Happy Halloween, Boos and Ghouls!

Some bookish news and updates

Hey, babes!

I hope this day is a fun and lighthearted one for you, whether you enjoy it with friends, children, or solo. We haven’t had opportunity to go trick or treating since we’ve lived here, so this year will be a new experience for my family. I’ll be dressing up in my unicorn onesie and my kiddo will be the Miraculous Ladybug.

Do you have any particular Halloween traditions you enjoy?

Recently my kiddo and I returned to West Seattle to visit family friends and it was a balm to my soul. Kiddo and Grandma carved pumpkins, and I took a walk on the beach at Lincoln Park to see Bruunidun, the West Seattle troll.

While I was out alone (a rare occurrence lately!) I thought to myself I’d like to collect some sea glass—it can be hard to come by on popular beaches, as they tend to be well-groomed. But I left, in fact, with a full pocket and was able to give away handfuls to a couple of people.

Odd as it might seem, I missed the crows the most. The food and abundance of entertainment is always lovely, and West Seattle is beautiful in fall, but I have a special love for the crows. During a time of chaos and uncertainty in my life, they came to represent survival and magic. It was healing to bond with them over the year and a half I lived there. There simply aren’t so many of them in my neighborhood here.

In bookish news:

K.O. Newman

refreshed the cover for Vigil, my dark fae why-choose Halloween short from the 2022 edition of Booktober. Personally, I think it’s one of her best. She’s also created the cover for the next book in the trilogy.

Isn’t it lovely?

I spent some time this past week getting more of my books pushed wide, so they’ll be available in Kobo Plus and at all other retailers. For NL subscribers (if you have your welcome email) Vigil remains free.

Cool updates—it’s confirmed! I’ll be attending Hot & Steamy ‘24 in Portland on May 31st. I’ll be at the Hidden Gems portion of the signing (which works well for me, given I’ll be in Deadwood, SD two weeks later signing at Wild Deadwood Reads). If you can make it, I’d love to see you at any of the signings I’m attending next year:

Hot & Steamy (Portland, OR) May 31st
Wild Deadwood Reads (Deadwood, SD) June 15th
Getting Witchy With It (Salem, MA) Sept 14th

I’m on the waitlist for one more in August, but we’ll see what happens.

NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow and while I’m not officially participating, my hope is to get Axel out and into the world for you this month. We’ll see what the writing gods have planned for me! They can be fickle when they aren’t fed properly.

I’ve got a lot of Big Life Stuff going on and I could use all the love and positive vibes you can possibly send my way! Fall is the season that seems to lead to the biggest changes and transitions. I have faith that where I’m headed is better than any place I’ve ever been.

As always, thank you for coming on this ride with me. I love hearing from you, so please leave a comment below or reply to mariahthayer@substack.com and tell me about your favorite Halloween traditions. Do you live for the Addams Family? Are you a horror movie fiend? Is it an excuse for you to stuff your face with sweets? Do you hide inside and wait for the night to be over? Let me know.

Be well, babes!

XOXO,

Mariah