Hi hi. We're all barely surviving this month and self-promotion always feels ugly, especially now, but I'd still like to share some things I've worked on this month with you all, if you don't mind. Maybe you can connect with some of them. Maybe some will get your mind off things at least for the moment. Maybe you just want to read, goddammit. Whatever your reasons, here they are:

My second bi-monthly article is up on Razorcake now. I get pretty personal about loss and how I deal with grief. It was as cathartic as it was hard to write. Same goes for reading it, at least for me. I hope maybe it can resonate at least a little with a few people out there.

I've also been contributing quite a lot to #AmReading.com, a website covering literary news, bookish events, and literature-inspired listicles. I've had a lot of fun writing for them and getting the opportunity to immerse myself in literary news, something I haven't kept a keen eye on in quite a while. Here are a few of the articles I tackled:

• The Importance of Paul Beatty's Man Booker 2016 Win
• USAID Book-a-thon
• Librarian Starts First-Ever Literature Box Celebrating Black Authors
• The Ten Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2016 (New York Times Edition)
• The Five Most Interesting Barnes and Noble Stores in America

All this writing has gotten me in the spirit to do even more writing. I was beating myself up for a while, thinking of all the unfinished stories and pieces I've worked on and my want to do more but a lack of desire to actually get moving. Writing is the best inspiration to write, as odd as that may sound, so I'd like to believe that I can now kick myself into overdrive and put pen to paper more often. Here's hoping! 

Signing off and wishing you and yours a happy and healthy Thanksgiving! 

Jamie