the horrors persist but so do we
some art I love / author and pod updates
hello lover,
If I had a nickel for every time I intended to send a newsletter, the US government committed an act of war, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.
There are many people more eloquent than I who can say a lot smarter things about the US/Israeli strikes on an Iranian girls’ elementary school, so all I will say is: fuck American Imperialism. Donald Trump is a pedophile rapist. Free Palestine. No war with Iran.1
Author stuff:
I have no new books coming out! Not usually something I’d celebrate, and to be totally honest I’m not feeling super great about it, but I’m trying to be more transparent about publishing in general because I think that benefits all of us and makes my brain feel better.
While I have no upcoming trad pub deals to announce and haven’t started a new self-pub project since This Time, Next Year (big “I’m 27 years old and I have no money and no prospects” energy), I have finally been able to get to work on rewriting a project that I’ve been working on for years. I’m not sure yet if I’ll be able to sell it or if it will be a better fit as a self-pub project, but I am so happy to finally feel able to write again. I haven’t been able to write since I finished TTNY in November, which probably seems like not very long, but is an eternity for me.
I’ve also been so incredibly lucky to be a beta reader for Rosie Danan’s newest book, Villain Edit, and sorry to rub it in, but it’s really fucking good. There is no pre-order link for it yet, otherwise I’d be telling y’all to get it right now, but promise me to follow Rosie on Instagram, if you’re not already, so you’ll know when her pre-order links go live.
Pod stuff:
You probably already know this since we haven’t shut up about it, but I host Loon Call: A Game Changers’ Podcast and recently, my co-host Ada and I got to interview Heated Rivalry creators, Jacob Tierney and Brendan James Brady!!! Here are some other favourite episodes of mine I want to make sure you’ve heard/seen (a lot of people like to watch podcasts on YouTube now and idk how or why but this makes me feel Old):
Skippers: I breakdown “Hunter”, episode 3 of Heated Rivalry, in the context of a rom com
Getting Intimate: I breakdown all 16 intimate scenes in Heated Rivalry (the book), covering the blocking, the emotional notes of each scene, and whether the book scene ended up in the show. I made a spreadsheet that you can see on our website. It is my masterpiece.
Choreographing Intimacy with Chala Hunter: we also got to speak to Heated Rivalry’s Intimacy Coordinator, Chala Hunter. If you watch on YouTube, you’ll see me staring at her with heart eyes because she is maybe the coolest person on this planet. I would pay to be her intern. It would be an honour to bring her coffee.
Deconstructing the Tuna Melt: preparing “Getting Intimate” helped me realize how important the Tuna Melt scene is to the entire book. So I talked about it for an hour! It’s way more interesting than that sounds.
Books to Fill the Heated Rivalry Shaped Void: bookstagrammer Esther Reads gives us recommendations for books to read after we’ve read the Game Changers’ series. She breaks her recs down by each book in the series, providing a recommendation for an mm, an ff, and an mf book for each Game Changer! You can get the list here.
I want to try to share more of what I love with all of you! My biggest hope is that you might try at least one of these things for yourself and if you like it too, perhaps you’ll pass it along to someone else to love!
Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell: Taj McCoy’s 2022 romance was adapted into a (Hallmark-esque) film and released in December 2025 (I watched it on Crave, in Canada). Amber Riley stars as Savvy and she is absolutely captivating. I was not a Gleek and wasn’t super familiar with her, but she brought so much joy to the role and embodied Savvy’s transformation into herself so naturally. Amber’s co-star, actor Dorian Grey who plays love interest Isaiah, is a Toronto-based actor (and he was also in S1 of Welcome to Derry) and omg he is so handsome and utterly charming as the kind of man finally deserving of Savvy. Also, I fucking LOVE Hallmark movies. We don’t do Hallmark snobbery in this house. If you want to talk about good craft, watch how a writer adapts a full-length novel into a tight 90 minute rom com that hits all our beats and provides the most satisfying of endings. I loved seeing a fellow Harlequin author’s vision come to life, especially in the hands of two actors who threw themselves so fully and joyfully into the roles. There are a few other Harlequin/Harlequin imprint books that have been adapted into movies and my goal is to watch them all!
Mortal Monarchs by Dr. Suzie Edge: as a history nerd, who had a British monarchy hyperfixation as a child (and maybe continues to have one…) this was the perfect book for me. I found Dr. Edge on TikTok and love her videos mapping the family tree of the British monarchs from William the Conqueror in 1066 to Charles III of today. Dr. Edge narrates the audiobook herself and she is fantastic. If you are squeamish, this may not be the book for you, but I absolutely devoured Dr. Edge’s passion for this work. It’s not just about the gory details, it’s about what death means to us, who gets to tell our stories after we’re gone, and what those stories say about us, and the people we’ve left behind.
“Trap Queen” by Fetty Wap: it’s a fucking love song, y’all! I’ve had this song on repeat for a few days now. There is something effortlessly pleasing about Mr. Wap’s singing voice that makes me feel his love, his admiration, his appreciation for his Trap Queen. The way he welcomes us into the song with a casual “hey what’s up? hello?” and then proceeds to tell us everything that is great about his baby; how he rolls us into a chorus that has the capacity to keep my shoulders bouncing into eternity; Fetty Wap spends 3 minutes and 42 seconds telling us all the ways his Queen makes his life better. Isn’t that the kind of love we deserve from our partners? Isn’t this love: to be seen? To be known? Plus, if you watch the music video from 2015, there is a kid in the background of one of the group shots who is so committed and passionate about lip syncing along with Fetty Wap, he steals the show (check him out around 1:20)
I hope the world is a little safer for all of us by the time I send another newsletter, but even if it isn’t, I hope wherever you are, you are safe and loved and persisting. The world needs you in it, to consume art and to make it.
xo,
Rubes
The Iranian regime is oppressive, but the US and Israel are not doing an act of “liberation” by bombing the county. This was an act of aggression, of oppression, to gain power and influence and wealth, at the expense of the people of all three countries and the world.