Lexical Gap No. 50: Gluggaveður
April 2024 summary
April was the very first time I’d ever been summoned for jury duty.
To be fair, I’d received a notice of summons multiple times before, but this was the first time my juror number was ever called.
While I understand that jury duty is a service and obligation every citizen must perform, the process of serving jury duty—at least in North Carolina—is ass. The night before your summons, you must call into a number after business hours to see if you even have to show up to the court house. Forget making any plans for the two weeks window around the possibility of being summoned. If you are one of the (un)lucky few called, the next day you spend at least 6-8 hours hanging around and waiting some more to see if your juror number is selected to be considered for a jury. If you manage to pass voir dire, you may or may not be called to serve for an indeterminate length of time. Once again, forget trying to make any plans, appointments, etc. Me? I was stressing about what to do with my dogs, as I’ve never left them home alone for more than a few hours’ at a time, to say nothing of the book I’m revising.
And for this dubious privilege, you are paid all of $12.
That doesn’t even cover the cost of lunch.
In other news, after a two year hiatus, I’ve decided to resume my taekwondo practice. Writing is a sedentary job (despite the daily three mile walks with Castor & Pollux) and I’ve been trying to return to some semblance of health. I’m no spring chicken, and boy do I feel every minute of those two years I’ve been away.
My new dojang is honoring my black belt from my previous dojang, which is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I don’t have to start all over again, and a curse because man do I have imposter syndrome. I’ve forgotten a lot, and I feel simultaneously like a beginner and a has-been.
In this issue
1. JJ’s magical world
2. Lexical gap
3. This creative life
4. The Morning Realms Dispatch
5. What I’m reading
6. What I’m watching
7. Other things of note
lexical gap: gluggaveður 🧩
For someone with spring allergies (a.k.a. me), this describes all of April. So beautiful! So pollen!
this creative life ✍🏻
I finished the first terrible, no good, very bad draft of GUARDIANS 3 last month, and now I’m in the eyeball deep in revisions. I spent a good deal of time towards the end of the first draft trying to maintain equilibrium and not fall into burnout, and I’m pretty proud of managing that. It apparently required lots of meditation, walks, and most importantly—good sleep. It also required a lot of discipline, which my Aries moon/Type 7 personality/ADHD ass is bad at. I’m trying to maintain the good habits I’ve attained from the last deadline, but as I’ve mentioned before, I am bad at discipline.
the morning realms dispatch 🌞
We’re four months out from the release of Guardians of Dawn: Ami and early reviews are starting to come in!
In her newfound identity as the Guardian of Fire, Jin Zhara continues her journey to find the other Guardians of Dawn and defeat the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons.
Following the defeat of the Frog Demon of Poison and Pestilence in Zhara (2023), Zhara and Han continue their search for the scholar Li Er-Shuan and the Songs of Order and Chaos, the book that holds the key to defeating the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons. But they quickly find that they don’t just face demons—the undead are attacking, and the same magic is bleeding the land of ki. The solution, they hope, lies in Kalantze with the Qirin Tulku. There they meet Li Ami, the daughter of Li Er-Shuan, and Gaden, the Left Hand of the Qirin Tulku. Together, they set out to figure out what force is behind the hordes of undead—and how to stop it. This sequel is fast-paced and exciting, immediately jumping back into the magical world of the Morning Realms. With their consistently satisfying character arcs, the intriguing cast members continue to be among the most delightful aspects of the series. Jae-Jones infuses this world with East Asian elements, and she weaves strong queer representation naturally into the story. Though the intense worldbuilding is initially overwhelming, this worthwhile sequel is easy to dive into and lives up to its predecessor.
An action-packed and inherently magical sequel. (Fantasy. 13-18)
Ami is the queerest book I’ve ever written (to date, anyway) and it’s gratifying to see it’s being received positively. I can’t wait for you to meet my newest Guardian girl and Gaden!
what i’m reading 📖
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo. I enjoy everything Leigh has written and The Familiar was no exception. I love the sensory details of her world; I could practically feel the lace, smell the spices, and taste the pomegranates.
what i’m watching 📺
The Antisocial Network: From Memes to Mayhem. A little documentary that draws the connection from 4chan to QAnon. I’ve consumed deeper and more insightful documentaries on the topic before, but it was still interesting to see the connective tissue.
Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion. Because I am old, I had never heard of Brandy Melville before, so this was pretty eye opening. A damning look at fast fashion, and made me even more determined to be conscientious in my clothes shopping.
Fallout. I watched this with Bear, who has played the games, whereas I have not. Both of us enjoyed this immensely, which goes to show the quality of the writing, acting, and design.
other things of note 💾
Manov, Ann. “Star Struck: Lauren Oyler’s meditations on Goodreads, anxiety, and gossip.” Bookforum, Apr 2024.
Now back to revisions! Bear and I will be headed to Senegal in a few weeks, and I don’t anticipate getting much writing done, so I’m trying to get ahead of it as much as possible. Until then!
사랑해,
