Enchanted readers,

We’re still in a severe drought here, and with it is coming a lot of anxiety of how we’ll handle this through the winter, but also a sense of melancholy for the things we lost. A part of me thinks, no, the world is really bad right now, don’t dwell, move on, but on the other hand, noticing the small things, appreciating them, are what makes us human. So, a short list of everything I will not be taking for granted next summer:

raindrops on cobwebs

the smell of summer rain

soft rainy days that are so lovely to spend the whole day writing

thunderstorms so close they make your heart flutter

hunting mushrooms after a day of rain

But I’ve also gained appreciation for natural springs, little oases of green that make me ponder fairy wells, water elementals, and naiads.

Because the world’s been awful, I haven’t spent much time on social media, stuffing that time with books instead. I saw a movie trailer that reignited a childhood fascination with the Brontës, which lead to a sidequest tracking down a few books that might be the one I read in my middle school’s library once upon a time. Cross your fingers for me?

On the writing front, I’ve set A Binding of Spellwork and Story to the side for the moment to ready my story collection, Borrowed Wings and other stories. The Lunar edition is being launched as part of the Polaris collection of the Lunar Codex “no earlier than December 2025” and I’m timing the terrestrial edition release to coincide and maybe catch a few Christmas shopping sales.

Which I means I’m looking at how to put this kind of collection together. How best to flow from one story to the next, which ones pair well with the last, that sort of thing. Likewise, I’m writing a few new stories to include, ones to pull themes together, and a few to introduce readers to my story worlds. There will a Little Banned Bookshop story, and also a few stories set in the world of a trilogy I’ve been writing in the background and I’m hoping to release in 2027 (I get excited just writing that).

I’ve ordered my cover, sent it back for revisions twice, and if I can squeeze my hands very tight, maybe I’ll be to share a reveal of that with you next month. Stay tuned!

The garden is almost done. Or maybe I’m done hauling water from the river. The chamomile was my favourite this year, the little ritual of collecting the flat flowers every day sustaining me. But there are still some lovely views:

Sunflowers are remarkably drought-tolerant, I must say. With the exception of a red-tailed hawk that swooped past me one morning and enchanted that entire day with the memory, there hasn’t been much wildlife around. They’re probably staying to water sources. But we did get a visit from Fae, a not-stray who wanders down our driveway a few times a summer to check on us. Sometimes he lets us give him a snuggle, sometimes not. His mood is willful, quick to change, and he has startlingly turquoise eyes that don’t seem entirely natural. We call him Fae because he probably is.

Soon it will be Halloween, and this house is getting excited. Do you have a favorite Halloween-season book? I’d love to read it!

Until November,