(Pictured: St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, Canada)

Well, it looked a little dicey for a minute, but North America has made it to Spring, folks! We did it!

It feels like time for an update email, so here’s the state of things for me at the moment:

World Gone Wrong

The World Gone Wrong team has been busy; four episodes are out now and a fifth is coming this Tuesday. So far we’ve covered werewolves, the extra hour in every day, space alien replacers, and literal acid rain. What’s next? Sewer gators and Chicago history, of course! I did a ton of research on this episode, and I have a feeling that if you listen, you will learn something. While also being outrageously entertained by the friendship chemistry of Hillary Williams and Michael Turrentine.

Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or by searching for “World Gone Wrong” wherever you listen to Podcasts!

Keep It Steady

At long last, Episode 7 of Keep It Steady is live!

You can listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read the transcript here. The actors and director did an incredible job, as always, and I am thrilled at how it turned out. We’re also well underway on Episode 8, so hopefully we’re looking at a shorter wait time.

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

I now have a completed second draft of all eight episodes and all three mini episodes. I’m still waiting for some feedback on them, but feeling good overall about where it’s at. If I’m lucky, the scripts could be finalized by the end of May.

Bluesky

Last month, I decided to engage in a little silliness.

To my delight (and admittedly, panic) I found myself having to invent 43 cats. Here now, for posterity, is my list:

1. Skumbledunks the basketball cat
2. Higgledy Piggledy, the sideways cat. I haven’t decided yet if this is a cat who is always sideways or if she just loves that Paul Giamatti movie about wine, please feel free to weigh in
3. Gamgazer Muddle, the cat that is also a noir detective
4. Earl Grey, the coffee-loving cat (who is aware of the irony but, much like most cats, did not get to name himself)
5. Patches, the therapy cat, who periodically brings the story to a screeching halt in order to stop and explain the scene’s psychological underpinnings
6. Lady Meowcbeth, haunted by her sins but she’s a cat so the worst thing she ever did was walk through some flour and cover the countertop in her little pawprints. But now she can’t get the flour out 😦
7. Has there been a really really small cat yet? No, like REALLY small. Smaller than that. Smaller than that, even! I’ll call him Ibble.
8. Teebeedee, a character added after the movie’s effects department will (justifiably) go on strike. She is a post-it-note with the word “cat” on it.
9. Paw Simon, the folk song cat. (I don’t mention “Garfunkel” only because it is already a perfect cat name, no notes)
10. “Whiskers,” who is secretly Javert from Les Mis in cat ears, determined to bring Macavity to justice for Macavity’s many crimes
11. Purrodox, the time travel cat
12. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. He’s a British shorthair. CATS 2 refuses to break the fourth wall (that is my solemn promise to you) so any possible naming similarities with any real-life person absolutely never comes up.
13. Furgig, the android cat, who dreams of computer mice
14. Dear Tabby, the famous cat advice columnist, but the impact of her writing is slightly hampered by the fact that cats can’t read
15. Predestined Pete, the Calvinist cat. Has CATS tried a religious angle yet? I refuse to find out. This one is awkward for me bc Calvinists burned one of my religious forefathers at the stake in 1553 but I think I can overcome it for Art
16. Feline Musk, the absolute worst cat
17. Steinem, the second-wave feminist cat. I don’t necessarily agree with all her stances but y’know what, she’s right, cats shouldn’t have to shave their armpits
18. Bilvery Bones, the cat that is a dog
19. Erik, the Phantom of the Paw-pera. (Step one of my push to start a shared cinematic Andrew Lloyd Webber multiverse)
20. Herman Q. Millard. Every single cat in CATS 2 acts like everyone already knows who this cat is. “Herman Q. Millard is on his way, yes yes” the cats all sing, again and again throughout the film. The movie cuts to credits just before he arrives.
21. Ferdinand Fluffbutt, the attorney cat, who occasionally pops out of nowhere to remind characters they’re contractually obligated to appear in the movie
22. Grichard Martleby, the cat who, every time it comes up that someone never watched Fight Club, says in a loud, surprised voice, “You never watched Fight Club?”
23. …I just realized that if I want a shared cinematic Andrew Lloyd Webberverse, I must acknowledge Starlight Express (his musical where everyone is trains), so: Chuggachoo Spot-Wheeler, the cat locomotive and
24. Ruby Clattersnatter, the cat caboose
25. My sense is that in CATS, some cats have jobs and some do not? I think this is too confusing for modern audiences, so CATS 2 would include Sandra Brindle-Jilliams, a cat unemployment claims agent
26. Unnamed kitten with only one line, which is to remind everyone that without taking away from how utterly disastrous the Trump presidency was (and will be?), also George W Bush is a war criminal
27. Duke Pumpernickel. I don’t have a joke for this one, I just honestly think it would be a good name for a cat.
28. 28 is step three of my push for a shared cinematic Andrew Lloyd Webber multiverse: Mewdas, the cat betrayer. (Don’t worry, I am not gonna take this one any further.)
29. Wallowsbury Tummykey, the cat who crawls onto your laptop when you’re trying to type
30. The Mackerel Brothers, a trio of cat podcasters.
31. Realistically, a CATS sequel would probably need to include a cat who raps but listen, look me in the eye and tell me you want that from me. You do not. So instead, I’ll say Startleby Quiverham, the indoor cat who is afraid of squirrels on the other side of the window.
32. Broke down and looked up CATS on wikipedia just now and apparently there’s a magician cat who does like sleight of hand, so in the spirit of sequels upping the stakes, CATS 2 will have Sygorellia, the cat sorceress.
33. Clawminic Tailretto, the cat getaway driver. (I guess I haven’t explained yet that the entirety of CATS 2 is a heist movie, but it is.)
34. In a misguided attempt to appeal to young people, we need a cat who’s an influencer; there’s really no way around it. Gonna say “Tyffany Lynx.”
35. Veronica Purina, an extravagant socialite and heir to the Purina fortune, a cat with more secrets than rubber bands (and she’s hoarded a LOT of rubber bands)
36. Adabethell Ratmunch, just a simple farm cat—unless she’s more than she seems?
37. Sparky Nibblefuse, the explosives expert for the heist that I’m pretty sure I mentioned this movie is
38. There’s a lot of criminals in CATS and CATS 2 so they’ll need a good defense lawyer. RF Hampelsteaderington, attorney-at-claw
39. Nosfuratau, cat vampire, who has no lines but is always lurking around malevolently in the background in black-and-white
40. Slip Fleetpaw, the cat who’s a pickpocket
41. Professor Euphelides Rompler Nubby-Tail Stubbs
42. Ronald Cinnamon, the notorious cat embezzler
43. Young Fuzzton Mortimallow Esquire, the fancy lad

If this sort of madness sounds fun to you, you can follow me here!

Current

Book – I finished This is How You Lose the Time War and am now reading A Marvelous Light

Song – I’ve been listening to Zoe Keating albums as my writing music for a new project I can’t yet mention here, particularly the soundtrack to Oslo.

Drink – Lemonade sweetened with maple syrup and spiked with bourbon, in a recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

Obsession – Thinking a lot about the nature of history; what gets recorded and what doesn’t, and why, and what that means.

If you want to make sure you don’t miss my next “naming 43 cats” type of compendium, the best way is to sign up to receive these blog entries like a newsletter.

Hello again! It’s been about five months since I’ve posted anything here. I am trying to be slightly less kneejerk apologetic as a person, so instead of clamoring to say sorry, I’m just gonna say: gosh, time sure has really passed!

(Above: a photo from a very small retreat I went on in January, for a project that I’ll get into later. We stayed at a friend of a friend’s vacation house in Michigan. It was gorgeous and restorative and productive, and also the thrifted wool pea coat I packed was just comically inadequate. Two thumbs up, would recommend! While shivering.)

My biggest news since August is that I now have an adorable new niece. Welcome to the world, Baby [NAME REDACTED FOR PRIVACY REASONS], or [NAME REDACTED] for short!

A quick roundup:

Keep It Steady

Episode six is out, wherever you get your podcasts!

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

I have now scripted 6 out of 8 episodes for the final season. Of the remaining two, one exists as a draft that will need to be edited and updated, while the other is brand-new. I recently had an email exchange with the actors, and miraculously, everyone still seems to be onboard, so that’s exciting!

World Gone Wrong

Here is my main creative news for the moment: introducing World Gone Wrong, a brand-new audio drama from Audacious Machine Creative!

I had the immense honor of writing the first six episodes and it’s been an absolute joy to work on. We’ve plotted out the next six as well (this was one of the main goals of the Michigan trip last January) and I am so excited for where this story is going. It’s a fictional chat show about long-distance friendship and coping with a daily reality that’s growing weirder by the hour. In our case, this includes relatable problems like werewolves, sewer gators, and space alien bodysnatchers. You can listen to the trailer here (and you should; it’s a delight!)

Malik is played by Michael Turrentine (who you may recognize as Wes in Unwell, as well as roles in TV including South Side, Emperor of Ocean Park, The 4400, Red Line). Jamie is played by Hilary Williams (Joey in Unwell, and TV roles including Chicago Fire and Emperor of Ocean Park). Both of them bring an incredible warmth, intelligence, and liveliness to the show; also fun fact: they are real-life best friends who met teaching sexual assault prevention to sailors.

I can’t say enough good things about this team, and I really do hope you subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. The first episode comes out March 12, and subscribing is maybe the best way to make sure you don’t miss it.

Current

Book – Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth

Song – My girlfriend recently brought to my attention there’s a new (well, 2023) Daughter album? That’s been my walking around music.

Game – On a break from tabletop gaming as my DM/brother adjusts to a household with a new baby in it but I have high hopes for Punk is Dead, a songwriting TTRPG where your party is a band booking gigs in a post-apocalyptic UK.

Drink – I recently picked up some Roasted Almond tea from Teahaus. Highly recommended if you, like me, enjoy a sweet and silly herbal looseleaf.

My bags are all packed for my last big trip of the summer, but before I go, as I sit here with my pre-trip excitement, some quick news:

Appearances

I was a recent guest on Tales from The Trunk, a podcast where writers read from stories they’ve shelved, and discuss them. I don’t actually have a ton of those so instead the host Hilary Bisenieks and I preformed a short section of THIRD WHEEL, a fiction podcast that I planned to write at one point and later scrapped. We did an okay job, I think! You can listen to the episode here.

Keep It Steady

We did, as I hoped, get our fifth episode out in time for Pride Month! You can listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. We’re currently in the process of recording episode 6.

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

Still plugging away on this one. I finally have what may be the final outline for a conclusion to the season! Not gonna lie, I wrote it out and then had to go lay down for a while to process.

Music

I put a new EP up on Bandcamp! You can access that here.

Current

Book: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mendel

Song: “Hurricane Party” by Dessa

Game: Mothership

Drink: Cream raspberry black looseleaf tea from Phoenix Pearl Tea Company

Preoccupation: This week, I plotted two different fictional heists for an as-yet secret potential project and I did so using Google Jamboard, which I quickly realized was not the ideal tool. Is there a better platform for arranging fictional crime capers? Googling “heist” and “app” together was not fruitful.

Final Thought

Most of us want some avenue to stay in touch with the people we know and like, and most of us have no choice but to turn to the internet for at least some of that. Will an actually usable new platform eventually emerge from the sludge of the current state of affairs, like that old experiment from where they dumped truckloads of orange peels and orange pulp into a clearing and then like 25 years later, it was a forest? How do we best help those orange peels decompose into something fertile? Until then, I would ask that if you wanna keep up with me and you haven’t yet, to subscribe.

(Pictured: the ceiling under a moving walkway at the Atlanta airport. My ardor for bafflingly trippy airport installations is as deep as the Mariana Trench, and—I can’t stress this enough—100% sincere.)

I’m typing this on the final night of a long-awaited family trip to New Orleans. The food was incredible, the architecture was gorgeous, and the experience of staying with my parents in an adjoining house with my oldest cousin, her family, my brother, and his family has me convinced that humans were meant to live in multi-generational, multi-family communes. Everyone has retired to their separate quarters to pack and rest, and so I’m taking the opportunity to hammer out some quick updates.

Stars, Hide Your Fires

Less than a month until the debut of my queer young adult sci-fi mystery novel, Stars Hide Your Fires. (You can preorder here and get some neat perks!) To that end, I’ll be making public appearances in several places, including the internet.

July 11 at the Cuyahoga County Public Library North Royalton Branch in Cleveland, OH — This will be a talk/reading and if everyone lets me, I may play a song or two

July 12 at Prologue Books in Columbus, OH — We don’t have a link for this one yet but it should be around 7 pm. Also a talk/reading with a possible song component

July 13 at Mysterious Galaxy, virtual — This will be a discussion in conversation with YA author Rosiee Thor. Anyone can attend but you do need to follow the instructions on the site to register.

July 27 at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, IL — A talk/reading where I might also play a few songs.

We’re also holding a song cover contest! You can listen to the original track and find out more here. (I wasn’t involved on the production side so I don’t mind saying: it is a banger.)

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

I’m currently writing and editing the third and final season of my award-winning sci-fi audio drama, The Strange Case of Starship Iris. The editing is taking longer than expected, but I’m finally in a place where I feel fairly confident it’s heading in the right direction, and we’re currently working on putting out the first mini episode this July. Thank you for your patience!

Also, we—along with our sibling show, Me and AU—were featured on a Buzzfeed listicle. This would probably feel a little more special to me if I hadn’t already received the dubious honor of one of my old tumblr posts being used as free content on a previous Buzzfeed listicle without permission, but hey, that’s life in the big city. On the bright side it is very funny that this has happened.

Keep It Steady

Production of my queer fake-dating high school rom-com audio drama Keep It Steady continues despite a vast array of production setbacks. I think we’re on target to publish a new episode before the end of Pride month, and it’ll be a really apropos one if we can pull that off.

Current

Book: Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor

Song: “I Know the End” by Phoebe Bridgers

Game: MÖRK BORG

Cocktail: Minimalist Paloma (One shot of tequila, juice from half a lime, and maybe three ounces of cold Pamplemousse La Croix, stirred with ice)

Preoccupation: How many airports feature bafflingly trippy installations I’ve never even heard about? How can I learn about them? How, especially in this moment that may be the beginning of the end for Reddit, do I slip into the community of bafflingly trippy airport installation enthusiast?

Final Thought

All of the platforms we’ve been depending on for years are slowly disintegrating under the toxic weight of unfettered capitalism and unchecked egos, and they will give way under our feet like so much rotten wood if we let them. Uh hey, if you wanna stay informed with what’s going on with me, the only surefire way to do that is to smash that subscribe button!