Y’all, I have been holding this newsletter until I finally had all the ducks in a row for the cover reveal for my debut novel! It’s here and it’s beautiful and I am so happy I’m just spinning around and around.

🧡 Tempest

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I have a bit of news to share with you below, but down in the comments I want to hear your news. Tell me about the stuff going on in your life that you’d like to share. Can be great things, or not so great things, or a funny story, or an epic story. Share pictures, share laughter, share what’s troubling you, share wisdom.

Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion

The cover art is by Brittney Bond who has done some really wonderful book cover art. I saw the one she did for Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich’s Operation Sisterhood and immediately emailed my editor to see if we could get her for my book. I’m so glad it worked out. Loooooooooooooook at my Ruby!

Now that the cover is live I’m going to push folks in the direction of the pre-order links very often. The books comes out September 27th in print and digital and is available for pre-order from indie booksellers as well as all the big stores (including Target… which is weirdly exciting for me).

This book just got realer. eeeeeeeeee

Other Fancy News

No one told me I couldn’t announce this ahead of time and it’s technically live on the website, so here’s some more exciting news:

I am one of the first recipients of the Lemonade Award for acts of kindness which further science fiction community! I’m sharing this honor with Dr. Jaymee Goh. Nalo Hopkinson first announced this award at WisCon a few years back and has been working on funding it and such since then.

The award will be presented at EagleCon 2022, a con (virtual this year) hosted by Cal State L.A. Eagle-Con is a 3-day convention that brings together science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and superheroes, as well as insider views of these highly creative genres. Eagle-Con explores issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, identity, ability, and representation in science fiction and fantasy across media while also celebrating the boundless imaginations of artists and writers that turn ordinary humans into life-long devotees of these genres.

It starts March 10th and goes through the 12th. Jaymee and I will be in conversation with Nalo after the award presentation, which starts at 10:50am Pacific time Thursday. I am writing up a tiny speech to hopefully keep myself from weeping with joy.

I’m also on the Award Winners Roundtable panel with John Jennings, Dawn Brown, and Jaymee Goh discussing our awards and the importance of diversity in science fiction and our contributions to the genre. That’s Saturday the 12th at 3:10pm Pacific.

Registration for the con is free and still open, so grab a ticket and come watch!

Next Class: Deep Dive Into Dialogue, Dialect, and Narrative Voice

When: April 9 – 23, 2022
Where: Online via Zoom or Asynchronous classroom, accessible at your own pace
Price: $200 – $300 (Scholarships Available)

This is one of my favorite classes at Writing the Other because talking about and practicing dialogue is so fun. We have multiple class type options and, as always, scholarships. Details here.

Enough About Me

I’m ready to hear from you 🤗 Just one note: this is a community space. Please keep in mind that this is my space, so please act the way you would if you were in my actual parlor having actual tea with me 😍