The next chapter: April 2024 update

May 5, 2024 / Melanie Marttila / Leave a comment

National Poetry Month (NPM), a debut poetry collection launch, book signing, interviews, etc. mean a busy month for this writer with a day job.

A picture of the almost-full moon above budding tree branches.

Life in general

The illen turned out to be another case of sinusitis. Yay, a new weak spot in my immune system (!)

This marks the third time that I’ve contracted this particular infection. Last spring, I had thought I had developed seasonal allergies in mid-life, allergies that were exacerbated by the ubiquitous smoke of forest fires from late spring into early summer.

The reason I thought this was because the congestion lasted for months without developing into a serious cold/flu. I was up to date on all my vaccinations. Just to be safe, I tested for covid. The test came back negative.

Then, in late September 2023, I got sick again, and it felt exactly like what I’d had in the spring. This time, it developed into a nasty cough, persistent headaches, and pain in my sinuses. I tested for covid again and the test was negative. I went to the walk-in clinic because I wouldn’t be able to see my doctor in person for at least a month. I came away with antibiotics and a corticosteroid nasal spray. Still, it lasted for two months before it finally went away.

It was only after the fact, when I could smell and taste properly again, that I realized that it was probably the same infection spring and fall, and that it had just gone “sub-clinical” for the summer months. I’d had the taste of infection in the back of my throat the whole time.

This time, I’ve had sinusitis since the second week of March and have been to the walk-in clinic twice. I couldn’t test for covid, because all our kits had expired. I knew what I was dealing with, though, and am pretty sure the test would have returned a negative result.

The first time I went to the clinic, I was sent away with the same prescription as in the fall. I finished the course of treatment and did not feel any better. I returned to the clinic and was given a second, stronger prescription of antibiotics and advised to add steaming to my recovery regimen.

The fact that I’ve been working toward a deadline at work and toward the launch of my debut poetry collection all along has no doubt prolonged my recovery. In particular, the launch, signing, and the few live or online interviews I’ve done have made it necessary for me to mask at a level I’ve not had to since the start of the pandemic. All my energy goes toward that rather than toward my recovery.

Add to that the fact that there is not a lot of blood supply to the sinuses and antibiotics are not efficiently delivered to the source of the infection. On my second visit, the doctor I saw said the infection might be in the bone and even more difficult to eradicate.

Fortunately, by the end of the month, the second course of antibiotics appeared to be having an effect. It apparently stays in your system for about 15 days after the last dose.

The month in writing

Because I was focusing on The Art of Floating launch and all the associated writerly activities, I was less focused on writing and revision, but I still had a short story to finish, one to edit, and some poetry to submit.

Through the fabulous Melissa Yuan Innes (Yi), I managed to arrange for an interview with Derek Newman-Stille about TAoF on April 2^nd! Yes, I was on Speculating Canada, the multi-Aurora Award-winning podcast.

Of course, on the 6^th my day was devoted to the TAoF launch! You may have seen my brief post about it on the 7^th. I tried to treat the day as normally as possible. With the exception of heading out to get my makeup done by Dana Lajeunesse of Fabulous After Forty 🙂 , I walked my dog, visited my mom, and tried to remain calm.

The launch went well, but afterward, on the way home from the event, in fact, my sinusitis rebounded. I could feel the congestion socking in again.

I applied for the Public Lending Right (PLR) program for both the print and ebook version of TAoF.

I now have Amazon (still being reviewed) and Goodreads Author pages (!) Eep! This is all so official!

I submitted my final reports for funding on the 10^th and received my reading fee from the League of Canadian Poets (LCP) on the 25^th. I’d received my cheque from The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) in the mail the day before and deposited it on the 26^th. I have not yet been invoiced by Place des Arts.

I submitted my answers for an interview in periodicities. It should be appearing May 18^th or later.

Pulp Literature once again shared the news of my launch in their newsletter.

My recommended reading post went live on the 49^th Shelf on the 11^th! And not long after, my Open Book piece was also posted! I’ve been working on these pieces over the past months. It’s wonderful to see how they’ve come together!

On the 13^th, I had a book signing at the Sudbury Chapters from 11 am to 2 pm. I signed nine books. Well, I actually signed 20, but nine of them were for the lovely people who bought them. The rest will be on the local authors shelf.

Picture of Melanie Marttila and publisher Heather Campbell at Chapters Sudbury.

I submitted a poem to a contest but did not place.

I recorded myself reading two more poems from my collection for a Poetry Pause promotion through River Street Writers. The reel was posted to Instagram on April 18^th.

I finished rewriting my short story for an anthology call and submitted it on the 21^st.

My interview with Heidi Ulrichsen for Sudbury.com came out on the 23^rd. Since the social medias are angry with Canadian news, I can only share it with you here (!) The Art of Floating: Poetry book dedicated to Sudburian’s father.

Then, my piece for All Lit Up: There’s a poem for that came out on the 25^th!

I also started my application for Access Copyright affiliation. There are a few things to get together. And I can only apply for work published in 2022 and before … ? Ah, well. I’ve started. Might as well finish.

And then, on the 29^th, I was greeted with this amazing review of The Art of Floating by Sara Hailstone.

I revised another story for an open submission period and submitted it on the 30^th.

And I wrote a bunch of poems 🙂

Filling the well

The new Alder moon in Aries was on April 8^th as well as the eclipse! As usual, it was cloudy here. I ended up watching the eclipse through Time and Date’s YouTube channel.

The full Pink/Sap boiling moon in Scorpio 🙂 was on the 23^rd. It was overcast, of course. We even has a bit of a thunder storm. Though the cloud broke up a little around sunset, there was no viewing to be had.

Picture of a quarter moon among wispy clouds above trees.

On the 4^th, I attended a Clarion Writers Workshop about “Avoiding common pitfalls in writing climate fiction” with Sarena Ulibarri. Very informative about the tropes to avoid.

I signed up for Cece Lyra’s “Tension, Conflict, and Stakes” on the 11^th. This was followed up with a Q&A on the 15^th. While Cece’s webinars tend to go long, she shares invaluable information on how to create and maintain tension in your novel.

The online edition of Can-Con took place on the 20^th. I caught several of the panels and will catch the couple I missed on replay. Fabulous con.

And The FOLD online conference was held from April 28^th to May 1^st. So glad to be able to view the replays.

Finnish classes continued on Monday evenings throughout the month.

I signed up for a CAMH presentation on “Sleep and cancer” on the 24^th. Interesting.

Later the same night, my support group met. April’s topic was “Dealing with diminished executive function,” something I’m struggling with right now.

What I’m watching and reading

The first watch of the month was the second part of Invincible (Amazon), season 2. Insane and bloody as ever. Mark makes some critical decisions. He can’t do it all. And maybe he can’t avoid becoming like his father.

Then, Phil and I finished watching The 3 Body Problem (Netflix). I read the first book of the trilogy years ago, and it was again fascinating to see how the adaptation differs from the source material. Also, the DBs produced an inside the episode companion series for further insight. I really enjoyed it. Phil had his usual beef about the misappropriation and misinterpretation of the science, but he also enjoyed watching.

I watched the new (but sadly not improved) Road House (Amazon). Though Jake Gyllenhaal was pleasing to watch as Dalton, he was very enclosed and not very engaging on an emotional level. In the original, Patrick Swayze’s Dalton was clear about his intention to train the Road House’s existing bouncers to do their jobs better. In this version, there is simply a montage showing Dalton training one person on site and recruiting another. Long story short, though I could list all the movie’s faults, it was only mildly entertaining and there was no story at all. I didn’t care about any of the characters.

I finally finished watching the final season of The Flash (Netflix). It was the same old, same old right to the end, even bringing back the Reverse Flash, Godspeed, Zoom, and Savatar to join a resurrected Eddie Thawn, the new avatar of the negative speed force to battle team Flash in the finale. This battle coincides with Nora’s birth. All ends well (of course) even though adult Nora is present for her own birth and even holds her infant self. I guess paradox gives the Allen-West family a pass. About three (of five) seasons too long. A solid meh.

I also finished watching the most recent season of The Witcher (Netflix), the last with Henry Cavill. The series has been pretty hit and miss overall. In keeping with that assessment, there were things I liked about this season, and there were things I didn’t like. The thing that bothered me most was that the three main characters were separated throughout much of the season, and nothing seemed to progress the plot. The plot was largely MIA, and I didn’t care to remember who the principle parties were (i.e., in the war).

Then Phil and I watched the first season of Fallout (Amazon). Phil has played the Fallout games and was interested in what the adaptation would look like. The writers and showrunners opted (intelligently, in my opinion) to tell an entirely new story in the Fallout universe. The characters were complex, and their journeys were compelling. Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommended.

I watched Wish (Disney +). I understand the criticism levelled at it, but honestly, it’s a cute celebration of all Disney movies. In fact, while the credits roll, all of the characters from the Disney movies appear. It’s basically an extended metaphor for Disney as an entertainment company. It was enjoyable and the perfect thing to watch while recovering.

Next, I finished Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV +). Loved! Brie Larson is fabulous as Elizabeth Zott. I’m not going to say much about the series except that you should watch it.

My first read of the month was Joanne Epp’s Cattail Skyline. In her second collection of poetry, Epp rambles through the prairies, explores a creek, travels to Cambodia, rides a train, and reminisces about a summer cottage. Again and again, she returns to the Cemetery road as she watches it through the seasons and years. Her keen observations reveal secret insights in every slant of light and experience of place.

Then, I finished Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man. Holy heck is this linked short story collection depressing! I think there was one story that didn’t end in death and horror. Come to think of it, The Martian Chronicles was like that, too. Characters, usually men, make hubristic or fascistic decisions and get their comeuppance. Even the conscientious objectors can’t escape doom. This may be a heretical take, but the book left me feeling meh.

Next, I listened to Callahan’s Con by Spider Robinson. Having now read Legend & Lattes, I can see Robinson’s Callahan series as a predecessor. A hippie, inclusive, punny, and intoxicant-positive predecessor, but a predecessor, nonetheless. The books, whether set at the original Callahan’s Place, Mary’s Place, or The Place, focus on found family, a kind of travelling commune, if you will, and the power of love to overcome all disasters.

I listened to Robert Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters. It might just be the narrator, but I found the main character, Sam, rather whiny, but still bordering on toxic masculinity. Again, the book and its author are products on their time.

Then I read Tanya Huff’s Valor’s Choice. Solid military SF. A marine combat unit is given the “easy” assignment of accompanying a delegation to sign a new member species, the silsviss, into their confederation. When their ship crashes in a “reserve” where young male silsviss are sent until their volatile adolescence passes, and their military transport is suddenly called out of orbit on an urgent matter, Staff Sergeant Toren Kerr must act quickly to protect the ambassadors and find shelter until they can be rescued. Is this the work of the Others or have they run afoul of some other nefarious scheme?

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: March 2024 update

March 31, 2024 / Melanie Marttila / Leave a comment

As the meme says: I’ve just sucked one hour of your life away. Tell me, and remember, this is for posterity, how do you feel?

Life in general

Happy Easter/Holi/Nowruz/Purim/Ramadan/Ostara and Trans Day of Visibility! There’s a lot to celebrate.

I am currently 6 days from the launch of The Art of Floating and I’m so excited/nervous, I can barely stand it!

The deets for those interested:

Date: Saturday, April 6, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Location: Place des arts, Studio Desjardins

The evening will include Q&A with Kim Fahner, a reading by the author, and a book signing.

For those who would like to attend via livestream, select the link here: https://boxcast.tv/…/heather-book-launch…

Early in the month, the moon was arcing in the southern sky. In a landscape of outcrops, she was hard to see. Earth and the moon dance around each other and later in the month, she appeared in the northeastern sky.

The month was busy. At work, I was moving toward the completion of another phase of the big project.

At home, it was mostly launch-related activities. Though I had a deadline to meet with Suzy, I decided that after that, I would focus mostly on the launch and maybe fit in some less demanding writing work on short fiction and poetry.

I had a three-day cold early on in the month, and then, later on, caught a bit of a doozy. Going on three weeks now … May have to go to the walk-in clinic so I’m not all stuffed up for the launch (!)

The month in writing

As I mentioned above, I had one deadline to meet with Suzy. It was a bit rough going because I’ve hit the point in the novel where I’m basically rewriting 90% of it. After my meeting, I took a break from Reality Bomb to focus on the launch of The Art of Floating and try to devote some time to short fiction and poetry.

On the 3^rd, I was informed that The Art of Floating print run would arrive that week. That day, I also submitted a couple of pieces for future promotion of TAoF. When they come out, I’ll be sharing widely.

Kim was in touch to firm up a few details for our informal conversation on the 7^th.

I met with Suzy on March 20^th. Again, because I’m basically rewriting the last third of the novel, I wasn’t feeling confident. Fortunately, I was just being my own worst critic. The submission was not perfect, but it was in better shape than I feared.

I’m going to take a break to focus on my launch, book signing, readings, finishing up the short story that seems to have stalled, and get some more poetry written. I’m not going to abandon RB but will probably pick up revisions again after the launch.

I’ll resume work with Suzy for the final push on RB in May. At that point, I should be within spitting distance of the end and may be able to use one of my sessions to work on my query or synopsis.

I was notified on March 1^st that I did not make the Your Personal Odyssey earlybird cut. As in past years, I’m still in the running for the main deadline, but I don’t hold out much hope. So many writers apply to YPO, the competition is always fierce.

On the 8^th, I was notified that the short story I submitted back in January was not accepted for publication.

The League of Canadian Poets (LCP) declined my event funding application for the launch of TAoF on the 9^th. Fortunately, I was approved for some reading series funding last year. I’m grateful for every bit of support I get.

On Sunday, March 24^th, my unboxing video and a 90-second poetry reading for The Little Boathouse went live.

I attended an SF Canada board meeting on the 26^th.

And the Canada Council for the Arts held their annual public meeting on the 27^th.

I was also invited out to the Sudbury Writers’ Guild meeting to share my path to publication and some tips on marketing and promotion.

Filling the well

The new Ash moon in Pisces was on the 10^th. Observed with a guided meditation. Daylight saving also arrived on the 10^th. In honour of the occasion, I will share my favourite meme.

The spring equinox was on the 19^th. A little early this year, but it felt apropos given the exceptionally warm winter we’ve had. As usual, I sparked up ye olde altar, and Alina Alive produced a guided meditation specifically for the equinox.

The full moon (of the crusted snow) in Libra was on the 25^th. Overcast, as usual. No guided meditation this time.

I signed up for a Tiffany Yates Martin webinar on “Secrets, Twists, and Reveals” through Jane Friedman on March 6^th. I watched the replay. Always excellent.

On the same night was the Women in Motion poetry reading and open mic, organized by the League of Canadian Poets (LCP). Powerful and painful.

On the 8^th, Authors Publish offered one of their free webinars, “Fun and Effective Book Promotion,” with Nev March. Again, I watched the replay. A lot of good ideas.

I signed up for a Mary Robinette Kowal webinar, “Verbal and Non-verbal Dialogue,” on March 10^th. I always learn one or two tasty tidbits with every one of Mary Robinette’s webinars.

Premee Mohamed shared on Bluesky that she would be delivering an online class on “Polishing Your Query Package” through the Edmonton Public Library (where she is Writer in Residence) on the 11^th. Really good. I’m a fan.

The Free Expressions webinar “Rethinking Scene and Sequel” with Damon Suede was on the 21^st.

I started intermediate Finnish classes on March 18^th. It’s challenging, but I’m enjoying them.

Dori Zener held a webinar on “Autistic Girls and Women: Celebrating Strengths and Supporting Needs” on March 6^th. Good information.

My next therapy appointment was on the 26^th.

The Good Company support group met on the 27^th. The topic for this month was autistic inertia and transitions.

I saw my doctor for a physical on the 4^th. My bloodwork results were good and I’m doing well.

And I had a massage on the 13^th. Rest and digest, for the win!

I took the week of the 18^th to the 22^nd off. It turned out to be a working holiday. I got a lot of launch-related work done (!)

What I’m watching and reading

Phil and I watch the first season of the live action Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix). We enjoyed it, but I share some of the criticisms floating around das interwebz. If Aang had run away, it would have explained his resulting anguish about being the avatar better. Kitara has all of the feisty written out of her. Aang doesn’t train with her, doesn’t even try to learn another bending style once in the whole season. The forest spirit got two seconds of screen time! That story was so lovely. Zuko could not have “almost” struck his father in the agni kai. His utter defeat drives his character arc in the first season. And don’t get me started on Bumi.

Like I said, we enjoyed it for what it was. It could have been better without being an exact duplicate of the animated series.

I know I’m late to the party, but I finished watching Little Fires Everywhere (Amazon). An awesome gut punch of a limited series, superbly acted, and thought-provoking. Another book for the TBR pile 🙂

I watched Poor Things (Disney +) when it came out on streaming. I was blown away. Loved. A fantastic tale about a woman becoming her truest self. Yes, there is a lot of sex, but as Bella Baxter is the protagonist, everything is from her point of view, and her sexual awakening is innocent and joyful. Again, LOVED!

Then, I watched American Fiction (Amazon). A Black writer of literary fiction is struggling to find a home for his latest work and indignant that other black writers, whom he sees as pandering to the white stereotypes of the Black experience (read trauma porn) gets into a financial bind when he’s suspended from his university teaching job, his mother is discovered to have dementia, and his sister, the family caretaker, dies of a heart attack. In a fit of pique, he pens his own sensationalist Black narrative and, as a joke, asks his agent to shop it around. When the novel becomes a hot property and the movie rights sell, the author must play along, because he needs the money to give his mother the support she needs. A sharp-edged satire. Very good.

Next, I finished the first season of The Power (Amazon), based on Naomi Alderman’s novel. TL;DR: women begin to develop electrical power and use it to turn the tables on the patriarchy.

I finished the novel a few months ago and while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t satisfied with the denouement, which projected the events of the novel into a future in which women simply flipped inequality for a society of institutionalized misandry. The series takes the events of the novel almost to the climax. Mayor Cleary-Lopez has thrown her hat into the senatorial race and attacks her opponent on stage. Tatianna has murdered her abusive husband and eliminated his army by sending them to root out her sister, who has amassed an army of women. Tunde witnesses the devastation of the conflict and is undone. Roxy has found her way to Eve. Urbandox is trying to reassert the rights of men. I don’t know that there’s enough story left to fill an entire second season, but apparently, it’s been greenlit.

Finally, I finished watching the first season of Silo (Apple +). LOVED! Rebecca Ferguson is fabulous. The whole cast is amazing. Apple + is really producing some of the best SF adaptations around these days. I’ll say no more. Watch this show.

My first audiobook of March was Adrian Tchaikovsky’s The Expert System’s Brother. Except for the title, the novel doesn’t come across as science fiction. At first. It soon becomes apparent that the “ghosts” that inhabit specific villagers are, in fact, expert systems (what everyone wants to call AI these days). The story is set many generations after the initial settlers of a colony planet made specific modifications to their bodies to both accept cohabitating expert systems into their minds and to mitigate the harmful effects of the planet’s biome. That’s all just backstory and setting, though. Hendry is accidentally “severed” from his community (i.e., he is de-modified), and must make his way, alone, in a world that wants to kill him.

Then, I finished Chance Encounters with Wild Animals by Monica Kidd. This collection is a poetic travelogue. It subverts the reader’s expectations, interweaving wanderings and ponderings with concise and revelatory reflections. Kidd’s sketches are composed of lush words. As Kidd explores the world and its denizens, we are most reminded that the wild animals we often encounter by chance are human.

I read Travis Baldree’s lovely Legends & Lattes. Viv’s aches and pains after years of adventuring lead her to seek out a legendary item and a new life in a small town. While she gathers friends and allies, antagonistic forces loom. Fabulous. Loved.

Next, I read I know something you don’t know by Amy LeBlanc. In this collection of poetry, LeBlanc interprets folklore and myth through her body and experience.

I’m again dipping into classic SFF through Audible’s Plus Catalogue. Titles are periodically added and removed, and I try to get through them before they’re no longer accessible.

The first of these was C.S. Lewis’s Perelandra, the second in his Space Trilogy. Dr. Ransom is recruited to travel to Perelandra (Venus), where he encounters that world’s Eve, whom he calls The Lady. Before long, Ransom’s old antagonist, Weston, who abducted him to Malacandra (Mars) with the aim of sacrificing him to the inhabitants of that planet, arrives. But all is not what it seems.

It’s not a bad book, but because of the framing narrative, in which Lewis himself is asked to record Ransom’s story, it is almost entirely narration, and, toward the end, the main topic of the book is religion. Not my favourite topic. Perelandra is a product of its time and of its author, who was deeply interested in religious thought at the time.

I finished reading Lunar Tides by Shannon Webb-Campbell. This poetry collection is written from a mixed Mi’kmaq and settler perspective and framed by the eight phases of the lunar cycle. Originating in the poet’s grief after her mother’s death, this collection is not only a journey to find her mother “in the little space of sky that sleeps next to the moon,” but is also an exploration of colonial legacies, family, and Indigenous resurgence.

Next in poetry, was Beth Kope’s Atlas of Roots, in which the poet tries to decipher her life as an adoptee. She iterates pasts, presents, and futures, some real, some imagined, and determines how to live when so much is redacted or inaccessible.

Then, I finished reading Sotto Voce by Maureen Hynes. The poet explores injustices great and small, from impersonal genocide to a more intimate death. Inspired by the natural world, the poet is disquieted, finds her voice, and then learns to listen.

I read Nnedi Okorafor’s Like Thunder, the second in her Desert Magician Duology. This book focuses on Dikéogu, the storm bringer’s, story. In a world both saved and decimated by the Change, Dikéogu tries to learn how to control his powers, is separated from his mentor, and tries to find his way back to Ejii. Very dark, but very good.

Next, I listened to the Audible Original of John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos. During the “Day Out,” the entire village of Midwich is rendered unconscious. Following the strange occurrence, it soon becomes apparent that every fertile woman in Midwich is pregnant. The narrator of the story is a Midwich resident who was, fortunately, out of town on the “Day Out,” and reports on the events following for a friend in MI. The novel gets its name from the practice of cuckoos to lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, forcing them to incubate and feed the young cuckoos, even to the detriment of their chicks.

I read The Chrysalids last year and, though I read it in high school, I’m rereading The Day of the Triffids. I guess I’m on a Wyndham streak 🙂 All of Wyndham’s books are a little different. The Chrysalids was set in a post-apocalyptic world in which children who develop paranormal abilities are considered abominations by their religious extremist communities. The Midwich Cuckoos I’ve described above.

The Day of the Triffids is a bit different again. Triffids are a species of large, perambulatory plants that produce a “high grade oil” but are also carnivorous and have deadly stingers. When a comet blinds everyone who looks at it, the triffids suddenly have the advantage. The novel is about one of the fortunate survivors.

I don’t think that near-universal blindness would be as apocalyptic as Wyndham depicts it. I believe that humanity would be collectively more invested in making the world accessible and adapting to their new circumstances. But in the 1950s when the novel was written, disability was more catastrophic than it is today, if only because assistive technologies and accommodations didn’t exist as they do now.

My next audiobook was Samuel R. Delaney’s Nova. Though the Tarot and the Holy Grail feature prominently in the novel, Nova reminds me of … Moby Dick. Captain Lorq van Ray assembles a crew on a quest to extract illyrion, the most precious energy source in the universe, directly from a supernova. His nemesis is trying to figure out what his plan is and Even the structure is reminiscent of Melville. Introduce a character and their backstory, introduce another character and their backstory, introduce the main character with a huge backstory, and along the way exposit upon net fishers, history, music, writing—yup, there’s a budding author in there—the workings of the ship, Tarot, and the Holy Grail. He does some interesting things with language in there, too.

I finished Vanessa Shields’ Thimble. This poetry collection grew around the poet’s grandmother, her life and loves, and the poet’s visceral reactions as her beloved Nonna slowly disappeared and then died because of the ravages of dementia. It is a complex and gut-wrenching read. Having lost all my grandparents, I walked beside Shields as I read.

Finally, I listened to Falling in Love with Hominids, a collection of short fiction by Nalo Hopkinson. Entertaining and varied stories from the author’s career. Very good.

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: February 2024 update

March 4, 2024 / Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

February’s the month I emerge from winter hibernation. Yes. I’m a bear.

Picture of a sky of cirrus clouds framed by trees.

Life in general

The light is visibly returning. Even so, most of the days are overcast. It’s still unseasonably warm, with a lot of days above zero degrees Celsius and not as much precipitation as I’d like. Yes, Phil doesn’t have to shovel as much, but I’m worried about the coming year.

Not a lot of snow means a dry spring, unless it rains every day, and even then, it may not be enough to prevent forest fires from sparking. Last year was bad. I expect this year to be even worse.

Work is work. I’m back on the albatross of a project (I’ve been working on it since spring 2022) but the end (for now) is in sight. There’s always maintenance, and the wholesale revision of the other modules in the curriculum, but it should be off my plate by the end of March.

I’m taking a self-funded leave from the Victoria Day (May 2-4, we call it, even though the holiday Monday rarely falls on the 24th) long weekend until the Canada Day long weekend in July. It will be nice to have a stretch off. I want to do some gardening. I want to go swimming. I want to see what diurnal cycle my body naturally settles into. I want to just enjoy myself for a while.

I also want to see if I can dive into one or two new creative projects, revise a novella, and see what I can get done when I’m not spending eight hours a day working for someone else. It’s been seven years—well, six and a half years—since I’ve taken a self-funded leave. It’s the first leave of this nature I’ve taken since being diagnosed as autistic and, most of all, I want to learn if I can adjust my life and the routines I’ve established so they support me better.

We’ll see how things go.

The month in writing

I’m still working on Reality Bomb revisions. My focus changed a bit this month, however. I signed up for Suzy’s Developmental Editing Mentorship in February program and continued to revise and under the auspices of that program.

We did meet on February 1^st to review my most recent submission. I’m to the point in the novel where I’m basically rewriting the second half of the second and all of the third act. I had expected to have a rough go with this critique, but it was a lot better than I expected. I’m learning!

As ever, though, learning is never a straight line.

I’ve given up on trying to track my revisions on the spreadsheet. Now that I’m in the second half of the novel, I’m completely rewriting most of it. It’s hard to compare a sprawling, meandering draft with the tighter rewrite. I’m eliminating whole chapters, combining chapters, and making the whole more cohesive. I’m figuring out when to show and when to tell.

I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to get some interest when I query, later this year.

I paid for my annual membership to the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association and submitted “Psychopomps Are Us” to the nomination list for the 2023 Aurora Awards. I also submitted the story to The Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Two, for consideration.

I submitted my final report for the mentorship microgrant I was approved for through The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC).

I applied for TWUC National Reading Program funding and event funding from the League of Canadian Poets (LCP) for my poetry launch.

I tossed my hat into the My Personal Odyssey ring again. I’ll find out some time in March if I’ve made the cut this year.

My associate membership renewal for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) came due in February.

And I continue to work on the launch, and arranging reviews, readings, and so forth for The Art of Floating.

The venue is booked! It will be in the Studio Desjardins of Place des Arts, at 7 pm on April 6^th, 2024. Now to get the livecast details in place so I can start promoting in earnest.

Kim Fahner has agreed to a brief casual conversation about my poetic journey to start the launch. I’m so happy she’s agreed to help me out. She’s been such a central figure in my poetic life.

Now … I have to think about what I want to wear. I don’t have any nice clothes left after I lost weight back in 2021. The prospect of some new clothes is pleasing, but I hate shopping with a passion.

My publisher confirmed a book signing at Chapters on April 13^th from 11 am to 2 pm.

On the 23^rd, I received a lovely email informing me that my application for The Writers’ Union of Canada’s National Public Reading funding was approved!

My poem, “Time and Tide,” was published in Polar Starlight 13 on February 24^th.

And I submitted some more poetry to a themed issue of one of Canada’s best known literary journals. I’m not hopeful, to be honest. They had over a thousand submissions (!)

Filling the well

February 1^st was Imbolc, but I was so dysregulated at the time, I didn’t get around to lighting my altar or doing my usual, quiet observation until the 2^nd (!)

The new Rowan moon in Aquarius (and beginning of the Year of the Dragon!) was on the 9^th. I observed with a guided meditation. It was overcast up here, which it usually is this time of year.

I’m a Rooster and this is what the Year of the Dragon brings for me: Your careful nature and attention to detail will strengthen during Year of the Dragon 2024. You’ll be good at handling difficult tasks with care.

Bodes well, methinks!

The full Snow moon in Virgo was on the 24^th. It was overcast, but I got a lovely picture of the moon a couple of days before the full. I again observed with a guided meditation.

As I mentioned earlier, I signed up for Suzy Vadori’s developmental editing course from the 5^th to the 29^th. Virtual meetups were twice a week, with asynchronous training in between. The course gave me more insight into Suzy’s methodology, and I used the month to once again review the draft-to-date.

I attended the Wordstock and Sulphur open mic night at Books & Beans on the 7^th. It was standing room only, but I got to read some of my more recent poetry (i.e., stuff that’s not in The Art of Floating) and promote my launch.

The first Success Series webinar from Free Expressions, “Neurolinguistic Programming for Writers” with Beth Baranay was on the 8^th. I was dysregulated and watched the recording. NLP, or neurolinguistic programming is all about changing the connections in your brain to learn, improve, and form and break habits. Beth applied NLP techniques for both authors and their characters. We didn’t quite get to habits, but the grounding is there.

On the 9^th, Authors Publish presented a webinar on “The Art of Writing Immersive Worlds,” presented by Cat Rambo. Still dysregulated. Watched the replay. The webinar felt intimate, and Cat is always a good presenter.

I signed up for a Freedom to Read Week event co-sponsored by TWUC and the LCP on the 22^nd featuring Farzana Doctor and Gary Geddes. It was a lovely evening.

Then, I signed up for a Black History Month poetry reading featuring Ian Keteku, Asiah Sparks, and Damini Awoyiga. Black poets rock, y’all!

On the 29^th, there was another Free expressions SSW, “Character Dynamics” with Damon Suede. Because I opted to go to the poetry reading, I watched the replay.

In non-writing-related events, I attended a Toronto Public Library Black History Month presentation about “Reframing History: Newfoundland and Labrador & the Black Atlantic.” Bushra Junaid, Afua Cooper, and Camille Turner each presented pieces of Black history in Newfoundland and Labrador. Compelling and poignant.

I also had an appointment with my therapist on the 28^th. I’m trying to work through the idea that I feel, at least recently, that I’m always on the cusp of burnout. I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that it might just be part of life.

What I’m watching and reading

I finished watching the first season of Citadel (Amazon). A second season has been green lit, but I don’t know if I’ll watch it. I was left confused more than anything. Madden and Chopra-Jonas have zero chemistry and even Stanley Tucci couldn’t save it.

Next, I finished watching Little Bird (Crave). Touching and compelling story about a family divided by the 60s Scoop coming together to heal.

Then, I finished watching the third (and final) season of Res Dogs (Disney +). Bear finds his way home after missing the bus. We get some backstory of the Dogs’ parents and elders, and the series ends with Elora meeting her father (Ethan Hawke) and his kids and the Dogs coming together around the funeral of one of their elders before the ancestor says goodbye, Elora heads off to university, and Bear’s mom leaves for a new job. Bear’s in a good place.

I finished watching the first (and only) season of First Kill (Netflix). It was inspired by a short story by V.E. Schwab and is essentially a modern, queer, and supernatural retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Juliette is the youngest daughter of a legacy vampire family who are pressuring her to make her first kill. In fact, she’s on medication to “take the edge off” her bloodlust and the last thing she wants to do is kill anyone. Calliope is the youngest daughter of a monster hunting family and eager to make her first kill. When Juliette and Calliope fall in love…a whole bunch of people die. The series ended on a weird cliffhanger and wasn’t renewed, so we may never find out what was going to happen. Unless Schwab wants to turn it into a comic or something?

Then, I roped Phil into watching The Marvels (Disney +) with me. It was fun. I loved Goose and the flerkin kittens. I loved Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan. The rest was okay. It wasn’t as bad as reviews led me to believe, but it was like everyone was too tired to make the film as good as it should have been. I mean, it has the name of the studio in its title. You’d think someone would have cared enough to make it at least as memorable as Iron Man.

When I watched Captain America and The Avengers (each for the umpteenth time) shortly thereafter, I was reminded of the kind of story Marvel is capable of telling. Neither is perfect, but they were both so much better than recent Marvel efforts.

Then, I finished watching the adaptation of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See (Netflix). Loved! Even though it’s a WWII story, the series (and therefore Doerr’s novel) offers a unique perspective. Marie, a blind Parisian girl, and Werner, a German orphan, are bonded through their love of “The Professor,” who broadcasts educational radio programs. During WWII, the two meet in Saint Malo, a coastal French town, where Marie now broadcasts for the French resistance and Werner is a radio operator in the occupying German army. The Americans are coming to liberate the town, but can they do it before Werner is forced to track down Marie for his commander, who has a sinister motive for finding Marie?

I watched The Hate U Give (Amazon). It was a gut punch, but in the best way. Starr Carter is in the passenger seat when her friend Khalil is shot and killed by a police officer. The movie and the book it’s based on by Angie Thomas are a good reminder that systemic racism kills tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Black people a year. Black lives matter.

I finished watching (most of) the first season of The Irrational (network). Alec Mercer is a behavioural psychologist who helps solve crimes. This season focused on Alec’s backstory of being caught in a church bombing. As the season progresses, the man convicted of the bombing proves to be innocent, uncovering a conspiracy that Alec has to unravel to serve justice and gain closure.

Then I finished watching the second season of the new Quantum Leap (network). The third season is still up in the air. I wasn’t too certain about the 3-year time jump after the first season finale. The Quantum Leap project has been shut down, Ben is thought to be dead, and Addison moves on. But Ian hasn’t given up, and when they find Ben, the team regroups, including Addison’s new love interest. Things get sorted out in the end, but I think the uncertainty of the network series machine means that they had to have a self-contained story arc, just in case. Things felt contrived. I’ll leave it there. Still enjoyed it and will watch season three if it comes to fruition.

My first read of February was Zen Cho’s Black Water Sister. Closeted and broke, Jess returns to Malaysia with her family after living in the US for most of her life. She has a degree from Harvard, but that hasn’t translated into success, or even a job. Then, she starts to hear a voice in her head, her recently dead grandmother, Ah Ma, who’s set on getting her revenge on a mob boss. Dark, but very good.

Then, I finished William Gibson’s The Peripheral. I realized I had the ebook after I watched the Amazon series. Once again, it’s an interesting exercise to compare a novel and its adaptation, to see what creative decisions were made and why. Having said that, I enjoyed both equally, though I must say that I’m not as fond of book Flynn as I was of series Flynn. And, of course, Amazon cancelled the series.

Next, I read The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco. As a child, Tea (pronounced tee-ah) accidentally resurrects her brother and discovers she’s a bone witch, or necromancer. Feared and ostracized by her family and community, Tea is taken under the wing of a more experienced bone witch who whisks her and her brother away to a foreign land to be trained as an asha. This book is the beginning of a trilogy and is very much just the set up for the rest of the series. Although there is a framing narrative told by a bard, whom Tea has asked to tell her story, it doesn’t give much away. One thing is clear, though; The Bone Witch is a story of revenge.

I finished reading Waubgeshig Rice’s Moon of the Turning Leaves. In this sequel to Moon of the Crusted Snow, Nangohns, daughter of Evan Whitesky, begins to see the signs that her people are beginning to exhaust the natural resources around their isolated northern community. She then embarks on a long journey south with her father and several other members of the community. They need a new place to settle. Or an old place. Their ancestral home on the shores of Lake Huron. The problem is, they still don’t know what happened when the lights went out over a decade ago. And the last scouting party they sent south four years ago never returned.

Then, I turned to poetry. Kim Fahner lent me a stack of collections she thought might be in my poetic wheelhouse. I started with Bernadette Wagner’s this hot place. The sections of the collection are named Maiden, Mother, and Crone, and Wagner recounts her life on the prairies in verse. She has a talent for lovely subversions. Verra nice.

I also finished The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. A retired pirate captain is lured back into the world of supernatural high seas adventure when a northern sorcerer abducts a young scholarly girl. Nothing is as it seems. I’ll leave it there. You should read this.

Next, I listened to Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury. A brilliant supernatural mystery told in dual timelines. Daisy can see the dead. When her mother inherits a mansion just outside of Timmins, they both see it as their opportunity for the life they want. For Daisy’s mother, Grace, it’s to finally be free of the ghosts (figurative and literal) of her past. For Daisy, it’s the chance to escape from her mother’s narcissism. But the mansion is haunted. And now people are dying. Ten years in the future, Brittney, co-creator of the podcast “Haunted,” wants to uncover the secrets of the mansion, which her abusive mother calls the “miracle mansion.” She wants to tell the story of a forgotten Black girl but gets more than she bargained for. LOVED.

Finally, I listened to C.S. Lewis: Writer, Scholar, Seeker, an Audible Original based on The Great Courses series of lectures by Sorina Higgins. Interesting insight into one of my favourite authors.

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: January 2024 update

February 4, 2024 / Melanie Marttila

Sweet Lord, but January’s a hard month to get through.

Image of a winter sky with sun and clouds, through tree branches.

Life in general

The month started out fine. Daylight hours are growing longer. I’m starting to feel better, come out of my winter shell, but then, I was presented with the prospect of ALL THE THINGS I have to do to prepare for and promote my poetry launch and …

Let’s just say I’m dysregulated now. Meltdowns abound.

I attended my union’s AGM virtually on the 24^th.

The month in writing

I was once again focused on Reality Bomb revisions.

I revised and submitted a piece of short fiction to one of my dream markets.

I started revising an old story for an anthology call in April. I know, it’s a ways off, but the story basically needs to be rewritten in its entirety.

I met with Suzy on the 11^th. I’m back to struggling with grounding the characters in scene, not giving my disembodied protagonist enough agency, and not providing enough detail. My strengths remain dialogue, clean writing (which makes all my other problems so much easier to find), and my premise, which is complex, but compelling (and therefore incredibly challenging to write).

Our next meeting is scheduled for February 1^st.

In other business-y news, I’m working on securing the venue for my poetry launch! While my publisher does have a budget for the launch, I’m hoping to receive some funding from the League of Canadian Poets (LCP) or The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) to cover part of the rental cost and webcasting for the event(!)

Yes. The launch will be in person, but broadcast for those of my family and friends who are in other places in Ontario and unable to make the journey up.

Now, I’m playing with ideas for making the launch a little different/special. I met with my publisher on the 30^th to discuss and came away with a list of things to do. I contacted friend and networker extraordinaire Kim Fahner (also former poet laureate of Sudbury and current vice-president of TWUC) and I have several balls in the air with regard to reviews, readings, and one interview.

I’m tempering my expectations. Debut poets generally don’t get a lot of attention.

My publisher has also secured my first reading with The Conspiracy of 3 in North Bay on May 14^th at the North Bay Public Library at 7 pm.

Unfortunately, that conflicts with the launch of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild’s Superstack Stories anthology. Can’t be in two places at once (!)

I’m going to have to put up a new page on my web site for appearances and readings!

Eeeeee! Things are happening!

At the SF Canada AGM last month, I joined the board of directors. Our first meeting was on Jan 23^rd at 8 pm. We sorted ourselves and I have a better idea of the issues facing the organization and board at this time.

Filling the well

The new Birch moon in Capricorn fell on Jan 11^th. Unfortunately, I was working toward a deadline and totally dysregulated after work. Moon did not cross my mind 😦

The full Spirit moon in Leo was n the 26^th. I was able to work in a guided meditation.

I signed up for the DAW Fantasy Book Buzz on January 11^th. It was a great preview of the coming season and John Wiswell was one of the featured writers.

I took part in the Free Expressions Success Series … on the 18^th. I decided to purchase a few webinars from the series.

Back in December, I registered for a workshop called Poetry and Prose: crossing genre boundaries to strengthen your writing with Kate Heartfield and Amanda Earl on the 20^th. It was a great session. And I drafted a new poem.

Finally, I attended a three-day virtual writers’ retreat with Suzy from the 25^th to the 27^th.

In personal events, I finally got into a meeting of my autism support group. It’s been months since I haven’t been put on a waiting list. It was a good session.

I had a massage on the 17^th. Much needed.

A friend celebrated her retirement on the 21^st. It was a nice afternoon and I got to catch up with some colleagues from my old team.

On the 22^nd, I attended a guided meditation with Pat Tallman. It was relaxing.

I booked a virtual appointment with my doctor on the 24^th to get some annual insurance referrals, including one for therapy. I’m starting up again. I have more work to do. Then, I booked a follow up, an appointment for bloodwork, my first therapy appointment, and tried to figure out how to get my emailed referrals to my insurance.

Torvi went for her first Furminator of the year on the 27^th. The house is still full of fur bunnies, but Torvi’s all a-floof.

I won a year’s free subscription to the Beeja meditation app. I’m hoping it will help me regulate.

Finally, I met with my therapist on the 31^st. We decided to stop meeting back in 2022, by mutual agreement. At the time, I was in a good place and didn’t need a lot of support. But winters are hard and I’m realizing in retrospect that I could have used her support when Phil broke his shoulder last year and again when I went on strike. I reverted to my default mode of bulling through the difficulties. Now, I’m paying for that decision.

And I had some well-earned annual leave from the 29^th of January to the 2^nd of February.

What I’m watching and reading

Phil and I finished watching the first season of Blue Eye Samurai (Netflix). Amazing story of a complex character and absolutely gorgeous animation. The voice cast is great. Hyper-realistic, violent, and mature content, though.

Then, I finished watching The Last Thing He Told Me (Apple +). A good thriller with a bittersweet ending.

Phil and I also watched the second season of What if … ? (Disney +). There were hits and misses among the episodes, but we enjoyed it. It remains one of the better Marvel series.

Next, I watched Bottoms (Amazon). It’s been on my list since Amanda the Jedi reviewed it. Hilarious. Absurd in the same way as Polite Society. Loved.

Then Phil and I watched Echo (Disney +). Echo’s story was great, but we wanted more of it (and less of Fisk). Five episodes wasn’t enough.

I roped Phil into watching The Brother Sun (Netflix) with me. He was reluctant at first, but by the end of the season, he was invested despite himself. A story about a triad family reunited in LA after a lifetime of living apart is going to be dark and bloody, but it also has a lot of heart. I enjoyed it.

My first audiobook of 2024 was Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines. An entertaining tale of a goblin named Jig and his pet fire spider and how they are captured by and pressed into service by a party of adventurers.

Next, I listened to Word Puppets by Mary Robinette Kowal. A delightful collection of short fiction including the three stories that gave birth to the Lady Astronaut series. Fidel and Mira’s tragic love story touched me, even as Fidel worked to redirect the asteroid that would crash into the easter seaboard. This was followed by a light story about a fireworks display on Mars that almost goes wrong. And then, the original Lady Astronaut of Mars novelette. Also touching. Kowal is so good at writing strong but complex relationships.

Then, I read Dreams Bigger than Heartbreak, the second book in the Unstoppable series by Charlie Jane Anders. I followed that up with Promises Stronger than Darkness. The whole series is a fun YA, neurodivergent romp. And the worldbuilding is wacky. Terrible things happen, but everything works out in the end because people choose to care about one another. And I’m stealing the phrase, “I’m a slow cooker.”

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: December 2023 update

January 14, 2024 / Melanie Marttila

First, I have to apologize for the tardy. I just didn’t have the spoons to get this posted until now (!)

Welcome to 2024?! Holy crap!

This is the year The Art of Floating (plus launch and as many readings as my publisher can arrange for me) and Superstack Stories come out (!) This is the year I finish final (for now) revisions on Reality Bomb and get back into the querying/submission trenches. This is the year I revise Alice in Thunderland, my alternate history/solarpunk novella. This is the year I move onto The Fenwoman’s Tale in a more serious way and git ‘er done! This is the year I hope to place a couple more pieces of short fiction in good homes.

Wow! That’s a lot (!)

Life in general

We’re in the dark months of the year up here in northeastern Ontario, and I have, characteristically, entered hibernation mode. Gremlin mode (which is my version of goblin mode). A friend of mine calls it turtling, withdrawing into her shell.

It’s all about boundaries and taking care of myself in a meaningful way. Taking the time to ensure I can regulate, which I call defragging 🙂 I’m considering trying to nap in the afternoons, after work and walking Torvi. Just for 20 minutes. So far, except for the period that I was on strike last spring, I haven’t been successful at napping. I lie down and close my eyes and my brain just keeps going like the Energizer bunny.

We’ll see how it goes.

My first attempt was a bust. And there wasn’t a second. I’m too bound into my rituals. I need to have a purpose and block the time out. And I need to be able to reorganize my creative time around it. I’ll keep trying.

The month in writing

The month was again focused on Reality Bomb revisions. Once I submitted my assignment for Suzy, though, I took a few days to write other things. Some poetry, some revisions on short fiction. Thinking about The Fenwoman’s Tale and how I’d like to shape it into a more compelling and more emotional story.

I met with Suzy once this month, on the 14^th. It was a great meeting and validation after a challenging day (week … month) at work. Our next meeting won’t be until the new year. We both deserve some holiday relaxation.

Preparation for the launch of The Art of Floating continues. The pre-order links are up!

Pre-orders can change the trajectory of any publication. Please consider TAoF for your 2024 to-be-read (TBR) pile 🙂

The year in review

As usual, I set what turned out to be some pretty unrealistic goals. Well, they may have been realistic if I didn’t have an enforced three-month break from writing. From the end of January to April, I was supporting Phil as he recovered from his broken shoulder and then I went on strike for the last week and a half of April.

I was also unable to work with Suzy from January through May because of financial issues. I’ll be honest. My employer was unable to keep me on as an instructional designer because of budget issues (that are still not resolved, by the way), and I had to take a step down in pay. Not great in a year that also saw the cost of everything increase because of runaway inflation.

I intended to revise Alice in Thunderland, my alt-history/solarpunk novella, I thought I’d do some work on my Ascension series, make far more progress on The Fenwoman’s Tale than I did, get through the whole of Reality Bomb and reduce 25k words from the draft, and write more in general.

Very few of these things came to pass. Even the projects I did work on (RB, TFT, short fiction, poetry) I didn’t get as much done as I’d hoped.

A lot can get done (or not) in three months. That could have been six more sessions with Suzy (and the revisions should have been done by the end of the year). I could have done a developmental pass on AiT. And having both of those projects farther ahead would have positioned me to get more work done on TFT later in the year. I could have at least looked at my Ascension master doc and thought about the restructuring that needs to happen to make the series arc more cohesive.

Still. It’s been a good year.

I became a member of The Writers Union of Canada (TWUC), an associate member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), and a full member of the League of Canadian Poets (LCP).
“Psychopomps Are Us” was published in Pulp Literature.
I received the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association’s (CSFFA) professional development grant, which I used to resume work with Suzy in June.
I judged a poetry contest for the Leacock Museum.
I developed and presented my first webinar for the Canadian Authors Association (CAA) and SF Canada.
I edited my poetry collection, got professional author photos taken, chose its cover, and approved the manuscript proofs.
Two poems were accepted for 2024 publication in Polar Borealis and Polar Starlight, respectively.
My first creative non-fiction piece was accepted into the Sudbury Writers’ Guild’s (SWG) Superstack Stories: A Changing Skyline, which will launch in the spring of 2024.
I delivered my first Writers in the Schools (WITS) presentation, funded by TWUC.
I received a microgrant for mentoring from TWUC which will be paid directly to Suzy when our current sessions are completed in 2024.

I’m still waiting to hear about another piece of short fiction that made the shortlist for an anthology. I hope to hear something in the new year.

I also went to my first conference (non-virtual, out of Canada) post-pandemic. It was a really good experience, but it also reminded me how difficult travel is for me. At least now I know why (good ole autistic brain).

Lots of good things are happening. It’s hard to remember that publishing takes time, and the returns are often overshadowed by the next project in the queue.

I have a lot to celebrate.

Take some time to review your own creative progress. I guarantee that you’ve accomplished more than you think you have. And then celebrate your accomplishments before diving into the next thing on your list.

And take care of yourself. You can’t continue to be productive if you’re not in good health.

Filling the well

The reed new moon in Sagittarius was on December 12^th. I observed, as usual, with a guided meditation. BTW, my goto for these is Alina Alive’s YouTube channel. She generally does a guided meditation for each new and full moon and has a bunch of meditations for specific purposes in her archive.

The winter solstice, shortest day of the year, was on Dec 21^st this year. I lit my altar and switched over my seasonal sensory supports.

The full cold, or little spirits moon in Cancer was on the 26^th, Boxing Day. No guided meditation this time, and it was overcast, so no observation of any kind. I was still technically recovering from Christmas dinner, anyway, so it was a good thing (!)

I kept it light with the writerly events this month.

On the 6^th, I attended a virtual reading by the League of Canadian Poets new Poet Ambassador in Residence Tara Borin. I participated in the open mic that followed. So many lovely words! Such a wonderful evening!

I registered for Cece Lyra’s “Hacking Writing on the Line Level” on the 7^th, but because it was during the work week and Cece is legendary for her epic webinars, I decided to watch the replay. If you’re not listening to The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast yet, you’re missing out!

And on the 8^th, I attended “How to Write Opening Pages that Win Over Readers and Agents” with agent and author Eric Smith. Eric’s another agent with PS Literary, like Carly Watters and Cece Lyra, but this webinar was offered through Authors Publish.

And that was it (!)

Christmas was at my sister-in-law, Steph’s this year. Last year, the holidays were hijacked by covid, and my SIL has now joined the ranks of those with persistent long-covid symptoms. Steph went all out, and the spread was fabulous. Tastiest turkey I ever had. Stuffing, potatoes, gravy, turnip puff, Phil made buns, and Mom made jellied salad and cranberry sauce. There was also cookies, pumpkin pie, and traditional Christmas pudding and sauce.

Needless to say, most of us were rolling out of there and caught the post-turkey sleepies. BEST. CHRISTMAS. DINNER. EVAR!

What I’m watching and reading

I watched Candy Cane Lane (Amazon) while I started the Christmassing of the house. It was okay. A disgruntled elf curses humans to become animated ornaments. Chris (wife Carol, son Nick, and daughters Holly and Joy—see the Christmas theme here?) Carver has literally hand carved his Christmas decorations every year, perpetually being outdone by a neighbour with a fondness for inflatables. When he loses his job and the local TV station announces a $100,000 prize for this year’s decorating competition, Chris falls prey to the malevolent elf, only later discovering what he failed to read in the fine print: he’ll be turned into an ornament, too, unless he can find all the gold rings from the “12 Days of Christmas” before midnight on Christmas Eve.

Then, Phil and I watched Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Netflix). The series is animated in the style of the comics, and they got all the actors from the movie to voice their characters. The first episode seems like it’s going to duplicate the events of the movie, but Scott loses his first battle with Matthew Patel (!) I won’t spoil it except to say that it was a fabulous subversion of expectations. And we loved it.

I finished watching Superpowered (Crave). Interesting comic industry history. DC was a little too self-laudatory. They admitted some faults and difficulties but glossed over a lot.

Next, I watched DC’s League of Superpets (Crave). Fun and sweet. Just what I needed after a rough week at work. And the voice cast is superb (Dwayne Johnson, Natasha Lyonne).

I finished watching the first (and sadly only) season of Kindred (Disney +). I enjoyed it and would rather have seen the full story. The season left off with Dana and her mother Olivia returned to the present, leaving poor Kevin in the past. No resolution. Guess I’ll have to read Octavia Butler’s book. Finally.

I finally watched Frozen 2 (Disney +). When I consider the two films, they’re more properly about Anna. Elsa’s journey is secondary and it’s Anna’s actions that save the day in both. I appreciated the Northuldra as an analogue for the Sami and the effort Disney made to avoid appropriation. Enjoyed.

Next, I watched the first season of Reginald the Vampire (Network). Based on the Fat Vampire series of novels by Johnny B. Truant, RtV follows the adventures of Reginald Andres, who is attacked by vampires and must be turned by Maurice to save his life. Unfortunately, Reginald is frozen in his generously-sized body for the rest of his undead life. Jacob Batalon is charming as Reginald. Fingers crossed for a second season.

I finished watching the first season of American Born Chinese (Disney +). The series is based on the comics of the same name and draws on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Jin is just trying to keep his head down and fit in at school when he is saddled with exchange student Wei-Chen. But Wei-Chen is not who he appears to be. I’m really hoping for a second season.

Then, I watched Noelle (Disney +). I was in the mood for a Christmas movie and John Scalzi recommended this one in his Christmas comfort watch posts on Whatever. A charming movie about the daughter of Santa, who has some big boots (and red, fur-trimmed clothes) to fill when her brother decides he doesn’t want to go into the family business.

I watched Barbie (Crave). Loved. I can see the criticisms leveled at it, but I thought it was fun. Very self-aware. Maybe a little too much going on, but very enjoyable.

Phil and I watched Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse (Crave). It was awesome. The animation is amazing! And the story was great. Miles’ story is being told in a very conscious trilogy. While this movie was the middle of the trilogy, it was anything but muddy/soggy. The Spot is the principle antagonist and he’s tied to the events of the first movie. That story will arc through the third movie, Beyond the Spiderverse. In this movie, though, the immediate antagonist is Miguel, who’s taken it upon himself to keep the web of life and destiny intact by preserving “canon” events. The problem with Miles is that he wasn’t supposed to be bitten by a spider in his world at all. He is the ultimate anomaly.

I look forward to the third instalment.

Phil and I also caught the three 60^th anniversary Doctor Who specials with David Tennant and Catherine Tate, and the Christmas special with Ncuti Gatwa as the 15^th (!) Doctor. DW is another series I’m totally uncritical of. I just love it.

My first read of the month was Jordan Ifueko’s Redemptor. In this sequel to Raybearer, Tarisai, Empress Redemptor, has promised to go to the underworld to free the souls of all previous redemptor children. But of course, the deal she’s struck isn’t so simple to fulfill.

Then, I finished reading Women Who Run with the Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. It’s been on my list for years and I finally got to it (!) I loved the reframing of a woman’s life and development through fairy tales. I aspire to be a wild woman but have no idea if I’ve made it there yet. It’s now on my reference shelf with all the other archetypal journey/writing books.

Next, I read Michèle Laframboise’ graphic novel Mistress of the Wind. A gentle fable set in the author’s Gardener’s Universe about a lower-class girl who has a dream to become a wind master.

Then, I finished book three of Ashley Shuttleworth’s Hollow Star saga, A Grim and Sunken Vow. I don’t know what it is about this series, but I love it. I’m looking forward to the next instalment, but I’ll have to wait until next year.

Then, I listened to Mistletoe Murders 2, an Audible Original by Ken Cuperus. I listened to the first one last year and enjoyed the short, cozy mysteries. Cobie Smulders is a great narrator, and these are, despite the murder, fun, light mysteries with a romantic subplot that just came to fruition. And then, of course, someone from Emily Lane’s past comes knocking. Guess we’ll find out what happens next year!

I also listened to Blood Like Fate by Liselle Sambury. I was a little irritated that the narrator didn’t check her pronunciation of the various Canadian settings (cities, towns, policies, supports, public transportation, etc.) because her lapses took me out of the story, every time. But the novel itself is good. A science-fantasy with a strong romance subplot. Fairly typical for YA.

Next was Jes Battis’s The Winter Knight, a queer and neurodivergent retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Imagine if the figures of myth and Arthurian legend were transported to modern-day Vancouver where they were reincarnated in people who may or may not remember who they are. Knights and Runesmiths and Fates and Valkyries populate Battis’s masquerade Vancouver and strive to solve the mystery when the reincarnation of Mordred is found decapitated at a party.

Finally, I listened to Robert J. Sawyer’s The Downloaded. It’s an Audible Original for now but will be out in print from Edward Willett’s Shadowpaw Press in 2024. Good cast. Good story. With the usual optimistic ending. A little more on the bittersweet end this time, but optimistic, nonetheless. Enjoyed!

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: November 2023 update

December 3, 2023 / Melanie Marttila

Welcome to December?! Where has the fricken year gone? Did you survive the month of NaNoWriMo, American Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, and ALL THE THINGS?

Me? I’m not sure yet. Give me a minute. Delayed processing is a thing.

Life in General

Back in April, I took the dive and registered for the Writer Unboxed UnConference (more on that, below). While I was away in Salem, Phil reported a) our first snowfall, b) followed by another 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) the next day, and c) the death of our snowblower.

Poor guy had to clear our very large driveway of some very wet, heavy snow by hand (and arm and back, etc.). He was in quite a bit of pain the next day because of his shoulder, which you may or may not remember was broken this past February.

He got a new snowblower and we didn’t have any more snow … until the 26^th! We got 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) and it was cold enough to stick around. Phil gave the snowblower its first workout the next day. It works great, especially the heated hand grips! He just has to get used to the new controls. The drive gear and auger controls are opposite to the old machine and there are triggers underneath the handles to engage the steering. The wheels can be steered with one or the other trigger. They can also be locked with both triggers. It’s going to take time. But he’s happy with the purchase.

Getting back to my flight to Salem, I was prepared for the trip—my first since the pandemic—with the exception of arranging for a temporary roaming plan for my cell phone. I would have had to arrange for that at least a month in advance, because our plan is billed monthly. But I didn’t, so I did without. I am not looking forward to our next bill.

It was nice not feeling the pressure to do all the social media all the time, though. I could focus on the writerly learnings.

Unfortunately, that meant a greater burden of social media catch-up on my return. It was a couple of weeks before that was accomplished.

In the process of packing, I found a couple old things in my courier bag (one of my staple travel gear items). I discovered an old Burt’s Bees wild cherry lip balm that was still completely usable. And a little Tolkien Moleskine notebook that I had taken to work. I’d written in it periodically from 2014 to 2019 and it wasn’t quite half used. So, I packed it for the trip and took my session notes in it. I’m also filling it up before moving onto another newer journal. I’ve finally filled the refill for my lovely leather journal.

After my return from Salem, I marked off the important stuff in my journal with sticky tabs, so I could refer to past notes on various writing projects at will.

I took my new Manta weighted sleep mask and Flare Sleeep ear plugs and slept well considering I was in a strange city and bed. I had my Flare Calmer Soft ear buds, one of which I lost 😦 Fortunately, I had a set of Flare Calmer Secure as a backup. Yes, they were more obvious, but I didn’t have to worry about losing them, ‘cause lanyard. I also brought an aromatherapy diffuser necklace for more sensory support.

Update: I appear to have lost the Calmer Secure as well, somewhere on the journey from the airport. I’ve checked my courier bag, suitcase, the sweater and jacket I wore to Salem, and the car. I may find the pouch in the driveway in the spring, or it may have been garburated by the snow blower. So, I ordered another pair of Calmer Soft. We’ll see if I can hang onto these 😦

One other thing I should have done was to call ahead and find out when the Porter check in desk was open. My flight to Toronto left at 7:10 am on November 6^th, and CATSA says to be on site three hours ahead of time. The airport’s web site states it’s open from 4 am, so Phil drove me out there only to discover that the Porter desk wouldn’t be personed until 5:30 am. I really could have used the extra hour and a half sleep.

Despite the super early start, the flight to Boston via Toronto went well. I was stuck in customs for about an hour and spent another 45 minutes trying to connect with the person I was ride sharing with, but everything else went smoothly.

Travel is always tough. Lessons learned. I’ll know better next time.

The return trip was a bit fraught, starting out with a delay which meant a hasty turnaround at Billy Bishop (customs, check in, security, and board), but I arrived in Sudbury at the appointed hour and Phil was waiting for me to debark.

Torvi gave me the atomic wig when I got home.

The month in writing

Silly Mellie was silly. I decided to do NaNoWriMo this year (again), despite Wordstock and the UnConference and working the rest of the month and Finnish classes … but I set a lower goal (30,000 words) and did my NaNo Rebel Combo thing.

Revisions on Reality Bomb, ‘cause ongoing. Whatever words possible on The Fenwoman’s Tale, ‘cause I wanted to work on something new. Revisions on a short story (done on the 8^th!). This blog post/newsletter. And whatever else I wrote in the month.

I met my reduced goal just a little over half-way through the month because RB revisions. And, by the 30^th, I actually had over 50k words. I should have just gone with the standard WriMo. Again, lessons learned.

I met with Suzy twice in November. The first session was on November 2^nd. After my month-long illness, I was feeling fragile. Still, progress was made.

Our next meeting was on the 23^rd. I’d hit the stage where everything I wrote seemed like crap to me but by the time we met, I was starting to come out of it, and I ended up feeling good after our meeting.

As I mentioned parenthetically above, I completed my edits for my short story on the 8^th. I had some questions and let the editors know, but I received word on the 20^th that my revisions were acceptable. Once all the edits for all the selected stories are in, the editors will bundle everything up for the publisher, who has final say, and I should learn the ultimate fate of my story by the end of the year.

I supplied bios for that story and the creative non-fiction piece that was accepted into the Sudbury Writers’ Guild’s Sudbury’s Superstack: A Changing Skyline anthology.

Filling the well

The new Ivy moon in Scorpio was on the 13^th. I observed with a guided meditation.

The full beaver (or freezing) moon in Gemini was on the 27^th. Once again, observed with a meditation. It was overcast, so no actual observation.

Image of a fingernail moon in a moody blue cloudy sky.

The month started with the Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival, from November 2^nd to 4^th. I caught the Thursday and Friday evening sessions virtually, because work and still recovering from the illen. I attended Saturday’s sessions in person. It was a very poetic festival this year and I did a little networking.

Then, after a scant day off, I got up at ridiculous o’clock to fly down to Boston and make my way to Salem for the Writer Unboxed UnConference from the 6^th to the 10^th. It was a fun first in person conference adventure, post-pandemic. I got to meet some of the people with whom I’d only interacted online. I made a few new friends. I enjoyed some great local food, walked around Salem, and took in a lot of writing craft instruction.

It’s one of the better conferences I’ve been to, up there with the Surrey International Writers’ Conference (SiWC) and the Writing Excuses Retreat (WXR).

After that, I took a break. Travel is hard, and though the UnConference was great, I was masking on steroids. It’s just what happens, and I haven’t figured out a better way to handle conferences yet.

I did sign up for an Authors Publish webinar that I watched on replay. Agent Michael Mungiello and Daisuke Shen discussed their working relationship and fielded questions about finding and working with an agent.

Finnish classes continued through the month, as did my supplementary learning on Duolingo.

I signed up for an RBC Patient and Family Learning Space webinar on November 28 on the connection between sleep disorders and mental health. It was interesting, but more of a confirmation of what I already knew.

I got shot twice on the 13^th with my covid and flu vaccinations. I am now up to date (again). Just sore shoulders for a couple of days afterward and a brief resurgence of congestion. By the weekend of the 18^th, I was feeling myself again.

I also had a massage appointment on the 15^th, which helped me to recover from the post-vaccination bleargh. Reached the rest and digest stage again, but not for long.

Something wonky has happened on my smoking cessation journey. Now that I’ve recovered from that sinus infection, I no longer have that awful taste in my mouth. I can taste and smell again. And it’s lowered my urgency to quit.

I had once again gotten down to 6 to 8 cigarettes a day but bounced back up to 10 to 12. I’m not quitting … quitting, but I may have to hang out at half my former consumption for a while again.

What I’m watching and reading

I watched The Fablemans (Crave). It was a lovely look at a filmmaker’s development and coming of age.

Then, Phil and I finished watching the second season of Loki (Disney +). While I thought the finale was bittersweet and appropriate, Phil was saddened that we wouldn’t be getting a season three. There may be something featuring the TVA (I mean, we have to know what happened to Renslayer and Eliath, at least, don’t we? And what of OB?) and I’m fairly certain that Loki’s new role of the god of story will have further implications for future Marvel movies and series. Phil just really likes Hiddleston’s portrayal of the god of mischief and didn’t want to see it end.

Phil and I also finished watching the first season of Gen V (Amazon). As bloody as The Boys and featuring cameos of a few of the regulars (Ashley, Mallory, Soldier Boy, Victoria Neuman, Homelander, and Butcher). We really liked it, and the characters, in particular, were fabulous. It was interesting to see more characters like Starlight, before they get screwed up by the capital-industrial complex that is Vaught.

Next, I watched Blue Beetle (Crave). I loved it. It wasn’t a perfect movie, even a perfect superhero movie, but it was definitely one of the better DCEU movies to come out to date, and it’s a little disappointing that the new DC may not pursue Jaime’s future adventures. My favourite line: “Bug Fart activated.”

Phil and I watched what they’re calling the “midseason” finale of Invincible (Amazon). This part of the season focused on the aftermath of the revelation of Nolan’s deception and his departure from Earth. Mark feels he has to make up for his dad’s actions and Debbie’s turned to alcohol. It looks like the second part of the season will deal with how Mark handles his assignment from the Viltrumites to finish his dad’s work and prepare Earth for its new Viltrumite overlords.

Then, I watched a cheesy Matel movie from 2016. Max Steel (Amazon) wasn’t horrible. A kid starts manifesting powers and has to team up with an amnesiac symbiotic lifeform to defend Earth from aliens.

Finally, Phil and I said farewell to the Doom Patrol (Crave). While the series offered up the main characters, villains, and even storylines of various DP comics series, it got mired in the fucked-upness of the team to the point that, after four years, none of the characters had sorted their shit. The Chief, Rita, and Cliff are dead, Cyborg decides to teach gifted kids, Jane and Casey get together (in space), Larry and 104 become a sun with Keeg (I think), Rouge takes out the Ant Farm, and Dorothy’s just doing her own thing … ?

I think part of the problem was that Jane (DID with each alter having their own superpower), and later Dorothy (with very powerful imaginary friends at her beck and call), ended up being grossly overpowered and the writers didn’t know how to deal with them.

When we enter the dark months of the year, I tend to slow down in my reading.

The first book I finished in November was Naomi Alderman’s The Power. Girls begin developing electrical powers, entirely upending society. Margaret Atwood’s influence is clear, particularly in the faux-documentary postscript, which is a written correspondence between the male author of a novel and his publisher (Alderman), which implies that women will be no better than men in responsibly wielding their power.

Next, I finished Nnedi Okorafor’s Shadow Speaker. Ejii Ugabe witnessed her father’s decapitation and now that she’s manifesting the abilities of a shadow speaker, she’s going to join her father’s killer on a mission to try to prevent a war. I enjoy Okorafor’s stories of young people changed by external circumstance trying to find their ways in the world.

Then, I read Hannu Rajaneimi’s The Quantum Thief. It was a recommendation from Desmond Hall because the main character, Jean le Flambeur, encounters several different incarnations of himself. It’s not the same as my protagonist and her Others in Reality Bomb, though. Jean and his others are never in the same physical body. They’re in a Dilemma Prison (which I think is a quantum realm) or they exist in different times accessible only by memory.

The Quantum Thief is a bizarre heist novel pitting Jean against a brilliant young detective in the Oubliette, the moving city of Mars, where time is currency and memory is treasure, and post-human tribes and police vie for control.

Finally, I finished my reread of Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Summer Tree. The characters and story hold up just fine, but the first chapters are a bit rough. I was surprised and disappointed, but Kay remains one of my favourite authors. I’m going to give the rereads a break until the New Year. I have a whole pile of TBRs that I need to put a dent in (!)

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!

A hand hold a book with mist rising from it.
The Next Chapter.
A month in the writerly life.
melaniemarttila.ca

The next chapter: October 2023 update

November 5, 2023 / Melanie Marttila

Welcome to November, the month of NaNoWriMo and American Thanksgiving! As a Canadian, I’m legally obligated to specify American Thanksgiving, as Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving the second Monday in October (former American Columbus Day and now Indigenous Peoples’ Day).

The lovely weather continued through the first two weeks of October—I got out onto the deck again!—but over the Thanksgiving weekend, we had tonnes (again, Canadian, therefore metric) of rain and below seasonal temperatures. But no snow, thanks the powers that be. Well, there was snow, but it melted as soon as it hit the ground.

This was followed by another stretch of above-seasonal temperatures, though with persistent cloud cover and often rain. Phil put away the patio furniture by this time and put the garden to bed for the year.

Life in general

I’ve continued to struggle with dysregulation. I think I’ve been walking on the thin edge of burnout since summer. Also, what I thought were brand new seasonal allergies was, in fact, a persistent sinus infection. It went subclinical over the summer but came back with a vengeance at the end of September.

I was quite sick over the weekend of the 14^th and tried to make an appointment with my doctor on Monday, but he was booking in-person into November, so I went to the walk-in clinic and came home with antibiotics and a corticosteroid nasal spray. I may also have brought home another virus from the crowded waiting room.

What followed was a miserable stretch of days while the meds took hold and started to do their thing. I worked (day job and writing), though slowly. The nights were the worst. Gravity works, and infection drains everywhere (ears, bronchus, etc.). I tested for covid twice this time. Both negative, but damn. This was the sickest I’ve been in years.

And then I gave it to Phil 😦 Fortunately, he recovered in a day and a half.

The month in writing

For most of the month, I was once again focused on my new inside outline for Reality Bomb. Having finished writing it out by hand, I then transcribed it. And adjusted the cause-and-effect flow still further, ‘cause I can’t seem to get it nailed down the first (or even fifth) time. Once that was done, I moved onto my next submission.

I’ll have to circle around to do revisions next month (for my NaNo Rebel Combo).

Before the illen truly took hold, I also managed to write 8 poems and 1,392 words on a short story. I’ll take the win!

An Excel spreadsheet showing writing progress for October 2023.

I applied for a mentorship microgrant from The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) and the funds were approved in time for them to be applied to my next six-session package with Suzy. While I’ve paid my next session, I won’t meet with Suzy again until November. This is a good thing. I’ll need the rest of October to get RB reorganized and in shape to resume coaching.

I delivered my fiction writers in the schools visit early in the month. I think it went well. A few students shared their ideas and some of what they’d written. And they asked questions. Mrs. Belanger was helpful and accommodating. I dared to be imperfect, and it paid off.

I submitted some poetry to Polar Starlight and Polar Borealis and two of my new poems were accepted for publication in 2024. Grateful to Graeme and Rhea for their continued dedication to Canadian speculative poetry.

I received edit notes for the short story that was shortlisted. The publisher still has final say, even after I’ve done the requested revisions, so there’s no guarantee, but I’m hopeful.

Filling the well

The vine new moon in Libra was on October 14^th and I observed it with a guided meditation. The day was cloudy, so I didn’t get to see the partial eclipse (all of the annular eclipse we’d see up here in northeastern Ontario), but I watched the NASA broadcast.

The full Hunter’s Moon in Taurus fell on October 28^th this year. There was also a partial lunar eclipse. Of course, it was overcast again. And I watched the partial lunar eclipse on the Time and Date YouTube channel.

And Samhain (my birthday) was three days after that. It was, as usual, a quiet day. I took it off, Phil made me a full breakfast (pancakes, eggs, and bacon), and we had a Greek feast (souvlaki, lemon potatoes, rice, tzatziki, pita, and salad) in the evening. Phil made me a banoffee pie. We invited my mom.

As usual, we had no trick or treaters. The are I live in is on the commercial side and kids don’t see it as a viable source of candy. More importantly, their parents don’t see our area as a convenient on to take their kids to. There is a subdivision not far away, and they tend to pack up their kids and go there.

Still, Phil bought a box of chocolate bars “just in case,” and now I’m trying to consume them before he eats too many of them.

Because we received our retro pay, I got myself a new computer. My old one was giving me a CMOS error message every morning on startup. So that’s what I spent the three days leading up to my birthday doing—setting up my computer and making sure all of my documents and pictures and music were transferred over.

Well, the pictures weren’t an issue, because they were backed up on the cloud, but the rest had to be zipped and backed up and copied over. But, in the process, Phil set up a back up server for us. Now, everything’s sorted, and I have a lovely new computer that should last me for a few years.

I started Finnish classes through the Sudbury Finnish School in anticipation of drafting The Fenwoman’s Tale. Eight weeks through October and November. I also returned to the free version of Duolingo to supplement the classes.

I attended the DAW Library Fantasy Book Buzz with Julie Czerneda and Bradley Beaulieu on the 5^th. It was a lovely discussion.

The next and final Free Expressions Donald Maass webinar, “Narrative Drive for Sagging Middles and No-plot Novels” also took place on the 5^th. Due to timing, I watched the replay. It was a helpful webinar, because my protagonist in my current work-in-progress is trapped in one way or another for a good portion of the book. It’s challenging to maintain agency, but it’s a challenge I set myself.

I registered for a TWUC webinar, “Three Things Agents and Publishers Must See in Your First 30 pages” on October 11^th. Barbara Kyle is a great presenter and has a lot of knowledge to impart.

I attended the virtual version of Can-Con from the 13^th to the 15^th. I didn’t catch all the virtual sessions, but I watched everything I could. An excellent con, as always.

The FOLD Academy offered another webinar on “Writing from Desire and Body” by Linh S. Nguyen on the 14^th. Because it was on the same day as Can-Con, I watched the replay once it was posted. It was more of a workshop than a webinar, with practical exercises to encourage you to be present in your body and write what you feel.

I attended Waubgesig Rice’s Sudbury book launch for Moon of the Turning Leaves on the 16^th. In person, even! I got a signed copy of the book!

I had registered for the Anne Szumagalski Lecture with Joshua Whitehead back in September, but it was rescheduled to October 20^th. A compelling presentation about paranoia as an effect of colonialization and marginalization.

I signed up for “Writing Characters Who Practice Non-Standard Religions” by Nisi Shawl from Writing the Other. The course ran from Oct 28^th to Nov 5^th. It was a good refresher of being respectful of everyone’s spiritual beliefs.

Thanksgiving was a relaxed affair at my mom’s and the immediate family gathered for ham, scalloped potatoes, turnip puff, jellied salad, and Greek salad. There was apple and blueberry pie for dessert.

I signed up for another Pat Tallman event on mastering motivation. It was mostly practical information and familiar, but it’s always good to refresh and rededicate.

Later in the month, she offered a bonus workshop on forgiveness. Forgiveness is hard, especially forgiving yourself.

What I’m watching and reading

I’ve had a realization. The less I write about something (book, movie, or series) the more I want y’all to experience it for yourselves.

I watched The Whale (Amazon). A lovely, but desperately sad movie that gave me similar feels to Leaving Las Vegas. Charlie is a morbidly obese virtual college instructor who is dying of congestive heart failure (what my father died of, so extra feels there) and refuses to go to the hospital. As the days pass, more and more clues about Charlie’s trauma are revealed. I won’t spoil it. Brendan Fraser earned his awards.

Phil and I finished watching the first season of One Piece (Netflix). Phil says it’s pretty faithful to the manga and anime. It was fun and kind-hearted, which we can all use more of.

We also finished watching the second season of The Wheel of Time (Amazon). They took us on a journey. It was excellent, in my opinion.

The first book I listened to was Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, narrated by Michael York (BBC). The last time I’d read the book was in high school and, to be honest, I didn’t remember much of it. It’s a scathing commentary on a society that is technically utopian but as is usual with utopias, if you scratch the surface, there are flaws. While I appreciated the ending focusing on the tragedy of John Savage, I was left wondering what the ultimate fates of the other two main male characters were. And I was somewhat disappointed that Huxley focused on the dissatisfaction or difference in his male characters only. It seems that there are no alpha females dissatisfied with the utopian world they have been given.

Then, I read A Crown So Cursed, by L. L. McKinney. It’s the third in the Nightmare-Verse series and an urban fantasy retelling of Alice in Wonderland. I really enjoy these books, even if they are young adult. McKinney has made the protagonist’s mother a feature rather than a bug, and in this novel, her grandmother gets in on the action, too.

Next was Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse. A tragic tale of two sisters in a world shaped by angels and demons. When fallen Mariel is accused of murdering one of the virtues, her sister Celeste becomes her advocatus diaboli to defend her. Celeste sacrifices everything to prove Mariel innocent, even when it becomes apparent that Mariel did everything she is accused of and more.

I read Alaya Dawn Johnson’s Library of Broken Worlds. It was a challenging read (in the best way). A lot of dense ideas and rich world building in this tale of a secondary artificial intelligence created to kill a god.

Finally, I listened to the Audible production of Jim C. Hines’ Terminal Alliance. This one was a lot of fun. In a post-apocalyptic world in which humans have gone feral and have been given a second chance by an alien “cure,” Lieutenant Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos leads a rag-tag team of human janitors to clean up after a nefarious conspiracy leaves them the only crew capable of sorting out the mess.

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: September 2023 update

October 1, 2023 / Melanie Marttila

Welcome to October, my favourite month of the year (my birthday notwithstanding). May you find a way to shift the veil during this spectral season and see what’s on the other side 🙂

September began with a four-day heatwave, from September 3^rd to the 6^th. Then, overnight the temperature dropped to below seasonal. But I got out onto the patio! After that, it was a beautiful September, weather-wise. Above seasonal, sunny. Just lovely.

Picture of a dawn sky with Venus among the clouds.

Life in general

After my big project was finished in August, I’ve hit a period of dysregulation and am in recovery. But I’m also still working, so the recovery is taking a while. I don’t have enough annual leave to take a longer period of time off, and, while I have a lot of sick leave banked, I need a medical note to support more than three days off in a row. I’d need to make an appointment with my doctor and get him to fill out the official medical leave form.

The process comes with its own set of difficulties (read autistic inertia/demand avoidance). Really, I’m just being lazy, but I don’t have the spoons to take on more administrivia at the moment. So, I’m taking my sick leave a day or two at a time, here and there. I had a couple of days of leave in September, but I was just starting to feel better when I had a reading to deliver. It was a good event, but just enough to reset my recovery.

And then I had a schedule change at work so I could observe the delivery of the big project I finished in August. The training delivery was in the Atlantic region, so I was getting up super early. The upside was that I got to finish my workday earlier, but the schedule change was a disruption.

So, executive function is low right now. I’m forgetting things I would normally remember, making errors, and stumbling and bumping into things. The brain is having trouble braining. This is a part of the autistic life that I’m still learning to navigate, to be conscious of my executive function in the moment and to give myself the recovery time I need. But it’s a challenge on many fronts.

The time of year and the slow reduction of daylight hours also has an impact on my energy levels. It’s why I save the bulk of my annual leave for the darker months of the year.

I’ve notified my team lead that I will be applying for a self-funded leave in the new year so that I can focus on the launch for The Art of Floating and any readings in the weeks immediately following. My intent is to use as much of that time as I can for a more focused recovery, as well, but I’ll have the launch and readings and possibly conferences to attend. We’ll see how it goes.

The month in writing

Most of my month was dedicated to revisiting my inside outline, which I’m rewriting by hand, so there hasn’t been a lot of writing or revision to record this month.

I have managed to write a few new poems, however. And there’s always the writing to record from this update/newsletter.

Image of an Excel spreadsheet showing my writing and revision progress.

I met with Suzy for the 6^th and final time (for this package) on September 14^th. I hadn’t finished my revised inside outline but got as far as this submission. As usual, Suzy provided insights I wouldn’t have discovered on my own.

I’m taking a break for a month to get the revised inside outline done, write up my report for the CSFFA about my professional development grant funding (done), prepare for my Writers in the Schools visit (done), and see if I can’t get some poetry written (done), and make further progress on some short fiction (done).

I submitted another grant application on the 7^th. And then another on the 30^th.

Also on the 7^th, I received my professional photo package! You may have noticed the mid-month post about the pictures 🙂

On the 11^th, I received notification that my last grant application from the spring was not funded.

Something that I haven’t thought to mention in past months is that I’ve continued to submit my poetry for consideration. Welp, those rejections have started to roll in.

On the 16^th, I met with my publisher. It was a good meeting and things are progressing. Cover reveal should be coming soon, and once the collection is posted for pre-orders, you know I’ll be posting again. Now, it’s time for readings and other networking opportunities.

Then, on the 20^th, I received notification that the creative non-fiction piece I’d submitted for the Sudbury Writers’ Guild Superstack anthology has been accepted! My first CNF acceptance! I edited the piece and returned it and my signed contract on the 25^th.

My publisher was in touch again on the 23^rd to advise that Sudbury’s current poet laureate, Kyla Heyming, had an opening in the second of two Poetry on the Water cruises. I jumped at the opportunity and read my poetry in public for the first time in a year (!) It was a lovely afternoon.

Picture of The William Ramsey cruise boat.

Filling the well

I observed the hazel new moon in Virgo on the 14^th with a guided meditation.

The fall equinox was on the 23^rd this year. I lit my alter and gave some thought to the coming season and what it will bring.

And the full corn supermoon in Aries was on the 29^th.

In terms of writerly events, I started the month with a Dan Blank webinar, “How to find the readers who will love your writing,” on September 8^th. I purchased a consultation package, filled out a form, and received an informative response video. Then, on the 22^nd, Dan and I had a video call to discuss my platform and focusing in on what I share and why. He’s encouraging me to go for it and not to wait. Again, autistic inertia/demand avoidance is playing a role. Highly recommend.

Then, I attended a FOLD Academy webinar with Jael Richardson on “The business of publishing,” on the 9^th. Very good. Lots of useful information. Love Jael 🙂

I had registered to receive the recording of “Healing history’s wounds,” a Writing the Other webinar with Nisi Shawl back in August. Unfortunately, Nisi was ill, and the webinar had to be rescheduled for September 10^th. It was awesome! There are a couple of strategies I want to try out with my solarpunk/alt history novella.

Then, it was Science Fiction Writers’ Week with Pro Writing Aid from the 11^th through to the 14^th. I did not watch all the sessions. I was there for a few special events. Lauren Beukes, Catherine Asaro, Julie Czerneda, and Jordan Ifueko.

The next Donald Maass webinar from Free Expressions, “Imperfect Heroes and Excellent Anti-heroes,” was also on the 14^th, so I watched the replay. Excellent, as always.

I signed up for a Tiffany Yates Martin webinar through Jane Friedman on the 15^th. “Handling multiple storylines” was great. Tiffany always pulls out examples that really illustrate what she’s talking about.

I signed up for another Mary Robinette Kowal webinar on “Endings, or How to Wrap Things Up” on the 17^th. I got some solid advice on my WIP that I can use when rewriting my inside outline.

“The Art & Craft of Writing Powerful Emotion” with Ellen Bass offered through Authors Publish was on the 27^th. I opted to watch the replay because of a conflict.

Carly Watters and Cece Lyra presented their “Writing the Perfect First Five Pages” webinar, also on the 27^th. Basically, the best of their advice from The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast.

Finally, there was another SFWA connecting flights panel on “Genre Benders and Blenders: Storytelling Beyond Tropes and Conventions” on Sept 30^th. It was a nice ending to the month.

Moving into the self-care portion of the month, I signed up for “Sidewalk oracles” with Pat Tallman from the 4^th through the 7^th. It’s all about being open to guidance on your morning walks. There were several different techniques to help get into a mindful and receptive mood.

On the 18^th was my next massage appointment. I didn’t quite get to the rest and digest stage, but it was a much-needed respite.

I had my semi-annual dental checkup on the 20^th.

What I’m watching and reading

I couldn’t resist. The reviews have been so horrible, I just had to watch The Flash (HBO/Crave). It wasn’t the trash fire I was led to believe. Don’t get me wrong. It was bad. But I’ve seen worse. >koff, koff< Black Adam.

Phil and I watched the final season of Titans (Netflix). It was full of plot holes and so rushed. I mean, it all feels kind of pointless. DC’s clearing the slates and starting over … again.

Next, Phil and I watched the second season of Good Omens (Amazon). I don’t know what everyone’s upset about. It’s clear that Aziraphale and Crowley love each other. We thought the second season was great and are looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy.

I watched Elemental (Disney +). This was another movie that struggled out of the gate, but as far as I could see, it was typical Pixar fare. A sweet story about an immigrant family trying to make it in a new city, the pressures of tradition, and finding your own way in the world. The romantic subplot was a little meh, but overall, I enjoyed Elemental.

Then, I watched Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (Amazon). OMG so sweet! I mean, totally ridiculous, but So. Sweet! A balm to my neurodivergent soul.

Next, I watched the live action version of The Little Mermaid (Disney +). It was … okay? Exactly the same as the animated version with a little more diversity in the cast and a couple of additional musical numbers? Halle Bailey has a great voice. Melissa McCarthy added a little more nuance to Ursula. It was completely adequate and what I expected, but I keep wondering why the movie industry reboots everything or keeps franchises going on (Fast & Furious, I’m looking at you) long after they’ve ceased to be entertaining. There are so many stories out there that could be adapted into great series or movies. Get creative, people! Try something new.

I also finished watching Tiny Beautiful Things (Disney +). This was an adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s book of the same name, which was a collection of her Dear Sugar columns. It was an interesting story about a woman who finds purpose offering advice to others while her life falls apart. There is meaningful resolution in the end. Kathryn Hahn was superb.

After a brief internal struggle, I gave up on Riverdale (Netflix). I started watching the final season, but thanks to Friendly Space Ninja, I learned that the final season doesn’t resolve any of the plot threads from previous seasons. It just reboots the show to the comics’ original 1950s setting. So, no real wrap-up of the pseudo-Marvel multiverse/superpower storylines. No resolution for Betty and the trash bag killer. No future for any of those characters. Just a handwave to the fact that the other timeline no longer exists, and they’re stuck in the past. They get to hold onto the “good” memories, though. Final word on the series as a whole? Meh.

I finally finished watching The Crown (Netflix). The latest season brought viewers up to the point where Di’s bombshell BBC interview has taken place, Di and Charles have divorced, and Di’s about to meet an engaged Dodi.

I watched All the Old Knives (Amazon). It’s a tragic political thriller about the aftermath of a terrorist hostage-taking that resulted in 120 deaths. Years after the event, a CIA agent is sent to investigate. Evidence has been uncovered that there was a mole in the unit.

Finally, Phil and I watched the first two seasons of Bleach: The Thousand Year War (Disney +). Loved! We’ve been fans since the anime first came out and started following the manga as they were released following the last anime series. Season 3 should be released in the spring and 4 before the end of 2024. This could be the last series for Bleach. Creator Tite Kubo continues to struggle with health issues.

The first book I read in September was Samuel R. Delaney’s Babel 17. Rydra Wong is a poet and linguist, and she is called upon by the military to decipher Babel 17, which they believe is a code the Invaders are using to relay messages. Rydra figures out that Babel 17 is a language, not a code, and travels into deep space to solve the riddle of what it is and what is does to the people who understand it.

Then, I took a left turn and listened to Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties: Stories. It gave me the same flavour as Mona Awad’s Bunny. Surrealist body horror is my best approximation. Though I did find her take on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, an epic poem—yes, I will call it a poem—involving doppelgangers, love, and family to be … kind of hilarious, actually (what does that say about me?). Unsettling, but good.

I finished Premee Mohamed’s The Annual Migration of Clouds. Really good. In a post-apocalyptic Alberta, most people have been infected by Cad, a parasitic fungus that seeks to save its host, no matter what. Reid has been given an opportunity to leave her community, but it involves a dangerous journey. And how can she leave when her mother and her best friend depend on her for their survival? A boar hunt promises to give Reid the means to support her mother, but will her Cad let her take the risk?

Then, I listened to The Mabinogion. I’ve wanted to read it for years, but never gotten around to it. Like most older tale collections, it has a rhythm to its storytelling. Several rhythms, actually, because it’s several different stories collected into one volume. There’s a lot that’s similar to The Kalevala.

I finished Solomon’s Seal, by Skyla Dawn Cameron. This is the first in the Livi Talbot series, pitched as Tomb Raider meets The Gilmour Girls. In a world utterly changed by “The Pulse,” which unleashed magic, magical abilities, and magical creatures globally, Olivia—Livi—Talbot, once heiress, now impoverished treasure hunter for hire, struggles to keep her daughter in private school, pay the rent, beat her archeologist brother to the next artifact, and fend off the unwanted advances of past and potential boyfriends. When a rich benefactor sends her to Ethiopia in search of Solomon’s Seal, Livi has to dodge dragons, betrayal, and her employer’s mysterious second in command. Very good.

Finally, I finished Ada Hoffmann’s The Fallen, sequel to The Outside. Yasira Shien is all but incapacitated following the miracle she performed in the first book. Tiv and the Seven—young people with Outside abilities—try to help Jai’s survivors, while being hunted by angels and fallen angels alike. But the gone people are working toward something that could make life for the people of Jai better, if anyone could understand them. Neurodivergence is centred in Hoffmann’s novels. Really good.

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: August 2023 update

September 3, 2023 / Melanie Marttila

Welcome to September, the meteorological beginning of fall (and the return of all things pumpkin spice).

The weather in August was indeed lovely. Despite that, I did not get out to the patio to write. I kept updating my laptop. I intended to go out. A few days, I only opened the documents that are on the hard drive of my desktop, but eventually gave in and opened up the rest, as needed, and did my usual.

I have been enjoying longer walks with Torvi, looking at the houses, imagining what it might be like not to live on a busy streetcorner, to be able to sleep in the quiet, or for Phil to have a dark night sky to take out his telescope and actually do some astronomical observation.

Yes. I’ve been daydreaming.

The big project at work was completed early. And it’s been a huge relief. Despite that, my brain is definitely not braining. Executive function is compromised. Dysregulation is the rule of the day. I’m taking time off as I need to and I’m practicing self-compassion. Or trying to.

It’s one of those things. After a protracted period of hyperfocus, you need to rest and recover. This is even more important for an autist (or other neurodivergent).

The second phase of the big project is yet to come, and with it, more stress, but this is the career I chose.

The month in writing

I had two more meetings with Suzy Vadori on the 10^th and the 31^st. Our meeting on the 10^th was a bit of a revelation. I had to restructure and compress the timeline at the start of Act 2. I thought I had done it, but I hadn’t gone far enough.

In our meeting, I said I’d have to think about how to do it. Delayed processing. It’s an autistic thing. And I told Suzy, I’d restructure the piece in outline and move on.

Reader, I did not do this.

Having restructured, I realized I needed to know the specifics. I couldn’t write forward until I knew the content of this section. I am not the kind of writer who can write out of order. At least, not right now and not with this project.

After a day, I had my strategy in hand and went through the draft-to-date again, trimming where I could. I also asked for an extension. I was supposed to have my next submission ready to go August 20^th but was still struggling with the previous session’s revisions.

My extension was granted. Still, I struggled with the rewrite until the day before my next submission. I’m not happy with it, but it’s time to move on. I can’t spend any more time on it now. I have to get to the half-way point, story wise, if I hope to have a reasonable-sized draft by the end of my sessions with Suzy.

Our meeting on the 31^st led to discussion of just that—the size of the novel and how to mitigate the growing wordcount. I’ve decided to redo my inside outline. There have been a lot of changes and there will probably be more to come. Having a smaller document than my map will help me to manage things better, I think. I hope?

I’ve already committed to another 6-session package with Suzy (to finish off the revision), but I may take a wee break in between. I have to write my grant report for the CSFFA, work on my short fiction presentation for my fall writers in the schools visit—which has been approved; more on that in a bit—and submit another grant proposal.

An Excel spreadsheet that tracks wordcount.

I set up a Substack account on the 7^th. This month, I played around and set things up. I’m starting my newsletter in September. Basically, it’s going to be this update with a few strategic additions. I’ll keep publishing news and announcements on my blog/web site and try to figure out how to get a signup set up on Always Looking Up.

I’m also going to keep posting these updates to my blog. I’m going the free route with Substack. If I decide to move into paid territory, I’ll have to think of something sweet to put behind the paywall!

I may move back to weekly updates at some point in the future. And I may add a limited amount of curation into those, like a top five blogs/articles I read this week, or some such. Right now, there are a lot of things happening and I’m not quite in the right headspace to commit to a weekly newsletter.

On the 9^th, I received a lovely email to let me know that one of my stories has moved to the shortlist for an anthology I submitted to earlier in the year. I’ll find out more in September. Watch this space!

I had my photo session with Gerry Kingsley on the 16^th. I arranged to have my makeup done by Dana Lajeunesse and reported to the park just before 7. It was my first photoshoot and Gerry was very kind about my awkwardness.

The pictures are fabulous, and I can’t wait to share them with you.

The end of the month was a bit of a momentous rollercoaster with regard to acceptances, non-acceptances, and other publishing news.

On the 29^th, I was notified that one of my grant applications from the spring was not funded. So that means one funded, one approved but not funded, and one not approved or funded. One more to go, and I should hear about that in September.

Also on the 29^th, one of the two creative non-fiction pieces I submitted earlier in the year was not accepted.

Then, I received a TWUC newsletter indicating that the writers in the schools (WITS) approval notifications had all gone out. I hadn’t received an email one way or the other. I also thought, things come in threes, so this is it. I haven’t been funded for this, either.

But I enquired and, of the two WITS visits I applied for, one was approved—yay! Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough funding to award all applicants for all WITS visits. I’ll take the win!

And then, my publisher got back to me about the cover for The Art of Floating. We had chatted about requesting a print from Gillian Schultze, who just happens to be my cousin (second, in fact), and she agreed. The draft cover looks amazing!

Again, watch this space. I will be doing a more formal cover reveal when the final cover is approved.

Filling the well

Lughnassadh was a quiet affair. I lit my altar and did a guided meditation for the full sturgeon moon in Aquarius, which was the same night.

The new Holly moon was on the 16^th, which was also the evening of my photoshoot. It was lovely being out at a park on the shore of a lake.

Then, the full blue supermoon in Pisces arrived on the 30^th to finish off the month in lunatic style. The moon was gorgeous as I watched her rise during my evening walk with Torvi. Sadly, my phone camera has proven that it isn’t good enough, even in night mode, to capture a picture of the moon without significant lens flare. I partook of another guided meditation.

My pagan practice is quite simple.

My weekly card pulls tended to be positive this month and in general, I’ve felt positive. I’m seeing it all as a good sign for the future.

July was FULL of online writing events. I dialled back a bit for August, because I was kind of overdoing it. Enjoying it, but definitely overdoing it. Also, big project at work continued, and I need to be mindful of my energy levels.

I started the month with an Authors Publish webinar presented by Ley Taylor Johnson about creating a dynamic act one. It was in the middle of the workday on August 2nd, so I watched the replay, which came with a free ebook by the presenter (on the same topic).

Then, in anticipation of taking the dive into Substack, I attended Dan Blank’s “Launch & Grow Your Email Newsletter with Substack.” A lot of good information.

The next Free Expressions webinar in the Donald Maass series was “Advanced Microtension” on the 10^th. Because my meeting with Suzy was on the same day, I watched the replay. Excellent, as always.

On August 13^th, I had the opportunity to attend “From Helplessness to Habit: Backstory as Behavior,” a webinar by David Corbett offered exclusively to past applicants and current students of the Your Personal Odyssey program. Really good.

I signed up for a DIY MFA webinar on “Unleashing Your Platform’s Storytelling Superpower” on the 22^nd. It’s an extension of the storytelling superpower quiz, taking the four archetypes and extending them to authorial personas.

I signed up for “Hiding Exposition in Plain Sight” with Mary Robinette Kowal on the 27^th. I really just vibe with her teaching style.

On August 28^th, I lucked out on a webinar with Beth Revis about plotting your novel offered through Inked Voices. I really like her system. It’s intuitive.

I attended a Cross-Pollinations reading offered through the League of Canadian Poets on the 30^th. The specific topic was about organ donors and recipients. Interesting reading.

Finally, I signed up for a CAA/SFCanada webinar on Pushing the Boundaries of Urban Fantasy with Jes Battis, another autistic author, also on the 30^th. It was a fabulous presentation.

Something that I neglected to mention last month was that I seized the opportunity to take a pilot course from Taylor Heaton (Mom on the Spectrum) about unmasking. It’s self-paced with video, transcripts, worksheets, and other resources. I enjoyed it. I’m still on a long journey to true unmasking. I learned the skill early and practiced it diligently until I received my autism confirmation in 2021.

I will recommend it to any adult or late-diagnosed autistics, though. We need all the help and support we can get, and MOTS is a great online community to be a part of.

This month, I signed up for Patricia Tallman’s Wake up with Me! I subscribe to Pat’s newsletter and have flirted with some of her offerings in the past (e.g., Tame Your Fear Dragon). And yes, Pat is the actress from Babylon 5 and a former stunt woman. I already have a morning routine, but figured it could use some tweaking 🙂

What I’m watching and reading

I watched Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (Disney +) when it came out on streaming. And then, Phil and I watched it the next night together 🙂 It was a fabulous conclusion to the trilogy, and I got teary at several points. Teefs, Floor, and Rocket go now! Finding a litter of racoons! The release of the animals! The High Evolutionary was a little one note, but every heavy or dark scene was undercut with GOG’s signature humour. One of the better Marvel movies of recent years.

I watched the season two finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (network). I really think it’s the best ST series to come out in recent years. The Lower Decks crossover was hilarious. And the musical episode was fun. Very enjoyable, all around.

I finished watching the final season of Nancy Drew (network). I started watching this series in hope, but it soon became apparent that ND suffered from the same deficits as most other CW shows of recent years. It was a supernatural soap opera for teens. The final few episodes rushed to tie up lose ends and send the Drew Crew off into their separate lives.

Then, I watched Z for Zachariah (Amazon). This 2015 adaptation was a radical departure from the book, and starred Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Chris Pine. In the novel, Ann Burden lives alone with her dog and believes she is the last survivor of a nuclear war. Somehow, the valley in which she lives was protected from the fallout. John Loomis is a scientist travelling in a “safe-suit” of his own design. He comes upon the valley and Ann and though he suffers with radiation sickness, she nurses him back to health.

As soon as Loomis recovers, he begins to direct Ann—what to repair, what to plant. It’s clear he wants to rebuild and part of that includes producing children with Ann. She runs away, there is a confrontation (during which Ann must kill her dog—*sob*), and she leaves the valley in the safe-suit in search of other survivors.

The movie starts out the same, but Loomis isn’t half as odious as he is in the book. Then another survivor, Caleb, shows up (even though everything outside the valley is supposed to be radioactive) and there’s an awkward love triangle. It’s implied that Loomis kills Caleb, and the movie ends with Ann playing a hymn on an old organ. The dog disappears partway through the movie with no explanation. It was not good.

But then, I watched Polite Society (Amazon). OMG, so hilarious. And kickass. Ria wants to be a stunt woman and her sister Lena wants to be an artist, but after an EID Mubarak party, Lena begins to date the host’s son, Salim, and Ria acts out of jealousy, going so far as to attempt to smear Salim’s reputation with Lena. But Ria soon finds evidence of a more insidious plot and must rescue her sister from her own wedding. Excellent.

The first book I read in August was Shveta Thakrar’s novella, Into the Moon Garden. A lovely paranormal romance about a young scientist trying to come to terms with her mother’s death. The story alternates with chapters from a book about the moon gods and goddesses from around the world, each with a lesson for the protagonist as she navigates her grief.

Then, I listened to Robert A. Heinlein’s Orphans of the Sky. The book was noted as a “fix up” of a 1941 novelette and a 1963 novella. Interesting premise. A mutiny kills the skilled crew of a generation ship and the ship floats aimlessly in space while generation after generation is born, lives, and dies on the Ship, which is all any of them know of the universe. When Hugh learns that everything he’s been taught is wrong and that the Ship is actually intended to reach a destination, he tries to convince the current captain to let him pilot the Ship.

The book itself is hugely problematic. Civilization on the Ship has devolved into a patriarchy where the captain and crew are figureheads and the scientists have more in common with clergy. Children born with mutations are killed. The “muties” who survive are at war with the rest of the Ship, and none of the people on the Ship are depicted well. The muties practice cannibalism. Women, when they appear, are hysterical slaves, and men practice spousal abuse and bigamy. I must confess to being terribly disappointed.

Next, I read Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis. Yeah, I’ve been on a classic SF kick recently. It was better than the Wells and Heinlein books I recently read, but it was pretty much a sausage party with nary a female character in sight. I appreciated Lewis’ take on the typical male explorer, however. At least Ransom got to know the various peoples of Malacandra (which he later figures out is Mars) and actively prevented his fellow humans from exploiting them. It seems to me that this book was in part written out of colonizer guilt.

Then, I listened to Powerful Women Who Ruled the Ancient World, a The Great Courses lecture turned into an audiobook, by Kara Cooney. It wasn’t just Cleopatra. Cooney unpacks the gendered rules of the ancient world and then profiles women rulers from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and China and how they worked around those rules to seize power. Verra cool.

I read Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor. I’d previously read the first in the series, but unintentionally skipped over the second to read this one. I didn’t realize my error until I was already into the novella. Though it bothered my autistic sensibilities, I persisted, and was rewarded. Loved it.

I read J.A. Andrews’ Pursuit of Shadows. I read the first book in The Keeper Chronicles a couple of years ago. She was part of my critique group, but already not active when I joined. The first book focused on Alaric. This book was Will’s story. Will considers himself a second-rate keeper, but he’s out searching for the next generation—and his sister, abducted when they were both children. Good story, solid character arc, nice romantic subplot. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

And I finished my reread of The Raven King. Did I ever mention how much I love these books?

I’m taking a break for a few days, and then I’m picking up another favourite series: The Fionavar Tapestry.

My next listen was another Heinlein novel, Double Star. Not as bad as the other Heinlein, but there was all of one female character in the whole thing. Also, the protagonist, a down-on-his-luck actor, was demonstrably racist. Yes, it was against Martians, but still. The actor is hired to be a politician’s double after the politician is abducted. Not bad. It won the first Hugo Award. It was written in 1956. Makes me wonder what I’d think if I read Stranger in a Strange Land again …

Then, I read Callahan’s Legacy by Spider Robinson. A good friend is a big fan, but the only other Spider Robinson book I’ve read is Variable Star, which was actually a Robinson completion of a book Robert Heinlein left unfinished.

Callahan’s Legacy is filled with pun and pathos. A nigh on unstoppable enemy is headed for Earth and Jake and the gang at Mary’s Place have no choice but to come together around the birth of Jake and Zoe’s child, achieve telepathic communion, and stop the creature in its tracks with an offer of … freedom and friendship?

Finally, I finished off the month with Bellwether, by Connie Willis. The protagonist, Dr. Sandra Foster, studies fads for a corporate research facility called Hi-tek. The plot is largely absurd, centring on the influence of a Hi-tek employee named Flip, who brands her forehead, wears duct tape as a fashion statement, and feels she is being abused in her position as mail clerk, though she is basically lazy and incompetent.

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: July 2023 update

August 6, 2023 / Melanie Marttila

Welcome to August, everyone! Enjoying your summer?

For me, the answer to that question is yes … and no. I am enjoying the summer in the sense that I still get out twice a day to walk Torvi and I enjoy the light and the warmth and the activity. The no part of the answer comes in with the long stretches of higher-than-seasonal temperatures we’ve been having.

It’s too hot most days to enjoy the patio/summer office during the day and, by the time it cools off in the evening to the degree I could enjoy the office, the insects emerge and cause a whole new kind of misery.

And the days when it isn’t unseasonably hot, it’s overcast and raining.

Have picked raspberries, though. It’s a decent crop this year.

The other complication to my summer is work. I should really learn to take more time off in the summer. I could avoid a lot of aggravation if I did. Unfortunately, I need to take more time off in the fall and winter. I’m a hibernator. And I’m not due more vacation for a few years yet. Almost when I’ll be thinking about retirement. Le sigh. First world problems. Privileged white woman first world problems.

And, as July ends, we’ve had a lovely break in the weather. Maybe I’ll be able to get out and enjoy the rest of the season 🙂

The month in writing

In general, I’m keeping on. I’ve narrowed focus to Reality Bomb, which I’m revising in 20-page chunks with Suzy Vadori’s guidance.

I have a side project in the form of revising a short story, but there’s no deadline for it. It’s just something I can dip into from time to time when I need a change of pace.

In other news, I’m really enjoying not curating content and moving back to monthly updates (with the odd addition of posts about writerly news, which tend to be short). It’s been a relief, which tells me that it’s been more onerous than I thought. It also gives me more time to write, which is what I really need to be doing right now.

Also, work is kicking my butt with another big project. This seems to be the way of things in the summer over the past few years. We may need to do some strategic thinking about workload. What this means in practical terms for my writing is that I’m often out of spoons by the end of the workday and weekends are focused on recovery. When do I write? When I can, which is not as often as I’d like, but often enough to make progress.

I’m trying to have compassion for myself. It’s harder than it sounds.

Welp, I was informed by email on July 5^th, that while my Access Copyright Foundation Professional Development Grant application was recommended by their assessment committee, there were not enough funds to award all the applicants who were recommended. I did not make the cut. So, a bittersweet notification.

I will definitely apply again in the future. Maybe not for the PD grant again, but we’ll see what else is on my creative horizon the next time I wade into the grant waters.

On the 5^th, I also met with a professional photographer, Gerry Kingsley, and we discussed getting a shoot together. We’re starting with a vision board but hope to have the shoot scheduled by the end of the month/early next month, and the photos ready for use by mid-August.

Unfortunately, another project took precedence for him and we’re kind of in limbo.

I had my second session with Suzy on July 6^th and my third on the 19^th. Things are progressing. I still feel that I’m not picking up on her methodology as quickly as I should. But that’s on me. She reassured me that I’m doing fine.

I have over 150 pages of revised novel now, though (from the work I did with her Oct 2022 to Jan 2023 and now). I don’t know if I’m actually going to cut any words/pages in the end. Most of Suzy’s suggestions have me adding words, not cutting them, or cutting and then adding in more 🙂 I’ve currently overcome the cutting I did earlier in the year, and I’ve added more than 3,000 words (!) It was the middle and the ending that were bloated, though, so I could end up cutting a bunch later on. We’ll see how it goes.

On July 31^st, I received an email that I’ve been accepted into the League of Canadian Poets as a full member! So now I’ve dipped my toes in (almost) all the professional associations. Updated my website and CV. I am now qualified as all get out 🙂

Filling the well

I enrolled in a longer Writing the Other course, Crafting Diverse Relationships, which ran July 1^st to the 23^rd. It was awesome, and I’m beginning to think I may be asexual, or maybe grey ace. I’ll have to delve into it more. It was also helpful for interracial relationships, polyamory, and character arcs in general.

I met with my publisher on the 2^nd, and we discussed the publishing process for The Art of Floating from here out. I have some time to work on some of the promotional materials she requested, but I had already taken a run at it and I’m not sure how much of what I submitted is usable and how much I’ll have to rework and resubmit.

I signed up for a webinar on the 11^th about writing characters intentionally and respectfully by Jenny Kleiman through Chill Subs. It was good, but WTO is the premiere purveyor of this kind of content.

I also registered for a Tiffany Yates Martin webinar through Jane Friedman. How to Write Powerfully in Deep Third POV was on July 12^th. Because it was during the workday, I watched the recording. Excellent, as always.

Augur Magazine presented Writing YA in SFF with Sarah Raughley on July 15^th. Very good.

Over on Free Expressions, Tiffany Yates Martin presented Five Steps to an Airtight Plot on the 20^th. The work/spoons situation I realized that I’ve actually taken this course before, through Jane Friedman. Ya know what? Repetition is reinforcement. I clearly still feel the need to absorb more information from this one.

I signed up for another Mary Robinette Kowal webinar on Middles and Try/Fail Cycles. That was on July 23^rd. This is kind of what I need right now as I wade into the middle of RB.

On the 26^th, it was Author Platform Building with Catherine Baab-Maguira. I’m still trying to figure out platform, especially now that I’m moving toward the launch of The Art of Floating.

Also on the 26^th, but in the evening, Graeme Cameron, publisher of Polar Borealis and Polar Starlight, who’s published one of my short stories and quite a few of my poems, offered a CAA/SF Canada webinar on getting published.

The next in the Free Expressions series of Don Maass webinars was DIY Archetypes on the 27^th. It was all about how characters become iconic.

Then, thanks to my virtual attendance of the Nebula conference weekend, I was able to attend a Connecting Flights Panel on Sticking the Short Story Landing on the 29^th.

Good Company interviewed me for the new facilitator position, but ultimately went with another candidate. To be honest, this is a good thing. As I mentioned last month, I may have been taking on more than I should.

Due to stresses at work, I’ve stalled a bit in my smoking cessation journey. I’d made it as far as 6 or 7 cigarettes a day, but then couldn’t hack it. I’m back up to 12 a day, which is about half of what I was smoking. I might hold here until the big project is done.

Füm released three new citrus flavours for their cores. I quite like the orange vanilla, but don’t care for the sparkling grapefruit or the raspberry lemon flavours. Think it’s going to be orange vanilla, crisp mint, and maple pepper from here on out.

I had a massage on July 20^th. Desperately needed relaxation, that.

On July 27^th, I saw my doctor about a mole on the side of my nose. It’s right under the nose pad of my glasses, and there are issues. He chose to freeze it, and now it’s swollen worse than before. The swelling subsided by the end of the month, but now the problem is that the nose pad of my glasses rubs on the scab and keeps on tearing it open.

On the 29^th, I took Torvi for a Furminator bath and brush. The house is basically wall-to-wall fur right now. In her absence, I de-furred the house (AKA vacuumed).

What I’m watching and reading

Before I start in on the month in viewing, I would like to express my solidarity with the Writers’ Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild strike. They deserve better pay, protections, conditions, and job security. Like many other employers, the Hollywood machine seeks to maximize profit and disenfranchise their most vulnerable workers.

Having said that, most of what I’ve watched this month was written and produced long before the strike began, and none of it is paid promotion. Just my own opinion 🙂

I watched Nimona (Netflix). A movie based on a comic property I’ve never read. It was awesome. A futuristic world, but still based in magic. A young knight is set up for the murder of the queen and only an immortal shapeshifter can help him prove his innocence.

I finished the first season of Shrinking (Apple +). Entertaining. Harrison Ford is surprising as an embittered therapist with Parkinson’s trying to help his colleagues sort their sh*t out as a means of avoiding his own. And there’s a lot of sh*t to be sorted. The cliffhanger promises an entertaining second season, too.

Then, Phil and I watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Netflix). I didn’t think it was as bad as the reviews imply. It’s the best of the D&D-related films I’ve seen. The whole Hasbro/Wizards fiasco (which is still ongoing) may have contributed to the poor reception, but we enjoyed it.

I started off the month by reading Mira Grant’s (Seanan McGuire’s) Rolling in the Deep. It’s pretty much straight up horror, which I’m not a super fan of, but it was well-written and short 🙂 A research ship is sponsored by a “reality” TV channel when it travels to the Mariana Trench to find evidence of mermaids. Unsurprisingly, the “mermaids” find the ship and its crew, first.

Next, I listened to the Audible Original, The Original, by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal. Holly wakes up and is informed that she is a Provisional Replica, or PR, and that she is tasked with finding and killing her Original for the murder of her husband, Jonathan. She has four days to do this, or the nanites in her system will kill her for her failure. Very cool SF thriller.

Another short Audible Original was John Scalzi’s Murder by Other Means, the second of his Dispatcher novellas. It’s set in a world where people who get murdered tend to wake up, naked, in their beds (or wherever they feel safe). Natural deaths, accidents, and suicides seem to be the exception to the rule, but there is a small chance that you actually stay dead when someone kills you. Enter the Dispatchers, a service to fit the times. Dying of cancer? Call the dispatcher and have a second chance at life. Accident leave you in a coma? Your spouse will call the dispatcher to set things right.

But after 12 years, it’s getting harder and harder for dispatchers to find legitimate work. And Tony, the protagonist, has taken to accepting questionable jobs to pay the bills. When several people he’s recently worked with start committing suicide, one by one, Tony’s implicated, and he has to find out what’s really happening and who’s responsible before he’s murdered by other means.

Then, I read Passing by Nella Larsen. Irene encounters an old friend, Clare one afternoon and, before long, Clare has insinuated herself into Irene’s life. Both light-skinned Black women, Irene embraces her Black identity, while Clare has chosen to pass and has married a racist white man. As the relationship progresses, Irene has to face some tough truths about Clare … and herself.

Passing was one of the novels to come out of the Harlem Renaissance.

As part of my WTO course, I read ACE: What Asexuality Reveals about Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen. Excellent. Well thought out, compassionately argued, and hella interesting.

I read another of Adrian Tchaikovsky book: Walking to Aldebaran. A ship and crew are sent out to investigate an anomaly in the Oort cloud beyond Pluto. Told in alternating timelines, the sole survivor of the ill-fated landing crew wanders “the crypts” meeting aliens, stumbling upon gateways to other worlds, and eating just about anything he stumbles upon … or kills, and recounts the events that brought him to this juncture. A fun/weird/horrific read.

Then, I read H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. It is a classic, but I found it just a bit boring.

Next, I listened to the third novella in the Dispatcher series, Travel by Bullet, in which Tony gets himself into a lot of trouble trying to help his friend Mason. The title is a conceit used in both Scalzi novellas I listened to this month. If you’re far from home and want to get back there, fast, or if you need to escape a difficult situation while far from home, you just have to get someone to shoot you in Dispatcher world. If you’re not one of the small percentage of people for whom death is permanent, you wake up, naked, at home.

Another book I read for my WTO course was Stant Litore’s Write Characters Your Readers Won’t Forget. Solid craft advice about characters and character arcs. I’d purchased this book the first time I took Stant’s Character Arcs Course through WTO, but hadn’t actually read it until now (!)

Then, I read Sarah Gailey’s Upright Women Wanted. In a future American Southwest, Esther stows away in a librarian’s wagon, escaping the horror of her father hanging her beloved, Beatrice. Gailey’s librarians draw on the history of the packhorse librarians, who were hired by Roosevelt Franklin to distribute reading materials in Appalachia during the depression (remember The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek?), but she subverts them by also making them queer activists who distribute non-approved reading materials and escort persecuted queer people to safety.

Finally, I listened to Erin Macdonald’s The Science of Sci-Fi, a Great Courses course offered through Audible Originals. Absolutely fabulous! Lots of help/ideas for my current work-in-progress.

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!

Image of an open book with mist rising from it.
The Next Chapter: A month in the writerly life.
melaniemarttila.ca

Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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Life in general

The month in writing

The year in review

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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Life in General

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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Life in general

The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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The month in writing

Filling the well

What I’m watching and reading

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