Have You Eaten?

Welcome to the Stone Soup Weekly Digest! This is where I share what I'm up to and some of my favorite things from around the internet. Subscribe to Stone Soup to get this in your inbox every week.

Have You Eaten comes out as an ebook today! This full collection of the serialized novella includes original recipes from me and incredible original art from the legendary Shing Yin Khor. 

I’ve never talked about this before, but in many ways, this project was inspired by you, Stone Soup’s readers. Back in 2020, during the early days of lockdown, I launched a series on this newsletter, which had a different name back then. I called the series – a sort of recipe advice column, aiming at helping people use what they had in their pantry – “Stone Soup.” That project ended up guiding the ethos of this publication, and it also made me take a closer look at the way we feed each other, care for each other, and help each other survive in times of crisis. Have You Eaten came out of that time, when so many of us were hungry in so many ways, and all we could do was try to be there for each other. Thank you for inspiring me, in this and everywhere else.

The Have You Eaten ebook only costs $2 in the US and £1.27 in the UK. When you place your order, you’re not just supporting me and my career – you’re also sending a message to Reactor, the publisher that decided to take a chance on this weird, experimental storytelling format. The message you’re sending is this: It’s worth taking chances. It’s worth the risk of expending resources on strange, original stories that play with format and structure. It’s worth the time and money you put into projects like this. Maybe, if we let them know we want them to, Reactor and publishers like them will take similar risks on newer authors, on even more unwieldy formats, on even wilder concepts. Your $2 could move the needle toward that future. I hope you’ll consider it.

Either way, thank you for reading. Thank you for cooking. Thank you for everything.

-gailey

Support Your Community

Here are some resources that will help you support hurricane relief in the American Southeast.

• Florida Disaster Fund - distributes funds to service organizations that serve the individual communities.
• Florida Chamber Safety Council - resources for doing volunteer work or donating to disaster relief funds
• CARE - provides cash assistance to help provide food, medicine, and hygiene supplies as well as support long-term recovery and protect at-risk populations
•  United Way of Florida - assists people in the “Big Bend” affected by the storm 

Go get vaccinated! You can get an updated COVID-19 vaccine, a flu shot, and a monkeypox vaccine. The new COVID-19 variant is different enough that your previous antibodies from vaccination or infections won’t guard you against it, so go get your OS updated.

• Find pharmacies near you and get help scheduling appointments
• Stay up to date on the latest information from the CDC
• Educate your communities with free educational materials

For the past several months, I have been sharing links and resources with you to support our neighbors around the world who are currently being attacked by the government of Israel. In addition to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, violence is mounting in the West Bank, and most recently in Beirut. We have the power to help the people who need us right now. Here are a few ways you can do your part.

• A collection of ways to help Lebanese communities here
• Support the United Nations relief efforts in Palestine here
• Donate to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) here
• Purchase from Palestinian-owned business – here’s 15 Palestinian brands, 8 Palestinian Etsy Shops, and a portal full of Palestinian goods 
• 6 ways you can support Palestinians in Gaza
• Gaza Funds, a website that gathers crowdfunding campaigns from people in need in Gaza
• Check out Operation Olive Branch, which helps fund medical evacuations
• Connect with Jewish Voice for Peace
• Use Resistbot to contact your representatives

Finally! You may be aware that in November, the United States will hold an election. If you are eligible to vote in this election, it’s absolutely vital that you confirm your voter registration status. Voter rolls are being purged and tampered with on a regular basis throughout the United States, so being previously registered to vote is not a guarantee of your current status. 

• Click here to learn your current voter registration status
• Click here to register to vote in your state

Currently Reading: This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading.

Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.

Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right?

Barnes & Noble | Bad River Website | Local Library | Find an Indie Bookstore

Featured New Release: The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy

Lorel has always dreamed of becoming a witch: learning magic, fighting monsters, and exploring the world beyond the small town where she and her mother run the stables. Even though a strange plague is killing the trees in the Kingdom of Cekon and witches are being blamed for it, Lorel wants nothing more than to join them. There’s only one problem: all witches are women, and she was born a boy.

When the coven comes to claim her best friend, Lorel disguises herself in a dress and joins in her friend’s place, leaving home and her old self behind. She soon discovers the dark powers threatening the kingdom: a magical blight scars the land, and the power-mad Duchess Helte is crushing everything between her and the crown. In spite of these dangers, Lorel makes friends and begins learning magic from the powerful witches in her coven. However, she fears that her new friends and mentors will find out her secret and kick her out of the coven, or worse.

Barnes & Noble | Bad River Website | Local Library | Find an Indie Bookstore

If you’re a paying subscriber, this month’s Supper Club members got a surprise gift from me! If you’re not in the Supper Club yet, sign up now to access the September post, which includes something delicious for you to enjoy. 

—Gailey