The Wheel Turns
We're into my favorite season of the year. My altar is covered in leaves of every color (that Hazel keeps stealing), apples, and pinecones. We’re hosting a Halloween crafting party this weekend and planning to make s’more treats that include gummy eyeballs set in the marshmallows that get extra goopy and terrifying when they roast with the mallows. Our Lego town is fully decked out with spooky decor and trick or treaters.
My daughter woke us up entirely too early this morning, and she and I took a walk to our local coffee shop/roastery while it was still dark and misty. It was crisp, but not too cold. One of the local houses that goes all out for Halloween had just put up their decorations, and as I saw a terrifying ghoul child on a swing emerge from the mist on their porch, she actually manage to give me a bit of a fright (complimentary.)
Winter and Summer settle, while Spring and Autumn upend, and it has certainly been a season of change for our family this year. My daughter moved to a new school that operates on a learning model specifically for children with language based learning differences, which means we now have two school communities to keep up with, two different drop offs, etc. Overall it’s been an extremely positive change, but not without it’s bumps.
A more formal announcement and reflection will come later, but I am also moving on from my job at Gearbox next Friday, the 18th. Another big change. This will take its entire own post to go into, but it’s an amicable parting. I’ve been open about my struggles with burnout, especially as they relate to being a working parent, and as it turns out, it’s a wee bit difficult to get over when you keep on standing in the fire. So I’m giving myself a needed break from the video game industry.
Book Updates
My agent Aurora sent my debut novel A Spell for Midwinter’s Heart out submission to editors on September 24th. Not quite the Equinox, but close enough to be able to say "autumn is for submission."
For those less familiar with the cozy romantasy genre, I tend to pitch this book as “Practical Magic meets a Hallmark holiday movie” but for those who are more familiar, it’s more accurate to compare it to books like The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and the Thistle Grove series by Lana Harper. As well as heartfelt holiday romances that break from Christmas-only narratives like Seasons of Love by Helena Greer.
A Spell for Midwinter’s Heart follows a witch and environmental activist named Rowan Midwinter as she tries to save her mountain hometown’s winter holiday festival from corporate buyout. Only, she hasn’t cast a spell in eight years. She swore off spellcasting after a traumatic event that she unfortunately can’t explain, because her final magical act was to erase her memories of what happened. Magic doesn’t like being ignored, and Rowan finds it progressively more difficult to contain as the situation in Elk Ridge grows more dire.
Meanwhile, her attempts to save the festival keep sending her straight into Gavin McCreery, her former high school rival and son of the festival’s landlord. Gavin has his own reasons for preserving the festival, and despite her efforts to resist his involvement, it becomes clear she’ll need to accept his help for Elk Ridge’s sake. That is, if she can remain focused on what’s truly important, and not on how strangely right it feels when they’re together.
Artwork by the lovely Elizabeth Krause. https://www.elizabethkrause.com/
Random Things I’ve Been Enjoying
Agatha All Along. I’ve been checked out of Marvel for awhile, but I adored WandaVision, I adore Katherine Hahn, and obviously I adore witches, so I had to come back to the MarvelU for this one. It’s not perfect, and I have my complaints, but overall I’m enjoying it, especially the ensemble of characters.
Spooky romantic books like The Best Hex Ever, a witchy fall rom-com, and Someone You Can Build a Nest in, a cozy, funny horrormantasy. And purely spooky books like Better Living Through Alchemy, a dark fantasy/horror noir, and The Night Guest, an eerie body horror. Also purely cozy books like In the Company of Witches, a cozy mystery + witches.
I’m always looking for ways to get more plant based protein, and I recently discovered these high protein snacks that actually taste really good by iwon organics. So far my favorite are the BBQ sticks and the salt n pepper crisps.
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