A quickie of a month 💘
A February newsletter on time? Blasphemous!— and wildly out of character.
February is always a weird month for me. It’s too short, too rainy, and (in school terms) passes by in the blink of an eye.
It’s been busy— between life, work, and writing, I feel like I barely get time to myself. But you know what? After so many months of Hectic Life Changes, I appreciate a month that’s just busy for the sake of being busy.
There’s not a lot to update you on, unfortunately. I continue to struggle with promoting and selling AVC because I miss a lot since my job requires me to be offline. I try, and with collaboration and help from helpful members of my community, I manage to float above water. I will never be able to thank them enough for their help.
So, it is my humble plea to you— reader— to my cause. If you’ve read A VERMILION CURSE and enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review and a rating on Goodreads. It helps me a lot with visibility and might turn the tide when people consider reading my book. If you’ve enjoyed AVC, I also encourage you to share it with like-minded friends and loved ones. Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons are bigger than ever— I feel in my soul that it’s AVC’s time to shine.
In other news— #ProjectRyessida2 is still under construction. I’m not going to lie, people were NOT kidding about second-book syndrome. The worst part is that I have a semi-clear idea of where I’m going, but given that I am a pantser by heart and a gardener in nature, the road is long and paved with many hurdles, but I’m managing, I’m surviving. I’m very excited about all of the dark, brooding, and sexy places Ryesand and Cressida are going to go to as they traverse their way back to Anthares. I just hope you are all there to join me on this journey.
Here’s a little sneak peek at what we have so far— you can pry the BatCat vibes from my cold, dead body.
Currently Watching (TV)
In times of great distress, I often turn to comfort TV shows as background noise while I do chores both in and out of the house just because I enjoy the constant buzz of people talking SO in this short, quick month filled with a bunch of Things to do, BOB’S BURGERS has been on the backdrop like a reliable friend. Between this and AMERICAN DAD/FAMILY GUY compilations, it’s easy for me to blend these voices into the background and feel like I’m at peace with friends who don’t mind me chilling out just writing or reading. It’s rather nostalgic to me tbqh
Currently Watching (Film)
I had never seen this film before! I know I’m surprised too! I’d been warned it was fantastic but WOW I was not expecting that PASSION, that SINCERITY, that EARNESTNESS. We must go back to when movies weren’t afraid of having heart! The Tom Cruise Fan Club grows stronger, we are Legion. Tommy Crucero, if you existed during the Rennaisance the boys would have been Obsessed with you.
Currently Reading
February is both the month of love & Black History Month, so I decided to prioritize black authors on my shelf up to my TBR and the variety of experiences were amazing tbh. There’s only one MAYOR outlier, but it’s a novel I read for work. I’ll explain below.
A Woman of Endurance by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa. Masterpiece, nearly left me speechless— wrote a whole GoodReads review & everything. 5/5 stars.
Aphrodite & The Duke by JJ McAvoy. Gosh, this was so sweet, lovely & heart-warming that it left me extremely excited to dive on into the rest of the series. 4/5
Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck. Yeah, this is the exception. I’m a 9th-grade English teacher and had to give the kiddos a discussion + exam on the novel. I found it very heart-breaking, but empathetic. It says a lot about loneliness and the human need for companionship. The kids hated how sad it was, though. 4/5
That time I got drunk & saved a demon by Kimberly Lemming. I started reading this BEFORE the Twitter Discourse, guess that makes me cool (?/!). This was ADORABLE and steamy and a perfect way to wind down this heavy work month. I am continuing into the series. 4/5
The Fall that Saved Us by Tamara Jerée. Haven’t finished yet, gonna try to wind down reading this tonight 💕