🌸 Spring Updates 🌸

If you aren't following my tennis twitter account (and you shouldn't), then you'd be forgiven for thinking that I've died since I haven't posted on this blog since late 2020. I have definitely been keeping busy, but my busy-ness hasn't resulted in any new stories being published, not since I had stories come out in the Queers Who Don't Quit anthology and in Clarkesworld (Definitely doesn't feel real! Still pinching myself!) back in 2020.

The quality of writing you can expect from my tennis twitter

Here's what I've been up to:

I've been editing for Salt & Sage Books. 📖

I work for Salt & Sage doing sensitivity reading, line editing, and development editing. I've really enjoyed reading people's books and doing my best to help authors however I can. If you're interested in having me take a look at your story idea, outline, or manuscript (yes! You can get sensitivity reads for your story ideas and outlines! The earlier you get sensitivity read, the better!) go ahead and take a look at my editing profile, and then be sure to mention my name when you request a consult.

Also, Salt & Sage has a new sensitivity reader who reads for trans women who is extremely cool, so you should definitely put a trans woman in your manuscript and pay her to read it. (Yup, she's my girlfriend, and now I'm just bragging 🥰)

I've been slush reading for the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. 🚀

It's been extremely cool working under editor Sheree Renée Thomas (who was just nominated for a Hugo for her work on F&SF!) It's honestly really inspiring to read the stories of strangers and discovering diamonds in the slush.

I've written a few articles. 🖊️

Namely, I wrote an article for the Salt & Sage blog that mines Rina Sawayama's "Bad Friend" music video for short story writing advice. (I can't look at that article without thinking, "Who am I to be giving writing advice?!" and then I remember... I literally get paid to give writing advice at Salt & Sage! Get back, imposter syndrome!)

I also wrote an article about some 2021 pride-month hypocrisy from the WTA (the Women's Tennis Association), as they were using a progressive pride flag in their header despite their silence on trans rights issues while one of their biggest former stars, Martina Navratilova, was partially responsible for anti-trans sports bans crawling across the US.

I'm writing a novel. 👀

I'm branching out from my SFF home turf and am writing a contemporary young adult novel, a trans fake-dating novel. It might seem strange that I'm writing contemporary, but I honestly really love contemporary LGBT young adult novels (I shout them out in my "about me" page!) I probably would write short contemporary YA stories, but there isn't really a market out there for them, outside of the occasional anthology. (A lot of my SFF stories definitely have YA tendencies, especially my stories in the anthologies for Capricious and in Queers Who Don't Quit!)

I've wrote the first draft in a haze of November and December of 2021, and am now slogging through the second draft, so we'll see how that goes!

I've been writing short stories. 🧚

No acceptances right now, but a goal of mine is to get at least one acceptance before the end of the year! Hopefully I can do it!

If you want to be kept in the loop and get some news on any publications, you can sign up for my newsletter! I have literally never sent a newsletter, and I plan to only send 1-2 a year, so I promise I won't flood your inbox!