An overdue catch up and some updates!
Howdy, everyone!
So so much has been going on over the past few months, and yet, not much at all! Which is to say, though things have been moving and shaking, I haven’t felt like there was enough to make a full newsletter of it. Now, it feels like there’s almost too much. Oops. So I’ll give you the most relevant updates and event notices now, and then more fun random stuff at the end.
Events/Interviews
- NY Social Library, Nov 8+: Modern Science Fiction and Fantasy: A Tour of Future Classics with C.L. Clark, a reading group in which I take you through some of my favorite works: The Fifth Season (N.K. Jemisin), Spear (Nicola Griffith), Babel (R.F. Kuang), and Winged Histories (Sofia Samatar). (*Note: we’re a few members short of the full class we need to run the program, so invite a friend!) 4 sessions | $75
- The Unlocked Tomb Podcast: I met up with Nick from TUT and we talked about The Unbroken and also Nona the Ninth! It was fun to nerd out with a fellow Locked Tomb geek, so if that’s you, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the chat. Subscribe to get updated when my episode drops!
- Dutch ComicCon, Nov 19-20: I will be a guest in Utrecht in a few weeks! I’ve never been to the Netherlands, so I’m very excited. If you’re local, come say hi!
Magic of the Lost Updates
The Faithless - out March 7/March 9, 2023!
Is DONE! Done done done. In fact, I just sent in some final 2nd pass proofreader notes. Also:
- PREORDERS ARE OPEN. You can pre-order wherever you normally buy books. Here are some easy links for US and UK folks. As you might know, preorders are so so important for authors in signaling how many books to print and how hard to push a book, especially a sequel. Any boost we can give the books now will help immensely come March 7th!
- PREORDER CAMPAIGN. To that end, I might be working on a little something-something for those who preorder the book. It will probably be digital (and possibly something physical for a limited number; postage is expensive, actually.) But it will be EXCELLENT. I know because I have seen it.
- BUT WHAT WILL IT LOOK LIKE, CHERAE? Yes, I know, the cover. I know you’re all dying to know what Tommy Arnold comes up with next. I’ve seen some preliminary sketches and we’re working on it to make sure it’s perfect. Soon, I promise! Preorder anyway! Feel free to make your guesses in the comments. ;)
- EDELWEISS: For booksellers and other book professionals, The Faithless is available for early reads! Physical ARCs are also on the way to print for those who get them; and of course I’ll probably giveaway a couple myself, so stay tuned!
Book 3 (aka Codename: The Sovereign)
I finished the first draft of book 3 (title still unofficial) and it was really just exhilarating. I know it still needs work, but I’m really pleased with the results and the story’s conclusion. I will admit, I was in a bit of an emotional state once I realized I was that much closer to saying goodbye to these characters. More on the process in a later newsletter, perhaps. Let’s just say this was a long one, the longest thing I’ve ever written, and I’ve been really curious about how we write about love in fiction, and how readers interpret it nowadays. All kinds of love and things that look like it: platonic, romantic, erotic, complicated, painful, coercive, abusive.
I’ll go back into doing a quick pass before I send it to my editor, but for now, I’m taking a little time off to play with a different project, something smaller and more…fun. Fun for me, anyway. Maybe not fun for the characters.
Cheeky Photo Drop…
Some Meetups with Author Friends
I’ve been enjoying getting more into kettlebells lately and so I picked up a couple heavier bells and replaced the shitty vinyl ones I inherited from my partner. Voila! The muscles are poppin’.
Miscellaneous
- The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2022 will be coming out next week! Get your copy and you’ll see not only my story but loads of other great work from last year, all in one spot. (If you’re studying stories for your own craft, or teach them in classes, this is a great anthology to have.) Plus, it’s just so cool! I’m in a Best American!!!
What I’m Reading
- The Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner: I have been addicted to this series and I’m not binging the rest of it. Earlier this summer in Edinburgh at Cymera Festival, I made a fool of myself fanning out over Megan but she handled it graciously and it was a real pleasure hanging out with her. This series really is masterful. Inspired by Mediterranean locales and ancient gods and goddesses, they’re clever and insightful and I would do anything for Eugenides and Eddis and Attolia. The audiobooks are excellent.
- Like the rest of the sapphic world, I read and loved Nona the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir) and I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of Samantha Shannon’s next book, A Day of Fallen Night, a prequel in the Priory of the Orange Tree world. I’ll be tucking into that while I travel this week, but you can pre-order it now!
- A Swim in the Pond in the Rain (George Saunders). A craft book in an interesting style, we get to go through several stories by Russian greats, picking them apart with Saunders as if we were in one of his classes. It’s inspiring and a good way to be deliberate about gathering techniques from other writers—and confidence in your own writing.
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