November 2024

an event, some cozy thoughts, and hot characters

Maiga Doocy
November 20, 2024

Hello readers.

What a month, eh? It feels like much longer than that since Sorcery and Small Magics was released. Trying to write a newsletter after the whirlwind of debuting and then the general upheaval of November has been a bit of a challenge, but it finally came together! So let’s chat about some things.

Happenings

come see us!

On December 4th I will be at Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT with the fabulous Sophie Burnham! Sophie and I have already shouted at each other a bunch in DMs about debuting with queer speculative books, media we love, and the highs and lows of publishing, and we’re very excited to wrangle all our thoughts into an author talk format for you. It should be a great night and we would love to see you there so be sure to grab a seat.
ICYMI I finally shared pictures of the gorgeous Fairyloot edition of Sorcery and Small Magics over on my Instagram. I truly can’t get over how pretty it is.
Honestly, there are not many happenings going on right now because I am mostly retreating into my writer’s cave to work on Wildersongs 2. Which, of course, I can’t really talk much about. Mostly because none of it makes sense yet to anyone but me. All I will say is that two songs currently in heavy rotation on the book 2 playlist are Mine Forever by Lord Huron, and this cover of Nothing Else Matters by Apocalyptica. Make of that what you will.

Keeping Things Cozy

We're headed into cozy season, which means that lots of people are reaching for books to match the mood. And there are so many to choose from! Cozy fantasy really had a stellar year. My book is frequently counted among the many offerings on display, but I often find myself wondering what it actually takes to be considered “cozy”, especially in the fantasy realm. Is it specific plot devices? The mood? The type of struggles that the characters face? Just one of these things, or do you need all three?

This is on my mind a lot as I work on book two of the Wildersongs. The truth is, Sorcery and Small Magics was not originally conceived as a cozy fantasy. It was drafted in a pre Legends & Lattes world, and so I gave no consideration at all to the level of peril or angst, nor whether the monsters I was writing were too sinister. Certainly the problems that Leo and Grimm face aren’t world-ending, but should they fail in their quest, should Leo remain cursed, it would be the end of his world as he knows it. I wasn’t intending to shy away from darkness with this book, simply explore it on a smaller and more personal level. The cozy label did not exist yet, so I couldn’t worry about writing a book that suited it. But I also love to add a healthy dose of whimsy to my stories, as well as humor, and so here we are!

I see other books and media dancing along the edge of this categorization in various ways. The Spellshop is full of delicious jam and wondrous creatures, but it also starts out with Kiela fleeing grave unrest in her city. Wendell from Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is delightful, but also delightfully vicious at times. And for all that Miyazaki’s films are often described as cute and colorful, they deal with some heavy subject matter. Sure, they’re usually about children going on an adventure, but they are also about grief, and war, and industrialism, and how these things lurk beneath almost everything else we do. Is there some sort of scale people are using when they decide what is cozy? Does Howl’s brattiness cancel out the war raging just outside the door?

One of the strangest parts about publishing a book is that it puts you in a position to answer a lot of questions, but I have trouble answering these ones. I could talk all day about my influences, or how the magic system in SASM was born, but when people ask me about writing a cozy fantasy I find myself wanting to explain that I stumbled into it more by chance than anything else. I’m not quite sure yet how marketing labels will shape this series in the future, but I hope that I can keep writing books without knowing exactly where they will fit on the shelf, and I hope that they contain both whimsy and darkness. Because (just like when I’m watching a Miyazaki film) it’s the balance that interests me.

Is there something in particular that makes fantasy feel cozy for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Filling The Well

Books: I had trouble making up my mind what I was in the mood for over the past month, which means I’ve been relying on some shorter and more comforting reads lately. I read the first two volumes of the exquisitely illustrated The Girl From the Other Side and am planning to keep going with it. I also started reading Witch Hat Atelier and find it so charming. I read You Should Be So Lucky and it made me cry not once but three times (it was okay, I needed a good cry) and warmed my heart to make up for it. And currently, I have finally returned to the Vorkosigan saga with the second book in the series, Barrayar. I love the way that Lois McMaster Bujold crafts her stories and characters with such straightforward elegance.

Shows: Listen, I’ve watched a lot of stuff this past month, but we have to talk about Arcane first because OH BOY! I love this show. I love how beautiful it is to watch, and I love how it plays with your emotions, and I love how propulsive and action packed it is. Vi and Jinx are wreaking havoc on my feelings and I am so here for it. Also, how do I have a crush on this many animated characters? How are they all so hot? I can’t wait for the next 3 episodes to drop. Alright, now that we’ve talked about that… I watched s3 of Vox Machina and found it enjoyable as ever (though I must admit I’m champing at the bit to see my personal favs, the Mighty Nine, get the animated treatment). I devoured the latest season of Slow Horses and it remains one of the few shows full of unlikable people doing ill-advised things that leaves me gleeful instead of frustrated. Upon coming back from Comic Con last month I was exhausted and looking for something to binge and ended up thoroughly enjoying Agatha All Along. That song will be stuck in my head forever, and the ending left me wanting a tad more, but overall it was very good fun and Katherine Hahn is incredible.

I’ll be back in December with some of my 2024 favorites!