I have badly neglected my blog. Next year I’ll… oh, I’m not even going to bother finishing that sentence.
Catching up on a a few small, fun things: Two library blogs chose Comeuppance Served Cold for their Best of 2022 Lists. The Los Angeles Public Library Blog included it.
King’s County Public Library in Washington state did too, and I’ve very happy about this one, because Seattle is the county seat. I think it means I got Seattle right, anyway! I was thrilled to be third on this list, thinking they were ranked in some way–and then I saw that they were alphabetical by author’s last name. I’m grateful my name starts with a front-of-the-alphabet letter.
Solstice Night, December 21, I went to Word Horde Emporium of the Weird and Fantastic to read a ghostly tale. Sharon joined me and we wore our Hattery hats. (I trimmed the one I’m wearing.) The turnout was great, and three of us read; David Templeton, Petaluma’s own fiction writer, playwright, columnist and editor, read, as did horror publisher and shop owner Ross Lockhart. I read last, a story with ghosts, witches and reality TV. I heard the applause, but more importantly, people chuckled in the right places, so I felt great about it.
Christmas brought us fewer books and more bookshop gift cards this year, so we have something to look forward to during the short, cold days of January!
Somewhere back around 2019 (I think) the name “Karen” became a generic pejorative for a privileged white woman who was nearly always harassing a person of color, or treating a retail worker badly. Now it’s nearly 2023, and the Karens are reclaiming their name and redefining their purpose; working for justice. You, too, can hire a Karen to go to bat for you in a myriad of tiny ways.
I hope the final days of 2022 are peaceful, healthy and happy for all of you, and that 2023 sees you reaching for your dreams–and embracing them.