Cafe in the Woods is now on hiatus – but there’s more

The final Calvin and Hobbes strip has Calvin and Hobbes looking out over a hillside freshly filled with snow. “Everything familiar has disappeared! The World looks brand-new…like having a big white sheet of paper to draw on!” Calvin’s last words are “It’s a magical world, Hobbes ol ‘buddy, Let’s go exploring!” And then they do.

It’s hopeful.

I’ve been thinking about new starts. A clean state. And seeing that it’s stereotypically common to do so at the beginning of every year, I figured now would be a good time to do that. Part of that means admitting that it’s time to put this blog, the Cafe in the Woods, on permanent hiatus.

When I first started the blog in 2006, I wanted to document my journey to becoming a professional writer as well as write book reviews. Somewhere in there, I documented becoming a mother, which was a bonus. I deliberately up the name “Cafe in the Woods” to show my blog to be a place of respite and champion the things I loved. It was a good run, and I’m glad I did it.

Nowadays? I don’t have much to say. Part of it is time. But also, the internet has become a lot more hostile. And also, much is that is I fear that a lot of what I have to say would get lost among the myriad of voices dominating the internet now. And I don’t think it works as a place of respite anymore.

But I still want to do it. I miss processing things. I miss sharing my writing journey with people (and also I want to get back to writing as a journey as opposed to a business). I want to show my struggles and my fears, but do it in a safe place.

So guess what? I’m starting a newsletter.

This blog will remain. I’m not taking it down. There’s a lot of good content and people are still reading it. But if you want to follow up on my latest announcements and the occasional musing, then subscribe to my Substack newsletter. It’s better suited to my sporadic posting, and best of all, it’s free. I may start some separate newsletters that would be paid, but the main newsletter will always be free. I promise that. It’s all part of my business plan. So head over and subscribe now.

Thanks for reading my blog, the Cafe in the Woods. I look forward to meeting you over at #WriterWithDayJob. Let’s go exploring!

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Summer 2021 update, Beloved book discussion and leading a Clarion West workshop WHAAAAAAAA—-

Dang, it’s been forever, haven’t it?

I sometimes forget I have a blog because I do a lot of stuff on Twitter and Facebook. Or rather, I did. The past decade year has made it really hard to continue doing that. Nowadays, I do mostly lurking.

Over the past few months, I’ve been trying to figure out how to communicate with people. Social media has become dumpster fires. I thought about going the newsletter route, or maybe even doing Patreon. But right now, the thought of setting those up and then getting people to subscribe felt absolutely exhausting.

And then I got a notice from someone replying to a post I made about Omni magazine on the blog. Which told me that people are still reading the blog. Which is kind of nice.

So here I am, dipping my toes back into it.

I think there’s a certain exhaustion that comes when it feels like everyone on the internet is shouting and yelling and no one is really listening to what anyone is saying. So when I post something, I have to wonder is this really getting through to people or am I contributing to the shouting and yelling?

When I chose the title for this Blog, The Café in the Woods, I wanted it to be a quiet place where people could sit down, have a cup of tea or coffee or cocoa or whatever have you. A place of peace among the craziness.

Maybe it’s time to start thinking about that again.

While I mull over that, let me give a brief update on what’s been going on with the writing career.

• I’m still writing, first of all. Thanks for asking 🙂
• I finished Willow’s novel edits for my agent last year and it’s currently on submission (yay!)
• I am now working on a SUPER SECRET PROJECT that I hope to give more details about by the end of this year. It’s big. I mean BIG. And it’s been so much fun.
• With the project, I took a break from writing short stories. I’ll go into another post about that at some point (huh, look at me. Already planning to write another blog post already. Hopefully it’ll stick.) But now, I’m somewhat back to it and working on a piece that I hope to finish this fall.
• I’m also beginning to think and gather info about my next project, which I’m hoping to be a novella.

In addition to the above, I have two events to announce that are happening in the next couple of months.

Creative Windows: Ghosts of the Past

Beginning September 6, 2021, I will be leading a 6-week book discussion of Beloved by Toni Morrison for Dream Foundry’s Creative Windows: Ghosts of the Past program. The discussion will take place in Dream Foundry’s Discord server, culminating at the end of the six weeks with an hour-long video chat. If you ever wanted to do a deep dive into Beloved, this is a great opportunity, and best of all, it’s FREE.

To join, access the Discord link on Dream Foundry’s About page here.

The other event is that in January 2022, I will be leading a 3-session online workshop on revision called, appropriately enough, Breaking out of Revision Hell. It’s a workshop for those who feel stuck in the never-ending revision grind and wish to explore revision methods, organization tools, and practices for well-being. The full description can be found on the Clarion West’s website.

That’s it for now. Let’s see if I start doing more updates here.

Fall Updates

I noticed that I’m getting new readers to this blog, so thought I do a quick update of things I’m doing right now. Think of this as sort of a newsletter type of thingie.

This Saturday, I’ll have a virtual booth at VirtuousCon, an online happening from 1pm to 4pm EST (12pm to 3pm for Central folk). It’s set up just like a con with tables you can visit, just like in real life. Most likely I’ll be hanging out, but I also plan to do a short reading around 2:45pm EST (1:45pm CST). Haven’t decided on what I’ll read yet, but I love to have people to stop by (virtually) and say hi! Registration is free! Sign up for your free registration.

October 16 – 18, I’ll be attending FIYAHCON. No panels or offices hours for me this time around, but I’ll be hanging about whatever social media venues they’ll have open. I’ll also be attending the World Fantasy Virtual Convention October 29 through November 1. Again, no panels or kaffeklatches, but you can find me in whatever discussion rooms they’ll have. UPDATE: After reading the open letter to the WFC concom from Miyuki Jane Pinckard and some discussion with other folks, I have decided to not attend WFC.

Why am I mostly low key this month? Mainly because my time nowadays is taken up by a SUPER SECRET PROJECT I’m working on, but can’t discuss yet. 😁 This is the first time I’m participating in one of these projects, but I promise to give more details when I’m allowed to do so. No, it’s not the novel. Last month, I finished the agent edits to my novel. Hopefully, that would be enough to start the submission process.

Finally, there’s a Kickstarter for a new anthology edited by Maurice Broaddus called In This Moment: Global Justice Anthology. It’s going to have stories, expressions and poetry of protest and resilience from writers such as Linda Addison, Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali, Brandon O’Brien, Zig Zag Claybourne, Cat Rambo, Toiya Kristen Finley, and hey, Yours Truly. There’s also going to be a open submissions period if the book gets funded. So go check out the Kickstarter and order a book today!

JulyCon, GenCon and a New Interactive Story

A couple of quick updates:

First. JulyCon is happening this Saturday, July 18 on Twitch. Greg Wilson has gathered a lovely collection of writers and editors to discuss writing and gaming on his Twitch channel. Since it’s only a one-day event, I’ll post the full schedule here. All times are Eastern.

• Noon: Worldbuilding with Depth: E.D.E. Bell, Michael Underwood, Gregory A. Wilson, C.S.E. Cooney, Marie Bilodeau, Tracy Chowdhury, Iori Kusano, LaShawn M. Wanak
  
• 1:00: Working with a Small Press: Lucy A. Snyder, Chris A. Jackson, C.S.E. Cooney, Marie Bilodeau, Chris Bell, LaShawn M. Wanak
  
• 2:00: Narrative in Different Mediums: Toiya Kristen Finley, Jennifer Brozek, Daniel Myers, Gregory A. Wilson, Carlos Hernandez
  
• 3:00: Running Productive Critique Groups: Sarah Hans, Lucy A. Snyder, Iori Kusano, Aaron Rosenberg, Brandon O’Brien
  
• 4:00: Game Tie-in Writing: Sarah Hans, Jennifer Brozek, Chris A. Jackson, Tracy Chowdhury, Gregory A. Wilson, Aaron Rosenberg, Brandon O’Brien
  
• 5:00: Intro to Publishing: Toiya Kristen Finley, E.D.E. Bell, Michael Underwood, Carlos Hernandez, Chris Bell
  
• 8:00: D&D with an amazing cast!

Second, I’m also going to be participating in GenCon Online Writers Symposium July 30 through August 2. Like most cons these days, the conference will be virtual and FREE! GenCon is still putting together their schedule, so once I get it, I’ll update it here once it’s finalized.

And finally NEW STORY ALERT!!! I am proud to announce my very first INTERACTIVE STORY (and my first romance as well)! “Dark Hunger Blue” follows Jayla, a scientist with a novel way to bring food to her barren asteroid home, who must decide if she should work with her former lover Sampson, who is now a bioship. Learn more at Sana’s website, download the app, and begin reading today!

News: Guess who’s reviewing books over at Lightspeed Magazine? Me!

If you’re a Lightspeed Magazine subscriber, maybe you noticed a familiar name listed in the nonfiction column section of the February ebook edition. I am happy to announce that, starting with the February issue, I will be joining Amal El-Mohtar and Andrew Liptak in reviewing books for Lightspeed Magazine!

Four times a year, I’ll review the latest fantasy and science fiction books that will be released around that time. This month, I review Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty, The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley and A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson. It’s available in Lightspeed’s ebook edition now, and will be going live on Lightspeed’s website on 2/21.

If you like what you read and want to support Lightspeed Magazine, subscriptions are just $35.88/year.

And yes, this is now my second gig with Lightspeed after slushing for them from 2009 through 2013. Guess I can’t stay away, huh?