Catching up...

It has been two weeks since I got laid off. During that time, I have talked to a couple of people about jobs and have a preliminary interview next week, right before I go out of town to Madison to do a talk on small press publishing at A Room of One's Own. I've also done some writing, submitted a reprint and submitted a new writing workshop proposal (it's already been accepted - more info coming soon). I added a new page for workshops and presentations on my website, if you are interested in what I do in this arena and/or would like to sign up for a class, invite me to teach, etc. I also wrote an article draft, followed up on a bunch of events and did some house stuff. Tonight, I'll be speaking to the Ampersand Club at DreamHaven Books about running a small press and what goes on in contemporary book publishing. Should be fun!

Also, socializing! So far, I've seen Terminator: Dark Fate and Harriet and liked both of them quite a bit; if you're looking for complex female characters in your movies, these are good choices. The bad reviews are mostly pretty questionable. We also had some friends over for tea so I could try out my new teapot: it is splendid, in case you were wondering. I've also been to dinner with people I haven't seen for a while, attended a culinary benefit for the American Indian College Fund as my friend's guest (the food was all indigenous to Minnesota and was amazing!), went to the Twin Cities Horror Festival and attended a MN Publisher's Roundtable luncheon (I'm a member but their events are always during the day). Friday night, I'll be going to the Gothic Novels event at the Ramsey House, Saturday to the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery and Sunday to the MIA for "Strong Women, Full of Love," a photo show on lesbian and queer women in the women's land movement. Then a Midwest Independent Publisher's Association meeting on Tuesday, maybe the CD release party for Bad September at the Amsterdam and then on to Madison for the aforementioned talk, followed by TeslaCon.

So do I actually need help? Well, some of this stuff was already in the pipeline and paid for, some of it friends are treating me to, some of it is free and some of it is that my ex-day job is still paying me. That will end within a few weeks, at which point I'll have to contemplate how to pay for our insurance, etc. Queen of Swords had a slow couple of months back in July-August (which is the money that is coming in now) so that requires subsidies, which come from my savings. In addition, I dropped $20k on a new furnace and central air, in July/August, both of which were much needed, but timing was not great in Layoff Landia. Are things dire? No, not yet. Are things stressful? Not too bad, yet. This is me trying to plan to ensure that we're not doing a fundraiser for dental work or something a few months down the road. Is that likely? I genuinely don't know - I've never been an unemployed middle-aged out queer woman whose primary gig is IT before. As with most things, some support before it's an emergency can help it avoid becoming an emergency.

That said, if you are so inclined and can do so, here are a few ways that you can support my wife and I as we deal with this new fun-filled development in our lives. Signal boosts on any/all of these are also much appreciated! New classes coming soon too.

• Queen of Swords Press - buy some books! The Press is inching slowly toward being self-sustaining, but if I don't have to pump money into it for a few months, it would be a huge load off my mind (and bank account), not to mention helping it move forward. Our books are available all over the place as well as direct from the website. You can ask your local library to order them in too! Or buy them direct from us at events!
• I also have a Patreon that supports the Press (Get novels in progress! Have fun guessing how it is that I do what I do! Win free books!) and there is QoSP Ko-fi if you don't want to commit to pledging, but want to kick in.
• My wife, Jana, makes handmade books and boxes and she has an Etsy. She also teaches at MN Center for Book Arts, Carlton College and miscellaneous art centers. Take a class or buy a pretty box! They make great gifts.
• Hire us! I write, edit and teach and am both knowledgeable and reasonably entertaining (other people think this too!) on a number of topics. Jana makes custom boxes like portfolios, wedding albums, storage boxes for old books, does repair and offers private tutorials if you want to learn more about bookbinding, box making book repair.
• Finally, my bookseller pal, Dave Christenson, is experiencing some hellish health problems. He's been helping me sell off some of my mother's books that made it out here when we moved her out from NYC and we're down to the last book. If you know any Charles Lindbergh fans who might be interested, please point them Dave's way. We'd really like to get this to a new home soon