Summer Breezes & Reads
It's finally summertime, and it's been a wild few weeks so far. Since my last post there've been some big life changes happening—and they're still happening for the next few weeks—but it's all good things. So life is busy, but good.
I went to visit my family for two weeks which was a wonderful whirlwind of visits and traveling. (I'm still masking indoors everywhere and trying to stay safe with covid, which is tricky when everyone else seems to have fully moved on, or is in denial...) Now we're home and even though the next few weeks are promising to also be chaotic, it's all good things, so I'm excited.
I'm also excited to report that I finished my revision and polish of Venice Book right before we left on our trip, and I fired it off to my CPs and beta readers who were all so enthusiastic, which honestly gave me life. I think (hope?) it's pretty solid, so I'm excited to see what they think.
Raven Book is still in the trenches, so keep your fingers crossed for it. But I'm wondering how to navigate the annual summer slow-down in publishing, and if I should just send out the rest of my queries now to get in agents' inboxes before they close for the rest of the summer...Or if I should wait to get any kind of feedback on the ones I currently have out, like back in the Before Times™. But then it also feels like there are no rules anymore with querying? *Insert Kate McKean's shrugging emoji*
I'm so glad I got back into Venice-mode though, so I'm not ruminating on Raven Book right now. I'm feeling a healthy sense of distance from it, and when my brain switches into daydreaming/plotting mode, it usually goes to Venice Book and those characters, who I'm genuinely obsessed with.
BUT I'm trying to consciously nudge my brain back in the direction of Heist Book, which is still giving me sass in the plot department. I know what I want it to feel like, I know what I want it to look and sound like, and I have a pretty good idea of how I want it to end. But damn if that middle/climax isn't giving me the runaround right now.
Turns out planning a heist is hard?
This painting I saw on our trip has nothing to do with anything, but I had to document this cow's hilarious expression. The dog's great too.
I've been listening to the Heist Book playlist and letting my mind wander with certain plot and character points, but things are still so busy in real life that it's hard to feel like I'm making any headway. I'll hopefully have a bit more time later in the summer, so I'm aiming to make some progress by the end of September.
I might have feedback for Venice Book by then though, so I'll most likely want to dive into that first, knowing my lizard brain 😅
Otherwise things have been really good and I can't complain. It still feels like the world is spiralling around a giant black hole, and we're all powerless to stop it and just kinda treading water (space?), and doing our little jobs and chores and tasks in the meantime. But hey, that's all we can do, right? And try to make the black-hole-ballet a little less shitty however we can.
I've love to hear how you're doing, or what's motivating you right now, whether creatively or otherwise. We all need as much inspiration as we can get nowadays.
I hope you're able to take a breather and rest, like actually truly rest for a bit. And don't forget to hydrate. And use SPF! (And mask up!)
Check out my fairly long list of recent favorite things below, and let me know what you're reading/watching/listening to. Thanks as always for being here.
~M
Recent Favorite Reads
My friend Joyce's newest book is out now in SE Asia! (It'll be available internationally from 13 July!) When I tell you I ripped through this...It's not only a fantastic sequel, it's a fantastic story in itself. The plot grabs you by the throat and doesn't let up, and the character motivations are all deeper and more nuanced. And the romance? Very slow burn and very sweet. I'm still recovering from that ending, and I cannot wait for book 3. Check out the links for Books 1 and 2 on Joyce's website, and make sure you're following her on Instagram. She's got lots more exciting things coming up 👀
I am SO LATE to the CEMETERY BOYS party and that's totally on me, why did I wait this long? It was just...gah, so good. Yadriel's voice was so vivid, and the family relationships and friendships were so heartfelt. And then the magic and spookiness, and that ending? 🥺 So good.
BOOK LOVERS was my first Emily Henry book and hoo man, was I hooked from the get-go. I love that it's set in the publishing world, and I legit lol'd at the banter. The slow-burn spice was top notch, and I really enjoyed how she embraced all the romcom tropes before flipping them on their head. I tore through this in the terminal while waiting to fly back, then finished it on the red-eye flight (yes, I was that person with my overhead light on, because it was a paperback, and because it was just THAT GOOD ok?). I'm definitely an Emily Henry convert now.
And for something completely different, I finally got to read THE FALL OF NUMENOR, and it was excellent. I'd already read most of the stories before in the Silmarillion and appendices to LOTR, but it was great to have them all in chronological order, and supplemented with extra context from Tolkien's letters. It also made me angsty for Elendil and Aragorn, as per usual.
I've got three historicals on the go right now, which is probably a bad idea, but one (THE BURNINGS) is a potential new comp for Raven Book, and the other two (THE DISENCHANTMENT and A PORTRAIT IN SHADOW) are potential comps for Venice Book. Aren't their covers gorgeous?? I'm loving all three so far, and I'm especially excited for the Venice Book comps since I've been struggling to find recent ones for it.
I've also been reading manuscripts by my amazing writer friends, and OH MAN why are they not on shelves yet?? Seriously?
Other Fav Things
If you aren't subscribed to Nicole's newsletters, what are you even doing, get over there and give her a follow. Her latest broke my heart, but is absolutely essential reading for this day and age.
Jedi Master Chuck Wendig did it again with his recent post on how weird and hard and scary it is to be a writer right now.
I'm a big fan of De Elizabeth's prompts on Instagram and Twitter (and her whole vibe to be honest), but her latest newsletter stopped me in my tracks. I've thought about it ever since. Fav lines: "Hope is not toxic. Hope is not a scam. Hope is not a jinx. You can and should have hope, because it’s something to hold onto, something to use as a north star when everything else feels murky and uncertain. But that doesn’t mean there’s no room left over for other feelings."
And finally, I went full hyper-focus super-fan on the BBC series The Musketeers. It came out back in 2015ish, and I'm both so mad I haven't watched it til now, and so glad I finally did. There are definitely some plot holes, but the actors, costumes, banter and shenanigans more than make up for it. If you need a fun, action-packed costume drama, definitely check this one out.
This is the vibe of the show, which is incidentally the same vibe as Venice Book
New Summer Tunes
The Tesky Brothers have a new album out and it's great, especially for lazy sunny afternoons
I stumbled onto this French/English song and it's been on repeat ever since
So disco is very definitely back, and I'm not mad about it. This one is so catchy.
I also randomly found these guys (thank you Spotify shuffle), and I love their breezy blend of disco and flamenco. It...really works?
Ok this one coincidentally (or not) is both French and disco, and it's so dang catchy.
Again where have I been, I'm late to Samara's party as well, but holy crap HER VOICE??