July 2022 Update (Patreon)

July is winding down and I want to as well!

I got my short story, 'The Touch of Winter', accepted to the Worldsmyths Seasons Unceasing Anthology! It's supposed to be coming out sometime in November, I'll post a preview here at some point.

I'm still working on another story I want to submit to another magazine and I've reached about 83,500 words on my second draft of my novel. My main character is very sad at this part of the book. 

I've been kinda dating someone new and going out to a lot of plays with her, which is something I haven't done in a while, so that's nice. I also went to the concert- I saw The Chicks on Tour! It was really fun. I was trying to remember what my first concert was (I was 12) then I realized it was...also them! So it felt like I'd come back around, 19 years later. 

Posted my thoughts on last season's anime, which you can read here and here. 

As for this season, I'm watching Season 2 of Shadows House, Yurei Deco (it's like, cyberpunkish, no idea how good it will be but I like the vibes), Lycoris Recoil (a girls with guns show that may or may not get deeper into the shady organization that's raising high schoolers to shoot people behind the scenes- I do appreciate that one of the leads is committed to being non-lethal and saving her enemies- but the animation is really good so) and maaaaaybe Uncle from Another World (Uncle who is isekai'd wakes up from a coma in the real world years later). IDK, I found the first episode mildly amusing enough, but it might wear out my patience. I also started watching Ya Boy Kongming! from last season, which is fun.

I've joined a queer book club, and unfortunately didn't enjoy the first book we picked, When Katie Met Cassidy. I originally posted my review on Goodreads, but then edited in down to the last paragraph because I didn't want to do really mean reviews there, so you all get to read it:

The other reviews are right. I don't say this lightly because I think we throw it around too much, but this is definitely a lesbian romance meant to appeal primarily to straight people. And it has been a long time since a character has annoyed me as much as Katie has. Cassidy isn't great either, it's just her narration is more tolerable. Cassidy is 100% the trope of 'player guy who cheats around and treats women as disposable until he meets the RIGHT PUREHEARTED SOUTHERN GAL 

(who is constantly judging everyone in her internal monologue)' only I guess paste a lesbian on top of that, which makes no sense because Cassidy is like...part of huuuge tightknit lesbian friendgroup and apparently no one holds grudges for her constant cheating because you know. Lesbians don't have feelings, I guess!

Nobody in this book knows polyamory or bisexuality exists, it feels like it was written twenty years ago, not four. We also get lines like "she had never met someone so traditional and timeless" about Katie like it's hard to find a conservative woman, or lines like "he now knew she wasn't some wide-eyed public defender" like someone who wanted to help people wouldn't be preferable to the boring-as-hell hedge fund lawyers both Katie and Cassidy are.

Anyway, would have DNF'd if it wasn't for a book club, but I soldiered through, and for that I deserve an award. Gonna read Shara Wheeler after this and hope it's a cleanse.

(All the reviews saying 'I wish there were better written f/f romances', I know you're from a few years ago and there's more choices in mainstream publishing now, but even back then, there were. Please just read some indie books once in a while, I'm beggin' ya.)

I did enjoy I Kissed Shara Wheeler! Here's my review:

I'm fortunate enough to be in a 'liberal area' of the US South, but I'm close enough to the Bible Belt to know how weird and isolating it can be for the marginalized, yet how you'll meet some the bravest and most genuine people there. I think this book does a good job capturing that, and also does a good job capturing what it's like to be a teen who loves MESS when it come to love interests yet is in denial about it. While sometimes it felt like there were too many kids and I was having trouble keeping track of them all; the characters grew a lot in good ways.

I also enjoyed The Fox's Tower and Other Tales, a collection of magical realism/fantasy flash fiction. I enjoyed the short story collection Shit Cassandra Saw a bit less-the first story with women gaining cockroach powers was really out there and fun, but the other stories were just realistic meandering character studies, which is fine, but I just wasn't feeling it.  I've been enjoying some continuing manga, Yuri is my Job and A Man and His Cat continue to be excellent. For new stuff, I liked The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, yuri about a screenwriter and voice actor living together that just really nails a good slice of life vibe and I Want to Be A Wall- a manga about a gay man and an asexual women in a marriage of convenience- is really interesting so far.  I also read Cheer Up: Love and Pom-Poms, a love story about a highly anxious girl who's under pressure as the first trans member of the cheer squad and a rebellious girl she used to be friends with who just reluctantly joined the squad- was cute. Definitely for younger audiences, but very sweet. Rereading Harrow now and enjoying it- I got an Audible free trial to listen to the audio book, trying to figure out what use my next credit on.

TV show wise, finished Umbrella Academy and had...complicated feelings. Keeping up with Better Call Saul.

I'll be having a break between terms soon for my admin/tutor job, but there'll be plenty to prepare for since I'll be teaching a speculative fiction class for my adjunct job August 22. Still no luck on the 'other jobs' front, but admittedly, I haven't been searching as hard as I should since I've been focusing on writing.

For my birthday next month, I'm heading to Boston and the Boston Fan Expo! Fingers crossed I'm gonna have a good time.