Hey there, readers. Are you staying warm? Staying safe? Staying strong? It’s a strange time to be talking about my own work, given what’s happening in the world. I’ve spent a lot
of time being angry, sad, or both, and more time trying not to feel numb. But stories are one of the things that will get us through this, and writing is one way I practice resistance (more on that below). Which is why—despite the darkness in the world, and because of it—I’m excited to share a book update with
you. Book news!Tea & Treachery at the Infinite Pantry has a publication date: April 21, 2026! Better yet, pre-orders for ebooks are
live now! You know what to do! This cozy fantasy is the first book in a brand new series. It’s about the power of food to bring people together and get us through tough times: Caught between an unknown magic the
Infinite Pantry and a wealthy funder pushing to take control, Glendevyn and Irdruan will have to learn to trust each other—and themselves—as they fight to save their home with the power of love, friendship, and delicious food. Steeped in magic and deliciousness, reading this book feels like curling up with a warm mug of tea. Pre-ordering a book is like a
little present to your future self. When I pre-order, I can’t know what the world will be like when the book comes out, but I know it will brighten my day when it unexpectedly arrives. Give your future self a gift of the Infinite Pantry! Writing updateWriting life continues to be busy in a good way. Preparing to release two books this year means lots of copy editing, lots of proofreading, lots of reaching out to other authors for blurbs and reviews, lots of events and planning. And lots
of fun, too! I just got back proofreading on Tea & Treachery, which is the last editing step before everything goes into production, aka becoming a real book. I also got advance reader copies of The Final Chronicle of Yeneh from my publisher, and it looks fantastic! We’ll be revealing the cover for that soon. Between editing and a busy period of client work, I hadn’t had much time to write anything new in the past few months, so I took some time off in January to work on book 2 of the Infinite Pantry. It was delightful to stop worrying about comma placement and hyphenation and just enjoy spending time with these characters again. Fiction is resistance. Sci-fi and fantasy doubly so.Resistance comes in many forms. We tend to think of “resistance” in SFF as Star Wars-style rebellions, or maybe the rough awakening of books like Emily Tesh’s brilliant Some Desperate Glory.
Sometimes it’s slower and more quietly powerful, like the deeply personal, careful-what-you-wish-for magics of Charlie Jane Anders’ Lessons in Magic and Disaster. But I also think utopian and even cozy stories can be their own form of resistance. I’ve alternated between these types of stories: the long-term labor
organizing in the background of my Brennex series is more about slow power than the rebellion in The Final Chronicle of Yeneh. Since the 2024
election, I’ve started and abandoned quite a few angry politics stories that were therapeutic for me, but not useful or interesting. I’m glad to be writing cozy fantasy right now, not because it’s an escape (though it can be) but because it’s healing. We need time away from the anger and violence and injustice so we can come back to it stronger. We also need to see versions of the world we want to live in, and for me, that world looks like the Infinite Pantry: a place with rich community, where people respect and support each other no matter how big their differences. Where you can be queer, or differently abled, or introverted, and still find love and friendship. Where bad, selfish, and cruel people exist, but those around us deny them power, and they always get their comeuppance. And, yes, I dream of a world where everyone gets as excited about food and tea as I do! The love of food shared by folks at the Infinite Pantry is both a cause and a symptom of their supportive community. Plus it’s fun to write about. But the history of food is one of both colonization and cross-pollination, and in that way, deeply appreciating a good shared meal
can be its own form of resistance as well as resilience. (More on that in future newsletters as the book gets closer!) What’s giving me joy right nowThis shirt, a wonderful gift designed by reader Sara, is inspired by her favorite sentient spaceships—including Sunny from the Brennex trilogy. I’m extra touched because this is, I think, the first fan art I’ve received. And it’s gorgeous,
too! Skullrunner: Vyvre Argent’s series starter is the sort of epic fantasy I love: a giant, complex world with actually diverse cultures that aren’t just real-world
cultures with fantasy names. There are resurrected gods and powerful magics and forces of evil, but also queer pirates and adventures and powerful friendships. The central concept, that there’s a class of people called echoes who are identical fragments of a dead god, is one that feels really fresh. Witch King and Queen Demon: Everyone gets excited about Martha Wells’ Murderbot books, but her Rising World series is exactly what I
needed this month. People fighting authoritarianism against overwhelming odds while caring for and supporting each other; cool and sometimes conflicting magic systems; gender-queerness galore; and I swear the slowest-burn romance in all of history. Tune in Tomorrow: I picked up this book by Randee Dawn after sitting next to her at a book signing and hearing her tell readers about it repeatedly, and I was not disappointed! It’s a contemporary fantasy about an aspiring actor who gets recruited onto a tv show for immortals. There’s a delightful cast of characters including a big-hearted faun, an insecure dragon security guard, brownies who organize for workers’ rights, and
more. It’s tense but small stakes, delightfully quirky, and lots of fun. Starfleet Academy: (Gasp! Surprise! I’m excited about a new Star Trek show!) Okay, I was bracing myself for disappointment, and it’s not your usual Trek, but the first three episodes in, it’s a fun watch. The cadets are angsty teenagers, and I know their teenager-ness is going to annoy me at times, but they’re already decently fleshed out
with interesting problems. The adult cast is fantastic. I absolutely adore Holly Hunter’s Captain Ake (a deeply caring 300+ year old who literally cannot even sit straight). I would already follow her into battle. And we’ve got some welcome familiar guests, including Tig Notaro (one of my favorites from Discovery) and Robert Picardo, clearly living his best life reprising his role as EMH. I look forward to seeing where they take the show. And last but not least…This is what the cats are doing lately every time I see them. Yes, I’m jealous. |
The Gifted of Brennex trilogy "Star Trek Meets Leverage" Labor organizers in space Sentient spaceships And nonstop thrills |
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