I blinked and the last three months disappeared.

No, wait, that's not right. That would imply I had my eyes shut the whole time when, really, I've been busier than the Golden Orb spider weaving her web in my garden. There was a male spider there who is not there anymore, and I suspect something R-rated and subsequently murderous might have happened.

Best not think about that too much.

Here's what's been happening...

Yet We Sleep, We Dream

In early April, I found a sensitivity reader for this manuscript just as I was on the verge of giving up. Their report arrived the other day and, despite what I said in my newsletter yesterday about working up the courage to pore over it, I still have not.

Today, though. Today I shall have a hearty meal AND THEN open it up, because one thing I have learned is to never read feedback on an empty stomach.

Project Lacewing

"Lacewing", the novelette project I've talked about here and there, is now in drafting. Ahead of schedule, no less! I had planned to start this in July, but a few lifestyle concerns fell into place, allowing me to attempt this writing sooner. That's all I'll say about both this project and those concerns for now, but if the next couple of months go smoothly, I'll be able to tell you more.

Actually, no, I do have one thing to share: I've been using vim to work on this manuscript, and it's been great. I love it and have no excuses, because I know what people who don't use vi think of those who do 😅 But it brings me joy. (For anyone curious, I'm using it with Junegunn Choi's goyo.vim in a fullscreen terminal window -- ahh, bliss!)

Other notes

Out and about:

In April, I visited Coffee Time Romance to chat about O, swear not by the moon. Here's the feature.

Headspace digestives:

• Deep Work by Cal Newport
• The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin
• No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg
• The culture of uncare by Sally Weintrobe
• AI and the American Smile by Jenka Gurfinkel

WIP board:

• Yet We Sleep, We Dream, a chaotic Australian space-fantasy comedy romance where children of a changing climate meet the old gods of a long-dead world. Awaiting sensitivity review.
• "Lacewing", a post-collapse time-travel science fantasy romance. Draft in progress.
• "Satine". The collection has been cancelled, but there is something coming on this front. Stay tuned.
• Sunset on a Distant World, a reverse age-gap adult-coming-of-age sci-fi bodyguard romance. Under revision.

Key dates:

• 12 MAY: Visiting Coffee Time Romance
• 24 JUL: Visiting Amber Daulton's blog
• 12 AUG: Visiting Coffee Time Romance
• 23 SEP: Yet We Sleep, We Dream release
• 25 SEP: Visiting Lyndi's Adventurous Friends
• 12 OCT: Visiting Coffee Time Romance