May 2022 Dispatch

Spring is here, for most of us northern hemisphere folks. Happy autumn to those below the equator. Since I’ve had some new signups trickling in, a quick refresher on how this blog works:

The first Monday of every month I write a Dispatch. That’s what you’re reading now. I talk about what I worked on that month and what I watched. This is also where I’ll talk about upcoming convention appearances, upcoming book release dates, and so on. In general, if I don’t talk about a project, it means nothing is happening on that project right now. It is important to me that you guys know when I have things coming out, so rest assured that I will let you know about anything I’m releasing.

In case for some reason you feel like following me somewhere other than Twitter (hmm), I’m on Mastodon as @kyellgold@vulpine.club. There’s been an uptick in activity there and I’ll try to stay engaged there (it helps if other people are engaged there too!).

So, April! In April I worked on getting Return From Divalia in shape to send out to Caribou, the artist who did the covers to all the other Argaea books, whom I hope to engage for the cover of this one too. I also kept working on my Patreon stories, Ty The Knot (for $20 and up patrons, updated monthly) and Robin and Son (for $5 patrons and up, updated weekly). I got good feedback on The Price of Thorns, and in May I’ll be working on getting a near-final draft of that put together.

Meanwhile, in the area of “books I’ve already finished,” Unfinished Business is getting some more nice reviews from mainstream review sites. It comes out on July 5th, just after AnthroCon (I think) where FurPlanet will have pre-release copies for sale. And I’ve just approved the audiobook of The War and the Fox, by the same narrator as The Demon and the Fox, to go live, so you should see it on your favorite audiobook retailer in 2-4 weeks. I’ve got to review the audiobook of The Mysterious Affair of Giles, which is done, and then submit that to the audiobook platforms.

I watched “One Mississippi,” Tig Notaro’s sitcom from around 2016, and enjoyed it. It has a lot in common with “Somebody Somewhere,” and not just because it’s an earnest sort-of comedy about a queer person returning to a conservative town to deal with a family death. There’s a lot of subtle humor in it and really good quirky characters, and ultimately it goes through some rough times before ending in a good place.

I also watched a couple movies. “Promising Young Woman” was an Oscar nominee, as was Carey Mulligan in the lead role. I found this movie interesting because it features a lot of very funny people—Bo Burnham, Sam Richardson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Max Greenfield—being by and large not all that funny. There are quirky aspects to the drama and some humor in it, and in general I think it’s best categorized as a dark fantasy. I liked it, and some of the scenes will definitely stick with me.

“Inside Man” has been on my list for a while, ever since I was looking up heist movies. It’s got Clive Owen and Denzel Washington as a robber and cop, respectively, and a pretty interesting heist plot. But the strength of a Spike Lee movie rests in the characters, and here they don’t disappoint. In their few scenes together, Owen and Washington forge a connection that we can see forming by watching them separately. Each one is meticulous and intuitive at what they do. I’d recommend this one if you’re interested in heist movies for sure.

If the weather’s getting nicer for you, what have you got planned for May?