Countdown to Midnight: a promotional scavenger hunt that ends in a zoom tea party with C. L. Polk

It's pre-launch season and that means The Midnight Bargain is going to be showing off a little in the weeks leading up to its release - and every event you tag will gain you a chance to win a signed, annotated hardcover of The Midnight Bargain!

But while there is only one of these prizes available, we also will have runner up prizes that include an ebook version of the story, and you're all invited to tea with me!

I'll be on Zoom with you to talk about books, writing, knitting, and how lovely/dreadful the weather has been lately. Bring the beverage of your choice--I'm imagining that I will have some s'mores chai from David's Tea, myself.

I will have more details about the countdown event coming, but watch for it! The game begins on the week of July 21st.

What I'm Knitting

As of today I am still waiting on the yarn required to make a sweater inspired by an example I saw in the Alexander McQueen pre-fall collection, so I haven't any progress pictures just yet! More to come when the yarn arrives.

Meanwhile, I'm slowly working on an interpretation of the iconic Tom Baker Dr. Who scarf. I knitted a version for myself as my first ever knitting project, but I made it impractically long and out of a heavier gauge acrylic yarn.

My newer version is a fingering weight effort, knitted in Brooklyn Tweed Loft. the colors are in the spirit of the original, but not quite the same. I imagine this scarf as the pop of colour when worn against my fall/winter capsule, which is utterly dominated by gray and black:

Other things knitters may be interested in: my friend Meredith Martin has started a Youtube channel concentrating on knitting as a part of historical costuming. She knitted a mystery scarf from a 19th century source, and it turned out great! you can see it on her YouTube channel:

Food and Drink

July is the month where I hit my "bake bread" phase, I guess. But instead of baking bread, I'm cooking for myself. I was in a deep, deep depression funk and relying on take-out for months, and this change to "cook from scratch and fresh ingredients" has had a noticeable effect on my mood and well being. I've been discovering different ways to cook foods I hadn't really tried to cook on my own, and I have discovered that there are many passionate opinions about how to best fry a fish fillet in a saucepan. My personal take: you don't need the flour, honest. A good coating of an interesting spice blend will do nicely. My favorite so far: A blend from my local shop called "West African Citrus Spice." I finished it with a squeeze of lemon, but orange might be even better.

My Writing Lately

My twitter thread on what might be causing wip writer's block was popular. If you didn't see it, the original tweet is right here - or if you prefer, I made a plot post so it wouldn't get lost to the scroll.

I'm working on a new wip for Erehwon Books. There isn't a lot I can tell you just yet, as I am only a little way into the first act of the first draft. But it's a bit about art history and it's a bit about a just society falling to complacency. My main character is an aroace woman who is doing her best to shake off a deep scandal from her student days, and her curiosity lands her in the middle of a five hundred year old secret...

What I'm listening to

A lot of summer jams, honestly. I have admired the work of Amerigo Gazaway and he has two offerings I've been slipping on my headphones for -

The Cool Out Corner - This is a mixtape. I love it because it mixes music played across decades, so one moment you're with Kool and The Gang, and the next you're with Kendrick Lamar, and it all makes me want to move my feet. I've been playing it when it's time to clean the kitchen and cook.

You can listen on youtube, and the whole mix is available on Bandcamp.

Thank you

Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. I hope you enjoy the music, looking at the knitting, and hunting down entry tokens for the Midnight Bargain Countdown!

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