Hello there, lovely people.

You may notice this newsletter looks a bit different than it used to. That’s because I’ve moved over to a new mailing service, Beehiiv, which so far seems cleaner and simpler to use than the rather clunky Mailchimp. 

This does mean that the newsletter will show up as being from [email protected] rather than from my personal email address, so if you want to make sure these don’t get lost to the depths of the spam folder, please do add it to your safe senders list.

I’m experimenting with breaking up the walls o’ text and sending on a slightly looser schedule, so updates, reviews, and essays will go out separately rather than hitting your inbox in one great lump at the end of the month. I’ve also decided to try my hand at doing a monthly indie book review. This is partly because I enjoy reviewing when I do it, and I’d like to get back into the habit, and partly to try and diversify my reading habits. There are tons of indie books out there that would probably be right up my street, but I’m far from immune to getting FOMO about the latest buzzy new release (eyes library hold copy of Yesteryear shiftily) and so the books not everyone is talking about tend to fall by the wayside.

So, in August look out for a mini-essay on the limits of elevated horror, and a review of Jennifer Donohue’s new novella, Amusement Park Arcana.

On to this month’s update!

One of the things that got me thinking about reviewing more was putting on my critical hat to review The Sea Hides its Dead by Megan Bontrager for Ancillary Review of Books. The full review is free to read, but the short version is that it’s a solid novel that wasn’t quite weird enough for my taste.

I also turned in the edits on my Perilous Plants story, “Gilded Lilies”, a fantastical story about rival artists and nefarious schemes. The Kickstarter will be going live soon, and I’m excited to share it with you.

But for now, as a thank-you for sticking with me all this time, I’m also giving you a free ebook of my novelette, “The Last Days of Don Juan Jenkins”, which was originally published in February in the latest Cthulhu Cymraeg anthology.

Inspired equally by the Welsh legend of Madog and the Lovecraft story “The Shadow over Innsmouth”, it’s about a stuck-in-a-rut librarian who takes a roadtrip with his new fling, only to discover that this captivating stranger might not be quite what he seems.

(And I did that whole description without a single ‘fishy’ pun. I hope you’re proud of me.)

Happy reading!

That’s all from me for now. Be well.

JL