Having a Moment for Margaret's April 2023 Nearly Monthly News
It's April!
Sometimes people ask me why I didn't stick with multiplatform/interactive storytelling after The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Welcome to Sanditon. The honest answer is that at the time, the two career paths available to me in the space were: 1) the relentless hustle of indie productions or 2) working in the marketing department of a traditional media company. And those just weren't what I wanted to do.
That said, I have a ton of respect for my friends who are out there finding cool and exciting new ways to enrich a story world at the same time as they raise awareness for a project. And this month, I want to give a shout-out to a couple of film marketing teams that are absolutely killing it. (As far as I know, I don't know anyone working on either of these, but if you did, tell me!)
The new Barbie movie (which has no connection afaik to any of the series I've written for) followed up their excellent "2001" trailer with the infectious "Hi Barbie" trailer and an impressively sticky meme generator.
Meanwhile, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret smartly sells itself not just on nostalgia, but as a vehicle for intergenerational bonding. Their #MargaretMoments campaign hasn't quite caught fire in my social media feed, but every time I see it, it makes me smile. Because hey, my entire life is--by definition--nothing but #MargaretMoments.
(When your name is Margaret, not every #MargaretMoment is life-changing.)
From my Desk
My latest short story, "We Are Happy to Serve You," should be hitting newsstands in the May/June issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction any minute now! Keep and eye out, and let me know if you spot it in the wild.
What I'm Reading and Watching
I decided to take a break from catching up with all of post-90s Star Trek by checking out Judy Blume Forever (Amazon Prime Video), which was a fascinating documentary full of trenchant observations about writing, reading, and censorship.
On the book front, I recently finished weeping my way through A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers, second in the Wayfarers series. Even if you're not as soft a touch as I am, I strongly recommend it.
From the Cutting Room Floor of the Duolingo Dystopia
It turns out Falstaff has very strong opinions about wildlife.
And That's the Nearly Monthly News!
April showers may traditionally bring May flowers, but Los Angeles has started drying out this month and the flowers are spectacular. How's the weather where you are? Send a flower photo and I might feature it in the next newsletter. Otherwise, I'll see you next month!