Hello friends! I know it’s been a while, but did you know that Q4 in the tech world is…busy? I do now. But I have exciting updates from the winter holidays!
The first is personal:
I’m engaged! Affianced. Intended (don’t worry, that’s a lab-grown diamond, we’re about ethically-sourced sparkly things in this household). We took a road trip through Colorado over Christmas and B asked me to marry him in Telluride. Conveniently, I also had a ring for B and he similarly agreed to marry me (imagine that) two days later in Durango.
We’re both very normal about showing off our rings. We’ve already decided that a big wedding is NOT our cup of tea, so we’ll be eloping to Mt. Rainier at some point this year and then just having a backyard reception. I’m making my dress and his waistcoat, and thrifting EVERYTHING other than food and table/chairs/bounce house rentals (of course there will be a bounce house, what do you take me for?) at the reception. So that will be my big DIY project of the year.
Ok, this will turn into the “travel” portion of the update,
If you’re ever in Durango I highly recommend a little train trip through the mountains.
We also got thrifted snowsuits—mine is particularly fabulous.
And for your Deacon update,
the good old boy hardly acts his age and continues to be a fashionable intrepid explorer. We also discovered that a good pair of boots will mitigate his hatred of sand. We had a delightful time at Great Sand Dunes park.
On to other updates!
In Book News:
LRPD has had really incredible sales for a baby author’s first novel. Thank you so much, if you’ve been part of that. It’s now a publisher’s bestseller, it’s been included on a queer reading list from Buzzfeed, it’s actually being stocked in some bookstores rather than order-only, and SO many folks have reviewed it on IG and Tiktok and Goodreads and Amazon meaning it’s had serious traction outside of fandom spaces. I cry.
I decided that since I'm actually (finally) in a good place financially with my full-time job, I want to give a certain percentage of my book profits back to fandom in some way. I learned to write in fan spaces and wouldn’t have finished a single book if it wasn’t for the awesome community I’ve found online, so I asked folks on Tumblr for suggestions. Several folks nominated AO3 whilst others pointed out that AO3 is doing pretty ok on the donation front and said, hey, fandom is mostly queer folks, support them directly, maybe. Therefore! I'm going to split things up. I'm going to set aside 5% of my profits each month for AO3 until they have a drive and then donate it in a lump sum. And I'll set aside 5% for a different LGBTQ charity each month too. I’ve received two royalty checks so far. So month number one is Out Youth a sanctuary here in Austin "for queer and trans minors to safely explore their identities through services ranging from counseling and mentorship to their Q+ Edu program, which reframes education to meet the needs of LGBTQ students."
Month two is the Austin LGBT Coalition on Aging which "fights to ensure elder LGBTQ residents can grow old with dignity. In addition to its affordable housing advocacy and HIV resources for the aging, it’s an important utility for preserving the community’s history in the capital city."
If you have suggestions for local programs you love for upcoming months feel free to share them!
Book two, Like You’ve Nothing Left to Prove is with the copyeditor and still on track for a late spring/early summer release this year! It will pick up right where LRPD left off with Eli and Alex.
Book three…well, I just signed a contract for book three yesterday and the manuscript is nearly finished and ready for first-round edits. Due to the the excellent LRPD sales, I was able to negotiate better royalties this time too. Yay! :)No release date yet but I’ll keep you posted. It will likely be summertime of next year.
Book four is in the outlining-and-writing-bits-of-fun-dialogue stage.
Book five (if we get that far) is mostly vibes at this point. An aesthetic, if you will. Feelings and such.
In fic news, I’m cranking right along with the new HP story. It’s going to be another long one. My slow burns are slow indeed.
Ok, rec time.
Fiction:
Legends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes by Travis Baldree
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar
Non-Fiction:
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Gory Details: Adventures From the Dark Side of Science by Erika Engelhaupt, Briony Morrow-Cribbs
Fic:
K'diwa: A Steamy Novel of Interspecies Romance, by Jim Kirk by Branwyn (mind the tags)
Must Brave the Thorns by inexplicifics (also mind the tags)
I’m going to do better re updating. Tune in next month for pics from Vegas/Red Rocks/Valley of fire, updates on Wedding Dress Construction, deets on the charity I’m supporting with my February royalties and (hopefully) a release date for Like You’ve Nothing Left to Prove!
Love y’all! Stay safe and make sure you’re incorporating self-care into your daily routine, ok?
Captain's Log. Stardate 100663.21
Hi Erica! I’m so happy to hear that LRPD is doing so well, you deserve all the accolades! I just wanted to let you know about an LGBTQ+ youth organization in Birmingham, AL. It’s called the Magic City Acceptance Center, and they are a safe space and offer resources for young queer people in and around the bham area. They even started a school for LGBTQ+ kids & allies! It’s amazing. I think the parent organization is the Birmingham AIDS Outreach, which has a wellness center for queer folks & is so crucial for our community. It helps make bham a bit of a queer oasis in a conservative-state desert.
Just wanted to get the deserving folks at MCAC/BAO a shoutout if they weren’t already on your radar! And congrats on the engagement 🥰 <3 AL
Since I can't comment on Tumblr (I don't know why), here is my reply to your latest adventure:
You are suuuuuuuch a badass!!! I am so proud of you and applaud your great friends and your beloved for being kickass with you!
In German we say "Freunde zum Pferde stehlen" - "friends you can steal horses with". Haha, you definitely have them!