Write-along Flash Sale
The cheapest retreat you'll ever sign up for
Hello, Substack, my old friends. I’m back on the road and back in the air and shortly headed to my last residency of 2026. For the month of July I’ll be at the Studios of Key West (I’m also teaching a workshop on place and setting in fiction; if you happen to be in South Florida, I hope you’ll sign up).
My new novel draft is due back from my editorial team and I plan to spend the month working on the first big round of in-house revisions. Residency time has become invaluable to me; it’s one of the only ways I can really escape admin long enough to disappear into the work. I wish I could bring all my subscribers along with me but alas — I’m already pushing the weight limit on my luggage with research reading. Still, I wanted to use this time to do something useful for the folks who support my writing here, so earlier this year I set up a subscriber chat where we could share goals and strategies, milestones and setbacks, and generally cheer each other on as we chip away at various creative projects.
Merrily We Write Along
Well, it’s that time again: I’m packing bags and closing up shop to hit the road for six weeks of writing work. As usual, the fates have conspired to pull the rug out from under my best-laid plans to leave town feeling fresh, unfrazzled, and ready to dive into the first draft of my next novel. Instead of spending the last few weeks finalizing my outline and finishing primary research, I’ve been fielding catastrophic household mishaps and a raft of tax compliance paperwork and accounting calls. To add injury to insult, a second-degree burn in the palm of my right hand — you know, the hand that I
Six months later, I’m chuffed with how this has turned out. The group chat is a lovely space. Everyone is working on fascinating things — writing and otherwise — and we’ve had a few big wins in the group. Drafts finished, agents landed, contracts signed. Let me be a sap for a second: it is incredible to watch people work hard and succeed in real time. Supporting and celebrating each other in our creative endeavors is a real antidote to the undeniably bad vibes in the rest of the world right now. I’m so grateful for all the guinea pigs who took a chance on this.
Curious if it’s right for you? The chat itself is delightfully chill. Drop in when you like, at any hour of the day and any stage of the process. Share everything from software recommendations to calendar hacks to chai latte recipes. Start word sprints and find accountability buddies. Bounce ideas off each other. It’s a digital arts clubhouse. As we move into July, we’re starting a new thread for work sprints and marathons; several of us are on deadline or working towards finish lines and insanity loves company. So in the spirit of “The more the merrier!” I thought I’d run a flash sale for anybody else who wants to get in on the action for cheap.
The chat is for paid subscribers, and here’s what else you get with that: paywalled posts that go deep on my process and everything else, as well as access to the archives, where you’ll find posts on everything from how decide which books are worth writing, how to revise with a reader in mind, and what the hell is wrong with genre in publishing.
Publishing Has a Genre Problem
A few months ago we had a series of baffling conversations with a major US retailer about the positioning of Hot Wax. This particular retailer put the book on one of their big “best of” lists for the end of 2025, which ordinarily would be great news. Problem was, they had it listed as “horror.” Why is that a problem? Because it’s not horror. Not even cl…
I hope you’ll join us! To sweeten the deal, subscriptions are 20% off until midnight on July 1. It’s $4 a month or $32 a year. You can snag that deal right here. Not sure how to access the chat? There’s a link for that, too.
And in case I haven’t said so lately, thanks for the bottom of my inky little heart to the people who support my work, in whatever way they can! It really means the world, and it makes it possible for me to keep writing. I hope you’ll keep writing along with me this summer, whatever that looks like for you.
In other news, if you can’t make it to Florida, we still might get a chance to hang out soon. We’re working on pulling together a tour to support the Hot Wax paperback, and trying to stop in a lot of cities I haven’t been to before. More dates TBA, but you can find some confirmed events here. In the meantime, I hope you’ll consider ordering the book! Shipping is still free on Bookshop.org for anti-Prime day. If you’re more of an ereader person, the ebook is $2.99 across platforms. It’s tough to keep a book visible this long after publication, so thanks for reading, and sharing with friends.
Woot!! Can't wait!! Let's goooo!! 😊