How did February take five seconds, January take a thousand years, and we’re already into the first week of March?! Get cozy, grab a beverage, and let’s sit by the hearth to catch up.
Winter was a slow beast.
I wanted to hibernate for a couple months and wake up with the spring, ready to work on my projects both creatively and professionally. We are still working on the house, unpacking and purging and a bit more unpacking, but the progress is there. It’ll be one year in our house in May, and it still feels surreal to me that I’m not in that space anymore. Experiencing the full turn of seasons has been thrilling, and I’ve tried to soak up as much as possible: the smell of spring coming, the first leaves of autumn, the Fraser River and its particular perfume (it doesn’t smell bad, but it smells like cold water), even the little bit of snow we received was lovely.
We’re going to be planting a little garden this year, so within the coming weeks, we’ll be researching which plants will be good for our shady little spot, and we’re going to be building a 2′ x 2′ raised bed in front of the patio for it. The previous tenants appear to have tried something in it before, but the only thing left in it is a very tenacious something that refuses to die. May keep it, depending on what it is and if it’ll play nice with our ideas.
We attended a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre last week for Apocalyptica with a couple friends, and it was bloody fantastic! If you’re not familiar with them, they’re three dudes who play the cello, and when they were starting out, they did Metallica covers. It is a phenomenal experience – they don’t do any singing, but the audience usually has that covered perfectly. It’s a sight to behold having an entire room singing “Seek and Destroy” in a space that usually has symphonies and orchestras. We had seen them once previously, when they played at the Commodore Ballroom.
I also got out with some girlfriends for a coffee and art date at a local cafe, Delicia. Unique and very cozy vibes, and their caramel macchiato is to die for. We were there until the place was closing, and the staff were very kind and fun.
I have been making a point of taking photos of the skies and landscape around home since we moved into this place. It’s so different to the skies I’m used to seeing, and it is certainly healing me somehow.
The Women of the Eternal was giving me grief and it took me weeks to finish chapter five’s rewrite, but I’ve finally completed it as of yesterday (small victories!). I’ve been trying to motivate myself to do rewrites for Ulfhednar, or continue to outline the honeycomb will taste sweeter, to give myself something else to work on when WOTE isn’t sticking.
I also splurged and got myself artwork of Espe and Talaon, two of the MCs from WOTE, for my birthday last year, that I received in January. These GORGEOUS pieces were done by Elyon Blackstar on Instagram, and I fully intend on getting the rest of the cast done with them in the coming months.
I didn’t partake in creating new year resolutions this year, and so far it’s been a bit less stressful. The guilt of not writing in any scrap of free time I have has not played well with my executive dysfunction, but there are still words being written and plots being plotted, and I don’t feel like I’m under obligation to get anything out right now since my recent release.
And for my recent release, I am pleased to announce it is finally on the market:
From The Throat of the Eldest Daughter was released January 31st, 2025.
When I say that writing this book gave me such an emotional hangover, I mean I didn’t want to read it back for a few days once I finished it. This is easily the most personal work I’ve written to date, and I must give full credit to Luna Rey Hall and their stunning work in loudest when startled. Luna’s book is beautiful, haunting, painful, and felt like permission to reach into my heart and write my own truths. It has been freeing, and each piece felt like a small weight off of my shoulders.
It is currently available on Kindle, but I do plan on releasing this in paperback this year as well. A dear friend and author pulled some quotes for me, and it’s safe to say that I’m delighted with how this has turned out. If you do pick it up, please make sure to leave a review!
Amazon Canada
Amazon USA
Amazon UK
Amazon, German
Amazon, French
Amazon, Spanish
Amazon, Italian
Amazon, Dutch
Amazon, Japanese
AUDIO MAGICK
I’ve been bouncing between listening to the Dark Paranormal podcast, watching Brandon Farris shorts, and binging The Boys content to keep me sane at the office job. YouTube has me burned out somewhat, so I’ve fallen back into scrolling shorts.
VIEWING MAGICK
I was watching Arcane, which is a bloody masterpiece of art, story, and voice acting. The amount of foreshadowing and symbology, not to mention the found family, makes my reader/writer heart so very happy. My husband got into Shaman King, which was one of my absolute favourite shows when I was younger, so it’s been very fun watching it again.
READING MAGICK
The hermit slump has been very real, and it’s encompassing my reading as well. I’m rereading loudest when startled by Luna Rey Hall; it was a very big inspiration/motivation for writing my own experiences into FTTOTED. Luna’s words are sharp, honest, and echo in my chest that both validates my own feelings and prods the scars that are there.
OCCULT MUSINGS
While I said I hadn’t made any resolutions, I didn’t want to go into 2025 with no goals at all. So with the passing of the Wolf Moon in January, I made the decision on how I want 2025 to go for me with a phrase: “still waters run deep”.
I have numerous projects that I want to dive into in our home, in myself, and in my writing. And I have learned that if I share those with people outside of my immediate circle, the motivation and drive to get any of it done just falls away. So, just like the waters that make up me, I’ll be still on the surface while continuing to work on my goals, and when all is ready to see the light of day, it will be shared.
Thank you so much for joining me this newsletter. Be safe, be loud, and as us Canadians say in such unprecedented times, elbows up.
the baleful primal 
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