It's OK to be sad <<First Name>>

But don't stay sad for too long, okay? Perhaps you've already got a well-curated list of things to read and watch and listen to that will help cheer you up for the next few weeks. Please allow me to also flog some of my own content (hey, you subscribed to this newsletter, this is what you get):

My new original short story, "It Takes Two," is FREE to read at Curious Fictions. I've also unlocked my previous monthly story, "Cats Don’t Care About Universal Basic Income." (I'll probably keep throwing everything over the paywall until the pandemic ends. It's more important to share my art right now.)

Oregon Reads Aloud, the children's anthology featuring my story "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" (illustrated by the illustrious Natalie Metzger) is now available in paperback! Buy it from your local independent bookstore: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781513263151

Over on Serial Box, MACHINA season 1 is now complete, and NINTH STEP STATION season 2 starts later this month. The first episode of any series is free to read or listen to. Download the app for iOS or Android and browse their ever-growing catalog!

Last but not least, I'm going to recommend three fantastic (in every sense of the word) novels that I've blurbed:

• The Nine by Tracy Townsend
  “An inventive alloy of low-fantasy grit and saucy gaslamp caper, by turns both uplifting and brutal—I dug the world, I loved the characters, and I definitely want to know what happens next.”
   
• Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
  “Imagine if Firefly and Mass Effect got together and had a baby, and that baby were delivered by Guillermo del Toro. This book is that baby. ¡Esto fue un triunfo!”
   
• How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason
  "Rory Thorne raises the bar for self-rescuing princesses everywhere. This clever fusion of unforgiving fairy tale and fanciful space opera destroyed me emotionally in all the best ways."

Meetings in Cyberspace

This year's Nebulas and Worldcon will now be virtual events, and I'm still committed to attending both. I have high hopes that the respective organizers will be able to help our communities stay connected in these weird and troubling times.

On the more casual side, I'm one of the many people overloading the Jackbox Games servers these days. I've also been doing more online co-working these days, including hosting a weekly Monday Evening Write-In and trying out different Meetup groups. Obviously nothing's the same as an in-person get-together, but being able to see and talk to other humans in realtime is still good.

I know everyone's all about Zoom these days, but if you're looking for a free alternative that doesn't require downloads or logins, may I suggest Whereby? Fellow PDX writer and all-around awesome person Jenn Reese introduced me to this service, which has been very reliable and high-quality so far (knock on wood--Norwegian wood, WOT WOT).

As usual, we end on a song.