Alex's February Roundup
This sure has been a month, huh?
Hi all! I hope you had a nice February. I had a decent one. I turned 27, which of course was very exciting. I type this now with a purring kitty on my lap, which is also very exciting. Plus, I got into grad school! I’ll be sharing more about that shortly. In the meantime, here’s some other fun updates from Alex town.
Wait, isn’t the country burning?
Yes, it is. So before we get to the fun stuff, here are a few things you can do to help unburn the country.
The Department of Education has opened an “End DEI” portal where people can report instances of DEI in schools. Wouldn’t it be a shame if that portal was flooded with false reports? It would make it very difficult to investigate any of them. Just a thought.
Donate money to a local cause. Even if’s only a few dollars, even if it’s not to an institution but to someone you met in need. Just make a small financial donation to your community.
In my reccomended newsletters, there’s one called “Chop Wood, Carry Water” by Jessica Craven. It provides you with daily action items, and the tools you need to complete them.
We need to keep resisting, but that doesn’t mean giving up on the joy in our lives. We can have both. A little action every day goes a long way.
Gun Wizards
And now for something completely different. These wizards have guns!
My Zine Month 2025 project, Gun Wizards, fully funded on BackerKit! Actually, it’s 415% funded because TTRPG people are amazing. I’m super excited to get to share it with people. If you missed the chance to be a backer, don’t worry. You can still get the game supplement on my itch.
Who Gave this Robot a Gun?
That’s the name of the essay that got me into grad school. And guess what! It was published by Interstellar Flight Magazine. If you’re interested in an article about personhood in robot narratives, I hope you enjoy.
And in case you were curious what a ROBOT has to say about this essay on robots, here’s the AI summary provided by Google:
That’s right, the scenerio is LIKELY fictional.
But not necessarily.
Look out.
(Just to be clear, that is NOT in fact what the article is about.)
Alex, why does so much of your work revolve around guns?
I’m very scared of guns. I think fear subconsciously seeps out into my work. Oops.
What about those crabs?
Yeah, I’m still working on the crabs too! In fact, I have big news about the crabs!
The sequel to Empress of Dust, Relic of Haven, is set to by published by Space Wizard Science Fantasy this Fall!
This book has been in the works for YEARS, and I hope fans of the first book will return to follow the Ivies on their next adventure.
In fact, I was recently interviewed about the series by Grace Griego. Read the interview here!
Coming soon…
After over a year of development, Strong Branch is ready to start recording our next show.
Coming soon: Murder Babies! A “true” crime podcast. Grace and I have been working on these scripts fora while, and we thrilled to get to share soon.
Cover by Tehya Basileia!
Creator Spotlight
For this month’s creator spotlight, I’m shouting out Mark P.J. Nadon’s book The Collective, which is coming out March 6! You can download the sort story “The Scent of Power” for FREE here!
Thanks for reading. Here’s hoping that this March is kind to you.
Much appreciation,
Alex