It (was) the most wonderful time of the year

Happy August, friends! I hope July treated you well.

My July was lovely, because July is when my writing group and I go on our annual writing retreat to Cape Cod. This year we had a full week of productive mornings working on our various projects, and equally productive afternoons of eating ice cream. I added about ten thousand words to a new project, which is always a great feeling.

More importantly, Cape Code means Notebook Time. Like most writers, we love having an excuse to buy a new notebook, and there’s an adorable stationery store in the town where we stay…and after all, it is a writing retreat, and we are supporting a small business, and it is a great reward after all that writing we’ve been doing…

Two summers ago and halfway through the first draft of Magestruck, I bought the notebook I’ve been using for that project ever since. Last summer, I started The Conman’s Guide to Dragon-Slaying at the Cape…but since I was responsible and using a notebook I already owned for that, I bought a notebook for the next project in the queue instead, the one I added 10K to this summer. Which meant I walked into the stationery store this year knowing I probably shouldn’t get a new notebook, since I already had four on the go for various projects, a whole Magestruck sequel to write, and like half a dozen unused notebooks at home that I’ve collected over the years.

Reader, of course I bought a new notebook. What do you take me for.

The way I see it, I have two options: I could finish editing Magestruck and Conman’s Guide, write Magestruck 2, finish the new project and the YA, and get the project that’s destined for the striped notebook underway, all in the next eleven months, in order to justify buying yet another new notebook next July.

Or I could simply not buy a new notebook next year.

…I’d better get writing.

What’s New?

Did you see Supergirl? I went on Superhero Ethics to talk about the new movie starring my very favorite superhero. Our reaction was…mixed, let’s say!

And over at Book Riot, I talked about the shift away from continuity and ongoing storylines in superhero comics, and why that’s such a disappointing development.

What I’m Reading

Books: For the past couple years, I have been completely and totally obsessed with the Sugar and Vice trilogy by Allie Therin, an urban fantasy (or sci-fi, really) series set in an alternate Seattle and featuring the excruciatingly slow burn relationship between a (seemingly?) harmless empath and a terrifying empath hunter. Excuse me, empath specialist. I’ve been waiting on tenterhooks for the third book, Edge of Mercy, and it did not disappoint. I am so sad this series is over. Maybe I’ll read the whole thing again.

Comics: Speaking of wanting to read something again immediately…there was never any question that I wouldn’t love Ngozi Ukazu’s Orion. I’m a massive Fourth World fan, and Ngozi gets these characters on a fundamental level (see also 2024’s Barda). Orion is her favorite New God (and mine!), and this is a brilliant, fun, funny vehicle for the strongest saddest space boy that embodies all of Kirby’s central themes of anti-fascism and self-determination and good triumphing over evil, while also addressing some weaknesses in the original Fourth World comics, like the dearth of female characters in New Genesis, and not enough of everyone involved dragging Highfather for filth. Plus, like a million Kirby Easter eggs! I raced through it and instantly wanted to read it again so I could savor it.

And with that…I have deadlines. See you in September, friends.

<3

Jessica