November has been a full and festive whirlwind so far! We kicked things off with Guy Fawkes Night on the 5th: an annual tradition now with our local Club Anglais. There’s nothing like firelight and fireworks to warm the start of the month.
We also welcomed the holiday season early this year with our traditional rewatch of The Nightmare Before Christmas, and our decorations will be going up soon.
Despite the sunny and unusually warm days we've had lately, winter is finally creeping in—we're heading for 30°F temps this week and I'm already eyeing my coziest scarf.
On the creative side, there’s movement and momentum:
✨ My track "What Happened" has now been fully mixed and mastered, which means it's nearly ready for release on music platforms!
📝 I've also received new edits back on my current writing project, so I’ll be diving into those revisions soon.
📚 And mark your calendars—I'll be part of the Book Dragon virtual signing on the 22nd! Come by if you can if you’re in the UK, Stockton-on-Tees area; it’s always a fun way to connect and discover new reads.
Of course, we'll be wrapping up the month with our own cozy celebration of Thanksgiving, taking a much-needed pause to reflect and breathe before the December madness sets in.
Ongoing Projects
My jazz track “What Happened” has been mixed and mastered! At last! Here is a peek at the cover !
I have finished my first short children’s story in my “Young Dreamers” series. It’s called “In the Clouds” and focuses on my bookish character Asteria, an introverted girl who loves reading. (heavily modeled after me when I was younger). Hers will be the 1st story in the series out of 4. I have tried generating images of her through MidJourney. What image do you prefer?
The story is available as a free download below!
Asteria option 1
Asteria option 2
Last month I published a prose poem re-telling of the ballet Giselle. It has always fascinated me and I got it in my head to write an adaptation of the ballet into a piece that fuses historical elements from another era, located in Florida where I grew up. The location in the story is a place I frequented as a child, a lonely skate park in Clermont. I’m happy to have finalized the story as it was challenging to write. I have done a reading of the beginning of the story (video below) and I’m re-attaching the story for those who didn’t get to last month. I will be composing an atmospheric spooky song to go with the story.
Gothmas Corner
It’s that glorious time of year where pumpkins give way to pine trees, and skeletons don’t quite want to go back in the closet yet.
So let’s have some fun…
Would You Rather:
Get trapped in a snow globe ruled by skeletal reindeer?
Attend a Yule Ball hosted by Dracula (dress code: velvet capes only)?
Receive mysterious presents from an ancient forest spirit who watches you sleep?
Hear carolers singing in Latin while hovering six inches off the ground at a school concert?
Hit reply and let me know your pick—or make up your own creepy-cozy scenario! I might feature a few of the best responses in the next issue (with your permission, of course).
Final Thoughts
As November wraps itself in chilly mornings and foggy days, I find myself feeling both stretched and strangely grounded. Between schoolwork, edits, final mixes, and holiday planning, there’s a kind of quiet momentum building: like the hush before snow, or the breath between scenes.
If this season has been a whirlwind for you too, I hope you find a pocket of stillness somewhere. A cozy nook, a good story, a familiar song.
Don’t forget:
– You can scroll back up to read my story “In the Clouds”
– You can download my prose poem “Havena and the Deer Women” and listen to the beginning.
– And of course, tell me your pick in this month’s Gothmas “Would You Rather”—just hit reply and let your imagination run wild
Wishing you warmth, weirdness, and plenty of second helpings this Thanksgiving.
With gratitude,
“Life is for the living.
Death is for the dead.
Let life be like music.
And death a note unsaid.”
― Langston Hughes, The Collected Poems