some logistical updates

Two posts in one week? Who is he? Now that I'm somewhat back into my own writing head, I'm just taking care of some custodial things before I flit away. Here are a few that pertain to you, dear reader:

No more Substack

I'm only keeping my Substack account to post short notes and engage with others.

I was not an early adopter; I preferred Medium back when Twitter was Twitter and I was a wee PhD candidate. I did recently (this year) start a Substack after saying I would for months. A good friend (who met me on Twitter, actually) is there and it's been really helpful for them, which was my final push. But, given Substack's recent AI-detector rollout, I can't see myself posting long-form content under their proverbial roof. AI slop and an "AI detector" are heads of the same beast, and I don't want my work (or anyone's) fed into those maws. I was only a fledgling on Substack, anyway. (NB, I get why people with big or promising followings aren't jumping ship. It's some folks' whole income.) Now, Meet Me in The Close is the title of this newsletter. I was gonna crosspost anyway, so it's not a bother to return to the single place.

Projects in progress

I've moved in with my elderly grandmother who has dementia, and she's almost a 24/7 commitment at present. She was released from a memory care facility – the staff were kind and friendly, the surroundings clean, the residents cared for with grace and humour, but it was meant for people who have more severe symptoms than hers. She requires constant reassurance and presence right now. We hope this will change as she settles in. Some of her anxiety stems from having been in a place where most of her fellow residents were frightening her: they'd burst into her room talking about things she didn't understand, shout for help in the corridor, pound on walls, chuck things out of windows, etc. (Not out of malice, of course. Just different manifestations of diseases or disorders.)

I'm going to be somewhat quiet about my WIPs' progress. I don't want to set myself up for bad mental health days if I don't meet publicly stated deadlines or goals. Her condition is both worse and better than we anticipated, and the caregiving situation is complex (my spouse and I live with her, but her children are her legal proxies). I'm not taking a hiatus from writing, though.

The biggest thing I have in the works is the Sleepy Hollow retelling, which is now a whole film in my head. I'm eager to get it out. But between working full time – and somehow barely meeting my family's expenses, which I know a lot of us are feeling! – and new caring responsibilities, it's been... hard. All this is coming on top of a fraught 12-month period and major move, too. It's like running a marathon with a wrenched ankle, sometimes.

Patreon, maybe?

I'm so reluctant to monetise or commodify more of my life than I already do. I don't know if the answer to financial or career stress is more self-imposed work, but I've been toying with the thought of a Patreon. This said, Ghost offers the same capacities, so if I choose to take that leap, it may be here! No pressure to become a paid member – again, if that time ever comes.

I think those are the big three, for now?

If you've reached out to ask if I need help, or you've offered your support... thank you so much. I do have fabulous friends and a fantastically, beautifully supportive spouse – that's the N on the dedication pages of the Threads of Wyrd books – so I'm not flying solo. My people are somewhat scattered through time and space, but they're here.

Still, I appreciate the support offered by acquaintances, peers, and even random online strangers x