burnout

The next chapter: July 2025 update

/ Melanie Marttila

A gradual return to work and change of schedule seem to have made all the difference.

A picture of a heron in a creek.

Life in general

I made some decisions while I was off.

First, I wasn’t going to return to work full bore. It’s what I’d done in the past, and within days of my return, I was teetering on the edge of burnout again. I didn’t want that to happen this time. Or ever again, frankly.

When I spoke to my doctor last month, I asked for a gradual return to work 3 days per week for 2 weeks and 4 days per week for 2 weeks. The week of my return was 3 days, anyway, so I didn’t have to do any juggling there, but I opted to work Monday through Wednesday the week after, Monday to Thursday the week after that, and Monday to Wednesday plus Friday for the final week of my gradual return to work. My days off would be covered by sick leave.

Interestingly, I’d already asked for July 31st and August 1st off, which meant that I’d have 2 additional part weeks before finally returning to full time work the week of August 11th.

Second, I changed my daily schedule from 8:30 to 4:30 to 9:30 to 5:30. I need more time in the morning to get my shit together.

It worked out well the first couple of days, but I had to go into the office on July 4th and exchange my work laptop. The exchange itself was fine, but I wasn’t advised to bring my authentication key with me. It was okay, I was assured, I could log in from home, authenticate, and that would complete the process of transferring my profile from my old computer to my new computer.

Except, when I got home, I couldn’t log into the VPN. After a frustrating hour with the National Service Desk and an escalation to level 2, I confirmed with my team that the VPN was down. There was nothing I could do. I’d have to keep trying to log in throughout the day. Which I did.

I finally managed to get online after 5 pm and sort a few things out. A wasted day, but I survived it without melting down.

Other than that, I prioritized regulation and trying to manage my spoons. It quickly became apparent that I returned to a work situation and project that was both completely changed and not changed at all from the time that I left.

I was looking for another assignment, but that wouldn’t become possible until after the current project was put to bed, for better or worse.

But the change in schedule and gradual return to work were, for lack of a better term, working 🙂

The month in writing

The cutting pass for Reality Bomb continued and, as I predicted, I started cutting more in the second half of the novel. In fact, I cut almost as much in one day as I had in the previous two months combined.

Then, I hit a point where I had to completely rewrite/revise whole chapters. This was the place where I had, in my last draft, started writing from scratch because the specifics had changed so much. So, this wasn’t surprising, but it was disappointing. I keep expecting to write better first draft material. I must temper expectations.

By the end of the month (and this pass) I’d cut 3,612 words. In total, I cut 5,056 words for the whole pass. Not nearly enough, but it was a good start.

I let the draft sit before going back at it.

I finished and submitted another review and started working on a couple more. In the meantime, one of the reviews I had submitted to a journal was returned and I had to select a new market.

My review of Christie Climenhage’s The Midnight Project was published in The Seaboard Review on the 21st.

Then two more reviews were accepted, so it’s all working out in a round about way. Submitting reviews, it turns out, is just like submitting anything else. Sometimes you get an acceptance, and sometimes you don’t.

At the end of the month, I renewed my writerly PO Box and the PO Box for SF Canada.

Filling the well

Canada Day (July 1st) was the last day of my sick leave. I went for a swim and was gentle with myself in preparation for my return to work on the 2nd.

The full buck or raspberry moon in Capricorn was on the 10th. Shortly after, forest fire smoke returned, obscuring the moon.

The new oak moon in Leo was on the 24th.

The second part of Janice Hardy’s “Tricking your brain into plotting” was on the 3rd. This one focused more on the application of the tips and tricks presented in part 1.

I signed up for a Tiffany Yates Martin webinar through Jane Friedman. “Mastering Character Inner Life” was on the 9th. Excellent, as always.

I attended “AI for Artists,” a webinar promoted by the League of Canadian Poets and presented by the Canadian Artists Network, on the 22nd. Good information, but I may watch the replay.

Finally, I signed up for a Clarion event, the “Summer of Science Fiction & Fantasy: Martha Wells in conversation with Kate Elliott” on the 30th. It was a great conversation between two great women of SFF.

My next EAP appointment was on the 3rd. Nervous system regulation and stim toys remained a hot topic. It was also recommended that I get a fitness ball to sit on, as well. Unfortunately, I was up against demand avoidance or maybe autistic inertia (or both?). I did not want to go shopping. But I finally did on the 24th (new moon day) and got a bunch of cheap-o stim toys at Dollarama, a fitness ball, and some fairy lights to pretty up my office when I finally get around to finishing cleaning and reorganizing it. It’s not going to be a big rearrangement, like I was envisioning last year. The length of power cables and the like will not permit it 😦 But I’ll make a few changes to make the space a happier one to exist in.

We met again on the 15th. It was another good session, but I get the feeling she wants to yank the apron strings out of my hands (!) EAP does limit the sessions we can have, but I like the accountability.

In the wake of that appointment, I decided to search for ND-affirming therapists in Sudbury … and I found one! We had a brief, “getting to know you” session on the 29th, and I start in-person sessions on August 7th.

On the 21st, my support group facilitator held an impromptu summer social. It was good to stay in touch because we usually take the summer months off. Everyone started sharing their special interest collections. It was great fun.

What I’m watching and reading

Phil and I watched Murderbot (Apple TV +) and we both loved it. A great adaptation of a fabulous novella. Murderbot has disturbing memories of … it (possibly) murdering a bunch of humans, hence its chosen (and private) name. It’s also hacked its governor module, something it must hide from the corporation that owns it. It’s then assigned to a research team from Preservation Alliance, who do not support slavery. They want to make friends with it and—horrors!—eye contact. But missing sections of their survey map and dangerous, and more importantly, undocumented lifeforms, cause the research team to reach out to another nearby team … who do not respond. Despite its desire to watch quality streaming entertainment, Murderbot must save the PresAux team repeatedly.

I finished watching both seasons of Pantheon (Netflix). The AMC animated series, based on the stories of Ken Liu, explores the effect of uploaded intelligence (UI) on the world. Maddie’s father, David, who was dying of cancer, volunteered to have his consciousness uploaded in an experimental trial. Maddie and her mother are told the trial fails, but years later, Maddie starts to get mysterious messages in a chat room. Eventually, she learns that her father is still alive and he’s not the first or only UI in existence. Complicated by clones, a sentient anti-UI virus, and the scheming of a dying tech billionaire to extend his life, Pantheon examines the meaning of personhood, the right to exist, and the survival of humanity, post UI. The ending is ultimately hopeful, but I have a feeling that there was more to the story. The final episode crams in A LOT. Still, loved!

Then, I watched Ironheart (Disney +). Riri Williams gets herself kicked out of MIT and heads home to Chicago. In need of large sums of money to rebuild her suit, which was destroyed in transit, she is tempted by Parker Robbins, AKA the Hood, into participating in a series of heists. Something isn’t quite right about Parker and his cloak, though, and Riri wants to get her money and get out before she gets caught. Only six episodes, Riri’s story felt shortchanged (like Echo’s before it), but it was an interesting meditation on trauma and love and perseverance. Enjoyed considerably.

I watched Sinners (Crave). I’ve heard so much prise for this movie and it’s all true! That’s all I’m going to say because y’all need to watch this movie.

My first listen of July 2025 was Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. Three women’s lives and deaths intertwine through the centuries.

In 1532 (Spain), María hungers for independence, but the only avenue open to her is to marry well and have children, which she does not want. Though she marries, her every attempt to gain independence is foiled by her husband and his mother, and she goes to great lengths to avoid pregnancy. It’s only when she meets the Widow that her life changes … forever.

In 1827 (England), Charlotte’s forbidden desires result in her being shipped off to a strict aunt who will see her introduced to society and properly married. When Sabine offers her freedom, Charlotte can’t resist, nor can she imagine the terrible price she will pay.

In 2019 (America), Alice has travelled halfway around the world from her home in Scotland, seeking to start fresh in college after a personal tragedy. An uncharacteristic one-night stand transforms her in ways she never wanted, and she sets out to solve the mystery, and get revenge.

This novel asks tough questions. How much will you sacrifice to get what you want? How far will you go to justify the poor decisions of your past? When revenge fails to make things right, how will you go on? As excellent as Addie, but completely different. 

Then, I listened to the Audible Original/Great Courses collaboration Slow Down: How doing nothing makes us better humans by Constance Kassor. Each of these nine lectures, based on a course Kassor and her colleagues designed for Lawrence University, focuses on an area in which you can learn how to form better habits, striking a balance between what needs to be done and what you need to thrive. These areas include getting better sleep, cultivating relationships, engaging in creative tasks, incorporating mindfulness into your day, and more. Brief but impactful lessons in how to live a better life.

Next, I finished reading Thyme Travellers: An Anthology of Palestinian Speculative Fiction edited by Sonia Sulaiman (coming September 5, 2025). Full disclosure: I met Sonia through a Writing the Other workshop, and we were part of a Discord for a while. When I saw that she edited this anthology, I requested it for review.

It’s fabulous. Sonia collected stories from across the Palestinian diaspora, from speculative fiction veterans and emerging writers from Australia to Egypt, Lebanon to Canada and I think the timing of this anthology is perfect. Anyone who cares about the genocide currently being persecuted in Gaza should read this book.

The story that stayed with me the longest was “Down Under” by Jumaana Abdu. Nouran tries to dig her way to Palestine from Australia. After two abortive attempts, a young boy takes her to his sister’s bedroom where, under the bed, is a tunnel. Eventually, Nouran catches up to Haya, the boy’s sister, and the two of them work together until soldiers stop them. It’s a harrowing tale about what it takes to reach home.

I listened to The Wrong Witch to Hex With by Molly Harper. I listened to the first in the Starfall Point series, Witches Get Stuff Done a couple years ago and enjoyed it. Starfall Point is unusually full of ghosts and it’s the responsibility of witches to deal with them. The Wrong Witch to Hex With is the first in the Moonshadow Cove series, and centres on the Seaworth sisters, finfolk, far from their ancestral Scotland and charged with the protection of a precious egg, though Starfall Point’s ghosts are their day-to-day responsibility. Their magic is waning and with both parents dead, there’s no one to guide them in their task. Linney, the youngest Seaworth, is bored with her sheltered life and fond of escaping to Starfall Point. Trying to hide from her older sister, Linney ends up in a ghost tour, and the ghosts are begging her to correct the guide, who can’t seem to keep his facts straight. That guide is Grayson Brockhurst, who inherited the business from his grandfather. He’s about to learn that ghosts are very real, and they’re not the worst thing he has to fear.

Then, I listened to The Second Summoning by Tanya Huff, the second (duh) book in the Keeper’s Chronicles. After closing the portal to hell in the furnace room of the Elysian Fields Guesthouse at the end of the first book, Claire gets used to having Dean, the guesthouse’s dogsbody, around. When the two finally consummate their relationship, the possibilities blow wide open, bringing an angel and a demon into the world. But neither being is quite what they’re supposed to be, leading Claire, Dean, her cat Austin, and her sister Diana on a merry chase across southern Ontario. Claire’s out to return the angel and demon to their respective domains, but Diana has other plans, as do the angel and the demon. A fun, light novel.

Next, I shifted back to non-fiction/self-help with How to Stop People-Pleasing by Wind Goodfriend, another Great Courses/Audible Original audiobook. Short, but full of good information and practical exercises to get to the heart of the reasons (there are probably more than one) you choose to people-please. Very helpful in my own journey from burnout to contentment.

Then, I did a more thorough search of the Audible Plus catalogue and discovered the remaining two audiobooks in the Starfall Point series by Molly Harper. I continued with Big Witch Energy. Witches Get Stuff Done was Riley’s story. Big Witch Energy is Caroline’s. Caroline Wilton would love to leave Starfall Point, but every member of her family who has ends up dead. So, when her high school sweetheart, Ben left to attend medical school, she let him go. Years later, he returns, divorced and with two children in tow. Caroline still loves him, but there are some unresolved tensions—not to mention ghosts—in the way, and when Ben’s children both exhibit supernatural abilities, it makes everything more complicated. When the ghost haunting the Wilted Rose, the Wilton family’s bar, literally brings the house down, Caroline must gather her coven, not just Riley and Alice, but also their two new members, Ben’s children, to deal with the threat. Except that the ghost has a human partner who wants Caroline dead. Light and fun.

Next, I listened to the Audible Original, Alanis Morrisette: Words and Music. I’ve always enjoyed Alanis’ music, and now I have some background to go with. Very enjoyable.

Then I finished the Starfall Point series with Never Been Witched by Molly Harper. Alice Seastairs led a quiet life managing her grandparents’ antiques shop and dating a local lawyer, but when Riley Denton came to town, Alice’s life changed, she dumped the lawyer, who turned out to be a dark and shifty dude, and she became part of a found family of witches. Collin Bancroft has bought the Duchess Hotel and wants Alice to source antiques as he restores the hotel to its former glory, but there are ghosts to contend with, ghosts that may be tied to the secrets of Shaddow House and the Welling locks that keep the ghosts trapped there.

Poor Alice suffers verbal abuse and gaslighting from her grandparents and her former boyfriend. It was wonderful to see her finally stand up for herself and set firm boundaries. A solid conclusion to an enjoyable paranormal romance series.

I dipped into non-fiction again with From The Wiz to Wakanda: Afrofuturism in Pop Culture, a Great Courses and Audible collaboration, by Grace D. Gipson of Virginia Commonwealth University. In six lessons, Gipson covers authors, movies and series, comics, art, fashion, and architecture. Informative and entertaining.

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: June 2025 update

/ 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 1st, 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 25th, I called again, and the receptionist advised that the form had been completed on the 5th (!) 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 4th. 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 21st. 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 24th. 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 30th to clear up some bits and bobs.

Filling the well

The full strawberry moon in Sagittarius was on the 11th. 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 20th. 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 25th. 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 10th. I was happy to sit in and listen to some fellow members read from their work.

On Friday the 13th, 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 25th. 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 26th. 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 4th 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 11th. 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 16th. 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 19th. 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 24th. 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 25th 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: 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: November 2024 update

/ Melanie Marttila

This bear wants to hibernate.

Snow-covered trees.

Welcome to winter

Life in general

The end of Daylight Saving Time on November 3rd dysregulated me, as it usually does. Regardless of whether we’re gaining or losing an hour, I’m disrupted for a couple of weeks following. Sleep, cognitive processing, everything.

And now we’re entering the dark months of the year and all I want to do is sleep. Northeastern Ontario skies are generally cloudy through the late fall and winter months, so even during the day, the light is dim, and the mood is dreary.

I’m still very much in burnout.

Family issues continue to arise. If it’s not my mom, it’s Phil’s. We’re definitely moving into the caregiver zone.

And I’m moving this topic into the privacy zone. Sorry, not sorry.

I know I said it last month, but things at work really are starting to sort themselves out. I’ve had to step up and mask/extrovert, which is exhausting, but it’s part of the job. It also means I have fewer spoons remaining at the end of the day.

And I suspect the sinus infection is creeping back. Called my doctor to make an appointment—a phone appointment—and got one…next year (!) Such is the state of health care in northeastern Ontario.

So, I’m on my own and hoping to get some advice from a friendly pharmacist to keep this thing to a seasonal sinus flareup and not the 2-to-3-month ordeal it’s been the last three times I had it. The last time, it took three rounds of antibiotics, two nasal sprays, and antihistamines to kick it to the curb.

I thought that using the refills of the nasal spray and antihistamines as a preventative measure was working, but this thing started before I finished the prescription.

I’ve started to use the neti pot again. If nothing else, it helps get the snot out.

Two spruce trees against a blue sky with fluffy, white clouds.

The month in writing

November kicked off with the Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival from the 1st to the 3rd. You may have seen my wrap up post last month.

Although it was a fabulous event, I was back to not being able to write creatively, poetry or prose, in the wake of it.

But I did apply for a professional development grant to attend next year’s Banff School of Creativity and the Arts Science Fiction Program with Premee Mohamed, Ai Jiang, and Amal El-Mohtar. Oh, my, but do I ever want to go.

And of course, after I submitted, I realized all the errors I’d made.

The edits from the piece of short fiction accepted last month came in and that started to stimulate the old creative instincts. They’re due on December 13th. If nothing else, the deadline will get me going again.

I resumed the re-read of Reality Bomb but had to stop at a particularly narsty chapter and rewrite.

But I was starting to write again. Cue the Snoopy happy dance. Or the flailing Kermit arms. Whichever visualization brings you the most joy.

Until…I wasn’t. Damn these ups and downs. I start getting into the groove and then, the next time I sit down, the words won’t word.

More poetry rejections trickled in and one acceptance for Polar Starlight in 2025. Got that on the 9th.

Also on the 9th, I received an invitation to a Small Press Books event on the 30th of November. It will already have taken place by the time this is posted, but you’ll prolly have seen my posts on SoMe (social media) about it 🙂

And now it can be told! The story I’ve been vague-booking about since August (well, really, since last spring)? It’s called “The Beekeeper,” and it’s in the Exile Editions anthology Through the Portal: Tales from a Hopeful Dystopia. It’s going to be published December 31st! The whole lineup is stellar, and I have several writerly friends to share the table of contents with. I got the news on November 15th.

Pre-order link here. It’s on sale, too!

Filling the well

The new Ivy moon in Scorpio was on the 1st.

Moon pictures will be few for the next four or five months. I’ll be working when it’s light enough to take a picture of the moon during the day and after work, when I walk Torvi, it’s already dark and my camera phone cannot take decent pictures of the moon at night.

The full Beaver or Freezing moon in Taurus was on the 15th. I saw her while taking Torvi out for finals and she was glorious, wreathed in cloud and halo. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

Aside from Wordstock, I had minimal writerly events this month. I needed a break.

On the 30thof last month, I’d registered for “Irresistible First Chapters” with Tiffany Yates Martin. I wasn’t able to watch the replay until November, because life is busy, and I’m still burnt out. Finally got to it on the 10th. TYM always brings the good writerly learnings.

Also on the 10th, I attended the virtual launch of C.L. Carey’s Spaced! on YouTube. It was a fun event and now I have another book for my TBR pile.

I registered for Saeed Teebi’s “Writing the Short Story” webinar on the 16th through the FOLD Academy. I was focusing on recovery that weekend, though, and had to wait until the webinar was posted to the FOLD Academy YouTube channel. I finally watched it on the 26th. Teebi’s process is intuitive and interesting.

Finnish classes continued throughout the month, with the last one on the 25th. Feeling competent.

My support group met on the 27th. The topic was stress management. Much needed, though I don’t know how much of the excellent advice shared during the meeting I’ll be able to implement.

What I’m watching and reading

The first series I finished in November was The Artful Dodger (Disney +). Jack Dawkins escaped from prison, was seconded as a surgeon in the navy, and is now a brilliant (though illiterate—dyslexic?) doctor in Australia. He has gambling debts he can’t pay and the man he owes wants to cut off his hand (!) Fagan finds his way to Dawkins and draws him back into criminal life as a means of paying his debts and saving his medical career.

Enter Lady Belle Fox, the governor’s daughter, who brings a brilliant medical mind of her own, and several innovations, to the hospital where Jack works. She wants Jack to train her to be a surgeon, but she has an ulterior motive which would be a big spoiler to share. And Oliver Twist shows up as a literal plot twist later in the series.

An interesting continuation of a beloved secondary character’s story. It seems like it was only intended to be a limited series, but fans have been asking for more.

Then, I finished all three seasons of Sweet Tooth (Netflix). This is about the get SPOILERY. The first season was about survival. Gus, a hybrid (children who are born with animal attributes, in Gus’s case, antlers), lives with his Pubba in hiding. Hybrid children are being hunted by the Last Men because when the hybrids began to be born, the Sick also appeared, a disease with no cure, killing humans on a massive scale. When Pubba disappears, Gus is left on his own until one of the Last Men comes hunting…then changes his mind. Something about Gus stays his hand. Gus wants to find his mother, Birdie, and won’t leave Big Man alone until he agrees to help. Big Man reluctantly begins to care for Gus. Along the way they meet Becky, AKA Bear, leader of the Animal Army, who defend and protect hybrids. Becky wants to find her sister, a hybrid who was taken from her family when Becky was too young to have done anything to prevent it.

In the second season, the General, leader of the First Men, becomes the main antagonist. He’s rounding up hybrids and has captured a doctor (Singh) who extracts a substance from the hybrids that can prevent the Sick, which his wife has, form progressing. The General wants Singh to make a cure, but Singh eventually realizes that he can’t and is stuck buying time for him and his wife. Gus is captured and with the other hybrids, tries to escape. Meanwhile, Big Man teams up with a zoologist, who has also lost her hybrid kids to the General, and Becky calls in the Animal Army. The General is defeated, and Gus and his compatriots find some important information that might lead them to Birdie.

In the final season, Gus, Big Man, Becky, and her sister, Wendy set off for Alaska, where Birdie is supposed to have gone. Singh, whose wife has left him because he refuses to give up his search for a cure, follows and eventually catches up to them. Gus begins to have visions of a cave. One of the General’s allies, Mrs. Zhang, is determined to wipe out hybrids and save humans, and sets off in pursuit. Becky and Wendy are separated from Gus and Big Man, Singh defects to Zhang’s side, Birdie and then the cave are found, but when Gus finally reaches his destination, Zhang kills Birdie, stabs Big Man, and Singh is about to sacrifice Gus to cure the Sick. There is a final confrontation, but I won’t give everything away 🙂 [Here endeth the spoilery]

Next, I finished all three seasons of Truth Be Told (Apple TV +). In season 1, Oakland journalist Poppy Parnell (Octavia Spenser) restarts the true crime podcast Reconsidered that made her famous and reopens the 1999 murder case of Stanford professor Chuck Buhrman after new evidence suggests Warren Cave, the man she helped put behind bars, was wrongly convicted. Blame shifts through multiple secondary characters, two of whom are the twin daughters of Buhrman, who’ve dealt very differently with their trauma.

In season 2, Poppy investigates the murder of a controversial filmmaker at the request of his wife Micah (Kate Hudson), an equally controversial wellness guru whose friendship with Poppy compromises her judgment. Poppy’s marriage dissolves, and she begins to sort out some of her past trauma in the process of solving the crime.

In season 3, Poppy works with a high school principal (Gabrielle Union) to investigate the disappearances of several young black girls in Oakland whose cases lack mainstream media attention. Poppy’s long-time podcasting partner leaves when Poppy makes a deal with a media sponsor. It’s all tangled up in human trafficking and Poppy changes her last name from Parnell to Scoville when she works through some of her issues with her family.

It was good, twisty storytelling and using a journalist/podcaster as the protagonist made for an interesting perspective and departure from the usual police procedural.

Then, Phil and I watched Deadpool & Wolverine when it started streaming on Disney +. Hilarious and meta and fourth-wall-breaky, it was exactly what we needed after a stressful week.

I finished watching the first season of Supacell (Netflix) and in a rare turn of events, it’s been renewed! It’s the first season of Heroes meets Attack the Block. There’s a sickle cell variant that allows Black people to develop superpowers and a shady organization (unsurprisingly of white people) seeking to train and control them. They’re not just trying to save one person (AKA the cheerleader), but each of the five main characters has a loved one in jeopardy. I enjoyed it and I’m happy I’ll get to see more. I just hope the show doesn’t go the route Heroes did in season 2.

My first listen of the month was another Audible Plus catalogue selection that was due to be removed. In Charles de Lint’s The Wind in His Heart, four lives come together to be changed forever. Thomas Corn Eyes has always seen the spirits, but he wants to see the world beyond the Rez before he takes his place as shaman. Steve Cole faked his death and changed his name to escape his rock star life and live in the desert. Troubled barrio teen Sadie Higgins is abandoned in the desert and is willing to do anything it takes to get revenge and escape the pain of her life. Leah Hardin, Newford blogger, still grieving a friend’s death, heads down to investigate a rumour that Jackson Cole may still be alive.

It’s a lovely tale, entwining myth and mystery, and all four characters find their ways to healing among the Maderas Mountains.

Then, I finished Mike Chen’s A Quantum Love Story. This book is my new comp for Reality Bomb. Mariana Pineda is grieving her best friend and stepsister Shay’s death and ready to quit her job working as a neuroscientist for ReLive, a company that has a process that stabilizes memories. It’s not that the process doesn’t work—she’s had the treatment herself—or that she hates what she does. Shay’s death has uprooted Mariana’s life, and she needs to start over. After she tours the Hawke Accelerator. It would have been Shay’s dream. Shay was a physicist.

At Hawke, Mariana keeps seeing the same man, a technician, everywhere she goes, and when he asks her to go with him, to stand in a particular spot, she’s bemused enough to go along with it. And then a beam of green light strikes her, and she wakes up on Monday morning, four days before. She’s stuck in a time loop.

There’s a lot more to the story, but this novel is so good, I want y’all to read it.

Then, I listened to Great Figures of Latino Heritage by Dr. Khristin Montes. It was another Audible Original and Great Courses collaboration. Though short, Montes covers everything from the Aztec and Inkan empires through to the present day. Excellent.

Another short but 100% fun listen was John Scalzi’s Constituent Service. This is an Audible Original exclusive, that is, the story was written for Audible and will only be available on Audible. Narrated by Amber Benson, Constituent Service tells the tale of Ashley Perrin, who’s starting her first job, post-graduation, as the community liaison for the Third District, where aliens outnumber humans. Immediately, she’s bombarded by noise complaints, transit complaints, a report of alien pets—illegal on Earth for environmental reasons—and a missing chicken. It all comes together in a hilarious conclusion.

Next, I listened to Habits for Happiness at Work, another Tim Sharp Audible Original. Sound advice, but again, not all that neurodivergent friendly.

Then, I finished my reread of Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Darkest Road. As good as I remember it. Heart wrenching. You can really see the seeds of the storyteller Kay becomes in later novels.

I’d pre-ordered Ashley Shuttleworth’s A Wild and Ruined Song earlier in the year and dove in when I received it. I was hooked by the Hollow Star Saga from the first book in the series. The complexity of the worldbuilding is amazing. And the characters even more so. Mostly queer, mostly traumatized, and sufficiently ND-coded that I was stuck to their respective journeys like glue.

I’m not going to say much about the book itself because I think it’s worth reading if you like urban fantasy/masquerade at all. I will note that the final epic battle happens off-page, which might be disappointing to some readers, but the entire series, and this book in particular, includes escalating conflicts, so there are enough physical battles to satisfy even the most bloodthirsty reader. It was a solid conclusion to the series.

Next up was Karen Frazier’s Chakra Crystals. Interesting ideas about using crystals and other stones to heal or balance your chakras. This was more of a curiosity read than a research or personal improvement read, though I’m sure, as an autistic, my chakras are all out of whack.

Then, I listened to Wynonna Earp: Tales from Purgatory by Emily Andras. This collection is a series of short stories that picks up where the series left off. Wynonna and Doc are off on a much-deserved vacation and experience difficulties on their journey, including a head-popping demon. Meanwhile, back in Purgatory, Jeremy, Nicole, Waverley, and the gang deal with demons of their own. A fun listen that reunites the cast for more potty-mouthed sexcapades, supernatural mysteries, and lots of chaos. What else would you expect from Wynonna Earp?

Then, I read Robin Wall Kimmerer’s The Serviceberry. Kimmerer proposes a new economics of giving and reciprocity based on the lessons of the humble berry. Short, but LOVED.

My final listen of the month was Mistletoe Murders 3 by Ken Cuperus. This Audible Original is a slightly guilty pleasure I discovered three years ago when the first in the series came out. It’s actually classified as a podcast, but whatever. I love it. Cobie Smulders voices Emily Lane who runs a year-round Christmas shop in a sleepy little town, is hu-mom to two demanding kittehs, and solves mysteries in her spare time. Cozy, right?

But Emily has a secret past that caught up with her at the end of the last book, when someone from her old life appeared and told her that her high-profile sleuthing had drawn the attention of the shadowy organization she became Emily Lane to escape…just as her relationship with local lawman Sam was starting to heat up. It’s fun. And I love me some Smulders (justice for Maria Hill! IYKYK).

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

The next chapter: October 2024 update

/ Melanie Marttila

Hello, burnout, my old friend…

My grrl, looking gormless and stalwart. She is a great regulator for autisti-mom.

Life in general

I started to see signs of recovery early in the month. The first was this: the revenge procrastination started to ease up. For the last couple of weeks in September, I couldn’t get to bed earlier than 1 am. Some days, it was more like 2 am.

Slowly, it started to shift. 12:45 am, 12:30 am, 12 am, and finally 11:30 pm. The progression wasn’t even, though. I slipped for a few days, popping back up to midnight, got back on track for a few days, and then had a couple of super-late nights. Mid-month, I was back, more or less, to a consistent midnight bedtime.

Things at work are starting to sort themselves out. We’re making progress on the one, time-sensitive project and a few decisions have been made that will make things a bit easier. But I still feel like I’m failing my team most days.

I’ve been taking time off when I feel overwhelmed, and it’s been helping, but I still feel guilty. A lifetime of meeting expectations at cost to myself isn’t easy to shake. By thanksgiving weekend, I started to feel a little better.

Only to slip back down into the well again.

Mom took a tumble on the 28th. She’s okay, though bruised. Phil and I opted to call for an ambulance again because we were concerned that our untrained efforts to help her get up would only result in further injury. But all is well.

The month in writing

I wrote and revised a couple of poems and submitted them to a journal as a way of trying to gently get back into writing mode.

Rejections on my poetry submissions continued to roll in. It’s part of the writing life, but they still sting.

With Reality Bomb, I started to journal/freewrite my way through the climactic chapter. Having roughly mapped it out, I let the words percolate for a bit. I decided to focus on self-care for Thanksgiving weekend. Then I started looking at revisions on a few key scenes.

It’s a pleasant surprise when you read something you’ve written, and you’re not disgusted by it.

Spot revisions turned into a reread. It refreshed a lot of the revisions I’d already done and that I’d forgotten about (!) Not necessarily a good sign, but it means I have some distance from the earlier part of the novel.

On October 3rd, I received a lovely request from a fellow Sudbury author to be her mentor…if her funding application was successful. Unfortunately, her funding application wasn’t successful. I briefly considered giving it a go anyway, but before I acted on the impulse, I sat back and thought about it. I’m not really in a place yet where I think I can be helpful. I need to recover from this burnout first, finish RB, and then I can consider other opportunities.

On the 16th, I received notification that my submission to Pulp Literature’s First Page Cage had made the longlist (!) I honestly didn’t expect to make the finals. The opening of Reality Bomb is kind of quiet 🙂 I was just happy to have made the first cut!

As expected, I didn’t even make the quarter finals. But I received feedback that I can hopefully use to improve the opening.

Then, on the 19th, I received more information about the story accepted for an anthology last year. I hope to be able to share some good news about that soonish.

And on the 22nd, I received another acceptance for a short story I submitted to another anthology in the spring! More news to come once things are formalized.

One of the organizers for the Jabbawong Storytelling Festival in Kagawong reached out to me on the 23rd. There in the early stages of organizing 2025’s festival, but they’d like me to be part of their lineup. So honoured. And excited.

For reasons, some personal, like my burnout, others professional, like the controversies they continue to struggle with, I have decided not to NaNo this year in any form. I track my writing regardless and have come to see the event as more of a burden than a fun challenge.

Filling the well

The new vine moon in Libra was on the 2nd. Watched the annular solar eclipse in South America via Time & Date.

There was a period where the aurora borealis was supposed to be visible, but not here in town. Too much light pollution. There was also comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, but cloud cover and again, light pollution, prevented a sighting here.

The full hunter’s moon in Aries was on the 17th. While I wasn’t able to get a good picture the night of, I nabbed a lovely one the morning after.

Picture of the full moon.

And, of course, Samhain, my birthday, was on the 31st.

In the wake of the last few months, I tried to cut back on creative obligations.

“The delivery of information in fiction,” the last of the Your Personal Odyssey workshops I signed up for, presented by Carrie Vaughn, was on the 6th. Really good information about how to balance showing and telling, particularly at the beginning of a story.

On the 12th was The FOLD Academy’s “Energy is currency: Eight ways to create a more sustainable writing career” with Chelene Knight. Unfortunately, I missed it and will have to wait for the webinar to be posted on their YouTube channel. I did subscribe to Chelene’s podcast though. The webinar was posted on the 18th. Last month, Chelene did a similar webinar for The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) and I really enjoy her philosophy about living a balanced creative life.

“Dealing with the writer demons” with Tiffany Yates Martin was on the 13th. Very good. Tiffany has her new book out, The Intuitive Writer (another on for the TBR), and this was a co-opt of Jane Friedman’s Sunday Sermon in celebration of the release.

I signed up for a Jane Friedman webinar, “Mastering Trauma Scenes to Improve your Memoir” with Lisa Cooper Ellison on the 16th. Because it was during the day, I watched the replay. It was about how to write about your trauma in a way that respects both yourself and your readers. Very good.

In non-writerly events, I started up Finnish class again on Oct 7th. The classes run for eight weeks and will continue through next month. The news is this: I’ve improved! I can actually say a few things in Finnish from memory that are contextually correct in conversation! The ding of achievement has been heard 🙂 Now to work on my pronunciation.

I also attended my support group meeting on the 9th. The topic this month: Abilities vs. expectations. Something I’m struggling with right now.

I had a lovely massage on Oct 2nd. Just the things after two days of back to back to back meetings that kind of drove me crazy.

My semi-annual dental cleaning and checkup was on the 8th. No matter how hard I try, I can’t keep the stains from accumulating around my permanent retainer.

Then, on the 17th, I got my flu and covid vaccine combo, one in each shoulder. And it really hurt this time. Two days of shoulder pain bad enough I had to medicate and a day of feeling crap.

Fortunately, I felt better after those two days of misery.

Back in September, I started taking the antihistamines (30 days worth of pills and 60 of the nasal spray) I had leftover from my long recovery from sinusitis in the spring as a preventative measure. I think it helped ward off the illen this fall. I’m knocking on every wooden surface within reach as I type this.

What I’m watching and reading

After a rough workweek, I engaged in some self-care and watch The Mitchells vs. the Machines (Netflix). Pure joy. I mean, there’s a serious story about a family coming together…to save the freakin’ world! Boom, baby! So weird, but so awesome. I was smiling the entire time.

Then, I watched The Bad Guys (Netflix). Another fun watch. Sam Rockwell voices the protagonist, The Big Bad Wolf, who leads a criminal gang including Snake (his best friend), Shark, Tarantula, and Pirhana. Most of the denizens of this world are human, except for the governor, a fox, and a humanitarian, a guinea pig. Another weird one, but quite fun.

Next, I watched The Boy and the Heron (Netflix). Mahito loses his mother in a fire during the Pacific War. His father marries his mother’s sister, and they seek refuge at her family estate in the country. Mahito is still mourning his mother’s death and distant from his aunt, who is pregnant. A grey heron keeps appearing, and there’s this creepy tower that was built by Mahito’s great grand uncle. That’s the set up and I think I’ll leave it there except to say one more thing, the book that in part inspired the movie, How Do You Live? features as a part of Mahito’s healing journey. It’s not my favourite Miyazaki movie, but it’s damned good.

Then, Phil and I finished watching season 3 of Vox Machina (Amazon). I enjoyed it a lot and they seemed to tie up a lot of loose ends. They defeated Ripley, Thordak, Raishan’s undead monstrosity, and brought Percy back from the dead, though at a cost. Orthax may still be a problem. Even though they’ve all gone their separate ways for now, a fourth season’s been greenlit, so we’ll see more of the gang’s adventures.

Finally, Phil and I watched Agatha All Along (Disney +). Of course we did. One of the best Disney series to come out recently. I loved it. Watch it if you can.

My first listen of the month was the Audible Original production of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. The more I read Dickens, the better I like his books. All the characters are linked by Jarndyce and Jarndyce, a lawsuit that has entangled generations. John Jarndyce has washed his hands of it and seeks a simple life. He takes in two young cousins whose fortunes have been held in limbo by the lawsuit and hires a young orphan, Esther Summerson as their companion. A man named “no one” dies. Lawyers scheme. A lady with secrets asks a street sweeper to take her to a pauper’s grave. A doctor struggles to save lives. It all comes together, and lives are changed forever when Jarndyce and Jarndyce is finally settled. Excellent.

Then, I listened to The Finnish Guide to Happiness by Melanie Dower. The author moved to Finland nine years ago and shares what she’s learned about life in the world’s happiest country. Very good.

Next, I finished Lois McMaster Bujold’s Beguilement, the first book in The Sharing Knife series. Fawn runs away from home after Sonny refuses to take responsibility for the baby she’s having as the result of a night of fumbling in the fields. En route, she’s taken captive by bandits and saved by Dag, one of the Lakewalkers, erroneously known as necromancers. But then, they’re attacked by a malice, Dag is injured, and Fawn must kill the horror herself, but not before it drains the life from her baby.

There’s some ick factor, so be warned. Fawn is slut shamed by Sonny and her family verbally and emotionally abuses her (no wonder she ran away). Fawn is 18 and Dag is 55. They become lovers, but not without struggle over the age difference (by both Fawn and Dag, as well as everyone who learns of their affections, Lakewalker or otherwise). Aside from the action-packed first act, the rest of the novel focuses on the budding relationship and Fawn and Dag’s trip back to her home, where she confronts her family and Sonny, and she and Dag get married. I enjoyed it, despite the ick.

Then, I listened to The Unappreciated Power of Naps, an Audible Original, by Jade Wu. Lots of good information. It has me reconsidering trying to nap (despite my apparent inability to do so).

I reread Nancy Kress’s Beggars Ride, the third in her Sleepless trilogy. Well, I listened to the audiobook because it was slated to be removed from the Audible Plus catalogue. The Sleepless and the SuperSleepless are now fighting each other, and humanity is caught in the crossfire. As good as I remember it, but Jackson has a boner for every occasion 🙂

The next book I finished reading was K.M. Weiland’s Next Level Story Structure. She focuses on chiastic story structure, moves on to scene structure, and answers a few related questions in the last few chapters. While most of this information has already been posted on her website, Helping Writers Become Authors, she’s revised and refined the information for this writing craft book. Last year, I started purchasing her physical books (I have them all as ebooks). I decided I wanted to have her advice at my fingertips. This one’s joined the collection.

Finally, I listened to Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time. Written in 1976, the novel tells the tale of Consuelo, Connie, who is involuntarily committed by her niece’s pimp after she tries to stop him from beating her niece. In the depths of her despair, Connie is pulled into the future to a socialist utopia where she eventually finds solace from her miserable existence. But then she’s put into an experimental program in which electrodes are inserted into patients’ brains to control their behaviour and the next time she travels into the future, it’s to a dystopia.

The epilogue is Connie’s psychiatric history and brings the entire novel into question. Was she in a psychotic delusion the whole time? Despite the ending, I enjoyed Piercy’s feminist ruminations.

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. melaniemarttila.ca

The next chapter: September 2024 update

/ Melanie Marttila

Getting back into the swing of things…until the swing breaks.

Picture of a cloudy sky.

Life in general

Even though we’ve had another lovely stretch of warm weather through September, I’ve given up on the idea of swimming this year, for several reasons.

  1. My swimsuit. I haven’t bought a new one since I lost weight and it’s baggy. Baggy enough that it would probably fall off my shoulders while I swim (!) I definitely need a new one but haven’t gotten around to sourcing one yet. Speedo designs have also changed a lot over the years and I’m not sure what would suit—lol—me now.
  2. My rituals in the covid endemic age. Because I continue to work full time, and devote a good portion of the rest of my time to writing, I’m finding it challenging to fit a swim in. I really struggle in the mornings and don’t think I could get up any earlier to swim then, and after work, I often don’t have the spoons to do something that isn’t writing. I’ll have to give it some thought before next June.
  3. I’m far enough away from a beach that it would take a half hour to an hour to walk (depending on which one I go to) there and back, or I’d have to take my car, and there may not be enough parking, particularly on hot summer days. It’s another time sink and ritual adjustment that I have to account for.

Friday the 13th wasn’t kind. My mom was feeling poorly enough that she asked me to call 911 for her after work. After a 20-hour odyssey in the waiting room (during which she did not sleep, eat, or drink anything), seeing a doctor, tests, and a CAT scan, she was observed overnight. In the morning (Sunday) the surgeon called, recommending surgery. I agreed and laparoscopic surgery to repair/remove a bowel obstruction proceeded that afternoon.

So, I had to put a few things on hold.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a few years, you may remember that Mom had a similar surgery in November 2020. It was why we went with the option of an ambulance and agreed with the surgery when it was recommended. The illness that preceded it was familiar.

She was in the hospital until the following Thursday (Sept. 19) when Phil brought her home and life started its slow return to normal.

Work is still a source of stress. Transitioning to a new team is not easy, and doing it in the summer, when vacations mean that half your team is away, just makes it more difficult. I’m starting to get a handle on the projects and hope to feel like I’m making headway soon.

I’m pretty sure I’ve tipped the scales toward burnout.

The month in writing

I focused primarily on the climactic chapter of Reality Bomb when I could, but it eventually became apparent that words were not wording.

I was supposed to meet with Suzy once on the 18th, but Mom’s surgery forced me to postpone.

On September 1st, there was a flurry of activity for the anthology I’ve been included in. For most of August, I’ve been quietly reviewing proofs and the draft contract. On the 1st, I reviewed and signed my contract and reviewed and approved final proofs.

I’ll let you know more when I can. It’s kind of killing me not to be able to share the news.

On the 24th, my Sudbury Writers’ Guild member page went live.

And on the 25th, three of my poems appeared in The /tεmz/ Review! Trauma cluster I, II, and III can be read online. Please be advised that TCIII includes mentions of suicidal ideation. The whole tryptich is dark, so be aware if you choose to read. Take care of yourselves, y’all!

I met with my Dispatches writing group on the 3rd. Always good to catch up and share with writer friends. But then, because Mom, I had to withdraw from the next round of submissions and critiques.

I received another lovely review of The Art of Floating from Ramblings on my Bookshelves on the 11th. So, so grateful for each reader and every review that comes in!

The Wordstock annual general meeting was on the 11th, followed immediately by the Wordstock 2024 lineup announcement and open mic night. There are so many stellar authors in the lineup: Alicia Elliot, Drew Hayden Taylor, Hollay Ghadery, Danielle Daniel, Yvonne Blomer, Ariel Gordon…and the list goes on!

Heather Campbell and Kyla Heyming announcing the 2024 Wordstock Sudbury lineup.

I’m honoured to be in the Poetry Primer session on Friday, November 1st from 5:30 to 6:30 pm with Kelsey Borgford, moderated by Poet Laureate Alex Tétreault. If you’re in the Sudbury area in November, please come out to Place des Arts and take part in Wordstock 2024!

Here’s the link to the Wordstock website where you can look at all the author biographies, download the schedule-at-a-glance, and buy tickets 🙂

On the 19th, Emily De Angelis featured The Art of Floating in one of her five adjective reviews (on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads). She took a break over the summer, but otherwise Emily posts one of these charming, brief reviews every Friday.

Five Adjective Review of The Art of Floating.

In writing business, the SF Canada board met on the 24th. It was a brief, productive meeting.

Filling the well

The new Hazel moon in Virgo was on the 2nd, which was also Labour Day.

The full Corn/Leaves Changing Colour moon in Pisces and partial lunar eclipse was on the 17th. I watched the Time & Date coverage of the eclipse in various parts of the world where the eclipse was more pronounced and walked to the window to watch the wee nibble of shadow on the moon here. The moon was distinctly orange in the days leading up to the full.

And the autumnal equinox fell on the 22nd this year. I did my usual altar-lighting and contemplated the changing of the seasons.

Writing-related events started to ramp up again. I’d signed up for that series of Odyssey workshops last month and they continued through September. I also signed up for several Clarion West Workshops. And there were several book launches and events to attend.

On the 8th, I attended the Odyssey workshop “Point of View” with Paul Park. Solid writerly learnings.

On the 10th, I attended “playing with Perspective” with David Ly, a poetry workshop through the League of Canadian Poets. Since it was during the workday, I audited, but the workshop was verra interesting. I’ll have to work through it on my own time.

That same night was “Avoiding Common Science Pitfalls in Your SF with Ashley Christine, the first of the Clarion workshops I signed up for. Lots of science-y fact checking for worldbuilding and plotting.

Then, on the 12th, Rod Carley launched his latest novel, Ruff, at Place des Arts. It was lovely to meet Rod in person (we’ve only ever interacted online).

Rod Carley is conversation with Marcus Schwabe.

The 13th through the 15th was the DIY MFA Author Life Summit. Because that was also when my mom had her surgery, I just watched the sessions I was most interested in.

The next week, on the 19th, Kim Fahner launched her debut historical novel, The Donoghue Girl. Kim’s launches are always events. She invites musician friends to play, sings a couple of Irish songs, and then does a reading or two. This time, she asked Judi Straughan to interview her and livestreamed the event for out-of-town friends and fans. Her dress was absolutely gorgeous. Fabulous night!

Kim Fahner in conversation with Judi Straughan.

That weekend, I attended the virtual launch of Sara Letourneau’s debut poetry collection, Wild Gardens. Sara was a contributor to DIY MFA at the same time I was, and she was also one of the book coaches I considered before deciding on Suzy. I wanted to support a fellow debut poet.

The same evening, I attended the 2024 Anne Szumigalski Lecture, “Call and Response,” presented by Titilope Sonuga. Amazing presentation!

On the 22nd, Terese Mason Pierre presented the Clarion West Workshop “Discovering Speculative Poetry.” Loved! Generated some great ideas.

On the 27th was “Molecular Description” with Escher McDonell-Maulsby. I have to watch the session again. It. Was. Stellar!

Then, on the 28th, I attended an all-day virtual retreat, “All About Fantasy” presented by Bianca Marais and featuring lectures and workshops by authors Tomi Adeyemi, Amber Chen, and Andrea Hairston, agents Mary C. Moore and Elizabeth Hitti, and editor Saana Ali-Virani. There was so much writerly goodness going on, it’s another event I have to watch again.

Finally, on the 29th, I attended “The Business of Writing” with Arly Sorg, another Odyssey workshop. Excellent.

In non-writerly events, I attended “The Wisdom of the Witch” with Phyllis Curott. I have two of her books on witchcraft and was curious to hear her present. It was a good presentation and guided ritual.

On the 3rd, I picked up my new orthotics and glasses. It’s so nice to be more comfortable walking again and to be able to see better. I did need a tweak in my prescription.

Picture of glasses.
The picture doesn’t capture the colours. Pink and burgundy with gold-toned metal. Looks rose-gold.

What I’m watching and reading

I finally watched Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Crave). It was fine, and I did enjoy the performances, but overall, it suffered from the same issue many prequels fall prey to: viewers know where the story is heading. And while it was interesting to see Furiosa’s backstory, it really had little impact on the events of Mad Max: Fury Road. I really didn’t see the point of it. If they were books, I’d almost say combine the two, interweaving the past and present timelines, but I guess that wouldn’t have worked as well as a movie.

Phil and I zoomed through KAOS (Netflix). It’s an alternate reality in which the Greek gods still exist and what we think of as mythic stories play out in the modern day. Zeus (Jeff Goldblum) is obsessed with his prophecy—the Fates give everyone a prophecy at their birth—and is getting increasingly unstable. Hera and Poseidon are having an affair, Hades and Persephone are having a rough go (spoilers, if I tell you with what), most of Zeus’s children aren’t speaking to him except for Dionysus, who wants to do more than party all the time, and Prometheus has a plan, having to do with his own prophecy, to get out of his eternal punishment.

Enter the mortals. Eurydice, “Riddy,” is falling out of love with Orpheus, the rock star who obsesses over her as his muse. When Riddy dies and Orpheus is determined to rescue her from the Underworld, you think you know how the story goes (but you’d be wrong). Caeneus died but cannot enter The Frame. He must work in the Underworld until he earns his right to cross over. He and Riddy discover a conspiracy and begin to fall in love, as the dead do. Ariadne, “Ari,” has lived with the burden of having killed her twin Glaucus in their infancy. Riddy, Caeneus, and Ari all have critical roles to play in bringing about Zeus’s prophecy, freeing Prometheus, and bringing about the downfall of the gods.

This just touches the surface. It was an amazing show with awesome actors and ended on a cliffhanger. Phil and I are hoping Netflix doesn’t cancel the series, as they have with so many others we’ve loved (RIP Lockwood and Co. and Dead Boy Detective Agency).

Then, I finished watching Dark Matter (Apple TV) based on the novel by Blake Crouch that I read last month. So, here is the comparison I promised, and be warned [HERE BE SPOILERS]. Avoid if you want to read the book or watch the series without the benefit on my completely biased opinion 🙂

The plot is roughly the same between the novel and the series. Jason Dessen, college professor of physics, lives in Chicago with his wife Daniela, and their son, Charlie. After celebrating his neuroscientist friend Ryan’s win of a prestigious science award, he is abducted and drugged, waking up in what looks like a laboratory medical facility. Eventually, he figures out that he is in another world in which he decided to pursue the development of a prototype he once created, the Cube, which allowed a particle to exist and be observed in superposition without collapsing its waveform into one state or the other. The Cube has become the Box, which allows people to exist in superposition and choose the state, in this case world, they want to exist in. He realizes that this world’s Jason (forthwith called Jason2) regretted his decision not to marry Daniela and have Charlie.

Jason escapes with the lab’s psychiatrist, Amanda, and the two journey through multiple harrowing worlds before they figure out how the Box works. Amanda leaves Jason, and after a period of despair, Jason finally finds his world. But hundreds of Jasons have come into being in the Box, with every decision made and every world visited. And they’ve all come to Jason’s world seeking to reclaim their family from Jason2. What ensues is a farcical thrill-ride in which Jason avoids being killed by his numerous other selves, convinces Daniela and Charlie that he is their “real” Jason, escapes to a remote and unoccupied vacation home where Jason2 and a gang of his other selves track him down, manages to kill Jason2, and kill or avoid the rest of his others, returns to Chicago and the Box, where hundreds of other Jasons wait. There is more fighting, but most of the Jasons just want Daniela and Charlie to be safe and happy and make it possible for protagonist Jason to escape into the box with his family.

The first difference is that, in the novel, Daniela notices that there is something different about Jason, but it’s all good. He’s a more attentive husband and father. So, when protagonist Jason returns at the end of the novel, Daniela and Charlie illogically and immediately trust him.

The series fixes this in several ways. First, series-Charlie has a twin, Max, who died shortly after they were born. Every year, the family hold a memorial for Max. Jason2 misses this significant observance because he’s off trying to bilk an old friend out of millions by showing him how the Box works and sending him on his way. Then, Charlie has a severe allergy to nuts and Jason2 gives him ice cream with nuts in it, setting off anaphylactic shock. And Jason2 doesn’t know how to use Charlie’s EpiPen.

After this, Daniela grows suspicious and confides in Ryan. Ryan discovers that Jason2 somehow has a drug that Ryan is secretly developing. He confronts Jason2, who kind of confesses and takes Ryan into the Box, trapping him in another world. Jason2 then seals the Box in concrete (also filling another plot hole from the novel, where Jason2 leaves the Box open and unprotected throughout) to keep anyone he’s sent into its quantum maze from returning to this world. But when Jason2 becomes a suspect in Ryan’s disappearance, he breaks the concrete, finds another world’s Ryan and brings him back to halt the investigation.

Whew! This is already a lot.

In the novel, Amanda sneaks off while Jason sleeps, leaving him a note. Is the series, they visit a world that is a utopia compared to ours and she decides to stay.

In the novel, Jason2 tracks Jason and his family to the remote vacation home where they are hiding, changes clothes with Jason, and then Daniela and Charlie show up to witness their fight to the death (but who’s the real Jason?!). In the series, Jason2 is held hostage by another of the Jasons and learns what the other Jasons have suffered because of him. He still tracks Jason to the vacation home, but he does it to make up for the wrong that he’s done, gifting Jason with the means to use the Box to escape to another world with Daniela and Charlie. He also gives them Max’s ashes to take with them. Then, he stays behind to deal with the other Jasons.

Finally, the series provides a better denouement. Ryan is in Amanda’s utopian world, and they meet. Jason’s billionaire friend is having the time of his life, and we see Jason and his family enter another world, but we don’t know which one, though the light shining through the door seems to imply that it is the same utopian world Amanda chose to stay in.

By now, you’ve probably deduced that I liked the series better than the novel. Sometimes, an adaptation—if the author of the novel is involved—can provide opportunities for the author to make the changes they wished they’d been able to make before the novel was published. Or the adaptation demands changes that improve the story. [Here endeth the spoilers!]

Next, I finished the first season of Shogun (Disney +). I honestly can’t remember much of the original mini-series starring Richard Chamberlain and I never read the book, but I enjoyed this series. The actors were excellent. And I didn’t even mind the tactful absence of subtitles in the first few episodes. Suitably epic.

I watched Inside Out 2 when it was released on Disney +. Charming, sweet story about what happens when Riley hits puberty and a whole group of new emotions take over. The principle takeaway is that emotions don’t get to determine who Riley will be. It’s a lesson that Joy and Anxiety both have to learn.

My first book of the month was a The Great Courses and Audible Original collaboration. Victorian Animals in Literature and Culture by Deborah Morse considers the works of Anna Sewell (Black Beauty), Margaret Marshall Sanders (Beautiful Joe), Virginia Woolf (Flush), Beatrix Potter, Sir Arthur Connan Doyle, and Ernest Thomas Seaton. Morse brings the conversation into the 21st century with a discussion of Karen Joy Fowler’s We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. The book includes discussion not only of animal welfare and rights, but also slavery, disability, social justice, and more. I was impressed and touched. An excellent listen.

Then, I finished reading The Stones of Burren Bay by Emily De Angelis. Loved! Norie (short for Honoria) can only bear witness as her beloved grandmother dies. When her father—always angling for a way to make money—wants to sell the antique artist’s box her grandmother left to her, Norrie protests. Unfortunately, he doesn’t tell her until he’s driving Norie and her mother to meet the buyer, and the resulting argument leads to a car fiery crash that kills her father and seriously injures Norie and her mother.

Of course, Norie blames herself. Norie’s journey is one of spiritual healing and reconciliation that takes place in a lovely lighthouse museum on Manitoulin Island among people who become Norie’s new “found” family. A second timeline runs through the novel in reverse chronological order detailing Oonagh’s journey from Ireland to the same Manitoulin lighthouse where her father was to be keeper and the fire that takes her life. Yes, I know the author, but I would have loved the book every bit as much even if I didn’t. Highly recommend.

Next, I read Mirrored Heavens, the third book in the Between Earth and Sky series by Rebecca Roanhorse. This is one of those books that to say anything of the plot automatically means spoilers. So, I won’t get into it except in very general terms. Serapio now rules Tova, but enemies are amassing on two fronts to take back the city. Xiala returns to Teek and has to defeat a warlord come to enslave her people. Naranpa travels north to a fabled graveyard that may be the key to mastering her powers as the sun god’s avatar and saving Tova from a fiery fate. Shifting alliances, political intrigue, betrayal, and sorcery. All the good things. Loved, though I did want a better ending for Naranpa. Just saying.

Then, I listened to A Beginner’s Guide to Numerology by Joy Woodward. I first encountered numerology years ago when I read Linda Goodman’s Star Signs. Goodman focused on Chaldean/Hebrew numerology, however. Woodward presents Ptolemaic numerology, and it’s a more straightforward, but more complex system of divination. I rediscovered an old special interest and had fun calculating various numbers. Since it’s all basic addition, it’s super easy.

Next, I read The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville. I hadn’t read a Miéville novel yet, though they’re on my TBR list. Not having read the BRZRKR comics on which the novel’s based, I wasn’t familiar with the specific context, though I do know of other series that deal with immortal warriors.

These day’s, he’s simply known as B but, over the aeons of his existence, he’s been called Unute, and Death. This last is pertinent, because he does tend to go into a true berserk rage, which even his allies can’t escape. It’s gotten so bad that some of his black-ops colleagues have attempted to kill him. And that was before a shadowy cabal actively began to subvert them. When one of his dead (like half-his-head-blown-off dead) colleagues comes back to life, it starts a whole series of events that culminate in a confrontation between B and the children of other gods. It was a great, if challenging read.

My next listen was Susan Cain’s Audible Original, Seven Steps to a Quiet Life. Narrated by the author, this was a short and sweet look at life, finding your purpose, moving through difficult life events and grief, seeking oneness, and having compassion for your fellow beings. Lovely.  

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

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, April 2-8, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to the last tipsday for the foreseeable. As I mentioned in my most recent next chapter weekly, I’m cutting back on social media to devote more time to writing and revision.

It’s been a while since Torvi made an appearance 🙂

Julianna Baggott: yes, I know how hard it is. Donald Maass explains where connection comes from. Then, Elizabeth Huergo muses on frigates and ChatGPT. Writer Unboxed

Margie Lawson is writing fresh: laughs, giggles, and snorts that carry power. Then, Hannah Jacobson explains what you can do with book awards and reviews. Stefan Emunds says characterization is one of the most vital writing skills. Writers in the Storm

What makes a movie “feminist”? Princess Weekes

Elizabeth Spann Craig is writing longhand.

Becca Puglisi says, if you need organizational help, try Trello. Then, Colleen M. Story shares six ways to make your author blog more successful. Writers Helping Writers

Is cyberpunk actually punk? Tale Foundry

Amy L. Bernstein provides a framework for moving beyond your first draft. Then, Matt Holmes lists the four pillars of book marketing, or how to sell more books in less time. Amy Goldmacher explains how to differentiate between desire and desperation in pursuit of publication. Next, John Matthew Fox helps you find comp titles using ChatGPT. Jane Friedman

My revision process—first draft to ready for publication. Shaelin Writes

Ashley Christiano shares chakras for storytellers, part 2: putting concept into practice. Then, Manuela Williams considers four poetry book cover design trends. Stacy Frazer explains how to recover from creative burnout and enhance your energy. Next, Lori Walker interviews Danielle Mitchell about reading and writing poetry. Brenda Rech shares five things she learned by entering writing contests. DIY MFA

Seven exercises to improve dialogue. Reedsy

Janice Hardy lists three steps to crafting a story arc that sucks (your readers in). Fiction University

Tiffany Yates Martin discovers how Camille Pagán revises—by betting on herself. Fox Print Editorial

Chris Winkle offers six tips for writing your first novel—and series. Then, Oren Ashkenazi analyzes five stories that undermine their own stakes. Mythcreants

Thank you for visiting, and I hope you found something to support your current work(s) in progress. You can always peruse the archives.

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

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, Oct 16-22, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

This is the final tipsday of October (!) Will you NaNoWriMo this year? I am. It will probably be another NaNo rebel combo, though I will be focusing on Alice in Thunderland. It might actually be a novella, though I’m not certain, yet.

In any case, it’s time to get your fill of informal writerly learnings. Enjoy!

Richelle Lyn is teaming up with other solopreneurs. Then, Jeanette the Writer explains what an editor actually does. Stephanie Dethlefs helps you get to know your ideal reader. Later in the week, Ashley Christiano offers five meditations to help you find your writing confidence. DIY MFA

Jan O’Hara discusses journaling and the writer (episode: man versus table saw). Then, Barbara Linn Probst is grappling with the awkward question of “women’s” fiction. Sophie Masson considers food in fiction. Writer Unboxed

Janice Hardy lists five ways dialogue can annoy your readers. Fiction University

K.M. Weiland reveals the nine negative character arcs in the enneagram. Helping Writers Become Authors

This fairy tale is an actual nightmare. Tale Foundry

Becca Puglisi lists the ingredients for a successful story climax. Margie Lawson says, here be monsters: writers beware! Lynette M. Burrows shares seven ways to increase your creativity through workspace design. Writers in the Storm

Jessica Conoley is writing through the impossible. Then, Hattie Fletcher explains how to avoid taking edits too personally. C.S. Lakin helps you use weather to convey mood in fiction. Jane Friedman

On her own site, Susanne shares tips on how to bring setting to life in your fiction. Live, Write Thrive

Marissa Graff suggests five micro-edits to hook readers on your first page. Then, Julie Artz shares her top three world-building pitfalls and how to avoid them. Writers Helping Writers

The Rings of Power has a narrative momentum problem. Like Stories of Old

Nathan Bransford wonders, can you see what is and isn’t on the page?

Tiffany Yates Martin explains how to speak as well as you write (part 2). Fox Print Editorial

Kristen Lamb reveals why we love, hate, and need horror.

Chris Winkle explains why you should consider present tense. Mythcreants

Roz Morris interviews Jessica Bell on making good decisions about cover design. Nail Your Novel

Louise Harnby answers this question: can I place a dialogue tag before the character’s speech?

How to prevent creative burnout as a writer. Reedsy

Hannah McGregor shares how her Harry Potter podcast made her a better scholar. The Walrus

Jeff Beer explains why Marvel’s She-Hulk finale is the best branded content of the year. Fast Company

Michelle Cyca interviews Ann-Marie MacDonald on exile, imagination, and her new gothic ghost story. The Walrus

John Garth explains how J.R.R. Tolkien came to write the stories that were the source material for The Rings of Power. The Smithsonian Magazine

David Routt: HBO’s House of the Dragon was inspired by a real medieval dynastic struggle over a female ruler. The Conversation

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

Until Thursday, keep staying safe and well.

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, Aug 28-Sept 3, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

Well, hello, Tuesday-that-feels-like-a-Monday! Launch yourself into this short week with some informal writerly learnings 🙂

K.M. Weiland shares seven tips for adding complexity to your story. Helping Writers Become Authors

Eldred Bird explains what blogging has taught him about writing. Then, James Preston warns of three common traps that can hurt your story (and how to avoid them). Writers in the Storm

Elizabeth Spann Craig helps you finish writing-related tasks quickly.

The secret to a well-paced plot (and it’s ridiculously easy). Shaelin Writes

Janice Hardy explains how writing a novel is like gardening. Fiction University

Alexander Lewis helps you grow your writing business by stepping away from your computer. Jane Friedman

Nathan Bransford: what is the “narrative voice”?

How to find time to write. Reedsy

Abigail K. Perry analyses the first chapter of Red, White, and Royal Blue. Then, Angela Yeh interviews Leslie Wheeler about how to take poetry personally. Mason Engel explains how to beat your writer’s burnout: a seven-step guide to tuning up your creative engine. Later in the week, Jennifer Craven shares five tips for writing multi-POV stories. DIY MFA

Yasmin Angoe relates the trials and tribulations of writing the second novel. Then, Kasey LeBlanc considers ebb and flow: a season for writing … and forgiveness. Liza Nash Taylor says, writer, edit thyself! Writer Unboxed

When the monster is hiding in plain sight. Tale Foundry

Tiffany Yates Martin explains how Elisa Lorello revises: rediscovering joy. Fox Print Editorial

Jordan Kantey lists seven ways to ensure you reach your writing goals. Writers Helping Writers

Chris Winkle wonders, can framing devices be better than terrible? Then, Oren Ashkenazi explains how Simmons scattered his world: building Hyperion. Mythcreants

Plot armour is good (sometimes). Hello, Future Me

Tavi Gevinson waxes on not being afraid to change up your process. The Creative Independent

Leanne Ogasawara is reassessing the workshop in light of culture shock. The Millions

Thanks for taking the time to visit, and I hope you took away something to support your current work(s) in progress.

Until Thursday, keep staying safe and well!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, July 31-Aug 6, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

It is time, my writerly friends, to get your mental corn popping!

Dylan Lovan reports that feds charge four police officers in fatal Breonna Taylor raid. Associated Press

“A specific form of anti-Black racism”: scholars want Canadian apology for slavery on Emancipation Day. CTV News

Saba Aziz: hate crime reports in Canada surged during covid-19 pandemic: StatCan. Global News

Wency Leung wonders, is there a covid-19 endgame still in sight with BA.5 spreading fast? Not with vaccines alone. The Globe and Mail

Natalia Zinets says there’s a glimmer of hope as Ukraine grain ship leaves Odessa port. Reuters

Matthew Lee, Nomaan Merchant, and Aamer Madhani: Biden declares killing of al-Qaida leader is long-sought “justice.” Associated Press

The four things you need to be an expert. Vertasium

Arthur C. Brooks explains how to embrace doing nothing. Like literally. The Atlantic

Tracy Brower: this is how job stress can worsen your health, according to science. Fast Company

Lindsay Kohler explains why boredom at work is more dangerous than burnout. Forbes

Clark Quinn wonders if learning and development (L&D) language is limiting? Learnlets

Harold Jarche is navigating complexity (in personal knowledge management).

How Fahrenheit fails you. Answer in Progress

Ashley Strickland: rare type of galaxy dazzles in new Webb telescope image. CNN

Why is puberty so weird? Be Smart

Ian Sample reports that scientists create world’s first synthetic embryos. It’s more about understanding how organs develop in a fetus and the potential for growing transplants from stem cells like bone marrow for leukemia patients. The Guardian

Jill K. Robinson: in Polynesia, tattoos are more than skin deep. National Geographic

Allyson Chiu says when celebrities use private jets excessively, it’s a climate nightmare. The Washington Post

True facts: the self-sacrificing amoeba. Ze Frank

Thank you for visiting. I hope you took away something to support a future creative project.

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

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, July 24-30, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time, once again, to get your mental corn popping!

Amy Forliti reports that the last to ex-cops involved in George Floyd’s murder have been sentenced. Associated Press

Porter Braswell explains the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. Fast Company

Julia Métreaux: how to dismantle systemic ableism, according to disabled people. DAME

Matthew Rodriguez: the House passed the Respect for Marriage Act. 157 republicans voted against it. Them

Tom Yun and Melissa Lopez-Martinez report that Pope Francis issues apology for residential school abuses: “I ask forgiveness.” CTV News

Eric Reguly and Joy Spearchief-Morris: Pope Francis holds second mass amid calls for broader residential school apology. The Globe and Mail

Simon Lewis introduces us to the Ukrainian fighters standing in Russia’s way on the eastern front. Reuters

Helen Regan and Rhea Mogul report that Myanmar junta executes leading democracy activists. CNN

Maria Cheng: WHO declares monkeypox a global emergency; Canada confirms 681 cases. CTV News

Consent … is messy. Khadija Mbowe

Guy Kawasaki interviews Ayelet Fishbach about the art of goals, incentives, and motivation. The Remarkable People Podcast

Ellen Scott wonders, could “quiet quitting” be the answer to burnout? What you need to know. Metro

Darren MacDonald reports that more than $38 million in LU scholarship and bursary money gone, court filing shows. CTV News

Eclipses that don’t eclipse? SciShow Space

Vladimir Isachenkov and Marcia Dunn report that Russia to drop out of International Space Station after 2024. Associated Press

Amelia Soth: gold weights and wind scales in the Asante empire. JSTOR Daily

Willow Defebaugh: burning out. On the intersection of climate change and personal burnout. Atmos

Serge Pellissier wonders, can electric vehicle batteries be recycled? Fast Company

Olivia Box examines the interaction of ecosystems and extreme weather events. JSTOR Daily

Linda Geddes announces that fossil of earliest animal predator named after David Attenborough. The Guardian

Anna Kate Cannon introduces us to the plant of the month: white sage. JSTOR Daily

Vanessa Gera reports that Polish institute classifies cats as invasive alien species. And cats (and cat-lovers) ain’t too pleased. Associated Press

Thank you for visiting, and I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

This weekend, I should have my super-massive July next chapter update posted (trying something new—we’ll see how it flies).

Until then, keep staying safe and well!