Where did January go?
New year, new month, new newsletter.
Hello again! I hope you had a good holiday, whatever you celebrate this time of the year.
For a hot minute in December, I was freelancing for three different animated series at the same time. This isn't the first time this has happened, and indeed, not that unusual in the industry (#payanimationwriters), but it's not something I particularly recommend. Balancing the demands of two shows as a freelancer? Doable (generally). But with three? Let's just say the slack comes out of the system very quickly.
If you're looking at breaking into this section of the industry, I'm not going to tell you never to work three shows at once (because clearly I have), but do try to make sure you're not picking up show three until you're almost done with show one or two.
Of course, now that I'm down to only working on two shows, it feels like I'm just made of time. So what am I doing with my newfound leisure?
From My Desk
On January 15, my second episode of Blade Runner: Black Lotus "Clair de Lune" dropped on Crunchy Roll and Adult Swim. If you're in the mood for replicants, music and angst, check it out.
"L'hiver est assiss sur un banc" is up at The Deadlands, along with the rest of their amazing content both fiction and non. Out in December 2021, it's eligible for Best Short Story if you're nominating for the Hugos, the Nebulas, or other SFF/H awards.
If you're a writer, I'll be teaching my "Demystifying Outlines" class for the Cat Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers on Saturday, March 26 from 9:30am-11:30am Pacific Time. That's a ways off, but this class has filled in the past, so if you know you want to take it, you might want to go ahead and register.
Cat also has a bunch of other exciting courses coming up from some amazing instructors. Here's the full list.
What I'm Reading and Watching this Month
For Hanukkah, my mother got me a copy of Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. I'm about a third of the way through, and so far it's a witty, adventurous ride. (That said, CW: attempted sexual assault)
On the TV side, Travel Man hosted by Richard Ayoade is not only hilarious, it's also the vicarious foreign travel fix I didn't know I needed. (Available on multiple streaming platforms)
From the Cutting Room Floor of the Duolingo Dystopia
Once again, Yiddish came through with a gem:
[Image Description: Lucy says: "My cat is still unemployed." in Yiddish and English]
Hey Lucy, not every cat can be a pro-union labor activist.
And that's the Nearly Monthly news!
Hope that 2022 is treating you well. Questions? Comments? Let me know. Otherwise, I'll see you in February!