#16 - We're Here, We're Queer, & We Exist All Year
AKA "i'm on deadline so hard right now and this newsletter reflects my stress"
PROLOGUE
How are we already halfway through 2023? June is when my beloved younger sister was born (that said, the fact that she is turning 21 shortly after this newsletter goes out is blowing my mind). It’s also when the weather starts to get unforgivably hot, which means I am miserable and napping all the time. But for you lovers of summer, enjoy the weather! I’m an autumn bitch at heart.
Currently, I am buddy reading The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood with my friend Chelsea. We’re going to be done by the time this newsletter comes out, but I still highly recommend it to fans of mysterious gods, sapphic fantasy, and snarky characters. I also finally got around to seeing Violent Night, in which David Harbour plays a drunken, foul-mouthed Santa who kills a bunch of thieves while rediscovering the true meaning of Christmas, and it was weirdly wholesome and my new favorite movie. Finally, I’m listening to Sour by Olivia Rodrigo on a loop, because she’s releasing new music at the end of the month.
Now that I have preorder links, I must devote a portion of my newsletter to begging you to preorder my book. Preorders help authors trick their publishers into thinking their books are a big deal, which results in more marketing, more publicity, more freebies for readers, and more books to come, so if you have the means, please preorder my book! And if you don’t have the means, just tell everyone you know about it! OK, moving on…
CHAPTER 1: POP CULTURE MOMENT OF THE MONTH
The main trailer for the Barbie movie dropped and I promptly bought myself three Barbie dolls. I will be seated. This looks so good. So camp. So cheese. So fun. I love it, so watch it again!
CHAPTER 2: HOW TO WRITE A SEQUEL
If any of you figure that out, can you comment and let me know?
CHAPTER 3: HAVE A LITTLE PODCAST, AS A TREAT
If you obsess over con artists like Anna Delvey, this is the podcast for you. They just did an episode on the Fox Sisters, who more or less launched the Spiritualism movement with their hoax, and I invite you to listen!
CHAPTER 4: THE REC ROOM
Welcome to the Rec Room, the section of my newsletter that I use to highlight books coming out each month I’m really excited about. For June, we have…
SING ME TO SLEEP by Gabi Burton
As the top trainee in her class, siren Saoirse Sorkova would be headed for a bright future if it weren't for the need to keep her secrets out of the spotlight. But when a mysterious blackmailer threatens her sister, Saoirse takes a dangerous job that will help her investigate: she becomes personal bodyguard to the crown prince. Saoirse should hate Prince Hayes. After all, his father is the one who enforces the kingdom's brutal creature segregation laws. But when Hayes turns out to be kind, thoughtful, and charming, Saoirse finds herself increasingly drawn to him—especially when they're forced to work together to stop a deadly killer who's plaguing the city. There's only one problem: Saoirse is that deadly killer.
SAINT JUNIPER’S FOLLY by Alex Crespo
For Jaime, returning to the Vermont town of Saint Juniper means returning to a past he's spent eight years trying to forget. He seeks out solitude into the nearby woods—Saint Juniper's Folly—and does not return. For Theo, Saint Juniper means being stuck. That is until he wanders into the Folly and stumbles on a haunted house with an acerbic yet handsome boy trapped—as in physically trapped—inside. For witch Taylor, Saint Juniper is a mystery. Then a wide-eyed teenager barges into her life, rambling about a haunted house and a trapped boy. He needs a witch. The Folly and its ghosts will draw these three teenagers together. But can they each face their demons to forge a bond strong enough to escape the Folly's shadows?
CHAPTER 5: LOOK AT MY CAT!!!
As you may know, I adopted a shelter cat in December 2021, who I named Sora Mittens. All she does is sleep with her tummy out, so I couldn’t stop myself from snapping this photo of her taking up half the bed.
EPILOGUE
Thank you for subscribing and/or for sticking around! I hope you like rambles, shenanigans, and nonsense, because that’s truly all this is. Until next time, happy Pride! Let your freak flag fly, and whether you are out or closeted, labeled or questioning, you are valid, you are loved, you are welcome.