Hello again! I took a brief hiatus on this newsletter over the summer because, simply put, I didn’t have much to update you all on. Board to Death revisions have been trekking along with thankfully no more stress than I expected for my debut. It’s an interesting experience writing for an audience for the first time. I’m a marketing writer by day so I’m used to that in some ways, but never before with fiction.

“What I Did This Summer”

• Went on my year-and-a-half-delayed honeymoon! My husband and I eloped in 2020 so I’m grateful we were finally able to celebrate our marriage with a vacation despite us not being newlyweds. Went to a pub. Finally got to see Phantom of the Opera at West End, something that my 12-year-old self could have only dreamed of.
   
• Visited the best bookshop in Utah, Under the Umbrella, and the best brownie shop Brownies! Brownies! Brownies! Both are queer-owned and worth checking out the next time you’re in Salt Lake City!
   
• Turned 25 and subsequently had a quarterlife crisis when I got sick after going on a rollercoaster. 
   
• Got a tattoo of The Fellowship to commemorate Tolkien-related podcasts and LOTR in general emotionally carrying me through the past few years. Including Bill the Pony.
   
• Many, many game nights–including one that lasted over 24 hours. Playing board games with my husband’s friends is an experience.
   
• Joined a married couple D&D group in our neighborhood. So far have cancelled more sessions than we’ve played, so the usual D&D experience.

Recent, Current, and Upcoming Reads

• Death by Bubble Tea (Jennifer J. Chow): A culinary cozy series starter taking place at an L.A. night market.
• Search (Michelle Huneven): A novel told as if it were a memoir-in-recipes about a Unitarian Universalist congregation’s year-long search for a new minister.
• Chef’s Kiss (Jarrett Melendez): A queer graphic novel about a college grad who finds fulfillment (and love) while working at a restaurant.
• Love in the Time of Serial Killers (Alicia Thompson): A romantic comedy about a true-crime loving PhD candidate who falls for her new neighbor while coping with her estranged father’s death.
• In the Event of Love (Courtney Kae): A queer romance out August 30th about an events planner who returns to her hometown to fundraise for a Christmas tree farm owned by her former best friend (and crush)

-CJ Connor