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

Welcome!

By the fact this is coming out on September 4th (or 5th if I don’t finish it tonight because ugh), I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that August has been a month. Part of that, I’m sure, is because I was expecting it to be bad—August is historically my least favourite month and I had to mentally prepare for that. Self-fulfilling prophecy, right?

Anyway, I do have some stuff to share, so let’s get to it!

August in the Rearview

August felt like it was 9000 years long. I don’t even remember much about the beginning of the month other than it was hot. And I hate the heat. I was also feeling gross because I did basically no exercise all summer. I could tough it out, I’m sure, but my SSRIs make me extra sensitive to heat and I’m already sensitive to heat, so I didn’t want to risk getting heat stroke or something worse, nor do I like being sweaty or just being out in the sun. So yeah, part of it is my fault. I’ve started walking again now as it cooled way down at the end of the month and maybe it’s false fall but I do not care. I’m taking full advantage while I can. Hopefully it doesn’t warm up again. I could do without the dying gasp of summer this year because I am just SO done with summer and the heat. I’m ready for ten solid months of bearable and then wonderful temperatures and rain and snow and fog GIMMIE IT ALL I WANNA BE COZY.

I was supposed to go to Book Crush, a romance lit festival/convention put on by the Toronto Public Library, a couple weekends ago, but on the way to the train station, but car quit on me. Twice. So I had to call CAA (roadside assistance, same thing as AAA in the States) and ride back to my dad’s shop (he’s a mechanic) in a gross, smelly tow truck. It ruined my day but it could have been a lot worse, so it just sucked. (September update is that we thought the car might be fixed but it’s not and it kept quitting on me on the way home from the grocery store today. I ended up having to drive home slowly with my four ways on.) It’ll suck if my car can’t be fixed either because it’s just too old and the parts don’t exist, or it won’t be financially worth it to fix. My autistic ass gets attached to things. My car’s name is Steve (I name most inanimate objects) and I will be sad if this is the end of the road for him. I believe my dad can work miracles, but only if the available parts allow it. (My car is a 1994 Honda. He’s gettin’ up there.)

My brother’s dog also got upstairs again, trying to get to my cat to play, and ended up ripping up another fitted sheet and another mattress cover. And also taking a chunk out of the upholstry of my bed frame. This is the second time this year and again, it could have been a lot worse, and I can patch the bed frame and replace the sheets, but… ugh.

On top of that, my favourite book series runs a community event every year and this year—I’m assuming because of all the tariff and other postal nonsense—I still haven’t got my game pieces. Which again, isn’t a huge problem, but it just sucks, you know? And when you’re already feeling uncomfortable and crappy (and dealing with probably PMDD that turns you into a depressed, unfocused mess for one to one-and-a-half weeks a month, the little things start to really get to you. It’s just been a very frustrating and uncomfortable month for me.

I say this fully recognizing that I’m safe and taken care of and I have meds and plans and none of this is the end of the world. Or even the end of my world.

The whole month wasn’t all bad, of course. I made plans to save so I can move into my own apartment by the end of next year, I’ve got plans for some merch for my books, and I’m planning to sell in-person at some shows next year to try and make some more money off my books and get the word about my books out there. I have a lot of work to do, but I’m feeling really good and excited about all of it. I also am talking to an artist to get some character art done for An Errant Ray of Sunlight! I can’t wait to have something to share! I do have a merch sneak peak for you though!

From the Story Files

I didn’t make as much progress on Gravity Well as I wanted, but I did crack what was bothering me about the manuscript—it needed to be in first person. Rewriting is a pain in the ass, but it won’t take me a terribly long time. And, once that’s done, I should be able to power through until the end! I’m hoping to still get the book out this year, since my goal is to have two books (a novel and a novella at least, if not two novels) out a year. I don’t know if this will be realistic or sustainable since I have a full-time job and freelance work, but we shall see!

In My Eyeballs and Earholes

Books

I read a lot this month.

I breezed through and enjoyed the hell out of the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. I love Murderbot and ART and want more of them in my life, like, right now. I also don’t think I’ve ever related more to a non-human character… I get it, Murderbot, I really do. I think Fugitive Telemetry, Rogue Protocol, and Network Effect are my favourite of the series so far.

I also finally finished The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow. I love the book, but it was heavier than I was anticipating and I needed to take a break at one point to let it settle. That happens sometimes, and with the resurgence in depression episodes, I need to pay more attention. But wow, this book is amazing. I loved the mix of history and fantasy and magic, and the sisters were such a dynamic, wonderful, messy trio. Alix’s books are some of my favourites and I can’t wait to read her next one.

I did one non-fiction book, Liquid Rules by Mark Miodownik, which was a humorous and interesting look at liquids, how they behave, and how we interact with them on the daily. I have his two other books, It’s a Gas and Stuff Matters, and I’m looking forward to getting to them when I need a non-fiction fix—though I’ll probably return to Stiff by Mary Roach first, now that I have a copy of my own. (Seriously though, if you can handle reading about dead bodies, that book is amazing. I love all her stuff.)

To end the month, I returned to Ashley Poston and the two romance novels of hers I hadn’t read yet: Dead Romantics and It Sounds Like Love. Both made me tear up, both made me pine for a partner who gets me, and both deeply pleased my hopeless romantic heart. If I’d made it to Book Crush, I could have met Ashley in person. Oh well, maybe next time.

I’m starting September by beta reading for a few friends and reading A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais. I also picked up some library books (someone please tell me to stop), but I am still making a dent in the absolutely ton of books I own and haven’t read yet.

Movies & Shows

The big story for me this month is Schitt’s Creek. I tried watching it once before but it didn’t hit. This time… Oh boy. This time, I breezed through all six seasons in like… 2-3 days? I laughed out loud, which I don’t normally do when I’m watching TV by myself, I unexpectedly bawled my eyes out at least three times, and I was just bowled over by how fucking good the show is. It’s funny and heartfelt and ridiculous and touching and… UGH. Just, do yourself a favour and give it a try if you haven’t. It’s one of the best things Canada has ever produced.

I also rewatched Murderbot—god that show is good. I can’t wait to see what ART’s like in the show. Brooklyn 99 got a rewatch too (this is how you know it was a rough month). I think this was number… 6? 7? all the way through? It’s my comfort show, something I can have on in the background when I feel like shit and it feels like a hug. I still cry every time I watch the finale. I caught up on Bob’s Burgers and The Great North too, and I’m feeling a rewatch of both coming soon.

Movie-wise, I did a lot. My bother visited our mom this month and went to his friend’s cottage, which meant I was sitting downstairs with the dog and could watch movies on the big TV while I was working and writing. I started with The Emperor’s New Groove and Hercules for some fun, watched Event Horizon for the Gravity Well writing vibes. That led to The Thing and Contagion and The Day After Tomorrow. Twister, Twisters, and The Perfect Storm also followed because my brain apparently went “no it’s disaster movie time” which is a thing that happens sometimes when I’m grumpy and uncomfortable and low. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me got a watch as my friends who are watching for the firs time reached that point, and then I did a Hannibal run with Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising (I forgot how much I didn’t like the prequel and that made me sad).

I finished the month by watching K-Pop Demon Hunters finally and I loved it and I cried and I really hope they make more movies in this world if not with these characters. I followed that with Encanto because I didn’t know what to watch after (I should have just watched KDH again). The Mummy and Scooby-Doo rounded out the month for a dose of some good old-fashioned fun. And Brendan Fraser.

Video Games

You guessed it: it was more Dreamlight Valley. Really I can’t express how much comfort and joy the game brings me, especially when I just need to check out and vibe. I wish I had more exciting stuff to share here, but maybe next month. SIGH.

Music & Podcasts

TWRP’s new album, The Longest Weekend, came out at the end of the month, and it’s a no-skip one for me. They made a memorial song for Starcadian too that I didn’t expect and it brought me to tears. It’s a beautiful track and a lovely way to remember someone who was taken far too soon. Also obsessed with Florence + The Machine‘s new single and can’t wait to listen to the album.

I mostly listened to my Gravity Well playlist and My Favorite Murder (again, it’s a comfort thing). I’m slowly trying to catch up on some music that’s come out by artists I like, but changing my routine is always a process, and trying to stop relying on visual media during the day is going to take a while I think.

Parting Thoughts

August was hard, especially at the end, but things are looking up! I have an adjusted dose of my brain meds to try, lots of fun stuff to work on, and I’m so excited to share Gravity Well with you all soon! There will be more Three-Thoughts Retrospective posts and more writing posts and such, but life’s a balancing act and I don’t always preform it very well. But thank you all for reading this, for reading my books, and hanging out.

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