#33: hiii! the most overdue letter of all time
Greetings, friends,
I have no real explanation for why these letters tapered off so much over the summer (though I hope now to get back on track). Many of my first conversations with people I haven't seen in awhile lately have been about how long it's taken us to figure out a new working rhythm this year, one that allows for progress while still staying informed. Or about the blissful-by-comparison weeks when we didn't have time to read the news or took actual vacations from it. But also the desperate need to stay aware and informed.
And life, of course, takes up space -- as it should. We got a new cat, Stella (the Bella), who was woefully undernourished and who the humane society fixed too quickly and then got mastitis as a result. I did the back-and-forth to the vet with her (and so did C) for a good month. In fact, it seems hard to believe we've only had her about that long. She was immediately a member of the family. And now she's all healed up, with only a hefty credit card bill for us to pay off. She's a pretty remarkable cat. I know I've joked before that my superpower is choosing pets off the internet, but this was even further afield. My yoga instructor Peyton was fostering her and her kittens and I just suddenly declared, "We'll take the mom," fearing she'd be put down if no one did. We hadn't even met her until we picked her up. My Spidey Pet Sense is improving.
(A picture of the furry people fam from earlier today; Stella doesn't understand why she can't come along on dog walkies.)
Anyway, there have been doubt monsters and revisions and conference calls aplenty and this and that and travel (too much lately!). I don't think I even remembered to say that Strange Alchemy -- Blackwood's shiny new hardcover version -- came out to you guys. Buy it! Generally speaking, I feel like I've done a terrible job with promotion this year, which is mostly head-down working, but also part of this same conversation referenced above: the how do we work when the world is on fire conversation. The how do we promote our work when the world is on fire conversation feels even harder. I don't have any grand answer for either. We just do. In the face of non-normalcy, we still have to find some sense of it, of a routine, in daily life and writing life...especially if it's how the bills get paid and happiness gets achieved. At least, focusing on that is what's working for me lately. That, and returning to my old fail-safes: writing first thing in the morning, carrots and sticks, outdoor writing.
I've had several great trips recently in too-much-travel September: Decatur Book Festival, always fabulous, where Christopher and I promoted Supernormal Sleuthing Service #1 (#2 is out in May, get caught up now!), saw many old friends and new and ate some amazing food; then I did a week of school visits in Tennessee with my dearies Courtney Stevens, Megan Shepherd, and Mindy McGinnis; followed by LadiesCon in Boston, where the Ladies of Comicazi proved to be entirely awesome, and I finally got to meet Ming Doyle (the best genius!) in person and many other fabulous people; and then finally last week I went to New York for a Serial Box Story Summit for a new serial I created and am writing with Rachel Caine and Carrie Ryan (YAY).
(That's us finishing up story summit day two.)
(And this is me after we finished on the last day, outside to show off the impressiveness of an entire ten-episode season plotted out with stickies without spoiling anything!)
There'll be plenty of time for you to learn all about what a serial is and how to get it. We can't divulge the details about this one just yet. But we spent three days plotting and planning and it's going to be pretty damn great, if I may say. All I can really tell you right now is it's going to have some amazing audio elements that Serial Box is going to kill it with production-wise and it's an adult crime/thriller story. I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED and learning so much already from the entire thing and did I mention I get to work with two of my favorite writers/people? It's gonna rock. Now that we're home, I'm updating the story bible and then writing the pilot and then it's off to the races with all of us writing various episodes. It'll debut next year at some point, though we haven't set the exact date yet. Don't worry, we will tell you ALL about it in plenty of time. Yay. I say again: YAY.
I've ordered myself to take today off, which I'm not doing a great job at (as you may have noticed) so I might go see Battle of the Sexes or something. I'm back to NYC for one day for a secret thing this week and then we're off to Santa Fe for a few days of vacation and events. Christopher will be part of a giant Wild Cards event at the Jean Cocteau Cinema next Sunday at 2p.m. I'm told there will be some of my books for sale at the after signing, so if you're in the area come say hi! We love Santa Fe.
What else? I'm still working on a new YA novel, which I'm just writing and hope to finish (and sell) this fall, and at least one other thing you can cross your fingers for. I hope your fall is treating you well. Halloween is coming!
More soon!
xo
G