Well. It’s November, and perhaps I was naive, but I thought the month would take a very differently trajectory. A lot of people I respect have spoken about the election and its impacts far more eloquently than I can, and, for me, I am focusing on the ways I can listen to and uplift marginalized voices, and help in the ways that I can.
I spent the days immediately post-election with a conference full of fellow school librarians, which was healing in its own way. Being in community with others who are working tirelessly to build lifelong library users, teach media literacy, and instill a love of reading in kids helped me realize that we each have a role to play in the upcoming years, and the work will continue. It’s not going to be easy - so many of my colleagues are embattled and put into impossible situations every day - but it’s necessary. It’s a small kernel of hope I can carry with me.
a few bright spots.
I was very fortunately invited to be a part of the re-opening celebration of Barnes & Noble in Georgetown (DC) this past Saturday. For those friends who are local to the DMV, it’s definitely worth a visit. I’ve never seen crowds like that in a bookstore before (it reminded me of my first ever day of paid work: Black Friday at a Gap Outlet), and I spoke with so many shoppers who took a chance on me and my, “Hey, do you like murder mysteries?” pitch I lobbed at them as they walked by. Even in such a bleak week, it was heartening to see so many people excited about a physical bookstore and physical books, and willing to stop and chat with a debut author they’d never heard of (and buy her books!).
I also spent an hour chatting with Nicole Asselin for her Baseball, Books, and Banter Podcast! Check it out here or on Youtube.
And finally, in VERY exciting news: I found out that A Deadly Endeavor earned out in the first six months of publication (which is publishing speak for earned back the money Crooked Lane paid me up front - you can see a more thorough explanation here). This is something totally out of my control, and I am so, so thankful to every reader who took a chance on me and Edie and Gil!
A reminder: You can pre-order A Poisonous Silence now in hardcover, paperback, and ebook here. You can also pre-order signed copies from One More Page Books in Arlington, VA.
a few housekeeping notes.
I have switched my newsletter back to substack; with the death of twitter, I have been feeling cut off and adrift from the larger bookish community, and I am curious about the social side of the platform—notes, chat, etc. I also love the reader - it feels like a throwback to my beloved Google Reader (RIP) and a way for me to keep tabs on what’s happening in one, streamlined place. I also saw a lot more subscriber growth when I was here versus self-hosted on my own Wordpress site.
So we’re trying this again.
I also am toying with changing the format of my newsletter; right now it’s just about ME which feels a little weird, and I think I’d like to have it be more generally useful. I miss the old days of blogging. I used to spend a lot of time sharing my thoughts on almost EVERYthing (I’m an elder millennial who grew up Very Online in the heyday of Livejournal and Google Reader). I wonder if treating this space more like a blog and less like an Official Newsletter (which feels…daunting) might make me more likely to actually keep up with regular updates. We shall see. So. I’d love it if you could drop a comment or vote in the poll below and let me know the types of things you’d like to see here: writing advice? book reviews? ask a librarian? interviews? I’m open to lots of things, and I’d love to hear from you.
I have also enabled a paid subscription option. 99% of my newsletter content will remain free! But I am toying with the idea of hosting monthly “office hours” for subscribers, and perhaps sharing bonus scenes/content.
What I’ve been…
Reading: All of Erin Langston’s gorgeous historical romances, and A LETHAL LADY, the newest entry in Nekesa Afia’s Harlem Renaissance Series. (see all of my monthly recommendations here1)
Watching: GBBO and Bob’s Burgers. It’s all my soul can handle at the moment.
Streaming: Spotify’s Folk and Acoustic Playlist has been on repeat for my commutes!
Writing: I’m still plugging away at my romantasy, and thinking in broad strokes about a third Edie and Gil mystery, if my publisher decides they want it (fingers crossed I am able to keep writing this series!).
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