Dusting off this old thing...

Hello, everyone! It’s been a while, and somehow, this newsletter has gained a few subscribers while I wasn’t looking (should I take this as a sign that I should speak less…), so I thought today, as near the year’s end, was a good time to update it.

ME, MYSELF & I.

A few months ago I received news that I’d been selected for a (quite prestigious and blissfully free of charge) course related to my professional field. It’s not quite over yet, but I can honestly say it’s been a gratifying experience. The course materials have been everything they promised to be, and I’ve met and befriended quite a few interesting people, from among both the speakers and my fellow attendees. I applied to the course on a whim, not expecting anything to come of it, so I’m immensely glad I took the chance.

Professionally speaking this next year will continue to be pretty busy for me. Just this week I got news that a quite exhaustive selection process I hope to try my hand is expected to move up to February or March. To be clear, I have absolutely no expectations of actually getting selected on my first attempt; on average, people spend 6 years trying… I hope it won’t take me as much lol, because this is the job I want to be doing for the rest of my working life, but it’s going to be a long-distance race, not a sprint, but I still want to get myself ready to pull a respectable showing on February. People who follow me in other platforms can expect to see me around a lot less (though my mutuals can always message me), because these next couple of months I’m going to be tackling this.

On less stressful news xD, this Friday I went to see Wicked, and I absolutely loved it! I read the book about 15 years ago, and I’d only listened to a few songs of the musical before, so a lot was new to me. I thought the film was incredibly fun! I love a me good musical, Elphaba remains a magnificent protagonist, and the actresses were outstanding. Cynthia Erivo infused her character with everything I imagined her to be; “The Wizard and I” was one of the songs I hadn’t listened to, and I think it broke my heart the most, to see past that front she puts while she’s in that early stage of her development. And Ariana Grande honestly impressed me with her comedic chops.

I have half a mind to reread the novel, as we wait for the second part; it’s obvious on sight that they are very different stories, but they each appeal to me in its own way (among other reason, each seems to do well in parts that the other one lacked. Though I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have nitpick lol).

WRITING WOES

I’m hoping I can claw myself some time in between study sessions to finish a rough first draft of Underground Elysium (remember the teaser?). My goal for hopefully the first third of 2025 will be to polish it and seek out beta readers.

Balancing my writing with my study/work life is going to be a struggle, as you can probably guess. That’s why for now, I’ve decided to put aside my longer series; that’s a task for Steady-Permanent-Government-Job-Me, not current-me! Instead, after I’m done with Underground Elysium, I’ll be focusing on other shorter, self-contained stories:

• Chasing Fanny. USA, 1930s. Giulietta is a young woman with a unique and quite self-destructive gift to perceive the echoes left by the dead. She uses it in the shadows, as the assistant of a not-quite-hard-boiled detective, and stumbles upon a case involving Fanny, a treacherous ex-lover, and the nosy Louise, a sob-sister desperate for a break that will put her work in the front page and outside the silly advice columns.

• The Leech of Wonderland. Norway, early 19th century. The diaries of Wivie, a naïve and sheltered young woman, narrate the slow discovery of her suitor’s dark secrets.

• A Child’s Covenant. Iberian Peninsula, Middle Ages. Over a decade ago, Vela ask the fairies for help to free herself from the monsters raising her at home. Forewarned that they always intended to return and collect their debt, she intends to enjoy the time she has left, with the wayward princess of her dreams.

• One Over Many. Switzerland, 21st century. One day, men vanish. Five years later, Maude is still obsessed with the same-day disappearance of former schoolmate Odette Farrow.

• All About Eves. Paris, 1950s. Magical creatures of folklore have coexisted with humans for generations. It’s still the shock of her life when Eva, a young woods fae and Spanish exile, finds herself face to face with her hateful older self.

Any one in particular that catches your eyes?

And to finish off…

RECOMMENDATIONS

I have read so, so much this year! I don’t even know where to start. But I will try!

• ONE COLLECTION. I simply must mention Burning Your Boats, the full compilation of Angela Carter’s short stories. The tales in The Bloody Chamber stands among them, but I quite enjoyed others, especially The Scarlet House.

• ONE FICTION NOVEL. There have bee quite a few, and so so good, but today I’ll give a shout-out to Camilla Andrew’s We Will Devour the Night. You can find my full review here in goodreads, but suffice to say, this second-part to a wonderful trilogy meets and exceeds expectations. Shout-out to Ana María Matute’s Olvidado Rey Gudú, that chunky chunky book I finally took off the shelf! It was quite inspiring (for A Child’s Covenant, especially).

• ONE NON-FICTION BOOK. This year I finally read Lundy Bancroft’s Why Does He Do That?, and it is absolutely a must-read. Investigating Lois Lane: The Turbulent History of The Daily Planet’s Ace Reporter by Tim Hanley deserves a mention, since it heavily influenced Chasing Fanny, too.

• ONE RE-READ. There have also been quite a few lol. Since I already lied and said more than just one above, I can just mention both Lolita and Wuthering Heights here. Two of my favourite novels, and two of the best works of Western literature, AFAIC.

• ONE COMIC BOOK. I’m still in thrall of my bitter frenemy, detective comics comics. I’ve read so many, and so many of them good! (also so many so bad, but that’s comics for you!). So I definitely can’t not mention something. And that something is Kelley Puckett’s Batgirl run, roughly #1-37 of Batgirl (2000). If you ever decide to read one (1) comic run, it should be that one; the work put into Cassandra Cain’s character is outstanding. There are many others I want to give a shout-out here, especially those involving my favourite writers (Devin Grayson, Judd Winick, Greg Rucka…), but I’ll bravely refrain from making this any longer :P

• ONE NEWSLETTER ARTICLE. Feminism is Over, But I’m Still Here by Moira Donegan. I felt this one in my bones.

• ONE FILM. La sociedad de la nieve. Inspired by the real life events occured when the flight of a rugby team crashed on a glacier in the Andes. Harrowing, made with care and no sensationalism.

• ONE SHOW. The Glory. I love me a good tale of righteous revenge, and this provided exactly that. Not to mention a magnificent female lead, a tense enmity, and all-around really satisfying dynamics between everyone and said lead.

This next year I’ll try to come back to this newsletter more often, whenever I have updates for you guys (ideally, about once a month). So, until the next one! And thank you for sticking around ^-^