Hello! A few weeks ago, early on the morning of my 30th birthday, I went for a solo hike to do a little reflection on the aptly name Looking Glass Rock. I thought (and talked) to myself a lot on the hike: about this milestone birthday, about the past, very tumultuous, year, about my writing, and my aspirations—about where I've been, and where I'm going. It was really great, honestly—I had some tough talks with myself, a minor epiphany, decided on the next novel I'd like to write, and added...
about 7 hours ago • 6 min read
Hello! I don't know if y'all's algorithms are anything like mine, but I get recommended content almost constantly with a message along the lines of "analog tools are having a renaissance." There's definitely some truth to this: sales of vinyl records, CDs, and tapes have boomed in recent years; the publishing industry has seen an increase in sales of hardbacks and special editions; sales of high quality Blu-rays are going up, even as the overall market continues to decrease. There's more than...
about 2 months ago • 7 min read
Hey friends, You'll notice that today's newsletter is coming a day late. While I could make all kinds of reasonable excuses (e.g., it's a long weekend in the U.S.; I enjoyed a lovely Valentine's Day weekend and lost track of time; etc.), the truth is that I'm feeling a little blue. There are valid reasons for this, too: the uncertainty and upheaval that has troubled me for the past year continues to dog my steps (though I'm beginning to outpace it, I think) and seasonal depression/good...
2 months ago • 6 min read
Hello! At this point I've hit quite a few milestones while writing my novel: starting the story; finishing that first draft; closing out the first major revision; and so many minor achievements in between. That's all well and good—but my most recent milestone feels wholly different, because it's the first time people other than my immediate family are seeing what I've been working on. As of a few days ago, the first third of my manuscript reached the hands (or screens) of its first readers....
3 months ago • 3 min read
Guess what! After nearly four months of daily work and literally hundreds of hours of review, outlining, and writing, the revision of my novel is done! Break out the champagne! Do some weird and embarrassing dance moves! Ugly cry a little! Finally I can say that I'm finished writing and move on to the next item on that silly little list I made like a year and a half ago, right? Right?? ...right? Right. Well, damn it. I'm kidding, mostly. Obviously. We all know I'm very keenly aware of where I...
3 months ago • 6 min read
Happy New Year! I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling good about 2026 (well—at least as long as I ignore current events and the fact that it was almost 60ºF where I'm at today). Maybe it's just that January magic talking, and all my dreams will be dashed against the rocks soon—but I'm hopeful for this year. I've got all my goals lined up, and they seem achievable. I don't know how things will turn out, of course, and, frankly, I've stopped trying to know, after last year. Time will...
3 months ago • 7 min read
Hello! Happy Holidays! Welcome to Coffee Chats Wrapped! For those of you who are new, this is the annual tradition in which I review my writing progress and re-recommend some of my favorite things from the year (especially books; I love books). I think the idea was a lot cuter when Spotify Wrapped was a niche thing, before basically every service and platform started to regurgitate all of the data they collect on you over the course of December—but I digress. We're having fun! I'm having fun!...
4 months ago • 10 min read
Hi friends! Long time no...email? Anyway. Hey! Hope you had a nice holiday! Many of you will remember that at the beginning of November I set a rough schedule for the end of this year. This hinged on me completing a 40,000-word challenge last month—and I'm very pleased to say that I did (more on that below!). Now, as promised, I'm putting out the official call for Beta Readers of my novel, codenamed Project Curses. For those who haven't encountered this concept before, Beta Readers are,...
4 months ago • 5 min read
Okay—I'm actually going to keep things brief today. First thing: apologies that this is coming a day late! Sarah and I hosted Hallow-weekend activities & a dear friend over the weekend, so I've been distracted (in a good way)! Most important thing: I have some good/bad news. The good half is that I've really hit my stride on the revision of Project Curses. The writing is going as well as it ever has. All the difficult groundwork of the revision has been laid. The story is flowing. The bad...
6 months ago • 5 min read