Magic Bugs!

Am reading

They Bloom at Night, by Trang Thanh Tran. Southern Gothic ecological body horror with familial trauma and a dash of queerness. So far, it’s delicious.

and that cover art, just…gorgeous.

Am sipping

HOJICHA: Toasted green tea that’s become my favorite evening cup. Toasty, nutty, pure cozy comfort. Sometimes I add a few balls of Jasmine Pearl to be fancy.

Writerly updates

After taking six years to write my debut novel (and a six-year break right after because babies,) I have to say it’s absolutely bizarre to be editing one complete book and simultaneously writing its sequel.

My new project is a series following the misadventures of an aimless college dropout who stumbles across the secret paranormal underbelly of her hometown—and winds up with a job. It’s queer, it’s sassy, it’s sexy, it explores themes of family, generational trauma, addiction, and the existential consequences of immortality juxtaposed with humankind’s short-term memory regarding history and our cyclical nature.

But, you know, in a comedy series.

I’m currently on the agent query hamster wheel, but to be honest, my heart’s not in it. I promised myself I’d send out a certain number of queries, and if I hit that mark and it comes up fruitless, I’ll once again traipse down the self-publishing path, as I did with my debut novel, Twenty-One.

FAQ

Do you base your characters on real people?

Yes. Well, no. Sort of?

I really hate to answer a question with “it depends,” but…well…it depends. When I have a large cast of characters, I will borrow attributes from real people—a hairstyle here, a singular quirk there—to flesh out minor characters. But I stitch my main characters together with my own seeds and secrets. Chloe Leroux from Twenty-One, for example, I imbued with darker experiences from my own past. A lot of her psychological breakdown mirrors my state of mind during those times. Chloe’s captor, Demetrius, probably holds more seeds of my personality than any other character in that novel.

My new project, an upcoming series, has a much larger cast of characters with a huge variety of personalities. I do the same in this series that I did with Twenty-One. I pull traits from myself, from mythology, from historical figures, even from current culture. One character introduced in book 2—the one I’m currently drafting—is heavily aesthetically inspired by one of my favorite shows.

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Follow me!

Do you like dark, sexy books that make you question your own sanity? Check out Twenty-One on e-book or in paperback.

Interested in a series about an aimless college dropout who stumbles into a job as a vampire’s henchman? Then follow me as I write it! Find me on Insta and Facebook.

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Current Rabbit Hole

Terrariums! Holy hell, I have been fixated on jars, moss, dwarf ferns, and isopods. I’m fascinated by worldbuilding, and terrariums are like their own little realms. After months of Google deep-dives, I signed up for a class run by a dear friend and fellow chaotic crafter, and went home with an admittedly crowded little mini forest of my own. My favorite part? The bugs! My terrarium—dubbed “Short King”—is home to some truly gorgeous Magic Potion isopods. Now when I get stuck while writing, I can stare through the mist and watch my tiny, multi-legged terraformers thrive.

That’s all for today, friends. See you soon and keep reading.

Alice