Since I really enjoyed writing up my 2022 year-in-review, I thought it would be fun to start doing monthly posts along those lines! I also used to share a lot of book recommendations on my Instagram account, but I’ve had less time for lately, so this is also my way to get back to sharing books I loved. I’ll include them at the end of each post. :)
Kelsea’s writing desk with writer mug and celebratory carrot cake for her first sale of 2023 (“Huoguo” essay)!
ESSAYS GALORE!
2023 kicked off with a bang! On New Year Day, I received an acceptance from Sarah Gailey for my very first nonfiction piece: an essay on my family’s hot pot tradition and community care! We decided to slot it in to publish around Lunar New Year, so parts of the first week of January were spent compiling a hot pot recipe with my mom and working on edits for it. My mom painted a gorgeous piece to accompany it. “Huoguo” was published through The Personal Canons Cookbook on January 25, and it is available to read for free!
I took my mom’s painting on a walk around the area and snapped photos of it for Instagram, which was amusing!
And then…inspiration for another essay hit later this month when I saw the submission guidelines for Psychopomp. I typed up an essay in a frenzy (the same way I did for “Huoguo”), fixed it up over the next few days, and sent it in. The next day, I received an acceptance! “The Gateway Back to Gothic” will be published via the Psychopomp newsletter in late February/early March, then posted on their website at a later date!
Huoguo Painting by Pearl Yu
Cover of Reckoning, Issue 7
SHORT STORIES!
My first sci-fi / cli-fi story, “A Scarcity of Sharks,” was published in Reckoning 7, released via ebook early this month! It will be available in print form in July (preorder here) and free to read online in September.
The origin story: a few years ago, I was working on a horror novel. As part of the research for it, I read 23 nonfiction books on sharks, diving, oceans, and marine biology. Though I decided to set aside the novel (and hopefully return to it in the future!), all this info was sitting in my head…along with a torrent of emotions that came from reading about what we’re doing to our oceans. From there, this story was born. I ended up pouring a lot of that knowledge and those feelings into “A Scarcity of Sharks,” and I’m really proud of it. I’m so glad it found a wonderful home!
Early in the month, I revised another cli-fi piece I had written in late December, then submitted it to a dream venue. Fingers crossed!
I also started a new coastal horror story I’m really excited about. It’s threatening to be a longer piece (as often happens with my short stories), but I’m trying to keep it reigned in as a short story, for now!
NOVEL REVISIONS!
Aside from the above, my writing time this month was spent working on revisions for It’s Only a Game! I reread and reverse-outlined my manuscript, sent it to my editor for notes, and then started drafting the scenes we’re adding to the book. I’m really excited about all the changes we’re making. I was already proud of the story, and I think Camille’s vision is going to make it even stronger!
I also got info about my cover memo and author questionnaire, which is exciting. And I started looking into photographers for my official author photos!
Aesthetic for IT’S ONLY A GAME
Cover of Space & Time, Issue 142
OTHER BITS AND BOBS!
A few other random bits: I met up with Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito, which was really fun! Frances gave me a copy of Space & Time Issue 142, where she’d interviewed me for a six-pack author feature.
January was also a bit of a wild month for reading submissions, since three venues I’m reading for were open! I read lots of great stories and am excited to see the final line-up for each magazine/anthology.
One thing I’m proud of is that I worked toward a big 2023 goals of mine: to support fellow BIPOC writers in various ways. I reviewed some BIPOC-authored books I loved, critiqued several queries for BIPOC writers, and shared BIPOC-authored book recommendations (both on social media & in my forthcoming gothic essay).
January was busy, but it was exciting busy! We ended the month with a huoguo dinner and cake, an early celebration of my baby’s first birthday. :)
JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS
Published “A Scarcity of Sharks” (ebook)!! | cli-fi story published in Reckoning ebook (print: July | free online: Sep)
Sold & Published “Huǒguō”! | essay published in The Personal Canons Cookbook
Sold “The Gateway Back to Gothic”! | essay + book recommendations to be published by Psychopomp
Wrote | revised cli-fi story | began revisions for It’s Only a Game | co-wrote & revised hot pot recipe with my mom | revised “Huoguo” essay | started new coastal horror story | wrote “The Gateway Back to Gothic” essay
Interviewed | Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito interviewed me in Space & Time Issue 142
Blurbed | 2 books: Linghun by Ai Jiang & The Merry Dredgers by Jeremy C. Shipp
Critiqued for friends | 1 short story, 6 query letters, 4 various other
Read 53 submissions | combined for Dark Matter Presents: Monster Lairs, Dark Matter Magazine, khōréō magazine
Reviewed 23 books | Netgalley, Goodreads, etc.
JANUARY RECOMMENDED READS
This month, I read 13 books! Here were a few of my favorites:
Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong | a heartfelt and thought-provoking collection of essays by a wide range of disabled authors that covers a vast range of topics and experiences
Linghun by Ai Jiang | a haunting horror novella about grief and so much more that will linger with readers for years to come
Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor | a nostalgic, coming-of-age horror novel that’s impossible to put down and boasts an unforgettable cast
Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao | a stunning epic fantasy novel that both broke my heart and pieced it back together again
She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran | a fast-paced, creepy and thoughtful YA horror novel that explores family and identity in a haunted house in Vietnam
Unquiet Spirits edited by Lee Murray & Angela Yuriko Smith | a beautiful, brilliant collection of essays by Asian women in horror that tore my soul apart in the best way
The Merry Dredgers by Jeremy C. Shipp | a trippy horror novella with a mashup of cults and carnivals that was wildly fun and impossible to put down
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo | the sequel to Ninth House that absolutely delivered with more delightfully dangerous dark academia