I don’t have a ton of news this month, although I hope August has been good for all of you and the back-to-school time hasn’t been too stressful for those who are back-to-schooling. I’ve spent most of the month dealing with a lung ailment—nothing bad enough to get me sent to the seaside to take the air, but I’ve been on some medication that made me pretty tired, so I didn’t accomplish much other than some editorial stuff and I don’t have much news. The good news is I’m doing much better!
The biggest announcement is that I’ve rolled both shorts (“Dous” and “Sparking Something”) into a single file, which will eventually be published as a short story collection. It’s called Toward a Consolidated Philosophy of Ghosts, and it’s on the website on the extras page here. The cover is somewhat temporary. I also updated the annotated bibliography to contain references to the plays mentioned in “Sparking Something.” This required me to realize I don’t have a good way to summarize the events of Waiting for Godot, although I’ve seen it performed at least two or three times and read it in both French and English. It’s, you know. Two guys waiting. I feel like saying anything more than that would be frowned upon by the ghost of Samuel Beckett.
Tant pis.
I also added an AI Policy to the website. You can find it here. I am guessing it says about what you’d expect it to say, though.
I also want to show off some new Wisconsin Gothic stickers. These were the idea of my book doula, Rowan, and they helped me edit the files, too–the art is drawn from the cover of Dionysus in Wisconsin. And they came out so pretty–shiny and gold! They were originally intended as book plates/consolation prizes in case we run out of copies on-hand at Booked Eau Claire, but I ordered a ton. If anyone wants one, I’m happy to ship wherever (signed or not). Just send me your address!
Upcoming Events
I’ll be at Booked Eau Claire! on 12/13 September! I’ll be appearing on two panels (one on indie publishing, which I believe runs 9-9:50am on Saturday, and one on open vs close door romance, which runs 10-10:50am, but check the website for schedule changes and the like). I’ll also be selling/signing books from 12pm-5pm on Friday and 11am-5pm on Saturday. We will have free stickers, a limited supply of tarot card decks available, and tarot readings too! This will probably be the biggest event I’ve ever been to, and I’m both nervous and excited. For more information, click here.
Later in the month, I’ll be at the Waunakee Author Showcase from 10–12pm on September 27th at the Waunakee Public Library. More info here.
Also, for Madison-area Shakespeare nerds looking for entertainment, check out Mercury Players Theater’s production of Hamlet at the Bartell from September 21–October 4th. It stars my (hella yoked) husband/alpha reader Bryan as Claudius! It’s going to be a good time and worth checking out. More info here.
Podcast
This month we released one podcast episode, number 95, on the Avignon Papacy. Not to showcase my own terrible jokes too much, but it is titled “Sur le Pontife d’Avignon.”
Books I’ve Read
This has been a month of mystery novels as I read both Fadeout, by Joseph Hansen, and Lavender House, by Lev AC Rosen, two California noirs featuring gay detectives. They make an interesting set of books to contrast, because Fadeout is set in—and was written right around—1970, while Lavender House is set in 1952 but was written in 2023. Hansen’s detective, Dave, is pretty open about being gay (for a detective, anyway, meaning he’s close-lipped but not ashamed). He runs into his share of bigots, but because of the PI/suspect relationship, he retains a lot of power in these situations, and their commentary doesn’t seem to bother him too much. Meanwhile, Rosen’s detective, Andy, has recently lost his job as a police inspector after being caught in a nightclub raid and is a raw nerve marinating in homophobia and paranoia; at one point he gets beat up by the police for reasons unrelated to the case he’s working, and it was very tough to read (skip to the end of ch 10 if you want to miss the specifics). Both detectives investigate cases related to queer people. I think Hansen knows and uses his setting a little better than Rosen—the 1970s fashions and weirdos are top notch; meanwhile we don’t even get a single baby beatnik in the Bay area. (If Rosen ever writes anything heading into 1955 or so, I’d love to see Andy react to Howl.) But I thought they were both good books, and a nice change of pace for me. Also, if you want more California noir, there’s always The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler (or any of his books, really!), which is set in the early 1950s (and was written contemporaneously), and Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon, which is set in 1970 (but was written in the 2000s). Both works are incredibly exemplary of their respective authors and wonderful as books go.
I also read Seducing the Sorcerer, by Lee Welsh (cis M/M). I went in knowing very little about the book, although I love Welsh’s work, and it kept me company through some late nights when I couldn’t sleep because of my ailment. It’s about a down-on-his-luck middle-aged guy who discovers a magical horse made of old sacks and because of this meets a sorcerer. And honestly it was lovely. Lee Welch is a delight.