Cheers to Springtime
Currently reading:
TK
Out There Screaming, edited by Jordan Peele
An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo
BREAKING NEWS: I just finished another book!! Missive updated at approximately 3pm on Sunday, April 5; currently-reading list to be updated as soon as I pick a new book.
Books finished this week: 2
★★★☆☆
Where this book came from: Crescent City Books while in New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year.
Why this book: From the description, I assumed this was going to basically be a haunted Alexa/tech horror vibe.
Thoughts: I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that this book goes so beyond the set-up described on the back of the book. I was on board for . . . some of it, and some of the lines about grief were beautiful and poignant. But by the end, it just felt like the book had tackled too many different horrors and didn’t wrap up enough of them for the finale to feel satisfying.
★★★★☆
Where this book came from: Purchased at Split Rock Books on a trip up to Cold Spring last summer.
Why this book: Dude. Just look at the title.
Thoughts: This book was disgusting and bonkers and twisted and so, so fun!! Definitely recommend this one for folks with strong stomachs, and some of the violence felt a little silly when the book hit the climax, rather than scary. But I adored Winifred and her dry narration so much that I blasted through this book in just twenty-four-ish hours. Highly recommend for horror fans!
Library updates:
It’s starting to feel like slackin’ off weather. When the weather gets nice, it gets a lot easier to ignore both my anxiety and my responsibilities and let myself just rest. Perfect example: yesterday, Saturday, I meant to wake up early, work on this missive, rework a short story for a contest, and maybe get some editing done. What did I do instead? Ate breakfast and added soil to some plants, all while basking in the sunshine like a cat.
Cheers to springtime bringing me the drive to strive for a healthier work/life balance!
It was a busy, but overall good, week: saw many friends, had therapy, finished a book (WOO). (Sunday afternoon update: two books??) But the main exciting thing I want to highlight is that one of my short stories is going to be published! My story “Bump in the Night” was actually accepted into an anthology for emerging Emerson writers last spring, and I just got word earlier this week that the book will be available starting next Saturday, April 11. The ebook is available for preorder right now, and an audiobook will follow.
I think I wrote the very first draft of this story for a class while still in grad school, and then I expanded upon it quite a bit for this submission. I’m incredibly excited to have it in the world, and I hope everyone enjoys reading and/or listening to it, as well as the other stories in the anthology! I might do another post dedicated entirely to “Bump in the Night” (with a sneak peek at the start of the story) on pub day, but until then, just know that it’s about Hollywood nonsense and ’90s horror and I’m just so thankful for the opportunity and proud of myself for finally, finally, making tangible moves toward getting my words out into the world. (I mean, I know I write the missive every-ish week, but this is different, because it’s outside validation, and I thrive on that.)
Closing thoughts:
You gotta face it, baby, things go bump in the night.
Total books read from the Moratorium Library: 201 🎉
(Total books added to the Moratorium Library: 424)
I technically got this one at the Center for Fiction last Sunday, but then I was too lazy to add it to the missive lol sorry.
Also, a pre-order came in! This one was on my radar, but then one of my coworkers (hi, Beata!) talked about it at one of our semi-regular book clubs and I decided to finally get myself a copy——from Thriftbooks, of course.
