There’s a lot going on this month. Probably the biggest news is I have a planned release date for Renaissance (March 2nd). Hopefully I’ll have things ready to put it up for preorder next month, just around the solstice (in honor of Sam’s birthday). There’s also a secret project you’ll find out about then—be ready! I am hard at work to finish the covers for everything.

I went out and volunteered with the local Dems the other day, partly because they called and asked if I was free during a moment when I was feeling particularly helpless, and I want to recommend this to everyone. It’s everything I hate (leaving the house, talking to people), and yet the people who came to the door to talk to us were almost universally excited and had ideas and things to say. I hope the exercise of talking to someone about their hopes and fears was as fruitful for them as it was for me—something about meeting someone I have never met and nevertheless finding out we have a lot in common was very heartening. In Wisconsin, many elections turn on very small margins—Harris lost by less than 1% of the vote—so even knocking on a few doors can make a big difference. Wisconsin people can get involved here. People in other states might have luck with this, or look up your local groups.

(I wrote this before the Tuesday victory of so many amazing candidates in NYC, New Jersey, and Virginia among them. Following that victory, I think I believe in the power of volunteering like this more than I did before.)

Upcoming Appearances

I will be moderating a conversation with MA Wardell in honor of the release of his new book, Husband of the Year, at Tropes and Trifles in Minneapolis, MN, from 7–9pm on November 18th. I will also be signing books afterward if you like, and I promise to bring cool free stickers, so come by and say hello. Details and preorders for both of us are on the Tropes and Trifles website here: https://tropesandtrifles.com/events/3751820251118.

I created the following Venn diagram to explain how our works are similar enough to be read against each other for this event! Hope you all find it informative.

I will be selling books at the Scorpio Market in Madison, WI on November 23. It will be at the Tinsmith from 1pm-6pm. “Masks required, misfits welcome.” We will have the usual assortment of cool stuff: books, poetry tarot cards, felted crows and nazars, stickers and postcards. More info here.

In December, I’ll be at the Big Gay Market on December 20th from 10am-5pm. It’s being held at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison! Come by and pick up last-minute holiday presents! Get a tarot reading for $5! Enjoy lots of other vendors! I went to the Big Gay Halloween Market and had a great time—I bought some quartz skulls for , some ginger tea, and a print that my 8yo immediately took from me.

For those in the audience who are also writers and are looking for a chance to meet other writers, maybe hear some informative presentations about different aspects of the writing process, maybe have a little retreat from the comfort of your homes, I will be presenting at Wholehearted Writers Week in January. My topic is revision, which is really the heart of writing! This is sure to be a really great conference, and no matter where you are in your writing process I encourage you to come. Applications and additional information here.

Other Stuff

We put out a podcast episode in October! Episode 96, on Pope Joan. Hoping we will have more regular episodes in November as our schedules calm down.

Dionysus in Wisconsin will be 40% off on Kobo from November 7–17, so tell your friends.

Books I’ve Read Lately

Paladin’s Strength (cis M/F) and Paladin’s Hope (cis M/M), by T. Kingfisher. Both of these were delightful entries in the series that began with Paladin’s Grace. I think I liked Paladin’s Strength a little better—it chronicles the meeting of a paladin, who is investigating some of the murders that happened in the previous book, with a nun whose sisters were kidnapped. Their two investigations draw them in similar directions. In Paladin’s Hope, a paladin with really bad night terrors meets a pathologist (a lich doctor, in fantasy novel parlance), and they work together to solve a deadly puzzle.

An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the Sixties, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It’s hard not to hear about the way the Kennedy administration inspired people to get involved in public service and not also want to do something. It’s hard to hear clips of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, or Johnson’s “We Shall Overcome” speech and not feel moved. The audiobook had actual archival recordings sprinkled in, which was great. I cried a little, even though I knew what was going to happen. To be clear, DKG is a presidential historian, and keeps her focus squarely on the events she or her husband were part of in that decade. If you’re looking for a history that includes the Beatles, Woodstock, Stonewall…none of that is here. The moonshot is, because LBJ was involved. But it’s a great history nevertheless.

Husband of the Year (cis M/M), by MA Wardell. Wardell wrote Mistletoe and Mishigas, which was up for the Lammy last year against Dionysus in Wisconsin. I tried to read it at the time and wasn’t all that into it, probably because I’m not a Christmas book person. But I was asked to participate in an event for this book, and honestly, I liked it a lot more. It was more like a book-length epilogue for the two characters (who were introduced in a book I haven’t read). It’s very sweet with almost no angst. I honestly don’t think Wardell and I have a lot of overlap in terms of audience, but if you really want to see contemporary queer romances with Jewish characters, mental health rep, and elementary school teachers, you might enjoy this series.