Stone Soup Digest 10.14.22

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.

It is with a thousand-pound heart this week that I share the news of Henchlady Jen’s departure from Team Gailey. Jen is stepping away from assistant work to pursue her incredible passion for and skill at narrative design in games. She’ll be working at BScotch, the company behind hit games like Crashlands and Levelhead. It’s been my profoundest honor to work with Jen, and I consider her one of my closest, most beloved friends. While I’m sad that we’ll no longer be coworkers, I couldn’t be more excited to see her diving fully into her narrative design work. You are all going to be blown away by what she’s doing next!

Joining the team and taking over Jen’s duties is the marvelous Josh Storey! Josh is an author, illustrator, and tabletop dynamo. He’s already hit the ground running as an invaluable part of Gailey operations behind the scenes. I hope you’ll give him a warm hello down in the comments. Welcome to the team, Josh!

Tomorrow (that’s Saturday, 10/15) from 10:00 - 12:00 Pacific Time, members of the Stone Soup Supper Club will be coworking over zoom! Click here to sign up and here for the monthly Supper Club post, which will have the zoom link in it on Saturday morning. I’ll see you there!

It's Not About You: Beyond the Hero's Journey

Narrative designer Jen Coster recently gave a talk at the Game Devs of Color conference in which she deconstructed the monomyth and discussed the alternatives to Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” in storytelling. This talk is absolutely fascinating, deeply illuminating, and vital for anyone who has an interest in the stories we tell. Jen is a rising star in her field and I can’t wait to see how she’s going to change the face of games.

Exclusive Interview with Brandon Crilly

This week I talked to debut author Brandon Crilly about his incredible new novel, Catalyst! Go read his thoughts on relationships, history, and choice, and then pick up your copy of Catalyst.

Marathon Lessons

I wrote a reflection on what I learned about writing as a disabled author from a twelve-hour writing marathon. I’ve gotten to hear from a few people about how those lessons are helping them rethink the way they approach work, especially creative work while disabled! I love getting to share my understanding with other creators around the world.

Macaroniphalus dubbed Buffy’s “Grossest Monster Ever”

I am so proud to see that Macaroniphalus, the bucatini-demon I created for The Vampire Slayer, has been dubbed the grossest monster Buffy has ever had to face down. I am very sincerely honored.

Special ShopQueer.co coupon code for Stone Soup readers

ShopQueer.co launched this week, featuring books by queer authors (including me!). This shop pays authors twice as much as many other bookstores and features queer education reading lists and events! If you want to check it out, you can use the coupon code Gailey10 to get 10% off whatever you purchase!

Pre-Orders Available for When I Was Lost by Jordan Kurella

John Wiswell’s debut novel

The Longest Rest coming soon to Indiegogo

Get ready for The Longest Rest! Jeeyon Shim’s next game is being pitched as D&D meets House of Leaves by way of Annihilation. It’s a stark fantasy focusing on heroes who are seeking rest and sustenance… and who find a lot more than they bargained for.

Visit a Neighbor: Singapore Noodles by Pamelia Chia


Pamelia Chia is a Singaporean chef whose newsletter aims to document Singaporean food culture and recipes as comprehensively as possible.

Check out the most recent installment of Singapore Noodles here, and subscribe here!


I’m Reading: Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

A young woman in need of a transformation finds herself in touch with the animal inside in this gripping, incisive novel from the author of Cackle and The Return.

Rory Morris isn't thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it is temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant, estranged from the baby's father, and needs support, so Rory returns to the place she thought she'd put in her rearview. After a night out at a bar where she runs into Ian, an old almost-flame, she hits a large animal with her car. And when she gets out to investigate, she's attacked.

Rory survives, miraculously, but life begins to look and feel different. She's unnaturally strong, with an aversion to silver--and suddenly the moon has her in its thrall. She's changing into someone else--something else, maybe even a monster. But does that mean she's putting those close to her in danger? Or is embracing the wildness inside of her the key to acceptance?

This darkly comedic love story is a brilliantly layered portrait of trauma, rage, and vulnerability.

Hugo, Locus, and Nebula-Award winner Mary Robinette Kowal blends her no-nonsense approach to life in space with her talent for creating glittering high-society in this stylish SF mystery, The Spare Man.

Tesla Crane, a brilliant inventor and an heiress, is on her honeymoon on an interplanetary space liner, cruising between the Moon and Mars. She's traveling incognito and is reveling in her anonymity. Then someone is murdered and the festering chowderheads who run security have the audacity to arrest her spouse. Armed with banter, martinis and her small service dog, Tesla is determined to solve the crime so that the newlyweds can get back to canoodling--and keep the real killer from striking again.

Add The Spare Man 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. You can also request The Spare Man 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.

Cat Update

@gaileyfrey #chomp #betrayal #bertandcalamity ♬ I'll Bite You - Cody Cooke

If you’re a paying subscriber, come by the Stone Soup Supper Club for our weekly chat! We’ve got a revamped comment system that works so much better than before. And don’t forget to swing through for our coworking date tomorrow! I can’t wait to see you there.

—Gailey