June '26 Update
NEWSLETTER 4
Hello again, and welcome to the next edition of my newsletter! It’s been a long while, but so much has happened, so let’s get to it!
WRITING:
Between the last time I updated you all (April 2024…) I’ve written a lot. Like, a heck of a lot. I’ve polished AFFINITY (time travel WIP) - queried it very sparsely, but it wasn’t quite up to the standard I was hoping for, so I put it to rest for now. I’ve polished up CONVERGENCE (artifacts WIP), and had just started querying it.
I’ve also started two whole new projects! CORRUPTION (good for her WIP), and Alien Skies WIP. Both have a couple of drafts finished, but need a lot more work.
On a lark, I decided to yeet CORRUPTION at the Future Worlds Prize… and I got shortlisted! I’m honestly blown away!
So far, it’s been an absolute dream! I’m going to an event in a few weeks where they decide the winner, and I don’t envy the judges at all! Having spoken to all of the other shortlistees, they’re all amazingly talented, and the fact that I’m even included in their number is utterly humbling.
THE CONSUMPTION
SO MUCH MEDIA.
Books… off the top of my head, I read
The Rotters Club by Jonathan Coe
A Reaper at the Gates by queen Sabaa Tahir
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
The Spear Cuts Through the Water by Simon Jiminez
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea
Vesuvius by Cass Biehn
Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang (this one really blew me away!
the river She Became by Emily Varga
The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue by Zoulfa Katouh (again, a queen)
Prince Among Pirates by Katie Abdou (excellent debut!)
The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed (another excellent debut!)
On the TV, it’s been a long few years. Highlights include Squid Games season 2, FROM, Sinners, 28 Years Later, PROJECT HAIL MARY!!!!, Backrooms, KPop Demon Hunters, Andor, I’ve been hooked on Traitors UK, and Severance, and Silo.
For music… the ARCANE soundtrack is still in regular rotation, as is MARINA’s album Princes of Power, and Florence + the Machine’s ‘Everybody Scream’.
And games wise, I’ve played FF7 Rebirth, and finally played Expedition 33!
LIFE
Still working, alongside trying to make it as an author. The biggest thing of note that’s happened recently, is my beautiful cat Koda passed away in February of this year. She left behind a void, not only in all the human members of my family, but my furry companions too. Levi was devastated, so much so that we had to get another cat to keep him company quite quickly. Enter Lucky Franklin.
That’s all for now! I’ll keep my head down and write some more :) Hopefully I won’t leave it two years before I update next!
Til next time!