Happy New Year + New Book Update! 💖⚙️📚
Starting off 2025 with fun book news! 🎉
Hello and Happy New Year!
I hope however you spent New Year’s that you spent it exactly as you wished! Personally, I prefer staying in to watch Twilight Zone while curling up under lots of blankets and having something fun to drink. The temperature finally dropped here, and all I want to do is be cozy while it’s icy outside! Though I’m not superstitious, on New Year’s Day, I make Hoppin’ John for luck, just as my mom taught me. It’s a fun tradition to share with my family and our house smells amazing while we’re cooking.
In book-related news, at the time of this writing I’m about 20% done with my first read-through and revisions notes for my WIP. I’m really excited about getting this story ready for readers and I can’t wait to share more soon!
While 2024 certainly was a wild year with some heartbreaks and challenges that I’d like to leave behind, I also was really fortunate to experience some amazing things as I touched on in my 2024 Author Wrapped. I’m choosing to leave the bad behind that I can and focus on the good going into 2025. (I don’t say this lightly. I’m not the kind of person who will say, “Oh, just think positive and everything will be fine.” For me, choosing joy and creativity is my favorite kind of punk.)
While working on the above collage, I quickly realized the pictures don’t even come close to covering all the adventure of last year. A few highlights included attending the Chicago Steampunk Expo, library author fairs, my first school visit, my first book signing, TeslaCon, and meeting my current critique group while at the Nebula Conference.
I also got to meet Swen Vincke, the team lead for Baldur's Gate 3, while at the Nebulas! A new friend had to talk me into saying hi, but I’m so glad I did!💖 I’m (im)patiently waiting for the dates for next year’s conference so I can finalize my plans to go back! From what I’ve heard, it’s going to be much closer to home for me in 2025.
I’m thankful for all of the opportunities that I’ve had, but most of all, I’m most grateful for the connections I’ve made with readers, authors, cosplayers, and all kinds of wonderful creatives. I truly believe that community and creativity are more vital than ever going into 2025.
A Wickedly Dangerous Update
My newest book, The Clockwork Coffin, comes out on July 1st, 2025! Did you know that it’s part of a series of twisted fairy tale retellings written by different authors? While the books are all completely standalone, all share the same theme of reimagining classic and obscure fairy tales.
The official series page just went live, and while it’s nowhere near finished updating, you can check out three of the announced books here. I’ll share more information about the series in the months ahead!
For more details about The Clockwork Coffin (and why pre-orders matter so much) check out this post!
Upcoming January Events
Here are a few steampunk, sci-fi, and fantasy events that are happening both virtually and around Central Iowa. If you want to begin 2025 with more whimsy, check out this list:
Chrononaut Cotillion 2024: hosted by the BrassGears Adventurers Society on Saturday, January 4th at 8 pm at the Holiday Inn Northwest, 4800 Merle Hay Road, Urbandale IA. Click here for tickets!
DMSFFS Winter SACC: gaming and other fun activities hosted by Des Moines Science Fiction & Fantasy Society from Friday, January 3rd, to Sunday, January 5th, at at the Holiday Inn Northwest, 4800 Merle Hay Road, Urbandale IA. (Same hotel as the BrassGear’s ball!) Click here for details.
Temporal Textual Talks: steampunk book club hosted by Madame Askew and Bill Bodden will be held virtually on Sunday, January 19th. The first book of 2025 is His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. You don’t have to finish the book to participate in the discussion here. For the full list of next year’s book club reads, check out this post. (Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast is August’s book of the month! 🎉)
Happy reading!
Kelsey
