Sparkly lights everywhere

Just get cozy

Roads Go Ever On 03: Sparkly lights everywhere

💻 what I'm up to 💻
One year ago on this date I woke up at an inhuman hour to head to the hospital for a scheduled surgery. Open heart surgery, to be exact. The main thing I remember from that morning, aside from being scared obviously, is reminding my sweet husband that Hamilton tickets for the L.A. tour were going on sale that morning and if I didn’t wake up to tickets so help me…

Many hours after anesthesia robbed most of my memories from that morning, I woke up with a new mitral valve (it’s still super weird to have a body part with a serial number) and Hamilton tickets. We didn’t get to go to Hamilton because, you know, pandemic, but then Disney released Hamilton on Disney+ because, you know, pandemic. So really it all worked out. I share this because it’s a milestone. A date to remember. I have a scar that fades in tiny amounts as time passes. So that’s on my mind this week.

And when I was home recovering (read: mostly sleeping), the Christmas trees and sparkly lights around the apartment bathed me in warmth and comfort. With the world being a Lot, we decided to decorate extra early this year. We cram two trees into our living room--one green with white lights and one silver with lights of all colors that reflect off the shiny surface. A couple strands of sparkly lights are draped around the room. Stockings hang over our largely decorative fireplace. It makes me feel pleasantly warm and soothed. If you’re on the fence about decorating early, don’t hesitate. Get cozy. Then tweet me photos of your decorations, please and thank you.

Bonus: nothing’s quite like writing or reading in the glow of twinkling lights. I’m digging into research for a new project that’s both very familiar and very new to me and I swear twinkling lights make it better. And I’m also celebrating that another book is on its very last round of notes and done (all books have about at least five instances of what you think are the “last” round).

📘 my book things 📘
Since I last wrote you The Jedi Mind and From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back arrived in the world. I’ve been doing a whirlwind of podcasts and interviews for both books and I’m grateful so many folks have been willing to tolerate my rambling answers. If you’d like to check out a couple, consider my chat with the incredible Skytalkers podcast and also when I joined fellow FACPOV authors Mike Chen and Jason Fry on the Everything Is Canon podcast.

I’ve had a few folks ask about signed copies of various books. I’m working on some custom bookplates that I can sign and drop in the mail. I’ll keep you posted!

📺 what I'm watching 📺
Dash & Lily
Unsurprisingly holiday movies and series also give me joy. Bring on the endorphin rush. And this sweet Netflix series does just that. Please feel free to send me recommendations for your favorite holiday movies. The more nonsensical, better.

Scotch: A Golden Dream
I’ve watched this documentary several times, and it’s just the thing when I want to escape into another world. I most recently put it on again last week. This doc follows Jim McEwan, an absolute legend in the world of Scotch, and touches upon the general making of the spirit and Scotch on Islay with commentary from colorful experts. I can’t express how delightful it is.

📚 what I'm reading 📚
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
Remember how I’ve talked about the Grishaverse before? Well I can’t stay away and so here I am with the newest book set in this world. This one, the first in a duology, focuses on Nikolai Lantsov, and as Bardugo masterfully does, it links the Grishaverse more solidly together while bringing in wholly new perspectives and regions and problems. Always problems.

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
I can’t describe this book better than the synopsis: “Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power: 1) Woo the Shadow King. 2) Marry him. 3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.”
I am absolutely smitten and also heartbroken that this is a standalone story. Thank you, Rosie, for the recommendation!

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong
I've only just started this collection of contemporary essays. It's giving me perspective into the many complexities and nuances of the disabled experience.

🐳 something whalesome 🐳
I like wholesome things and the whale emoji is cute so: whalesome!

Chappell Ellison @ChappellTracker

One tiktok user, a composer named Daniel, submitted what the community has accepted as the official theme of the Ratatouille musical.

Imagine, if you will, a Ratatouille musical - based on the Pixar film not the rustic dish, to be clear. Some strangers have come together on TikTok to make this extravaganza. The inimitable Carlye Wisel devoted an episode of her very terrific podcast Very Amused to this energetic movement and I highly recommend listening!

🍃 creativity corner 🍃
Here I’ll share tips and tricks that are helping me write, imagine, and/or stay productive.

Adorable. Exciting. Undoubtedly. Those are just a few words I use repeatedly. To the point where they jump out at me whether I’m writing a few hundred words for a Nerdist article or an entire manuscript. I started keeping a running list of my go-tos. Sometimes I can tell that I need to add a new Amy-ism while I’m writing something and that’s okay. This list serves me well. When I’m done with my first draft I pull up my “please for the love of pete stop using these words so much” document and search for each of them. Then I visit one of my favorite sites, thesaurus.com, to find synonyms but more importantly, to expand my vocabulary and try to rotate in different (and usually better) words. I’m not saying it’s fun to go through and realize I’ve used a term a million times, but it is enlightening. Being aware of it has helped me and my writing.

📃 quote of the week 📃
"The only way to defeat fear is to tell it 'No'." Michael Burnham, Star Trek: Discovery

I know just enough about Star Trek: Discovery to know that Michael Burnham is a freaking queen. Here Burnham is relating something a general once told a young soldier, and it’s true. Kicking fear in the nuts is much easier to say than do, but it’s possible. I’m going to use this like a mantra to remind me, right alongside Dune’s Litany Against Fear.