Well, Here We Go

Hello all! I’ve finally gotten my act together, and started this newsletter!

I’m not exactly sure what this is going to be other than a general roundup of my links for the week.

I figure I can also talk about what I’m cooking, reading, and watching, sometimes in just a “here are the vibes,” and sometimes in a “I have a lot of In Depth Thoughts about this.”

The Holiday Season kicked my butt a little, I got a bad cold that took more than a few days to shake, but I was determined to start the New Year off with this newsletter!

What I’m Reading:

Exile by Poppy Fitzgerald - Poppy is a friend, and I’m trying, once a month, to read one of my fellow indie writer’s friends books and live react to it on threads once a month! This month, we did Exile. Fitzgerald writes twisty romantic thrillers that also happen to dismantle dark romance tropes, and she’s REALLY REALLY good at it. Exile tells the story of Serena and Kai, life long best friends who are maybe starting to realize there’s more there when Dominick, a sexy, possessive and charming police officer comes into Serena’s life. Serena’s had a rough couple of years and is vulnerable to the isolation and abuse from her new man, but Kai is willing to fight for her, and stand at her back as she learns to fight for herself. I didn’t think it was possible for me to like this more than Poppy’s first book Astray (Both available on Kindle Unlimited) but I was so invested in Serena and I just wanted to see her get her life back. (And a few people in her life use Reenie as a nickname for her, so I obviously have to love her forever now).

Archangel’s Kiss by Nalini Singh - I’d tried to read this back in November and put it off until my library borrowing period on it expired. I really enjoyed Angel’s Blood and I’m enjoying it so far too. Watching Raphael and Elena wave giant red flags at one another and then bone about it is super fun. Singh has a way with making her characters be real pains in the asses while keeping them compelling and you on their side, and I’m into it.

Iron Flame (Graphic Audio): Maybe some other week I’ll talk deeply about how the Graphic Audio style has gotten me over my, “ugh, I can’t with audiobooks” thing. (I still can really only do them for rereads though.) But the casting and sound design for The Empyrean is spot on. I still on reread, think that Xaden needs to get over himself and just tell Violet the truth more often, and she’s fully justified in being pissed as hell at him, but right now, I am just eager to see the next step of their journey when Onyx storm comes out in a few weeks…

What I’m Watching:

Star Trek: Lower Decks: I’m a later in life Trekkie, (It took me until I was 30 to watch The Next Generation and then get into it) but my appreciation for the animated shenanigans of the crew of the USS Cerritos is not small. I’ve been rewatching before diving into the final season, and I really do love it so much. It’s going to be a comfort watch for a long time. I relate deeply to Beckett Mariner as a chaotic bisexual under-acheiver, and there are not enough of us present in science fiction.

Duel: We’ll get into why I watched Stephen Spielberg’s first movie, about a truck that hunts a guy below, but for the film itself: FUN! Very silly! Kind of a prototype for Jaws.

What I’m Listening To:

Iron Flame (Graphic Audio): See above. GOOD. Enjoyable. MORE TAIRN ALL THE TIME.

Blank Check With Griffin And David: Pod Me If You Cast: Blank Check is my favorite podcast. Possibly my favorite, anything? I love it a lot. It’s changed how I look at movies, show business, storytelling, criticism, obsessive box office tracking, burying your jeans in the woods, the Avatar films…It’s a podcast hosted by Griffin Newman and David Sims, two doofuses who know a lot about movies, they cover the entire career of a single director, but they did a weird thing early in their run and only covered the SECOND half of Stephen Spielberg’s career. Now they’re starting at the beginning, and I’m relistening to the old Spielberg episodes. (Of the newer movies. This is confusing. Why did you do this confusing thing, Griffin and David?) The show has changed a lot over the years, but the guys remain their goofy passionate selves and I can’t wait to hear them chat up some of my favorite movies, and have an excuse to watch them again.

Spotify’s 90s Roadtrip Playlist, which has been my go to writing music for a year.

What I’m Cooking

I’m not cooking. My parents are still in town for the holidays, so my mom has it handled, and we’re still surviving on Christmas Leftovers. I promise this section will sometimes be the most exciting section, at least to me!

New And Links And Other Stuff

2025 is going to be an exciting year for me, and any of you that want to come along on this journey.

The Marina Chronicle’s final post went up yesterday and I’m having feelings about it. This blog and the books it’s now produced have been my main creative outlet for a long time, and saying good bye has been long in the coming but also…it’s hard.

You can read those posts here

And you can pick up the first 5 books in The Marina Chronicle on Amazon

The ARC Signups for Anything Other Than You, my upcoming rom com about soap operas, small beach towns, and light kinks are open! If you want an early copy before it’s released in May, please check it out:

ARC Sign Ups

As always, you can read my random yappings on Threads and see occasional pictures when I remember on Instagram! See me summarize my thoughts on books in yippee one liners on Goodreads

Chat Next Week Friends!