One of us! One of us! One of us!
You’re getting this delightful bonus newsletter because January is MONSTROSITY shopping month! For these few weeks, you’ll get a sneak peek at the weekly newsletters paying MONSTROSITY Hoard members get all year long.
Hoard perks include:
BIG THINKS on hot topics in science fiction and fantasy + BOOK RECS with my thoughts on everything I read
CREATURE FEATURES with gorgeous illustrated downloadable wallpapers and written profiles on fantastical creatures each quarter
Random GIVEAWAYS for books and more
ADVANCE COPIES of my new releases + SNEAK PEEKS at what I'm working on now
So if you love what you read, join us! The price is reduced throughout January, but it’s going up every week. Right now, you can still get it for $21, 30% off the usual $30.
But next week, the price will go up.
Big Think
Trump just got impeached again and that’s major, but we did doom and gloom last week … so this week, we’re coping with escapism.
One of my favorite things about the start of a new year is the look ahead at the most exciting new books just around the corner. As I look at the lists emerging for 2021’s most anticipated titles in speculative fiction, here’s a few of the books I’m the MOST excited about:
Star Eater by Kerstin Hall
This book promises to go deeeep into the territory of the dark and the weird. It features a sisterhood sort of like nuns, except they are the guardians of the magical bloodline. Full of espionage, court grandeur and conspiracy, with a little blood-magic-inspired cannibalism thrown in for good measure. I’m so there.
A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson
Continuing the gothic trend that I loved so much in 2020, this horror novel focuses on the brides of Dracula. From what I gather, the vibe is gorgeous writing + gore + mind games.
Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders
Anders won me over forever with the complex worldbuilding, startling originality and nuanced characters of her previous novel, A City in the Middle of the Night. I’ll follow her anywhere now. Doesn’t hurt that this young adult found family space opera promises aliens, intergalactic war, and top-tier action.
Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
In this Jamiacan-inspired fantasy, two rival witches must work together to take down a common enemy. Read for ritual sacrifice, badass magical women, and poetic writing. Also the cover is g o r g e o u s.
The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu
The blurb for this one crosses Sixth Sense and Stranger Things, and I don’t what that looks like but it makes me giddy. Apparently, we’re in for a seedy underworld hiding within Edinburgh, teeming with monsters. Yes, yes, yes.
In conclusion, it appears I’m still on a bender for anything dark, gothic or bloody. What are you excited to read this year?
Out of Context
It feels like time for a sneek peek at what I’m writing. Here’s a little peek at a DEPARTURES, my young adult dystopian novel currently searching for its publishing home. Enjoy a page of early-story worldbuilding!
Reading
More progress! Yes, YES, I am closing in, closing in on every last one of their little pages. These books will pay. Every last one of them.
I can’t take full credit—The Power of Habits and Conjure Women both slipped off my Libby before I got through them, so back in line they go, to be completed at a later date. I’m counting it as a win for minimalism. But in the meantime, I’m happy to have Notorious RBG back in my headphones, because I lost that to Libby deadlines mid-read in December. The cycle of life, I guess?
I also recently finished the totality of Veronica Mars in one great, continuous, gulp over the last couple weeks, and wow. I knew it had a loyal fandom, but I wasn’t ready —this story seized hold of me and would not let go. And the conclusion of the final season left me c r u s h e d. Just dead. Still recovering. The incredible power of these characters and the imprint they have left on me is something I may write about in future, once I’ve managed to gain some perspective.
If you haven’t watched it and want to drown yourself in a study of character evolution and chemistry, this is a great place to turn. Or if you just want a show that will be a wholly absorbing, wild ride. I apologize in advance for all the feels you’ll be dealing with after the final conclusion—drop me a note and we’ll process together, because I will definitely still be processing.
Mood
My January Whole30 clean eating spree is going super fantastic, why do you ask.
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E. J. Wenstrom is the award-winning SFF author of the Chronicles of the Third Realm War series. Start with Mud.