Welcome to the Hugo Readalong! Today we will be discussing The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal. If you'd like to look back at past discussions or to plan future reading, check out the full schedule post.
As always, everyone is welcome in the discussion, whether you've participated in other discussions or not. If you haven't read the book, you're still welcome, but beware untagged spoilers.
Discussion prompts will be posted as top-level comments. I'll start with a few, but feel free to add your own!
Upcoming schedule:
| Date | Category | Book | Author | Discussion Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, August 24 | Graphic | Invisible Kingdom, vol.2: Edge of Everything | Willow Wilson, Christian Ward | u/Dsnake1 |
| Monday, August 30 | Lodestar | Elatsoe | Darcie Little Badger | u/Moonlitgrey |
| Thursday, September 2 | Astounding | Silver in the Wood | Emily Tesh | u/Cassandra_Sanguine |
| Wednesday, September 8 | Novella | Come Tumbling Down | Seanan McGuire | u/happy_book_bee |
| Wednesday, September 15 | Novel | Network Effect | Martha Wells | u/gracefruits |
The Relentless Moon, Mary Robinette Kowal
>The Earth is coming to the boiling point as the climate disaster of the Meteor strike becomes more and more clear, but the political situation is already overheated. Riots and sabotage plague the space program. The IAC's goal of getting as many people as possible off Earth before it becomes uninhabitable is being threatened.
Elma York is on her way to Mars, but the Moon colony is still being established. Her friend and fellow Lady Astronaut Nicole Wargin is thrilled to be one of those pioneer settlers, using her considerable flight and political skills to keep the program on track. But she is less happy that her husband, the Governor of Kansas, is considering a run for President.
Bingo squares: First Person POV; Mystery Plot (HM); Cat Squasher (Suggest others in the comments!)
I was once talking to author Dan Wells, author of I Am Not A Serial Killer and co-host of Writing Excuses, who told me that many of the books that had come out in the latter half of 2016 in the weeks and months leading up to the presidential election at the time simply got buried and did not perform as well as they could have and should have.
That makes sense—it was a stressful time for everyone, and very few had the bandwidth left to follow the release of some more niche fantasy books that year. He mentioned that he had a book come out during the week of the election, Extreme Makeover, and his friend, former SFWA President Mary Robinette Kowal had a book come out in August of that year, Ghost Talkers, both of which had gotten buried.
Sure enough, on Goodreads, Ghost Talkers has 1/5 of the ratings of The Calculating Stars and 1/3 of the ratings of Kowal's debut, Shades of Milk and Honey. I had heard Brandon Sanderson praise Ghost Talkers before, so I decided to check it out, having already been a fan of Kowal's Lady Astronaut books.
I did not expect this to become a new favorite.
The Premise
Ghost Talkers is a standalone historical fantasy mystery thriller that takes place in 1916 during World War I. Our main character, Ginger Stuyvesant, is an American woman who works for the Spirit Corps of the British Army as a "medium", channeling the ghosts of dead soldiers to gather military intelligence for the war effort. Each soldier heading for the front is conditioned to report to the mediums of the Spirit Corps when they die so the Corps can pass instant information about troop movements to military intelligence.
One day, however, a ghost comes in claiming to have died not in battle, but in their home camp, in a manner that didn't allow him to see his killer's face. Ginger concludes that there is a traitor in their Army working to undermine the entire war effort—but being a woman, without the presence of her high-ranking fiancé, her superiors don't believe her. So Ginger sets out on her own to stop the traitor and save the war.
Pretty awesome right?
Characters
Kowal, as usual, shines in her charming and nuanced characterization of her protagonist and her supporting cast. Ginger is charismatic, determined, and a downright force of nature, who nevertheless feels all too human and vulnerable as she is struggling with the things that are happening around her and the things that are happening to her. I really can't go into this without
... keep reading on reddit ➡I have never cheered as hard whilst reading a book as I did when I got to the last chapter of The Calculating Stars.
Cheered and cried to be honest with you. Elma's journey is heartbreaking, frustrating, disappointing, hilarious, filled with heart, and joyful.
How can it be all of those seemingly contradictory things?
It comes down to Kowal and her incredible ability to create some of the most realistic characters I have ever read.
But first let me fill you in on the world that Kowal builds. The Calculating Stars is alternate scifi history. In the 50s a meteorite strikes the east coast of America, and the resulting environmental effects are essentially going to make Earth uninhabitable.
Enter Elma York.
You love Elma. You love her when she stands up for herself and others in the face of 1950s (and today, let's be honest) misogyny. You love her when she puts the opinions of other people ahead of her own, despite her being right. You love her when she views herself as fragile, as weak, even though you know she is neither of those things. You love Elma when she is right, when she is wrong, when she is frustrating and when she is hilarious.
She is the heart of this novel and what a heart it is. Elma York has more depth than the entire cast of some novels and as you travel with her through this period of her life you get to know her inside and out. But she isn't the only character in the novel, she is the main one, sure, but every character is thought out and everyone is fleshed out.
There's Elma's husband, Nathaniel, the supportive, also frustrating and also sometimes pig-headed partner. He is a wonderful character because he is believable. Parker, the antagonist, though it feels reductive to label him as such. As a 'bad guy' he is one of the best. Because he is what a lot of men in positions of power would have been like in the 50s. He belittles not just Elma but all women on the basis of gender. He is crass, rude, and seemingly wants nothing more than to see her fail. But Kowal does that exceedingly rare thing and makes him more than a caricature. She turns him into a character, one as complex and with as many layers as Elma herself.
And I would be completely remiss if I didn't mention the cavalcade of other amazing women that populate the novel. All pilots, all striving for something more than the scraps they are given by the misogynistic society they live in.
Helen, Nicole, Sabiha, Jacira, Betty. All of them are complex in their own way. N
... keep reading on reddit ➡Hello all! I am Mary Robinette Kowal (u/MaryRobinette), current president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA). Joining me today are Executive Director Kate Baker (u/Kate_Baker) and Director-At-Large Monica Valentinelli (u/mlvalentine).
We’re here to answer any questions you might have about SFWA as an organization as well as questions on #DisneyMustPay and the Alan Dean Foster situation. (I say “any” but what I really mean is “anything that is our story to tell.”) If you're unfamiliar with #DisneyMustPay, we have our full statement available on the SFWA website about this campaign. The short version is that Disney has failed to pay royalties to Foster and other authors. In early communications with us, Disney argued that they purchased the rights but not the obligations surrounding the author contracts, which has deeply concerning ramifications. If that became a legal precedent, any author whose contract has been bought or sold may no longer have a right to royalty payments.
SFWA is now having ongoing discussions with Disney concerning these unpaid royalty payments and unreported book sales statements for Alan Dean Foster and other writers.
We're also more than happy to chat about our individual projects! Ask me about my Lady Astronaut books or puppetry, find out what Kate is up to with podcasting or her adorable menace of a kitten, or see what games Monica is working her magic on.
---------------------------------------------------
Mary Robinette Kowal, President (u/MaryRobinette)
Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of the Lady Astronaut series and historical fantasy novels: The Glamourist Histories series and Ghost Talkers. She’s the President of SFWA, a member of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses and has received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, four Hugo awards, the RT Reviews award for Best Fantasy Novel, the Nebula award, and Locus awards. Stories have appeared in Strange Horizons, Asimov’s, several Year’s Best anthologies and her collections Word Puppets and Scenting the Dark and Other Stories.
Her novel Calculating Stars is one of only eighteen novels to win the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards in a single year.
As a professional puppeteer and voice actor (SAG/AFTRA), Mary Robinette has performed for LazyTown (CBS), the Center for Puppetry Arts, Jim Henson Pictures, and founded Other Hand Productions. Her designs
... keep reading on reddit ➡
I was going back and forth on whether to review this as a good work of diamond-hard science fiction or as a powerful intersectional feminist story. It is all of those things, and it is awesome, so I’m not going to worry about it and just talk about what it was like to read the book.
The premise is that there’s a major asteroid strike off the East Coast of the US in the 1950s. While the tsunami and the pressure wave and the firestorm are all devastating, the long real problem is the effect on the climate. There’s going to be a few years of very cold weather, owing to all the dust kicked up by the strike, but once the dust (literally) settles, there’s going to be a bigger problem: the asteroid through enough stuff into the atmosphere to start a runaway greenhouse effect, one that will leave Earth uninhabitable in the not-too-distant future. World governments generally accept this warning from scientists (in a perfect world this shouldn't be the most unbelievable part of a science fiction story, but here we are) and begin an ambitious space program with the goal of establishing colonies so that humanity won’t go extinct.
What follows is something very close to the real-world Apollo program, but a few years earlier and greatly accelerated. I assume the sequels will move beyond that - this book stops before there’s a manned lunar mission.
The book is told from the perspective of a woman named Elma, wife of a rocket engineer in the fictional version of NASA. In her own right she’s got PhDs in math and physics, is an accomplished pilot, and is capable of incredible calculations in her head. In other words, she’d make a great astronaut … too bad she’s a woman.
The focusing story for the book is Elma’s efforts to get women accepted as astronauts, and it’s a damned powerful story of sexism (and racism and anti-Semitism). I don’t really feel like there’s much I can or should say about it, because as a straight white dude this is all so far outside of my experience. I will say, however, that when I was about 75% through the book I told the friend that recommended the book to me that “if at least one of these women doesn’t lose her shit over all the bullshit they’re being put through, I’m going to lose mine.”
One thing that I wish Mary Robinette Kowal had addressed more explicitly was the effect of the asteroid so soon after the Holocaust. Those who have read the book might be surprised to see me say this, because Elma and her husband are both Jewish. In the after
... keep reading on reddit ➡Set in my least favourite era - the 1950s and 60s in the US. I still gave it a chance after the author did an AMA with other representatives of SFWA here. AND OH MY GOD AM I EVER GLAD I GOT OVER MY ISSUES WITH THIS ERA. Since it won a bunch of awards, it probably doesn't need my endorsement, but it was my favourite new (to me) series of 2020, and so I want to write about it.
The Lady Astronaut series on Goodreads: > > On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process. > > Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too. > > Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.
Here's what I liked:
The first book sucked me in right from the beginning. A meteorite hits and two extremely smart and well-educated people have to make decisions, fast, to survive. I love reading about competent people, and that first chapter got me over my disinterest in the era very quickly.
I also liked how social issues were not glossed over because they were problematic in that time. Instead, they're faced head-on. Women aren't magically accepted as equal, they have to fight tooth and nail for every inch. Cataclysmic events can sometimes open doors, however, as we've seen throughout history. That doesn't mean that reporters don't write about how lovely the "astronettes" looked and that their opinions are often dismissed. It also doesn't mean that the white main character of the first two books is magically woke and understands the struggles her Black colleagues face. She's well-meaning but clumsy, in a way that I considered real
... keep reading on reddit ➡Download your copy at https://ebookclub.tor.com/ before 11:59PM EDT, June 26th, 2020.
Nominally, this offer is only available to US and Canada residents, but redditors are a resourceful bunch who seem to find ways around this restriction.
NOTE: I have no connection with Tor, except as a consumer of their product.
Happy reading!
https://preview.redd.it/5jbg5e0z3wv51.jpg?width=907&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c38883ef1c8945ac00c2b88430e697c738d34d5d
The Calculating Stars is an alternate history take on the space race, with the major world powers working in unison rather than against each other. It is centered around the life of Elma, a computer working for the NACA (the precursor of the NASA), and later for the International Space Coalition. She’s an ex WWII pilot who wants to be an astronaut, which proves difficult given the context of the 1950s in the USA.
Overall, I quite enjoyed the book, and only have a couple of nitpicky criticisms, which I’ll explain near the end.
My favorite part was the relationship between Elma and her husband. It was adult, mature and supportive rather than driven by drama and spectacle as most fictional relationships tend to be. The two people that formed it came across as genuinely in love with each other and there was the occasional barter and give-and-take.
Another aspect of the story I greatly enjoyed was the scientific aspects of it, which felt very plausible and much more science than fiction. I am actually studying aerospace engineering (though this is my first year) and nothing stood out to me as an error. The only aspect that was more farfetched (as the author herself explains at the end) was the plausibility of long-range space travel with a human computer instead of a mechanical one.
The other major strength of the story was character. Most of them felt like real people with complex and nuanced motivations and their actions didn’t come across as plot-driven or forced. The one exception to this would be Parker’s character, whose motivations I had a lot of trouble understanding. Sometimes he was plain sexist while others he was just in it to spite our main character. Maybe this was the direction the author wanted to go in, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.
My other complaints would be some of the unresolved plotlines, one of which I felt should have been resolved in this book, while the other I could see working in the sequel and the ending, which was maybe a little too optimistic for my particular taste (I really liked the ending of Pompeo, in which the character commits suicide, so take my opinion with a grain of salt). That said, the final scenes were really good and I enjoyed them a lot.
Mary Robinette Kowal’s prose is also solid, though not as lyrical as that of some of my favorite writers like Ray Bradbury or Andrea Pazien
... keep reading on reddit ➡
The cover of the American version (I think).
This graphic novel is set in a futuristic world where there are only women and where buildings float in space. It follows two girls in a space-school as they start developing feelings for each other as well as one of the girls after she leaves school and starts working with a crew in the space-building-repairing business.
One of the buildings they repair.
Not only was this a great romance but it also had very out-of-the-box worldbuilding and unique characters, all of which are LGTB in one way or another.
One of my favorite panels in the whole novel.
The art was also amazing, with Walden being one of my favorite currently-working artists. While being more on the cartoony and minimalist side of comic art (unlike more detail-focused artists like Moebius or Bilal), it has great, bright colors and her characters are easy empathize with.
One of the more heart wrenching moments in the comic.
If this was not enough, it is available FOR FREE on her website (https://www.onasunbeam.com/), for those of you who want to check it out before committing to it.
You can check her out on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/tilliewalden/) or on her website (https://www.tilliewalden.com/) and see more of the great stuff she's done (she started doing comics at 17 and has won two Eisners now at 24) .
Finally, if you want to check some of my reviews, r/Story_Reviews is always open, as is my blog; Understanding Stories (link in my bio because it does weird things when I put it in a post).
So I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of The Original by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal without sacrificing my first born to the audiobook gods. Since it's coming out today, I figured it might be nice to share some impressions.
The Medium:
It's impossible to discuss this story without first talking about the medium. The choice to make this audio-exclusive is certainly atypical and didn't seem to be necessary to tell the story. Audiobooks are getting bigger, but I imagine there are a lot of people who will be turned off by the format. On the upside, the audio is done fantastically. Julia Whelan does a great job as narrator. There were also some skillfully integrated sound effects that emphasized tense moments of the story.
The Premise:
Holly Winseed wakes up in a hospital bed with her memories scattered, only to face an uncomfortable revelation: she murdered her husband. Or, a version of her has at least. This Holly is a clone, equipped with most of her original's memories and a whole new murderous skill set to boot. Holly is given a simple option, she has to kill her original or die in four days herself. While Holly tries to come to terms with how she could have harmed her husband, her investigation draws her into a plot that's much bigger than this singular murder.
The Review:
Now on to the story itself! The original did a good job grabbing my attention from the get-go. The story immediately presents a compelling central mystery and the plot flows smoothly from there. The narrative skillfully interweaves action and tidbits of mystery. The premise is pretty standard 'grim ethics-questioning sci-fi', but it's executed well and the fast plot makes it easy to stay hooked. The mystery has a satisfying resolution, and the events and scope of the plot were interesting.
Contrary to what the premise would imply, cloning technology is not the main tech under investigation here. In the world of The Original, nanotechnologies have advanced to the degree that aging and non-mortal wounds are a non-issue. Through these nanobots, humans can now change the world to match whatever cosmetic 'theme' they choose. Your world could look like a tropical paradise or a cartoonish haunted world, you decide. This was one of the most interesting parts of the book, because I hadn't seen the idea of such an individually customized reality anywhere else.
Broadly, the characters feel authentic. The main character Holly in particular is going throu
... keep reading on reddit ➡The Original managed to be a first or near-first for me in many, many respects. It was my first audio-only title, first audiobook with sound effects, first collaborative effort and (probably) the first book from Sanderson that I didn’t see coming in any respect since 2014.
Since the story itself is so short, I think the audiobook is all of three and a half hours, I won’t get into details of the plot. The world however I will discuss a bit. It is set in a distant future which has achieved technology reminiscent of Altered Carbon. People can store their memories to a certain point so if they were to die, they can be reborn in a new body. Naturally, there are different factions and groups with opinions on the morality of cloning and violating the natural order of things as well as the government’s influence in these matters.
The other worldbuilding aspect I loved was the “theme” people used. Individuals could customize their surroundings, affecting all five senses and overlay these changes onto the world like a green screen. As the main character, functioning without a theme, navigates this world she sees both the world as it truly is as well as glimpses into the themes of others by bumping into them. This led to one of my favorite thematic discussions: how much of the world is truly real when everything people see is run through a filter?
As cloning is a significant part of the world, there is no small amount of discussion related to identity but I felt it was handled with a deft hand and didn’t tread the same ground as every sci-fi story ever.
My biggest criticism has to be some of the prose. While I’m not normally a stickler for prose, it is difficult to hear “heck” twice in four hours, with a “hella” thrown in for good measure. In the right story, these elements could have worked. This was not that story.
The last point I'll make is the sound effects used throughout the story. I really enjoyed them and felt they added a wonderful depth to the audiobook experience. As this is my first experience with sound effects, I can't compare to others but Daniel Greene and Merphy Napier (both popular Youtubers who reviewed this book) spoke very highly of them. As with many things, your mileage may vary.
This is a book I see myself returning to many times to pick apart the little details I missed the first time and, simply, because I had a lot of fun.
Overall 4/5
Given how short The Original is, I won't get into spoilers this time. You can, ho
... keep reading on reddit ➡Hi there! I'm Mary Robinette Kowal and I have three unrelated careers. I'm an author, a professional puppeteer, and an audiobook narrator.
My short fiction is sort of all over the speculative fiction map. My novels are science-fiction or fantasy. (So far.) The first series, The Glamourist Histories, is sort of like Jane Austen with magic. Then I did Ghost Talkers, which is set in WWI with ghosts and mediums and spycraft and stuff like that. But you're probably interested in the Calculating Stars, which is book one of the Lady Astronaut duology. Oh! And if you want to read free stories, I have some on my site. I’m also a member of the Hugo-award winning podcast Writing Excuses.
So there's also the puppetry. In high school, I was doing puppetry as a hobby, but I went after an art degree, minoring in theater and speech. While performing as Audrey II in a performance of Little Shop of Horrors, a professional puppeteer came to the show and I was like... "Wait. People actually pay you? To do this?" And pretty much changed career paths on the dime. I went on to intern at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, GA. With over twenty years of experience, I have performed for LazyTown (CBS), the Center for Puppetry Arts, Jim Henson Pictures and Sesame Street. You got questions about puppets? I got answers.
For the audiobook stuff, I'm a member of SAG/AFTRA. As the voice behind several audio books and short stories, I've recorded fiction for authors such as Neal Stephenson, Cory Doctorow and Seanan McGuire. And my own books, too. It's sorta like puppetry, without the pain.
I live in Chicago with my husband Robert and, at current count, nineteen manual typewriters.
And now random stuff -- I lived in Iceland for year and a half, working on the show Lazytown. Two cats. I'm obligated to mention the cats, right? I include a Doctor Who cameo in every novel.
When I say that you can ask me anything, I really mean it. I’ll talk about everything from hand-sewing period costumes, to shoving my hand up things, to writing, to depression.
Proof: https://twitter.com/MaryRobinette/status/1034969392386371584
Edited at 6:11pm: I'm stepping out to have dinner with my parents, who I'm visiting this week. I'll be back in around 7:30 pm Eastern to keep answering questions.
Edited at 7:54pm: Back and alternating between [making a lemon icebox pie](https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/
... keep reading on reddit ➡I'm here at ConFusion doing panels on fiction, costuming, and carrying two flasks of scotch with me. Ask me anything. No. Really. I might lie to you, but I will answer.
https://preview.redd.it/kveut0dx3wv51.jpg?width=907&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b11b127d0531b0fb819722afc7676bac058e3ce
The Calculating Stars is an alternate history take on the space race, with the major world powers working in unison rather than against each other. It is centered around the life of Elma, a computer working for the NACA (the precursor of the NASA), and later for the International Space Coalition. She’s an ex WWII pilot who wants to be an astronaut, which proves difficult given the context of the 1950s in the USA.
Overall, I quite enjoyed the book, and only have a couple of nitpicky criticisms, which I’ll explain near the end.
My favorite part was the relationship between Elma and her husband. It was adult, mature and supportive rather than driven by drama and spectacle as most fictional relationships tend to be. The two people that formed it came across as genuinely in love with each other and there was the occasional barter and give-and-take.
Another aspect of the story I greatly enjoyed was the scientific aspects of it, which felt very plausible and much more science than fiction. I am actually studying aerospace engineering (though this is my first year) and nothing stood out to me as an error. The only aspect that was more farfetched (as the author herself explains at the end) was the plausibility of long-range space travel with a human computer instead of a mechanical one.
The other major strength of the story was character. Most of them felt like real people with complex and nuanced motivations and their actions didn’t come across as plot-driven or forced. The one exception to this would be Parker’s character, whose motivations I had a lot of trouble understanding. Sometimes he was plain sexist while others he was just in it to spite our main character. Maybe this was the direction the author wanted to go in, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.
My other complaints would be some of the unresolved plotlines, one of which I felt should have been resolved in this book, while the other I could see working in the sequel and the ending, which was maybe a little too optimistic for my particular taste (I really liked the ending of Pompeo, in which the character commits suicide, so take my opinion with a grain of salt). That said, the final scenes were really good and I enjoyed them a lot.
Mary Robinette Kowal’s prose is also solid, though not as lyrical as that of some of my favorite writers like Ray Bradbury or Andrea Pazienza
... keep reading on reddit ➡#Click here to visit the AMA and ask a question
Hi there! I'm Mary Robinette Kowal and I have three unrelated careers. I'm an author, a professional puppeteer, and an audiobook narrator.
My short fiction is sort of all over the speculative fiction map. My novels are science-fiction or fantasy. (So far.) The first series, The Glamourist Histories, is sort of like Jane Austen with magic. Then I did Ghost Talkers, which is set in WWI with ghosts and mediums and spycraft and stuff like that. But you're probably interested in the Calculating Stars, which is book one of the Lady Astronaut duology. Oh! And if you want to read free stories, I have some on my site. I’m also a member of the Hugo-award winning podcast Writing Excuses.
So there's also the puppetry. In high school, I was doing puppetry as a hobby, but I went after an art degree, minoring in theater and speech. While performing as Audrey II in a performance of Little Shop of Horrors, a professional puppeteer came to the show and I was like... "Wait. People actually pay you? To do this?" And pretty much changed career paths on the dime. I went on to intern at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, GA. With over twenty years of experience, I have performed for LazyTown (CBS), the Center for Puppetry Arts, Jim Henson Pictures and Sesame Street. You got questions about puppets? I got answers.
For the audiobook stuff, I'm a member of SAG/AFTRA. As the voice behind several audio books and short stories, I've recorded fiction for authors such as Neal Stephenson, Cory Doctorow and Seanan McGuire. And my own books, too. It's sorta like puppetry, without the pain.
I live in Chicago with my husband Robert and, at current count, nineteen manual typewriters.
And now random stuff -- I lived in Iceland for year and a half, working on the show Lazytown. Two cats. I'm obligated to mention the cats, right? I include a Doctor Who cameo in every novel.
When I say that you can ask me anything, I really mean it. I’ll talk about everything from hand-sewing period costumes, to shoving my hand up things, to writing, to depression.
Proof: https://twitter.com/MaryRobinette/status/1034969392386371584
