Hi friends,

I've had a kaleidoscope of a last few weeks—bright, shifting, perhaps a little dizzying. I'm back home after some travel, where I had the joy of seeing both old friends and new, toasting the release of Orange Wine, and, somewhere between city lights and the hum of a cab, holding my friend Natalia's hand, and after a year of unemployment, I (finally) got a job offer. One that will have me back in an office, five days a week.

Yeah, things are changing. 

I'd have to say that, strangely, I'm more excited than nervous right now. I say 'strangely' because, as an anxiety girlie, change for me often comes cloaked in worry. And to be clear, there is still some of that happening. (Primarily, I'm worried about the parking situation at my new office, having to buy a new car, and having to wake up at employed people hours.) (Did I mention my car was stolen? lol, yeah, I'm ready for this season to be over.)

I don't imagine much will change about what I share across the Internet. Or honestly, it's likely you'll start to see a return to our regularly scheduled programming. That's usually the way with me.

Periods of unemployment always make me think about content creation as a potential job, but the truth is, I'm not built for it. I don't know how to speak on a schedule—only when I feel like I have something to say. And in seasons of stress, the kind anyone navigating this brutal job market is definitely experiencing, my creative well tends to run dry. (Funnily enough, the last thing I wrote on Substack, before moving everything over to Bindery, was about that exact feeling. Not long after posting that, I landed a job—the same one that would lay me off at the end of last year.)

It is amazing how quickly just the promise of stability has that familiar hum returning, the quiet itch to write, to read, to share, to reach out again, the words returning from the parts of my brain that were locked in worry mode exclusively. 

So, standby. Changes loading. 

Speaking of change (what a smooth transition), there's one more update I'm excited to share, this time about Bindery.

Bindery is rolling out an update to its membership tiers: Members will now receive ARCs (advance reader copies) of my imprint's books instead of finished copies.

What that means:

📚 $5 members will receive an e-ARC

📚 $12+ members will receive an e-ARC and a physical ARC

I teased this to everyone in my Discord (a perk of joining one of my paid tiers), and we talked a little about whether that felt like an additive benefit, or at least not a subtractive one. Every imprint either reached out to their members or ran polls, and overwhelmingly, people were in favor of receiving ARCs. 

The way I see it? This means there's less time between helping me choose a book and actually holding it in your hands. The Bindery ARCs are of excellent quality, and having early readers like you makes a huge difference. We need as much early buzz as we can generate to make sure our titles are claiming shelf space and finding readers, which in turn will allow us to keep publishing books. (If you prefer finished copies, Bindery is also exploring member-only discounts so you can still snag one on release day.)

This change is going into place with our very next book, Our Sister's Keeper by Jasmine Holmes. 

I know I say this every time, but for real, for real, I cannot wait for you all to read this book. And it's been pure joy to watch the early reviews roll in, and to see it landing with readers in the same way it landed for me. 

For my current $5+ members (Handsome Enough to Tempt Me, Tides Much Fiercer, and A Ship of Our Own Making), there's no action needed on your part! 

If you aren't a current member or want to upgrade to get a physical ARC of Our Sister's Keeper, be sure to upgrade your membership by October 31st. 

I got my ARC copies just before I hopped on a plane to New York, and can confirm, they are beautiful. 

Sending you all some receiving some good news in hard times, a positive change, a dream of better outcomes, and the joy of good book mail energy.

Thank you, as always, a million times for supporting my journey here and for being the reason I can publish books like The Unmapping, Orange Wine, Our Sister's Keeper, and (as I work on the very first steps of this project), Headspace. 

♥️

Mari