March 2024 Newsletter
And oh, it's been quite a month!
March has never been my favorite month of the year. For many years, in fact, it was my least favorite for a lot of reasons. But I’ve come to appreciate what it brings!
Spring is such an interesting time. We tend to think of it as a gentle, soft time — but there’s something inherently turbulent and disruptive about it, too! It’s a time of sunshine, but also of storms and gusty winds and sudden shifts. (And, I mean, setting aside entirely that we’re in the middle of eclipse season and Mercury goes retrograde on April 1st). I think all this contrast is maybe why it’s my favorite season. Nothing good comes without some chaos attached; balance is key in all things.
Okay, enough philosophizing about the weather.
News
The biggest news this month is that I am now a four-time Hugo Award Finalist! Worldbuilding for Masochists has been nominated again for Best Fancast!
And that means… I’m going to Glasgow!
I am incredibly thrilled and honored that the podcast has been nominated again, and I give my hearty thanks to everyone who helped to make that happen — and that includes my amazing cohosts, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Rowenna Miller, and Natania Barron, as well as all of the many amazing guests who blessed us with their presence in 2023! Seriously, this was an absolutely banger year for the podcast overall.
If you’d like to vote for us, you’ll need a WSFS membership to Glasgow 2024. The membership gets you the full voting packet, which will be just stuffed silly with ebook novels, novellas, novelettes, short stories, poetry, and other written works, along with some video and audio goodies! The value of the packet is well, well above what the membership costs, so it’s really a screaming deal if you need to pack your e-reader with some new material! And, it lets you vote this year and nominate next year!
My congratulations to all the other nominees! You can see the full list right here.
Relatedly, Marshall, Rowenna, and I are right on-track to release the WFM tie-in anthology, Traveling Light, in August! We have some truly amazing stories in there. Really, just… so much fun. Our contributing authors took the concept and just ran wild with it. I can’t wait for folks to be able to read these stories!
Upcoming Events
Before Glasgow, it’s nearly time for RavenCon! I don’t have a finalized schedule yet, but it should be coming soon. There are some really fun things on the docket, and I think I’ll have some opportunities to be on panels that are a little different from the topics I’ve had in the past! Some of them will be calling upon the past couple years’ experience of moving from trad to self pub.
I’ll also be doing a reading and a signing — and, we’ll find out if The Bloodstained Shade won this year’s Webster Award! I’ve got steep competition, but fingers crossed!
If you’d like to join me in Richmond, it’s not too late to register! You have until April 5th to get in at the pre-sale rates.
What I’ve Been Reading
(As always, these are affiliate links from which I will earn a small commission!)
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
Persuasion and Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Claudia Gray
Don't Want You Like a Best Friend, Emma R. Alban
Longbourn, Jo Baker
A Restless Truth, Freya Marske
Hounded, Kevin Hearne
Tea Set and Match, Casey Blair
A not-insignificant portion of this month was devoted to scrambling to finish the last few squares of the r/fantasy challenge. Which I did! By the skin of my teeth and by invoking the one substitution allowed. I’m in the middle of the book that would’ve completed it, but there’s no way I’ll finish it by Sunday. But, as you can see, I am still on my Austen kick as well. Also sapphic romances, apparently?
Wrapping It Up
From here, the year really starts to kick into high gear! I’ve got RavenCon, then a trip to Disney World! And then camp season starts in June! So of course we’ll be getting heavy into training season in the coming weeks.
Until then, I hope the sun shines well on you! (So much as you desire, at least. I know not everyone requires it to recharge, Wall-E-esque, as I do).