Okay.
Look.
I had really good intentions when I started this newsletter, but all those good intentions got bullied by the stress of coming up with unique, interesting content that wasn’t just me shouting into the void about how tired, stressed, and wrung out I am.
Then I saw a Kevin Smith interview that kind of blew my mind.
To paraphrase, he said that after his heart attack, he decided life was too short to talk about the things he didn’t like, but that he would talk for hours about what he loved.
I don’t need to come up with interesting content, because I’m surrounded by it. The things I love.
And so, without further ado:
What I’m Reading
I JUST finished reading Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes last weekend and haven’t been able to pick up another book since (thank you, book hangover).
Space Horror was not a sub-genre I’d read before and, God, was I missing out. Ridiculous, since I’m an action movie junkie and count films like Gravity, Annhialation, and Arrival as some of my absolute favorites. Dead Silence gave me everything I was wanting—dread, the horrifying expanse of space, a team of characters you feel like you know from the first page—and the writing was *chef’s kiss.* I ordered Ghost Station (Barnes’ much-anticipated follow-up) immediately.
What I’m Listening To
You hear it all the time—writing is such a solitary endeavor, you need to find your group (for the celebrations and the let-downs) or you’ll go crazy. But more often than not, your group are scattered across the country, which is why writers LIVE for con season—to talk shop and laugh and remind ourselves that there are people around who get it.
This year, for myriad reasons, cons are not in the cards for me. Luckily, I found a passable surrogate: the No Write Way podcast, hosted by V.E. Schwab.
Though the majority of her conversation partners are fantasy writers, the challenges, joys, and craft they discuss ring true for me, especially when I dance perilously close to an “I suck” spiral. As Schwab reiterates, there is no right way to write a novel. So when the words won’t come or I’m too frazzled to focus, I take a long walk, turn on the podcast, and remind myself that no two journeys are the same.
What I’m Watching
I am obsessed with reality TV. I like to claim it’s my comfort watch as I wind down before bed, but nothing gets me wound up like Below Deck.
When I tell you that I lose my ever-loving mind each time one of these jokers says or does something so absolutely bonkers that one wonders how they got out of bed that morning without dying, I am not exaggerating.
I’ve never been on a yacht. Never been on a boat, actually, bigger than that time I rode a canoe down the Hillsborough River on a fifth-grade field trip, so every time they pull away from the dock, I am riveted. But it’s not just the idea of lying on the deck in the middle of the British Virgin Islands that has me in a chokehold. If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant, you KNOW the drama that happens behind the kitchen doors. Relationships kindle, burn, and die in a single shift, and GOD HELP YOU if the chef makes you his enemy.
The days I miss bartending, I turn on Below Deck and remember why I got out of the biz before it killed me.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for letting me share some of the things I love recently. Related, I have another book coming out (!!!) on August 13th - Through the Midnight Door - which is my love song to sisters. Consider pre-ordering your copy today!
