Hi there!
Welcome to my newsletter! As I mentioned in last month’s edition, I’m trying to use this space to give a more regular long-form update on life, writing, and everything in-between. If you’re here, thanks!
The month of May was not without challenge. I started it hopeful that, after months of being on some sort of deadline, I’d treat myself to some time off. Then, on May 4th, the first day of my self-proclaimed vacation, I got into a very bad bike accident while going downhill at high speed. I experienced the most excruciating pain I’ve had in recent memory—road rash on my arms, knee, and shoulder, a severely-sprained wrist, plus bruising all over my body (Three weeks later, I still have one!). It was a strange and frustrating experience. I am a fiercely independent person, and going from being fully functional to suddenly being unable to do something as simple as open a water bottle without shooting pain was humbling. Still, if being laid up in bed did one thing, it forced me to lean into my goal of choosing radical joy, even when it was very hard to do. So, life lately has been tough, but I’ve still found pockets of joy.
Two days before my bike accident, I turned in my fifth (!!!) book. I will be able to announce that book at the top of next year (I think), after I, Medusa has had some time to shine on its own. The draft I sent to my editor is probably, to date, the roughest I’ve ever sent, but I’m reminding myself that I’m a terrible drafter, and that, for me, the story always improves in revisions. The act of writing a book never gets easier, but it does become more familiar, with time.
I hadn’t planned to start on Book #6 until later this year, but while I was still recovering from my bike accident, I found myself searching for distractions. Before I knew it, I was up to my eyeballs in research for Book #6. I started thinking about it before I went to sleep, about lines of dialogue and certain scenes I wanted to plot. That was my sign that it was time to start writing, and I’ve had so much fun diving into something totally new with very little pressure since it’s not due until the end of this year. This particular book won’t be ready until 2026 or 2027 (I know, I know), but I already love it so much.
(I still have a short story to write too, but, as I mentioned before, that is the least time-sensitive of my projects, so I’m giving myself grace there and following my instincts by prioritizing Book #6, for now. Once I get editor notes back on Book #5, I’ll have to pause and pivot back to that, but for now it’s really freeing to write with no hard deadline hanging over my head.
As for I, Medusa, we are…170 days from its release in November. Most days, that feels really far away and I wonder if there’s any point in talking about a book that doesn’t come out until Fall. Then, some days, I’ll get tagged in a really kind review of an ARC and realize that this story I poured so much of myself into is finding who it was supposed to and I get excited all over again. My little sales pitch (I hate this) is that you can still grab the special first edition with the sprayed edges and foil stamp from anywhere you like to buy books! Preorders are helpful and Dolly and Louie want you to know that by buying a copy of my books you’re supporting their lavish lifestyles!
Also, thank you to everyone who added it on GoodReads, we have 33,000 adds, which is just bonkers this far out from publication.
As always, this is the part of the newsletter that I hold specifically for non-work related joy. So, in spite of some setbacks to start the month, here are things that brought me joy in May.
The Merlin App - After several recommendations from friends, I downloaded the (free!) Merlin App, a bird-tracking app created by Cornell University. While I was laying on my couch in pain, I’d hear birdsong and open the app and experience joy as it identified the bird (or birds!) making the sound. It was fun to learn what local birds live around my house. So far, we’ve got lots of robins, cardinals, thrashers, and wrens!
Travels! - In just a few days, I’m going on the first of two (maybe three?) big trips for this year. Technically, this is a work trip in a lot of ways, but because my job is actually pretty fun, my work trips tend to be fun too! Really excited to see some friends I haven’t seen in-person in 3ish years!
Hair Update! - I’ll probably share this on social media at some point, but you all get to know first: I loc'd my hair! Some people call them “dreadlocks,” but I’ve always preferred the term locs. The process took 20 hours over two days, and I ended up with nearly 200 individual locs (yes, we counted). Excited to start this new journey, and hopeful that it makes caring for my hair easier than it has been in the past.
And now for some more specific joys related to books/television/music:
Books:
The True Happiness Company by Veena Dinavahi (Adult Memoir); this was one of those books I was so impatient to read that I downloaded the audiobook before a physical copy about. It’s essentially a memoir about a young Indian American girl with situational depression who—through well-intentioned parents—ends up unknowingly joining a cult called the True Happiness Company. Dark humor galore juxtaposed against some truly heartbreaking and visceral moments. Loved it fiercely.
Movies/TV:
Sinners (2025): I should have mentioned this is in my last newsletter, but I saw Sinners in IMAX with my siblings (and then again with my spouse and sister this month) and to say I adored it is a gross underestimation. It was everything I love—speculative, aesthetically pleasing, musically-elevated, and—on an obviously personal level—a celebration of two essential parts of my identity as a Black woman, and a Southern woman.
ATL (2006): Speaking of movies that celebrate identity, while on bedrest I decided to rewatch the movie ATL. I don’t know what to call this other than a hood coming-of-age classic. It’s the story of a quartet of high school seniors in Atlanta navigating well… life. I found myself feeling really nostalgic about the music and fashion of 2006 Atlanta, the start of my teenage life.
Sirens (2025): An woman treks to a Nantucket-like fictional island in an attempt to convince her (estranged) younger sister to come home and help take care of their ailing dad, but finds things on the island aren’t what they seem. This one ended with an interesting twist and was 100% bingeable.
Songs:
Often times, I remember segments of life by the songs I had on repeat at the time. In no special order, the songs I’ve been listening to a lot lately:
Last Time (I Seen the Sun) by Miles Caton and Alice Smith
For Sentimental Reasons by Sam Cooke
Better Days by Anella
*Bonus: Snooze by SZA (I suspect she’s going to be my top artist this year)
That’s all for now, see you soon!
xo,
