The Epistle

The Robber Girl audiobook and everything I've been loving lately.

Jul 20, 2021

Welcome back, devotees and heretics. Crown yourself with laurels and step into the inner sanctum. It’s so good to see you again.

News

The ROBBER GIRL audiobook is out in the world today. It’s narrated by Abby Craden, the mesmerizing voice behind the A DOWRY OF BLOOD audiobook, and it’s absolutely stunning. For those of you who don’t know, ROBBER GIRL is my sapphic Snow Queen retelling, featuring a found family of thieves, a feral knife bisexual falling for a cunning lesbian witch, haunted churches, and plenty of ice magic. And now you can put it right into your ears!

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Everything I’ve Been Loving Lately

Summer is speeding on by, full of picnics and interstate travel, and I’m spending it reading romance novels and writing in fits and snatches whenever I have the time. I did, however, manage to finish something. The draft for project Cultbook is done!

Finishing a Book

I started writing Cultbook about a year ago and have worked on it in fervent little bursts here and there. Some weeks were write every day weeks and some weeks were rest weeks, but the book got done! It’s off to betas now before landing on my agent’s plate, and I can’t wait to share it with you all someday. It’s summery folk gothic set on an artist’s commune featuring atmospheric magic, sexy bonfires, enchanted bees, and a poly m/f/f triad.

As a little treat, here’s the first few lines of the first chapter.

Part of me never left Clennough, I know that much. Even ten years after leaving, the place still aches in my memory like a phantom limb.

It doesn't hurt the way missing something does; there’s no rosy glow of nostalgia or wistful yearning involved. The draw is much more guttural. People from an earlier time would have called me bewitched. Maybe that's what happens when you take a child out of society and raise them up in a parallel world, without schools or workweeks or allowances. They grow a little sideways, never able to completely shake off the soil they germinated in.

Romance

I’ve been slowly dragging myself out of multiple reading slumps and back towards some kind of reading rhythm every since the pandemic began, and romance novels have been a lifeline. Lately I’ve been loving A LADY OF ROOKSGRAVE MANOR by Kathryn Moon, a lighthearted and spicy reverse harem full of Victorian monster boyfriends, and AMERICAN QUEEN by Sierra Simone, a poly political romance based on the legend of King Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot. I’m also close to finishing FOR REAL by Alexis Hall, a kinky contemporary romance full of heart.

When I have the time, I’ve been working on a top secret contemporary erotic romance. I promised myself I wouldn’t talk about it until it was done and on submission, but I did make a moodboard that I’m happy to share.

Halsey’s New Album

Alright maybe it’s a little unfair to say I’ve been loving this album lately because it isn’t out yet, but I haven’t been this excited for a musical project in a while. Produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Halsey’s newest album deals with motherhood, sexuality, feminine iconography and so much more, and she’s releasing a feature film to accompany the album that looks absolutely astonishing.