October 2023

Cold and Cozy

Yesterday, the temperature dropped forty degrees, leaving us at forty degrees. It’s gray and windy and the perfect day to cozy up with a hot cup of tea—my first of the season! I’m still trying to use up all of the tea I currently have, but my willpower is weakening as the supply dwindles. If Harney & Sons does a Black Friday sale, I’ll be in trouble.

Today’s pot is a chai blend heavy on the cardamom and cinnamon. Its warm spiciness is a perfect foil for the weather.

Of course, by the weekend it’s going to be back in the eighties, so this is a very brief glimpse of winter. :)

Mr. M and I started playing Diablo IV again. The second season is here, and it brought a lot of small quality of life changes that make the game fun again instead of tedious. Of course, we’re still leveling and just made it to world tier three, so we’ll see if it holds through the end game grind.

We also have Baldur’s Gate 3 to finish and Starfield to start, so we’re not exactly hurting for things to do. I’ve been so braindead lately that even playing games was too much. I started watching King the Land, a kdrama where a rich, entitled (incredibly gorgeous) boss grows a heart for one of his (also gorgeous) employees. So problematic IRL, but so delicious in fiction.

I think I’m on like episode thirteen or so, but then things got tense, and I could see the bleak moment coming, so I’ve avoided watching the last few episodes for like two weeks. That’s where my brain is right now. 🙈

I really need to get some writing done this week, because it’s very nearly November. I briefly considered trying to do NaNoWriMo before coming to my senses and backing away slowly. But if you’re participating, let me know and I’ll cheer you on!

Upcoming Events!

I have two events happening later this month, so if you want to see my smiling face either virtually or in person, I have an event for you!

First up, on Thursday, October 19 at 6:00PM Central Time, I’m doing a virtual reading for Strong Women, Strange Worlds along with five other authors. It’s free to attend, but you need to register in advance. I’ll be reading from Capture the Sun, so if you have a favorite scene you want me to read, let me know!

Strong Women, Strange Worlds presents Third Thursday QuickReads of SF/F/H by K. Ten, D.L. Howard, JL George, C.O. Davidson, Luna McNamara, and Jessie Mihalik. October 19, 7PM Eastern, free on Zoom. Preregister now at strongwomenstrangeworlds.weebly.com

Then, just a couple of days later, on October 22, I’ll be at the Buns & Roses Romance Tea for Literacy in Richardson, TX to support the Richardson Adult Literacy Center. There are still a few tickets available at my table, and there are something like thirty authors attending, so you have a bunch of us to choose from!

Richardson Adult Literacy Center presents Buns & Roses Romance Tea for literacy. Keynote: Alka Joshi, author of the Japur Trilogy, The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, and The Perfumist of Paris. October 22, 2023, Doubletree Hilton, Richardson, TX

Attending readers get a little present from the authors they sit with and get to mingle with all the attending authors either at the tea and signing or during the VIP reception the night before (with additional ticket). This is your chance to dress up, have fun, and support a great cause all at the same time!


We had last-minute travel for a funeral this weekend and didn’t get home until nearly 2AM last night, so I’m dragging today. The internet was out and our phones didn’t have service all weekend, so I got a lot of chatting and reading done, which was lovely, but now my inbox is exploding a little bit, so I have to wade through that.

I finished reading Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and enjoyed it a lot, but romance readers should beware the cliff. I’m looking forward to the next book!

Then I started an advance copy of At First Spite by Olivia Dade, and it’s so, so good. It deals with some heavy issues with the kindest, gentlest touch, and there are so many emotions, so deftly written, that it nearly made me cry on an airplane, so now we’re definitely nemeses instead of friends. 😭

One of these days I’ll actually tackle updating my book rec list, but that day is not today. :)