Does anybody have a MAP? (I DO!)

Hi friends,

(If you know the title reference, props).

Ever since I announced that I’m publishing THE GREAT TREE OF IRIS on October 21, 2025, everything has been absolutely wild and wonderful and topsy-turvy. Like, it’s hard to keep up right now. My head is spinning and I feel so grateful and scared all at once. More about that another time.

BUT, I have some big news to share below and ART, TOO, that I have not yet posted on Ye Olde Internets, because you get the first look as my newsletter readers!

So, I’ve been working on TGTOI for 2.5 years now, and the very first day I wrote, I sketched a rough map (below - DON’T WORRY IT’S NOT FINAL, KEEP READING 😆). I added all the things I wanted to see in a fantasy world: sunflower fields, waterfalls, tons of mountains, an “exact location unknown,” an island shaped roughly like the moon. You know, just normal writer things.

I eventually migrated the map over to Paint (see below). Every time I showed a loved one or beta reader, they would actually laugh at it. It’s chaotic, I KNOW. I decided to joke about it rather than take offense, and always reference this meme (I have mild depression so I’m okay joking about it):

Enter my search for a mapmaker, because every fantasy book HAS to have a map at the beginning, right? RIGHT? I know I’m not the only one of you who has poured over J.R.R. Tolkien’s maps (by the way, if you love those, have you read The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon? Not only are they amazing fantasies but THE. MAPS. Heavy breathing).

I found @shepengul on Fiverr and was so taken with her style, I had to hire her (here’s her website). Y’all, every time I got an update of the map in progress, it was like opening the best birthday gift. The map below, which is one of two final versions, will be at the very beginning of TGTOI (!!!) in black and white (it might be small especially if you’re reading this on your phone, but don’t worry, you’ll be able to see it in October in the book, with even more texture!). I’m not crying. Actually, I am.

But that is NOT ALL. I loved what Shepengul has done with other map decorative borders, and I asked her to draw some of the symbolism from the book, as you can see above (the bottom left is sun phases, and the top right is moon phases, btw. My book has a solar magic system ☀️🌛).

People who buy direct from me, online or at events, will also receive an exclusive double-sided bookmark!!! (I’m probably going to put the name of the book etc. on the left side in the circle).

Heavy breathing again - okay, I got that out of my system for now. For now. Didn’t she do the most absolutely stunning work?

Now you understand that first GIF I shared. I’m freaking out.

-Uh, like I said, April has already been absolutely wild, and until October, that train is not going to slow (cover art! Preorder announcement! Character art! My first copies! Stay tuned).

-I announced this on Instagram first because I was so dang excited, but I’m thrilled to share that the first chapter of Pirate Princess (title TBA) was a finalist in a first chapter contest for Bardsy, and has now been published in an anthology! That’s right, I’m officially a published author! I don’t know when my second book will be done (deep in developmental edits), but I’m absolutely thrilled that so many people are excited about it. Thank you for loving my pirate and princess in advance. 🥲

You can read my first chapter and the other finalists in ebook or paperback from the ‘zon!

-Upcoming Events: I’m featuring for 8 minutes at Poetpalooza next week! So excited to be in community with poets all around the NJ/PA area. Planning out which poems I’m going to read this year is DAUNTING, but I think I’m ready. Haven’t shared those two on the internet yet.

-Right now, TGTOI is with my proofreader and formatter, Cathrine, and I should be getting the book back this week! I just saw a sneak peek of the illustrations she’s made for me! I have never had chill, and I most certainly do not have it now.

Watching: Julia on MAX, a two-season drama about Julia Child. Helloooo, I was upset to find out tonight it has been cancelled. Watching a childfree woman in her 50s who has a large body (like mine) gain fame and fortune for her talents? Yes, please. I’d take five more seasons if they’d stop cancelling good shows. 💀 Yes, this is direct shade to everyone. I will, however, give MAX props for letting Hacks go on for a fourth season, which just started airing. I needed Ava/Deborah back in my life.

Listening: I don’t know why I waited so long to start putting Chappell Roan’s album on repeat (typically I listen to the same 4 or 5 songs I already love) but yeah, I’m kicking myself. Also, hers is the only country song I’ll listen to on repeat.

Crafting: Recently, I took a break from writing and attended a four-day-long quilting retreat in PA, and it was everything I needed in a long weekend with 75 or so other quilters and some of my closest friends. It was a wild time as always (sewing until late, fueled by espresso, drinky drinks and chocolate), I didn’t get enough sleep. I DID, however, make a couple of cool things!

(Holland Pouch Pattern by Center Street Quilts)

Reading: Needing to read TGTOI one final time, which took about three weeks (because I was overthinking everything) made me YEARN for my TBR. So, as soon as I was done, I dove headfirst into Emberclaw by L.R. Lam, which is one of my most anticipated reads of this year (sequel to Dragonfall). So far, I’m loving it, though the angst is driving me up a wall. Please let these characters kiss soon fr. 🥲

On the soon TBR list: You and I Collide by E.A.M. Trofimenkoff, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab, and When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley. Also, my favorite authors (Samantha Shannon and Alix E. Harrow) are coming out with books later this year and I just… I can’t handle the anticipation.

I’m also coming out with a book this year??!??! I know you know, but I just have to keep saying it and pinching myself.

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