I exiled myself to the tadpole end of Long Island to work on my line edits for The Fall of Rebel Angels. After 13 years and 23 novels, this might be the book process that finally breaks me spiritually, and definitely the ~publishing~ process that got me to ask my doctor friend for anti-anxiety medication. Publishing amirite *lol sob*

[~* If you’re here for Kickstarter news and cannot wait, scroll down!]

This newsletter is NOT about publishing woes, however. Maybe one day I’ll let myself be vulnerable about this, but I’m focusing all of my positive energy on line edits. I’ve taken over my Guncles’s house, hotelified their dining table, and started to reread the whole damn thing while I await my editor’s notes.

I love office supplies. Simply. Love. Them. My cousin asked me what she could buy me for Christmas and I said LITERALLY I WANT COLORFUL GEL PENS. So if you ever want to buy me a present—I still want cash. But the second best option is go to a stationary store or Office Max.

Anyway, I’m old enough that I still prefer editing on the page. (don’t cancel me I used recycled paper.) I read it aloud. I question whether I’ve ever had a good grasp on the English language. I love using different colors, but this draft requires classic red. Ruby Woo red. Red District red. Bull fighting red. Five alarm chili red. Red hot cili pepper red. *plays bass*

{this post is obviously a cry for help}

I TRIED 6 PENS AND 1 PENCIL. Worst to best.

Papermate - Red: AKA TRAITOR red. I was rooting for you. I used to be a Papermate fiend. I have dozens in slightly different shades of the rainbow. But they dry really quickly. Barely got through a sentence. Also, I tried to dip it in warm water to clean the pen or unclog any dry ink and it didn’t do anything.

1 goodreads stars. {i still like the shape}

Prismacolor - Carmine Red: AKA Watery blood red. I love a pencil. I love tucking them into my bun. I love scratching my temple with the eraser. I love sharpening it. Still, not enough pigment.

2 goodreads stars. {it’s the vibes}

Gelly Roll - Metallic red: AKA Metallic Dream Red. As in, I keep dreaming of a red that is metallic that doesn’t just look silvery pink.

2.5 storygraph stars. (they have halves)

Sharpie S Gel - Red: AKA Apple (the Corporation) Red. Smooth. Sharp. Sleep. Glides like a dream. Love the cushion feel of the grip.

4 goodreads stars.

Random Japanese stationary felt pen - Red SR153: AKA Delicate Rose Red. This red is more muted. It does not alarm. It says, “you did a good job, litter zo-writer.” Bonus, the felt top is very tiny. I’ve had it so long the characters have rubbed off but it’s still . . . wet. (Unlike the Papermate that keeps drying out.) Great for tiny handwriting when you’re trying to fit between the double spaces.

4.5 goodreads stars

Gelly Roll - Sakura: AKA Sailor Mars Red. This pen. This is my ode to this sweet, shimmering pen. It is “Mars power, make up!” sparkly. THIS is what I want when I want glitter. Some of the Gelly Rolls do get clogged up with the glitter, but this one has been great so gar.

5. storygraph stars

Gelly Roll - Sakura 08 : Barbie Plastic Red. I don’t know how to explain the creamy, liquid plastic texture of this pen, but it is my #1. I wish I could buy a box of the single color but it comes in a pack. I hope it lasts through 600 pages of editing. Will report back with the breaking news.

5.5 storygraph stars { RED LIGHTSABER RED }

Wish me luck. Add The Fall of Rebel Angels to your storygraph or wherever you track books. Goodreads link. Story Graph link.

{For kickstarter news, scroll a tiny bit more!}

Did two events this month. Top left: Pluto’s Loft, a creative salon hosted in a TriBeCa apartment. Read from my Substack novella Monster House! Bottom left: Readers Arvin Ahmadi, Ryan La Sala, JP Brammer, and Lauryn Chamberlain. Top right: Amazing time at Paginas & Perreo, a Latina reader event. Bottom right: This video of protestors booing at JD Vance was so touching, I had to save it.

I’ve been in a reading slump, so if you have any recs for speculative fiction that makes you FEEL SOMETHING (bonus if it has romance) then send it to me.

My brother has a new song out, and I’m so incredibly proud of him!! He’s an independent musician and has been working at this since he was a pre-teen. It’s been a hard year for the Córdova household, so it would mean a lot if you gave it a listen. It’s up on music platforms. Spotify link.

Now, WHAT IS THIS KICKSTARTER THING?

I’m part of a dystopian romance kickstarter, but not as a writer. As an editor! {This is a super soft launch for my editing services.} Working on the anthologies over the years has really made it clear that I’ve always loved editing. I love shaping stories. I love helping other shape their stories. After teaching for a few years, I started quietly editing as well. This is my first project I’m seeing to publication.

AFTER THE END is A Dystopian Romance Collection. Eight original stories exploring love after the end of the world. This initiative was created by the brilliant Adriana Herrera and . When they asked me to come aboard to manage the editorial, and edit three of the stories, I jumped at the chance. These stories are all so different. There’s portals and bunkers and omegaverse and danger, but most importantly, there’s LOVE and romance and passion. There will be paperbacks, hardcovers, audio, character art, special covers, custom edges, double sided books, and more.

The Kickstarter goes live in September! You can click on the link ««« but here’s a little about the stories, including some of the gorgeous covers.

BAIT by Adriana Herrera - a woman is forced out of her bunker after twenty-nine years, only to discover the world didn't end.

FIRST by Ali Hazelwood - a general plans to use a nobleman's bride to teach him a lesson. After meeting her, he decides to keep her for himself.

M.A.Y.A. by Nina Saxena - in an effort to escape a war-torn dystopian planet where she would be used as a weapon to hurt innocent people, MAYA searches for a way to stop her captors by fleeing through one of six dimensions in a hidden bunker. There, she meets a pack of shifters and an alpha determined to claim her as his fated mate.

SKYN by Nikki Payne- when Fawl's ex dumps her for her stepsister, she takes the messiest deal imaginable: dig up dirt on an Elite family for a golden ticket out of the Underground. Simple, right? No. Now she's somehow *Checks Notes* married to an emotionless machine who's weirdly obsessed with her skin.

TAKEN by Elizabeth Stephens - a woman kept in stasis in a bunker wakes 5000 years after the fall of humanity to find a desolate world overrun by monsters – and is taken captive by one of them.

BROOD by Claire Kent - a woman who has been intended since childhood to a young man in the bunker gets paired instead with an older man when his wife dies unexpectedly.

PRIMA by Sherry Thomas - a handsome prince comes across a beautiful woman on the open sea. She is lying on a primitive-looking raft, almost entirely naked. What is he to do?

TRADE by Cate C. Wells- when a woman from the bunker is traded to a scavenger for sex, she learns that nothing is like she's been told.

There are so many *bites knuckles*-moments. I’m hyped for our first ever launch!

Also: Our stance on AI: No one asked, but we are saying it anyway! AI was not used for the creation of any of the stories or the art in this collection.

So. What happens after the end? We have no idea. The one thing we know for sure? There will still be Happily Ever Afters.

Until next time! Thank you for reading and supporting my words 💫