Hello! My January has been full of surprises, with not one but two snowstorms in the course of a week! According to our local weather folks, the DC area hasn't seen an inch of snow in literally two solid years, so as a snow lover born in New England I was over the moon. I'm fairly sure I spent several days last week doing nothing but looking out the window as the flakes drifted down. We got 6-8 inches in total, enough to make everything pretty without being a huge pain:

Of course, the snow and frigid weather was followed this week by a blast of warm, humid weather and rain, so as I write this, I'm wearing a t-shirt and all traces of snow are gone. But it was delightful while it lasted.

I hope you're staying warm, cozy, and safe, if you live in a place where that's an issue right now (like... most of the US and Canada), and that you're having a good start to the year wherever you are.

Ravenous State pre-orders are here!

There's now a release date for book 3 of The Gifted of Brennex: February 20. And you can pre-order it now on most sites! (Pre-orders aren't live everywhere yet, with paperbacks especially being a bit behind, but links will be added at that page as they're available.) Snag it now, and you'll get it in your inbox or mailbox on release day.

Ravenous State is Libbi's story, the youngest Wilder sibling and the baby of the family, who stayed home to fulfill her family obligations while her siblings went off to pursue their dreams. (No, she's not bitter about it at all, why do you ask?) But of course, Ravel Corporation is back to cause more trouble, and this time it's very close to home. 

I'll share more about the book as the release date gets closer. I think you'll find it a satisfying wrap-up to the Wilder siblings' story.

Other writing news

I'm going to be on two podcasts coming out soon. On 2/9, I'll be a guest on Scott Edelman's Eating the Fantastic to talk about Warped State, Dissonant State, and writing life. Then on 2/16 I'll be reading from Ravenous State on Tales from the Trunk, hosted by my friend Hilary Bisenieks. So stay tuned for those!

I'm also super excited to share that I'm going to have a short story in Uncanny Magazine!!! "A Menu of First Favorite Meals" is a quiet, emotional story about family and the power of food as a vehicle for memory. I was stunned to get this news, because Uncanny is one of my favorite magazines, extremely popular and therefore extremely competitive to get into. I don't have a release date for it yet, but I'll definitely be sharing here when it's out.

Last but certainly not least, your promised cat photo. We're sure that Ada is bred for cold, snowy climates (I mean, just look at her) but she couldn't be more indifferent to our recent snow:

Until next time,

Jo Miles