Stone Soup Digest 08.19.22

Sarah Gailey -

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.

This week has been a disorienting one. I’m finally over a nasty cold and finding my way back into the rhythm of work after weeks of feeling off-balance and out of sorts. I emerged to find that my mystery squashes have turned orange and might be long pumpkins (?), my passionflower vine has fruit on it that’s rapidly turning beautiful colors, and it’s been a whole month since Just Like Home came out. September is around the corner. Unbelievable.

The best books for making you lose sleep

Shepherd is a brand-new book discovery platform that’s aiming to help online readers feel a renewed sense of connection to the joy of discovering something new to read. I wrote up a round-up of some of my favorite recent and upcoming horror novels, including work from Delilah Dawson, Lee Mandelo, Kiersten White, Krystal Sutherland, and Meg Elison. Go check it out!

Chokepoint Capitalism by Cory Doctorow and Rebecca Giblin

Terraform is out!

This anthology is a collection of short stories edited by the brilliant Brian Merchant, featuring some of the best writers working in SFF to examine the possible futures of the world we inhabit. Plus, I’m in it! Terraform: Watch/Worlds/Burn is already an Amazon #1 best short SFF fiction seller this week. I know you’ll love it.

Visit a Neighbor: Viral Transmissions by John Skylar

John Skylar’s newsletter was one of the first I featured. I’m featuring it again this week as it’s expanded to discuss viruses beyond COVID, including Polio and the emerging Langya virus. Skylar is one of the most valuable subscriptions in my inbox as I work to navigate the ever-changing world of multiple ongoing pandemics we now inhabit.

Here’s the link to sign up! If you’d like to read the latest installment first, you can find that here.

I’m Reading: Long Past Summer by Noué Kirwan

Mikaela Marchand is living the polished life she always planned for: a successful New York lawyer, with a promotion in her sights and a devoted boyfriend by her side. She's come a long way from the meek teen she was growing up in small town Georgia, but the memory of her adolescence isn't far--in fact, it's splashed across a massive billboard in Times Square. An old photograph of Mikaela and her former best friend, Julie, has landed on the cover of a high-profile fashion magazine advertised all over the city. And when Julie files a lawsuit, Mikaela is caught in the middle as defense lawyer for the magazine.

Not only will she have to face Julie for the first time in years, Mikaela's forced to work closely with the photographer in question: the former love of her life--and Julie's ex-husband – Cameron Murphy. Mikaela needs to win the case to get her promotion – and as a junior partner, she has no margin for error. But unresolved feelings still exist between Cam and Mikaela, and jealousy always made Julie play dirty...

Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and eighteen-year-old Mererid "Mer" is well-acquainted with both. She is the last living water diviner and has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service. Under the prince's orders, she located the wells of his enemies, and he poisoned them without her knowledge, causing hundreds of deaths. After discovering what he had done, Mer went to great lengths to disappear from his reach. Then Mer's old handler returns with a proposition: use her powers to bring down the very prince that abused them both.

The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince's lands safe. With a motley crew of allies, including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy, Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself. After all, a person with a knife is one thing...but a person with a cause can topple kingdoms.

Add The Drowned Woods to your tbr here. Order it from your local independent bookseller, or order it via Bookshop.org to support independent booksellers throughout the US and the UK. For international shipping, you can try Barnes & Noble. If you prefer audiobooks, here’s a Libro.fm link. You can also request The Drowned Woods from your local library — here’s how to get in touch with them. And if you need to order from the Bad River Website, here’s a link that will leverage your order for good.

Kitten Update

Bert and Calamity turn one next week! They are very nearly grown-up cats. I am appalled at the passage of time. I’m transitioning them to adult cat food, which they are not thrilled by.

Bertie remains enormous.

If you’re a paying subscriber, come by the Stone Soup Supper Club for our weekly chat! I can’t wait to find out how you’re doing. Also, don’t forget tomorrow’s coworking date, 10am-12pm Pacific time! The zoom link is in the Supper Club. See you there!

—Gailey