The next chapter: October 2025 update

November 12, 2025 / Melanie Marttila / Leave a comment

My continuing adventures in caregiving. And buckle up, folks, this is an epic update (!)

Life in general

A picture of a cloudy sky above spruce trees.

It was October 2^nd, and I was cocooned (weighted blanket, weighted eye mask, ear plugs) and sleeping when my phone started ringing around 2 am. I roused and checked the number. No caller ID. From Utah? Who would be calling me from Utah? I ignored it. Then there was a second call.

Later, there were two more from a local number, again, without caller ID. Complex processor me was irritated and perplexed, but I didn’t clue in until my husband woke me up. Emergency services (ambulance and fire truck) were in the driveway (my mom lives next door to us).

The calls were from my mom’s Life Protect service.

When I got dressed and over to mom’s, she was still on the floor, having slipped trying to get out of bed for a midnight bathroom visit. Phil had let the paramedics in, and they got her up, brought her walker, got her to the bathroom and then back into bed. I stood watching and feeling intense shame for not answering my phone. The kind fireman, who probably would have had to break down my mom’s door if Phil hadn’t let them in, tried to reassure me that he would have done the same thing, but I felt judged.

Before they left, the EMTs recommended we get Mom a bed rail.

The rest of the night was sleepless.

The next day, I added both the Utah number, probably a call centre, and the local number, probably emergency services, to my contacts so I wouldn’t make the same mistake in the future. Phil called Silver Cross, who had helped Mom in the past with her walker and chair lift, about a bed rail. They’d have to call him back.

Mom was fine, though sore from her fall.

On Saturday, we had an appointment at the hairdresser, and she suggested that Mom get a keyless lock, so that, if I was away, she could give emergency services the code to get in. We discussed it over supper, and I realized that we needed to get some non-slip furniture pads for her bed feet too. She got rid of the carpet (then a tripping hazard) in her bedroom years ago and had laminate flooring installed. That meant that her bedframe could shift unexpectedly, even though we’d locked the wheels on it. It’s one thing I suspected may have contributed to the fall.

On Sunday, Phil installed the keypad lock. Monday, Silver Cross called and said they had the bed rail in stock, so he got the bed rail, and we installed it. All that was left were the non-slip furniture pads.

Phil found an old silicone cake pan and cut 4 squares. We ensured the wheels were locked and placed the silicone underneath. We both tested the bed for slippage. We thought things were good but waited on Mom’s report. It worked.

The final two weeks of October were a whirlwind.

Off to Can-Con for four days, back for three, then off again to a writing retreat, which was also the start of my LIA.

Good things, fun events, but still dysregulating because of the change to my daily rituals and habits, not sleeping in my own bed, being away from Phil and Torvi, etc.

While I was away in Ottawa, I noticed that my frenemy eczema decided to visit my left ring finger knuckle?! It inevitably pops up in weird places (e.g. my armpits … ?). FYI, it is incredibly difficult to keep the medicated cream on a knuckle.

Random awesomeness: I received a gift package from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA). I’m a member and attended their virtual AGM (an event I may have neglected to include … I attend a lot of them!). It was a lovely gift box including:

a dark craft chocolate bar with fleur de sel from The Organic House (delish – all gone – no notes)
pasticinni cookies from Bliss Gourmet Baked Goods (sandwich cookies made with shortbread wafers, buttercream filling, and topped with dark chocolate drizzle – OMG – def all gone)
dark hot chocolate with vegan marshmallows from Peace by Chocolate (love the hot chocolate, never was fond of marshmallows in same)
three sample packs of Cafézia Coffee (light, medium, and dark roast) with cleavers, hyssop, and yerba maté, which I am really enjoying
a can of organic lemon ginger iced tea from the Genuine Tea Co., which I haven’t tried yet (but I’ll let you know when I do)
a jar of cider blueberry reduction from Lupin Pantry, which Phil says he’ll try on chicken some night, and
a package of lemon sorbet cotton candy from flufforia, which I have also not tried yet.

It was like getting an early birthday present!

The month in writing

The second cutting pass on Reality Bomb continued. I’m down to about 116,500 words from 118,000. So progress, but I may have to settle for 115,000 as a goal. Not ideal. More than most publishers and agents would tolerate, even from a science fiction novel.

My review of Kate Blair’s We Bury Nothing came out in the October 1^st edition of The Seaboard Review of Books.

The cover of Kate Blair's We Bury Nothing.

I received my Access Copyright payback payment on the 9^th! It was a pleasant surprise.

My big writerly event of the month was Can-Con in Ottawa from October 17^th to 19^th. I was on two panels, “The Art of Rest” at 8 pm on Friday, October 17, and the second, “The Taste of Sadness: Writing Emotional Dysregulation” at 2:30 pm on Sunday, October 19.

I felt Can-Con deserved its own post.

On the 9^th, there was a meeting of the Wordstock Planning Committee. Though I wouldn’t be present for the festival this year, I wanted to support it as much as possible.

And on the 27^th, there was another meeting of the SF Canada Board. We wanted to get ahead of the holidays this year and prepare for a mid-December AGM.

Filling the well

The full falling leaves super moon in Aries was on the 6^th. As seems to be the usual here in Sudbury, it started raining after noon and continued into the night.

The new vine moon in Libra was on the 21^st.

And the month ended, as it always does, with my beloved Samhain on the 31^st.

As usual, no kids came. I even left the treats out on the stairs while I was at my BD dins at my mom’s. We had souvlaki, lemon potatoes, rice, Greek salad, and pita with tzatziki, and Phil got a small, salted caramel chocolate cake for ‘zert.

On the first, I attended an Access Copyright workshop on Generative AI and Strategic Considerations for Creators and Publishers. It was informative considering the Anthropic Settlement.

I signed up for another Tiffany Yates Martin webinar through Jane Friedman on the 8^th. Mastering Voice in Fiction was, as usual, excellent. Martin does a lot of textual analysis, which helps. Also, she often brings in fun peripheral examples.

On the 15^th there was another Canadian Authors Association and SF Canada webinar presented by Susan Forest. Book Bones was excellent, incorporating multiple story structures. Forest really knows her stuff!

Hole in the Sky: a conversation between Daniel H. Wilson and Nisi Shawl was on the 16^th. A fascinating conversation.

On the 22^nd was Enshittification and the Rot Economy: a conversation between Cory Doctorow and Ed Zitron. Another amazing and topical conversation.

Writing on the Rocks, a Wild Ground Writing Retreat was on the weekend of the 24^th to 26^th. Again, I thought the event was worthy of its own post.

I signed up for another Tiffany Yates Martin webinar through Jane Friedman on the 29^th. The Final Polish was different from her usual offerings. Editing is her wheelhouse, and she provided a lot of concrete examples of how to improve our manuscripts on the line level. There was still textual analysis, but it was applied with an eye to that final polish.

Finally, a friend, Murgatroyd Monaghan, offered a 6-week course, “Unmasking Through Our Writing,” on Thursdays from October 30^th through December 4^th. Of course I signed up for it!

After a summer off family gatherings to accommodate my mom-in-law’s move into my sister-in-law’s house, we got together for Thanksgiving. It was great to see how well my mom-in-law is doing now that she’s settled in. The food was fabulous, and it was wonderful catching up with everyone. We went home with enough leftovers for another meal as well as pumpkin and cherry pies. Of course, I was grateful to have the time to recover after. Even welcome social events drain me.

My next therapy session was on the 14^th, before all my writerly events and travel. We went through various relationships (spouse, friends, colleagues, family, etc.) and chatted about boundaries and whether the relationships in question fed me, drained me, and if the latter, whether it was a required/obligatory energy suck that I’d have to be aware of/account for.

I signed up for a PFLS information session on the new Canadian disability benefit on the 21^st. I don’t qualify, but it was an interesting info session.

Also on the 21^st, I had an appointment with my RMT. As ever, the calming reset I needed.

My support group met on the 22^nd. The topic this month was resilience, which I hope I’m developing.

And on the 24^th, my self-funded leave began!

Finally, on the 30^th, I took Torvi in for her now monthly “touch up” service. Back in August, she reacted poorly to the dryer, and the groomers could therefore no longer bathe her. They converted the rest of the grooming package I had purchased into a gift card. Baths will now be our responsibility. Fortunately, Torvi doesn’t get super dirty until the spring. I’m holding off as long as I can, because I expect she will show aggression to me, as well.

My poor trauma hound.

What I’m watching and reading

Phil and I watched Marvel Zombies (Disney +). This animated series picks up from the “What if … Zombies?!” episode. Kamala Kahn, Riri Williams, and Kate Bishop team up, but are soon tragically separated. Peter Parker recounts how T’Challa defeated zombie Thanos even though he had all the infinity stones. Zemo finally becomes baron … of the Raft. And all may not be what it seems in New Asgard … very fun, but also very dark. We either need another season, or answers in one of the next live action Marvel movies (a possibility, though not confirmed) because the series ends on a crazy cliffhanger.

I finally watched both seasons of Peacemaker (HBO/Crave). I’d avoided it when it first came out, because I didn’t like the character the The Suicide Squad. But eventually, I’d heard enough good about the series that I figured I’d give it a try. I watched the first season in anticipation of the second. And it’s very much an emotional journey for Chris Smith. We get to witness his wound—being forced to fight his brother by their abusive, white supremacist father and accidentally killing him—and how that experience and the need to prove himself to his father shapes him into the man who wants to “make peace, no matter how many people he has to kill to do it.” But a guy that a bald eagle (Eagly) hugs can’t be all bad …

In the first season, Chris, fresh out of a month-long rehabilitation following his apparent death in The Suicide Squad, is recruited to another ARGUS black-ops team seeking to eliminate an alien species, “the butterflies,” who take over peoples’ bodies, killing them in the process. While they defeat the butterflies, it’s belatedly revealed that they were trying to help humanity. Amanda Waller is exposed, and the team breaks up, though they still socialize because they are the definition of a crazy found family.

In the second season, the characters try to make their ways in the world. John Economos is the only one still employed by ARGUS. Emelia Harcourt has been black-listed and resorts to nightly fist fights to feel anything. Leota Adebayo has left her wife to start her own security consulting business, but no one wants to hire her. Adrian Chase/Vigilante carries on in his violent vigilante ways, and Chris can’t find work anywhere. Rick Flagg Sr. is now in charge of ARGUS and wants revenge on Chris (for killing Rick Flagg Jr. in The Suicide Squad), and Chris is in unrequited love with Emelia. In desperation, he enters the quantum unfolding chamber and stumbles into another world where his brother and father (whom he killed in the first season) are alive and are heroes together with his alternate self. Of course, the first thing that happens is that he fights and kills himself. And Eagly gets his own subplot! Honestly, Eagly’s my favourite character. Followed closely by Leota. She’s the heart of the 11^th Street Kids.

It’s a surprisingly heartfelt, if goofy and anime-level bloody, series.

But … if this is not only the second but also the last season of Peacemaker, I confess the finale was unsatisfying. Was it that James Gunn wrote Peacemaker season 2 in the same relatively short period of time during which he was also working on Creature Commandos season 1 and Superman? Was it a matter of too many ideas and not enough figurative time to do them all justice? I personally think that with another two (or possibly more) episodes, all the disparate events (e.g. Eagly’s subplot, love it as I did, could have been eliminated and not affected the main story arc, and what was that with Rick Flagg Sr. uncharacteristically sacrificing his people to explore the worlds in the QUC while laughing it up and doing coke with Lex Luthor’s minions?) could have been better linked and probably made more sense. I also understand that the final scene was not Gunn’s idea, so if it felt weird, there was a reason for it. I won’t spoil the series further, because it is worth watching. Enjoyed immensely, despite the finale-that-didn’t-feel-like-a-finale.

Next, I watched the first season of The PITT (HBO/Crave). Basically, ER meets 24. A shift in the life of a Pittsburgh ER staff with a new class of interns. A lovely, diverse group of doctors and nurses, including at least one neurodivergent character. Everyone got their moment and there was a lot of great character development despite all the medical drama. And drama there was! A mass shooting event at a concert floods the ER with patients. And the acting was superb.

I won’t spoil it, and Tom vander Linden doesn’t either, but I like his analysis of the season:

Then, I finished watching Washington Black (Disney +). This limited series was adapted from the novel of the same name by Esi Edugyan. George Washington “Wash” Black is born to a slave on a Barbadian plantation and is taken as an assistant to the plantation owner’s brother, Christpher “Tich” Wilde. In the process of their scientific investigations, Wash runs afoul of another of Tich’s brothers, who commits suicide, attempting to frame Wash for his murder. Tich flees with Wash and the two have adventures that ultimately result in Wash living in Nova Scotia under an assumed name, because bounty hunters are still after him. A fabulous, touching series told in interwoven timelines (Wash as a child and Wash as an adult) with an amazing ending. Loved! I’ll have to move the book higher up in my TBR pile.

Next, Phil and I watched the second season of Gen V (Prime). Marie escapes Elmira, leaving the rest of the gang behind. Andre pushes his powers too far in an escape attempt and dies (to account for actor Chance Perdomo’s death in a motorcycle accident, RIP). Eventually everyone, including Marie, who is given a mission by Starlight/Annie — discover what Project Odessa is and how to stop it — returns to Godolkin, where the new dean, Cipher, puts them all through extreme training to force their powers to evolve. There are a lot of ties to The Boys, and the ending of the season promises to have the whole gang teaming up with Annie, A-Train, and the resistance for the final season of the main series. There’s a lot more. This season of Gen V was tightly plotted, and they didn’t waste a minute on irrelevant … stuff. I mean, even the guy with a pocket universe in his ass came into play in the climactic scene. Bloody but excellent!

Then, I finished watching the first season of Dept. Q (Netflix). Detective Carl Morck was involved in a shooting that left his partner paralyzed and another officer dead. Now he’s been recruited to solve cold cases, and the first one is a missing prosecutor, Merritt Lingard. It’s a complex and layered series, dealing with Morck’s relationship with his son, PTSD from the shooting, therapy (which he is resistant to) and his antisocial behaviour and anger issues. Though he’s supposed to be working alone, he recruits his partner to help him recover (though Morck realizes he can’t go it alone). He is sent an assistant, Akram Salim, a Syrian police officer who is technically supposed to be a file clerk, but Morck recognizes Salim’s skill and invites him to work the case along with him. Finally, Rose Dickson, a young constable desperate to get out from behind the desk, insinuates herself into the growing team. They mystery is also a complex one and Morck is challenged to save Merritt Lingard before her abductors kill her. Another excellent series.

My first read of October was Like Water for Weary Souls by Liisa Kovala. This historical mystery was set in Sudbury, focusing on the Finnish community in 1932 and 1933, and addressed how the Great Depression affected Sudbury and how “Karelian Fever” affected the Finnish community specifically. Kovala also delved into classism and cultural othering as well as prostitution and women’s reproductive health at the time. Her novel was inspired by real events.

Hanna Kivi and her sister Esteri (Essi) move from their family farm in Wanup into the city. Both find work as domestics but can only afford to take rooms at Rouva Russa’s boarding house in the Donovan, which is also a brothel. When Hanna’s body is found frozen in Nolin Creek, Essi immediately suspects foul play. Hanna would never risk crossing the creek, not after their sister Martta drowned years earlier, but the police want to rule it an accident. Essi’s investigation takes her deep into the city’s underbelly. Was it Pekka Peltonen, the burly drunk Hanna was seen talking to? Was it Matti Korhonen, the Karelian recruiter Hanna was secretly working for? The more Essi learns, the more she worries she didn’t know her sister at all.

Then, I finished reading We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad. This book and its predecessor, Bunny, are considered dark academia books. I’ve been reading a lot of those, recently. R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis and Charlie Jane Anders’ Lessons in Magic and Disaster both fall into that sub-genre as well.

In Bunny, Samantha Heather Mackie enrolls in the prestigious MFA at New England’s Warren (there are two Warren colleges, one in California and the other in Tennessee, so Awad’s is fictional, and why wouldn’t it be?). She endures the mean girl bullying of the rest of her all-woman cohort until she is inexplicably invited to one of their “slut salons” during which the “Bunnies” take literary creation in a surreal direction, after which Sam goes down a hellish rabbit hole. All puns intended.

In We Love You, Bunny, which serves as both sequel and prequel, Sam has published her debut novel (which, it seems, is Bunny) and returns to Warren on her book tour. Her former cohort has returned as well and kidnaps her after her reading. They tie her up in Kyra, AKA Creepy Doll’s attic, where the aforementioned “slut salons” took place, and take turns holding the axe they used in their rituals to Sam’s neck while they recount their stories, effectively “revising” Sam’s.

Filled with unreliable narrators (really, is there any other kind?), all the snark you can stand (and then some), and even more surreal body horror than the first book, We Love You, Bunny is hilarious and horrific and eerily touching by turns. While it answers some questions raised in Bunny, is asks so many more that you’ll be asking along with several of the characters, “what is real?”

Next, I found a few more non-fiction titles that intrigued me and I listened to The Life and Works of L.M. Montgomery by Kate Scarth. This Great Courses/Audible Original collaboration walks through the life and literary influence of L.M. Montgomery in six lectures on family, place, friendship, creativity, and literature. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I have a confession: though I’ve seen the Megan Follows miniseries and Anne with an E, I’ve never read Anne of Green Gables (!)

So of course, my next read was Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Mongomery. It seems that the Megan Follows adaptation was faithful to the novel. A lovely story, with all the feels. Everyone should read it. Full stop.

Then, I listened to Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay. It is inspired by 15th century France and the Hundred Years’ War. It depicts versions of the figures Charles VI, Joan of Arc, and Henry V’s campaign in France culminating in the Battle of Agincourt, while the story focuses on the life and deeds of a tavern poet, inspired by François Villon. It is set in Ferrieres, Kay’s analogue of France.

Poet Thierry Villar is about to burgle a sanctuary to pay off a debt on a cold, winter night when the provost of Orane presses him into service as a spy to discover who killed the king’s brother, the Duke de Montereau. Villar’s investigations bring him to the attention of the king and queen of Ferrieres, poet Marina di Seressa, land him in prison, force him to exercise his atrophied skills as a lawyer, and to witness political and military machinations that change the world as he knows it. Villar serves as an everyman, swept up in grander schemes, but in the end, his words, written on the dark, fit the purposes of greater men and women. Justice is meted out, women and queer characters find their places in the world, and love is found and lost, as ever.

The epilogue ties several of the novel’s characters to events in others of his novels (A Brightness Long Ago and The Sarantine Mosaic). Excellent!

Next, I opted for another Great Courses/Audible Original selection, The Power and Persona of Catherine de’ Medici by William Landon. Catherine was seen as a political commodity for most of her childhood and several European royal families vied for her, but France won out. Stuck in a loveless, initially childless marriage, Catherine outlived her husband and all her male children. She was still the power behind the throne not only for her husband, but for the three of her sons who became king of France after him. Fascinating!

Then, I listened to The Downloaded 2: Ghosts in the Machine, by Robert J. Sawyer. The downloaded survivors of the nuclear disaster that left them stranded in The Downloaded have been working diligently to launch two new missions in light of the meteor about to strike Earth in an extinction-level event. The ex-convicts, led my Roscoe Kadoulian will be resettling on Mars, is a secondary colony on the opposite side of the planet from the main Martian colony. The astronauts, led by Captain Letitia Garvey, will upload to the quantum system again and head to Zeta Tucanae to complete their original exploratory mission. A fatal accident means that Roscoe must upload — something he’d sworn never to do again — as well. What he finds in the quantum system is both a miracle and the potential doom of every uploaded consciousness in the system. An excellent, suspenseful story.

Finally, I listened to Margaret Atwood: Modern Myth-Maker, by Jennifer Cognard-Black. In yet another Great Courses/Audible Original collaboration, Cognard-Black positions Atwood as an author who rewrites women’s myths with intention. While most of the short audiobook focuses on The Handmaid’s Tale, many of Atwood’s other works are referenced. Gave me thinky thoughts.

And that was the month in this writer’s life.

Until next month, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

The next chapter: A month in the writerly life. https://melaniemarttila.ca

I acknowledge with respect that I am in Robinson-Huron Treaty territory, that the land from which I write is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe and home of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and Wahnapitae First Nation.

The next chapter: September 2025 update

October 5, 2025 / Melanie Marttila / Leave a comment

Getting back into creative life with an in-person event!

A picture of a dusk sky with dark clouds and a tree silhouetted in the lower left corner.

Life in general

I overdid it, to be honest. Though I’d known about the reading since the end of July and had all the arrangements made for over a month, though I took the two days off so I would have time to drive down and back, though I tried to conserve spoons in the days leading up to my trip to London, I was still wiped afterward. And during, to be honest.

I was frazzled about missing a turn that would have allowed me to bypass Toronto altogether (Google Maps announced that it had lost GPS after Parry Sound). I was distressed about being late for the reading. I was frustrated by the traffic on the 401 that was consistently heavy all the way to London. I was further distressed because I was stuck waiting for a train to pass through London, mere blocks from the hotel because I wanted to check in before heading to Mykonos.

But once I arrived, the Apposite Poetry Series organiser, Roméo, was wonderful and calming and had a cigarette with me before we went in (yes, I’m still smoking). The intimate group was welcoming and supportive and did much to reassure me that my being late was not the disaster I’d convinced myself it was. I listened to some fabulous poetry and fiction excerpts. I found the mic’s sweet spot and rocked my reading. I read from The Art of Floating and shared some of my autistic series. I sold two books and traded two more.

I had a nice, light supper of Greek salad and tzatziki with pita and went back to the hotel to relax. But my brain was in overdrive, and it was a long time before I could get to sleep.

Took an easy morning, had a swim and hot tub, showered, packed, and checked out early so I could meet with a friend before I was on the road again.

The journey home was uneventful, but a burrito I nabbed on the way home may have resulted in food poisoning. I was up vomiting Thursday night and took a sick day Friday.

Though I rested all weekend, I was still dysregulated come Sunday. It was a big week. I should have planned better, but I didn’t have enough leave to take more days off.

I unpacked the trip with my therapist (see below).

The following week at work was rough, complicated by a disappointing visit to the optometrist—the only way to fix the problem with my lenses was to get new ones—and someone sideswiping me and then disappearing on my way home.

Good things came out of the week too, though. I submitted my report, funding request form, and travel claim to the League of Canadian Poets and gratefully received my funding the following week. I responded to an expression of interest to join a new team. And I had an interesting discussion with my team lead about diverting to another project leading up to my next leave with income averaging.

Things were very much changing in a positive direction.

The new project was interesting, though I think that it may be more than I can do between now and the end of October. We’ll see how things play out.

Thing that made me happy: A lovely garter snake serpentined its way across my path on a dog walk. Torvi didn’t notice, which is weird. Normally she leaps after every bird, chipmunk, squirrel, rabbit … etc. she sees. Guess she (the snake) was a gift just for me.

Random thing: A pileated woodpecker crashed into my mom’s picture window while I was visiting her. He was stunned and I was concerned, even called a local wildlife rescue, but after a few minutes, he lifted his head, though he was still sprawled on the driveway. After another ten minutes, he tucked in his wings and got his feet under him. Another ten and he flew away. A good ending to what could have been a sad story.

More things that brought me joy:

The month in writing

I started my second cutting pass of Reality Bomb. Just another 8,000 words …

On the 3^rd, I was advised of the programming for this year’s Can-Con. I’ll be in two panels! The first will be “The Art of Rest” at 8 pm on Friday, October 17, and the second is “The Taste of Sadness: Writing Emotional Dysregulation” at 2:30 pm on Sunday, October 19. Whee! Much excite!

On the 8^th, my review of Thyme Travellers was published in The Seaboard Review.

The cover of Thyme Travellers, edited by Sonia Sulaiman.

My big event of the month was the Apposite Poetry Series open mic on September 10^th. I took the 10^th and 11^th off work, travelled down on the 10^th, checked into my hotel, and made my way to the venue only a little late.

Enjoyed a light supper while I listened to some lovely poems and novel excerpts. Then, I read from The Art of Floating and shared a few poems from my autistic series. After a second round of the open mic, I was happy to sell a couple and trade a couple more copies of my collection.

London has a fabulous literary community, and I was pleased to be among them!

After the reading, I returned to the hotel for a relaxing evening. In the morning, I went for a swim and met a friend for a croffle (croissant waffle with Nutella and bananas) breakfast at a lovely Filipino café called Happiness, before taking my time driving home, returning the rental car, and, again, relaxing.

I have discovered the caramel toffee cold brew with espresso foam from Tim Hortons, and my life has changed forever (!)

Last month’s bit of vague-booking can now be revealed! My poem “Vasilisa,” originally published in Polar Borealis 30, will be included in Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction Volume 3! The first two volumes were Aurora Award winners, and the rest of the TOC is indeed the best of the best. So, so honoured to be in such illustrious company!

On the 22^nd, my review of Birch and Jay by Allister Thompson was published in The Seaboard Review.

The cover of Birch and Jay by Allister Thompson.

The author reached out to me on Instagram and said I really “got” what he was trying to do with the novel. It’s so gratifying to know that my review made a difference. I sincerely hope it helps bring more readers to the book.

The Wordstock AGM was on the 29^th at the Main Branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library. The lineup was announced and I’m so sad I’ll miss it (it’s the same weekend as my writing retreat).

Also on the 29^th was our regular, quarterly board meeting for SF Canada, where we, once again, made decisions and got shit done. It was a big day for writerly business.

Filling the well

The full changing colours moon in Pisces was on the 7^th. It was also a lunar eclipse, but not visible in the Americas. Caught the Time and Date replay and did a guided breathwork plus visualization meditation.

The new hazel moon in Virgo was on the 21^st. And there was a partial solar eclipse, again not visible in North America. Time and Date to the rescue. I celebrated with a grounding guided meditation.

And fall arrived on the 22^nd. Rainy day here in Sudbury. Did the altar thing, switched over to fall scents, and brought out the fall door décor.

I’ve started signing up for some online coworking sessions through a couple of groups I’m a part of. It’s nice to have someone, or a group of someones, to body double. It’s motivating and gentle. Demand-free.

On the 9^th, I attended “The future belongs to indie authors: How to stand out in the era of AI” with Kern Carter. Though I know myself well enough that I will probably not be self-publishing anything, it was an interesting session and fed my learning mutt’s appetite.

I signed up for the “Waning Moon Writing Workshop” with Catherine LaSota on the 15^th. It was a lovely, witchy session.

The CAA and SF Canada webinar series on the 17^th was presented by Dr. Melissa Yuan-Innes. “Medical Errors 101” was wonderful! A lot of great insights from a real doctor. Verra cool.

I inadvertently double-booked the 18^th. Fortunately, the webinars followed one another. The first was “Introduction to Structural Editing” presented by Editors Canada. Molly was excellent!

The second workshop on the 18^th was the first session of “Beyond Worldbuilding” with Kate Maruyama, a 2-part Clarion West workshop. The second session was on the 25^th. Maruyama’s approach is a little different from some others I’ve encountered. Everything starts with the characters and spirals outward from there. Very good!

I had an orthotics checkup on the 2^nd. All was well, but my running shoes are starting to wear unevenly. I’ll be getting a new pair for winter and learned that I can donate my “gently used” shoes to my pedorthist to pass along to people who don’t have shoes. I was getting distressed by having to throw out my old shoes. I go through about a pair (or more) a year (!) This is a great solution.

On the 3^rd, I had a phone appointment with my doctor to get a note in support of my accommodation request to continue to work from home. And now that has been settled until the end of fiscal (Mach 31, 2026). It’s a relief.

My next therapy session was on the 15^th. I processed my crazy week, and we talked about the effective deployment of spoons.

My support group resumed after summer break on the 24^th. The topic was life transitions and major changes.

What I’m watching and reading

My first watch of the month was a movie: The Thursday Murder Club (Netflix). Great performances from a fabulous cast and a clever dual mystery. Red herrings abound, and the solve is a satisfying surprise. Very recommend (and no, that’s not a typo).

Then, Phil and I finished watching season 2 of Wednesday (Netflix). I think I liked it better than the first season. Wednesday loses her precognitive abilities and gets a new spirit guide. Aadams family secrets are revealed (and make sense of seemingly senseless events). Wednesday and Enid have friendship growing pains (mostly because Wednesday’s keeping secrets of her own) and Wednesday gets a(nother) stalker. There’s a breakout from the asylum Tyler (the hyde) is being treated. And there are more (moar!) hydes in the world. Grandmama makes a grand entrance. The new principal is evil! Wednesday almost dies twice (to her immense joy). And the new (and some returning) guest stars and cameos are, well, stellar. It was a lot of fun.

Next, I watch The Old Guard 2 (Netflix). In the first film, Andy (Andromache) lost her immortality after finding Nile, the first new immortal to be found in a long time but decided to continue her mercenary missions with the other immortals in her crew. The sequel starts with the recovery of an iron maiden from the depths of the ocean in which Quỳnh, another immortal, has been trapped for centuries. Discord, the first immortal uses Quỳnh to lure Andy, and more importantly Nile, into her clutches. Nile is the last immortal and can stop the healing abilities of other immortals if she wounds them, and Discord wants to use Nile to regain her lost immortality. The movie ends with all the immortals but Andy and Quỳnh abducted by Discord, Andy regaining her immortality and Quỳnh losing hers, and the two of them heading off to rescue the rest of the immortals from Discord. Great fight scenes. An entertaining sequel.

I finished watching the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (CTV Scifi). It was fun. The final two episodes were heart wrenching. I may have shed a tear at the finale. There was a lot of nostalgic fan service, but there was something bothering me about this third season.

Allow me to elucidate.

In the second season, Una was put on trial for being a member of a genetically engineered species and hiding it from Starfleet. It was an interesting episode that explored Starfleet’s unjust discrimination and Una’s personhood and right to remain in Starfleet. In contrast, this season engaged in a lot of biological essentialism (the idea that biology is destiny), pigeonholing the Gorn as monsters (until the penultimate episode), the Vezda as pure evil, Vulcans as purely logical and unable to lie (even though this is shown to be culturally, but not genetically, true in canon), and Battel, due to becoming a hybrid human/Gorn/Illyrian as the perfect warrior to defeat the Vezda. There is also a lot of juvenile relationship drama, all of it heteronormative. Like I said off the top, I enjoyed the season (and I’m still in love with the modulated theme—so hopeful!), but it has problems, particularly when you think of what Star Trek as a whole has represented over the years. Diversity! Acceptance! A fictional space to wrestle with current issues! Yes, ST: SNW is a prequel series, and Starfleet may not be as utopian/enlightened as it is in other, chronologically later series, but there’s room to be relevant to the times we live in. Even TOS did that.

The recent merge with Skydance may have an influence, but much of season three would have been written/shot/produced before that happened. Unless internal rumours heralded the change.

If you want to explore this topic further, I’ll direct you to Jessie Gender After Dark (she can get a bit ranty, but I agree with her desire for ST to do more/better) and Reactor’s articles on ST: SNW.

Then, I finished watching The Hardy Boys, seasons 2 and 3 (Disney +). I had watched season 1 years ago on Netflix, but then it disappeared. When it showed up on Disney +, I decided to catch up. It’s a bit wild.

In the first season, Frank and Joe are embroiled in a series of mysteries that all eventually lead back to their own family and a secret society called the Circle. They find an artefact called the Eye and the resolution to the main mystery lands their grandmother in prison.

Over the course of season two, Frank, having absorbed the power of the Eye, has a series of visions of the past and his great-grandfather, which lead him and Joe to discovering a crystal, another artefact related to the Eye. This complicates the group’s search for a missing classmate, whose recovery reveals a sinister plot called Project Midnight involving a machine that can send people’s consciousnesses into the crystal. Frank is kidnapped by Adrian Munder, who intends to rescue his brother, who is trapped in the crystal, and transfer his consciousness into Frank’s body, trapping Frank in the crystal. Though Joe and the gang rush to the rescue, they are unaware that the Hardy boys’ great-grandfather George was also trapped in the crystal and now inhabits Frank’s body.

Season three involves a hunt for yet another artefact called the Core, tied to the crystal and the Eye. Before long, Joe realizes that Frank is not himself and recruits the gang to break into Project Midnight and get Frank’s consciousness back in his body. The plot then pulls a 180, introducing a new villain with a plot to use the crystal, Eye, and the Core to plunge the world into VR, ostensibly to save it from climate change and other manmade disasters (whaa?!). Eventually, Frank and Joe share the power of the Eye with the world to stop the simulation.

Like I said, it was wild.

Phil and I watched season three of Foundation (Apple TV +), which keeps getting better and better. Gael has used cryosleep to extend her life and is hurtling toward the next crisis for the Foundation—the Mule, a powerful psychic who has the power to destroy both the Foundation and Empire. The Second Foundation is thriving, but no one outside of the community knows of its existence. The current Dusk basically destroys Empire, including Damerzel, their illicit robot, and decides to rule alone as Darkness. There’s a lot more, but this is a series that I’ll encourage you to watch. It’s fabulous!

Then, I joined a Zoom watch party for Superman (2025). The conflict between Jarhanpur and Boravia seems to be a direct commentary on various current atrocities, most notably Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Krypto is an adorable doggo thug. Guy Gardner/Green Lantern is an unrepentant asshole. I wish they’d given Hawkgirl more to do. Mr. Terrific is just that. And Superman himself? Human to the core and so compassionate he tries to save everyone, even dogs and squirrels, even the kaiju Lex Luthor unleashes on Metropolis. As for Lex, he’s SO over the top. Despite the intellectual differences, he seems to be an analog for a certain despot-in-office. And the supporting cast is awesome too. Loved it!

I’ve seen a bunch of great commentary about the new Superman online, but I’ll direct you to Princess Weekes’ video on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS2k5ah8WNg It’s full of thinky thoughts.

My first listen of the month was The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown. Our wild robot, Roz is refurbished and sent to work on a farm. As she is wont to do, Roz loves her human family and the dairy cows she tends, but she misses Brightbill and all her animal friends on the island. She doesn’t belong in the human world and when Brightbill and his flock of geese come to visit, the children see her talking to them. They realize all the stories Roz has been telling them are true and decide to help her escape. Another lovely, lovely book.

Then, I read Charlie Jane Anders’ Lessons in Magic and Disaster. Jamie, a trans academic and witch, is trying to finish her PhD, but her mother Serena has never recovered from the death of her partner years ago. In an attempt to bring her mother out of her depression and isolation, Jamie teaches her about magic, but Serena misuses it, to disastrous results (hence the title). It’s a story about love and redemption. Every character is complex and layered. No one is completely innocent, and no one is completely horrible, either. And the ending is equally complex. So sad and yet satisfying! I loved this book SO HARD!

Many of the 18^th Century authors Anders cites as part of Jamie’s research are, in fact, actual authors (though the book, Emily, and the annotated manuscript that becomes the key to Jamie’s dissertation are invented). She’s written about her influences for the novel on her newsletter Happy Dancing. I’ll invite you to subscribe and peruse her archives.

Next, I finally read Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife. I’ve seen both the movie adaptation and the one season of the cancelled series. The book is so much better and so much more devastating than either. And that’s all I’ll say about this book. LOVED!

Then, I finished Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Grace was attacked by wolves when she was 11. Now 17, she watches the woods, not in fear, but in longing. There has always been one wolf Grace thinks of as her wolf. But when a boy from her school, Jack, disappears and is suspected to have been killed by wolves, it results in a frenzied hunt by the men of Mercy Falls. Grace’s wolf is shot and turns into a human boy in her arms. Sam is the werewolf who saved Grace when she was 11 and the two share a deep connection that defies the fear and hatred of both humans and wolves.

I finished reading R. F. Kuang’s Katabasis. In classical mythology, katabasis is a descent into the underworld, like Orpheus and Euridice, Persephone, or Dante’s Inferno. In fact, these works are references to the magickal scholars in Katabasis. Alice Law believes she made a mistake that caused the death of her doctoral advisor Jacob Grimes and decides to make the journey to hell to recover his soul for the sake of her academic career. As she is preparing, Peter Murdoch, a fellow Grimes advisee and Alice’s academic rival, discovers what she’s doing and offers to go with her. Like Inanna’s journey into the underworld, Alice and Peter slowly have everything stripped away from them as they traverse the courts of hell. When all their secrets are laid bare, Alice must come to terms with what she really came to hell to do, and whether she really wants to do it anymore. Another amazing read!

And that was the month in this writer’s life.

Until next month, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

The next chapter: June 2025 update

July 6, 2025 / Melanie Marttila

My ongoing burnout journey and the desire for definitive change.

This is a loooong post (mostly because of the media I consumed). You have been warned.

Life in general

I held off writing anything in this section until mid-June because not much was happening. I was trying to regulate and improve my sleep hygiene and just feel my feelings.

I thought that my seasonal allergies had peaked on June 1^st, but after a few days of feeling okay, forest fire smoke encroached, and my sinuses started socking in. I’ve been fighting off the sinusitis again. This has meant that my sleep has suffered. So, my rest has not been restful.

My main revelation in June was that I have been experiencing my emotions, but due to various stresses, I’ve been ignoring them. Alexithymia and proprioception issues predominate when my sympathetic nervous system is engaged, and mine has been for much of the past two years.

I’ve been people pleasing too much and need to let others manage their own emotions and their own work. Moving into caregiver territory with my mom means that can be complicated, because there are some forms of emotional (and other) labour I need to take on, but I can take a step back and ask myself if a particular task is something I absolutely must do.

I got an interim medical note at the beginning of the month but, as of the end of the month approached, I was still waiting on the formal medical to be completed and returned. I called the week after my phone appointment with my doctor and was told that I would be called when the medical was ready for pick up. On the 25^th, I called again, and the receptionist advised that the form had been completed on the 5^th (!) and that I would have been called. No one called me. I checked my call log. So, I went in and picked it up and tried not to have a complete meltdown.

Something else I noticed when I logged on to submit my note to my team lead and manager was that deductions for last year’s leave with income averaging continued to be deducted from my pay. The deductions started one or two pays before I went on my leave and should have stopped. I wasn’t in any rush to fix this as I wasn’t suffering financially, and the longer I let things go, the more money I’d get back when the issue was fixed.

My work laptop was also due for replacement. That, too, I was in no rush to deal with.

With the solstice, the heat arrived. We went from relatively mild spring weather to full on heatwave. With only a portable AC unit for the bedroom, all we could do was close all the windows in the house during the day, set the furnace fan to circulate, and turn on every ceiling fan in the house. Still, it was sweat-while-you’re-sitting weather. Enter heat edema and rashes.

We got a lovely respite toward the end of the month before the heat began to ramp up again.

The month in writing

My cutting pass of Reality Bomb continued. Around mid-month, I passed -1,000 words. By month’s end, I’d managed -1,444 words. I have a feeling (a hope?) that there will be much more cutting in the second half of the novel.

I also finished reading a few review books and started on their reviews. I decided that I’d finish the reviews before getting back to RB. Of course, I wrote short reviews for my What I’m watching and reading section, but I hope to place longer reviews in journals.

I also started writing a creative non-fiction piece, wrote another poem, and made a couple of poetry submissions.

In writing business, I attended the Wordstock Special Virtual meeting on the 4^th. This was the festival in jeopardy I mentioned last month. The membership voted to save the organization and rebuild the festival, but whether a festival will happen this year is up in the air. Though a call for volunteers went out, I was not able to contribute.

The Canadian Authors Association annual general meeting (AGM) was on the 21^st. Everyone is feeling the impact of funding cuts and memberships are demanding in-person events that may be beyond their organization’s capacity.

The League of Canadian Poets AGM was on the 24^th. More of the same, but in this case, the membership voted in favour of an in-person event with hybrid options in 2027. We’ll see how things go.

And the SF Canada Board had an ad-hoc meeting on the 30^th to clear up some bits and bobs.

Filling the well

The full strawberry moon in Sagittarius was on the 11^th. I took some lovely pics leading up to the full. The forest fire smoke really made the moon look pink.

Speaking of strawberries …

Summer arrived on the 20^th. Did my altar thing, switched over my seasonal scents, and generally tried to focus on recovery.

The new hawthorn moon in Cancer was on the 25^th. Overcast skies meant pics were hard to come by, though I got a couple, later in the month.

In writing-related events, the monthly virtual TWUC Ontario Open Mic was on the 10^th. I was happy to sit in and listen to some fellow members read from their work.

On Friday the 13^th, I watched an Authors Publish webinar with Cat Rambo, “How to Write Captivating Side Characters.” Cat’s always a fun and informative presenter.

I attended the Canadian Authors Association and SF Canada webinar Playing the Short Game with Douglas Smith. I’m not a prolific short fiction writer, but the information was excellent.

There was another Authors Publish webinar on the 25^th. Erin Swann presented “How to Create and Maintain Authentic Connections with Your Readers.” It was principally about showing and telling, which is something I still struggle with.

And, on a whim, I signed up for a two-part webinar from Free Expressions. The first session of “Tricking your brain into plotting” with Janice Hardy was on the 26^th. Hardy introduced cause and effect question chains, idea baiting, conflict loops, flaw mining, and moral mirrors. In July, we’ll delve deeper into the techniques. I think I’ll like these techniques in action as a pantser/plantser.

I had a phone appointment with my doctor on the 4^th and got an interim medical note for my leave as well as a referral for therapy. I have a feeling I’ll still need support after my sessions through EAP run out.

I had an appointment with my RMT on the 11^th. Though I still reached rest and digest mode, I was in pain for weeks afterward. I’ve been holding a lot of tension in my body.

My next appointment with my EAP therapist was on the 16^th. This time, my assignment was nervous system regulation, specifically stim toys. I’m not eager to go shopping. It’s exhausting. But I have found an old necklace that works as a stim toy. I’ll see what I can figure out on my own before I spend money.

I booked Torvi for her next Furminator on the 19^th. With the hot weather, her shedding was in overdrive, and she was shaggy pants doggo.

I attended another in the PFLS sleep series webinars on the 24^th. This one was about daylight saving time, its myths and health risks. It was a good session with lots of research on the harmful effects of DST. Unfortunately, politicians do not want to stop DST because of business and shipping issues.

My support group met on the 25^th and the topic this month was work life balance, another thing I struggle with.

What I’m watching and reading

During my leave, I’ve been indulging in movies. Brace yourselves. There are a lot of them!

I watched Captain America: Brave New World (Disney +). It wasn’t a bad movie. It wasn’t even a bad Marval movie, but Harrison Ford’s President Ross/Red Hulk stole some of the attention away from Sam and Isaiah’s stories. Joaquin Torres, the new Falcon, was sidelined partway through the movie, and though there were some solid fight scenes, the climactic moment is a quiet one and therefore … anticlimactic. I was also a little put off by the decision to rewrite Sabra, who was an Israeli agent in the comics, as a former widow. There were other changes to casting and scripting that resulted in a movie that, in my opinion, felt scattered. If you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.

Then, I watched Moana 2 (Disney +). The “I want” song, “To Go Beyond,” made me weepy, which made me happy, because it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that. And the story was lovely. Moana is made a tautai, or master wayfinder, and she receives a vision from her ancestor tautai Vasa that she must find the island of Motufetu and restore the ocean currents to reunite all the island peoples, because alone, Moana’s people will die. So, Moana embarks of a risky adventure. It’s all about persistence and the power of community. Enjoyed immensely.

Then, I watched Dead Like Me: Life after Death (Prime). Phil and I had watched and enjoyed the series in the way back and I knew the movie existed, but I hadn’t actually watched it until now. In the opening scene, George and the other reapers stand outside Der Waffle Haus as it burns. Soon, they are summoned by their new head reaper, Cameron, who tells them that Rube finally “got his lights.” George suspect there’s something wrong when she can’t reap her first assignment. Chaos ensues. A fun bit of nostalgia.

I watched the documentary Brats (Disney +). Andrew McCarthy, seeking some meaning or closure decades after the “Brat Pack” achieved notoriety, interviews many of the members of, and actors peripheral to, the pack. McCarthy and Emilio Estevez still share resentment about being called brats that even an interview with David Blum, the entertainment journalist who coined the term Brat Pack couldn’t dispel. Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, and Lea Thompson are more measured in their responses, as are Timothy Hutton and Jon Cryer, all of whom have had successes beyond the Brat Pack era. It’s Rob Lowe who sheds the most light on the issue and provides a positive spin. They were the new wave of cinema and informed many of the movies in following decades. The documentary ends with McCarthy finally getting a call back from Judd Nelson, paying off the running gag throughout the film that Nelson was purposely making himself unavailable. Nelson never appears. A thought-provoking and nostalgic film.

Next, I finished watching Beef (Netflix). Two characters enter each others’ orbits through an incident of road rage. A massive number of poor decisions on both their parts ends with one of them shot and in intensive care in the hospital and the other recovering by his side. Maybe life goes on?

Then, I watched The Residence (Netflix). This little gem is Knives Out meets Scandal meets The Extraordinary Birder. The Head Usher of the White House is murdered, and Cordelia Cupp, the world’s best detective and avid birder, is brought in to find out whodunnit. In a second timeline, a future congress hearing tries to get to the root of the mystery. There are loads of red herrings, but all the clues are presented as each suspect is investigated. The final meeting in which Cupp unveils the murderer is a bit unusual in that Cupp announces that she has no idea who the culprit is, but as she works through the events of the night of the murder, she zeroes in on the guilty party. Very entertaining. I hope they continue the series.

I watched They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix). This movie is classified as an SF comedy mystery. I’d replace mystery with horror myself. Fontaine is a drug dealer and is shot by a rival while collecting payment from client, friend, and pimp, Slick. When Fontaine shows up the next day looking for his payment, Slick and one of his girls, YoYo, know something’s wrong. Together, the three uncover a secret underground compound that reminds me of the facility in Supacell (which came out a year later), where experiments are being conducted on clearly unwilling Black subjects. The reveal of the purpose of this secret project is combined with an interesting twist that speaks to internalized racism. The ending promises that the trio’s adventures will continue.

I checked out the live action remake of Snow White (Disney +). Everyone should know the story, so I’m not worrying about spoilers. There were a few new songs that I wasn’t sure were needed, though Gal Godot isn’t horrible (?) as the evil queen, and they changed up the story. Instead of a prince, we have Jonathan, a Robin Hood-esque leader of a band of freedom fighters. There is a little more attention paid to the dwarves, which I liked, and Snow has more agency. She confronts the evil queen/stepmother, who ends up being consumed by her own magic mirror. Apples are more symbolically present as well, as a symbol of the healthy, happy, communal kingdom, as well as the evil queen’s assassination method.

Then, I watched Okja (Netflix). Oh, my god, y’all. It was devastating. Yes, it’s another Bong Joon Ho jam and has his signature surreal social commentary. Tilda Swinton (in her dual role as twins) and Jake Gyllenhaal chew up every scene they’re in, but damn this one’s sad.

Lucy Mirando becomes CEO of the Mirando Corp and presents herself as an environmentalist. 26 “super pigs”—a genetically engineered species that looks like a hippo—have been placed with farmers around the world. They consume less, produce less greenhouse gas, and, as Mirando says, they taste good. At maturity, the best super pig will be selected, and then . . . the livestock will go into production.

Mija has raised Okja from a piglet in South Korea. When Dr. Johnny Wilcox declares Okja the best super pig, the Mirando team ship her to Seoul (en route to New York). A heartbroken Mija follows. As Mija finds the truck Okja is in and dangles from the back of it, a group of animal liberation front (ALF) activists free Okja. They replace the black box that has recorded Okja’s biological data with a recording device and intend to send her back to Mirando to record the atrocities committed against the super pigs after which they will break her out again. Mija wants to go back to the mountains with Okja, but the ALF translator says she agrees. A note here: the ALF members are little better than Mirando and are totally complicit in what happens to Okja and the other super pigs.

Things go horribly wrong for Okja after that and though Mija manages to save Okja in the end, hundreds of other super pigs are still sent to processing. An excellent movie but brace yourselves.

Next, I finished watching the first season of Super Team Canada (Crave). This silly and self-deprecating (i.e., thoroughly Canadian) animated series from Atomic Cartoons is … okay? I wanted to check it out because of the voice talent—Cobie Smulders, Will Arnett, and Kevin McDonald, in particular. Also, Bryan Adams wrote the theme song.

I didn’t appreciate the animation style, and the team itself caters to stereotypes. Niagara Falls (Smulders) controls water and is an environmental crusader. Breakaway (Arnett) is a hometown hockey player with explosive pucks. Chinook is an Inuit hero who generates ice. Her shamanic aunties make appearances. Poutine … blasts his namesake and is obsessed with sex/himself. Ew? RCM-PC is a robotic mailbox. Sasquatchewan is their tank. And the PM (McDonald) looks like John A. McDonald and presents as a harried white-collar worker. The stories are nonsensical (I know that’s the point).

It feels like this series was thrown together last year when it became apparent that Trump was going to win again, even though the President looks like Bush (Jr). Essentially, the team can’t work together and lucks out more often than not. A solid meh.

As a departure from the heartbreak of Okja, my next movie was Renfield (Netflix). I knew it would be total camp and that’s what I was looking for. Robert Montague Renfield is Dracula’s familiar (read bug-eater) and in the modern day, he’s still tasked with finding his master victims. In search of people no one will miss, Renfield attends a support group for people in codependent and abusive relationships and grabs horrible people for his master. One of these missions goes horribly wrong when a mob executioner comes to kill one of Renfield’s chosen victims. Renfield ends up killing the executioner and gets entangled in the ensuing police investigation. Of course, Renfield also takes the advice of his support group and tries to escape his abusive relationship while the mob boss encounters Dracula and makes a deal with the vampire. Light and fun. Totally illogical climax and denouement, but it was the palate cleanser I needed.

Then, I finished the full run of Legion (Disney +). Because David Haller (Legion) is the son of Charles Xavier and an omega-level mutant, this series constantly asks you to question reality and rationality. Is what you’re seeing in David’s head, the astral plane, or is it the real (and surreal) world? Is David a powerful mutant or is he truly mentally ill? Maybe he’s both.

David is adopted and when his powers manifest, he’s diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized. Years later, he escapes with the help of another inmate (Sydney) who can switch consciousnesses with anyone she touches. David and Syd are picked up by Summerland operatives and eventually, it becomes apparent that David has a dark passenger, Amahl Farouk, the Shadow King, who has been manipulating him throughout his life. Dark and often confusing, Legion nonetheless has a compelling story. David is an (extremely) unreliable narrator and does some truly despicable things during his journey. Thought-provoking.

Next, I watched Argylle (Apple TV +). This fun but over-the-top spy comedy was directed by Matthew Vaughan of Kingsman fame. Having watched all three Kingsman movies (The Secret Service was fun, The Golden Circle too convoluted to be truly enjoyable, and the third, The King’s Man, such a departure in tone from the previous two I wasn’t sure what to make of it), I was expecting wacky. What I got was a movie that overwhelmed my ability to suspend my disbelief. I’mma just spoil it. It won’t affect your viewing if you still want to watch it.

Elly Conway is a spy thriller novelist who’s trying to finish her latest novel. After her mother offers a critique, she finds herself blocked. On the train to visit her mother, Elly is attacked and then saved by Aiden Wilde, an actual spy. Wilde tells Elly that her books reflect real events and that she must finish her novel to help Wilde and his superior, Alfie (also the name of Elly’s Scottish fold cat who experiences some serious abuse in the movie) take down the bad guys. When they reach Alfie (the spy, not the cat), he reveals that Elly is agent R. Kylle (which she transformed into Argylle) and that she is the spy she’s been writing about the whole time (the whole time!).

Things get surreal from there. Elly’s parents aren’t her parents! She remembers who she is! Elly’s one of the bad guys! But no, she’s not; she was just acting! Then she’s triggered ala Winter Soldier! It culminates in this LSD-fuelled final battle in which agents Kylle and Wilde dance/fight amid multi-coloured smoke bombs and then Elly drives knives into her boot soles, skates on spilled oil, and stabs the rest of the baddies. At the very end, as Elly is launching her final Argylle novel, the “real” Argylle identifies himself in the audience. A mid-credit scene shows a young Argylle to be one of the Kingsmen.

Wha?

I also decided to keep up with my reading while I was off and so there are a lot of books I read in June! Sorry, not sorry!

I read Swordheart by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon). The more T. Kingfisher books I read, the more I want to read. Halla is a widow who’s become housekeeper for her uncle-by-marriage. When he dies and leaves everything to her, the rest of his family imprisons Halla until she agrees to marry a sweaty-palmed cousin, after which Halla is certain they will kill her to get her inheritance themselves. In desperation, Halla determines to un-alive herself so that her remaining blood relatives might benefit from the inheritance, but when she draws a sword to do the deed, Sarkis, the immortal warrior bound to the sword and whomever wields it, appears.

Halla is adorable and babbles in a very ND manner. Sarkis is largely confused but determined to do his best. As with other Kingfisher novels, they end up saving each other. LOVED!

Then, I listened to Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff. This is the first book in the Keeper Chronicles, the third of which I read a year or so ago. Keeper Claire Hansen is summoned to the Elysian Fields Guesthouse where the owner absconds and leaves her holding the deed, and the responsibility for a portal to hell in the furnace room, a sleeping keeper-gone-evil, the ghost of a French sailor, and an elevator that takes its passengers to other worlds. Will Claire, her cat Austin, and the guesthouse’s cook Dean be able to sort it all out before Claire is permanently bound to the site? Claire’s sister and Mom make appearances as well. A lovely start to an enjoyable series.

I finished reading Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed. Described as Lovecraft Country meets All the Birds in the Sky, this novel combines cosmic horror with the story of two childhood friends who may (or may not) love one another as they travel the world to stop Them from breaking through. Sounds improbable you say? It does, until you realize that one of the two teen protagonists is a wunderkind who has single-handedly cured disease, helped stop plastic pollution and runaway climate change, and practically put an end to poverty. Johnny (Joanna) is all that and a bag of chips, but she’s got secrets. When her latest invention, a functioning fusion reactor that promises to provide the world’s energy needs, “calls” to Them, Johnny destroys her invention and all its blueprints, sends her friend Nick’s family into hiding, and sets off on a journey with Nick to close the gate between this world and Theirs.

As Johnny’s secrets come to light, Nick questions everything and must confront the person he thought was his best friend. Even victory is a tragedy in this one, folks.

Next, I listened to The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais. Moonshyne Manor is a distillery and the hereditary home of the Sisterhood—six octogenarian witches, one of whom has been in prison for 33 years for a heist that resulted in the death of another of their number, who lingers as a ghost, communicating through her familiar, a crow named Widget. A mob of angry men want to demolish the manor and build a men’s fantasy retreat. Another man, a relative of Ivy, who inherited the manor, wants what he believes was stolen from him. Behind on their mortgage payments—the reason the mob is using to validate their destructive scheme—Queenie, has made a dire deal with Charon. The fates of the manor and the Sisterhood hang on the release of Ruby, who knows where the stolen goods are hidden, but when she returns to the manor, she is not the woman she used to be. Enter Persephone, a young feminist who wants to save the manor and the Sisterhood, if she could just understand the web of relationships and betrayals that binds the sisterhood together. Excellent!

Then, I finished reading Christy Climenhage’s The Midnight Project. Raina and Cedric are disgraced genetic engineers who run a bespoke reproduction assistance clinic in Long Harbour, Labrador, during what we might describe as the pre-apocalypse. They admit to being idealistic/naïve in failing to ensure their last contract included a clause to prevent the use of their gene editing method in ways which would result in destruction to ecosystems. Because that’s exactly what happened. The company they worked for used their gene editing technique to produce insect-resistant crops (Monsanto, anyone?). When bees and other beneficial pollinators began to die, the company blamed Raina and Cedric, fired them, and bound them with non-disclosure agreements so that they couldn’t even defend themselves.

As more and more species go extinct, climate change threatens coastal cities, and gangs of hoppers—rogue genetic modification attempts gone horribly wrong and released into an unsuspecting world—hunt humans, Raina and Cedric are barely getting by. Enter billionaire Burton Sykes, who says he wants them to create a viable—and more importantly ethical, even noble—human hybrid capable of riding out the coming global destruction in the depths of the ocean. While they are savvier in their contract negotiations this time, when they see signs that Sykes is not abiding by the terms of that contract, Raina and Cedric must take action to protect themselves and the nascent Ceph they’ve come to love. A thought-provoking and entertaining read.

Next, I finished We Bury Nothing by Kate Blair (coming Oct 2025). This engaging young adult mystery is written in dual timelines. While I think the first chapter would have worked better as a prologue, I understand that most editors and publishers aren’t fond of them. The chapter stands out because it’s not explicitly part of either timeline and is written from a point of view that doesn’t return in any other part of the novel. Prologues are okay when they serve a purpose, and chapter 1 works better as a prologue, in my opinion.

But I digress. Chapter 1 is from the point of view of George, a young guard at a German POW camp in the fictitious town of Westonville during WWII. He discovers the body of Erich Stein, one of the prisoners in the camp. There’s no indication of how he escaped, only that a wound on his head was the likely cause of his death. George knows Erich and weeps over the waste of a young life.

The first timeline tells Erich’s story, from the long train ride to Camp 43 to his untimely death.

In the present day, Keira has come to Westonville as one of several high school graduates to work at the Heritage Site that Camp 43 has become. She, Asha, Ephram, and Ruth submitted proposals for projects to work on over the summer all related to Camp 43. They’re all trying to get the Hopper Scholarship, which will pay for a full university degree. Keira’s project is to solve the mystery of Erich Stein’s death, and the scholarship is her only hope of attending university.

But when Ruth is found drowned after a local party, Keira finds herself trying to solve two mysteries and as the clues come together, she realizes the deaths—no, murders—are related. A fascinating and well-written novel. Loved!

I raced through Maggie Stiefvater’s The Listeners. This one’s a Mary Poppins read—practically perfect in every way! The Listeners is Stiefvater’s debut adult novel, and it was one of those reads that, while I almost couldn’t put it down, I was also already mourning the end of a story and world I wanted to stay in. And the characters! I subscribe to her Substack (surprise, surprise!) and in a recent post, Stiefvater said she stives to create reading experiences that invite return and study. She’s done that in spades. Adored!

June Porter Hudson is the general manager of the Avallon Hotel in West Virginia when the US enters WWII and is blindsided by the owner’s decision to offer the hotel to the government as a place to house foreign nationals (read Axis diplomats and their families) until they can safely return them to their home countries. Tucker Minnick is an FBI agent on a quest for redemption. This diplomatic mission may be his last. Complicating matters is the hotel’s sweetwater, which bubbles up in hot and cold springs and is pumped throughout the hotel. It takes on the emotions of the hotel’s patrons, which is why June strives to ensure everyone’s happiness. But with the Avallon’s current occupants, the sweetwater is taking on a lot of negativity. And when the sweetwater is unhappy, bad things happen.

June is the Avallon. Tucker is the Agency. Can they come together to save what they love?

Then, I read Tom Leduc’s Palpitations. This is Tom’s second poetry collection published by Latitude 46. The poet states that each poem in this collection represents a “spark that can burn out in the dark or set the world on fire.” Divided into five sections, Leduc recounts the palpitations that have shaped his life. He admits that some poems may be made up but cannily declines to say which ones.

The first section, Freefall, addresses the palpitations of high school, sexual awakening, fumbling first love, and the legacy of familial wounds. Opposing Influences dances between youth and age, family life and relationships never realized, spirituality and religion. These palpitations are full of reflection, realization, and regret. The Night We Burned the Dragon’s Head is about rites of passage, revisiting the past, speculating about the future, and settling into the mindful present. The fourth section, Murmuration of Covid, may be self-explanatory, but the moments of the pandemic, a Christmas without family, queuing for vaccinations, the fifty-seventh covid test, physical distancing, and Zoom meetings are all worth revisiting. We were all there. The Marble King is populated with favourite places, things, people, and body parts, moments of crisis, and moments of dissolution.

Palpitations is a worthwhile read. You will resonate with each moment.

I gave the audiobooks a break toward the end of the month and listened to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History: The Supernova in the East parts 1 through 6. Each episode of the podcast was about 4 hours long (!) It happened to dovetail with some of the other historical reading/research I was doing.

And that was the month in this writer’s life.

Until next month, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

The next chapter: March 2025 update

April 6, 2025 / Melanie Marttila

The sh*t has officially hit the fan.

Life in general

Tariffs in March! And now April! 25%! Make that 50%! No! 250%! I’m trying not to get drawn into the black hole-like news cycle, but it’s hard. It’s everywhere on every social media feed, on the radio, on the television. I’m trying to engage selectively and still respect my need not to be completely dysregulated by trashfire 2025. It’s a challenging balance to strike.

Interestingly Premiere Ford got Trump to back down after imposing counter tariffs on energy supply. I can’t keep up. Then again, I really don’t want to.

But Phil keeps me informed.

There are signs things might be imploding, thanks to brave journalists and grass-roots resistance, and interesting statements coming from behind party lines saying the Orange Menace is “off book.”

The Canadian armed forces are running exercises and one of Trudeau’s last acts as Prime Minister was to commission new warships to be built, providing a domestic market for our steel. Will it be enough to replace what will be lost to the tariff war? Probably not, but it will be enough to keep people working.

Mark Carney became our new Prime Minister on the 14^th and immediately repealed the carbon tax, essentially removing Pollievre’s main campaign platform. He’s also strengthening ties with the EU.

And now a federal election is being called. Things are moving so fast.

Daylight saving time arrived and, as per usual, my body’s still living on standard time. I’m messed up for at least 2 weeks. EVERY. GD. TIME.

DST Princess Bride meme — My favourite DST/Princess Bride meme.

But shit at work is getting done. I’m just trying to get one thing done at a time, move onto the next thing, and not freak out. This too, is hard.

The month in writing

I finished this draft of Reality Bomb on March 2^nd! Cue the Snoopy happy dance/flailing Kermit arms/what have you. But the draft now stands at 122,616 words. It’s a step up (or down, depending on your perspective) from the 124,527 words the last draft was, but it’s still too big. So, there’s more work in my future. There always is.

My final meeting with Suzy was on the 6^th. I’d had a dysregulating day at work and was open about it. Still the meeting got me focusing on my work-in-progress and not the umpteen-million things waiting to be done at work. So, it was good.

Now to take a break from RB proper, I’m turning to my query and synopsis. I’ll use those to guide my next passes. I want to cut back to 110k, if not 100k, though I doubt I’ll be able to manage the latter. We’ll see.

I’m writing poetry here and there as well.

Definitely emerging from my winter cave.

Got a poetry reading together with another local poet, Vera Constantineau at the South End branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library on April 12^th at 2 pm.

Poster for a poetry reading with Vera Constantineau and Melanie Marttila at the Greater Sudbury Public Library South End branch April 12, 2025 at 2 pm.

Reached out to another local author about informal mentoring. Will connect with her sometime in April as well.

Finally, I’m starting to write reviews. My first one, on Lisa Timpf’s Cats and Dogs in Space, went up on Amazing Stories online on March 24^th.

In writerly business, the first SF Canada quarterly board meeting of 2025 was on the 31^st.

Filling the well

The full suckerfish moon in Virgo and blood moon eclipse was on the 14^th. I didn’t stay up late enough to see the eclipse but did a guided meditation.

Spring arrived on the 20^th. Lit up my altar and thought about the snow melting.

And the new ash moon and partial solar eclipse in Aries was on the 29^th. Did another short, guided meditation.

I’ve been playing hide and seek with the moon, lately. If it hasn’t been completely overcast, what clouds there are make the lady hard to find. Often, I can’t get a good view until after dark and I still can’t take a decent nighttime photo with my phone to save my life. I hope things will improve now that the season is changing.

In writerly events, I attended Navigating Publishing Today with Mark Leslie Lefebvre and Suzy Vadori on the 7^th. It was a fabulous session that became a fabulous Show, Don’t Tell podcast episode!

Later that same day, I attended a Canada Council for the Arts information session about updates to their programming and submissions system. The changes won’t be taking place until the summer, but things look promising.

The Canada Council annual public meeting was on the 19^th.

The first three of four webinars in Cece Lyra’s Starting it Right series were on the 20^th, the 27^th, and the 30^th. If you’ve ever signed up for a Cece Lyra webinar, you know it’s going long. She’s so passionate about writing.

Spring Finnish classes started up on the 17^th and will continue for 8 weeks, as per usual. Again, I’m showing improvement.

On the 21^st, I attended an Authors Publish webinar on how to get your manuscript submission-ready with Alexandra Leggat.

I attended an information session of the Canada Council’s new Artistic Creation grants on the 26^th.

My support group met on the 26^th to discuss work-specific accommodations.

I had another blissful week off work from the 17^th to the 21^st.

What I’m watching and reading

I watched the first season of Cross (Prime). A compelling arc in which Alex Cross deals with the trauma of his wife’s death, tries to protect his family from a stalker, and hunts down a serial killer who modifies his victims to look like famous serial killers of the past. It’s all kinds of creepy, but very good.

Then, I finished watching before (Apple TV +). This psychological horror wasn’t really my cuppa. Billy Crystal plays a child psychologist about to retire after his wife commits suicide (before cancer can do the job). A young boy inexplicably wanders into his house, and he feels an immediate connection. When he later meets the boy at the hospital, he decides to take on one last case. It could be a complex case of transference and countertransference, or there could be something supernatural happening. The ending is ambiguous.

Phil and I finished watching the latest season of Invincible (Prime). Mark deals with having a little brother, but unlike Dawn in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Oliver has superpowers too, and they manifest while he’s still a kid. It makes things challenging for Debbie, who’s trying to move on from Nolan. Speaking of whom, Allen finally convinces Nolan to break out of the Viltrumite gulag he’s in, but that’s the last we see of him for the season, though he drops a juicy bomb on Allen before their last scene ends. Mark is also trying to deal with the fallout from Angstrom Leavy, whom he thinks he killed. A whole passel of Invincibles from other worlds invade, and then Conquest arrives from Viltrum and kills . . . lots of people. There’s more, but I’ll just leave you with that taste. It’s as bloody as ever, and the last episode sets up at least four major threats for season four.

Next, I watched The Wild Robot (Prime). I laughed. I cried. I did not pee my pants. I swear. A service robot ends up on an uninhabited (by humans) island and tries to fulfill its mission. Seriously, my heart, y’all. Now I shall have to read the book. Watch it! It’s awesome! And just what you need to defrag your hard drive of all the bullshittery happening in the world.

Then, Phil and I watched the end of Silo, season two (Apple TV +). Phil didn’t watch season one with me, and I found it kind of weird when he decided he liked the series partway through season two. It was so good, though. Juliette survives cleaning thanks to her friends in supply and makes her way through a field of corpses to the next silo, which appears to be abandoned and flooded. Back at the original silo, Bernard prepares for the inevitable crisis that follows a survived cleaning. Juliette solves mysteries at the new silo while Bernard recruits Kyle to solve mysteries in the old, while mechanical foments rebellion. The final flashback scene is cryptic, but I’m looking forward to what the next season brings. I’ve only read the first book in the series, so I have some catching up to do.

I also finished the first season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Disney +). Love the opening with the updated version of the classic 70s Spiderman theme. Almost every character has comics significance and the potential to become a superhero in their own rights. Dr. Connor’s is a woman of colour! It’s also, clearly, a multiverse story. *Mild Spoilers* Ben is not dead, but in prison. There is no Mary-Jane Watson (yet?). Peter’s origin story is original and circular (the events of the first and last episodes converge). So much fun!

Next, I finished watching Interior Chinatown (Disney +). Based on the novel of the same name by Charles Yu. It’s better if you think of it as INT. CHINATOWN. Like a screenplay because that’s very much the way this series is presented. Very meta. Willis Wu works as a waiter in his family’s restaurant, but years ago, his brother disappeared, and he’s been worrying at the mystery ever since. He inserts himself into the police department by delivering takeout, moves through tech guy and translator roles until he’s a detective and reopens his brother’s cold case.

Phil caught part of a few episodes and asked, “Is it intentional, or is this show badly written?” And I forgave him because he didn’t get the premise. I can’t explain things more here without getting all kinds of spoilery. The concept is that intertwined with the story. But the show is worth the initial confusion and clichéd dialogue. Trust me. There’s a moment when you say to yourself, oh . . . so that’s what he’s doing. I recently listened to an interview with Yu on the Our Opinions Are Correct podcast. That’s worth a listen, too.

Then, I finished watching season 2 of The Irrational (CityTV). It remains an interesting twist on the police procedural, focusing on psychologist Alex Mercer and his team of graduate assistants. Sometimes they help the police. Often, they help the FBI or rely on their resources because Alex has an in through his ex-wife Marissa. This season, they were even called in to help NASA. And Alex’s new girlfriend, Rose, is former MI-6 and a professional “fixer.” It’s an intriguing mix of characters and relationships that keeps the mysteries they solve feeling fresh.

Finally, I watched Wicked (Prime) over two nights for spoons reasons. Not having read the book (though I have it . . . somewhere in my TBR pile) or seen the play, I had nothing to compare it to and thoroughly enjoyed it, despite not being terribly fond of musicals. I loved the animal justice subplot. And I will now have to find the novel and move it up in the pile.

My first read of March 2025 was Zen Cho’s Sorcerer to the Crown. This was a delightful alternate historical fantasy. It feels regency, but there are mentions of Napoleon still being in power in France, so Napoleonic? Zacharias Wythe is the new Sorcerer Royal, after his guardian, the previous Sorcerer Royal, dies under mysterious circumstances. Because he’s also an emancipated slave and person of colour, the rest of the Society of Unnatural Philosophers want to find a way to oust him, but Zacharias’ position is dependent upon the acceptance of the previous Sorcerer Royal’s staff and familiar, both of which he has, though no one can claim to have seen the latter . . .

But Zacharias has a mystery to solve, that of Britain’s decreased magic levels, and he is inveighed upon by a friend to deliver a tedious lecture to a witch’s school on the way. At the school, Zacharias sees the horrid way in which women with magical ability are treated, and he meets Prunella Gentleman, a young woman of colour and of most startling ability. Together, they embark upon a mission to change magical education in Britain—and the rest of the world—forever. Chef’s kiss!

Then, I read The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe, translated by Tiina Nunnally. Yes, there’s a forward by a certain fantasy author, currently accused of SA, but I glossed over that, disinterested in finding anything useful or clever there. The translator included Asbjørnsen and Moe’s notes, and they were far more entertaining.

These folktales unsurprisingly feature trolls as the main antagonists, often with multiple (5, 10, 15 or 3, 6, 9) heads. Ashlad is frequently the clever young hero, but young girls are also clever heroines. There are talking animals who often beg to be killed (beheaded, these tales are fond of beheading) and assist the protagonist beyond their apparent deaths and sometimes transform into princes after the fact. There are several tales in which the protagonist is forbidden to look into rooms in their guardians’ homes, but that’s where the similarly to Bluebeard ends. Enjoyed this collection quite a bit.

Next, I read Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells, the third Murderbot novella. Murderbot is on its own and gets roped into protecting another band of hapless humans from GrayCris Corp. And they have their own bot, Miki, who is irritating to no end. Murderbot just wants to watch some quality series . . . Excellent!

Then, I read the follow-up to Sorcerer to the Crown, The True Queen by Zen Cho. Muna and Sakti awaken in the surf of Janda Baik, Malaysia with no memory of who they are except that they must be sisters. But they have been cursed and must travel to distant Britain, where Crown Sorceress (minor spoilers for book 1—sorry, not sorry) Prunella Wythe has established a school for young sorceresses. When Sakti is abducted on their way to Britain through the unseen world, though, Muna must try to rescue her sister even though she has no magic. Queer romance abounds. Loved, if possible, even more than book 1!

Then, I listened to the very short audiobook of Cajun Folklore by J.J. Reneaux. Lots of clever characters in these tales. Enjoyed.

I listened to Cat o’ Nine Tales: The Jane Yellowrock Stories by Faith Hunter. It was my first dip into Jane Yellowrock, though these novels have been on my radar for years . . . I’m kind of embarrassed. Jane is a Cherokee woman and skinwalker, bonded to the spirit of Beast, a mountain lion, after an accident involving black magic when she was a child. She’s primarily a vampire hunter but branches out to any supernatural threat. These stories fit in between Hunter’s novels and provide an entertaining and bloody overview of Jane’s adventures and entanglements. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Next, I listened (can you tell most of this was during my week off when listening is the most I can be arsed to do) to the super-short, incredibly hilarious, but still informative Audible Original How to Survive Menopause by Samantha Bee. Basically, a stand-up set, but everything you need to hear if you have ovaries.

Then, I listened to Amal El-Mohtar’s The River Has Roots. This retelling of the Bonny Swans has it all. Grammar as music as magic. A sentient river. Two ancient willows at the edge of the fairy realm. Two sisters whose love defies death. There are several significant departures from the folktale/song it’s based on, but to explain more than I already have will spoil this truly lovely story. It is gentle and kind and everything we need right now. Amazing. LOVED!

My last listen during my week off was The Abolitionists, an Audible Original/The Great Courses collaboration with Professor Kellie Carter Jackson. She covers the origins of the movement, Harper’s Ferry, the civil war, and the underground railroad. Excellent.

Finally, I finished On Writing and Worldbuilding, Volume 1 by Tim Hickson. I’ve been a fan of his YouTube channel, Hello, Future Me for years now, and finally bought all three of his W&W books (to date). They’re based on the craft advice he shares on his channel. I like his philosophy of writing, and I enjoyed the book. It’s now on my craft writing shelf.

And that was the month in this writer’s life.

Until next month, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, March 5-11, 2023

March 14, 2023March 13, 2023 / Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Did you survive Monday after daylight saving? I almost didn’t. Recuperate with some informal writerly learnings 🙂

My favourite DST meme:

Greer Macallister shares five ways to rediscover your writing joy. Then, Tiffany Yates Martin is assuaging the pain of punctuation. Juliet Marillier considers writing home. Next, Kathryn Craft discusses navigating the road from journalist to novelist. Writer Unboxed

Heroes don’t have to be boring. Hello, Future Me

Piper Bayard offers help with writing about recruitment for the intelligence community. Then, Colleen M. Story shares some quick tips to help you avoid five types of writing-related pain. Penny C. Sansevieri reveals five reasons your Amazon ads aren’t drawing in readers. Writers in the Storm

K.M. Weiland explains how to write literary fiction. Helping Writers Become Authors

What is creative writing? Reedsy

Elizabeth Spann Craig discusses newsletters, even if they’re just sent for releases.

The mentor archetype: definition, ten examples, and hot to write. The ally archetype. The hero archetype. Story Grid

A.H. Plotts shares what her DIY writing retreat taught her about her writing practice. Then, Dominique Richardson offers advice on finding alternatives to ableist language. Alison Schaffir wants you to evoke your inner teen. Next, Julie Slaughter suggests five ways to reduce writer anxiety. DIY MFA

How Bloody Mary turns fear into fun. Monstrum | PBS Storied

Kim Catanzarite declaims, to give it away, or not to give it away. Then, Gemma Whelan explains how bad publishers hurt authors. Jane Friedman

Lisa Poisso explains the difference between an editor and a book coach. Thin, Liz Alterman shows you how to ask for book reviews (and why you should). Writers Helping Writers

Create a daily writing practice. Reedsy

Nathan Bransford says, don’t worry about spoilers in a query letter.

Tiffany Yates Martin composes a letter: dear author …. It’s the writerly hug you didn’t know you needed! Fox Print Editorial

Chris Winkle suggests seven easy conflicts for light stories. Then, Oren Ashkenazi analyzes Star Trek’s best antagonistic species. Mythcreants

Thank you for spending some time with me, and I hope you found something to support your current work(s) in progress.

Until Thursday, keep staying safe and well, my writerly friends!

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, Jan 8-14, 2023

January 17, 2023January 15, 2023 / Melanie Marttila

It’s tipsday! Your chance to stock up on informal writerly learnings!

Nick Taylor explains how to create authentic queer characters. Louise Harnby

Kelsey Allagood wonders, how do you explain climate change to a magnolia tree? Then, Jim Dempsey explains how to write a successful novel. Juliet Marillier muses on the power of story. Next, Kathryn Craft points out three key places where stakes will shape your story’s meaning. David Corbett is writing cromulent dialogue. Writer Unboxed

The poem no one understands. Tale Foundry

Elizabeth S. Craig offers some tips on how to handle reviews as an author. Spunk on a Stick

Hannah Jacobson explains how to find the best awards for your book. Then, Lisa Norman wants you to EAT your heart out to empower your web site. Jenny Hansen points out the importance of great mentors (for you and your books). Writers in the Storm

C.S. Lakin points out the intersection of voice and deep point of view. Live Write Thrive

Joanna Penn interviews Roz Morris about how to (finally) finish your novel. The Creative Penn

Write your book in 2023. Reedsy

Ambre Leffler helps you use water’s superpower of creative flow in winter. Then, Angela Yeh says flash fiction is no flash in the pan. Neil Chase shares seven tips to create a unique sidekick character. Next, AK Nevermore lists five things feeding the lie that there’s no time to write. DIY MFA

Tiffany Yates Martin says backstory is essential to story—except when it’s not. Then, Hattie Fletcher answers the question: Is it OK to ask for before/after examples from a freelance editor? Jane Friedman

Sue Coletta helps you make an unbreakable promise to readers. Becca Puglisi offers some thoughts on writing insecure characters. Writers Helping Writers

Nathan Bransford shows you how to live creatively.

Tiffany Yates Martin asked an AI, what does AI mean for writers? Fox Print Editorial

Chris Winkle lists 12 sources of wish fulfillment for your story. Then, Oren Ashkenazi hosts another three-way ANTS battle between Severance, Andor, and Interview with a Vampire. Mythcreants

Kristen Lamb wonders, is writing a career or a hobby?

Rebecca Solnit: why we need new stories about climate. The Guardian

The Idioms: Largest idioms dictionary. Courtesy of David Corbett (above).

Amanda Perry covers the Griffon Poetry Prize shakeup: new rules, new controversy. The Walrus

Guy Kawasaki interviews Julia Cameron (for the second time) about her new book Write for Life. The Remarkable People Podcast

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found something to support your current work(s) in progress.

Until Thursday, keep staying safe and well.

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, Dec 19-25, 2021

December 28, 2021December 27, 2021 / Melanie Marttila

Ack! It’s the last tipsday of 2021! Where did the year go?

E.J. Wenstrom suggests three author platform resolutions for 2022. Then, Sara Farmer shares her favorite children’s mysteries (so far). J.L. Torres offers a masterclass in short fiction, voice, and opening lines. Then, Carol Van Den Hende considers five 2021 book cover trends. DIY MFA

Tim Hickson shares the seven stories that changed his life. Hello, Future Me

Lisa Norman lists nine keys to being media ready. Then, Ellen Buikema explains how to use sound to make your writing memorable. Writers in the Storm

Tom Scott walked into a bar … and then I threw him out a window. Jill Bearup

Vaughn Roycroft: joy to the (writerly) world! Then, Kelsey Allagood says, keep making art, even if the world is ending. Kasey LeBlanc explains how not to miss the forest for the trees: appreciating the long and winding writing road (and its many detours, pitfalls, and stumbles). Then, Erika Liodice shares the 3-2-1 rule for protecting your work in progress. Natalie Hart recommends you give the gift of a good book gush. Writer Unboxed

Dynamic vs. static characters, and why you need both. Reedsy

Susan DeFreitas wonders, what makes a story feel like a story? Jane Friedman

Chris Winkle shares lessons from the vague writing of The Remnant Chronicles. Then, Oren Ashkenazi analyzes five movies that audiences loved but critics hated. Mythcreants

Chuck Wendig offers his thoughts on The Matrix: Resurrections, or the conversations art has with itself. Terribleminds

Santa’s cruel fairy tale cousin, the demon of frost. Tale Foundry

Nina Munteanu explains why you should keep a journal.

Hua Hsu considers the revolutionary writing of bell hooks. The New Yorker

Emma Cline unpacks Joan Didion’s specific vision. The New Yorker

Toniann Fernandez: Jeremy O. Harris and Samuel Delaney in conversation. The Paris Review

Beginnings at the End of Love: Rebecca West’s Extraordinary Love Letter to H.G. Wells in the Wake of Heartbreak. The Marginalian

Julia Métraux wonders if Trinity’s the real hero of The Matrix. JSTOR Daily

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you found something to support your current work in progress.

Until Thursday, be well and stay safe!

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, July 11-17, 2021

July 20, 2021July 18, 2021 / Melanie Marttila

Welcome to tipsday, your opportunity to reward yourself for making it through Monday and stock up on informal writerly learnings.

Greer Macallister wonders if authors should review books. Then, Jim Dempsey discusses the inherent nature of story structure. Juliet Marillier charts the ups and downs of a writer’s journey. Later in the week, Julie Duffy wants you to choose your own adventure. Then, Kelsey Allagood shows you how to be creative when you’re feeling “blah.” Writer Unboxed

Jill Bearup analyzes the Loki ep. 6 fight scene.

Richelle Lyn explains how Creativity, Inc. inspired her. Later in the week, Rachel Smith reveals how to use sensory details in historical fiction. Then, F.E. Choe shares five tips for navigating writing events as an extreme introvert. DIY MFA

Lindsay Ellis reveals the unappreciated women writers who invented the novel. It’s Lit | PBS Storied

Janice Hardy offers some advice. Do, or do not. There is no try. Clarifying what your characters do. Then, Kristin Durfee explains how to plot your way back from an unruly idea. Later in the week, Rayne Hall considers 12 story ending twists that don’t work. Fiction University

Why we can’t save the ones we love. Like Stories of Old

K.M. Weiland provides a summary of all the archetypal character arcs. Helping Writers Become Authors

Lisa Hall-Wilson helps you write complex emotions in deep POV: shame.

Alli Sinclair wonders, what is your character’s love language (and why does it matter)? Writers Helping Writers

Why there are so many lesbian period pieces. The Take

Kristen Lamb explains why editing matters (and simple ways to make your work shine). Then, she’s spotting terminological inexactitude syndrome.

Nathan Bransford advises you to avoid naming universal emotions in your novel.

Kathryn Goldman answers the question: are fictional characters protected under copyright law? Then, Jessica Conoley points out the most significant choice of your writing career. Jane Friedman

Why Disney kids take over everything—corporate girlhood. The Take

Eldred Bird presents five more writing tips we love to hate. Writers in the Storm

Chris Winkle explains how Romanticism harms novelists. Then, Oren Ashkenazi examines how Michael J. Sullivan employs the Neolithic in Age of Myth. Mythcreants

Award-winning speculative fiction author (and Damon Knight Grand Master) Nalo Hopkinson joins UBC creative writing faculty. I may just have to invest in another degree! UBC

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you took away something to support your current work in progress.

Until Thursday, be well and stay safe, my writerly friends!

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Feb 16-22, 2020

February 25, 2020February 23, 2020 / Melanie Marttila

Here we are in the final week of February. Winter is crawling to its end, the light returns, and so does the hope of spring. Celebrate with some informal writerly learnings 🙂

Tasha Seegmiller: writer, you are separate from your craft. Barbara Linn Probst considers likeable and relatable: why (and how) do they matter? Writers in the Storm

Vaughn Roycroft has a new take on readership. Dave King: the web of writing. Kathleen McCleary has answers to questions about writing. Porter Anderson analyzes the Authors Guild’s 2020 Report. Writer Unboxed

K.M. Weiland has some thoughts on how to be critical of stories in a way that makes a difference. Helping Writers Become Authors

Joanna Penn interviews Aiki Flinthart about writing fight scenes with female characters. The Creative Penn

Christina Delay wants you to fall in love with your second act. Angela Ackerman explains how to build powerful character relationships. Writers Helping Writers

Janice Hardy considers whether to stop and revise or keep writing the first draft. Fiction University

Brenda Joyce Patterson takes a deep dive into libretti. DIY MFA

Nathan Bransford helps you clear out the clutter around your verbs.

How to write character voices. Reedsy

Oren Ashkenazi explains why “but men are objectified, too” doesn’t hold up. Then, Oren lists ten ways to keep the authorities out of your plot. Mythcreants

Jami Gold wonders, what do you do with disappointment?

Robert Lee Brewer explains the difference between metaphor and personification. Writer’s Digest

Kate Knibbs says, the hottest new genre is doomer lit (formerly known as cli-fi). Wired

Charlie Jane Anders believes that to write about the future is to represent the past. Tor.com

Thank you for visiting and I hope you take away something to support your current work in progress.

Until next time, be well!

Tipsday2019

Always Looking Up

Melanie Marttila, BA, MA, #actuallyautistic SFF author-in-progress.

book reviews

The next chapter: October 2025 update

Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

The next chapter: September 2025 update

Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

The next chapter: June 2025 update

Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

The next chapter: March 2025 update

Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, March 5-11, 2023

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, Jan 8-14, 2023

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, Dec 19-25, 2021

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, July 11-17, 2021

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Feb 16-22, 2020

Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

Share this:

Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

Share this:

Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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