So all this stuff happened in February

Hey readerfriends,

It’s been a while, sorry! Been busy making words. Meanwhile a whole bunch of shit went down in February (good shit!), so here’s a rundown of what you missed if you don’t follow the random secretions of my brain-folds on Twitter.
 
 

FOLLOW ME INTO DARKNESS released

I was super-honored to be one of the five authors featured in Follow Me Into Darkness, a Mardi-Gras-themed queer romance anthology that released this month from brand-new publisher Open Ink Press. My story, “If We Be Friends,” is about a pair of teen TV actors who get into a Shakespearean soliloquy-off at a cast party. So proud to be in this antho alongside Roan Parrish, Kris Ripper, Santino Hassell, and J.R. Gray. Check it out!

We talked to THE MARY SUE

I spit-shined my shoes, combed my hair, and picked up my fellow Follow Me Into Darkness authors in my dad’s jalopy for our date with The Mary Sue. We each introduced our anthology stories and managed to keep our elbows off the table.

 I stopped by JOYFULLY JAY

One of my favorite ladies in the m/m community had me over to chat about my Follow Me Into Darkness story and the new spinoff series I’m planning after the release of A&B. (If you wanna know more about A&B, my upcoming f/f YA novel, I talked about it here.) Someday I may regret breaking my vow to plan a series. Today is not that day.

The OPEN INK PRESS blog opened up

Had the pleasure of writing one of the very first posts for Open Ink’s new blog. I got a little weepy about it, ‘cause participating in these anthologies really did change my writing life, and also kind of my life in general.

 Me & JULIE HUTCHINGS had some real talk

So y’all know how La Hutchings and I are basically in Twitter-love and we therefore grasp every opportunity to interview each other? This week we paid a visit to Binge on Books as part of the AUTHORS INTERVIEWING AUTHORS series. I asked her about her writing process, the importance of recharging your creative batteries, which Muppet she identifies with most (surprisingly, not Animal), and much more. You don’t want to miss this one—especially her thoughts on why “making progress” is about more than cranking out word-sausage.

I did AUTHOR LIFE MONTH on Instagram

Created by the great writer/reccing-ball Dahlia Adler, this Instagram challenge was an awesome way to learn fun facts about fellow authors and share your own. I posted photos of HTRAMH fanart, my inanimate muse, books by my favorite indie authors, that time I hugged a bucket, and more. (If you’re on Instagram, come find me and let’s follow each other—I’m @jclillis.)

How was your February? Have you read any great books (especially ones I can add to this diverse indie YA list)? Stay tuned—I’m posting less these days, at least until the new book is out, but I’ll be back with periodic book recs/A&B updates/randomness.