What do you mean the year is almost halfway over?

Time flies when you're scrambling, and that is precisely how I've spent the first few months of 2026. Not everything went according to plan—such is life—and not every shot hit the mark quite like I imagined.

That's alright, though, because what is life if not a messy conglomeration of attempts? Regardless of my success rate, I do feel obligated to sort of update you all on what I've been doing, because I have been working late behind the scenes.

On the Writing Front

Those of you who've been with me since the start will be excited to learn that Unraveled, the first book in "The Stormbringer Saga," is getting an upgrade. You'll see it soon, promise, and once I can be less cryptic, I'll have more to say on the matter. I feel somewhat like a neglectful parent, pivoting entirely from this series to focus on my tragedy-duology (more to come on that in a bit), so I'm pleased to announce that while The Stormbringer Saga lies dormant for now, it is still very much alive. The ideas are bountiful; I'm just a slow cooker.

Regarding the duology, "Vows in Darkness," I still plan to get the first book, The Hunter, the Hunted, out by November of this year. I've been working on a street team application and material that, if all goes well, will accrue a number of enthusiastic readers who can help me generate a buzz before and during the publication period. The book itself is in the hands of a capable copy editor, and once the manuscript is returned to me in June, I'll be able to conduct a final round of edits and then shift my focus to the more aesthetic aspects of the book—the cover design & art, the formatting, the ARCs. Exciting stuff!

That's about all I can say for now, though I do hope to be able to share more in the coming weeks and months. It all depends on how swiftly things get moving.

Life and Other Train Wrecks

To describe my current stage in life: rough. I left the barista gig just before traveling abroad and have been searching for a job outside the service industry since. The job market is brutal, oversaturated with AI training positions, and recruiters love not responding to applicants.

An update on the Midwest Book Fest: I am no longer attending. The cost of traveling to Minneapolis, buying author copies of my book and shipping them to the venue, and getting a hotel room for a few nights was just too much to shoulder right now, so I had to pull out. I'm sorry to anyone who intended to meet me there; I hope that by this time next year, I'll be in a more secure situation and can attend.

I'm holding my breath to see if I get to attend the Book Harvest event in Chicago, which is scheduled for October. It all depends on how the job hunt goes.

Believe me, I know it sucks—but that's the state of things right now.

To help fill the sudden gap in my calendar, I started learning Mandarin. 我没有老师; after all, it's not like I have an income to cover the cost of classes. But I'm making it work. Despite being Chinese, I didn't grow up speaking any of the dialects, so diving into it now as a jaded 27-year-old feels overdue and daunting. I will say, though, as someone who studied English and Latin in college and is fascinated by how languages work, Mandarin is, by far, easier to learn. Makes me glad that English is my first language. All the unnecessary (and often unexplained) exceptions to our own spelling, grammar, and syntax rules would be a pain in the ass to figure out if I didn't already know them. All that to say, 我真喜欢学习中文。

I also learned how to change a tire. (Finally.) I know this is a pretty basic skill that a lot of people learn when they're younger, but I somehow made it this far without ever having to do it myself. I took a trip to the library to get a bit of language studying in, and just my luck, I parked on a screw. Didn't even notice it. So when I finished up three hours later, hungry and ready to go home, a newly flattened tire was right there to greet me. I finally put that old car jack in my trunk to use, and by doing so, acquired one more "adulting" skill.

Learning Mandarin taught me how to change a tire. How's that for a butterfly effect?

Other, less significant things to note: I'm getting back into running (3-4 times a week is a goal I've set for myself), and after finishing Red City by Marie Lu, I've found myself in a reading slump. I haven't read much of anything this month, unless you count my friend Judy's book, Synthers & Beasts, which I beta-read last fall. Seeing all her final edits implemented and published makes me feel like a proud sister.

Resting

For those of you who are just so engrossed in what I'm up to, here's a peek into how I'm spending my downtime:

• Watching Resident Evil: Requiem play-throughs from my favorite YouTube gamers

• Making playlists and vision boards for characters and stories I can't talk about yet

• Journaling: a tried & true habit

• De-cluttering my digital and physical spaces

  • (Stewing in my distaste for social media yet finding few working alternatives)

It's a pretty okay life. It could be worse, but there are things I'd like to change to make it better, too. I feel suspended in this "in-between" phase where I can see where I've been and where I want to be—it's just a matter of finding the right steps forward.