and I'll go back to admiring things on Etsy.

I wrote a piece on what's happening in the realm of erotica and erotic romance (paranormal doing well, just like in everything else) for this week's Publishers Weekly. More importantly, I think I may have hit a personal best with the sidebar headline "Some Like It Historical," especially since I always struggle with headlines. (See also: Boom and Busts!)

Check it out if you're so inclined.