Reading
Here, in no particular order, are books that I read and loved in 2022. I suggest you check them out!
A Pocketful of Crows, Joanne M. Harris. I read this novella in a day. It’s a ballad/fairy tale about a magical creature who falls in love with a human lordling, sacrificing herself and her freedom. This is a mistake. Lovely illustrations.
Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution, Elie Mystal. This book is awesome, and funny, and I think he’s right about pretty much everything. Cannot recommend enough.
The Book of Eels, Patrik Svensson. I hate eels. HATE eels. They’re gross and weird. This book didn’t change that, but they are fascinating creatures, and I dare you to read this without learning something you want to tell everyone you meet.
Cosplay: A History, The Builders, Fans, and Makers who Bring your Favorite Stories to Life, Andrew Liptak. I borrowed this fully intending to flip through the pictures for a while and return it. I ended up reading it cover to cover. What an enjoyable read!
Little Wolves, Thomas Maltman. I don’t know what possessed me to borrow this, since there are no elves or lasers in it, but I’m glad I did. The main character is a pregnant pastor’s wife who is also an ABD grad student. All the monsters are human, but no less terrifying.
How to Resist Amazon and Why (2nd Edition), Danny Caine. After The Story of More and The Day the World Stops Shopping, of course I was going to read this indictment of the shopping Goliath. That doesn’t make the book any less worth reading. I also recommend, in the same vein, All We Want: Building the Life We Cannot Buy by Michael Harris. This latter book is more philosophical, so if you’re not in the market for a mere screed, I recommend it. It’s a little hard to find, though.
When Women Were Dragons, Kelly Barnhill. Excellent book. Feminism and dragons. Yay! The part with the English professor toward the end made me laugh out loud.
A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine. Space opera just as good as its predecessor. I love this series for it’s culture and language play. My only regret is I can’t find a decent key for pronouncing modern Armenian, so the correct way to say Mahit Dzmare remains a mystery to me.
Writing
It’s time for another rejection chain!
2020: 81 submissions, 74 rejections, 4 acceptances
2021: 121 submissions, 111 rejections, 4 acceptances
2022: 115 submissions, 115 rejections, 4 acceptances(as of this writing)
Holding steady. My return rate seems to be the same. Hrm.
I had 5 publications this year, all short things in various journals and anthologies. Check out my Eligibility Post for more details (and please post a review at Amazon, if you can!)
More stuff to celebrate:
- My first in-person signing for Sternendach. I was at the NEIBA conference in September, and signed about 25 books. It was awesome. I also got to meet Jane Yolen, who asked for a copy of my book! (I wonder if she’s read it yet…)
- My first freelance, work-for-hire gig. I’m not allowed to tell you about it now, but it should be published in 2023 and then, look out!
- I made two solicited submissions this year, and there is at least one more to come. Having an editor request my stuff is an incredible confidence booster, and I thank them for it.
What’s to come? I have a second book out on submission looking for an agent, so fingers crossed there. I’ve also drafted a horror novella, so I need to get off my butt and redraft that. I also plan to write more short fiction.
Unrelated to writing, I’d like to try to sew a quilt.
Best of luck to all of us! Thanks for reading!
Jessica Lévai, Writer 