a preorder campaign, starred reviews & an anthology story
remember when I wanted to do biweekly newsletters
I’ve drafted and redrafted and procrastinated this next newsletter an embarrassing number of times; not because I was trying to write anything particularly difficult, just because my brain has felt like cotton recently and nothing’s really been flowing. I’ve slowly been chipping at a new YA as well as an adult project I can’t announce yet, but I’m a bit in limbo waiting for my next deadline (publishing sucks and strings you along!) and so I’ve been fighting a sense of writing muscles atrophying. As much as it’s nice not to feel constantly stressed, I miss something about having a fire lit under me and turning out words and sinking into a manuscript every day.
But anyway. I’ve accumulated too much news that should ostensibly go in a newsletter to keep putting this off. (A Goodreads giveaway has even come and almost gone since I first thought about pulling a newsletter together—with 16 hours left, it has over 15,500 entries!!!) So in lieu of an essay I don’t have the braincells to write, here’s a quick roundup of fun updates:
THE DARK WE KNOW preorder campaign
I’ve been so excited to launch this!!! If you preorder and submit your receipts here (US only) or here (international) by Aug 13, you get:
3 character art page overlays, with gorgeous art by @NicoleDealArt and @joleanart
A custom enamel pin
A signed bookplate
Find places to preorder here! I’m also really happy that my local distributor here in Singapore managed to set up the preorder campaign with the Kinokuniya where I buy most of my books. It always feels the most real when it’s your own store.
starred reviews!
Trade reviews are starting to roll in, and I’m so thrilled that THE DARK WE KNOW gotten three starred reviews so far:
“A powerful, introspective gothic tale filled to the brim with horror.” —Kirkus ★
“Enthralling horror debut” — Publishers Weekly ★
“Hits traditional horror beats, but the characters have more depth than many genre installments provide… thrills, chills, and emotional validation from this unexpectedly almost-heartwarming horror novel” — Booklist ★
For various reasons in writing and promoting this book I’ve struggled with some of the level of introspection and quietness (the book’s headspace isn’t the easiest for me to return to) so it’s been unexpectedly reassuring for these reviews to highlight those elements, and the character work that remains something I’m proud of.
“They Will Give Us A Home”, in Amplitudes: Stories of Queer & Trans Futurity
My story “They Will Give Us A Home” is appearing in Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity, a new anthology edited by Lee Mandelo that will be published by Erewhon next year. I like this story a lot—it’s a campy-but-also-tender wlw/mlm couple in a lavender marriage for dystopian apartment benefits, who are plotting to try and murder the other to get the place to themselves.
I first wrote it at Clarion West in 2022, a little inspired by Singapore’s public housing rules, but I couldn’t quite nail the ending and the whole workshop was divided on which way they thought it should go. When I revisited it to submit to Amplitudes, I ended up taking the whole thing apart and putting it back together after reading a short story by my friend Chris that ends with a play on timelines. And I love the ending now and think it works much better for where the story sits with me! I’m excited to share it. You can check out the full anthology announcement with the other contributors on Reactor here!
This means I currently have 2 books slated for next year… :)