PROLOGUE
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this month marks ONE MONTH until my debut, SO LET THEM BURN, goes on sale. AHHHHHHH! If you haven’t preordered my book yet, consider this me begging you to preorder my book. I’ve been struggling trying to get this sequel done with my body breaking down on me once a week and state of the world putting my brain in a fog, so please reassure me you actually want to read the sequel by buying book one! 😆 (Also, did you see that the French special edition was recently announced? Look how gorgeous!)
Media wise, the holidays tend to put me in a romantic comedy state of mind, so I’m currently reading You, with a View by Jessica Joyce. However, I am absolutely a Christmas bitch, so I’m going to watch Violent Night, AKA the best Christmas movie of all time. And, finally, I’m listening to Spotify’s Taylor Swift Complete Collection on a loop, because I have goals.
Anyway, it’s all snowflakes and mistletoe and consumerism for me from now until the end of the month, y’all. May your chestnuts roast on an open fire, or whatever.
Now, let’s get into it!
CHAPTER 1: POP CULTURE MOMENT OF THE MONTH
Well, hello, it’s been a while since I did this section. But I really want to take time to scream about Ke Huy Quan’s GQ Taiwan cover. He IS the moment. I love an underdog success story—I literally keep a list of them in the literary world, those stories about the first or second or even third book not doing numbers until, suddenly, bestseller!—and so Ke Huy Quan’s story has really resonated with me emotionally.
He was one of my favorite parts of Everything Everywhere All at Once and seeing his success since, decades after he thought he would never work in Hollywood again, has been life-affirming. The world (especially the literary world) puts a lot of stock in debuts and overnight successes, but there’s no one path to all your dreams coming true.
Ke Huy Quan took a 19 year acting hiatus and now he’s an Oscar-winner and on magazine covers. Never give up on your dreams, guys.
CHAPTER 2: 2023 In Review
What. A. Year. Thanks, as always, to my newsletter for helping me keep track of it.
In May, I got to share the SO LET THEM BURN cover for the first time. With art by Taj Francis and cover design by Jenny Kimura, my cover captured my heart from the very first sketch, and the overwhelmingly positive response to it was one of the earliest signs that my debut year was going to be magical. (See this newsletter for the behind-the-scenes journey to cover awesomeness.)
In June, I announced I was writing two Adult books in addition to my YA duology. The first of those books, THE SINISTER ELITE, is an Adult speculative dark academia, and it became the second book deal I was allowed to announce during Pride Month and Caribbean American Heritage Month. I swear I don’t time my news like that on purpose. (See an excerpt from the first draft of THE SINISTER ELITE in this newsletter.)
Over the rest of the summer, I announced a SO LET THEM BURN preorder campaign through Books of Wonder, as well as a UK/AUS/NZ and French-language edition of the book, and a limited edition sprayed edges version. All dreams come true, TBH. My book went up on Netgalley, I got to hold my ARCs in my hand for the first time, I got sent a poster-sized map of my fictional world, and Jennifer Lynne Barnes included my book in her NOVL Box.
In October, I got sent a bunch of swag of my book by my UK publisher. In November, I found out my book was featured on the cover of Booklist. And SO LET THEM BURN got two stars and three glowing trade reviews.
I shared a bunch of blurbs. I visited my publishers’ office and got to meet several people from various departments (and there were cupcakes!). I donated some ARCs for some good causes, I met Eric Smith, and I got my first Amazon orange banner. And somehow there’s STILL more book news I haven’t gotten to share with you all yet!
In non-book-related news, this was a rough year. Depression made me her bitch. My anxiety got worse, though I hear that’s normal for a debut. I caught COVID again at some point. I went to urgent care three times, and I went to the ER two times. I cancelled more plans than I should have and took less risks than I wanted to. Behind the glitz and glamour, there’s always a high-strung, stressed out, struggling author Trying Their Best, and, boy, am I trying my best. In the words of Taylor Swift (who I got to talk about in the Wall Street Journal!), I’ve never been a natural; all I do is try, try, try.
The next time I send a newsletter, my book will be on the shelves. I’m terrified and excited. But if next year reaches any of the highs of this year, I’ll consider it a blessing.
CHAPTER 3: 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 December we have…
CAUGHT IN A BAD FAUXMANCE by Elle Gonzalez Rose
Devin Baez is ready for a relaxing winter break at Lake Andreas. That is, until he runs into his obnoxious next-door neighbors the Seo-Cookes, undefeated champions of the lake's annual Winter Games. When annoyingly handsome Julian Seo-Cooke finds himself in need of a fake boyfriend, Devin sees an opportunity to get behind enemy lines and prove the family plays dirty. As long as Devin and Julian's families are at war, there's only room for loathing between them. Which is a problem because, for Devin, this faux game of love is feeling very real.
RUTHLESS VOWS by Rebecca Ross
Two weeks have passed since Iris Winnow returned home bruised and heartbroken from the front, but the war is far from over. Roman is missing, and the city of Oath continues to dwell in a state of disbelief and ignorance. When Iris and Attie are given another chance to report on Dacre's movements, they both take the opportunity and head westward once more despite the danger, knowing it's only a matter of time before the conflict reaches a city that's unprepared and fracturing beneath the chancellor's reign.
CHAPTER 4: LOOK AT MY CAT!!!
As you may know, I adopted a shelter cat in December 2021, who I named Sora Mittens. Sora is very much NOT a lap cat, so, in the spirit of the holidays, here’s a rare picture of her in my lap. The car was parked so I let her out of her carrier for a bit, and she was fascinated by the window.
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. May your days be merry and white. And happy Hanukkah!