vampires, spaceships, and fantastical worlds—the tales of L.E. Teetzel

Welcome!

July was up and down in just about every sense of the phrase. We had lovely perfect-weather days where it was actually cool in the shade and I could sit outside with a drink and a snack and read a whole novel (there is nothing more relaxing to me than reading outside when it’s comfy outside), and we had days where it was so hot and humid where you would be drenched in sweat just stepping outside to check on your plants. I got some writing done, but nowhere near as much as I wanted, and I took the first steps into seriously marketing my books and myself, even though it makes me deeply uncomfortable. I got back in the swing of writing more blog posts, but I’m still struggling with time management and self-discipline, and even though it’s the height of summer, I have found myself with a summer cold.

So let’s get into it before I need to take a nap to deal with this cold. 😂

July in the Rearview

The summer months are always weird for me because they both drag on and seemingly go by in a flash. I don’t like or do well in the heat (physically, emotionally, or mentally), so when it’s hot and gross and sunny for long stretches without a break, the days stretch like taffy and I don’t get anything done because I feel like shit. I get my Seasonal Affective Disorder in the summer rather than the winter (though I get a little bit in February, but nowhere near as bad as I do in the summer), which means I’m usually not very productive. Which is okay sometimes but not all the time, especially not when you’re pretty much a one-woman publisher. We still have some summer left and I’m determined not to let it get away from me without actually making some progress on my goals, while still being kind to myself on my roughest days.

It’s all about balance! Right?

I think so?

Anyway, I started taking marketing seriously this month and it is hard. It’s so outside of my wheelhouse and my comfort zone that everything feels unnatural. I’m going to keep going, obviously, because I have to if I want to make any money off my books—short of getting lucky and going viral or something, it’s literally the only way. In addition to being more active on Instagram for sure and probably TikTok too, I’m going to changing up the way my blog posts go out to people. I’m not entirely sure on the divide yet, but some posts will only be going out to those who have subscribed for email updates and, one day, I might have some paid content too, but nothing is written in stone yet. I just need to try to do something to up the effectiveness of this blog/newsletter.

Currently I’m thinking the monthly update, writing posts, and essays will go out to email subscribers, and everything else will stay available to everyone. Right now everything is staying free and I’ll likely keep it that way but some paid content like excerpts or something may be down the road too. So this will be the last monthly update that’s available to everyone! If you want to keep seeing them, make sure to subscribe at the bottom of the “about me” or “blog” pages!

And while I’m asking you to subscribe, please spread the word about my books, Icarus and An Errant Ray of Sunlight if you’ve read and enjoyed them! You can also add them on Goodreads (and I think Storygraph too), leave reviews, and follow me on Instagram to share posts!

From the Story Files

I’m making progress on Gravity Well and hope to have it in your hands by the end of the summer, but I’m not committing to a date yet until I’m sure I can reach it. However, I did share a snippet on Instagram!

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A post shared by Leigh Teetzel (@l.teetzel)

I also finished and shared the playlist for An Errant Ray of Sunlight! Finally! I promise to have the Gravity Well playlist and all future playlists ready to go before the book comes out and not months after release. (In fact, I think I mentioned it before, but the Gravity Well one is done. I’m just waiting to post it until I can really hype people up for the novella’s release.)

And yes, “Eyes on Fire” is on there as a sort-of reference to Twilight, but only because I actually really like the song. I just happened to discover it through that soundtrack. 😂

I’m really excited about Gravity Well and I can’t wait for everyone to be able to read it!

In My Eyeballs and Earholes

Books

I really wanted to breeze through a bunch of novellas this month but the aforementioned SAD (and my newly diagnosed PMDD yaaaay) really got in the way of that. There were nights when I could barely focus enough to get the podcast I listen to in order to fall asleep playing (apparently I need someone to tell me a story to sleep well?), and other nights when I fell back into the bad habit of just scrolling through Instagram for a long time. I know why I’m doing this and I’m attempting to break this habit again, because it’s really cutting into my read before bed time.

Regardless, I did read No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding by Catherine Mack. I adore this series. It’s fun and funny and quirky and both books have just been solid mysteries. I can’t wait for the next book! I also read Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs, because I’m a big fan of Bones, read all the Temperance Brennan novels and am not stopping now. Last Chance to Save the Planet by Beth Revis made me want a bunch more stores about Ada and Rian, and Lights Out by Navessa Allen surprised me by being so good I couldn’t put it down (and then I was deeply disappointed by the sequel which I could not get into? weird). Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks was a fun rom-com set in Ireland, but with that title, I think I expected it to be darker than it was. Still really enjoyed it though! I read All Systems Red by Martha Wells, since it’s been ages since I read the first two Murderbot novellas and after watching and loving the show, I needed to read all the books. (More about the show below.), and I proofread The House Guests by Amber and Danielle Brown for work, and while I wouldn’t normally talk about books I’ve proofread, this horror-slanted thriller really surprised me and helped me figure out the tone for a future horror novel I want to write, so it deserved a mention.

But the star of the month was Entity by Meg Smitherman. Since she apparently has a hardwire into my brain, I love all her writing, but her sci-fi/horroromance novellas have just all be top-fucking-notch, and Entity is no exception. I did not see the turn coming and the book packed an emotional wallop I really wasn’t prepared for. As always, I cannot wait to see what Meg comes up with next and if you haven’t read her stuff yet, I suggest you do!

I’m continuing with Murderbot, and I’m going to tackle Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire (I’ve read a bunch of the earliest in the series but I want to do a big reread and then catch up) in August. I also have some classics to catch up on for a book club I’m in, but otherwise, we’ll see where the mood takes me!

Movies & Shows

I finished Murderbot this month and holy shit, I love that show. I’ve never related to a non-human character as much as I relate to Murderbot, and I’m so so happy this show exists. I really like that we’re getting to see moments from other characters’ points of view, moments that we didn’t see in the book because Murderbot was out of commission. While the limited point of view works in the book, I don’t think it would work in the show as well, and along with the other changes they made, the show feels really solid and like it was made with care, which I’m sure it was. I can’t wait to watch more. Murderbot is my favourite role Alexander Skarsgård has ever played.

I also saw Fantastic Four First Steps and holy god did that movie make me so happy. The joy and family vibe and the retro-futuristic setting was just such a warm hug. The fact that Michael Giacchino scored the movie and they go to space… it felt like the MCU meets Star Trek, which is so exactly my interests that I left the theatre with just the biggest smile on my face. I’ve always loved the MCU, but Fantastic Four really fanned that love back to roaring. The fact that the main cast all seem to really enjoy being around each other and like they have fun together is just a bonus. As is the fact that I’m a big fan of Joe Quinn’s. And Pedro Pascal’s. And Vanessa Kirby’s. (Also I will forever find it hilarious that both Chris Evans and Joe Quinn, who are my two biggest actor crushes and favourite actors, both played Johnny Storm.)

Otherwise, I watched Friday the 13th, Scream, Halloween Ends, and Psycho for the slasher’s TTR post that went up at the beginning of the month, I Know What You Did Last Summer because I knew I’d seen the movie but couldn’t remember any of it, When Harry met Sally and Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood because I needed a hug and the particular feeling the latter gives me, The Meg because it’s fun, and The Martian because that movie just makes me happy and I love it.

I rewatched Bob’s Burgers and caught up on The Great North too, and started another watch-through of Brooklyn 99, but those are all comfort shows.

Video Games

I did not really play much this month. There was some Dreamlight Valley when the updates came out and I spent another day playing Blue Prince because, really, tuning out in a game I can just go through at my own pace or putter around in while I have a podcast on is one of the only ways I can actually relax.

Music & Podcasts

TWRP released a new single, “My Big Day Off,” which is the perfect summer bop, but otherwise all the music I listened to can be found on the writing playlists. I don’t often seek out new music.

Since I finally caught up with My Favourite Murder and the minisodes, I started from the beginning again, starting with the Rewind episodes and then jumping ahead a bunch so I’ll enjoy the Rewind episodes more. I also started listening to The Magnus Archive again, but there’s just something about Karen’s and Georgia’s voices that I find comforting.

Parting Thoughts

Summer sucks but I’m getting through it, I need another set of arms so I can write while doing other stuff, and I need like a month off where I can just do what I want without thinking about what other people/jobs need.

That’s it for this month! Take it easy, hot dogs! 💙