Highlights within, spoodle boy band poster, upcoming events, links to stuff I’ve done recently, how to get your social justice calendar, August power up playlist.

There is an alchemy that happens when you create in service. For me, it gives me a freedom as well as a responsibility. I may be stretched and asked for things that are a little beyond my comfort zone. I must hit a deadline, create the best experience, use my doubts to fuel energy, research, doing and completion, rather than letting those same doubts spiral down into self-defeating anxiety. You can tell the difference, the alchemy when you look at this reflective blog post (nice, sure, but I’m burying the lead, I’m guiding you into something rather than bravely just going for it) and the blog post I wrote for Uncanny Magazine that went live today! In that post I get straight to the heart of it. I am Liz, creator of the Things. Thank you so much to everyone who nominated me for a Hugo, simply making it to the long list was one of the best feelings I’ve had this year. I am launching a Patreon. Patronage does so much! I would love your support. Thank you for supporting me, and thank you for supporting Uncanny Magazine. ^ Only more eloquent, because I was writing it for them, not me. Here is what I wrote for them THIS IS A VERY LONG WAY OF SAYING my Patreon is live. Through that website, you can nourish creators like me for as little as $1 a month. I can already feel how it’s motivating me as a creator, I want to book more shows and reach out to my neighbors more. I would love your support. Thank you for reading this and go check it out!

Mayara, the tamarin the size of a tamarind seed, brings you her response to “Monster Girls Don’t Cry” by Merc Rustad over at Uncanny Magazine. Go check it out! “Monster Girls Don’t Cry” contained a lot of what I was soul food to me when I was teen, speculative fiction with enough teeth, hope and strength. It reminded me of what Merc has said about her mission and vision when she writes stories (you can read more about that from my interview with her over at Lightspeed for her story “Finding Home”). Don’t forget to sign up for our e-postcards if you would like to get interesting doodles, sketches and links that only subscribers receive!