Favorite Things From October And November 2020: a Space Station, a Haunted House, and a Boy with a Pointy Hat

December 7, 2020 Meghan Stratman

Here’s another two-month combo blog because I was a ball of pre-election stress and enuii for most of October and didn’t feel like writing.

MOVIES and TV

Over the Garden Wall
I had been meaning to watch this for ages and finally got around to doing so on Halloween. It’s a bit hard to describe, but the basic plot is that two young brothers find themselves lost in an unknown forest and encounter all sorts strange creatures and mysteries as they try to make their way home. The animation is great and the story goes all sorts of directions, from weird to creepy to funny to heartbreaking. Honestly, watching it for the first time is a bit of an adventure in itself and i’m glad I didn’t know too much about it beforehand.

The Personal History of David Copperfield
While it definitely feels like a Cliff’s Notes version of the lengthy Charles Dickens novel, I still quite liked The Personal History of David Copperfield. The diverse cast, lead by Dev Patel, is charming and the production design is lovely, which helped make up for some of the rushed and underdeveloped story elements. Also, Rosalind Eleazar deserves a special mention - she stole every scene she was in and should have gotten way more screen time.

GAMES

Mario’s Super Picross
Weirdly, the game I played the most in November was Super Mario’s Picross, which came out in 1995 for the Super Nintendo. It popped up on the Nintendo Switch’s online game library and I’ve been kind of obsessed with it. The whole game is in Japanese and features a collection of increasingly difficult picross puzzles which have nothing to do with Mario but still feature him (and Wario) in the menu screens.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales
A very good follow-up to 2018’s Spider-Man, this installment lets you play as new Spider-Man Miles Morales as he works to protect New York from a mysterious gang and a nefarious tech company. Miles Morales has great characters, an interesting story, and fun new missions and gameplay that take advantage of Miles’ electricity and invisibility powers. *thumbs up*

Observation
This short, atmospheric game puts the player in control of “SAM”, the AI computer on a space station that has recently suffered a mysterious accident. SAM moves around through the station’s camera feeds (and later as a little robot ball), solving puzzles and collecting data to try and help the remaining astronaut uncover what happened. Most of Observation’s story is told through the environment and various logs you find around the station, and while the plot is occasionally confusing (I googled “Observation ending explained” as soon as the credits started), I enjoyed my time exploring this creepy game.

BOOKS

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Latinx teen Yadriel grew up in a community of ghost hunters and magical healers. When his very traditional family has trouble accepting Yadriel’s gender and refuses to let him participate in the traditional coming-of-age ceremony, he decides to do it himself. But during the ritual, Yadriel accidentally summons the wrong ghost and is pulled into a quest to help the spirit solve the mystery of his death and tie up loose ends. Author Aiden Thomas creates a vivid, original world in Cemetery Boys, combining Latinx mythology and Los Angeles culture, and introduces a wonderfully realized trans main character trying to cope with an impulsive ghost and conflicting feelings about his family and heritage. (Young Adult)

My Life as a Goddess by Guy Branum
This funny and hopeful collection of autobiographical essays by Guy Branum tells about his childhood growing up gay and inquisitive in a small California farming town, his unusual path to becoming a comedian, how Greek mythology helped him find self-acceptance, the ways society diminishes and erases fat people, and deep-dives into the influential effects of Pop Culture. I listened to the audiobook for this one, which I think was a good choice - I really like hearing memoirs in the the author’s own voice. (Memoir)

The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings by Lily Morton
The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings is a paranormal romance and surprisingly creepy ghost story. I am extremely susceptible to being spooked by books/movies/shows about haunted houses and I slept with the light on two nights in a row because of this one. Illustrator Levi inherits a beautiful old house from a distant relative (like you do), but when he moves in things start to get spooky because it is 100% full of ghosts. Levi turns to a local ghost tour leader named Blue for help, and the two begin to investigate the grisly history of the building (and fall in love, obviously). I really liked the chemistry between the characters and the way the dots connected to solve the mystery. This is definitely a fun book to pick up if you’re in the mood for something that combines smooching and spooking. (Romance/Ghost Story)

ART

Yay new art! I made a fun Addams Family house for Halloween and some little flowers and a saintly groundhog for the Holiday Show at Gallery 9. If you want to see some behind-the-scenes stuff, I filmed an assembly time lapse for one of the flower collages, which is available for my Patreon patrons.

Favorite Things From August and September 2020: Ghosts, Pulp Horrors, and a Pantheon of Extremely Attractive Gods

October 5, 2020 Meghan Stratman

It’s October! There’s a chill in the air, there are pumpkins in Animal Crossing, and I have a ghost emoji in my Twitter name.

I spent September decompressing from August’s art-a-thon, so I actually had time to play/read/watch stuff. Here are some good things that I enjoyed the past two months. I hope you’ve been able to enjoy some good things too. We definitely need good things in 2020.

TV

LOVECRAFT COUNTRY
What starts as the story of a Black soldier in the 1950s, returning home to Chicago in search of his missing father, quickly morphs into a stellar blend of real and supernatural horrors. There are monsters, witches, aliens, and ghosts, but also gut-wrenching depictions of Black characters in Jim Crow America.

The acting and production design of Lovecraft Country are great and the show does this really cool thing where each episode is a different flavor of pulp horror/adventure story: haunted house, hidden tomb, and surreal space voyage, just to name a few. The downside to this structure is that while the weekly stories are gripping and interesting, the bigger, connecting narrative gets a little lost. I don’t think this is detrimental to the overall show, but I’ve occasionally gotten confused when the story circles back to the Big Picture and I can’t remember what anyone is talking about.

UPDATE: I was only about halfway through season 1 when I wrote this blog and as I got further into the show some storylines and character actions emerged that really bothered me. I have a few episodes left to watch and still plan to finish the season, but my overall feelings about the show aren’t as glowing as they were at the start. Lovecraft Country has a lot going for it and there is a lot about it I like, but it also has some frustrating problems.

GAMES

HADES
I recently watched a great series of documentaries on the YouTube channel NoClip, chronicling the development process of Supergiant Game’s Hades. Despite having zero experience with the “roguelike” genre, I was immediately intrigued. So when Hades came out on Switch in late September I picked it up and I loooooove it.

The story follows Zagreus, the charming beefcake son of Hades, who is determined to escape the underworld no matter how many tries it takes. Every escape attempt is different, thanks to shifting dungeons, different weapon choices, character interactions, and special boons from the olympian gods. Each time Zagreus dies, he is returned to the house of Hades, where he is able to make upgrades and choose different equipment for his next attempt to leave home. This is also a chance to talk with the wonderful NPCs. I love these characters so much that I often find myself hoping a dungeon run will be unsuccessful so I will have another chance to talk with Achilles, flirt with grim reaper Thanatos, or fluster the gorgon housekeeper Dusa. The characters, story, and art design are great, the gameplay is fast and fun, and the blending of story and roguelike dungeon crawler makes it feel like you are making progress even when you die. Hades is an unexpected contender for my game of the year.

BOOKS

Better than People by Roan Parrish
A really sweet, low angst romance about Jack, an illustrator who breaks his leg and turns to a pet sharing app to find someone to walk his many dogs while he recovers. Through this app he meets Simon, a graphic designer with crippling anxiety who is way more comfortable talking with animals than with people.

The Sugared Game by KJ Charles
Book two in KJ Charles’ stellar Will Darling Adventures series, The Sugared Game continues the complicated relationship between ex-soldier-turned-bookseller Will and aristocrat/spy/prolific liar Kim. This time they are embroiled in a conspiracy involving a nightclub, some smuggling, and a criminal mastermind. This series is definitely one of my 2020 favorites.

Fangs by Sarah Andersen
A love story about a vampire and a werewolf, told through beautifully illustrated vignettes. The Fangs book is a lovely object on the outside, with black edged pages and red fabric binding, and Sarah Andersen’s art and writing makes the inside just as nice.

Lord of the Last Heartbeat and The Immortal City by May Peterson
The setting of Lord of the Last Heartbeat is an Italy-ish fantasy world filled with magic, immortal creatures, and ghosts. The story is split between the point of view of Mio, a young mage whose powerful magic is expressed through singing, and Rhodry, an immortal “moon soul” (sort of a vampire who can shape-shift into a bear) who is dealing with some very problematic ghosts. When Mio defies his mafiosa mother and refuses to continue using his magic for nefarious means, Rhodry is the person he turns to for help. In doing so, Mio gets involved in a tragic cycle of death and curses that has haunted the immortal for many years.

I had a few minor issues with the language/writing style of the book sometimes making the action hard to follow, but I loved the strange ghosts, the unusual ways magic works, and the caring relationship between the main characters. I also appreciate that Mio is a non-binary character (preferring he/him pronouns) who is trying to find his place in a world very stuck in binary gender roles.

Set in the same universe, The Immortal City takes place in the crumbling mountain city of Serenity, which is ruled over by a god-like “crow soul” who can steal people’s memories. The story focuses on Ari, a “dove-soul” who had his memories erased and has lived the last two years in a directionless haze, working for various criminal elements as a healer. When a mysterious human named Hei literally falls into his arms, Ari feels a strange connection with the man that he can’t explain. As their bond grows, Ari begins to learn that there is a lot more darkness and treachery in Serenity than he imagined.

As with LofLH, Immortal City has a style of prose which made it hard for me to understand what was happening in a couple of scenes. But also like the previous book, I found the overall story engrossing and enjoyed spending time in this universe.

Drowned Country by Emily Tesh
The second half of Emily Tesh’s Greenhollow Duology, Drowned Country is told from the point of view of Henry Silver, now the Wild Man of Greenhollow, who is nursing a broken heart and trying to come to terms with his new immortality. His melancholy is interrupted when his monster-hunting mother arrives and requests his help with a new case involving a missing girl, a vampire, and the former Wild Man that broke Henry’s heart.

These two books are extremely efficient, managing to tell a wonderfully rich, interesting story with surprisingly few words (the total duology is under 300 pages). If you are interested in a story about forest guardians, magic, folklore, and love, definitely check these out.

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh
At one point while reading this book, I managed to get into this bizarre state where I was both crying and laughing at the same time. And I’m not talking about crying because I was laughing too hard. The content of the book was simultaneously so sad and so funny that it sort of broke my brain. It was a magical moment and it really confused my dog. If you haven’t read Allie Brosh’s first book, Hyperbole and a Half, go do that immediately. She is an amazing author and illustrator who manages to capture so much humor and expression in her deceivingly simple drawings. Solutions and Other Problems contains more of Brosh’s very funny stories, but also delves into some really tough subject matter involving death and depression. Hence the cry/laughing.

Common Goal by Rachel Reid
Rachel Reid writes spicy, escapist romances and Common Goal was 100% what I needed the last week of September. Like Reid’s other books in the Game Changers series, Common Goal is about sexy hockey player finding love. In this book, that sexy hockey player is Eric, a star goalie on the verge of retirement who can’t stop thinking about Kyle, the handsome, flirty bartender he met at a friend’s engagement party. Recently divorced and looking to explore his options as a single bisexual man, Eric turns to the younger and much more experienced Kyle for help getting back into the dating scene. And then feelings happen.

MUSIC

I don’t tend to like much country music, but I have always had a soft spot for The Chicks. They released their new album Gaslighter in late July and it was one of those well-timed situations where the music exactly fit my mood. I have probably listened to the song “Juliana Calm Down” 2-3 times every day for the past month. I also really enjoy “Sleep at Night” and the witchy video that goes along with it.

Here are all the new collages from the September group show at Gallery 9! I’m happy with how everything turned out and now that I’ve had some time to decompress, I’m hoping to start some new projects soon.

Favorite Things From July 2020: A snooty librarian, a forest spirit, and an extra-dimensional donkey

August 13, 2020 Meghan Stratman

Two weeks into August and I finally got around to writing about my favorite July things. Definitely blaming that one on my brain trying to balance art show prep, returning to the office, and dealing with all of the extremely bad things going on in the world right now. It’s pure brain chaos.

Anyway, here are some things I liked in July…

TV

DOOM PATROL (HBO)
Doom Patrol is bizarre. 75% of the time it’s good-bizarre, 15% of the time it’s bad-bizarre, and 10% of the time it’s jaw-droppingly great-bizarre. Just so you know what you are getting in to. This is a super hero show about a 1950s movie starlet who has frequently uncontrollable stretchy skin, a bandage-covered former test pilot who is possessed by an energy entity from space, a woman with multiple personalities each with their own power, a robot with the brain of a Florida race car driver, and Cyborg from the Justice League. They all live together in a big house and are looked over by Timothy Dalton. Season one includes a villainous omniscient narrator, a donkey that is also a portal to another dimension, and a spectacular karaoke scene in a drag club located on a sentient street. I have had such a fun time watching this show and there were moments where I was sitting there with giant eyes, saying to myself “I can’t believe this is happening this is AMAZING.” There was also a time that very nearly made me vomit, so you win some you lose some.

I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK (HBO)
I’m not much of a true crime connoisseur but I got really into this 6-part documentary series based on Michelle McNamara’’s book of the same name. The show focuses on the search for the Golden State Killer, a rapist and murderer who was active in the 70s and 80s in California. But what made this show interesting for me is that it also focuses heavily on Michelle McNamara’’s life as a citizen sleuth, combing through all the data she could get her hands on to try and solve the mystery from home. This search became an intense obsession for McNamara and deeply effected her life and factored into her unexpected death. The show also puts a lot of weight on the voices of the victims, working to reclaim their lives in the aftermath of the GSK attacks. It’s extremely hard to watch but I found it gripping.

BOOKS

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
Part one of a two part story, Silver in the Wood is a novella about Tobias, a supernatural forest guardian whose life is changed when he meets Henry, the new owner of the large estate that borders the woods. I loved the writing and nature-based mythology of this book and was charmed by the friendship that grows between Tobias and Henry.

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
A new Alexis Hall story is always cause for celebration. Boyfriend Material is a wonderful take on the “fake boyfriend” trope, with Luc, the son of two famous musicians, striking up a fake relationship with prim and proper barrister Oliver, in order to try and rehab his wild-child image. Like Hall’s other books, Boyfriend Material has a charming, funny, and engaging narrative voice and lots of great characters. I laughed so much while reading this book and would definitely recommend it.

Unhallowed by Jordan L Hawk
Unhallowed is the first book in a new series set in Jordan L Hawk’s eldritch Whyborne & Griffin universe. Sebastian Rath is a slightly snooty librarian working in the labyrinthine stacks of the Ladysmith museum. Vesper Rune is book binder with a supernatural secret. When Vesper starts work at the Ladysmith library, he and Sebastian become embroiled in a mystery as they try to find out what happened to the missing book binder that Vesper replaced. Like all of Hawk’s books, Unhallowed is extremely fast paced and fun to read.

One of my favorite elements of Unhallowed is that, at this point in the cannon, the New England town of Widdershins, where these stories are set, has seen so many strange events that everyone who lives there is completely inured to the supernatural and occult. The idea that a library wouldn’t place curses on their books or have a special room just for bats is baffling to Widdershin’s native Sebastian, which leads to lots of fun exchanges with Vesper, for whom all these things are incredibly strange.

I think you can read Unhallowed without having read all of the previous Whyborne & Griffin books. Just go in knowing that this town has seen 11+ books worth of supernatural eldritch shenanigans, everyone’s very used to magic and cosmic horrors, and not too long before the start of this story a nefarious cult took over Widdershins and tried to end the world.

Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Xeni is a sweet, low-angst romance with wonderful characters and great chemistry. There are no cruel fights or third-act betrayals, just two people falling in love and trying to make a relationship work amidst a bunch of complicated life hurdles. When Xeni’s aunt passes away, she leaves her niece a large inheritance. The catch is, in order to claim said inheritance, Xeni has to marry Mason, the sweet, burly musician who her aunt had befriended. Luckily, this “marriage of convenience” storyline never devolves into characters deceiving each other or lying about their feelings, which often seems to happen with this trope. Mason and Xeni are kind to each other and decide to enter into the marriage for their mutual benefit. When they start having “more than friends” sorts of feelings, they talk about it. When things get complicated, they talk about it. With the real world utterly full of chaos and drama, a book like this is an excellent escape.

I am in mega art mode right now getting ready for a September group show at Gallery 9 (more on that soon). In the mean time, here is a tribute to the movie HACKERS that I did for Gallery1988’s annual Crazy 4 Cult show. The original is available to purchase here. Hack the planet!

Favorite Things From June 2020: Monsters, Hackers, and a Hedgehog

July 6, 2020 Meghan Stratman

June was another blur of a month. I think I did some stuff? I can barely remember what day it is.

MOVIES & TV

DISCLOSURE
This Neflix documentary focuses on the history of trans representation in media and is definitely worth checking out. It shines a spotlight on the ways trans characters have been portrayed (or NOT portrayed) in film and television and also discusses the pressures and prejudices faced by trans actors and activists.

GAMES

WATCH DOGS 2
I finally got around to playing Watch Dogs 2 in June and mostly enjoyed it. The game focuses on a group of hackers, called Dedsec, who are out to stop the shady tech giants and politicians who are corrupting the world. I loved the various members of this rag-tag group and my favorites parts of the game were their conversations, interactions, and character-specific missions.

My biggest issue with WD2 is that the game can be played stealthy/non-lethal or explodey/guns blazing, and one of these options feels waaaaay less appropriate for the story. If you have your hackers going on about needing to protect The People and then rushing in and murdering a bunch of security guards at a server farm, things don’t sit quite right. I played extremely stealthy/non-lethally and constantly felt like the game was expecting me to play it differently. On multiple occasions I missed out on big action set-pieces because I sent my little remote-controlled robot into the enemy base instead of going in myself. The driving in WD2 is also a bit uneven; when I had a motorcycle it was great fun zipping through traffic, but any other vehicle was cumbersome and annoying to control.

Despite those issues though, I had a blast traversing the game’s beautifully rendered, very immersive recreation of San Francisco and sneakily hacking and roboting my way to victory. So a bit hit-and-miss, but overall a good game.

MONSTER PROM
I randomly came across Monster Prom while watching a gaming livestream on YouTube. It’s a silly, very meta dating sim where you try to romance various attractive monsters and convince one of them to go to prom with you. The humor in Monster Prom is definitely aimed at adults and is occasionally a bit dark, which suited me just fine. I laughed a lot. Weirdly, it kind of reminded me of hanging out with friends in college. The game is very quick to play, with 30 and 60-minute options, which is good since there are tons of different endings and storylines.

BOOKS

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Binti is a mathematical genius and the first of the Himba people to be accepted to Oomza University. She leaves home on a spaceship bound for the prestigious school, but the voyage goes wrong almost immediately with the arrival of the Meduse, an alien race in conflict with Oomza. In order to survive, Binti relies on her skills, the history of her people, and a magical artifact that allows her to communicate with the strange, tentacled aliens. This novella is only 96-pages long and in that short time Nnedi Okorafor manages to build a detailed, vivid world and a very memorable main character. Thumbs up.

Saga: Compendium One by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples
I finally got caught up on Saga in June, thanks to Compendium One which collects all of the current issues of the comic (1-54) into one heavy collection (seriously, this book is like 5lbs). Saga is about Marko and Alana, two soldiers from different sides of an endless, stupid planetary war. They fall in love, have a baby, and are forced to go on the run to escape a whole bunch of people who want them dead. The comic follows their adventures, along with the adventures of a bunch of other strange, messed up characters in this strange, messed up universe. There is excitement, romance, extreme violence, bizarre aliens, poignant drama, and a story/art combo that kept me engrossed through 1,300 pages. The art in this series is particularly noteworthy - Fiona Staples is one of my favorite comic artists and Saga is a feast for the eyes. The last issue ends on a HUUUUGE cliffhanger and now the comic is on a hiatus. Gah! *grabby hands*

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher
Rhea is the miller’s daughter, a 15 year old girl who spends her days keeping the grain hopper clear of mice and chasing away a vicious swan who keeps stealing her sandwiches. When a nobleman, Lord Crevan, shows up and proposes marriage, there isn’t much Rhea or her family can do to say no. Commoners don’t refuse lords. Crevan insists that Rhea visit his manor before the wedding, which leads the girl into a situation far worse than she expected, because Crevan is actually a sorcerer and his manor is filled with six other brides who have been the victims of his disturbing magic. The Seventh Bride is sort of a reimagining of the Bluebeard story, but the protagonist, along with the other women in the dark mansion, have far more agency and influence on the story. The book is occasionally really creepy but also includes plenty of T. Kingfisher’s brand of levity, particularly when it comes to Rhea’s unexpected hedgehog familiar.

Heartsong by T.J. Klune
There isn’t much I can say about Heartsong that will make any sense if you haven’t read the first two books in TJ Klune’s Green Creek series (this is book 3), so I’ll just point out that if you are in the mood for angsty, romantic, gay werewolf drama, these are the books for you. They are so good and SO ANGSTY.

One bit about Heartsong that I did want to mention is that the structure and the way the story is revealed is very effective. When I started to realize that what I thought was happening was NOT what was actually happening, I had a major “waaaaaait a minute” moment, which was great.

Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian
Two Rogues Make a Right is a soft, sweet romance about two friends since childhood who finally manage to admit their feelings for each other. When Will finds out that his best friend Martin is very sick and living in an attic, he more-or-less kidnaps the man and brings him to a small country cabin to recuperate. So we’ve got close quarters, pent up feelings, and only one bed. *chef’s kiss*

Two Rogues is the third book in Cat Sebastian’s Seducing the Sedgewicks series and since so much of the story is connected to events and characters from the previous books, it doesn’t stand too well on its own. But I enjoyed all three books in this series so I would recommend starting from the beginning. They are low-stress and a nice escape for a few hours.

Favorite Things From May 2020: Paladins, Shape-Shifters, and Swords

June 9, 2020 Meghan Stratman

I just wanted to start by saying that BLACK LIVES MATTER. I am struggling to find the right words and I think it’s better to point you to these videos from Kimberly Jones and Amber Ruffin and Trevor Noah. This country needs to radically change the racist, broken systems we have had for so long. If you can, please support some of these organizations and help the protestors, communities, and victims families: Bail funds for protestors, Black Lives Matter, NAACP, Breonna Taylor family fund. There are so many more organizations that need support than I have listed here - please seek them out.

With everything going on right now, I wasn’t sure if I should still write a blog about “favorite things”. But I rely on the consistency of a monthly blog to help me remember things I enjoyed and also as a time capsule and a journal. So I decided to still collect some good things from May, mostly just for future me.

MOVIES & TV

TRAIN TO BUSAN
This is probably not the best movie to recommend when the world is a garbage fire, but if you feel up to watching a very well made but also very grim Korean zombie film, Train to Busan is worth checking out. It made me genuinely gasp in surprise, clutch my blanket in tense moments, and do some particularly ugly crying.

BOOKS

Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher
Paladin’s Grace, another wonderful novel by T. Kingfisher, follows Stephen, a wayward paladin searching for direction after the death of his god, and Grace, a talented perfumer trying to overcome a troubled past and keep her shop afloat. These two meet for the first time in a grimy alley when Grace enlists Stephen’s help to hide from some over-zealous priests. The next time they meet, Grace and Stephen accidentally witness the attempted assassination of a prince. Thrust into the middle of a sinister plot that keeps bringing them together, the paladin and the perfumer fall in love. Paladin’s Grace has intrigue, pining, humor, stellar prose, and a troublesome civet cat named Tab. It is definitely Kingfisher’s most “romancey” novel (from what I have read of her work so far) and I loved it to bits.

Slippery Creatures by K.J. Charles
After serving in WWI, Will Darling returns to an England that has no use for him. Unable to find work, Will resorts to selling his war medals just to make ends meet. But when Will unexpectedly inherits his uncle’s used bookshop, it seems like things might finally be looking up. Immediately after taking over the shop however, criminals and war office officials start showing up demanding sensitive information that Will supposedly has in his possession. As Will is drawn deeper into the conflict and tries to find this mysterious document, he is aided by Kim, a charming stranger who is suspiciously eager to lend a hand. The plot thickens with all sorts of double-crossing, ulterior motives, peril, nefarious villains, kidnapping, and complicated desires. Charles skillfully mixes pulp adventure fiction and romance to create a book that I could not put down. I love all of KJ Charles’ books, but I think Slippery Creatures has got to be one of my favorites. I’ve read it twice already and I am so glad this is the start of a series - I want to spend more time with all of these characters.

A Phoenix First Must Burn
The contents of this great anthology are best summed up by the official description: “Sixteen tales by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic.” I really enjoyed the wide range of stories in this collection - reimagined folktales, contemporary paranormal, dystopian scifi - all featuring Black women and gender nonconforming main characters and mostly hopeful endings. A Phoenix First Must Burn introduced me to a number of authors that I definitely plan on seeking out for future reading.

Hexworld Series (Books 1-4) by Jordan L Hawk
Spirits Series (Books 1-3) by Jordan L Hawk
Whyborne & Griffin Series (Books 9-11) by Jordan L Hawk
I went on a bit of a Jordan L. Hawk bender in May. First off, I finally finished reading the 11 book Whyborne & Griffin series. While there are some rough bits in the earlier books, the series as a whole is a really solid collection of paranormal adventure stories with a memorable cosmic horror flavor. I love how all of the books tie together in the end and how the romance between the two main protagonists is not a constant rollercoaster of break-ups and conflict. By the end of book 5, Whyborne and Griffin have pretty well solidified their relationship and the subsequent books feature the two characters loving and supporting each other despite disagreements.

The moment I finished the final W&G book, I started reading Hawk’s Hexworld and Spirits series. All three of these series feature m/m romances and fast-paced supernatural adventures. Spirits focuses on two paranormal investigators in the late 1800s: Vincent Night, who uses the power of mediumship, and Henry Strauss, who uses scientific inventions. In book 1, Restless Spirits, their methods are 100% at odds as both men try to make contact with ghosts in an extremely haunted mansion. Of course, since this is a romance, their animosity quickly turns to passion. With the help of Henry’s super sciency teenage niece Jo and Vincent’s partner Lizzie, this small found family proceeds to go on further adventures in a small haunted town (Dangerous Spirits) and an equally haunted orphanage (Guardian Spirits). These books are a lot of fun and occasionally quite creepy and three stories connect together really nicely. Content warning: Restless Spirits contains a character being outed against their will and homophobia from the villain that was hard to read, so keep that in mind.

The Hexworld books take place in a turn-of-the-twentieth-century New York filled with witches and their familiars (people who can shape-shift into animals). When a familiar and a witch bond, they are able to power magical spells called “hexes” (hence the hex-related titles for all these books). For every familiar, there is one special witch with whom their magic is most compatible, a scenario that of course leads to romance. The protagonists of Hexworld all either work for or have some connection to the Metropolitan Witch Police. Since these are relatively short, fast-paced stories, almost all of the romances are fast burn, with people falling in love over the span of days. But with all of the plots revolving around solving time-sensitive cases, there really isn’t time for weeks/months/years of pining (with the exception of book 4 which features two characters who pine steadily through books 1-3). My only gripe with this series is the near complete lack of female characters. Whyborne & Griffin and Spirits, while still featuring male protagonists, include really strong supporting women. Hexworld barely has any women at all.

He’s Come Undone: A Romance Anthology
He’s Come Undone is an entertaining anthology focusing on starchy, buttoned-up men falling in love and losing control. My favorite stories in the collection are Cat Sebastian’s Tommy Cabot Was Here, about two boarding school roommates reconnecting as middle-aged adults and giving into years of pent-up feelings; Olivia Dade’s Unraveled, about a meticulous math teacher falling for his co-worker, an art teacher who has a side-business making murder dioramas; and Adriana Herrera’s Caught Looking, about best friends who have an accidental night of passion and a whole lot of feelings to figure out afterwards. These are fun, escapist romances to take your mind off things for a little while.

Starcrossed by Allie Therin
Book two in Therin’s Magic in Manhattan series, Starcrossed continues the story of Arthur, the son of a rich and powerful political family who spends his days protecting the world from magical artifacts, and Rory, a reclusive, stubborn psychic who can touch an object and see it’s history. While the two men team up and fall in love in the first book, Starcrossed establishes that they still have a lot of things to figure out about their relationship. And they have to do this while a group of paranormal bad guys are causing mayhem, Rory’s power is becoming uncontrollable, and Arthur has to escort his ex to a wedding. This series is a fun blend of prohibition era paranormal adventure and romance and I would definitely recommend it.

ART

I have been severely lacking in any sort of art motivation for the past few months, but I finally managed to do some drawing in May and muster up the motivation to make this little set of pop culture sword collages. I like how they turned out.