Blogletter: Farewell to the Summer

I’m back, baby! I decided to take the summer off from updates here and being super online. I was still working and at my desk but I took a little bit of the pressure away of posting regularly and to just be free to enjoy my time this summer. The last blogletter I shared went into how I was struggling with feeling connected to my community, and I am continuing to try to navigate that space between wanting to be a part of a community and also wanting to have my space and privacy. It’s a challenge! Especially with social media continuing to be deeply in flux. But rather than go into my inner turmoil there, I figured I’d tell you a little bit about what I’ve been up to and what else is going on with me.

I’ve been working on and off on my own writing projects, and admittedly struggling a bit with finding the one that I want to put my all into. I feel pulled in a number of different directions with wanting to try new things, write for different audiences and genres, and then trying to get my brain on board with it all. This summer’s weather really wreaked havoc on my ability to have a clear head, so I did my best to have grace for myself when I needed a break. I made a plan for coming back to my desk in the fall and to have days set aside for specific areas of work (ie. admin, writing, drawing, etc.) and I’m hoping that I’m able to stick with it.

Truly one of the hardest parts about freelancing as a full-time career is juggling all of the different components that go into it, if you don’t have the financial freedom to hire help for those tasks. This is something that I’m still really struggling with—not that I don’t have the ability to do these things, but between the tasks I have to do that are an unfortunate necessity of being self-employed and the writing work I do for others, it sometimes doesn’t leave a lot of time for projects of my own. One of my goals for this year is to finish a short comic of my very own too—and by that I mean, I’m drawing, colouring, and lettering it all myself. This is really the first time I’m posting about it anywhere publicly too, so I guess I’m attempting to make it all the more real by sharing that it’s something in the works. But again, finding time for all of the things I want to do in a week can be quite the task.

This summer has been busy—not just personally and socially, but professionally too. I’ve been doing a lot of promo stuff for Racc Pack and Pillow Talk, and most recently we returned from FanExpo Canada, which was an incredible success. I had my very first spotlight panel on my writing, which was so much fun, and I was so honoured. Thank you to Josh Stafford and Howard Wong for co-hosting that, and taking the time to chat with me. Leading up to the show, I also did a few interviews and such and the Toronto Guardian put together this lovely feature on me, so be sure to check that out.

My promo and touring continues into this fall as well, and I’m currently booking for school and library visits (financial assistance may be available).

UPCOMING EVENTS:

BOOKS OF THE SUMMER:

  • UNRAVELLER by Frances Hardinge – I truly can’t stop thinking about this book. It’s not just my favourite book of the summer but I suspect it might be my favourite book of the whole year. I don’t want to give too much away but basically the story revolves around a young man who has the unique ability to unravel curses in a world where if you hate something with all of your heart, you can be gifted the ability to curse the person that your ire is directed towards. It is marvelously written, beautiful, and such a brilliant concept, and I truly don’t know why more people aren’t out talking about this story. Hands down one of the best standalone fantasy books that I’ve read in a long time.
  • THRUM by Meg Smitherman – Over the last several years, I’ve been getting more into horror and thriller media, which was something that I didn’t really grow up with (my parents were fairly strict with what I was allowed to watch). As an adult, I’ve been discovering a late love for spooky stuff, and adore gothic romances and thrillers, etc. so when Meg posted about Thrum as Crimson Peak meets Event Horizon, I knew I was wholeheartedly on board. And Thrum did not disappoint in any way! I tore through the novella and read it in one day, completely unable to put it down. It’s atmospheric and haunting, and a little bit of (terrifying) romance thrown into the mix too. It follows the story of a ship traveling through space that is stopped in the far reaches of space before arriving at its final destination. Stranded and unsure of what to do, Ami puts out a short-range SOS signal in a desperate attempt to find salvation…and is hailed by someone, or something…
  • PARASOCIAL by Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson – I wish that I’d written down my thoughts immediately after reading this, but this chilling story was something that I think a lot of folks who would self-describe as “terminally online” in varying degress will resonate with. We have these parasocial relationships with folks that we don’t truly know, and sometimes those take a terrifying turn, especially if you’re someone who is in the spotlight. de Campi and Henderson do a terrifyingly great job of illustrating that and bring together a modern Misery tale in graphic novel form.

TV:

I’ve previously included a section on the things I’ve been watching lately…and then I began waffling on whether or not to keep it in. And since I last posted about it, there has been a lot, especially in the reality TV genre. The Traitors (Australia) S2, Love is Blind S6, Below Deck S2-10, Vanderpump Rules S11, Summer House S1, The Jinx Part 2, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City S4, The Valley S1, Great British Bake-Off S14, The Challenge All-Stars S4, Ren Faire, The Mole S2, and Love Island S6 (which was truly a commitment…).

TL;DR—I watch a lot of reality television.

Outside of reality TV though, I checked out Betty S2 (I loved both seasons of this show, so sad that it’s done), Percy Jackson S1, Hacks S3, Delicious in Dungeon S1 (so good, so fun, A+), Extraordinary S1-2 (truly a delight), Trying S3-4, and over the weekend I watched the entirety of the new Greek Mythology series, Kaos.

KAOS was everything that I could’ve possibly wanted it to be. The entire cast was absolute perfection, and the way that the myths were reintrepreted was fresh and exciting! I can’t stop thinking about this show, truly. I loved the casting choices, and the way that they drew from other mythology-based adaptations to create something that felt really original even with material that has been used over and over again. It would’ve been fun as a mini-series, but I am curious to see where it goes—although not super confident in Netflix’s ability to let this show tell its full story.

MY BOOKS:

It continues to be a really busy year for me! I’ve had a few things come out so forgive me a moment while I plug some stuff:

  • PILLOW TALK – It took four years for Pillow Talk to hit store shelves and I genuinely cried when the final copies of the book arrived on my doorstep. Talking about this project to people over the summer has been such a joy! I hope that if you’re in the market for a new and exciting graphic novel to read, that perhaps you’ll consider checking out our story that is inspired by Toronto’s very real underground pillow fight league!
  • THE RACC PACK – The reception to The Racc Pack has been incredible, and I want to thank everyone who has picked up a copy or checked it out from their local library. Your support means everything to us! Which leads me into the next book…
  • THE RACC PACK: PRINCE AND THE PAWPER – A SEQUEL!!!!!! Well, it’s a standalone story (as is the first book) but features the Bins’ Family again as they get into a new predicament when they discover Prince, a celebrity raccoon that is making an appearance at the local PetExpo convention. They decide to disguise themselves and see if they can get some pointers on how to make the humans love wild raccoons as much as pet raccoons. But they get more than they bargained for when they hatch a plan after discovering how similar Dusty looks to Prince. OPEN FOR PRE-ORDERS NOW! Out January 28, 2025.
  • MY LITTLE PONY: CAMP BIGHOOF – Camp Bighoof has been out for a little while now and folks seem to be really enjoying this self-contained mini-series featuring the Mane 5, who are at summer camp teaching young ponies all about their powers. But when they stumble across a creature that may just be the legendary cryptid, Bighoof, Sunny and Zip go on a little sidequest to figure out if it’s real or a hoax.
  • CAT NINJA: HEART OF A HERO – Cat Ninja is a popular and fun series from Epic! Originals that I had the great pleasure of working on in a writers’ room. This volume revolves around Cat Ninja trying to figure out a balance between his role as a hero of Metro City as well a beloved house pet. But it never loses the fun and heart of the series as we dive in to figure that out. OPEN FOR PRE-ORDERS NOW! Out October 15, 2024.

SOCIALS:

And as mentioned above, social media continues to be in flux, so if you want to follow along where I’m most active, these are the places to do so:

And, woof. That was a long update, so thanks for sticking with me until the end here. The perils of not updating things for a few months is that there’s usually that much more to share! I’m continuing to work on some exciting changes to these newsletters and fun integrations, but for now, check back here for more.

Until next time…

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