What's in a Week - Vol. 64
The World Series, Dracula, New Books, and What's Ahead
Los Angeles has Dodgers fever, with the World Series in full effect! We are also in for a major cooldown at last. We've earned it. Now, for my weekly update:
Atacama Cover Reveal and Preorders!
Preorders are live and continually rolling out for Atacama, my speculative thriller coming out in May, 2025! You can preorder from Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Amazon, and other bookstores already.
I'm so thrilled to have the absolutely awesome review blurb above from Mallory Pearson! And I can't wait for everyone to read this book.
Western North Carolina Charity Auction and Anthology
To help my fellow Appalachians, one of the things I'm doing is offering up both signed books and I donated a science fiction and fantasy short story full of Appalachian beauty, warmth, and charm. It's called "The Dewdrop Bot and the Honey Fae." This will be in the anthology To Appalachia with Love: Sci-Fi Anthology.
Here's info on the charity anthology. Donations go directly to aid organizations helping Appalachians affected by Hurricane Helene. The recovery is going to take a long time, and they need our help.
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Awards Eligibility Post for 2024
It's once again time for me to showcase my fiction published in the past year, for awards consideration for science fiction, fantasy, horror, and fiction generally. This year, everything is short fiction. You can see it all listed in my dedicated post. There might be some stories you missed, so do take a look! Thank you.
Jendia Gammon
On the Screen
It had been decades since I had seen one of my favorite movies, Bram Stoker's Dracula, so I decided it was time to revisit it.
Honestly, it was pretty devastating and brilliant. More even than when I first saw it in 1992. I think this is because it's been a challenging 32 years full of upheaval and loss. I also noticed many subtle aspects of design and craft and acting that I missed as a teen. If you've never seen it, you must. If you've not seen it in years, revisit it. I promise you'll find more to enjoy this time around. And with Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Cary Elwes, Richard E. Grant, and Billy Campbell among the cast, it's a true cinematic treasure for the ages.
I'll probably need to process seeing this movie again for a while. I've written about immortals (my Questrison Saga books deal with them), but I think I need to dig deep and write something related to how this movie has affected me over the years.
The fashion alone inspired some of my world-building, I realize. It left a mark. Maybe it'll leave the same for you...but hopefully not too deep of a bite!
On the Page
Must be the season of the vampire! This month's OwlCrate book subscription brought Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma in on leathery, quiet wings in the night.
This is my second OwlCrate subscription, and the design is top-notch for the special edition of the book, its interior (including a signature page and a map, and a letter from the author), as well as many themed treasures included in the box. You can see it all here:
On the lower left, there is a little book-shaped pot, which I just love. The socks are comfy, the pen set is fun, and I like the candle holder. I truthfully don't know how long I'll continue to subscribe to OwlCrate, but it's something fun to look forward to, and it's also giving me some ideas.
Writing Update
Is this the week for my big news? Yes. You'll see it if you subscribe to Locus Magazine for their November issue. But hopefully you'll get a more formal announcement sooner! If so, I'll send out a special email this week.
Meanwhile, I'm putting more heft on my sequel, The Secret of the Sapphire Sentinel. Things are about to fracture for these Lunarpunk future teens in a big way, and from then on their lives will be once more upended while they try to save their world. And maybe they will find that they care rather deeply for each other, whether they want to admit it or not.
The Week Ahead
Baking weather is back! I've got plans for a carrot cake, pie, and other tasty treats for the season. Oh, and it's Halloween! So I'll be having fun seeing all the great decorations around here. LA really doesn't hold back with Halloween, and I love that!
Hope you all have a pleasant final week of October.
Write on!
Jendia
