WIN A BOOK, and other important updates!

In case you missed it, I'm partnering with the Bay Area Book Festival and giving away a copy of The Reformatory by Tananarive Due! (Also if you're able to attend the festival, you get a meet and greet!) To enter: like this post and tag a friend.

Panels and Reading Updates

If you missed the news, I will be moderating an Indigenous romance panel at the festival this year!

Here are the books I'm reading in preparation:

Native Love Jams by Tashia Hart

When Stars Have Teeth by Dani Trujilo

Heartbeat Braves by Pamela Sanderson

I'm also moderating a chat at a local bookstore on June 6, with author Élan Les Vies, to celebrate his new book The Lemon Twist, so I'll be reading that this month, too!

Moderating at Bookcon was a dream! I was very prepared! (I read 8 thrillers in like 8 days!) and people even told me it was their favorite panel of the entire weekend!

I am very behind on book club books and the Toni Morrison read along and I don't see that improving much in May! (Thank GOD I leave the discord channels up for months, because I am the problem now, lol) I should have May's channels up this weekend.

I am also covering for coworker who's going to be out for 3 months, on deadline for an essay due in June, the Stanford Pow Wow is approaching, Florence and The Machine is in 2 weeks! and I'm hitting the road on Memorial Day weekend. You could say IM BOOKED AND BUSY!

While I may be participating less in bookclubs this month, my goal is to run Reading Sprints at least twice a week in the Discord! (TONIGHT 4pm PST/7pm EST)

When I was in NYC, I wanted to treat myself for all of my recent accomplishments. AND I DID. And the day after.... MY MACBOOK AIR crashed. Lmao. LIFE. I'm going to be listing a TON of special editions (probably everything except the horror) to Pango and a lot of other books to Pango to help me pay for a new laptop. I can't write this essay without a laptop. So if you're not following me on Pango yet, follow me now!

I brought 74 books home from NYC, so I'll likely unhaul 100 books in addition to the special editions. I have to start being more realistic about what I actually am going to read.

If you don't see anything on Pango that you want, but you want to support the new laptop fund, buy any book you want from my bookshop link (easily accessible by clicking on any book in this post.) I get a small percentage (usually $1-2 per book) but they do add up and everything helps. AND IF YOU HAVEN'T PREORDERED WHAT FEEDS BELOW YET...baby, now is the time! LOL.

Let me know if you want a more detailed blog post about my time in NYC: publisher parties, Bookcon, What Feeds Below arc handout!, Bookshopping, Megan Thee Stallion on Broadway!

Friends,

our first book hasn’t even hit the shelves yet, and now our second book has back copy! I don’t know if I’m supposed to share this (lolz, always choose asking for forgiveness/ permission) and it’s not final but check her out!

I’m so excited to share because I feel I haven’t been able to share much!

Cracks in an Ocean of Glass by Kristy Park Kulski

Wherever she goes, the dead walk with her.

Some histories have the power to possess us.

 Dark strands of hair crack the corners of my sight, suspended as always in the air, spidering and floating as if in liquid. Mul-gwishin. Water ghost.

Korean-American teen Gracie Russell feels she belongs nowhere. In suburban 1990s Washington, she is constantly at sea, struggling with her biracial identity, her father’s violent alcoholism, and her mother’s looming mortality. When Ji-eun dies, Gracie will lose the chance to mend their uneasy relationship. But Gracie can feel Ji-eun slipping away, pulled by the tides of memory back to authoritarian 1970s South Korea and a past so drowned in sorrow it conjures a mul-gwishin—a Korean water ghost.

As Ji-eun’s body weakens and the autumn rains fall in torrential sheets, the sound of dripping water haunts Gracie, bringing with it unsettling visions. Cracks form in the basement wall, exposing a crumbling passageway to a sea of liquid darkness, and Gracie is running out of time. And the mul-gwishin is coming for her.

For readers of Catriona Ward and Han Kang, Cracks in an Ocean of Glass is a new vision of heritage, violence, and the histories that possess us from Korean-American author Kristy Park Kulski.

 Ahhhhhhh! Thoughts? Hopefully early cover art coming soon!

Thank you so much for supporting this imprint!

If you haven’t had a chance to see the arcs yet, prepare yourselves!

One of my favorite parts of the book are the epigraphs! Each chapter adds so much to the Void lore!

I want to share one of my favorites!

Let me know if you’re ready to dive into the Void!

Friends,

I'm back from New York and slowly adjusting! I've got Bookcon updates and more for you! I admit I am behind on EVERYTHING and might be that way for the next month! I'm behind on bookclub- our readalong- our calendar- and content LOL (though I do have TWO BIG surprises for paid subscribers later today)

Each month, I select one day for us to support an indie bookshop as a community and what more perfect day that INDIE BOOKSTORE DAY!

This month, we are supporting Quiet Quail Books, an Indigenous owned bookstore located in San Bernardino! All purchases through bookshop support both Quiet Quail Books (an Indigenous bookshop) and this imprint!

One of the things I love about being a book content creator is sharing curated lists! I've attached some books to this post for easy clicking, but I've also created some lists. And if you don't like any of those, once you click on my bookshop link, you can buy anything and it will support Quiet Quaill!

Must Read Women in Horror

Must Read Indigenous Horror

Must Read Indigenous Romance

Must Read Indigenous Fantasy/Sci Fi

Must Read Indigenous Thriller and Mystery

From The Mixed Up Desk Indigenous Faves

Also, what a perfect day to pre-order What Feeds Below! <3 (Speaking of What Feeds Below, paid subscribers- give me an hour and a very cool sneak peek is coming!)

Friends, the goodies are here!

Our preorder campaign kicks off now!

I selected What Feeds Below as our first book because it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read.

Once you pick this book up, it’s almost impossible to put down. We’ve already hit over 200 reviews on Netgalley and still have a 5⭐️ rating, which is no easy feat! A recent review said WFB is like “a dark Indiana Jones!” If you’ve read it early on Netgalley and reviewed, thank you! Each and every one of you are responsible for this book’s success! Your support has meant everything!

There are well over 2,000 of you here now! 2,000 of you who support this imprint, our mission to publish diverse and underrepresented voices, our authors. If each and every one of you pre-ordered What Feeds Below right now, not only would you unlock ALL of the goodies (and Tatiana would get her pen!) but this book could get media attention (hype can lead to TV or Movie deals, video games!) , this book could hit a bestseller list! (And it deserves to!) Imagine, a book that was passed on by trad, hitting the list because readers banded together and were responsible for an indie published book hitting a bestseller list!

I know that asking people to spend money right now is a big ask, but if you can afford the $16, your early support could change the entire trajectory of this book, and in turn Tatiana’s career. I haven’t met anyone(outside of me lol) who hustles harder than Tatiana, and early support could impact her financial future.

Pre-ordering books is another way to be a good literary citizen.

Our short term goal is 1,000 preorders. We have a long way to go. Let’s work together to make What Feeds Below a huge success!

My bookshop link is support ling Quiet Quail Books this month, an Indigenous owned bookstore.

If you have taken part in any Mia Ballard discussion, I would like you to watch this video, which confirms what many of us suspected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8wFC1EQ2Yk

This isn't about whether or not Mia Ballard used AI in any part of the book's process.

This is about a witch hunt.

This is about marginalized authors who will suffer the consequences of these witch hunts.

This is about the lack of journalistic integrity.

This is about piracy.

This is about marketing and sales of AI detection tools.

This is about publisher's looking to make money quickly. This is about a publisher's responsibility not only to their authors, but to readers.

This is about book content creators who have enough time to spend making a 3 hour video on a witch hunt, without providing any actual proof, to farm engagement for their otherwise sleepy page.

If your response to this video is "okay, but she still used AI and therefore deserves any and all ramifications" I do not believe you are capable of critical thinking. There are larger issues at hand here than whether or not she used AI.

Yes, Mia Ballard and her career and her mental health are all at the core, but how easily this could happen to anyone else?

Since this situation has been trending, I've seen numerous authors use Mia's downfall to market their own books, " My book doesn't have AI" "Want an AI free book?" "I worked really hard on this all on my own!"

Classless and truly desperate.

I've unhauled every single one and won't ever read them again.

I also think this is going to get much worse. A 3 hour YouTube video dissecting something you think is AI slop? We should not welcome these folks into the book space.

This is about the collective demand for "justice" at the expense of humanity.

You can be staunchly against generative AI use and not be the police.

Hi All,

This month, any purchase from my Bindery (through Bookshop . org ) supports Quiet Quail Books, an Indigenous bookstore in Southern California.

Quiet Quail Books

Quiet Quail Books is a California Indigenous-owned bookseller located in San Bernardino, CA. Quiet Quail Books curates book lists and book sales of various Indigenous authored books and diverse books across all genres. Our goal is to get as many quality Indigenous authored books into people's hands and communities. We are a digital online store, do pop-up bookstores in person on a monthly basis, and have a bookstore hybrid office in San Bernardino, CA. Every book you purchase from our list helps us towards funding our supplies for our pop-up schedule. Thank you so much for your support! 

To find out more information about our office and other interests, visit our website: quietquailbooks.com

First, let's talk book club books.

Regrettably, I DNFed The Year of the Witching. This one just was not for me.

I made it to the last quarter of The Night Watchman and then was confirmed to moderate Bookcon and all plans changed. I then was confirmed to moderate Bay Area Book Festival.

My immediate reading priority: read all of the panel for Bookcon, finish The Night Watchman, read April's bookclub books, start reading the panel for May!

So far I've read:

Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass

This one was a small town thriller with a missing husband who could be an attacker, and a senior community with a podcast who helped solve it all. ADORED.

Sundown Girls by LS Stratton

This was a YA thriller with a supernatural bent and focus on the history of sundown towns. UNPUTDOWNABLE. Kept you guessing to the very end.

How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine

Also a YA thriller with slashers. Fans of My Heart is a Chainsaw will love the movie references in this one! This one also has a bit of a supernatural bent.

You guys, I've already lost track of the body count! It's A LOT.

I'm currently reading Who's All Going by Lisa Springer

Another YA thriller! These have all been so great. This one is has influencers, a resort, a wellness cult. Hard to put down.

Have you read any of these?

Hello All,

As a reminder, today is the absolute last day to get a 15% discount on my Must Reads Indigenous Books list .

If you see anything not already on your bookshelf, please buy it! My hope is that this sale is successful and Bookshop continues to offer us discounts! (I have so many more lists I want to create!)

As a reminder, any order purchased today supports Black Walnut Books, an Indigenous queer woman owned bookstore.

Tomorrow, we change bookstores!

Last Call!

Today is the last day to upgrade to a paid membership to receive What Feeds Below Benefits!