1. what is and she abandons her mind to obscure arts?

A very long and unwieldy title. A quote from Ovid’s Metamorphosis, as quoted by James Joyce in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Somewhere to collect my wayward thoughts, pluck the fluttering ideas out of my racing brain and pin them to a display board so I can better examine them. Essays about artistic wounds, feeling lost in translation, and the process of creative alchemy.

Oh, and a place where I occasionally update my readers on my books, I guess.


2. who is s. jae-jones? 🦭

Writing bios or statements of intent in the first person are strange. It feels a bit like writing cover letters or college essays, something I haven’t had to do for a very, very, very, very long time. Nevertheless, as it feels impolite not to introduce myself, therefore —

Hello, I am S. Jae-Jones, but would prefer it if you’d call me JJ. I’m an artist, adrenaline junkie, and New York Times bestselling author of a couple of YA novels. Wilkommen, 어서오세요, welcome to my newsletter; I hope you enjoy your stay.


3. FAQ ❓

what is the point of this newsletter?

Connection.

Honestly, I started this endeavor because I miss having a blog. Actually, what I miss is Livejournal. I miss the sense of intimacy I used to find online as a teen in the early 2000s. That’s what’s what I want: a connection with my readers and friends, a sense that I know them, that they know me, the way I used to feel about the friends I made on Harry Potter roleplaying forums back in the day. Is’t possible? I don’t know. But that’s what I’m searching for.

so why should i subscribe?

So I can go to my publishers and show them quantifiable metrics of how saleable I am. (I kid, I kid...mostly.)

To be honest, you don’t have to subscribe if you don’t want to. Much of what I write here will be publicly available on Al Gore’s own internet, but if you’d rather this content delivered to you via email, it’s as good a reason as any. Subscribe, or don’t, I promise I won’t judge. I will still love you anyway. <3

what will i get if i subscribe?

Secrets. Thoughts about BTS. Meditations on the creative alchemy required to transform inspiration into art. Essays about what it’s like living through late-stage capitalism and the end of the American empire. Oh, and some occasional book-related stuff.

But mostly secrets.

However, if you want a more detailed breakdown of what you will get when you subscribe (you will subscribed to all these sections by default):

  • Obscure Arts: In-depth explorations of creativity, capitalism, and making art in uncertain times. Delivered once a month or so.

  • Orphans of the Same Womb: Photographs, essays, and meditations on being a member of the Korean diaspora and feeling lost in translation. Delivered occasionally, with no set schedule.

  • The Morning Realms Dispatch: Updates, extras, and behind-the-scenes info on the Guardians of Dawn series. Delivered the second Wednesday of every month.

  • Creative Alchemy: A podcast about the creative alchemy required to transform inspiration into art. Updated once a month.

  • Non-specific posts, updates, listicles, memes. The contents of my chaotic mind will simply be under the main newsletter section. Sporadically.

There are also sections to which you can subscribe or unsubscribe that do not have a place on my newsletter:

  • Lexical Gaps: For those who only want monthly updates from me, you can uncheck all of the sections except this one

  • Bangtan Bang: Thoughts, Feels,™ lyrical analyses, and surprisingly very little squee about 방탄소년단 (BTS) if you don’t care about the greatest pop act in the world

Manage sections

i see you have a paid tier. why?

Look, I peddle in secrets. You can’t expect me to give them all away for free. Did I not mention living through late-stage capitalism and the end of the American empire?

what sort of secrets would i pay be paying for?

Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. But if you want an enumerated list, if you become one of my 절친, you will receive:

  1. The Morning Realms Dispatch: An extra update every month, including excerpts, snippets, and annotations.

  2. The Underground: Access to The Underground, or behind-the-scenes, annotations, and the infamous Unadulterated Wintersong, or the scenes I edited before publication because they were too 🌶 spicy 💦 for YA. You also get commentary about why the scenes were edited the way they were, and the editorial decisions my team and I made about where the line should be.

  3. Sumire: A previously unpublished novel I wrote over a decade ago, initially serialized on my newsletter. The first nine chapters are available for free to read online, and the entire novel can be downloaded as an EPUB for my 절친.

  4. Creative Alchemy: One extra episode every month, focusing more on the publishing industry than writing and art in general.

  5. Negative Capability: Weekly journaling prompts, emailed every Sunday.

  6. A Discord server. As an Old,™ I’m still trying to figure out how this works.

To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.


3. outro 💧

That’s all for now. I hope to you see you not sporadically!

사랑해,

Subscribe to and she abandons her mind to obscure arts

Artistic wounds, feeling lost in translation, and creative alchemy ✨ Subscribe for secrets

People

Just JJ. NYT bestselling author of the WINTERSONG duology and the GUARDIANS OF DAWN series. Frequently lost in translation. Et ignotas animum dimittit in artes.