The #sotd (details in alt text) gives eating ripe cantaloupe on laundry day, maybe while near one of those plastic kiddie pools. It's got a quality to it that makes my teeth itch, but love it! I could be persuaded to buy a full-size of this one. #perfumesky

Today's harvest. Biggest of the summer so far. Believe it or not, there are still some beets to be harvested. I have a ton of beets and tomatoes this year. Currently figuring out what to do with them all. #gardensky

Recipe 3 of the #cookbookcookthrough! This is Crispy Sugar Snap Peas with Tonnato and Lemon. Rather than fry the peas, I used an air fryer. I mean, the idea of deep frying anything in a warm day is gross. Not a perfect solution, but still really good.

Look, I don't deny that I have a gross sense of humor. My upcoming novel deserves a bit of a bad taste joke.

When you have a glut of tomatoes coming out of the garden, this is what lunch looks like... #tomatosky

Recipe 1 from Six Seasons: Roasted Beets, Avocado, & Sunflower Seeds. The beets, parsley, & scallion came from my garden. I would absolutely make this again. #cookbookcookthrough

I wore Histoires de Parfum's 1969 for last night's panel discussion (details in alt text), and I think it was good luck--because the second I spritzed myself, I received a very wonderful acquisition email involving a short story that I'm very fond of. #perfumesky

Tonight I'll be joining three other local authors on a panel about writing/publishing as part of Rosemont College's Summer Writer's Retreat... so I'm sitting here thinking of what perfume to wear/#sotd. Something subtle & barely detectable, of course, but professional/writerly at the same time. 1/

I gave folks a choice at last night's Charm City Spec reading, but I knew they'd pick knitting horror. No one ever says no to that, which is why I deeply want a horror publisher to let me be Editor of a fiber arts-related horror anthology. It would be brilliant! #horror

See you tonight, Baltimore friends! #booksky

I feel like smelling of whiskey, & hey, I have a #sotd for that (details in alt text). On my skin, it smells like I'm wearing the dress of a woman who wears old-fashioned rose perfume, & I've spilled a glass of whiskey on the sleeve. More of a winter scent, but eh, why not? #perfumesky

The #sotd is the bottle I picked up in Milan last week (details in alt text). This is supposed to be woody, but on me it gives smoky olives cut with a stainless knife that's been brined. Reminds me a tiny bit of Abduction from the Eyes Are Always There. #perfumesky

Mission accomplished in Milan: I bought a full bottle of Hilde Soliani's Let's Party, along w/ a bottle of Medullary-Ray from Jorum Studio (both from 50 ML). I also swung by the Carthusia shop, where I picked up this solid perfume in Mediterraneo (lemon, green tea, cardamom, musk). #perfumesky 1/2

roof for that concert, etc, it seems nearly everything I did was useful for the outlining process...which I'm working on tonight so it's all fresh in my head. 4/4

Still, I'm super glad I went to Milan simply because so much of what I did there has ended up being integral to the planning for the new novella I was commissioned to write. From the pristinely vested skeletal remains of saints, to a really spectacular ossuary, to taking the steps up to the Duomo 3/

got gobbled up by people afraid they'd get caught up in tomorrow's strike. The way nonrevving goes, when something goes awry with one flight, there's a domino effect that can last for a week. If I'd taken my laptop, I could have waited it out and just worked from Milan, but... no laptop. Alas. 2/

Home again, home again, jiggety-jig. I ended up having to buy a ticket home from Milan. Not ideal, but it was really the only safe solution: Italy is having several nationwide strikes tomorrow, including airport strikes at all Milan airports. All of the unsold seats on my flight that looked great 1/

Normally I wouldn't straight-up eat cake for breakfast, but the Alberto Magri's shop in Milan makes gorgeous & realistic-looking fruit pastries, inside of which is a very soft chiffon-ish cake, a bit of cream, and fruit preserves. I ate about half of it in a bench outside Fondazione Prada.

I'm listening to a concert on the roof of the Duomo in Milano, which feels kind of surreal. This is a close-up... and a not-so-close up. I'm probably bailing in about 20 minutes so I can grab a gelato before the place I want to go closes for the night. Priorities.... #travelsky

Because this is how I roll, Milanese style. Yes, this is how I spent the morning in Milan. #travelsky

I'm at the gate, awaiting the moment I'm given a ticket for this flight. #daretodream

I get immediate FOMO when there's a horror festival or other author event & I'm not there, which is so ludicrous. My schedule is already full, & I'm intentionally not applying to/scheduling more events until post-MEAT SWEATS launch in Mar 2027. But psychologically, I want to be everywhere. 1/2

There. Two pairs of socks knitted fort the month. Same pattern, different brands of yarn. Lots of hours spent thinking about the novella I was commissioned to write. Now it's time to outline for real. #knitsky

Yeah, I started another pair of socks. Same pattern because I needed a mindless knit. #knitsky

The cat is out of the bag: I'm a new columnist for Last Girls Club... officially the Archivist of Dread, weighing in on horror through an academic lens. The new LGC issue is out now! www.lastgirlsclub.com/issues

Finished!

Finished a sock this morning. I started knitting on the road trip to Stokercon, but I've been sick ever since so I only knitted now and then. I didn't like the colorway at first, but I kinda do now. Very fall colors... plus it's a very comfy sock. #knitsky

I give you a 54 year old Elder Crone lying on the porch floor because the temperature is perfect, it's quiet, the birds are singing in the distance, & she's not hacking up a lung (that whole respiratory infection thing). She may just sleep here.

You can tell I'm feeling kinda better: I broke out a new perfume sample today...& dare I say this might be IT for me. It gives a fizzy sweetness that's weirdly earthy, & I😍IT! The notes are bonkers: Narcissus, Wildflowers, Coca-Cola, Green Bell Pepper, Potato. I want to smell like this. #perfumesky

I've officially got an upper respiratory infection. Steroids! Inhaler! Jazz hands! So I shan't be seeing you tomorrow at the Montco Book Fest. Booooo! #booksky