Autumn in Revision (too)
Well, that escalated quickly
The Deal
In my last letter, I declared myself on submission for autumn, assuming (not unreasonably) that it would take a few months, even in the best of circumstances, to secure a deal.
Things did not go as planned. In the best way.
Because here we are in late November, and I am already in my second week of working on revisions. I was floored by how fast and overwhelming the interest in ASFMH came, and I was able to emerge from the process confident in Dutton and my editor Charlotte Peters as the best team for me and my book. My agent Aurora is an absolute star, and I owe her a million thanks.
A Spell for Midwinter’s Heart was announced for publication Fall 2025, so as you can imagine we dove right in with everything. It’s already been a whirlwind. My publication team was confident in that timeline because the book was already in such a strong place so our revisions aren’t extensive, but there is certainly still some work to do. I’m happy to be doing it over the holidays, when my brain will already be filled with all things snowy and hygge and Yule.
Finding Hope
One of the central thematics of the book is finding joy and hope in difficult times. In centering Yule (in the Pagan sense, not in the “what the Brits call Christmas” sense), I was searching for the old meanings of the deep winter holidays, those that transcend borders and traditions. Which, in general, was about preparing oneself to face the most difficult time of the year to survive and to remember that it will pass. Spring will come. The sun will return, the snow will melt, and the ground will thaw.
There was certainly a few days earlier this month where I wondered how in the hell I was going to be able to feel enough hope and joy to deliver this revision.
But then I went back to the book and re-read it, and realized that the me of the last few years had already written everything I needed into the book. It’s not a book that denies hard realities. It’s about equipping yourself with what and whom you need to face them, and to be able to find joy amidst the heartache, and I still believe everything I was trying to say then.
Outside assistance was also helpful, though, and in addition to coming together with family and friends to discuss paths forward, I’ve been finding it in reading The Lightmaker’s Manifesto by Karen Walrond and Never Say You Can’t Survive by Charlie Jane Anders.
Gearing up for the Holidays
It’s a little early still to be diving into Yuletide but I’m of the ‘find joy where and when you can’ mentality. Matt doesn’t quite agree so we’ve been holding back on the major steps. Not to mention, I’m in no rush to stop enjoying fall flavors and rich earth tone and gourd decorations. There’s plenty of time for cardamom. I’ll still enjoy pumpkin for now.
All that said, Seattle provided us with a couple of early chances to celebrate this past weekend, and we enthusiastically partook. First up was Jule Fest at the Scandinavian heritage museum. Where we enjoyed treats like Julekake and learned about fun traditions like Julekraemmerhus, conical ornaments hung from the tree and filled with candy in Denmark.
My daughter and I attended a wreath making workshop later that day at a local florist. It was very freeform and delightful. I’ve made one other wreath before—a semi-disastrous pinecone wreath—so I was ready to have expert advice this time. They had buckets upon buckets of different plants we could use, as well as things like ornaments and ribbons if we want to go that way. They then let us run wild making whatever kind of wreath we wanted but would bop around offering advice and suggestions.
I came in thinking I’d do an evergreen wreath, but also wanting to fully assemble my own wreath. Because it takes so long to assemble an evergreen wreath, they had that part already done for people who wanted evergreens, and folks then just decorated them. I decided to go with moss as my base so I could do the whole thing myself, but included a few evergreens sprigs as part of the design.
I’m not a very visually artistic person, so for me it was a process of trying things out, seeing how they looked, and shuffling them around until it looked right. Whereas my daughter, a much more artistic person than me, had a vision from the start that she ran with.
Eventually I started feeling like mine was looking like a forest floor and used that to feel my way to its final design. Mine was very organic in nature, but my daughter went the opposite. She was all about the glamorous approach (it suits her).
Along the way, I thought about the meaning and tradition behind wreaths during the winter holidays. For Christians, the circular shape tends to evoke the promise of eternal life. In many nature based traditions, in the circle, decorated in natural elements, instead evokes the sun and the return of spring. Each of the elements have their own unique symbolism. Evergreens for strength, pine cones for long life, bright red berries for protection and joy.
Things I Have Enjoyed Lately
The final season of What We Do in the Shadows. Not their strongest, but still delightful. I’ll be sad when it’s gone.
Wicked was everything. I’m deeply skeptical of musical to movie adaptations, especially of shows I love, but they pulled it off. I’m going to go see it again for one of the sing-a-long shows in December.
I finished my autumnal romances with the witchy A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney, and despite my prior claim I’m still living in autumn, read my first winter holiday romance with the sapphic romcom Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake. I’m now reading A Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. I did Chambers backward by reading the Monk and Robot series first and am now catching up on her back catalogue and am loving every word of it.