Shenanigans XI: Screaming Internally

Hello, friends! Happy PSL season to all who celebrate, and happy Friday to everyone else. I’m going to do my best to keep this short and sweet, because I’m muppet flailing all over my house in a very unproductive fashion at the moment.

News!

It’s almost here! Ahh!! August 29th is only a few days away, at which point everyone in the US will gain access to their preorders of Where Peace Is Lost. Apologies to everyone who has to wait until September (or later?) in other parts of the world.

Get that pre-order in now! Then you can yell about it with everyone else who gets it that day. Don’t let FOMO bring you down.

Want to hang out with me and hear me read the first chapter of Where Peace Is Lost? Maybe ask me some questions about my books? And meet my cats? Come to my Twitch channel at 9pm ET on release day! Afterward, I’ll be continuing my playthrough of Control, a creepy horror shooter game with major SCP Foundation vibes.

On Saturday, August 26th, I’ll be teaching a worldbuilding class at the Writer’s Digest University Annual Science Fiction & Fantasy Virtual Conference! Check out the other excellent lectures being offered by amazing writers, and sign up to level up your skills. Note, per the site: “All conference attendees are invited to submit a query letter for their novel for a written critique as part of each registration.” Snazzy!

Ruminations!

One new post this month:

The cost of magic: I read an article a while back aimed primarily at fantasy writers starting to learn the craft, about how magic must have a price OR ELSE! With “or else” basically meaning “your story sucks and you have made bad choices,” I guess. I think “price” is typically used to mean downside or drawback, which are certainly definitions of the word. While penalties or negative consequences are kinds of prices, they’re not the only kinds.

If you want updates on new posts, you can subscribe to my blog directly, or just wander in there at your leisure to see what’s manifested lately, or wait for me to give you this convenient summary in my next newsletter. The power is yours!

Cats!

Inara doesn’t appreciate being photographed when she’s trying to get comfortable on my lap. She’s trying to destroy my phone with her mind. Thankfully, it didn’t work.

If you have any questions you'd like me to answer in a blog post or here in the newsletter, you can leave a comment on the Substack page, email me, or find me on the social media site of your preference. Stay safe, and thanks for joining in the shenanigans!