Tag: 00s music

Song of the Week

The Corrs, “My Lagan Love” (traditional)

Hello again!

What the Hex: Fates & Fae was a smashing success, though I may have gotten my name stolen by a fairy. I maintain that I did not give it up–she only noticed it on the front of a book. I did tell her that if she bought a book, she could have access to all the names within, but she didn’t take me up on my offer. I should be safe. At least she didn’t trick me out of my firstborn.

More to the point, I met some returning readers! These markets often have a different crowd every time, and I love meeting new people and talking about books, but it is so lovely to hear that someone liked my work (and in some cases, is coming back for more). So, thank you. You make all this worthwhile.

A new episode of The Well Below the Valley will be up on Patreon this week, hopefully by Wednesday. It’ll be up here for free reading next week. Sometime next week or the week after, baby should be here, and you won’t hear from me for a bit. I’ll be back with new episodes and some more about the comic sometime after the end of May, and I’ll be able to answer comments and emails through my maternity leave. I plan to be back to attending live events in July.

All of this is still up in the air, however, so I’ll keep you updated as much as I can.

A couple of petitions from my inbox this week:

Via No Business With Genocide: Strengthen the arms embargo on Sudan

Via Amnesty International: Return Kilmar Abrego Garcia and others

Via Free Speech for People: Investigate the Unlawful Kidnapping of Rümeysa Öztürk

Via Physicians for Human Rights: Keep immigration enforcement out of hospitals

That’s all I have for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Song of the Week

The Decemberists, “Won’t Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)”

Good morning!

This week, I’ll be finishing up Episode Three of The Well Below the Valley and working on an outline/script for the first issue of the comic, which now has a title: Chrysanthemum Dawn. In case you missed it, Episode Two of The Well can now be read for free here.

My first event of the year will be Saturday, February 22: the Spooky Frog Horrifying Book Fair! I’ll be amongst an eclectic collection of other horror authors and spooky artists at The Factory, 1120 S Barclay St, Milwaukee. Admission is only $3, and the event runs from noon until 5.

Also, you can find my books on the shelves at Storykeepers Books in West Allis! I’ll be there for a talk in March, so I’ll have more information about that later. I’m very excited to be working with another independent book store.

I am incredibly overwhelmed with everything that has been happening, but here’s something I can do:

Via Demand Progress: Block funding for the deporation machine

Via the American Friends Service Committee: Stop deportations now

Via Rep. Rashida Tlaib: Demand Palestinian self-determination and liberation

Via Action Network: Defend birthright citizenship

Via the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights: Hands off Palestine

The petitions I share are based on the roughly 200 emails I receive every day, and all the important issues are not covered (e.g., I’m very concerned with the stripping of rights from our trans friends and siblings). If you have some helpful things to share, please do!

Okay. That’s all for today. I love you, thanks for being here, be gentle with yourself and others this week.

Song of the Week

Keane, “A Bad Dream”

Good morning!

Fun fact: this song contains lines from W.B. Yeats’ “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death.”

I’m getting some things lined up for new projects this week, so if you haven’t yet, be sure to read the first episode of The Well Below the Valley so you’ll be ready for new episodes!

Also, Journey to the Water has arrived at Studio Moonfall in Kenosha, WI, if you’re in the area and want to see it on the shelf. The address is 5031 7th Ave. I’ll be there in March to host an Author Night, and I can sign your copy then.

A couple of petitions for this week:

Via Amnesty International: Join the call to end genocide in Gaza

Via Win Without War: End US complicity in Gaza and beyond

Via Cedar Key Progress: Reject Trump’s mass deportation plan

Thanks for stopping by!

Song of the Week

Keane, “Atlantic”

Good morning!

First, good news: if you Kickstarted the Figuratively Speaking Mermaid Tarot Deck, your deck is packed up and ready to be shipped! It should be on its way shortly. There are a few people who haven’t filled out a shipping address yet, so if that’s you, be sure you do that so you can get your deck and other goodies.

In case you missed it, Journey to the Water releases December 20! I can’t restate enough times how grateful I am for your patience. I’ll be working on formatting and edits for the next couple of weeks, and then I’ll have to wait for IngramSpark to approve all my files. I’ll do a cover reveal on Wednesday, so be sure to stop back! You can also follow me on Instagram or Facebook (or both).

Petitions this week, if you’re interested:

Via RootsAction: Hands off Sudan

Via Win Without War: Secure a ceasefire immediately

Via the American Friends Service Committee: Support an arms embargo and an immediate ceasefire

Via Avaaz: Evacuate Mazyouna from Gaza

Take care and have an excellent week.

Song of the Week

Anaïs Mitchell, “A Hymn for the Exiled”

Good morning!

Not much to report this week. I’m working on Journey to the Water, and if you haven’t already, check out The Well Below the Valley and The Tarot of the Gates, two candidates for my next serial project. I’m hoping to get a secret third thing out soonly, and then you can all vote.

The Figuratively Speaking Mermaid Tarot has reached its first stretch goal! If you haven’t pledged yet, I highly recommend that you do!

Petitions for this week:

Via Not Another Bomb: Kamala Harris, Pledge to Enact an Arms Embargo

Via Demand Progress: End U.S. support for the war on Gaza

Via No Business with Genocide: Pass the Rohingya GAP Act, Pass the Azerbaijan Sanctions Review Act, Pass the Uyghur Policy Act, Help end the genocide in Sudan

That’s what I’ve got for you today. Take care and have an excellent week.

Song of the Week

Delerium, “Fallen Icons”

Good morning!

So, first things first: I have completely forgotten thus far to inform you that my short story, “The Howler,” was published in Strange Days Zine, Volume XIV! You can get a copy here. Also in this issue are accounts of encounters with cryptids, a ghost ship, and a UFO, the search for Amelia Earhart’s plane, a deep dive into the study of astral projection, and more wonders and weirdnesses present, past, and imaginative. (If my parents are reading this, hi, and I have a copy for you.)

Next: the Spring Spirit Fair is this Saturday (May 11) at Lakeshore Lanes in Sheboygan, WI. Doors open at 10 (you can come in at 9 to book an appointment with one of the readers), and admission is one non-perishable food item or cash donation to the Sheboygan County Food Bank. Brooke (of the Figuratively Speaking Tarot) and I will be there!

I’ll have a new chapter of Journey to the Water up on Patreon tomorrow, and last week’s chapter will be up Wednesday. The version that you’re reading now is complete! Editing will start next month. I’ll have a better idea of a publishing timeline then. In the meantime, I’m working on, in no particular order, a guidebook for the Figuratively Speaking Tarot, an outline for The Tarot of the Gates, the script for The Well Below the Valley, and maybe a new project or two?

The world goes on, and we do what we can to bend the arc of history:

Via ADC: Protect Palestinians and Pro-Palestinian voices

Via Win Without War: No National Guard on college campuses

Via Amnesty International: Palestinian journalists forcibly disappeared

Via Our Revolution: Ceasefire now

Via the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights: Demand University Administrators divest now and stop repressing student protests

As always, I appreciate you. Thanks for stopping by.

Song of the Week

HIM, “Venus Doom”

Good morning! Something a little heavier for you today.

I’m going to try to figure out how to get the newsletter out this week. If all goes well, it should arrive in your inboxes (if you’ve subscribed) on Sunday the 31st.

In the meantime, I’ll have a new chapter of Journey to the Water up on Patreon tomorrow, and last week’s chapter here on Wednesday. I have 11 chapters left in my outline, for a total of 68 + 6 interludes. (I’m about 6 chapters ahead of what’s posted at the moment.) I probably won’t finish them all this week, but I should be done with the draft by mid-April. Then comes editing. I’m not going to lie, it’s a bit of a mess right now, but I’m trying to enjoy the process.

Some more petitions:

Via Rep. Ro Khanna: Support Funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency

Via Win Without War: Call on Pres. Biden to pressure the Israeli government to increase aid now

Also, be sure to check your voter registration! In Wisconsin, our next election is April 2.

As always, I appreciate you. Thanks for being here.

Song of the Week

Tom Morello (the Nightwatchman), “The Road I Must Travel”

Good morning! It’s Monday again, and the sun is shining.

I will be at Witch-o-Rama for the first time on March 10! I’m packing up my boxes of books and taking them to the Blue Island Beer Co. in Chicago. Entry is $3 and doors will be open from noon until 5 PM. Here’s the Facebook event, and here’s Witch-o-Rama’s website for more information. I hope to see you there!

I’ll have a new chapter of Journey to the Water on Patreon tomorrow, and last week’s chapter will be up here on Wednesday.

Some more petitions, because even if our leaders don’t listen to us we need to stand up and be counted anyway:

Via Win Without War: Tell Pres. Biden to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and save lives in Rafah and beyond

Via World Beyond War: Urge governments around the world to invoke the Genocide Convention to stop the war on Gaza

Via Demand Progress: Permanent ceasefire and end to unconditional aid to Israel

I appreciate you. Thanks for being here, and have an excellent week.

Song of the Week

Juanes, “A Dios le Pido”

This song is brought to you by my AP Spanish class, circa 2008. It contains several different kinds of pronouns, the subjunctive case, and transitive and reflexive verbs! It’s also a banger, as the kids say.

Anyway, hi, I’m back. I’ll have a new chapter of Journey to the Water on Patreon tomorrow, and the previous chapter will be free to read here on the blog on Wednesday. I also have the first of twenty-ish episodes of a new draft of The Well Below the Valley finished. Would that be something you would want to read? I’d be happy to post one episode as a teaser while I work on the rest. It’s something like 45 pages long, which will hopefully translate into 45 minutes or so of audio. Let me know in the comments if you’re interested.

If you’ve finished either of my books, this is your semi-regular reminder to post a review on whatever platform you like best! It really helps get the word out, and even if you didn’t like it, a negative review can help the right reader find what they’re looking for.

Please keep pressure on the Biden administration and your Senators and Representatives to support a ceasefire in Gaza. Here’s another petition. Also, if you’re in Chicago, you can go to City Hall this Wednesday (January 31) starting at 9 AM to support the city’s ceasefire resolution.

I think that’s it for today. Take care, I love you, thank you for being here.

Song of the Week

Within Temptation featuring Chris Jones, “Utopia”

Good morning! I hope you’re staying warm. It’s -4 Fahrenheit where I am right now, and I managed to get road salt in my phone’s charging port the other day. I’m not sure if it’s worth braving the windchill to go get it looked at.

There will be a new chapter of Journey to the Water on Patreon tomorrow, and last week’s chapter will be up here on Wednesday.

My friend and business partner Brooke and her Figuratively Speaking Tarot will be featured at the Wicked Wonderland Mini Art Market this Friday and Saturday in Milwaukee’s Third Ward! Here’s the Facebook event. I’m very excited and proud of her.

Thanks for stopping by! Have an excellent week.